Sunday Rangers Game

The weather forecast for Sunday was surprisingly mild for June 30 in Texas (88-90 degrees!!!), so we decided to take advantage and go to a Rangers game.  The boys and I went earlier this spring with the Freeman's (while Daddy was in Germany), Daddy and I went for opening weekend (while Nana and Pops babysat the boys), but we hadn't been as a family yet this year.  Our first stop this morning was church, and I totally have to brag on Lincoln.  He and Beau went down to the front for Children's Time as usual, and Ms. Allison was talking to the kids about Jonah and the Whale.  I was super surprised when (usually shy in this environment) Lincoln piped up with answers to all of the questions.  He got the microphone three times as he was filling in the blanks about the story.  Even Pastor Oliphant was whispering to his associate pastor in awe that this kid knew the whole thing!  I actually wiped a tear sitting in the pew watching Linc proudly share about Jonah.  I'm not going to take all of the credit, although I am fond of this Bible Story.  It's one of his favorite Veggie Tales movies!  Anyway, we had lunch at home after church and posed for a "cheese" before heading to The Ballpark for lots of fun.  The boys packed tons of books for the short/long drive!

About halfway into the drive to Arlington, Beau was crashed out with his book in his lap (and finger still poised on the button).  The drive was during his normal naptime, so he caught a quick catnap.  Luckily, he woke up ready to cheer! 

We found our seats early and sprayed on lots of sunscreen.  The tickets Daddy wisely got us were going to be in the shade soon, but we had about 45 minutes of sun at first.  Beau wanted his sunglasses along with his hat, and he also wanted to sit firmly in Mommy's lap.  Such a cutie!  There was so much going on that Beau just wanted to sit and take it all in.  He didn't say much at first, but he loved to clap with everyone.  It was kind of a lot at first, but he definitely warmed up later!

After watching the players warm up, the grounds crew work on the field and the opening ceremonies of the game, it was finally time for the first pitch.  To which Lincoln responded with, "I'm ready to go home now!"  I understand that is a childhood rite of passage, so Linc didn't let us down today!  Daddy and Lincoln went to get popcorn a short time later and that was a welcome distraction for about 30 minutes.  Oh, I should definitely point out that he spilled 80% of the bucket of popcorn within the first 2 minutes of holding it.  Whatever!  At least he and Daddy could give me a smile! 

After a long first inning, we went on a hunt for ice cream.  We found a yummy ice cream stand nearby, and the boys were happy to sit at the shaded picnic table with their cups of chocolate ice cream.  I actually think they were the most entertained by the sporks they were given!  The ice cream and break from the game for the 2nd inning a great thing. 

We headed back to our seats and found full shade and a nice breeze!  Beau took a turn on Daddy's lap for an inning or two, and they had fun clapping and cheering.  Beau loved the cheers!  He began to get used to the noise and really got interested in talking about the game and songs.

Mommy got to hang with Lincoln for a while, and we had so much fun talking about everything going on at the Ballpark.  In between our fun conversations, he told me 100 times that it was time to go.  Luckily, they played his favorites songs to cheer him up - Take Me Out to the Ballgame and Deep In the Heart of Texas.  He was happy to sing along.   

The guys in front of us shared their bag of peanuts a few times.  Beau was super excited (because he always is excited about food!) and wanted a peanut.  I took one out of the shell, and he wasn't so sure after he put it in his mouth.  We all laughed as he kind of sucked on it then managed to chew it up.  When the guys offered again a few minutes later, he tentatively accepted.  That one didn't last but a minute in his mouth, and when he began to chew it he immediately began spitting it out all over us.  Off to the bathroom to clean up, and what happened??  Of course that's when we scored our three runs!!  We totally missed the excitement! 

Even though Lincoln was sure we needed to leave so many times, we all had so much fun.  I don't think we have a family snapshot with all of us smiling, so this one is super special.  I can't believe we made it to the start of the 8th inning.  Lincoln was super chatty about all he saw on the way home, and Beau crashed out again while reading a book.  I'm counting this as one of my favorite family days.  We made it home in time to all get cleaned and have dinner.  Daddy and Lincoln watched a little Madagascar movie, and Beau sneaked chocolate Dove squares every chance he could get.  Bath and bedtime was welcomed by all, and two little boys went to sleep so happy.  I'm not sure we will make another family Rangers game outing this year because it's sure to be 100 degrees for the rest of the summer, but it was so much fun.  Oh, and we got special autographed bats as souvenirs for today.  Mommy is pretty worn out too, so off to bed we go.  What a great day!

