After years of the boys asking and trying shortcuts, we decided this was the year that we would try a real garden. We decided to start really small, but we have a lot of variety and hopefully we will get a nice mix of fresh vegetables this summer. It was a lot of work, but fun and we had a couple of great helpers to work with us. (Can’t really explain the underwear hat though…Cooper claims that it was to keep the sun out of his face, LOL)
Today started with Cooper’s first visit to the fire station for a tour and refresher course on fire safety, but that was only the beginning of the day’s fun. Cooper’s 5th birthday is next Monday so we decided to have a small family celebration with the Morrisons tonight. Cooper picked Red Lobster for his birthday dinner (that’s my boy!), since he loves shrimp, but mostly because he loves seeing all of the lobsters in the tank. After a delicious dinner, everyone came back to our house for cake and games. Joshua and Dylan gave Cooper a video game for his new DSi, which Cooper and Noah both got earlier this month for their birthday present from us this year.
Just look at that face…that’s a happy guy!
Cooper spent his time in quiet time this afternoon and then when Dwight got home, he started cleaning up so that he could come out. Time passed and still no Cooper, but we just thought he had a lot to clean up so maybe it was taking longer than usual. More time passed and we went to check on him only to find him asleep in the floor, wrapped up in his bedtime blanket. I couldn’t even tell you the last time this happened. At least a year…probably closer to two. He had to have been extremely tired to end up falling asleep.
Every Wednesday night we need our Lost fix. We never –ever- miss an episode. It is the story of a group of people who survive the crash of Oceanic 815 and end up on a mysterious island with a group of “Others”. The electromagnetic island has healing powers, a past filled with a group of scientists called the Dharma Initiative, and a smoke-monster…and that is only the tip of the iceberg. There is really nothing I can say now that will explain this show and the incredible obsession it has become for us. This is the next-to-last season and things are very crazy, as usual, but in only a year it should (hopefully) all make sense.
Today Noah had a homeschool class at Zoo Atlanta so Cooper and I walked around the whole zoo during his class and then made another lap around with Noah after the class was over. The favorite animals were the leopard, the alligator, and the new parakeet adventure. It was a beautiful day…not too hot or cold, so spending four hours walking the zoo wasn’t too bad. The ride home, however, in 5 o’clock traffic through a large area with no working traffic lights and downed trees after yesterday’s storms was misery!
This is Dad’s little corner of the world…at his desk in the sunroom. He works there when he works at home, he surfs the internet there, and he enjoys his favorite hobby there…Madden Football on the Xbox. He has a couple of leagues that he runs and online league friends that he plays football with every evening. It is his little place to get away for a while, even though it usually ends up that the boys are right in there with him doing something there in the sunroom. It is a time where everyone may be doing their own things, but we are all together .
We had a great Easter. After the kids went through their Easter baskets and had an egg hunt around the front yard, we posed for our second family photo of 2009.
Tonight the boys and I dyed eggs and decorated some of them with Star Wars gear. We also made homemade salt dough to make Easter cut-outs that we baked to use to make magnets. The colors turned out really cool…actually a kind of tie-dyed look.
Cooper is so proud of his Resurrection Eggs. They are plastic eggs that are filled with items to symbolize different parts of the Easter story. As he opens the eggs he is reminded of the next part of the story. He has told the story over and over since he brought them home (not just to us, but even to the cats) and even slept with them last night.
Noah and I went to the park to walk again today and we made good use of the outdoor gym equipment. It is really nice to get out and walk together and it is a great way to start our day.
Today was Cooper’s school Easter egg hunt at a local park. The weather is crazy again, so as we were getting ready I saw that it was 29 degrees! Fortunately, by the time we got to the park and it was time to get out of the car it was inching closer to 40 degrees…still not the most “Eastery” weather, but much more bearable.
We had a great time looking for Cooper’s eggs. He was number 13 and he had to run all over the field looking for eggs that had his number on them. It took about 30 minutes for everyone to find all of their eggs and about 30 seconds to start tearing into them to get the candy. When the hunt was over we were able to go home for the day, so Cooper had a little mid-week vacation from class.
The baby birds are so cute now. Whenever they hear us they think it is their mama and their little beaks open wide. We had to move the ladder up against the wreath this week because we have had some really high wind gusts and the wreath was really starting to move a lot. We were really worried that the wind would send them falling to the ground, but thankfully the ladder is holding the wreath still and the mama bird is not upset that we put it there.
Side note—I didn’t get a picture because we were in the car going to pick Cooper up from school, but it SNOWED a little today! It started as sleet, but switched to snow and came down for about 20 minutes. How crazy…snow in April!
Today Noah’s art lesson was about tapestry weaving and we made our own loom and then he did some weaving. He actually really enjoyed this and asked to do it again later that night.
I actually took this noisy, low-quality photo of us last night with my webcam, but since it is within the last 24 hours (and considering that it is so rare that we are both in a photo) I decided to use it anyway for my photo today.
We’re a lot older and a lot more tired than we were 20 years ago, but we’re still “us” and that is the best part about being together now.
Spring Break, Day 8
Today we spent the afternoon playing miniature golf. We played 36 holes and everyone got at least one hole-in-one (Noah got 3!). It was the first time that Cooper had ever played, so he had a great time and it was fun seeing him get so excited when he would do well.
Spring Break, Day 7
Today was the first day that the weather seemed right for flying the kites. We drove to the park and the wind was blowing like crazy. Dwight had to construct the new kites that we had picked up last summer and he didn’t realize that the first kite was missing a couple of pieces so it took forever. Finally he started working on the other kite and that’s when he figured out that the first kite wasn’t complete.
The boys played at the playground and ran around in the field while he worked on the kites and finally they were ready. They were really pretty and it was fun, but unfortunately the wind was starting to die down some and about 30 or 45 minutes later, we had to call it a day as the wind was all but gone.
Even though it was a short time, it was great being out enjoying the windy weather. Maybe we’ll do better next time.
Spring Break, Day 6
Today was Dad’s 40th birthday. We had a seafood “feast” of fried catfish, sautéed shrimp, boiled Jonah crab claws , and garlic cheese grits. It was capped off with his requested cake, lemon bundt with lemon glaze. It was a quiet family evening, and having the week off has made the whole week a celebration.
We love you, Dwight! There is no one I would rather have beside me as we start this next decade. :)
Spring Break, Day 5
Today we went to the movies to see Monsters Vs. Aliens. It was a 3D movie, so we got to wear the cool 3D glasses. Cooper just looks so hilariously cute with those huge glasses on…kind of like Mr. Magoo, I think.
Spring Break, Day 4
The baby birds are starting to hatch. As of today there are two babies and two eggs left. We are really enjoying watching them, but we have to be really careful coming in and out of the front door. The mama bird is more concerned about us now that they are hatching and we don’t want her to get hurt trying to avoid us or to think that we want to hurt the babies.
