Ski Clothes

In preparation for an upcoming ski trip we needed to see what still fits and what doesn't.

Hmmm - that's the snowsuit he used to wear and it's a bit short on her legs. Why do they keep growing?

Shopping for new ski clothes and I turned around to see their hair literally standing on end. So I had to get a picture.

A Tale of Two Beds, part 42

The title is slightly a lie here, it's more the tale of one bed. Sweet Daughter has finally started sleeping in a bed in the traditional manner. It only took 6 years. However, Sweet Son...

He has a bed. He has a soft comfortable big bed. So of course here he is sleeping on the floor with his bum on top of a pillow.

Half credit? At least most of him is on the bed?

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,
and Part 41.

Wordless Wednesday

Rainforest Dioramas

The end of our rainforest unit required the kids making a diorama. I gave them each a shoebox, open access to all of the art supplies, and a rubric. Then they asked if they could use some of the plastic animals and plants and I agreed. They both did a great job.

Both of them side by side

SweetSon's diorama

He built trees and even had a monkey hanging from the vines connecting the trees. There is an ape sitting on the large rock as well as many other animals hidden. There were 7 different animals included in his diorama. He had a plan from the beginning when he started painting the background and it seemed to all work perfectly for him.

Sweet Daughter's diorama

She stood the shoebox up and went in an entirely different direction. She also has 7 different animals hidden, but I loved that she used (with permission) some of the blue strings off of a pompom to hang as rain. She also included a human figure to be a scientist observing the animals. She didn't have a plan until it all came together and looked great.

Painting Time

When we get set up to do painting, we take it seriously. Here you can see the set up and process that works for us.

Work on flooring that is easily cleaned. Then use large paper (we used the back of paper that had already been used on the easel with markers) as a base to define where the paints should stay. We use paper plates as pallets with 5 colors each. Instead of cleaning the brush between each color, we assign one brush per color. Each child chooses which colors they want to use.

These are the finished products. 4 paintings for each child and the clean up is a breeze. The plates go in the garbage. Any paint that got on the floor or hands is first cleaned with a baby wipe before a more thorough wash. Once the paintings are dry, the paper goes in recycling. The paintbrushes are all washed out together.

iCream (ice cream frozen with liquid nitrogen)

We had the opportunity to visit an iCream Cafe. They currently have 4 open: Dallas, Chicago, Dubai, and Kuwait City. Here you choose the type of treat you want (ice cream, yogurt, sorbet, and more) and the mix-ins/flavors you want (fruit, candy, flavors, and more). They mix everything together and then use liquid nitrogen to freeze your personal combination.

You can see the cold smoke starting to come out

They were trying to catch it

Overall the ice cream tasted great. We each got exactly what we wanted and they were all unique things we couldn't get at other places. The experience of seeing it made was also cool. The price does mean I can't imagine us going back unless it was a really special treat though.

Marble Run

Every once in awhile we get out the marble run boxes and let the kids explore. We can't keep them out regularly because then they fight over them and they don't get cleaned up. When they are a once in awhile toy our kids cooperate for a while and once the arguing starts they have to clean up.

Wordless Wednesday

Paddy Dash (part 2)

This is a continuation of yesterday's post about the Paddy Dash race.

Grandma came to cheer

Family photo!

Chocolate milk from the Nestle Bunny

Then they jumped for almost an hour. 

After finishing the 5k. 

The 5k he was too tired to run...

Paddy Dash (part 1)

Someone agrees to sign up for a race, but then doesn't want to actually go...

The 4 of us running together

He was done running fairly early on

She made a friend and they kept racing, then walking together and talking, then racing, etc.

A strong finish!

(There is no photo of Sweet Son's finish as he was hiding behind Daddy. Daddy's photo isn't the best so I'm being kind and not publishing it.)

Come back tomorrow to see what they did after the race.

Haircut!

Sweet Son decided he wanted a major hair cut. I love his long hair and wish he would keep it, but it is his hair and not mine.

Before photo of our two cuties

He had some seriously long hair

You can see how much longer his hair was than hers.

After - this is what he considers really short hair

The back looks totally different

Hail Storm

We aren't strangers to tornado sirens, though we have never been hit by one where we live now. When the siren goes off, everyone gets their shoes and heads to a safe place. Only, they changed the system so this time it was going off for severe hail not a tornado at all. Oh well, at least we were away from the windows!

 Hanging out in the bathtub

Just some of the hail that came through - this is in the front yard.

This is a video of driving through that same hail storm.

Wordless Wednesday

Another weekend, another race

Bike Ride

The kids have been asking to go on an off road biking trail like Daddy. They aren't anywhere close to ready for the trails Daddy rides, but we decided this would count as off road biking for now.

Most of the trail is through the trees and it is so peaceful. The trail is a loop at at the middle point you open out onto the lookout of a large lake and can wave at the boats going by.

Not challenging riding,but perfect this time of year. It's not too hot yet!

Around Town

Making art at IKEA

IKEA offers free projects occasionally and this is just one of them. During spring break I think they made (and ate) cookies one day, these decorative eggs one day, and they decorated and planted flowers another. It's awesome living so close to IKEA.

This is at a basketball game. While the game is happening they have tons of activities for the kids - bounce houses, hula hoops, games, activities, etc. It really makes it difficult to focus on the basketball game though!

Mini golf - at Daddy's office of course! This is why they always want to go to work with Daddy.

Trio

The best part of having the kids in band is we can now all play together. I do need to explain one thing - Sweet Son asked if he could play a high note at the end. I said not for the video since he often misses the note. In the video they are 6 years old and have been playing for 5 months.

Bowling

Sometimes it rains and we need to get out of the house. Here is one solution: bowling!

He throws the ball straight then does a little "dance" to make it go where he wants.

She throws the ball then walks off, often forgetting to see if any pins fell down.

Wordless Wednesday

She finally lost a tooth!

Perot Museum, Dallas 4

Kids need to move and the Perot Museum has an entire area just for understanding the science behind sports.

Here they are racing some of the fastest runners in the world!

The video runners are long gone, but look at how cute these two are!

The blur on the right is Sweet Daughter and she clearly won this time.

You can also check your form doing various other activities. Here Sweet Daughter is throwing a football. Then you use a computer terminal to break down your throw versus a professional.

Sweet Son went for shooting a hockey puck.

Perot Museum, Dallas 3

Continuing to explore the Perot Museum we found tons of hands on experiments.

 In the science lab getting ready to explore the bacteria inside our mouths!

Your family might be nerdy if...

Robotic cars - we visited this activity multiple times

Building a bridge that won't fall down

Perot Museum, Dallas 2

This is the second post in the series about a trip to the Perot Museum.

College students explaining the seasons and phases of the moon by literally placing kids inside the materials

The entire reason for the trip was a birthday party. Happy Birthday C!

It was dinosaur themed and they LOVE the tails.