A Window into our World

I often have a difficult time coming up with an answer for the question "What have you been up to?". There's not a long list of activities or much of anything to show for, however the normal things of life at home ALWAYS keep me busy. Here's a few of our "normal" life things that we've been up to recently...

Sunshine and Outdoors

We have been enjoying some beautiful weather with sunshine and highs in the mid 50's. Now 50's with rain and 50's with sunshine feel VERY DIFFERENT, so we are thankful for sunshine this time of year!

We take full advantage of the nice weather by playing outside for as long as the kids will stand because they always need to "burn off some energy!" There are also 3 kids about the same age as our kids just next door to us, so they come to play sometimes. This is a nice option, especially for Braden. One afternoon Braden, Ashlyn, Nana JJ and I walked to the library and then to Starbucks for a treat (about a 2 mile round trip). This was a fun way to enjoy the outdoors, get some exercise, do an errand, and enjoy time together!

We even enjoyed a picnic on our warm (south) deck....press the play button to watch the video clip below.

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Now to completely change the subject, here's a great conversation I overheard in the car the other day.......

For context, I'm driving with the 2 kiddos in the back, and coming upon the school zone that has flashing lights and a speed limit of 20 mph. Braden knows that when the lights flash, cars need to go slow. He could tell I was coming upon the zone going faster than I should so he says....

Braden:"Mama, you need to slow down."
Ashlyn: "Or you'll go to jail..."
Braden: "No Ashlyn, she won't go to jail, but she'll get a ticket and have to pay LOTS of money! Then we will be poor and won't have any money for food!"

Needless to say, I slowed down! Although I've never gotten a ticket, Braden still likes to hold me accountable (and I've never mentioned anything about not having enough money for food?!).

Ashlyn the Lumberjack??!!

As I mentioned in our Christmas letter we checked out a video called "Lenny the Lumberjack" from the library way back in November. Recently, the kids asked me to check it out again. I guess Lenny has made quite the impression. It must be fun to watch trees get cut down with big chain saws! Anyway, as expected, Braden likes to pretend he's a lumberjack. However, Ashlyn is right on board with this lumberjack stuff! The other day she was all dressed up in her pink shirt and "dress-up" princess high heels (which was HER idea) and would hold up her toy spatula and say, "This is my chainsaw, gonna go cut down the tree!" And off she would run in her high heels with her "chain saw!" Quite comical if you ask me!

Braden + Sound Effects

Braden is one of those kiddos who is not just seen, but ALSO heard! If he's not talking, he's making NOISE. When he plays he uses sound effects for almost everything. It's fun to hear him tell a story about something because he uses his entire body to tell the story along with the best SOUND EFFECTS ever. I captured one of his many sound effects on video. Hope you enjoy his impression of a rocket taking off...

Our New Baby Niece

Sheldon's sister Chandelle and her husband Michael had their 3rd daughter, June Margaret, on Jan. 16, 2009. Here's a newborn photo of June and the family. How exciting it is to have a new family member and another cousin for the kids!

Fun with Cousins and Papa for the Superbowl

Well, this is just a few of the MANY stories I could tell, but I hope you've enjoyed this little window into our world!

WE LOVE LEGOS...

My kids just LOVE legos! Braden got a tub of the Duplo legos when he turned 3, and played with those so much that when he turned 4 he got a MASSIVE tub of them, and at age 5 he's still loving them!

Braden at age 3, with Papa, when he got his first tub of duplo legos for his birthday.

Braden at age 4 with his HUGE tub of duplo legos!

I think that a day barely goes by that the legos are not played with, at least for a little while. And some days they are almost ALL that is played with. It's been really neat, too, to see what Braden can build with just legos. He usually goes through phases (for a month or so) of building similar things with somewhat different designs and then moves on to something else. As I quickly think back, one of his phases was building ant houses (when we had "indoor ant friends," he would REALLY catch an ant to put in the house). These ant houses even included generators.

His other phases have been building hospitals, Jericho, airplanes, and tall towers to the ceiling. His most current phase is building rockets, pyramids, and Wall-E (the robot from the Wall-E movie). Trust me, these are just a FEW of his ideas....

This is Braden's Wall-E and Eve robots.

Click the Play button to watch the video clip of Braden.

Since Ashlyn has always seen Braden build, she too, has really gotten into legos, and will often try and build what Braden does. Below I have some pictures from last year of Ashlyn because I don't have any current ones. She sure has changed alot!