School Fun and the Dentist

This has been a fun week at school, and the boys have really enjoyed themselves.  As I drove away one morning, I caught Beau and his girlfriends on the playground.  He was leading Allia and Sofia on a bike ride. He's definitely a ladies man!

Lincoln received the Superstar Student Award one day for excellence in school work.  His teacher was so proud that he got so many answers on his paper correct, and she didn't even need to help him.  Many of the older kids couldn't get the concept, but she was going on and on about Linc's interest in schoolwork.  He got the first three correct and was a little off on the last two, but he did this before she got to him at the table.  Seriously, his teacher was so proud that she called in the other Pre K teacher and Linc's old Pre School teacher to brag.  I told her that he loves to do workbooks at home, and she's going to give him extra sheets during down times and work with him individually since he likes it so much.  We love our teachers!!!

Lincoln had a dentist appointment on Friday morning, so Beau and I went along and played in the waiting room.  One of Linc's incentives/rewards for being good and calm during his visit was a balloon sword, and he was so nice to ask for an extra one for his little brother.  So sweet!!!  They really did a lot of sword fighting today . . . not the sweetest activity, but whatever!  After swimming lessons in the afternoon and a yummy dinner with Nana, Pops and Aunt Caroline, Daddy and Lincoln had a little sparring session of their own!  

Beau was busy reading in another room but quickly picked up on the sound of action, and he couldn't be left out.  Daddy surrendered his balloon sword, and we had another brother duel.  

Balloon swords are fun and all, but I fear that one or both will pop and meet an unfortunate end soon.  I guess we'll have to think of some super fun things to do this weekend should our swords fail.  Oh, and we have finally started summer in Texas - 100 yesterday and 101 today.  I think those super fun things will need to be indoors!  

What's for Dinner: Home Edition

Nutritious and Delicious!  That's my motto for eating healthy and yummy foods, and the boys are really good about eating both nutritious and delicious things.  I should give lots of background about the fact that Kevin and I were both super picky eaters as toddlers/kids, and that I am kinda crazy about what and how much my kids eat (and have been since I was nursing them even).  I know I have shed more tears when a child refused to eat (for whatever reason - teething, feeling bad, or just plain stubbornness) that one could believe.  I know I am really thankful that we get to spend mealtimes together enjoying wonderful dinners.  I know that in 100 years I will know every word to every single Charlie Brown movie because we watch it together while we eat and quote and giggle along with the gang.  (Save the lectures . . . we are spending family time together at the table and laughing and talking and singing with the movie.  No judging!!  Besides, kids eat way better when they don't want to get down to play.)  I thought I would record a few of our favorite dinners right now, although some of these have been our favorites for years.  I spent a bit of time feeling like a short order cook, and it was not enjoyable.  Cooking one dinner for Kevin and I, fixing something kid-like for Lincoln, and making something toddler-ized for Beau was too much.  I really tried hard to come up with things that we could all enjoy together.  Yes, I still make a kid-friendly version sometimes, but we all eat the same basic things.  So much easier!  We are pretty traditional: meat, plain veggie, fruit, sometimes a carb.  Here are the top 6, both parent version and kid version.

An old favorite - grilled chicken!  I am a master chicken griller, and it's usually on the menu once each week. Steamed broccoli is everyone's favorite veggie.  The parents got roasted red potatoes and the boys asked for sweet potato fries instead.  

Rotini with Meat Sauce is a favorite with all four of us.  The boys absolutely love it!  We used to make spaghetti, but it was hard for them to deal with.  Beau was happy to eat it with his fingers and became a spaghetti mess, and Lincoln tried his best to use his fork with little success.  When we switched to rotini, the dish was great with everyone!  I may never go back to spaghetti noodles!  Parents get a green salad, while kids get veggies, apple slices and a string cheese.  Super winner! 

I found a recipe on Pinterest for Chick-fil-A copycat nuggets that I had to try.  The chicken breast pieces were marinated in milk, eggs, and pickle juice, then dipped in flour and powdered sugar.  I lightly fried them in about an inch of oil, and they turned out great!  They probably wouldn't win in a taste test against Chick-fil-A, but they were the best nuggets I've ever made.  I'm throwing out the breadcrumbs and Panko crumbs because this one was way better.  Mommy had hers on a salad, and the boys had theirs with sweet potato fries and apple slices.   

