Rainy Day fun

Nate showing off his shark and orange/red ocean
Sweet Eli and his island/shark scene
AHHH!!! Sharks in the water!

The boys picked up a couple of scary sharks at the dollar store and I then gave them each a tupperware container, water, plastic trees and see animals and some playdough and set them loose! They spent nearly two hours arranging and playing with their scenes! They loved how the playdough disolved and looked like blood in the water! Gruesome! These two have crazy imaginations and I love those days when something so simple turns into epic fun!

Halloween 2012

Trick-or-Treating at Eli's Kindergarten Teachers House! Marcia is the best!
Cheese!
A Jedi Knight, a puffy lion and a big cousin in the background!

What a Halloween! Grammy and Cousin Dru came and spent some fantastic days with us! Ghost train rides, trick or treating, and so much more! It was all topped off with a fantastic night of candy gorging and fun! Eli went as Anakin Skywalker and made a very convincing Jedi Knight! Nate was an extra fluffy lion! Could he be any cuter? At every single house Eli said "May the Force Be With You" to people who gave him candy and they loved it! He is such a dork (like his daddy)! Nate got a lot of "awwww's" because of his cute factor! These guys make every halloween an adventure!

Kindergarten Literacy Group Mini-Play: Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom

Rocking it out at the end of Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom
Eli reciting his line!

Eli's k-1 class put on a little mini play to Chicka-Chicka-Boom-Boom and it was darling! THe kids made the props and memorized lines and had to get organized and the result was comedy! Oh, they tried so hard but the little hijinks were the best part! Eli, of course, loved it as he belongs on the stage!

Nate's Field Trip to Busey Woods

Turning over a log on our hike to see what insects live underneath
Doing the prairie hookey-pookey
The frog lady is teaching them all about life in the woods
Put that camera down and carry me back to the car Momma!

I got to be one of the parent chaperones on Nate's Pre-k class field trip to Busey Woods and the Anita Purves nature center! It was so fun! They taught us all about the critters and insects that live in the woods and we then took a 1 mile hike through the woods. In the woods we actually saw a momma with two older babies! We then flipped over several fallen logs to hunt insects! It was a little boys dream come true! I love that I am able to share these moments with my guys!

Fire Truck with Fun with Awesome Aunt Valmere

Sitting in one of the oldest fire trucks in the area
Firemen Brothers!
Just some of the firemen hanging out after a tough shift
Ready for Action!

Oh, we had such a special day with Aunt Valmere! Fire Truck Parade Day! We got to go to an adorable little park in Bloomington and watch all of the old and new firetrucks line up for a fire truck parade! We got to climb into and check out all of the trucks and chat up the firemen! They firemen were actually mostly volunteer firefighters from rural towns which was unbelievable! After we got to check out all of the trucks we went back to Aunt Valmere's house and waited for the parade to start! We got to sit right out in front of her house and watch the fire truck parade go by! It is beyond special to have family living close by and Aunt Valmere is always so much fun!

University Primary School: Orpheum Children's Museum Art Show

Nate's Self Portrait! Yes, that is his hair on top!
Nate took this photo, because he saw a face in the tree!
Eli's double sided self-portrait!
Nate's storm
My bake sale raising money for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank!

I can't say enough how fortunate our boys are to go to University Primary School. The project approach to instruction suits our creative guys to a T! Additionally, there is such an emphasis on art, music, movement and self-expression! The boys just soak it all up! UPS had an art show at our local children's museum and it was amazing! The theme for this semester is Flora and Fauna of the Prairie and the art show represented this! There truly gifted movement teacher, Miss Donna, put together a video montage of the movement classes she had held in the meadow where they had built a magical display out of natural items! It was unbelievable! It was a special night and the boys loved seeing there art on the wall! Additionally, that night UPS held there kickoff fundraiser for the Eastern Illinois Foodbank. We raised 300 or so dollars which actually translates to 3000 meals! (each dollar can purchase 10 meals)! Both classrooms baked and we actually had more baked goods than we could sell! What a night!

Curtis Orchards: Running Wild

Nate going big down the slide!
Eli taking a sideways spin down the slide!
Ninja Farmers
He deserved it...
YEEEE-HAAAA

In early October we broke free of the house and spent a fantastic afternoon at Curtis Orchards. We were actually going to pick apples but it started raining while we were there! The rain definitely made going down the big slide that much more fun! We are so lucky to have little gyms like Curtis Orchard here in Champaign-Urbana! We are even more lucky that our boys enjoy adventures so much! These guys are game for anything!