over sixty

This weekend was unseasonably warm with over sixty degree temps!  We broke out the bikes and scooters... And then the tennis courts called us up for a few rounds of try-not-to-hit-Keaton.  He marched around with a backpack on dodging his brother's big serves.  We took the long trail home and tried to stomp out the last of the snow.

If you look really closely there is a face punched onto that leaf with the same smile ;)

love fest

We grooved along with these annual Chocolate Fest performers again this year.  The "kid band" help was in full effect.  Aiden even got a spot on the kazoo band again this year ;)  

 

Flashback to the same grooves last year: http://ababybrennan.blogspot.com/2014/02/chocolate-fest-grooves.html

grooves from LB on Vimeo.

motor

We ran into this Harley club hanging out in front of the library.  The boys loved getting up on the big seats and Keaton especially loved seeing himself in the shiny reflection ;)

school

Some fun snaps of Keaton in action at school.  He loves the "scene" he made with play dough and the plastic animals... (Although he loved the animals so much he didn't add any rocks or sticks he'd collected.) He played with the play dough plate and the two peregrine falcons and beaver he picked for hours after we took it home.

chocolate lovers

This year we made it into the actual chocolate sale by being in front of the line right when it opened (otherwise you wait for hours!). We were even on the local tv access channel coverage ;)

Keaton had never seen a chocolate fountain and he was really in awe.  We came home with a giant bag of goodies!  The chocolate space shuttle and Mickey cake pops were favorites.

pancake

We beat the crowds to the K iwanis pancake breakfast to earn money for charity in Downtown Fairfax.  The chocolate chip pancakes were tasty.  The face paint was actually poster paint.  Keaton was happy with his bat, but Aiden's robot may go down in history as his worst face paint ever.  The poor volunteer tried so hard to make it nice, but even Aiden wanted us to wipe it off after it hardened in chunks ;). I was just grateful it didn't dye his face red, although the faint blue made him look like he had healing bruises. Ugalug.

tidbits

Where did January go anyway?!  I guess between all the snow days, holidays, teacher workdays, and our FL trip it sorta flew by… I have a new client at work that is in FL, so she shoots more winter weddings, woot!  Outside of working and pretty much not going to school, Keaton had another bout of croup.  The steroids make him nutso, but I'm so grateful that they do the job and bring his smile back pretty quickly… but going to the germy doctor is not my idea of a good time, although he seems to love being a patient.

Aiden's spelling program at school is called FUNdations and boy does he have fun writing his sentences and mapping the words.  The words follow different rules each week, and I have to say that I'm learning more about why words are spelled the way they are!

The D estination Imagination team is getting geared up!  This month is the countdown to the challenge and the Mantuamals are making their team sign and writing a script for their combo animal: The Frowl!

I'm on a hunt for a new dining table and I'm super grateful to furniture stores with giant duplo tables… but no luck finding a table yet...

Keaton managed to be healthy for his favorite day at school each year - hibernation day!  They got to wear jammies to school and bring a special stuffed friend.  The bear ears were adorable while they had fresh pancakes for snack.

Early morning games in bed keeping everyone happy…

Aiden has a big retelling project at school (sorta a book report, but they actually retell the story) where he was asked to make props to tell the story.  He picked the Great Kapok Tree (which you may remember from this mini camp performance with a four year old Aiden: http://ababybrennan.blogspot.com/2012/07/kapok-tree.html)  He worked really hard on the tree shirt and all the animals that come down from the tree that he formed out of Model Magic.  He has them all hanging on a brown cord in the order of appearance in the story.  

kapok tree

Great Kapok Tree Retelling - First Grade Project from LB on Vimeo.

The sloth at the end still steals the show ;)  I stole this video of this sorta sick guy practicing for his retelling… wish I was able to see the real thing.

snow dayz

Foxy friend sweatshirts and sunny glasses were out in full effect on this sunny snowy day...

strings

Daddy wanted to check out a new to us music shop a bit west of here because he saw that they had a nine string guitar for sale.  Look at that chunker!  He didn't like that one, but he ended up with an eight string.  This music shop had an in house doggie friend, so everyone was happy.

capture play

I'd never completed one of these photo a day challenges, but have followed along with many… I figured this was the perfect match since my camera roll is just full of the kids playing.

In backwards order here is my instagram feed… the #captureplay days from the last month (with three photos for splash, friends, and red - since we were on vacation and I couldn't help but post more ;)

interview with KC

The next interview with this imaginative, huggie troublemaker...

One word to describe you would be: 

Imaginate!

Why do you like being a kid?

Because I like kids! Like Cameron!

If you could be any animal, which one would you be and why? 

Dragon because dragons breathe fire!

Tell about a funny time in your life. 