One of our oldest staples is pork tenderloin.  It makes me laugh that Beau learned to say pork tenderloin before he learned to say many simple one-syllable words.  We all love it!!  Central Market has then with the best marinades, and it is so easy to just bake one for 35 minutes and add veggies.  Easy and yummy dinner that everyone loves.   Happy plates are always pork tenderloin nights!

Kevin and I are always trying to incorporate more fish into our diet, and he found a great recipe for salmon.  Fresh salmon fillets topped with salt, pepper, olive oil, and dill is wonderful when baked for 12 minutes.  We add Parmesan risotto and broccoli for a grown up meal.  The kids don't really like the salmon yet, so we bake them battered cod fillets and add veggies and fruit.  Still working on risotto with them.  It's too mushy I think.  This is one of the few nights that we eat different, but similar things. 

I'm always looking to incorporate a rotisserie chicken when we don't have a lot of time to prepare dinner.  It's so convenient to pick one up at Tom Tom after work.  I chopped one up and made chicken and cheese quesadillas one night last week, and it was definitely a hit!  Mommy added a green salad, and the boys requested steamed carrots and a banana.  Yummy and fun dinner! 

While I admit that I spend too much time worrying about what and how much they are eating, I love that they love to eat healthful foods.  We don't do many casseroles or saucy things because they like their foods plain, but I'm not complaining.  I'll try to take pictures the next time we make lasagna or meatloaf, but those are definitely more "winter" foods.  My efforts have been rewarded with two little boys who love to eat nutritious and delicious, and I am so proud of them.  Beau and Daddy's nightly ice cream snack, and Lincoln's cookie dessert is no big deal because I know that they got the right nutrition at dinner.  Dinner is always a work in progress, and I'm always thinking of new things that we can eat together as a family.  I'm always happy when we make happy plates and have fun at the table.  

Weekend Wrap-Up

No real plans for the weekend . . . lots of fun things to do!  We started out Saturday morning with haircuts for Lincoln and Beau.  Ms. Olivia is our main hair-cutter (stylist, I guess I should say even though we don't get styles!!), and Lincoln was happy to climb in her chair (taxi!).  We don't see Ms. Diana as often, but Beau enjoyed spending some time with her in the firetruck.  They both left with sharp haircuts and blue suckers.  

Next on our list was a visit to the playground.  Lincoln is obsessed with the elementary school he will be attending next year and always want to play there.  Nana was happy to play with us too, and we had so much fun.  We did lots of climbing, sliding, monkey bar-ing and laughing.  Beau discovered a spot under one of the slides that was like an order stand.  He loves the little desk under our playhouse at home and takes orders for us (his customers).  He set up a Whataburger and made lots of yummy pretend food for us.  He even got busy "typing" on the plastic keyboard and "swiping" our fake cards.  If Whataburger is in need of a new checker, he's got it down!   

Sunday morning was filled with church, a grocery store trip and yummy lunch and playing at home.  After a rest/nap, the boys were thrilled to go swimming.  They love to swim and play in the water.  We took floaties, motorboats, balls, goggles, rings, and snacks and spent the afternoon having fun.  I know they look crazy geared up in the photo, but we took breaks from the safety devices to practice our swimming lessons techniques.  They both did plenty of "Ms. Karen" swims to me, and they were really impressive.  They charmed Miss Abby, the lifeguard today, and sang her lots of songs and did lots of silly splashing with her.  I'm so proud of their comfort level in the water and their swimming skills improving each week.   

After dinner we tried our new push up popsicles with much success!!  I mean, it was a complete mess but they loved it.  After some fun with blocks and homework cards, the boys had a little time with Mommy's phone.  Lincoln loves to play Candy Crush, and Beau wanted to watch.  They looked so sweet together when I took this picture . . .  

