Just like riding a bike...

I've really, really enjoyed winter.  And although I'm not antsy for Spring to begin, I'm content to transition into it.  The other day we had a beautiful Spring-like day.  Not winter coats, no gloves or hats.  It was wonderful.  So we walked down to our neighborhood church parking lot and rode bikes.  Ok, ok - so I just helped with helmets & bikes and entertained myself on my phone while the kiddos rode bikes.

So long Snow

William wanted to show off his torn pants

This is Calvin riding his European bike.  These bikes are SO great because the kids learn to balance long before they have to learn to peddle.  Christian has a smaller one too, but he was very excited to ride the tricycle instead on this outing. In a few weeks Calvin will be zooming around on this thing. 

William learned to ride on the bike that Calvin is using above.  The first time he transitioned to a bike with peddles, he had the concept down in two pushes.  So much less parental work!

Incidentally, if you have your audio up, you'll hear me tell "William" to stop it.  I was speaking to Christian who was pulling on my leg - I am constantly using all their names interchangeably.

By the way, we acquired a few neighborhood kids in these shots... we didn't multiply.

Star Wars - The Return of the Jedi (to our home)

This past year Dan's mom found a bunch of Dan's old Star Wars action figures.  She sent them home with us and we decided to give them to the boys at Christmas.  Well as Christmas approached, we realized that these toys may easily be overshadowed by all the new shiny stuff in boxes that they'd be receiving.  We ended up tucking them away in the attic for a rainy (or snowy day).  This past week we got a great chance to bring them out and drive away a little cabin fever.

It was so fun to bust these guys out.

notice C-3PO on the floating chair

Dan had the Ewok Village, a Star Destroyer/container and a Dagobah set.  I should probably mention that it wasn't just the boys obsessed with this. I love Star Wars.  Just love it.  I remember my mom getting me and my brother out of school to go see Empire Strikes back.  I also dressed up as Princess Leia for three or four years in a row. I have an older and younger brother so I was over-exposed to the original Space Trilogy and I'm so grateful for it.

Halloween 1978.  I was almost 4.
Trick or treating with our neighbors, the Little's.

We had a bunch of Star Wars figures growing up too (not quite sure where they are now...)  I vividly remember playing downstairs in the basement with the trash compactor.  Amazing.  And I loved visiting my cousin's house.  Cindy, Steve & Stacey had a bunch that we didn't and that was always a treat.

 

 So, needless to say... breaking out this treasure trove was a ton of fun.

 The next morning I woke up and found the boys already absorbed in off-world activities. Thank you George Lucas for your imagination.  

It's brought us endless fun and sparked our own.

Snow Day - Another!

We got another awesome snow yesterday!  It was a great afternoon to play outside in the snow.  We took full advantage of it!

Not much more to say, but thought the pictures could do the talking.

our little guy really does like all this white stuff

William is our first one to go outside in the snow and he stays out the longest.

 OK - it was SO bright outside.  Our blue-eyed boy is quite light sensitive and after hearing him complain awhile, I finally found some sunglasses for him.

And I didn't actually intend to take this picture, but really love it because of the reflection in his glasses.  See the Lightning McQueen?  It's not a toy on our walkway... it's the glasses decal, but it totally looks photoshopped in. 

Another sweet afternoon making the most of the snow.

Our Winter Wonderland Week

We've finally gotten a couple great snows.  A few weeks ago, I went on record saying I wasn't done with winter yet.  I still wanted two more good snowfalls before I was ready to transition into Spring.  Well, I got them... and now I'm ready for the tulips and lilies to awaken.  The winters here haven't been nearly as brutal as they were in Northeast Ohio (where I hail from).  We typically have much sunnier winters as well.  The overwhelming gray-ness doesn't abound here, which helps alleviate the winter blues.  Here's some pics of the boys enjoying the snow... maybe the last of the season.

teaching Christian to make snow angels

 I love that my kids love to sit and watch the snow fall.  

Christian is just mesmerized by it still.

Last night was had an awesome ice storm.  All the trees were covered in ice.  Driving the boys to school this morning was absolutely beautiful... and thankfully the roads were clear.

And part of winter is finding creative ways to burn off energy.  Worthy joined a friend at a jumpy house earlier this week and got a big old shiner as a souvenir.  He's weathered it well. 

He's holding up great.

Looking forward to Spring.

Piano Practice

Worthy & William are both taking piano lessons.  It's really a pleasure for me to hear them practice at home.  And I'm not quite sure how it came about, but they don't complain about practicing.  Believe me - this is NOT because of any excellent parenting move we figured out. It's just how it works.  Don't get me wrong there is plenty of things they voice objections over - just not this.

Here's a snippet video of Worthy practicing some runs.  I should have edited out the beginning, but it just cracks me up too much.

Worthy & William are both having recitals in a couple weeks and they are each doing a duet with Dan.  It's been really endearing to hear them practicing together.

Udvar-Hazy Center (Air & Space Museum companion facility)

 We've had some cold weather lately and we all were suffering from cabin fever.  We needed to get out and run around a bit... so we decided to go to a museum.  Generally, I wouldn't advise visiting a museum to run, but when it's in a ginormous air hanger it's probably okay. It's the companion facility to the Smithsonian's National Air & Space Museum.  It's called the Udvar-Hazy Center.

It was awesome.

We'd heard tales. Unbelievable tales.  Truly.  We didn't believe them.  We assumed there was a lot of embellishing happening.  The museum was truly everything fantastic.

half of the main air hanger

 One of the highlights was a Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird. Of course being the well rounded, intelligent gal I am I knew exactly what this was the moment I looked at it read the sign.  Dan actually did have boyhood knowledge of this and was really thrilled to see it up close.  

Dan & Worthy with the Blackbird

it is a visually amazing aircraft

Without a doubt the highlight of the museum was the space shuttle Discovery.  I expected it to be immense, but was unprepared for how amazing it was. We were able to hop in on a free tour that was in progress and the engineering details and information was remarkable.  I'm so glad we got to hear an expert talk for awhile on it. 

They had so many aviation things there, but this really caught my eye.  It's Charles Lindbergh's wristwatch. I think it is so handsome.  If I were a designer of such things I'd definitely be recreating this for Dan. 

So classic.

On a heavier note, they also house the Enola Gay which dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima.  The immensity of the craft shouldn't have surprised me, but it did.

It was an amazing day and we got out of there just as the snow started to fall.  

So we capped off the night with a warm fire, snuggling and Doctor Who (season 8) which all our boys love.  

Some days things go so much better than I can plan or imagine.

Christian's Playdough

Our sweet baby boy, Christian, doesn't really enjoy playing on his own.  This should probably come as no surprise to me since he has three older brothers and rarely has the need or opportunity to entertain himself.  My other three were and are self-entertaining.  I was never their Entertainment Coordinator.  It wasn't until Worthy was about seven that I think he used the word "bored" in a self-referential way. So it was always hard for me to empathize with people that had kids that were needy in that way.  I never had it... until now.  I get it now.  

Christian is an extrovert in every sense.  He wants action, entertainment, involvement and an audience.  When his brothers are occupied and even when they're not... I become his target.  All this to say... we've finally discovered something that holds his solo interest.  Playdough!  Yes.   

Historically, I wasn't a huge Playdough fan.  The mess was usually not worth it for the 15 minutes that it occupied my other boys.  This guy is different.  He can easily solo Playdough and play for as long as it takes to make spaghetti from all the 6 cannisters we own. My sweet OCD boy will even clean up afterwards.

I'm sure he's learning wonderful tactile things, etc., but what I honestly love is the 45 minutes of quiet I get.