When David splashed me in the water!

What is your favorite thing to do? Why? 

Mama, I'm going to show you my cute smile, look!

What do you love most about your sibling? 

Playing imaginext

What was the nicest thing you did for someone? 

Clean up all my own toys, but I'm still playing with those!

What do you think you will be doing 10 years from now? 

I would guess cleaning up my toys!

What is the grossest thing you can think of?

Picking your nose

What is your happiest memory? 

I know, it's a really happy one, hugging my mama!

games

Vacation, snow days and teacher workdays mean that our game rotation is in full effect.  

This drill board is fun for both the boys - they can even create pictures with the different colors.

We have a new hex bug arena that is really neat because you can build tracks for them to follow and they can travel to the second story.

Jenga the real deal and just as blocks is fun at Aunt Lulu's house!

This Dog Bingo has dice and combines two different things, the type of dog and the activity.  It's a good one for everyone to play together…. and those cute little dog bone markers ;)

Who Shook Hook? is a hit -  It's sometimes a fast game if you can't get Hook arranged on his hammock very well or if somebody reaches for the spinner too quickly… but it's still fun when Hook falls ;)

Gobblet Gobblers is an awesome variation on tic tac toe - The bigger guys can go over the smaller guys, but you only have two of each size… good strategy game!

These wooden elephant balance blocks are really fun just to play with… 

Don't Break the Ice is just a classic. 

This Madeline DC game is another good one for everyone to play together.  If I could just remember to growl like a tiger when I pass the zoo, I'd stop losing a point.

This Blokus game hasn't quite been played accurately yet, but it's funny that they take turns putting down pieces and came up with this duck ;)

Everyone loves this Monkey Tree game where they all fall down.  We play that you want to get as many monkeys as possible which is technically backwards, but then everyone gets excited when the monkeys fall down ;)

This new double race track is getting lotsa play time… You never know what will soak up the time on those long snow days.

car show

The boys all went to the car show to check out the shiny cars, race some mini cars, and meet some kiddie characters.

air and space

Back tracking through all the photos, here are some from the Open House Behind the Scenes event at the Air and Space Museum… The kids were into the special exhibits where they could make planes and learn to stitch a plane wing.  The opportunity to go behind the scenes into the restoration area was fun and they had all hands on deck to talk to visitors.  Riding the giant elevator back there was a favorite.

tradition travel

This is our sixth January in a row that we have headed down to Florida to see my family, stay at my grandpa's good 'ol timeshare, and celebrate his birthday.  It is such a tradition and it's amazing that we've added two kiddos to the mix in that time.

It had been a while since we'd traveled on an airplane, but the boys were excited.  Keaton clearly remembers flying and hopped right on the plan and asked the flight attendant if she can bring him a "lunch in a box."  They are both masters of the airplane now.  Keaton and I played puppets, color, and read, while Aiden completed another Which Way USA book - this one was about Florida just in time for our trip!

Both boys remembered the timeshare and especially the furniture.  There was a new chair this year with another ottoman that hides under it and creates a really cool reading nook/cave/hiding spot.

discovery 2

We were excited to have nearly the whole museum to ourselves.  We easily had a chance to ride the simulated air boat ride, the 7D experience, and PopPop had a ride in the real flight simulator.  I think my favorite were the big bubbles and watching the kids deliver oranges in the kid zone.

week

What a contrast between this week and last week!  Today is another snow day!

discovery museum

What a cool museum in the heart of downtown Fort Lauderdale… The additions since we'd been there were extra fun - a whole area for otters!  It even had a little slide into the viewing area so that your kids were sliding around just like the otters.  The giant prehistoric animal area was really something too.

more beach

A few more from the beach on a morning where it took a while for the clouds to burn away… but the beach with a little wind and clouds just makes for good cuddling...

beach

So many pics from the beach... Thanks for helping make the fun castle Liz and David!  

boating

In addition to our fun sail on the big boat, this year we took over some of the little boats too.  The ocean kayak was a big hit!  The boys loved to motor around the canals on the dinghy. Thanks to Lulu and Scott for getting them in the water for us.  Thanks to PopPop for taking the boys on a paddle.

swimming

This was the year of swimming in Florida.  Keaton was able to enjoy the water with and without floaties and Aiden can pretty much swim (even if it looks like thrashing he's still moving along).  Both boys loved being "splashed" by Uncle David which really meant thrown into the air.  Keaton enjoyed jumping in and letting his head go under.  Aiden can hold his breath under water for a long time and float around (sometimes so long that you get worried).  I'm so glad we got to enjoy the water so much this year.  Thanks for heating up that pool for us in your nice shady spot Lulu and Scott!  Thanks to my dad and David for swimming with the boys too!