The Sun Hath Cometh!

The sun is shining on us all this week and it's well deserved after the last three weeks we've had. So to celebrate the hottest day of the year so far we went to the zoo! This was actually the very first time I've taken the boys to the zoo by myself. Its not that I didn't think I could handle the boys at the zoo by myself but it's a LOT of walking and it can really tire a girl out (I guess you can call me lazy). I was surprised that the boys never really rode in the wagon so I think pretty soon we'll be done with it for good. Now if only I could figure out where to put all our crap! Maybe make them carry backpacks? Will they actually carry them all around the zoo? Decisions, decisions...

So at one point we were eating lunch on the lawn and I started wondering why I felt so tired since we had just gotten there. Then I realized it was all the sun and I was hot! I should mention it was only 73F, so I guess the grass is always greener on the other side, HA!

The boys thought this fire hydrant was the coolest thing ever,
so yes, you can call them OBSESSED with all things firefighting!

Come on Caleb lets go run!

What do you think Thomas?

Running free!

Eli looking so handsome : )

Their favorite thing at the zoo is the jeep you can climb on

They did this for about a half hour

Caleb

Eli

Not much cooperation for a group picture

Water break!

The boys really liked the crocodile exhibit,
they said it was "muy cary" (very scary)

A Break In the Rain!

The pacific northwest is taking it's vengeance this spring for giving us such a dry winter! Somehow we always end up with the same amount of rain here so we've pretty much been having non stop rain for a few weeks now. The word "drought" doesn't exist here and that's good because I like taking long showers and letting the water run while I brush my teeth, ha! All is still good though, I love living in Portland so much that I'll gladly put up with it : ) Anyways, so today we took advantage of the dry weather to meet up with some friends and go outside and run!

Your favorite superheros!
Thomas (superman), Caleb (spiderman), and Eli (batman)

The boys apparently don't know how to take pictures with anyone other than eachother

There, that's a little better : )

brudders

The other day at hospitality after the meeting

Instead of growth spurts my children go through drawing spurts. There are short periods of time where they are really into drawing followed by longer periods were they aren't that into it (funny because Phil still has these, see Trout Illustrated). But each time they get a little better (this is not his best piece, they erase them fast to start the next drawing and I'm too slow with the camera)...in case you are wondering this train is transporting sand : )

Exactly 3.5 Years Old!

CET exactly three and a half!

Cheesy boys!

Rainy day at the library : )

My dreamy three!

The boys have been really busy lately. Busy playing that is. They just don't stop, from the time they wake up till they fall asleep, it's full on play mode! Every time now when I turn on the tv, either because they ask to watch something or because I need to catch a break, THEY DON'T WATCH IT! Their attention lasts a whole 15 min (30 min max if it's extra interesting and I've made popcorn) and then they're off to play again. Wow, am I really complaining that my children don't watch tv??? Age 2 was a whole different story, they'd be couch potatoes if I hadn't regulated their tv intake but now it's like "please watch an hour of tv so there can be some peace and quiet in the house?!" The boys keep each other busy by making up games, pretending to be firemen, and playing with their trains (not a whole lot has changed in their repertoire of interests). Honestly, even if it means that I don't have an easy out, I am loving the fact that they choose to play rather than watch tv : )

Here is a silly video of Caleb and Eli making up sounds...

Scary Stuff!

Friends of ours treated us to Jurassic Quest last weekend. They had life sized animatronic dinosaurs that were pretty darn scary to three year olds! There was no crying or screaming but the boys held on to us pretty tight. Even though we kept saying that they were not real the boys were hard to convince because they would flinch when ever the dino's would move or roar. 

There's nothing behind me right?

Thomas holding on tight while the T-rex roars!

The boys sporting their t-rex shirts courtesy of mama Elda and holding their little t-rex's courtesy of our friends : )

Jurassic Quest got out of hand when one of the dinosaurs ate up all three boys, ha!

The boys were much more comfortable around the baby dino's : )

Caleb with pops

Eli with our friend Y,
all three boys love her!

Our friends also got the boys slippers that roar when you walk.
They were sure spoiled that day!

Sledding Take 2

Our friends Johnny and Aaron were visiting us from California this last week and one of the fun things we did with them was sledding. The boys loved having J&A to hang out with and were asking about them several days after they left : )

Along to the way we made a pit stop were Johnny ate the fateful blueberry donut that would ruin the second half of his day : (

Mt Hood looking beautiful : )

The boys weren't as into sledding this time around, maybe because the snow was very bumpy and it kind of hurt your bum going down. 

me and shmee

The boys favorite part was getting towed in the sled (please ignore the duct tape on Eli's boots, ha!)

Family pic!

We went out to dinner : )

This is what happens when you only get a 30 min nap in the car and you have a full day of excitement!

Thursday

The boys and I live pretty exciting lives these days. Here is a summary of what we did yesterday so you can see for yourselves : )

Since we had no where to go today we had a lazy morning. We ate cereal for breakfast and the boys played with their trains. And I watched some of the Today Show while drinking my coffee.

Leaving nursery school the other day we found a large box of trains/tracks in the "free pile."
The boys have easily doubled their train collection, we probably have enough train stuff to make 6 boys happy!

After this we got dressed and went to the backyard where the boys "helped" me plant some more seeds for this years garden. Then the boys rode their bikes in the driveway and side walk in front of our house while I cleaned up a planter box full of weeds for my soon to be seedlings.

This was from the day before but you get the picture

After this it was snack time for all of us followed by an hour of preschool activities. The boys did a couple of cut & glue activities and traced letters. This worked up a hunger so we had lunch afterwards. Then we read a few books before I sent the boys to their room for nap time.

Preschool activities

As the boys napped I cleaned for about an hour and a half then had some 'me' time where I did some reading and cut my nails (exciting right?). The boys took a shorter nap than usual because today we have swimming lessons. So I woke the boys up, got them dressed and gave them a snack before heading out.

It was our last day!

We got back around 6 pm and normally I would start dinner but we have friends visiting so we all went out to pizza! 8:30 pm we start getting the boys ready for bed and lights go out at approximately 9:30 pm.

So you see life is pretty exciting when you have three three year olds, haha!

My stress level throughout the day is dynamic. If you measure stress from 1-10 (1 being hardly any stress at all and 10 being on the verge of going crazy) this is how Thursday went:

-Morning: boys are pretty good with only a handful of fights and a handful of freak outs (stress level 3)
-Directing the boys as they "help" me plant seeds (stress level 6)
-Riding bikes while everyone gets along (stress level 1)
-Preschool activities (stress level 5)
-Lunch, nobody eats anything so I eat by myself in peace (stress level 1)
-Nap time (stress level 1)
-Getting them out of the door and into the car for swim lessons (stress level 7)
-Dressing room at the pool (stress level 9)
-Out at dinner with extra adults on hand (stress level 5)
-Getting ready for bed (stress level 4)

-Pepper this in throughout the boys waking hours: fighting or freak outs/tantrums (stress level 10)

So it averages out to a stress level of 4.7, not bad I think but it's certainly way higher than before I had kids!

Making Donuts

So there was this recipe for super healthy baked donuts (and by healthy I mean minus all the sugar that goes on top) that I've been wanting to try. I didn't have a donut mold so I just used a cupcake tray and cookie sheet. I had the boys ice them and top them with sprinkles. They tasted better than they looked and surprisingly they tasted a lot like donuts!

the assembly line

Eli

Caleb

What are you talkIng about they're 'MASTER PIECES!"

Yummy donuts!