Children's Museum

A while back, I snagged a groupon for The Children's Museum.  It was a good price and covered 4/5's of the family.  We held on to it... until this week.  Monday afternoon, the entire family headed to the museum for some family fun.  It was the prefect time to go, as it turned out that the museum was virtually empty.  This is very unique, since the museum is typically a crazy place to be.  Here are some pictures of the things we did.

 We started on the 3rd floor and, after going through the noodle maze, we decided to do some grocery shopping.

 Instead of "purchasing" cheese, Oliver decided to just be cheesy.  Look at that smile.

 Even dad got involved with the shopping experience.

 Noelle made me smile.  Apparently she was looking past the packaging and (in her mind) was buying the items actually in the bottles.  She came over to me and showed me all the buttons and sparkling things she had bought.  It made me smile.

 Next, we decided to race some cars.

 Preston hung out with me while I watched the kids have fun and retrieved their cars for them.

 Speaking of racing cars...  who do you think will win this race?

 All 4 of my kids wanted in on the race car action.  

 Then it was time to go to the bike wash.  Poor Oliver really wanted to ride the one with the trailer.  He could ride it just fine until he got to the bumpy floor.  Then he was just stuck.

 Daddy decided to ride in the trailer, and even took turn peddling for Oliver.  It was a lot of fun.

The kids did a lot of other things at the museum as well, but those were our favorites.  I'm so glad we went, and that it was so vacant.  We had such a great time.  We were also thankful that Brandon took the day off and was able to go with us. He had been out of town for 4 days and we had really missed him. 

Happy Helpers

Saturday was a beautiful day!  I decided to use it to my advantage and clean the weeds out of my backyard (well, at least start... because there were a lot and I only had so much time).  I brought Preston outback, and while the kids were playing, I got to work.  Within minutes I had some extra helpers.  Noelle was quick with buckets and a rake.  She started raking while Melanie and Oliver started gathering them and filling the buckets (I was pulling them).  Soon they started singing and dancing while working.

 Melanie was a muse, making up her own songs about making the world a beautiful place.

 Once in a while, Oliver would take a break to "fix" something.

 Here is my happy helper!  Noelle is amazing.

 Oliver was a man with a plan and really enjoyed filling his bucket.

 Preston hung out in his swing and let us know when the time was up.  (Eventually he grew hungry).

 Soon it was apple snacking time for my happy helpers!

Sneaky Little Leprechauns

We have a St. Patrick's Day tradition that we really enjoy...  We like to set traps and try to catch Leprechauns.  Leading up to our favorite green holiday, Melanie has been really excited and mentioning it constantly.

A cute funny side story.  I got this message via email from Melanie's teacher on the Thursday before St. Patrick's Day.

" We were talking about St. Patrick's day and she started giggling so much that everyone was laughing. She was telling the other students about the traps her family sets. She said you had not caught any yet but that they had left stuff behind. All the while she was giggling and laughing. So everyone wanted to know if they were real. She said yes and I let them know that my stuff often went missing and maybe they were playing a trick on me. Then I let them know they should talk to their parents about it. "

Perhaps some of Melanie's friends will be starting a new tradition because of Melanie's excitement.  Who knows.  

This year, I wanted the traps to be something the kids could do by almost completely themselves.  Last year they helped make the trap, but it was mostly my work.  This year, I got some recycled boxes that the Leprechauns were sure to get stuck in, and after I wrapped them in green paper, the kiddos did the rest.  Here are some pictures:

 The kids covered them with stickers, wrote "Free Gold" on the side, and put some coins on top to bait them.  We added a ladder to each trap so that the Leprechauns could get to the gold, and we went to bed.  The idea was that the Leprechaun would climb the latter, see the "gold" and fall into the opening on the top while trying to retrieve it.  

Oliver's Trap

Noelle's Trap

Melanie's Trap

 Well... as you can tell, those sneaky Leprechauns tricked us again.  But they did leave a taste of the rainbow.

 And look what some other sneaky Leprechauns left right outside our front door.  This was a surprise to us all.  What a fun way to start our St. Patrick's Day.

Thank you Leprechauns!

Preston Meets Skylar

Preston has a cousin that is a day older than him.  Skylar Hunter Smithson was born on Tuesday, January 28th, while Preston Britton Smithson was born on Wednesday, January 29th.  I'm certain they knew each other in heaven.  After waiting 5-1/2 weeks, they finally met for the first time on Earth.  Skylar was blessed last Sunday.  He is very handsome in his blessing suit.  Preston showed in some pajamas, but Skylar didn't mind.  At first, they didn't seem to notice each other.

 Then Preston started to protest.

 At one point, they looked right at each other and seemed to even be holding hands.

But, of course, by time I tried to take that picture, they had turned away again and Skylar started protesting. 

It was fun to see them together.  I hope they become good friends.

Dr. Seuss's Birthday

It was Dr. Seuss's birthday!!!  So, we decided to celebrate!  I solicited a little help from some of my favorite bakers. (Oliver didn't get to help because he was helping dad fix a semi truck that was loaded with cow.  To say he was a happy boy would be an understatement).  The bakers and I decided on cupcakes!  We got busy.

 But these cupcakes couldn't be just ordinary cupcakes, because Dr. Seuss isn't just some ordinary author.  We decided to get a little creative.

 And a little messy!

 Here are our red, white, and blue tye died cupcakes, ready to be frosted.  Melanie was in charge of the bog of blue batter, Noelle had the red, and I had the white batter.  It got everywhere.  But, it was a lot of fun and easy to clean.

 The girls also helped me make the "truffula tree" decorations.  Before the party, I made green eggs and ham (Green Deviled Eggs and Ham Sliders), and, of course, we had to have Yink's Pink Ink Drink.  Here is our table.

 And the Dr. Seuss foods!  (Note that we added some veggies to this meal to make it more complete).

 The kids weren't to sure about eating green eggs.  They decided that they did like the eggs... just not the green "Frosting" in them.  (When they called it frosting, Brandon and I got a good laugh).

 After dinner, we read a bunch of Dr. Seuss books!

 Dad read some with 3 of his favorite kiddos around him.

 Then I read one holding Preston and being groomed by my favorite big little man.

 Then it was dessert time.  The kid didn't hesitate to chomp into the cupcakes.  Apparently only green eggs make them nervous.

 Check out that crazy cupcake.

Yum!

Thank you, Dr. Seuss, for all the wonderful books you have blessed us with!  Happy Birthday!