On 8 wheels

For his birthday, Mathias was endowed with a pair of roller skates from his friend Bella. Today was a beautiful spring day so we decided to give them a try.

It was a great success in that there were no wipeouts. Of course, he never let go of his mothers arms during the trial run. It is not an easy concept to switch from walking to skating.

Thanks Bella! We'll see you soon!

Touring the Midwest 2

Goes without saying that no road trip is complete without a visit to Aunt B. The boys had a blast during their visit. We think Aunt B did too (but we bet she sorely needed a nap after we left!).

Touring the Midwest

We spent the weekend taking a road trip. One of the stops was to check in on Grandpa Charlie. The boys had a terrific time at his house. Johan spent most of his time exploring and looking for ways to get in trouble. But he also spent some quality time with Grandpa. Mathias got to swim in the pool and collaborated with Grandpa on several priceless masterpieces in water color. Best of all - spring is here and the world starts anew!

4!

After the big but slightly premature celebration yesterday, the actual birthday was considerably more laid back. Mathias spent the morning opening a generous pile of gifts from grandparents, aunts, and friends. Even his brother had a gift for him.

As the spectator of the birthday event, all I can say is:

Buy Disney stock!

Party!

Our house was full of high-energy children.

In two hours that now are a blurry memory, the kids:

-Jumped in the moonwalk

-Played with toys

-Made pizzas

-Sang happy birthday

-Ate cake & ice cream

-Opened gifts

-Busted a pinata

Afterwards, all adults needed naps. The kids were all wound up and full of sugar!

Fun with fans

Mathias invited nine of his closest friends for a birthday party Saturday. For the festivities we rented one of the greatest inventions in the history of mankind... the Moonwalk! This would be the not-so-large version of the bouncing-castles sometimes seen at county fairs, etc.

The evening before the party, we picked it up and the boys of course had to give it a test drive. They gave it two enthusiastic thumbs up!

I'm pretty sure there will be tears on Sunday when it gets returned!

The last hurrah of winter

In the fleeting days of winter - inspired by the Vancouver Olympics - Mathias tried his hand (and feet) at skiing.It wasn't a smash-hit. After falling a handful of times in wet soggy snow he had had enough.

It may be December before we get to try again. That is, unless there is one snowstorm left in March!

18 with a set of wheels

Well, it isn't quite Rebel without a Cause...

But Johan just turned 18 (months) and has made it onto the trike. He can't reach the pedals yet.. But that doesn't matter. It is all about looking cool anyway! Anyone for a drive?

Moments to relive

As the parent of a young child you get used to having the same conversations over and over again whenever something noteworthy happens. I'm guessing we'll be talking about this one a few times...

A couple of stones throws from our house is a construction site. On Friday afternoon they were pumping concrete into the foundation of the future house. Long story short - warm weather melted the snow making the ground soggy and the concrete pump truck got stuck in the mud... In front of the awestruck boy, the crew failed to pull it loose using the cement truck. A bulldozer was brought in and that did the trick. Needless to say, a good time was had by all! Sweet dreams!

Sunshine!

If you thought the first day of meteorological spring was a day to sit on the porch and lap up the the first rays of sunshine in 2010, think again! You may be laboring under the illusion that the mudpuddles will take care of themselves...

But no! It takes a steady supply of carefully delivered scoops of snow to create slush of optimal water to dirt ratio. It is hard work but seeing the mixture clog the clotheswasher is the reward for a job well done!