Reading

So, Will has been working really hard at this reading thing. He has a couple of small first readers he has already read. Today his teacher sent home a book with a note that said 'your child is ready to read books. We will be sending home books he needs to practice reading every night.' Well, he was so excited. His first books is 'Pat's Jam'. He wanted to read it 3 times. It is so neat when they are able to read by themselves. He is so very proud!!! Ben wanted to hear the story so I said that I would read it. Will said, 'No, I will read it to him.' So sweet to see them sitting together reading a book! I am just so very proud!!!

Kindergarten Skip Day

Will on the Magic Carpet

This morning, the boys woke up, as usual. And started the day. At breakfast, Ron came in dressed in jeans. The boys asked 'Are you going to work today, daddy?'. He answered 'No, I'm going tubing in the mountains'. The boys looked quizzically at us. Will said 'Aww man, I have school'. So I asked him if he would like to skip school and go with daddy. Boy, were they excited!! They couldn't believe they were getting to have a special day tubing with daddy! So, we got them all ready and the boys all headed out around 9am. Kate and I had a fun girls day planned (breakfast with some friends then cleaning WHOO HOO!). It takes about 2.5 hours to get up to Hawksnest in Boone, NC. They were planning on doing 2- 2 hour tubing sessions. On the way up, they stopped at McD's for lunch. They even got french fries with their happy meals! Crazy!! So they get up to Hawksnest, pay for the tickets and get going. Will was the first to go down. He hopped right in and just took off! Ben rode with Ron for the first two runs just to make sure he was okay with it all. Boy, was he. He took right to it as well and was on his own after that. They tube the first session for about 1.5 hours then took a break. Skittles- the snack of champions. Then off for the second sessions. There two slopes (each has several lanes). One was 100 yards and the other set was about 300 yards. We have some video that is just great- if I can post some of it I will later. The boys had a great time and all they said was 'This is FUN!!' After all the fun they headed back to Charlotte about 4 pm. Ben was wiped out and fell asleep in the car. When they got home- Kate was thrilled to see them. The boys were so cute talking about all the fun they had. What a great day to spend with their daddy!!!

Funny note, on Thursday morning, Will told a just woken Ben 'Hey, Benny, we are going tubing again today'. The look on Ben's face- man, he just wasn't sure if Will was telling the truth or not!

They had such a great time that they are constantly asking if they can go again.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!!

More Snow Tubing Pictures

Our New Artist in Residence

As much as the boys like to color, it was bound to happen- Kate LOVES to color! She has been sneaking in to get the markers and crayons. Today, I finally let her do some coloring, and, if I do say so myself, she is pretty good! She was so proud of herself and tried the markers and the crayons! I think we have a budding artist in our midsts!!

Ben's Playdate

Ben does not get as many playdates scheduled because Kate's nap time seems to get in the way! This week, we had our little friend Addie over to play. She used to live in the neighborhood and she and Bennie (that is what she calls him- so cute!) just loved each other! Addie came over before lunch and stayed through the afternoon. Ben and Addie had such a great time together! They are so sweet together and just played and played! Addie came down dressed in the dinosaur costume with a scarf and a pink purse! It was so cute!! We so miss having her nearby to play with!!!

Boys Doing Dishes

Okay, so I know that I have already told you how Will did the dishes for me last week. He is still doing them whenever I allow it, which is more than you would think! One night, I came in the kitchen to see both boys cleaning away. Ben was mostly watching, but, hey, I will take what I can get!

Will's Book About Growing

Will has really gotten into drawing and doing art projects. He found a cardboard insert the other day and said 'Look, Mom, this looks just like a book'. He then sat down and got to work. The cover says 'A Book Abat Grooen'. He drew all different things on the inside that grew- a carrot, a vine, a flower, a tree and his family! On the 'spine' of the book, he put his initials! It is so sweet! Just wanted to share this with you!!

Will's Big Suprise for Mommy

Last night, after a dinner with no complaints (that was a first, I think) I took Ben and Kate upstairs for a bath. Ben loves to take baths with Kate! When we were done, Will came marching up the stairs and said "Mommy, I cleared the table and washed all the dishes!" He was very proud of himself. I said "Oh thank you, did you put them all in the dishwasher?" He said "No, I washed them with the soap and put them in the drying thingy" then added, "And I was really careful when I washed the knives!". (Those knives being the SHARP knives!!) When I went downstairs, all the kids dishes had been washed (they were the real dishes at that!) and cups and silverwear! What a sweet boy! Now if I could just get his father to do the dishes (HAHA!)!!

New Life to an Old Chair

I just finished the chair for Kate's room. This is an antique wicker chair that was in the guest room of my Grandparents home. My parents brought it up for Kate and I have just finshed it. We painted it a couple of weeks ago and I recovered the seat. I think it turned out pretty well. I think it is going to look great in her room!!

Will's Masterpiece

Just wanted to share a picture Will drew a couple of weeks ago. Meant to do it the day he drew it, but time just got away from me... He has really gotten good at drawing and just loves to show off his pictures!

The Little Chef

Ben loves lasagna! He asks for it all the time. So, on this one particular day, we decided to make it together. I just thought he looked so cute peeling the carrots!! Of course, he had no idea just how long it takes to make lasagna! He peeled all the carrots- pretty good, too! I only had to do a quick run over each. Maybe, we have a future Top Chef in our midst!

Just Another Day...

So, after the circus, I thought I had better let Will sleep in on Thursday and just take him to school late. Instead, he stayed home the whole day and I took him and Kate to the doctors. Will had been coughing for a few days and woke up Thursday morning with a pretty bad cough. Kate was up on and off most of the night. I finally got her to sleep on me. Which meant that I got NO sleep!! Ben did not have school- teacher conference (which went really well- what a smartypants!!)- so off we all went at 9:30 to a conference at Wee School! After that, we all went to the doctor's office where Will was given a prescription and Kate went into hysterics as soon as she saw the nurse. It was classic! We walked through the door, Kate passed Ms. Ginger, looked up at her, stopped and let out a scream followed by some serious crying! Such a drama queen. The crying went on for the lion share of the appointment! But, to no avail, the doctor wante to wait and see how she did Thursday night. Of course, she screamed for a good solid hour and a half. And, finally, at 10 PM, she fell asleep- for 1 whole hour! Then, she spent the rest of the night in bed with me waking up every hour or so. She would cry, then climb on me and fall right back to sleep. Needless to say, the doctor ordered a prescription Friday morning. All is well now. Kate is back to her old self. Will still has a little cough but is feeling better. Hopefully this is the last of the illnesses for the season!!!

The Circus!!

We took the boys to the circus on Wednesday night. It was so much fun! I had a sitter for Kate. The boys and I took the train uptown to meet Ron for dinner. On the train, Will asked if we could go see 'Daddy's office'. So, we headed up to see where he works. THe boys just loved it!! We went out to dinner then walked over to the arena for the big show! It was so much fun! The boys loved the clowns, the tigers and motorcycles. We were out until almost 11- the boys were EXHAUSTED!!! Can't wait to go again!!