Fireworks Abound

So we may have gone a bit overboard on fireworks this year. In fact, I know we did because we still have some left over... But, it was fun. We started off the fireworks festival with the typical hometown fireworks show and then we went to Gramma and Grampa's house to light off a bunch - and I mean a bunch - of fireworks. We had so many that the kids actually got bored. I definitely learned a lesson there - the small ones that make the loudest bang are the ones the kids like most, and the big ones are the ones that they don't really care too much about.

It didn't help that we had bought a large family pack of fireworks, and my parents had bought an even larger pack of fireworks! We had fireworks coming out our ears! It was funny because I thought the kids would just think it was awesome... I guess they haven't hit the pyromanic age yet. They enjoyed it for the most part though; but hey, after the 20th some-odd one, even I was getting a little phased. All in all it was a fun night, filled with lots of color, patriotic melodies, love for country, and appreciation for life, liberty and freedom... oh yeah, and outright incendiary fun!

Sprinkler Fun

The boys were introduced to the world of "sprinklers" recently. My mom bought a fun yard sprinkler recently that wiggles all over the place and sprays water in all directions. It's great fun and the boys have had lots of laughs, squeals, giggles, hoots and hollers over it.

It always amazes me watching kids experience things for the first time. Galen tends to be so careful while Liam just jumps right in, and yet other times Liam looks to Galen for guidance. I think all kids need some sort of sprinkler though - it really let's the true kid come out! And hey - it's a great way to beat the summer heat!

A Day at the Museum

We took the kids to visit the Maturango Museum not that long ago. They thought it was pretty neat. We introduced them to local artwork in the gallery, which had a really neat show featuring pottery that integrated antlers in some of the pots. The show was called "Ancient Clay - Desert Legacy" by artists Twyla and Hal Wardell. There was some really neat pieces and it was nice to expose the kids to fine art.

After visiting the art gallery we took the kids through the museum itself. They thought it was neat to see some of the desert animals on display and both of them really liked the Saber Tooth Tiger skull and special effects display. Galen thought the missiles were pretty neat for the NAWC display and we reminded the boys that their grampa and a couple of their uncles work on the base where they make the missiles.

Liam liked looking at things, but I'll admit it - Galen got a bit restless. He especially decided it was time to go when we suggested he stick his hands in the "touch and feel" boxes that have hole in them so you can't see what you're touching. The contents are things like local rocks and minerals, but oh my was that ever not a good idea! Liam thought it was great fun - my adventurous little one. The boys also thought the mammoth bones were kind of neat but you could tell Galen was slightly freaked out by them. (We've since asked him if he'd like to go to a museum to see dinosaur bones and he's said "NO").

The most fun part of the event, at least judging by how many trips they did, was the rock labyrinth next to the museum. You can walk around it until you reach the rock at the center. They have some solstice marks indicated and in several areas around it are desert gardens. I sat on a bench in the garden and watched as the kids took several trips around the labyrinth. They weren't happy to leave because they were having too much fun! However, promises to return and walk the labyrinth again coaxed them into the car where we had fun talking about our little trip to the museum. I look forward to future trips as they grow and can learn more about our local habitat and history with each visit.

Knights Abound!

Since Galen's birthday party wasn't on his actual birthday we had a family dinner and birthday cake celebration on his birthday. That's when Gramma and Grampa Karnos gave Galen his birthday presents. Nana came to visit with Cori's cousin Emily, and Grandma Ratliff joined us for dinner too. Uncle Clint and Aunt Laura were there for a while as well to wish Galen a happy birthday.