Moments later I walked back in the room to find them slapping each other in the face!  I understand from our conversations after the fight that Beau had decided he wanted in on the Candy Crush action, but Lincoln told him it wasn't for 2 year olds.  Beau doesn't really think that he's 2, and he hates to not be able to do things that Lincoln is doing . . . instant fight!!!  I instructed them to apologize to one another, and they did.  I then instructed Lincoln to give Beau a hug to end the dispute, and he did.  Linc also not so nicely told Beau during the hug, "But I am still going to be mad at you for the rest of your life!"  Whatever!  They were giggling and being silly friends within 10 minutes.  We had a great weekend, and now it's back to the grind.  There are so many fun things planned at school this week so I know they will have fun.  The Fun Bus visiting, a cowboy costume day and a tour of a firetruck are the highlights.  Bring on the week!!!

Pajama Day and Bedtime Books

It was Pajama Day at school, and these two guys have been waiting all week to wear their pjs to school!  I mean, this is serious business!  Lincoln has changed his mind 17 times about which pair he would wear, and he even instructed me on which pair should go in his backpack in case he wanted to change.  Crazy!!  Perhaps it's because Linc's pjs are just so cute . . . thanks again, Auntie!  The latest pair she sent has become his newest favorite pair, so he had to wear the Big Bird/Cookie Monster pjs today.  Beau isn't wearing shirt/shorts pjs yet, but I got out an old pair of Linc's from last summer for him today.  They looked super cute and loved posing for a picture before school.  

More than super cute pjs, I love that bedtime means I get to snuggle with them and read books.  I hope they don't get too old for bedtime book any time soon!  Beau wears lightweight one piece pjs after Auntie cuts the feet off because he's still blanket-less in his crib tent.  He loves his new footless pjs and always tells the friends in his bed about the firetruck or dinosaur on his pjs.  According to him, his friends (Elmo, Ernie, Bobster, Grover, Bear, Giraffe, Melman, and Lego Emmitt and Lego Gracie) get scared when he roars like a dinosaur in there.  Beau is back to a Goodnight Moon book phase.  We were on a Curious George book phase for a while, but we are back to Goodnight Moon.  He knows the words and reads it to me while I rock him.  As soon as the story is over, he turns off the lamp and calls for Lincoln and Daddy to come give him a hug and kiss.  He tells me to sing Amazing Grace then happily gets zipped up in his crib tent to hang (or scare) his friends for the night.  I love that he still wants me to read and sing to him at this age.  One last sweet hug before bed is the best! 

Lincoln is always ready for a story at bedtime too.  He definitely picks longer books than Beau, and he keeps a few (or a dozen) books in his bed to read with a flashlight after I turn out the light.  I still love my time with Lincoln while we quietly read.  His favorites this week are Robin Hood and Dumbo (thanks to the Hoggs because we haven't returned a few of Jason's old books)!  

I'm sure one day they will not be interested in Mommy reading books before bed, so I'm soaking this up!  After a busy day at school and fun evening of playing at home, we all love the bedtime routine.  Snuggling up to two clean and happy boys to share a story is the best part of the day!

Saturday Picnic and Father's Day

After so much fun at the museum on Friday, we continued our weekend with plenty of activities.  Saturday began with fairly nice temperatures, so we had a picnic in the backyard.  The boys think that is super special, and they enjoyed their sandwiches, pretzels and fruit salad.  We did lots of singing as we ate.  Each time it was Beau's turn to sing, he chose Baa Baa Black Sheep.  Lincoln and I got a little tired of hearing the original version, so we made up our own!  I made up Baa Baa Chick-fil-A Have You Any Nuggets, and they were crying with laughter!  (Chick-fil-A is usually a once per week treat, and they love it!!)  Lincoln made up Baa Baa Beau-Bee Have You Any Beaus, and Beau couldn't help but laugh at that one.  He tried to make up his own version about Lincoln but couldn't stray far from his favorite lyrics.  The crew working in our neighbor's backyard surely got an earful.  We played on the backyard playground, watered our flowers, and picked up sticks and leaves for a long time before heading in to cool down and rest.  

Daddy got to pick his Father's Day brunch place, and we were all happy to eat at Deli News.  It's been forever since we've been there.  The boys loved their pancakes and bacon, and Beau might have demanded ketchup to dip his bacon in . . . yummy or yucky?  He gave several sweet smiles though.  Lincoln was still in the singing mood and serenaded us and the tables around us with Take Me Out to the Ballgame, the official Father's Day song if you ask him.  When he was finished we all clapped of course, but so did the people at our neighboring tables.  

