Stories and Swimming

We are certainly experiencing New England weather right now. Tuesday the high was in the lower 80s and then on Wednesday the mid 50s. The boys were so bummed because they couldn't play at their water table or in the new inflatable pool I got them yesterday.

Brennan was so happy when he woke up this morning and it was super sunny. It was still only in the 50s this morning with a high in the low 60s, but I told him he might be able to get in the water closer to lunch time. Just after 8am I filled up the pool and water table hoping the sun would heat them up. We played at home for a little while and then headed off to the library.

Thursday is usually our library day. We were attending story time each Thursday, but that's done for the summer. However, we've still be going on Thursdays to return our books and DVDs. Our local library has a pretty nice children's area. Brennan loves to play on the computers and is completely self-sufficient on them. They are easy touch-screen ones and he rarely needs any assistance. That's good because Bryce is all over the place. There is a train table that entertains him for a little while, puzzles and a few toys that don't really interest him that much, and of course books to pull off shelves. He's actually gotten a lot better about not pulling books off which is nice. The last two trips to the library, he's really liked sitting at the table and coloring. He doesn't do a lot of actual coloring, but sits still and plays around with the crayons. Anytime he is sitting still is nice!

Today he discovered a little hole in the computer table where cords pass through and thought it would be fun to drop crayons in there. I just let him. He was walking back and forth between that hole and the crayon bowl for a long time and just laughing and laughing. It was easy enough to clean up when he was done and I enjoyed a few minutes of just sitting and watching.

Since Brennan is usually busy on the computer, I am the one that typically picks out all the books for the week. It's so crazy because now at least half of the books I pick come from the "I Can Read" section. In fact just last week he picked a book and read it to the children's librarian. Other workers gathered around to listen to him too. It was pretty neat. Brennan also likes alphabet books and number books, so I try to get some of those. Once he's done with the computer he gets to pick out one or two DVDs for the week too.

Once we got home it was a balmy 62 degrees. I knew the boys really wanted to play in the pool, so I just let them. I got them changed into their swim clothes and they had a great time. The sun had warmed up the water some, but it was still pretty chilly. Hearing Brennan say, "I am loving this SO much!" let me know I made the right choice.

Now hopefully they don't catch pneumonia.

Back to the Zoo

On Tuesday, the boys and I headed back to the Roger Williams Zoo. It was a nice warm day and I much prefer going on weekdays when it's less crowded. We headed out around 9:30 and got there a little after it opened at 10.

Brennan wanted to head right up to the treehouse to do the ball crank he loved so much last time. It is really neat. On the other side of the treehouse are more steering wheels that turn these colored leaves in the windows. It's really pretty.

Unfortunately, the water play area was closed for maintenance. They told us it should be up and running soon, so we decided to go ahead and walk around for a bit. We saw the elephants and then stopped for ice cream. Brennan earned ice cream for staying in bed until 7am for five mornings. He used to do that all the time, but recently started getting up before seven and that's not cool with Momma. A little bribery seemed to work. After ice cream we saw the elephants getting bathed, took a picture of a giraffe, and then headed back to the water area.

I like these butterfly pictures of Brennan!

After about five more minutes the water finally came on. Bryce was in heaven. Brennan mainly pouted and went and sat in the stroller to eat a snack. I wish these pictures could properly convey how much fun Bryce was having. The water wall he loved last time wasn't working, but he still really liked these sprayers. I'm just going to share every picture I took of him playing because I was cracking up watching him in there with the big kids.

His face in these next ones is so great. He was loving it!

And then there's B in the stroller. Bless his little pouty heart.

Other than the water play area and the treehouse Brennan's other favorite spot at the zoo is the "jumping game", so we headed there next. He wanted to stop for a picture on the stone elephant. And actually gave me a good smile.

We bypassed most of the animals and went to where he could jump. This action shot looks like he's about to face plant, but he's gotten really good at jumping.

After that we headed home. Both boys snacked a lot while were there so we ate just a tiny bit for lunch and then both boys went down for a nap.

It's such a fun place to visit!

Our Memorial Day Weekend

I already shared pictures from Saturday with you, but thought I'd share a few from the rest of our Memorial Day weekend.

