Funk's Grove

Eli climbed up a rope ladder to his "pirate ship" up in the tree

The above three pictures give you a good idea of what Nate was doing!
Hammock Brothers and their Great Aunt Val

Climbing fool!

We had such an amazing trip to Bloomington a couple of weekends ago! We went to Funk's Grove and hiked a tiny trail to the Imagination Grove! This place was a little boys dream! Tree climbing, rock hopping, river crossing, fort building, etc... It was a double treat because Aunt Valemere and Uncle Wyn came out to meet us and then we got to have lunch at their house! We anticipate many more visits to this charming place!

This is the whole group! 16 3,4, and 5 year olds! (Nate was one of two three year olds)
Checking out their medals!
High Bar Nate: This kid is a big monkey!
Crazy Guy Eli during warmup!
Group fun!

The boys finished their King Brothers little gym class a few weeks ago. This was the first time they were in a class together and they LOVED it! It was a little preview of what next year will look like! We have been with the Little Gym since Early February of 2008 and the boys have changed/grown so much! We love this place!

Paddle Boating at Crystal Lake Park

We had such a fun afternoon! There is a beautiful park in town that has a pretty little lake in it! We rented a paddle boat and spent 30 minutes going around the lake! Eli and Sam were in the paddling seat (Sam did all the paddling) while Nate and I hung out in the back! It was so much fun and the boys loved it!

Binky

This is what happens when you let Nate choose his own outfit! Snow boots, workout headband, old gym t-shirt and brown shorts! All topped off with that ridiculous smile! I love my little binky!

University Primary School: The Culminating event

Eating a Popsicle at the end of school year picnic.
Oh, sweet faced baby boy!
Is it taller?
Is it brighter?
Is it louder?
Is it darker?
What in the world is going on?

There are no words to describe how much we love Eli's preschool (soon to be Nate's). It is such a special place and it just the right spot for my...ahem, "spirited" children. Eli's preschool class put on a culminating event centered around this semesters theme of "measurement". They sang "Is it bigger, is it smaller" which is where all of those great actions shots come from. We watched a slide show which demonstrated what each group worked on. Eli was in the "measuring time" group. With his group we even got to visit a private home in Urbana that had more than 120 grandfather clocks! This class is too funny! Imagine nearly 25 Eli's running around and you get the picture! They need to watch out though! Baby brother Nate will be in the mix next year! I am not sure sweet Miss Becca (their teacher) will ever recover. On the very last day of school his whole class had a picnic under the trees and at Popsicles together!

The Decatur Zoo: Daddy Style

Eli the ferocious lizard boy
Nate: The happy boy being eaten by the ferocious lizard
This peacock had a thing for me! It followed me around and fluffed out its feathers for about 30 minutes!
No children should be this close to a cranky looking alligator! Seriously, Nate could climb that fence in 2.2 seconds and he did try!

We went back to the Scovill Zoo this time with Sam in tow! It was a great day! All of the animals were out and active. We saw cheetahs, camels, that scary alligator, my true love the peacock, and zebras! In the petting zoo when we put a quarter in the food dispenser we were swarmed by 25 apparently underfed pygmie goats. I thought they were going to eat Nate... he would be squishy and delicious! We road the train around the park and had a fun picnic lunch before heading home! I love these little treasures in Illinois!

Rock Stars

Eli wrote a new song entitled "That's how it goes and that's how it went". We have no idea what this song is about but he and Nate are feeling it!