Galen and Liam were both excited to see that they both got Lego Knights outfits from Legoland. They proceeded to have an epic battle in the living room. Clint was quite impressed with Liam and his natural fighting abilities and decided that he could be his new squire! I really wish now that we had video taped it because it really was impressive, and Liam was being so serious about it! It was really adorable. Of course it was also kinda funny because Nana was rather shocked to see that we were willing to let them be so enthusiastic, okay maybe violent would be a better word, and she was worried that they were going to get hurt. I guess my attitude has always been that boys will be boys and hey, I wish I'd had these kinda toys when I was their age! We started counting up all the swords we have in the house for the kids and realized we have about 12 swords, a few daggers, about 4-6 shields, a few different knight outfits, etc.. So, do you think we're raising a couple of warriors or what? I dunno, they look pretty innocent and sweet to me :^)

Happy Birthday Galen

My munchkin is 5... FIVE! Five years old! How in the world did that happen?!? Okay, freakout moment over. We recently celebrated Galen's 5th birthday and it was a blast. This was our first "real" birthday party, where parents dropped off kids for games and events - the works. Galen decided he wanted a "Bionicle" (a Lego line of toys) theme. So, we started with the birthday invitation featuring Galen as a Toa, a Bionicle hero, inviting others to join him on the "Great Kanoka disc hunt." Kanoka discs being one of the weapons of the Toa and it tied into one of the Bionicle movies. The house was decorated with Toa colors, red, yellow, black, and we put tons of Thane's Bionicle toys (note I said Thane's) all around the living room to decorate.

We played Pin the Mask on the Toa (which amazingly Galen got dead on the spot), Bionicle Mask Spoon Race, we did the Great Kanoka Disc Hunt, and we had the kids decorate their own discs and do a Bionicle activity placemat. It was pretty fun. Galen's guests were his brother Liam, his cousins Rees, Caden, Victoriah and T.J. and his friends Bryce and Gavin. We invited the younger cousins and siblings and parents to join us after the games for cake and ice cream.

I definitely think the hats and swords/shields repository was the hit of the day. We had kids running all over with swords and a variety of hats that day! Galen enjoyed his presents and he received a variety of Speed Racer (a movie we just saw yesterday, and guess what, all enjoyed quite a lot actually), Hot Wheels, Transformers, a Dragon Egg toys and of course a variety of Bionicle items from the latest movie to a new Toa to a 3 foot spear (foam of course). He was also most pleased to get a new space man helmet to replace his broken one and was happy to see a brand new space helmet in the mix too! He also got a variety of other gifts, but that's a second post to come. So, it was a fun day which we all enjoyed! I still just can't believe my little munchkin is five....

Day at the Park

We went to the park recently, nothing special, just hanging out at the park, but I snapped a few pics and I thought some of these were really cute and I wanted to share them. Liam just wanted to swing and swing. I couldn't get him out of the thing! I think it wasn't until maybe the last 10 minutes we were there that he finally got out, so he must have been in it for about 20 minutes or more! Galen was having a blast, throwing sand as usual, running all over, and trying to play with a couple little girls that were obviously having fun and which he wanted in on the action. It was cute how he wanted to play with them, but it was pretty clear he was a 'boy' and they weren't going to have any of that! Ah, the age old struggle begins at such a young age!

Easter

Easter is always a fun time of year. I've always loved Easter. Not only do I love coloring eggs, but I love easter egg hunts, the candy, but most of all the special time that Easter is. We're still working on developing our own special family tradition, but we have had fun coloring easter eggs every year. This was the first year we let Liam color eggs - as many of you might know, coloring easter eggs can be a dicey and messy process - many opportunities for spills and stains! We waited until Galen was three before we let him help out too. So, here is our first batch of a full family easter egg coloring fest! Mostly Thane and I colored the eggs, but the kids gave us lots of directions about what to do. We all had fun and looked forward to our easter egg hunt the next day.

For our easter egg hunt we use plastic easter eggs that we can put candy in. We've mostly decided that easter shouldn't be about presents, but candy is one thing that is a fun surprise for easter - you just gotta have the chocolate bunny for easter, and who can pass up a Cadbury creme egg? So, we have lots of fun hiding the eggs and then during the hunt there are usually lots of "Hmmm, what's over here?" and "Hey, what's that over there?" but it's a joy to watch their excitement. I think next year we'll move the hunt outside! Hopefully we'll be able to convince the kids to continue with their equal sharing and divying up of the loot once the hunt is over, but, alas, only time will tell and I'm not holding my breath for total peace on eastern morn with two boys ;^)