Giveaway

This is the last of the awesome giveaways from Activision. Today it's a Wipeout 3 game for Xbox360 (requires Kinect sensor). Same rules as always, US residents only.




Game Description: Welcome back to Wipeout! Where things are wetter, wilder, and even wackier than ever!

• Tackle the craziest courses ever, like Deck the Balls and the Wild West!
• Run the Wipeout course like never before with all new, 3rd person camera angles!
• Battle your friends to reign supreme in Side-By-Side Multiplayer!
• Over 200 uniquely outrageous obstacles!!

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dinosaurs and Nature

Like most kids, my kids love dinosaurs. So when a local wildlife sanctuary had a life size dinosaur exhibit, we went to visit. It was also cool enough to wear light jackets in December.

The kids loved walking along the trail to see the different dinosaurs.

Many were decorated with wreaths and other things. A little strange, but festive none the less. 

This was one of the few dinosaurs they could go up and touch. Sweet daughter liked petting it like a large dog while sweet son liked sticking his head in the mouth to see if it had a throat.

I was also impressed with how many of the dinosaurs sweet son could name. We read a lot of dinosaur books, but I didn't realize how much he had retained. I love when kids impress me with their knowledge.

These weren't just statues. Most of them moved and made noises and one even sprayed water. While sweet son loved it, sweet daughter mostly just ran past them saying "I'm not scared" until she made it to my arms.

After walking the trail with the dinosaurs we went inside the museum to see some of the animals/exhibits. 

Sweet daughter wanted to bring these guys home. We are not getting a snake. EVER

The kids didn't want to go home, they wanted to go hiking. We took off on one of the other trails. It looked easy enough for toddlers.

It did get more difficult fun. There were small inclines, tree roots to step over, and even natural steps to walk down.

The best part of the day wasn't seeing the dinosaurs, animals, or hiking. The best part was getting out in nature and talking. We talked about the different trees, seasons, the sounds we could hear, and everything else that strikes the fancy of two year olds. The second best part of the day? After hiking for 2 hours (not including the time in the museum) the kids took a great nap.

Wordless Wednesday

 Homemade Zamboni

A Tale of Two Beds - Part 4

In case you missed the rest of this series start here: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

So after we removed the bed frames from their room, you would think they would run out of things to do. My kids are excellent problem solvers and have mastered working together though. First came the fun of moving the mattresses around the room.

Then, in addition to moving the mattresses, they started making a mess with the very few things they had available. Here you can see the blankets, pillow, pants, socks, and their lovies spread around the room.

Many parents will see where this is headed. Lucky parents will never have to deal with this.

*NOTE* Do not scroll down if you get sick easily. Do not scroll down if you are so visual you can smell things just by seeing a photo of them. Feel free to scroll down if you think having twins is fun and cute - I promise this will cure that.






The only thing left to use to make a mess in the room? They both took off their diapers (notice they had been duct taped on because this is not the first time this happened). The diapers were left clean and yet... over in the corner between the ducky and the door... ewwwwww. They tried to hide the evidence by pushing it under the door. Cleaning between the bottom of the door and the carpet is not easy, in case you are wondering. 

Of course after handling the evidence with their hands, they had dirty hands and very few options. So they wiped them all over the walls. Trails of poo on the floor where they had walked through it and on all 4 walls. You can see from the photos below (where I had already started cleaning) the thoroughness of their job.

 

I called my husband and demanded he come home from work to help me. Unfortunately, he couldn't do that so I was left with a room covered in poo, two kids covered in poo, two mattresses, sheets, and everything else all covered in poo.

By the end of the day, my kids were clean, the mattresses, sheets and clothes were all washed. I had cleaned all of the walls - a few patches of paint even came off in the process. My husband was kind enough to come home with a new steam carpet cleaner. The kids were in so much trouble that this was the last time they took off their diapers. We did still continue to duct tape their diapers for a few more months just to make sure. So far, this was my least favorite phase the kids have gone through.

Please tell me you have gone through something similar and that my kids aren't the only ones who have a need to destroy everything possible.

A Tale of Two Beds - Part 5