After a nap/rest, we met Nana and Pops at their temporary home for a little swimming.  (They are living in an apartment for 3 months while they are closing on a new house and getting a few upgrades.)  The apartment has a nice pool that the boys wanted to check out.  So excited to swim!!  I love Lincoln's cheese and Beau's adoring look at his big brother.  They were so happy to say Happy Father's Day to Pops!

What fun they had in the water!   We took our floaties and motorboats and lots of toys, but Beau had the most fun in the baby pool just splashing around.  He was so silly and kept us laughing! 

Lincoln was a monster swimmer and gave Pops a real workout!  He went back and forth between floatie, motorboat and free swimming, and he chased balls and boats and random people all over the pool.  Beau was happy in his motorboat too but took several breaks for snacking and splashing the baby pool again.   

We went to Shady's for burgers and fries after swimming, and it was yummy!  The boys were really confused that their mini burgers came with a cookie and our grown up burgers didn't.  It's like they were sad for us!  We had a fun Father's Day, and we all chatted with Bubbles long distance to say Happy Father's Day too.  He has a lot going on right now, as they finalize the move from Newport to Malvern.  We are lucky to have so many great fathers in our lives.  Kevin and I wouldn't be the people we are today without such amazing dads, and I know my boys think their dad is pretty great, too.  Well, depending on what day you ask them . . . isn't that how kids are though?  Daddy is the best, until he isn't!  He did get lots of hugs and kisses today and even a few cards and silly gifts.  Maybe we should have Mother's Day and Father's Day more than once a year so kids are required to be nice for the day!  I think we're pretty lucky that we have lots of love around here every day!

Lincoln Trip to the Museum

Lincoln and Mommy took a special field trip on Friday to the new Perot Museum of Nature and Science.  It is such an amazing place in our city that we were so excited to visit.  We got there before our assigned time to enter and had a yummy lunch in the cool cafe.  The building itself is like an exhibit with all the walls and ceilings displaying fun facts or interactive tools, and there was so much to take in.  The escalator hanging outside of the building was a little frightening to Mommy!  We couldn't wait to start exploring.

Our first stop was the Moody Children's Museum, and Lincoln loved it!  He immediately ran to the cityscape playground.  Climbing and sliding and crawling through the tunnel was fun at first, then he and the other kids began to create a little assembly line with the blocks.  Linc grabbed the blocks from the floor bin and ran the over to the conveyor belt, the little girl in pink turned the wheel so the belt moved the blocks up the ramp, the boy in the vest took the blocks and carried them to the next conveyor belt, another boy turned the wheel to move them up to another waiting boy who handed them off to a girl to push them down the chute back to Lincoln.  They all took their jobs very seriously and worked hard for so long.  Lincoln told me later that he was proud that he and his friends worked together!  He spent a lot of time in the food market and had fun helping unload the produce from the truck into the proper bins.  He then loved creating a grocery list and shopping for his favorite fruits and veggies.  Of course he loved to pick apples and oranges and bananas, but in a pretend world he also loves tomatoes and onions!  We had to take a picture driving the truck too!

We rode the (scary) escalator up to the top floor to see the dinosaur exhibit next.  In the Curious George story about visiting the museum, he spends a lot of time in the dinosaur exhibit.  Lincoln was especially excited to see the dinosaurs like Curious George.  He enjoyed looking at the giant skeletons, but he wasn't all that interested in the details.  We went through that one pretty quickly, but it was really neat.  The picture shows that the museum wasn't that crowded at the time we were there - nice!

Lincoln didn't get captivated in the solar system area, weather area, or Texas area, but maybe they were a little over his head this time.  Once we got to the Human Body exhibit, he got involved again.  We looked at human skeletons and different parts of the body, and he made his muscles (with a crazy weird face) next to a model of the muscular system.  We also tried out the body heat sensor and found this cool wall of wood blocks that made your "shadow" impression as you walked by.  Such neat stuff!

The Engineering floor was next and super fun!  Lincoln learned about air pressure using paper balls in a closed chamber with blowing air.  When the air pressure changed, the balls he released bounced around differently.  We spent a lot of time at the build-your-own creation station, and Lincoln loved that we built obstacle courses and watched the ball traverse through the course.  Sometimes it was successful, and sometimes we had to reevaluate our design and try again.  We spent a lot of time there!  A remote controlled car was fun to drive, and we even found a set of drums to play!  I'm no musical expert, but Lincoln carried a beat with his drumsticks.  I noticed that he repeated right-left-right-left-right-left-cymbal over and over, and he was loving his little beat.  

