Hinckley News

Ryan and Carter stayed at my Mom and Dad's while Evan and I were in San Antonio, Texas.  The boys were playing at Lion's Park in Hinckley when a photographer from the Hinckley News came by to snap some photos of the unseasonably warm temperatures that brought kids to the playground in early March.  The boys were featured in both the March 15 and March 22 editions of the Hinckley news! :)

And he's off!

It seems like once it 'clicks' with kids on how to ride a bike, there's no stopping them!  The same held true with Carter this weekend.  On Friday, he strugged to pedal a bike, never having learned to ride one with training wheels, much less without.  I thought it was a pipe dream to get him riding a bike by the end of the weekend.  Never underestimate a kid on a mission!  He even learned to start and stop on his own by the end of the day today.  I am one proud mama! :)

It was so fun to see him sooo proud of himself! :)

Not to be left out, Ryan wanted me to take a picture of him with his bike!!!!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

The weather here has been unseasonably warm for over a week.  We have eaten all of our meals on the patio for the last couple of days.  Unbelievable!

Today we had green floats for Saint Patty's Day and enjoyed a game of baseball in the backyard!

Ryan had his shirt off all day - biking, blading, and playing ball.  80 and sunny - on Saint Patrick's Day.  We even have our air conditioning on in the house.  Somebody pinch me!!!!! :)

Look who learned to ride bike today!

Carter would have been content to ride in the jog stroller or on the back of my bike forever.  Since I was the one pushing or pulling him (all 52 pounds of him), I wasn't content, and I knew I had to motivate him a little bit.  A promise to give him one birthday present early (a small Real Steel figurine) was all it took to get him interested in learning to ride.  We worked on it a little last night and again this morning.  By tonight, here is what I saw:

He was so excited to open his toy, he could hardly stand to wait while I opened the package! :)

And here is Zeus, in all his glory!

I am so proud of him.  He worked hard and he did it!  Way to go, buddy!!!! 

Jewelry

I had to push myself a bit to get motivated to work on jewelry since it was 80* and sunny outside.  Thankfully I only had a few orders and knew I could get them done relatively quickly.  I always enjoy making jewelry, but getting started when the weather is beautiful is a little harder! :)

Minnesota Children's Museum

Today the boys and I ventured to the Minnesota Children's Museum, it was their last day of spring break.  I was prepared for record breaking crowds, and was pleasantly surprised to find it much less crowded than normal.  There was no waiting for each area and the kids went from one display to the next easily.  Grossology was the main display right now - right up the boys' alley - learning about snot, burps, and other bodily functions.  They were completely engrossed and had a great time.  I keep wondering when Ryan will out grow the Museum, but he still had a great time today, and in fact, was the one begging to stay longer!

We were going for a pirate look with the face painting, but we couldn't color in their eyes (rules at the face painting kiosk), so they ended up looking more like Bullseye, the Target dog! :)

Bus Driver Ryan:

Bus Driver Carter:

I haven't seen the boys giggle this hard in a long time - they loved performing and seeing themselves on TV:

Carter loved the bubbles!

Ryan peeking out through the animal display:



Graduation

Carter officially graduated from the "Littles" to the "Middles" for swimming lessons.  Littles are designed for ages 3-5 and Middles for 5-8.  He finished his Little Fours class today and was promoted to Middle Threes.  I am so proud of him.  He got a slow start because he was afraid of the water, but now he is going gangbusters.  He loves the water and is under it as much as he is on top of it! :)

"Painting the ceiling" doing his backstroke (caught him mid-stroke):

Teacher Natalie and Carter laughing after his first ring dive:

He was literally doing almost a handstand on his second ring dive:

He got all 3 that time!  Great job, buddy!

He had just done his "chop, chop, timber" (cannonball) but my pictures were so blurry of the actual jump (bummer!):