Mother's Day Weekend

It was a lovely Mother's Day Weekend.  Maddie, Grandma and I spent it at the spa getting our nails done.  This was Maddie's first time and the nail tech was so impressed with how still and non-squirmy she managed to be.  Grandma could have done without the 8am start time; but this is wedding/prom season after all (next year I'll plan a little more in advance)!

Enjoying the Spa!

 

 

Meanwhile, the boys (Aidan, Grandpa & Kurt) made an appearance at the Mansfield town fishing derby.  Aidan was one of the youngest there and Grandpa & Daddy were impressed with how he stuck with it for more than an hour before he got a bit restless.  Lots of nibbles, but unfortunately no official catches.  Aidan suggested that perhaps the fish would like a food tastier than worms!

 



 

Our handsome fisherman!

 

 

Better luck next year!!!!

 

With his Pa!

Post soccer game in the pouring rain, we capped off the day with our first family "bonfire" (as the twins like to call it).  They were quite enamored with the fire and thoroughly enjoyed the marshmallow part (M enjoys roasting and A enjoys eating - so yet another activity where they are a perfect match)!

Marshmallow time!

 

So far this spring/summer is shaping up to be a good one.  Finally, finally we are reaping the benefits of all of our hard work and Maddie & Aidan are more independent.  We actually get to sit down for a few blissful minutes and enjoy the outdoors (until someone needs a snack that is)!

 

No photos to share, but we did finish off the weekend with a visit to Mimi & Buppy.  The kids love to scoot around their neighborhood.  The fresh pavement is a huge plus when it comes to scooting.

 

Now we have to start planning for Father's Day...(though Maddie did ask the other day when it will be Kids' Day...um...pretty much always)!

Spring Updates

So far spring has been great!  Lots of time playing with neighbors and lots of dirt (Aidan's favorite part).  Just yesterday at swim lessons Ms. Katherine asked the kids to tell one good thing about their day.  Aidan said, "Laurel & Lyla" and Maddie said "the neighbors".  I can't imagine that they are going to take it very well when they find out that L&L's family is moving to Virginia sometime this summer.  *sigh*

Soccer is still going well.  Maddie is very aggressive this year and scored 2 goals in her last game.  Aidan is where Maddie was last year during her first season.  He excels during the 30 minute practice period, but is quite hesitant during the actual game.  I was trying to encourage him the other day and suggested he try harder to steal the ball and he reminded me that stealing is wrong.  He's adorably literal.

My two favorite players.  Front &...

Back!

April vacation was a blast (though Mommy did miss her "free" time).  We saw our twin friends Audrey & Henry for a playdate and also meet up with TJ who is the grandson of Kurt's co-worker and also happens to be going to Kindergarten here in Mansfield next year. 

I think one of the kids favorite activities was going to Drumlin Farm with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Deb and cousins Morgan & Vivie.  They were THRILLED when they saw the Solar Sculptures that they recognized from the snippets at the end of Curious George episodes.  I couldn't figure out how the heck they knew one of the sculptures was called Sisyphus.  Turns out it was the same way they know all the other random, but interesting, tidbits they come out with!

Oh, and a big, sarcastic 'Thank you' to our cousins who informed Maddie that it actually is an option to have a real, live pig as a pet.

Cousins!

A little rock climbing...

Our future pet....

Spring is off to a great start and the kids are really looking forward to the summer and lots of beach time!  Just today we turned the calendar to reveal May 1st and Aidan asked - "so when is it July?"!

Impromptu Soccer Star

Today was the start of spring soccer season.  We got Maddie outfitted in her soccer gear and headed for the fields.  A bit chilly, but sunny and overall a nice day for a game.  Just like last season, we brought all of Maddie's gear and an extra soccer ball on the off chance Aidan wanted to kick it around.  Who knew that would be an understatment! 