We ended the trip with a visit to the Sports Hall, and Lincoln had a real (yet virtual) race with a dinosaur and checked out lots of sports interactive games.  Oh, we stopped by the gift shop before leaving and made a few purchases.  Linc picked a "grabber" for himself (like a mechanical arm to pick up stuff) so he could pick up stuff to recycle (his words, not mine), and he chose a ball for Beau that changes colors when you throw it.  After over 3 hours, we had to head home for an afternoon rest.  We had so much fun at the museum, and we can't wait to go back.  We still have to check out the outdoor gardens and forest and see the 3D movie.  I'm glad we had such a fun Mommy and Lincoln field trip, and I think Beau is just a little too young to take in the whole museum.  Lincoln agreed and said that Beau can come when he is 4.  I know that we got to experience each activity more thoroughly than if we were keeping up with a 2 year old.  A full Beau update is coming soon!!!

New Game - Dominoes

Lincoln and I had a little alone time while Daddy took Beau along on an errand, so I introduced him to dominoes.  He loved the new game!  He loves counting, matching, and thinking games of all kinds.  I know there are several ways to play dominoes, and we went with the easiest kid-friendly version.  Counting the ending tiles in multiples of 5 seemed like a lot to ask of a 4 year old, so we just split them in half and took turns adding dominoes by matching the numbers.  Occasionally we are also concerned with making them line up in a funny shape - creative!!  We've played it several times over the last couple of days, and Beau is interested in this new big boy game too.  Smart little Beau can match the ones and the twos already! I can imagines some serious hours of dominoes between these two one day, and I just hope they'll let the parents play!  

Movie Date!!!

At the ripe old age of four, Lincoln has been to the movies a few times.  Mommy and Linc saw Cars 2 and The Smurfs, and Linc went to see Happy Feet with Nana and Pops.  None of that has been very recent though.  We've been doing things that Beau can participate in, and he doesn't seem like the type of 2 year old who would sit calmly and quietly in the movie theater for 90 minutes.  Hmmm . . . perhaps a big bag of popcorn would keep him busy!  Anyway, I got a text from the Mommy of Linc's best two girls at school (Lindsey and Erin of course!) on Saturday saying they were taking the girls to see Escape to Planet Earth on Sunday afternoon and "wanted to see if Lincoln could come along."  

Lincoln's thoughts:  How fun, right?  Sweet friends and a new movie!  Can I have popcorn?

Mommy's thoughts:  Do I drop him off and leave him?  What, that's crazy? Surely they don't plan for me to drop him off?  They don't have an extra car seat, so they can't bring him home!  Seriously, I can't just drop him off!  I'm going to respond "Linc and I would love to meet you at the movie!"  That way they know I'm coming whether they thought I would or not.  Although, if I had to drop him off with anyone, they are probably the parents I would choose.  They are super responsible, and their girls are so sweet and well-behaved.  Maybe Linc could learn something from them.  I think I'm over-thinking this right now!  But seriously, I might drop him off at the movie when he's 14, not when he's 4!  So we're both going to see Escape from Planet Earth.  

Daddy's thoughts (after I read Christine's text invitation and gave my explanation for accompanying him):  Dude!  You're crashing his first date!  It'll be fine.  Just drop him off!

We got all ready for our big date after lunch, and Linc was so excited.  He had been asking every 10 minutes when it was time to go.  He ate lunch in record time so we could leave.  

The kids were so good during the movie.  They all had popcorn and munched away happily!  The main movies we watch right now at home are Charlie Brown, Curious George and Cars, and none of them have a "bad guy".  There was definitely a "bad guy" in Escape to Planet Earth, and he scared Lincoln a few times.  Each time I pointed out that other people were laughing so it must not be scary, and Lincoln calmed down.  He did enjoy the silly aliens and the food fight especially!  He and Lindsey posed after the movie for a picture, but Erin was suddenly feeling shy! 

