Mimi & Grampy to the Rescue!

 Sean had another work trip out-of-town, so Mimi & Grampy came in town to watch the boys while I was at work.  WE LOVE GRANDPARENTS!!!  We used the time to celebrate Grampy's belated birthday with an Oreo cake.  It was a big hit with Davis.

 The birthday Grampy with his two favorite little guys!

Who can go to sleep with all this excitement and attention?!

 I love the reflection in the mirror..

 Finally time for bedtime snuggles and stories.

 Having fun posing and using antlers as props.  

 Check out this awesome igloo that Grampy built with the boys.  He used his cooler (yes, it was an Igloo) to pack the wet snow into blocks and build this snow fort.  The boys loved it!!! 

 We ended the visit with a yummy lunch at, where else, The Black-Eyed Pea!  

 We love you Mimi & Grampy!  Thank you so much for making the trip to Colorado & taking such good care of our boys.  You have helped us out so much and we can't thank you enough. We miss you guys!

Grandma & Grandpa Beilman Visit

We had a fun visit with Sean's parents last week.  We love when family comes to town and wish we could do it more often!  

 Carter and Grandma Pat.  Carter made Grandma some flowers out of foam and he was very proud to give them to her--she loved them!

 Grandpa Dan got a foam car from Carter. 

 Sean & his dad working out in the garage. 

 The boys watching something cool on Grandpa Dan's tablet.

 On Saturday, Sean and his folks took the boys back over to Home Depot for one of their Kids' Clinics.  This time, they got to build a race car!  Our friend, Amelia, and her daddy were there too!

 The kids even got to race their cars down the ramp! And, they received a certificate of completion when their cars were done.

 Looks like everyone had a great time!

Home Depot Field Trip!

A couple of weeks ago, Carter's Preschool class got to go on a field trip to Home Depot!  Davis & I were able to tag along and it was the highlight of our day! The folks at Home Depot went out of their way to make these kids feel special and had a bunch of fun things planned:

 We got to go behind the paint counter and see how they mix the paint.  The kids got to choose what colors to make!

 The fork lift operator put on a special demonstration for the class!

 They got to see how keys are made!  (I think Davis was grumpy because it was so loud.)

 They got real Home Depot aprons and went on a scavenger hunt through the store!

Everyone got to build and paint a bird house to take home!

 Carter & his friend, Dominic.

  These boys were hard at work & so proud of the finished product! (I loved the safety glasses--so cute!)

Carter even got to sit in the Fork Lift before we left!  

It was a great field trip and all the kids had a blast.  Thank you, Home Depot and Preschool teachers for arranging this!

Build-A-Bear

Last week we took an unexpected trip to Build-A-Bear.  I had intended to take the boys to Jump Street to burn off some energy, but failed to realize that all the schools were out for President's Day.  The line to get in was so long & the place was packed, so we moved on to Plan B: Build-A-Bear (across the street).  Carter had been once before, when he was a toddler, but Davis had never gotten to do this so it was quite a treat!

 Think they had fun?!  Sean & I were laughing that the boys' choices of animals/outfits.  Carter chose a German Shepard and picked plain khaki shorts & a plaid button-up shirt.  Davis chose a black bear with bright multi-colored stars and dressed him as Woody from Toy Story.  Their personalities are clearly defined: "Mr Conservative" and "The Wild One". Gotta love it!

Magic Tree House

The book fair at Preschool was selling the entire Magic Tree House set of books for about $1.50/each (instead of $5/each), so I decided that was a great opportunity for us to buy them, save some money, and have a big supply of books to give to Carter over the course of the next year or so. You know, for holidays and birthdays, etc.  Well, Sean happened to pick Carter up from school on the day that book orders were delivered and never got the memo about rationing out the books.  So, here is our reader with his large supply of reading material:

Making Slime

My friend, Sara, has so many neat project ideas for kids posted on Pinterest.  I found one activity on her page that didn't look too difficult-Slime!  This was just right for two boys who love Play-doh and Silly Putty.  AND, super easy.  

 Carter getting out all the ingredients:

Borax

Glitter glue

water

 Davis chose blue & silver.

 Now the fun part!!

Carter's finished red & gold glitter slime.  You can find the directions here.  Thanks for the good ideas, Sara!

Happy Valentine's Day!

The boys woke up to sweet treats and surprises on Thursday--what fun!  I'm nuts about holidays and Valentine's day comes at just the right time to beat those Winter "blahs".  Thank you to everyone for the Valentine cards and goodies you sent!  We felt very LOVED this year!  XOXO

Davis & I got to go to Carter's Valentine's Day party at school on Thursday.  It was the highlight of our day!  Davis walked in like he was born to be in Preschool.  Carter was so happy to see us there and share his classroom with us.  Both boys were both so sweet that day!  Carter said "Mom, I love you.  I want you to be my Valentine."  I'm sure it had nothing to do with the candy & treats he had gotten...  

 Time to decorate cupcakes!  

 Davis took some time to explore the Centers and see what's in store for him next year!

 Davis gave Valentines to Ms LaDonna & Ms Glo.  He was so excited to pass out cards like the big kids.

These two love bugs are the best Valentines a girl could ask for!

 Cards & flowers to make us feel special.  Love to you all!  Hope you had a wonderful day with your Valentines!!! 

Nature & Science Museum

We headed to the museum after school this week and the boys surprised me by being good listeners, which made the trip delightful.  The highlights were the "Space Odyssey" area and the "Discovery Zone", which is geared for younger kids.  There is a table full of magnetic blocks and shapes that literally kept both boys occupied for over 20 minutes.  I've never seen anything like it...  I was in heaven!  

Carter playing with the magic magnets. (Notice how they are too big to put up your nose?)

Sand table in the Outer Space area.

Fun with wind!  

And, just FYI: On the free days, they offer memberships at 20% off.  They will not honor that discount on any other day, as we discovered when we went on the day after the free day.