After church on Sunday, Kyle and I headed over to see our friends, Kim and Gary. Kyle had been dying to go over to their place and shoot his shotgun. They own a large piece of land in the middle of nowhere and just shoot right off a cliff in their backyard. I had never shot a gun of any kind before, but on Sunday I shot Kyle's shotgun and Gary's pistol.

Kyle showed me how to correctly hold the shotgun and I shot a few rounds just off the cliff. He brought a clay shooter with him, so then it was time for me to try and shoot a clay pigeon. I wasn't expecting much and didn't hit anything, but it was still fun.

I also learned how to load and unload the shotgun, so don't sneak in my house! The girls there wanted to shoot a pistol and aim at a non-moving target, so Gary brought two of his out. It was heavier than I expected, but it was fun too and I was able to hit a stationary object!

I've never been a big fan of guns, but I'm glad I got to do this and would definitely do it again. While we were out shooting, the boys were home with a sitter taking long Sunday naps. 

On Monday Kyle had duty, so it was just me and the boys. I was planning on taking them to the zoo, but it was rainy in the morning and a 50% chance until noon, so we decided to just go to the mall instead. The mall is Brennan's favorite because he likes to play at the arcade. We were extra lucky because their babysitter from the day before happened to be working at the mall on Monday, so we got to see her there. I had promised Brennan he could play with his water table when we got home, so that's exactly what we did.

Before I put their swimsuits on them, I tried to get a few pictures of them in their matching flag shirts. No such luck. I only got a few goobery looking pictures of Brennan and zero of Bryce looking at the camera. Oh well. Brennan's hair is so crazy right now. I've had two people at church ask me if he cut it himself. No. Kyle took him to the barbershop a few weeks ago and they just didn't do a great job. Now it's starting to grow out again and sticks up really bad in the back. I'd love to be able to let him grow it out a little longer to maybe help weigh down his cowlick, but I'm not sure that's going to happen. 

I put the water table up on our new deck and it worked out great. There's a gate at the top of the stairs, so the boys are in jail out there. Brennan had fun, but Bryce had a blast. He's such a water baby! It was perfect because they were safely playing there off the kitchen and I was able to get lunch ready inside while still watching them. We will be getting lots of use out of this water table this year I think!

We were just low key the rest of the day. We ate lunch, took naps, played with the water table some more, ate dinner, and got ready for bed. I was proud of myself because I got out and mowed the front yard after Bryce was in bed. It needed to be done and I was afraid it might rain before Kyle could mow on Tuesday, so I gave him a little Memorial Day gift and mowed. 

It wasn't a super exciting Memorial Day weekend, but it was spent with our little family and I wouldn't want it any other way! 

A Super Saturday

We headed back to the aquarium this morning because Spider-Man and Iron Man were making an appearance. We got there right as the aquarium opened and had time to walk around a little and then made our way to the line to meet the Superheroes!

We needed some snacks while we waited. Even superheroes get hungry!

Then it was time to meet and greet! Bryce loved the characters at Disney, but did not like these guys today. Brennan was cute showing off his muscles. And I wish I gotten a better picture of Bryce walking around because he looked so adorable with his muscles.

It was the perfect morning because it was a little chilly, so the wearing the costumes worked out great. You'll probably be seeing these again for Halloween! Afterwards we headed to one of our favorite little outdoor seafood restaurants for lunch then headed home and cleaned out Mommy's car. It was a super start to our Saturday.

Beach Day

On Wednesday when I picked Brennan up from school we headed to the beach. It wasn't a super warm day and the boys were just in jeans and tshirts, but I thought it would be fun to play in the sand for a little bit. We brought all our sand toys and went to a beach that's pretty close to our house. It's a very rocky beach and not the prettiest one around, but I thought the boys would have fun playing.

Bryce was entertained just playing in the sand. Brennan, on the other hand, wanted to go right down to the water. The water is very very shallow, so he was fine to walk on out to the water while Bryce and I watched from the beach. He had fun throwing rocks into the water. It didn't take long for him to wade into the water. In his jeans.

He did have one meltdown (you know how I mentioned those have been happening a lot lately) when he decided he wanted his Crocs off. I told him I didn't think it was a good idea because the beach was so rocky, but he was adamant. He made it 1/2 way back down towards the water and started screaming that it was hurting his feet. Then putting sandy feet back into his Crocs wasn't very fun either. How dare there be sand at the beach!

Enjoy a few pictures!