Start Over Saturday

You know those days where you just want to start over? Saturday was one of those. I woke up with a headache, the boys were cranky and I didn't take the hint. I had finally identified a couple of free hours to go play with my camera and I was determined to make it happen.



I won't do that again...



Yup, that pretty much describes the day from start to finish. Horrendous.



I'm going to post some of the pictures I took and while they don't look too bad, trust me... it was one somewhat decent picture for every 30 of the first.

I thought Ryan's overalls were cute especially since he loves them so much. But, then a passerby commented that he was dressed like Mario. Grr. It was a bad day.

Dan tried to save the day by jumping in a picture himself.

But, even Daddy magic wasn't working on Ry.

Picture perfect!

This was not the best spot for a family picture due to the lighting, but the boys were very excited about the big egg in the background so we made it work.

Maybe growing my hair out is not such a good idea... I look like a mushroom!

This one cracks me up. Yes, he's humoring me. I love him for trying.

I did discover that photoshop allows me to virtually pick a nose!! Very cool.

Oh well, I tried. I think my best pictures are going to be impromptu and candid. That is ok.

Owen

There is an over-abundance of cute in this post. You have been warned.

As I sit here watching it snow, it is very hard to believe that less than two weeks ago it was over 80 degrees for 3 days in a row and high 70s for 3 days before that!! On the tail end of that beautiful weather we got a visit from Owen...

We knew the weather was changing so we got out the bounce house and had a ball.

Is there such a thing as too cute?

He's watching a ball here. I loved this picture until I realized that his left hand is cut off and that is straight from the camera so I can't fix it. Now it is all that I see.

We squeezed every bit of fun out of Friday night and woke up to rain Saturday morning. It was perfect weather for our favorite museum... the Museum of Play!!

Ryan fell in love with the crooked room this time. I discovered that it now makes me sick.

It is not the camera that is crooked... the whole room is on a slant. Add the stripes on the wall and squares on the floor and you have a mess on your hands. But, Ryan thought it was awesome... over and over again!

In all of our visits to this museum we've never gone to one of their shows in the theater. So, we rectified that by watching Bubble Mania. Cool stuff!

Owen enjoyed the seats in the theater... they flipped up! He's holding on to the back of a seat in this pic.

Owen checked out the boys' favorite airplane.

As did the boys. They really got into it!

Thanks to Aunt Alisa, we watched The Wizard of Oz Friday night in anticipation of the WOO exhibit at the museum.

Once again, the museum provided a very interactive exhibit for exploration. Ryan wasn't sure what to think of the witches bicycle.

But, my fearless boy had no trouble climbing this web!

Ryan was a hoot at this part of the exhibit. He growled into the microphone which morphed his voice into that of the great Oz!

I think this was the only time that all 3 boys were playing with the same thing.

And it didn't last long.

Got eggs?

I tried for a group picture, but all I accomplished was the realization that my boys are HUGE! When did that happen??

Owen was fairly stoned faced for most of the museum. It is a lot to take in during your first (of many) visit. But he did enjoy the goose!

This is my favorite picture of the day.

Dan always does a craft with the boys. This time it was crowns. Check out Ryan's face... crown-making is a lot of work!

But, it is worth the effort.

We ended our visit with a huge electronic board that played musical chairs. Ryan lost.

It was a wonderful weekend with Uncle Dave, Aunt Alisa and Owen. We're looking forward to our next visit.

Pinewood Derby

After much anticipation, Tyler competed in his first Pinewood Derby this past Thursday. Overall, I thought it was a great experience.

Dan and Ty spent a couple of hours together surfing the net together for just the right car design. Of course Ty picked a difficult shape, but Dan was up to the challenge. They spent the next morning at the kitchen table drawing the car and making templates after making a supply run. Then it was off to the garage for the rough cut. I'm told that Tyler got to turn the handle on the mill and did the vast majority of the sanding.

When I got my first real look at the car, it had the basic shape... and an engine.

Tyler chose the color scheme as well and went with his favorite color. Black.

I think they copped out at the end with the stickers. Next year I think they need to step it up with some pin stripes.

The car was properly balanced and ready to go. And then Dan saw the tracks for the first time. Hmmm... we think this pack needs a new track. They didn't exactly look like those on-line... hence, the design wasn't ideal. Oh well, it is all about time together and fun which certainly happened!

While Dan was not pleased with the car's performance, Tyler could not have been happier. I lost count of how many heats he was in, but I can tell you that he came in last in his first heat, he came in second a lot and came in first at least once. I think he made a good showing for his first race.

I'm proud of our boy and how he handled himself during the competition.

The planning for next year has already begun!