School BBQ & Water Day

Today was Caleb's BBQ and water day at school. It is hard to believe that tomorrow is his last day of pre-school and that he will be starting pre-kindergarten in the fall. Dan, Elton, myself and Caleb, all participated in the lunch. Dan and Elton went home after lunch for Elton's nap while I got Caleb suited up for water day. For the next couple of hours the kids had a blast with water guns, slip'n slides, bubbles, and eating otter pops and ice cream. The weather was perfect - sunny, no wind and about 82 degrees. The kids had lots of fun and Caleb is napping as I type this.

I found out today that Caleb's teacher has been teaching 33 years. I would say that is quite admirable as I have mentioned how you can see how much she still enjoys what she is doing and loves the little kids.

Maintenence Team Leader!

I am very proud to announce that Dan has been promoted to Maintenence Team Leader!! This is a really exciting advancement for him and we feel so blessed that he has made it to this level in just 3 1/2 years. His hours will change from 5am - 5pm to 7am - 7pm and will involve being on call for advice for the night shift on the days he works. This will mean the boys and I have dinner on our own on the days he works, but I think we will manage just fine. He will also gain an extra week vacation (3wks/yr).

Hanging Out In The Boys' Den

As you can see, the game room in the basement that Dan remodeled in the winter has really become a fun place for the boys of the house. You can see Dan playing computer games while Elton is chilling on the bean bag watching the movie. Even the dogs love it!

Passport

I received my US passport today!! This means now that the boys and I can look at making our travel plans to go to Nana and Papa Jack's in July. I am tentatively looking at the dates of July 19 - July 31. It will just be myself, Caleb and Elton flying up so Caleb is in training to be my helper in the airport. He is so psyched for the trip that he is in agreement that he is up for the role. When I told him that my passport arrived today he figured we could just leave tomorrow. We are excited that we have a fun summer ahead with our pending plans!

Caleb's New Obsession

Caleb has always been a focused kid and when he is into something that is all his brain revolves around. Thus, since my first post a couple of weeks ago, daddy's Lego is Caleb's new obsession. These pictures from today show how my dining room table has been overtaken. When I told him we were going to need to move some Lego for dinner tonight he pointed to the coffee table in the living room and said we could eat there instead (I don't think so!). He has been working on his Lego since he woke up this morning and even has eaten with it. He only stopped for his required nap and is right back at it now. Look at the disheveled hair and he has no time for clothes today. Pretty intense stuff!

Road Trip

We have been talking for many months about taking a road trip with the van for a family vacation and in the last week things seem to be coming together. In just 3 weeks we are planning to hit the road to drive to Edmonton, Alberta. We will be staying with some friends whose kids are about the same ages as the boys. Then we plan on hitting the West Edmonton mall which is even bigger than The Mall Of America (in Minneapolis). They have a great variety of activities: amusement park, waterpark, indoor ice skating and many other activities along with shopping. We are also planning on stopping overnight in Red Deer, Alberta to spend time with a friend I grew up with. Dan was mapping out the trip and it is just over 1000 miles one way which we think we can handle in two day with the kids. We are excited that everything seems to be coming together!

Our Weekend In The Mountains

We left late Thursday afternoon to spend a weekend in the mountains at Dan's parents cabin. Caleb has been begging the last few weeks to go and was totally psyched. Friday morning started off with me making homeade sausage gravy and biscuits. When we went outside, the boys were very excited to see grandpa's four wheelers. Elton had never rode on one before, but didn't even hesitate about getting on and it wasn't even an option whether he went for a ride or not.

Saturday we made a fire and roasted hotdogs and smores for lunch while we watched the tree man get ready to cut down some diseased trees. Caleb was very excited at the opportunity to say "timber" as he watched a big tree come down. He was convinced that the tree man must know Mike from "Dirty Jobs".

In the evenings after the boys went to bed we got to watch a few new movies: "Because I Said So", "Music & Lyrics", and "Catch & Release".

This morning the boys got up and daddy got up with them so I could stay in bed for a little bit. The boys were really good and quiet and it was actually the neighbours dirt trucks coming at 8am that forced me out of bed. Dan made breakfast and we spent our last morning their just laying around.

My How It's Made Boy

Caleb loves to put things together and build things. His teacher thinks he is her little architect. Dan saved his lego set from when he was a kid and Caleb has had his eye on them for a long time. The main reason we have been making him wait is Elton & Bingo. Last night he convinced us to let him try one if he keeps them on the table. This morning he spent almost 3 hours studying the diagrams in the directions and I am very proud of his progress. He wouldn't even eat (not like this is new) because working on his project was much more important.