It was a real treat to be invited to the movie by such sweet friends.  We can't wait to go again, but Lincoln asked if he could pick the movie next time.  When asked if he had fun, he says yes!  When asked if he liked the movie, he says no!  I'm going to need to check the new movies coming out to find one that is "bad guy" free!  Christine told me this morning at school that they asked the girls after the movie why they liked Lincoln so much.  Lindsey responded that she loves Lincoln and wants to marry him.  She told them that he will be the king, and she will be a princess with a dress and carry the flowers so they can live happily ever after.  Sweetest thing ever!!  On second thought, it might be ok to take Beau to a movie.  He would probably be thrilled to shovel popcorn in his mouth for 90 minutes!  

Playing Outside!

Two cuties had so much fun playing outside on a warm and breezy Saturday.  We went on a long bike ride and nature walk in the morning.  We played I Spy and found tons of fun things in our neighborhood.  We spied a fire hydrant, a sprinkler, a mail truck, a baby swing, flowers of every color, a garbage truck, a door wreath, many different colored cars, and anything else we could see and point out.  So much fun!  After lunch and a nap, we played in the backyard.  We tended to the potted plants, picked up sticks and leaves, did lots of climbing and sliding, and cleaned the swingset/playhouse from top to bottom with water guns and paper towels.  These two have no idea that guns are violent . . . they think water guns are the ultimate cleaning tool and love a roll of paper towels to scrub the dirt away.  We may have the cleanest backyard in town!

Super Hero Patrol!

The weather was pretty nice on Saturday evening . . . perfect for bike ride!  We made it a little over a block from the house when we saw 6 kids walking toward us with costumes and instruments (maracas, tambourines, etc) with 2 parents.  The Dad looked pretty sheepish when we met in the street, apologized for their parade, and gave the excuse that they had run out of things to do in the house!  Hey, no judging here!  We often either wear super hero costumes or play marching band with our instruments, so my kids thought they were just having regular fun.  Lincoln demanded that we return home to put on our costumes and join their parade.  Well, why not?  

After changing in to Batman and Robberman (Robin just wasn't catchy enough, so they changed it), we hit the streets again.  We never found the parading kids, and we forgot our instruments in the excitement of the costumes . . .  but we had fun!!!  I'm sure the neighbors looking from their windows thought we were crazy, but that's probably nothing new.  Many of them have kids in the elementary/middle school range, so they were probably smiling and remembering the times they were involved in similar situations.  If these two super guys keep a close watch, we'll have the safest street in town!

Saturday Afternoon Bowling

There wasn't much on our schedule for Saturday, so we decided to give bowling a try.  Lincoln and Beau were so excited because they read about Curious George going bowling and having so much fun.  Off to Bowl and Barrel at Park Lane we went for some afternoon fun.  We all put on our bowling shoes (except Beau - they didn't have shoes that small) and got ready to bowl!  

Daddy was a little rusty for the first few frames.  He hasn't bowled in several years, and he hated his first few gutter balls.  The boys cheered him on anyway!  Mommy has a yearly Bowl for the Cure event in the spring, so a spare and a strike came quickly.  (Don't worry - Mommy faded quickly!) 

Of course we had the gutter protectors up when Linc and Beau had their turn to bowl, and we let them push the ball down the kiddie ramp.  They were guaranteed to knock lots of pins down, and they were quickly beating Mommy and Daddy! 

Lincoln had so much fun cheering for everyone!  He was a bundle of energy.  Beau was mostly concerned about when it would be his turn again.  Daddy constantly reminded Beau that everyone got a turn and made him tell the order of our turns.  He stayed busy with pretzels and lemonade until his turn came.   

After half a game, Lincoln decided he didn't want the kiddie ramp.  He wanted to bowl like Mommy and Daddy!  The extra small ball was still 7 pounds, and it seemed heavy for a 4 year old.  Linc didn't notice the heaviness, and he took off at a run and granny-style heaved the ball down the lane. 

We haven't laughed this hard in a while, but watching Lincoln bowl was hilarious!  He watched the pins fall down really seriously, then he danced to the music waiting on his next turn.   He has some crazy dance moves!

A little hugging celebration erupted after Daddy made a strike!  Daddy got his groove back and bowled only strikes and spared on our second game.  The rest of us began to get tired arms!

Family picture!  We had so much fun at the bowling alley, and Lincoln is considering having his next birthday party there.  Sounds like fun! 

After our two games, we had burgers and hot dogs in the restaurant.  So yummy!  Everyone had a great time at the bowling alley, and we can't wait to go back.  When it is 100 degrees all summer, we can split our time between the pool and the bowling alley.  Either way, we are guaranteed two tired little guys.