Idaho- Part Three

After a day of Ben digging out a box of chocolate pudding from a kitchen drawer over and over again and carrying it around the house, Great Grandma decided to see if he would actually like it (he'd never had any previously) and made it with him. 

Great Grandma was so patient with the boys the whole trip.  She didn't flinch when they made messes, cried, were loud, or were grumpy.  Her abundance of patience and energy made our trip fun and relaxing.  

Here are some pictures of Great Grandma making cookies with the boys.  She ended up doing most of the work once the chocolate chips were discovered :-)

Later that day I took the boys out on the farm again to play and get some energy out.  Ben kept perfectly happy chillin' and playing in the dirt....which turned to mud when his drool came in contact with it :-)

To be continued...

Idaho- Part Two

As any little boy would, Paul thoroughly enjoyed the tractors, 4-wheeler, and trucks on the farm.  He even got to drive (steer) a tractor around the farm.

He also enjoyed stomping around and exploring the farm.  It was hard to get him to come inside.

While Paul enjoyed the farm, Great Grandma soothed Ben to sleep and put him down for a much needed nap.

The next day, Austin and Keely came up to visit for the day.  The boys enjoyed spending time with them.  As he always does when he's around Keely, Paul attached himself to her for the better part of the day, though I didn't get pictures of the two of them together.

Paul getting a horsey-ride from Uncle Austin....

... and Uncle Austin trying to get a horsey-ride from Paul  :-)

Idaho- Part One

 

We finally made it out to Idaho to visit my Grandparents; something that I have been wanting and meaning to do for months and months.  The night before our long road trip, we kept the boys up late in hopes of helping them sleep more the next morning when we piled them in the car just before 6 am.  To my surprise, they both stayed awake the entire car ride, except for when Ben dozed off for about 20 or 30 minutes.  The boys did surprisingly well during the 12 hour trip from Colorado to Idaho.  They entertained themselves quite well and the whining and crying was kept to a minimum (yea!).  We made plenty of stops along the way allowing the boys to get some energy and wiggles out.

While in Idaho, the boys enjoyed riding around town with no car seats to watch some recently harvested sugar beets pile up.

Great Grandpa Wilkins entertained Paul with his magic whistling ear (hearing aid).  Paul was quite curious and very entertained.

Great Grandma spent a lot of time playing with and entertaining the boys.  One afternoon she took them outside with buckets to collect rocks.  This kept the boys busy for a long time.  

To be continued...

First Snow

Today we woke up to the first snowfall of the season.

We bundled up to go explore and play in the snow.  

Ben was quite fascinated with his mittens.

With the breeze blowing the snow on us, it was pretty chilly.  After a few minutes of standing in one spot saying "cold, cold, cold," 

Ben relaxed and joined Paul in the fun.

Paul was thoroughly happy being out in the snow.  


He smiled and made snow "balls"

and smiled

and smiled.

What a great start to the day.

Brothers

Paul, generally a sweet, loving brother, had a need to take out aggression on Ben repeatedly throughout the day.

After I comforted Ben and cleaned up his wound, Ben went over to Paul and gave him hug after hug.

I am so happy that they have each other.

Family Night

Monday night is family night.  Justin and I make sure to spend quality time with the boys doing something special; something that sets the evening apart from the rest of the week.

This week after playing at home and eating dinner, we bundled up and headed downtown in the bitter, windy fall weather.  

Stop #1: the toy store

Stop #2: the ice cream store

What a better way to warm up than by eating ice cream, right?

Amazing Jumping Boys!

Introducing the Amazing, never before seen dare-devil brothers attempting a dangerous feat that has never before been attempted. Sit back and be Amazed!

Paul is 3!

For Paul's birthday today he...

Made eggs for breakfast...

and ate them all gone so that he could eat this giant cookie that he baked with Ben and Mommy yesterday.

Paul wanted to go to the park for his birthday, so we went and picked up Grandma (Wilkins) and went to the park.  The heat made us all a little uncomfortable, so our stay there was short.  To cool off, we drove downtown and treated ourselves to ice cream at Walrus.

From there, we headed to the toy store to pick out a birthday toy with the money he received in the mail from Great Grandma and Grandpa Wilkins.  Paul had a lot of fun playing and looking at all of the toys; it was difficult to get a picture of him standing still.

For lunch, Paul requested that we eat at Old McDonald's.  I had never taken him to (old) McDonald's before (except when driving through Wyoming) and was impressed with the play area.  Paul ate apples and drank orange juice and then tired himself out in the play area.

At his request, we went back to Grandma's house to play.  Grandma had a present for him which he was very excited to open.  He stayed and played at Grandma's house until that evening when Daddy, Mommy, and Ben picked him up to take him out for a special birthday dinner.

At Paul's request, of course, we went to a restaurant that had crayons and noodles.  After a long, sugar-filled day, neither of our boys were very cooperative, so we had our meals boxed up and left as quickly as possible.

Having been left unsatisfied with his park experience earlier that day, Paul requested that we go to the "small park" (our neighborhood park, down the street from our house).  So we went to the park as a fun way to end Paul's third birthday.


We love you Paul!