Bedtime Routine

We have has the same bed time routine since the kids were young. You would think that we would have it down to a science and I guess most days we do but some days it can be a bit crazy and silly. Once it is time to start getting ready for bed the kids get their medicine and then go upstairs to brush their teeth. You would be surprised some nights how long those 2 steps can take. While upstairs they are also supposed to put on their Pj's or in Kyle's case just take off his clothes...lol. Once they are ready Kyle will usually come to the top of the stairs to yell down "I'm ready but Bryce is not" which is our cue that they are close to ready to be tucked in and kissed goodnight. Mark and I switch off rooms kissing and tucking in the boys where Bryce usually tells us "I love you more than Kyle". Once both the kids are tucked in and lights are out Mark and I go downstairs for some quiet time watch T.V. and Facebooking.

Rock Collection

I know, I Know! Not more pictures of rocks! I never said my life was glamorous. This is PART of Kyle's rock collection that started out as Mark's rock collection when he was a kid. Kyle is really into rocks so every year when it is time to learn about rocks at school we always bring in the ones we have. Kyle and I spent some time this evening sorting through them and labeling the ones we remembered. I thought it would be a good idea to take a picture so we can recall where they all go again if they get mixed up. We are also bringing some other rocks and some books to class to show and display so the kids can learn.

Rhino Rides with Friends!

Our presidents gave us a great day off of school and work! We took some new found friends out to Rolls to play on the Rhino. Melissa and Miguel have 3 little munchkins that were just dying to go for a ride...oh who we kidding they all were! We found a spot near the bathrooms so that we did not have to go far with 5 kids. I have to say giving rides to 7 people takes quite a bit of time and some bickering among the kids but after 2 rides for everyone I think that we can honestly say that everyone had a GREAT time. Next time we go with a large group we either need the extension for the Rhino to seat 4 or need to rent some quads or something. We had picnics and went on hikes looking for fossils and crystals. The kids played with balls, colored, played in the van and went on rides! There were only 2 accidents with cactus prickers and 1 rabbit scare (thought it might be a snake). Here are some pictures from the day. Oh and I shot the sunset picture going 75 mph on the highway on the way back home....lol

Through the eyes of a child

Today we went to visit Grandma and Grandpa after church. I brought the camera along to take blog photos but the boys took all the photos today and so I thought I would blog the pictures they took. Some of the pictures they took were of their magnetix creations, others were close-ups of all of us. Sometimes it is great to really look at what kids find worthy of taking a photo of. All of these photos are unedited so sorry if they are a bit close-up or fuzzy.

Shopping for Geodes

Today I went shopping with Kyle's teacher. We went to Black Market Minerals at AZ Mills Mall to go rock shopping. She was looking to get some geodes and other rocks to start their rock unit at school. I had promised the boys I would get them something while I was there so I bought each of them a large geode that they could break. One good hit with the hammer and they broke nicely! Here is a picture of one of the boys "rocks".

Valentines Day Party

Today was party day at school! All the kids had great fun handing out and eating their candy. Here are a few shots of Kyle in class enjoying himself. When I got home I had a nice surprise waiting for me, delivered via UPS. I got Mark an off road ATV guide of AZ and he is having a hard time putting it down.

Launching Boats at School

Since I have Wed and Thursday off of work I often volunteer my time in Kyle's class at school. The kids have been working hard the past few days on making boats out of misc. materials to float in "Lake Pathway" which really is a large retention basin near the school. Since we have gotten a bit of rain lately it has water to sail in. So Mrs. Browne and I march the kids off in the direction of the water, once there we try to find a nice spot to have the kids launch from. Well on the way we find that out path is riddled with very soft MUD! So nice and sticky that it took one of my shoes clean off my foot and was very hard to get out of the mud (took 5 tries). One kid threw his shoe in the water and on the way back to the school one kid slipped in the mud. It was a good launch but next time I think there needs to be a bit more thought in the planning stages....LOL.