The second we got there he jumped right in with his soccer ball -  running, dribbling, shooting.  Then he announces, "I think I'd like to be on a soccer team."  (Keep in mind that I have asked him time and time again if he'd want to be signed up for any team sport AND this is the boy that we can't get to throw, kick or even look at a ball to save his life).

Luckily the league coordinator was there and was kind enough to let Aidan play with Maddie's team "The Doodlebops" today and said he could be signed up for the rest of the season. 

Maddie was her usual athletic self and was so proud when she heard one of the other Mom's commenting on how good she was.  And let's not forget her fabulous white and green hair braids courtesy of our visit to Stylin' Kids.  She oozed team spirit!

Aidan was utterly impressive with how quickly he jumped in, paid attention and kept up with everyone.  One slight moment of distress when another boy was hurt and crying - but he hid in the goal for maybe 5 seconds and then was right back at it.  And it turns out that 4 out of the 10 kids on their team are from his classroom(s). 

Quick trip to Sports Authority to get gear for Aidan and add in a celebratory trip to the 99 (it is mildly embarassing how well they know us there, but also quite adorable that M&A have bonded with the staff and couldn't wait to tell Patrice and their other favorite servers about the game) and we had an excellent day!

The Team

Apparently he took notes last season, because he was g-o-o-d.

One of the many fun drills coaches Daddy & John had for them.



'Snake' attack!!!



Looks like he couldn't outrun the snake!

My two favorite players!

Letterbox

We had our first ever letterboxing adventure this weekend!  We printed off the clues from letterboxing.org and went over to Borderland State Park to start our search...

We climbed to the top of very large rock formations.

Maddie participated in a little log rolling.

Aidan kept it cool with some sunglasses, a specimen bag & a pointer (all very necessary hiking items).



Our trusty guide Daddy!

SUCCESS!!

This was a total blast and we'll definitely be doing more of it in the future.  Turns out there's even one hidden in the conservation land right behind our house!

By far the most impressive part was how well behaved the kids were and their endurance.  A year ago Aidan would have been begging for a shoulder ride 10 minutes in.  This year he literally jogged the last 1.5 miles.  Kurt & I got an amazing workout just trying to keep the kids in our sight! 

Up Next:  perhaps a little F. Gilbert State Forrest anyone???

Bye Bye Baby

Baby TOOTH that is!  Our girl lost her first tooth (technically not her first because of the great hamper incident of 2008 - but we're not counting that)!  We put it in the cute little tooth box I ordered for them from amazon.com and she put it under her pillow.  She was adorably excited about the tooth fairy.  In fact, I have never seen this child fall asleep so fast in her life after I told her she had to be asleep for the tooth fairy to come.  'She' came and left $2 in exhange for the tooth. 

We weren't quite sure what to tell Aidan when he asked what she does with all those teeth...

Valentine's 2013

Our little Valentine's Chefs!  Initially Aidan was a little disappointed that it wasn't a playmobil, but eventually he warmed up to it :-)  He does love "cooking" after all (definition of cooking being making random weird experimental mixtures all over the house)...

 

Blizzard NEMO hits Mansfield!

I think this is definitely the most snow the kids have seen in their five years and so far they've had a blast in it.  I guess we can call it a mini-vacation since we are one of the lucky towns who never lost power.  No school Friday - Tuesday though because of the road & sidewalks.  

The news said Mansfield received 31.5 inches, but our deck seems to have only reached about 18 inches

Regardless, it was about thigh deep on the twins

Hi Maddie!

The snow pile at the end of our driveway (just to the right of it thankfully)!

It was no joke and took quite an effort to climb it!

By Sunday afternoon, most of our neighbors (those with young kids anyhow) made their way down to our cul-de-sac and there was a sledding party (off our snow pile if you can believe it).  Perhaps it was the alcohol they brought with them, but I had fun :-)

Kurt is quite sore and we're not sure if it is the fact that he snowblowed pretty much every driveway on our street or the effort it took to help about 15 kids sled off a precarious snow pile for hours on end.  Either way, he's a pretty nice guy...