Sunday, February 28, 2010

Artist in Training

Last week we bid $11 on a 4x8 foot maker board at a local auction, and we won! We installed it in the basement, and the kids are having so much fun with it.
I think this is one of the first drawings of a face that Ethan has ever done. We're so proud of him. This one is a happy face. The one to the right is an angry face.
Ethan has been so interested in letters and spelling. He's always asking how to spell words like "Chick Hicks" and "Lightning McQueen" and "Dinaco McQueen" and "The King" and "Mrs The King" and "Dinaco helicoper" etc. He repeats every letter.
Ethan has been using the new marker board to practice writing too. Yes, Ethan did write this all by himself. Okay, Kyle did have to coax him a lot, and had to erase some of the extra lines that shouldn't have been there, but Ethan did all the writing. (btw, it says "I love dad")

We had an early 3rd birthday party for Ethan tonight - his birthday isn't until tomorrow. Jen spent all day Saturday making his cake, and we're really happy with how it turned out. Stay tuned for pictures and details.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

Could it be?!

The warm weather we've been having has really made me anxious to get outside and start thinking about our garden. I've already bought some seeds (peas, spinach, broccoli, lettuces) to plant although it will still be a month before I dare risk it.

The kids and I spent some time outside today digging in the dirt and playing outside. I was surprised at how many weeds I found so soon. But what really surprised me was how many tulips are starting to come up.

Spring must be just around the corner! --At least for everyone NOT living in Cache Valley ;)

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Valentine's Weekend

Our family just returned from spending a few days in Cache Valley (sadly we were up there in the snow while it was 51 degrees at home). We had a great visit and we got to go on a few dates without the kids.

Thursday, February 12 marked the first time Jen has ever been skiing. Kyle's parents had a ward ski night, and we went up to Beaver Mountain for the evening. After a rough first run learning what to do, Jen really got the hang of it and by the end of the night was consistently making it down the mountain without falling down. We had a great time and hope to make skiing more of a tradition in our family. We saw some 4 and 5 year olds cruising down the mountain . . . maybe in a year or two we'll have to take Ethan.

Friday night, Kyle took Jen on a surprise date to a fancy dinner and Jazz performance with dancing at the Sky Room at USU. It was a little awkward at first, since the average age in the room was probably 60. We didn't mind though, and met a nice couple around our age. We had a great time dining and dancing and we got to show off our dance move. Yeah, we only have one move (just kidding, of course. But not too far from the truth). We really want to make an effort to go dancing more often, though.

On Saturday, we went to Lowe's "Build and Grow" activity to have Ethan build a jewelry rack to give to Mom on Valentine's day. This is a free service Lowe's does for the community every couple of weeks. As you can see in this picture, he was pretty excited to use real tools. He got to keep the glasses and apron too!

He was very intent on the work he was doing.

He was concentrating so hard on getting that nail into the wood that he forgot to smile. This was pretty much his expression the entire time, but he really did have a good time.
After Lowe's, we went Rob and Christin's house to see their new baby girl, Julie. Take a look at their blog to see a plethora of pictures of their little sweetie. While we were there, Rob took Ethan out in the back yard to give him a ride on his four-wheeler. Kyle drove Ethan around the yard a few times. Ethan had a blast riding Scrambler (those of you who are unfortunate enough to be familiar with "Bob the Builder" know what this means). Thanks, Rob.
Notice how much snow there was in the previous picture. We were shocked at how much snow there still is in Logan. We haven't had snow stick on the ground since Christmas at home. It was such a nice afternoon that Ethan and Kyle decided to walk home from church. We passed by the park on our way home and Ethan had to stop and play for a bit. We sure hope we get to enjoy more of this sunny weather this upcoming week.