Celebrating the arrival of summer

It's really not summer until you play with water in the yard. 

The boys found some creative ways to expand the fun in a plastic pool that is woefully too small (and water that is way too cold for anyone's tastes).

I'm guessing by 4th of July we will have broken down and gotten a bigger pool.

Greetings for Grandma!

The boys send their best wishes to Grandma Ingrid who has a birthday today!

They wish you were here! 

Celebrating with clean hair

We usually leave the house pretty early in the morning... So the boys and I got up at 5 to prepare breakfast in bed for Ericka on her birthday.  The boys got  to choose what we were serving so she got donuts and orange juice.  

Last week Mathias and I went shopping for mom's birthday gift. He was determined that what she really wanted/needed for her birthday was a new coffee mug and shampoo. We also left the store with bright orange and purple nail polish. It was quite the grab bag of gifts!

Happy birthday, Ericka!

Breaking the 14 minute mile

Yesterday, Mathias and I, along with Bella and her dad, participated in the TC Kids Marathon. Unlike a regular marathon, the kids run is limited to one mile. Bella's dad and I were along mostly to keep reinforcing the message that a mile is longer than you think and it would be a good idea to slow down... 

It was a hot day. Mathias was quite the trooper and kept running even when his legs told him to stop. Somewhere off in the distance we could have heard Chariots of Fire playing! He was very proud of the medal he received for finishing the race.

Any offers for endorsements of sporting equipment, consumer products, soft drinks, etc should be directed to our press secretary.

Mother's Day

The boys have been counting the days until Mother's Day for several weeks.  Every time Ericka left the house they wanted to wrap something up in a box and put a ribbon on it.  On the big day (after getting to sleep in until almost 8 o'clock) she received two large boxes full of treasures (see previous post), drawings, and homemade cards. She said it was the best Mother's Day ever. I would concur!

Getting spoiled at Aunt B's

We spent a long weekend in South Dakota. The reason for the trip was to attend cousin Payton's graduation. But the boys spent most of their time time at Aunt B's getting loved up. 

The favorite activity, by far, was going to search for treasures along the Missouri river. The boys came home with a par (yes, two!) of birds nests, abandoned since last summer by the previous owners. They also came home with a few surprisingly large clam shells, several rocks and a crayfish claw (!).   Treasures, indeed!

They spent most of the drive home lamenting how much they missed their Aunt B and cousin Jonah. We may have to come back later this summer.  

We're going to Aunt B's house!

 Upon realizing that the visit to Aunt B's house in the great state of South Dakota is imminent the boys started packing. It wasn't so much packing for a road trip as much as it was stuffing toys and stuffed animals into a couple of suitcases. But it's the thought that count. They can't wait to see their Aunt!

Buddies

May first is the first day of, what? The second half of spring? In either case, the boys are enjoying coasting into summer. As they are playing outside they are surprisingly compatible, especially as Mathias is 910 days (68%) older than his brother. 

They enjoy climbing on various structures, searching for bugs in the yard, driving the Gator, and - of course - driving their toy cars. The socially reserved Mathias gets a 'safety in numbers' boost by having his much more outgoing brother along.  Johan, who isn't quite the daredevil, wants to do what big brother does. It's quite the duo! 

 

New first

After six years of being, to put it mildly, a picky eater, Mathias has a acquired a bit of an appetite. Last week he was seen eating a hamburger like a bona-fide carnivore! If we don't count times he has taken a symbolic bite (to be able to say he tried it) this is the first. No kidding.  

If you let a 6-year-old choose your birthday cake

You might end up with something with a car on it.

Of course, it is a somewhat Ferrari-esque looking red convertible. So maybe he's trying to convey something about midlife crises...

Better than the Easter Bunny

For Easter, Aunt B came to town! She was also accompanied by cousin Jonah, Uncle Mark, and Grandpa Charlie. The boys were so excited to have them here. I'm not sure who was the most worn out after they left - our guests or the boys.

Jonah was an especially good sport putting up with all the attention and play time with the dozen-years younger cousins.

