A Tale of Two Beds, part 41

This one is all about Sweet Son. He has gotten into the habit of reading himself to sleep. I LOVE it! Here are some photos of him asleep with books (bonus, he is in bed).

The Smash! Smash! Truck - A British book about a recycling truck

Big Book of Bugs

Once again, here are the links to the previous tales. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Frustration, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39, Part 40.

Rock Climbing, part 2

More rock climbing photos - these were taken on different days, the kids didn't actually change clothes in the middle, haha.

Sweet Daughter ringing the bell at the top

Sweet Son almost to the bell

Both kids near the top

Hair Cuts

Both kids wanted a hair cut, which is rare in our family. Here are the before and after photos.

Front before

Back before

Front after

(They are no long sure they want hair this short, haha.)

Back after

I promise it is shorter, but it doesn't look like it when wet and straight.

Throwback Thursday

Visiting Mommy's office/classroom

I am still with the same school, but we have moved locations and I have changed rooms in the new location also so now this seems much longer ago.

They were 5 in this photo.

Wordless Wednesday

Family 5K for pancakes

Band Instruments

A homeschool band was starting near us. The typical child starts band in 6th grade, my kids are 6 years old. I talked to the band director and said my kids wanted to come try out different instruments. She explained they are probably too young and I was fine with that. It would be good for them to have something they aren't successful with. They need to learn some things you just have to wait to be able to do. They both already have 3 years of lessons and can read music, which I knew would be helpful for beginner band, but wind instruments are completely different from piano and guitar.

Sweet Daughter said she wanted to try flute. She held the mouthpiece and after one small adjustment (hers, not the band director's) she was able to produce a full tone. We were all shocked. She could produce the sound on the full flute as well, only her arms aren't quite long enough. We were told she could join if we could find a flute with a curved head joint.

Sweet Son said he wanted to play the trombone. His arms aren't long enough for that. So she gave him a trumpet mouthpiece. He instantly buzzed and could do siren sounds. She said he could join if we started him on a cornet rather than the full sized trumpet.

So, the hunt for instruments was on. These are what we found.

Sweet Daughter trying out the cornet

Sweet Son on the cornet

Sweet Daughter on the flute

(the curved head joint is in the case)

They will be the youngest, by far in the band, but we are going to try it and see how it goes. I don't feel ready to be a band mom. It wasn't that long ago I was a band kid.

Boxes in the Backyard

We started shopping at Aldi, which means every week we come home with a cardboard box (Aldi doesn't have bags, but you can take the boxes if you can find an empty one). I was saving these because I knew at some point they would be used. One day the kids wanted to play outside so I invented a "game." It's called "Boxes in the Backyard!" I threw the boxes into the middle of the yard and told the kids to have fun.

Building a fort

Here the boxes were each houses in a neighborhood they were building

Here the boxes were boats, the grass water, and the sidewalk was the dock

Why do we buy them toys? This is an awesome game and they never did get tired of it. If only I had more room to store boxes. As it is, I now have to hide when I recycle them because I'm out of room.

Resolution Run

Crazy friends convinced me to sign up for a marathon so running a half every weekend then needing a few more miles is starting to become normal. I signed up for this half marathon at the last minute and it was COLD. Yet somehow without trying I ended up with a new personal record.

After the race

My personal cheering squad

Crazy running friends greeting me at the end. 

The one on the left is going to run my first marathon with me. The one hugging me was yelling so enthusiastically I could hear her from a long way off as I ran into the finish. The one on the right I met that morning when we got there early to volunteer with set up. Running may not come naturally or easily to me, but the people I have met are some of the best and really keep me motivated.

Throwback Thursday

Rockets!!

They are 4 years old here.

Wordless Wednesday

A Tale of Two Beds, Part 40

I haven't written any of this series since September! They are getting better about sleeping in beds.

See, she is in bed. 

He is in her room on the floor with her tiger on top of him, but hey 1 of 2 counts!

She tucked all of her animals in with her and made the bed still look neat before falling asleep. This is a level of organization even I don't have when sleeping.

He started by kicking off his top sheet and blanket, but hey, he is sleeping in a bed. 

It only took 6 years for them to finally understand the concept!

Once again, here are the links to the previous tales. Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Frustration, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21, Part22, Part 23, Part 24, Part 25, Part 26, Part 27, Part 28, Part 29, Part 30, Part 31, Part 32, Part 33, Part 34, Part 35, Part 36, Part 37, Part 38, Part 39.

Rock Climbing, part 1

We require the kids doing something active. They wanted to take a break from ice hockey and asked to do rock climbing. No problem! Rock climbing is cheap with homeschool memberships and with auto-belays it only requires one adult to take two kids!

Both kids climbing different routes

Sweet Daughter climbing high

Sweet Son climbing high

Best Friends

For as often as they fight like siblings, Sweet Son and Sweet Daughter really are best friends. They typically fight when it is just the two of them and the more people that are around the sweeter they are to each other. I hope their connection never fades.

Tigers and Pirates attacking those who dare to walk toward the kitchen

Making a "fort" and then working together on an app

Teaming up so only kids win at games (this time she won)

Throwback Thursday

Winter, snowmen, shorts, and school uniforms, haha

They are 4 years old in this photo.

Wordless Wednesday

Kids playing in the car. They started by buckling the seatbelts.

They do not have any keys.

Daddy's Office

They weren't in the room with the write on walls for long before they discovered some of the chairs have wheels.

"Daddy, show me how it works!"

"Wait, I can push him faster!"

"Ok Daddy, now you get on!"

So much for them realizing Daddy does serious work here, haha.

Visiting Daddy's Office, part 1

Every trip to Daddy's office turns into fun and games. The kids have gone to festivals, parties, played mini-golf, fuse-ball, visited the baseball diamond, and basketball court. This time Wonderful Husband was trying to show them the more serious parts of the office.

Video conferencing was highly entertaining

Meeting rooms where you can write on the entire wall

She decided to teach the times tables while she had our attention

Come back tomorrow for other "business" experiences they discovered. It's clear why they think he plays at work all day.

Cooking Pancakes

Sweet Daughter has discovered a love of cooking. Since Wonderful Husband and I both have a love of eating, this is perfect! Here she is making pancakes by herself (with supervision).

Throwback Thursday

Bubbles on her face at a birthday party.

She is 4 years old in this photo.

Wordless Wednesday

Everyone gathered around the table

Mowing the Lawn

The one down side to living some place warm is you have to mow the lawn year round. Somehow our lawn stayed green and growing despite our refusal to water it or put in any effort. The next door neighbors care for their lawn - pulling weeds, watering - and it had the decency to turn brown for the winter. Luckily, the kids enjoy mowing the lawn for short periods of time and I don't care if there isn't a straight line on the entire thing.

Sweet Daughter

Sweet Son

New Year's Day 5K

After running the 5K on New Year's Eve, Sweet Daughter and I did it again on New Year's Day. It's a great way to start the year off, but it could have been warmer. Free race photos are awesome, but of course Sweet Daughter's are amazing while mine look... well, I'm not going to share them, haha.