sugar crystal scientists

Chris and Nate were watching Cyberchase this afternoon, and when it was over they came running to me all excited about a science experiment. From what I could gather, they were wanting to make the ol' sugar-crystals-on-a-string-from saturated sugar water. We got right to work in the kitchen. The only problem with this experiment is that it takes TIME....lots of it! We will post our progress.

Update: It's 2 days later now, and not a single crystal has formed. I think that our science experiment is a BUST!

the way it should be

Today when I was heading to pick up the boys from preschool I was heading down 33rd. I was just past New Seasons where the street has a long stretch, down past Wilshire Park. Far ahead I could see lights flashing and heading in my direction. There was a line of traffic in front of me (which there always is on 33rd) and I was wondering to myself at what point will all of these people pull over and let the ambulance go by.
What I saw next was truly awesome. EVERY SINGLE CAR that was heading both North and South pulled over to the sides of the street, literally at the same time like we were in some sort of synchronized dance. It was a perfect parting of the street, which opened an amazingly clear path for that ambulance to get where it needed to go. (you never know...it might be heading to someone that you love!)
Something about that little spectacle really impressed me. I guess it's because there's always some yahoo on the road who thinks that they don't need to pull over, or they're not even paying attention. Today, on that street, everyone was spot-on with their driving and it made my day!

another knee slapper

Today is Uncle Frank's birthday, and we made a special video for him last night. Nate is really into the upside-down/eyes-on-the-chin jokes. Chris thinks it's a bit freakish, and would have nothing to do with us taping paper eyes on him. Oh well, he does a great job as the emcee!

collections

Nate and Chris have been working on their own collection for a few months, and they are almost completed. Chris has been collecting the state quarters, and Nate collects bottle caps. This weekend Auntie Leann sent a package that really closed the gap on the quarter collection!
Chris only needs Arizona, New Mexico, Alaska, and Hawaii. Feel free to check your change and see if you have any of these....you would really make his day!
Nate's bottle cap collection is really getting full! They are stuck to the foam board with magnets, so they can be moved around. I think we will soon be gluing more magnets on, since this collection will continue to grow! (it's the perfect excuse to have to try out different types of beers...really, we're doing it for the caps!)

Super Readers!

The boys had lots of fun with cousins Caroline and Ella. They were 'Super Readers" on Sunday while Susan and I went to a baby shower for Cindi. Always lots of fun when the cousins are around. :)

Nate's joke

Nate's a real joker here! In case you can't quite understand his joke it's: Q: "Why did the bee go to the Doctor?" A: "Because he had hives!"

Batter up!

It's baseball season and the boys in this house are really into it. Of course, it's the Cubs for the professional team, but hitting and catching the ball at the park is just as exciting. Today they went to watch the t-ball game of a classmate (Finn) and came home all inspired. They got some new balls, a T, and a REAL bat. (orange and blue colors on it, of course!)
They went to the park this afternoon to try out their new gear. Of course, they had to wear their baseball outfits that they got from Aunt Janis last year. This picture of Nate batting is great---not because it's good of him, but because the picture has the ball suspended in air since Nate hit the stand, not the ball.
Two sweaty, red-faced, tuckered out boys relaxing under a shady tree after their game at the park.

Thanks, Big Tim!

Big Tim sent a package to the boys to congratulate them on being big bike riders. They were especially fond of the cool cars with launchers that can go very FAST! Of course, our front room was quickly converted to being a race track.
Car #43 is catching some air in this picture! Nate's quarter collection book and a pair of binoculars works great for a ramp.

making pasta

Last night Dan and the boys pulled out our pasta maker and decided to give it a go. It was lots of hard work cranking the handle!
Nate is draped in fresh pasta. We put butter and parmesan on it and the boys grubbed it down for their dinner!
The finished piles of pasta. Dan also made some stuffed ravioli. It was pretty much little Italy over here!

Out Of This World

The cousins are in town for their Spring break, and we went to a new indoor play area that just opened, called Out Of This World. (www.outofthisworld.net) It was GREAT! It had a huge slide/climbing structure, rock wall, bouncy slide, scooter bikes, etc. We also had lemonade and pizza for lunch. They played until they were so tired!
Ella, Nate, Chris and Grace scaling the wall. We were pretending that they were on Survivor Island...if you fell off, you had to go back to the beginning!
Here are some really good climbers!

cool capes!

The pictures don't really do justice to these creative puff-up capes that the boys were into today. They put a plastic Safeway bag on their backs, and their arms through the arm holes, and voila! they have the coolest puffy capes that fill up with air from the breeze.
Here goes Chris down the sidewalk. The bag was full of air and had a great crinkle sound as he ran. They kind of had a bulbous spider back thing going on.....
Taking a break from all that running. It's hard work being a Safeway super-hero!
Climbing the tree in the front yard. It's amazing how long this boy could hang on up there.

'cado on the half shell

Not much new and exciting around here lately...Nate's favorite breakfast lately has been 'cado on the half shell. He digs right into it and scrapes the thing clean. mmmmm good!
Christopher is into decorating our entire house with his drawings. These are my kitchen cabinets that he did yesterday. You can find these lovely taped signs just about everywhere in our home.
I think that half the fun is in using the scotch tape dispenser.....