Sweet Beaver

As you probably have noticed, Owen has decided to grow his hair out. I'm not sure where this idea came from, but my guess is that it comes from his great loathing of haircuts. Regardless, since doing this he has been getting lots of 'Justin Beiber' comments from people including us at home. A couple of days ago Walter and I stopped at the grocery store and, while driving, he had found a Twins hat and sunglasses. When I went to get him out of his seat he asked me, "Do I look cool like Sweet Beaver?" I paused, thinking what in the world is sweet beaver, then it clicked, and I said "Yes, you look very cool...like Justin Beiber."

My sweet, sweet Walter.

It's a ninja boat.

My dad built the boys a workbench last fall. The boys love going down there and nailing boards together, drilling holes in boards and even sawing a bit. Walter has been in to making boats lately. After he makes them, he paints them and wants to go float them at the lake. This one was a ninja boat!

Owen is nearing his end in Children's House 3. After three years there, he will move up to elementary next year. He brought home the contents of his drawer yesterday and it was full of math problems, drawings of different dog breeds, sewing, beautiful cursive capital letters and these wonderful continent maps. Yes, I am one proud mama!

Puke in the hair.

We have been pretty lucky on the stomach flu front this winter, but early this morning, our luck switched. Owen woke up before the roosters thinking he was hungry, after a few options weren't feeling right we crawled into our bed and a few minutes later he puked all over. Poor little guy couldn't keep anything down all day. I am on at least my 7th load of laundry of the day and for sure my 5th outfit. This is when that maternal instinct kicks into high and you just don't care about the puke in your hair, on your toes or all over you clothes. I am just happy that I don't have to even flinch about worrying how I will do multiple things today, I just am here to care for my boy. Nothing is fighting for my attention. Thankfully, I have dear friends at Sunny Hollow who helped get Walter to school (thank you Molly!) and bring Walter to their house after school for some playtime (thank you Noelle!). I'm hoping for a good night of rest and maybe some card games in bed with Owen tomorrow.

Feel better my sweet O!

It's still new to me.

The other day one of Walter's buddies told me our kitchen was no longer new. I told him it still was to me. He then told me his favorite thing about our (new) kitchen is that if a robber came in he wouldn't be able to steal our trash because it is hidden. He tells me this every time he is over and I laugh every time.

I realized I never shared any final result photos of our new kitchen, so without further ado, here are a few before (I didn't take any befores of the old family room, so you get some wrestling photos) and some lovely afters:

Jinx!

Owen has been spending more and more time in the Elementary classroom where he will be next year. He is learning more complex math, reading and geography. In addition, he is learning more elementary games like "Jinx". He tries to set Walter or Jer or me up with a "Mom, say xyz" and as one of us falls for the trap, he says it too and jinxes us. When one of the boys are on 'jinx' they come up to the other family members and point to themselves with pleading eyes hoping you will say their name. Fun, fun!

We had an enjoyable Easter with three separate egg hunts with friends and cousins and a treasure hunt courtesy of Grandma Joanne. The Easter Bunny hid the boys' baskets and made Owen's extra challenging, hiding it on the top of a chandelier!

Spring Break - revisited

I got a bit caught up in telling about our Florida trip that I forgot to tell about the boys official spring break.

We kicked the week off by celebrating my Grandpa's life in a memorial service on Saturday. It was a very full weekend of family and dear friends and many laughs and tears. We ended the family time with some bowling and bocce fun before sending off my mom to go visit my Grandma.

The boys and I then took a road trip to go be with my other Grandma, in International Falls. We had fun being with her and watching old t.v. programs. The boys also had a blast playing with their oh-so-cool older cousins, Willy & Gary. They were amazed by their basketball, video game and geography skills. Owen was really intrigued the night we did Willy's math homework with him.

We ended our spring break with a lunch playdate with our old neighbors. Here is a sweet before and current photo of the crew!

What if it snows in June?

Yes, it is April 20 and we woke up to snow on the ground! Owen asked me this this morning, anticipating my response with a big smile. I told him, as I have recently when its been unseasonably cold, "we're moving to Florida."

Here are the last batch of Florida photos to share. Lots more beach and cousin time with a pit stop to feed, touch and smell some baby gators.

Can trees grow up to space?

Walter asked me this the other day and I have no doubt that this came from our time in Cocoa Beach.

When we arrived in Cocoa Beach, we were greeted by Grandma Donna, Grandpa Bruce, Uncle Jon, Auntie Rachel and cousins Isabelle & Oscar! Walter and Bella quickly became best buds while Owen enjoyed playing with little Oscar, the two buddies, and all the bugs and shells the area had to offer. We were your typical beach bums in Cocoa Beach. With the exception of a dinner here, a mini-golf there, and an ice cream cone in between, we were at the beach! There were plenty of holes dug, castles built, waves caught and sun screen applied.

We did take one day to visit the Kennedy Space Center. It was such fun exploring and learning about NASA and space. Owen will happily tell you about his shuttle launch experience while Walter will tell you about the space playground he couldn't get enough of. Jer and I will probably tell you about the amazing IMAX movies we enjoyed. I'm telling you, its not a matter of if there is other life out there, but where. Wild.

W

We have called Owen 'O' for as long as I can remember. Walter has assumed many nicknames, but never 'W' until our recent Florida trip. Owen started calling his brother W and it has stuck.

After our time in Key Largo, we made our way to Key West where we did some exploring but primarily enjoyed relaxing by the pool. We found some delicious restaurants, with the top one being Chico's Cantina. We gobbled up their chips and salsa and still talk about it! We all agree that we will back to visit the Keys again some day. It was perfect.

After a few days on Key West, we made our way slowly to Cocoa Beach, where Jeremy's grandma & grandpa have a home. We couldn't help but make all sorts of stops to enjoy the views through the Keys. One highlight was stopping at a pier where some fisherman were filleting their catch of the day. They offered the filleted skins to the boys so they could feed the fish that were below the dock. Owen quickly said yes and we went to see the fish they would feed. They turned out to be enormous tarpin and not too enormous shark! They were all a good 6 feet in length! It was totally fascinating! There were plenty of pelicans and egrets around, too. Such fun!