All aboard

Last year we drove to Wisconsin Dells to spend part of spring break inhaling chlorinated water at one of the water parks. It's a long drove so this year we changed it up a bit by taking the train. The boys had a blast on the train and enjoyed the scenery - particularly when meeting other trains going in the opposite direction.

For this water park visit Mathias had reached the 42-inch mark which is the height requirement for many of the larger water slides. Johan isn't particularly interested in water slides.

Going by rail doesn't save you any time or money but at least you have the flexibility of going to the bathroom whenever you want.

Plus, they have plug-ins for your DVD player!

Black is the new blue

Mathias and I took the day off to squeeze the last bit of skiing out of the 2011/2012 season. We drove up to Spirit Mountain in Duluth. It was a fabulous day with the sun was shining, the temperature was comfortable, and there was hardly anyone there. The snow left a bit to be desired but you can't have everything, right?

We spent four hours skiing the green and blue hills at the end of which my feet were aching and I wanted to go home. That's when M discovered that there were more hills, the black ones, available on the other side of the mountain. In my infinite wisdom I thought letting him try the steeper slopes would be the ticket to packing it up for the day and getting back in the car...

But no. We spent 2 hours, right up until they closed the lift and told us it was time to go, in the trails where you need to pay attention to what you are doing. Mathias loved every minute of it.

Last time I wrote about skiing I was just joking about going to Jackson. Now we might have to.

Happy 6th birthday!

On his sixth birthday, Mathias requested an 'army' cake. Up to the challenge, the decorators at Woullet came through as always.

Nothing says happy birthday quite like barb wire and artillery fire. But the birthday boy was happy and it was a yummy cake!

After a party at day care we came home and had his requested birthday dinner: ravioli...

He received tons of presents. Many thanks to all who remembered him, including Aunt Anna, Aunt B, Farmor & Farfar, and, of course, brother Johan.

The birthday party

After the serious gymnasts go home North Shore Gymnastics sits quiet and empty. At least for a while before the kids roll in. Mathias requested to have his birthday party at NSG this weekend. So he, Johan, and eight of his friends invaded Sunday afternoon. Guided by John the gymnastics instructor they had all sorts of fun there.

We're not sure what real gymnasts do with a two-story inflatable slide, but it was quite entertaining!

Skiing - lesson 3

It was 65 and sunny on the day of Mathias' third (and final for the season) skiing lesson. It was so nice that his ski instructor, Colin, skied in a short sleeved t-shirt. Mathias looked like the Michelin Man in comparison. He has now graduated to both the chair lift and the big ski hill (to the extent hills in Minnesota are big).

After the lesson ended he skied with Ericka. Mr. Independent refused any help in the chair lift. At the top of the hill he said "see you at the bottom" and took off.
Next spring break we're going to Jackson!

Learning Chinese the easy way

Well, only basic phrases like Kung Pao. But it's a start. Turns out if you use a little plastic clip to hold the chopsticks together anyone can look like a native of Beijing wile having Chinese for lunch.

Welcome home!

The other day when I came home late from a trip I was greeted by our driveway by a snowman Mathias and Johan (I suspect with help from Mama) had built.

It was nice if perhaps a bit spooky!

With whiskers

In recognition of Dr. Seuss' 108th birthday, Friday, Johan came home from pre-school resembling the Cat in the Hat... He was also proudly proclaiming that he had had Green Eggs & Ham for lunch. There was no word on weather the birthday bird from Katroo showed up. But a good time appears to have been had regardless.

Mountaineering

It was a bright and sunny winter morning when Mathias took his first skiing lesson today. His group consisted of seven kids who had never skid before, coupled with no less than three instructors.

After some practice they migrated to the bunny hill which comes with a magic carpet. That's the contraption bringing beginners tot he starting line. It's like a grocery store conveyor belt moving up the hill. Where was that when I learned to ski?!

After 90 minutes of ski school he was starting to feel pretty comfortable in uncomfortable on the snow.