Country time visiting . . .

So reoccuring theme that will see over the next few months is: "We had a realtor showing so we had to get out of the house!" Luckily we have great family that is willing for us to come visit anytime. We took this oppurtunity to go out to the country with my parents. The kids got their share of four wheeler rides and tractor rides! This was the first time Papa had gotten the tractor out for the kids to experience. Not one of them was scared at all - pure country folk, right? This visit was a little chilly as we had just experienced a cold snap, but Saturday was absolutely gorgeous! The kiddos were even able to shed those big coats! My grandparents came over and they had so much fun swinging the kids! I think they might have gotten a little worn out (my grandparents not the kids!!)

Oh A-B-C, it's as easy as 1-2-3!

So one of the things I wanted to start working on this new year was "schooling" my kiddos. As a former teacher I know the value of kids who have received help at home. Now, my kids are only barely 3 but we're trying different activities to help them along. The Internet is so jammed full with amazing preschool ideas, often it is overwhelming.

Part of the reason I got so energetic about doing this was I became friends with one of the mommies in A & P's class. We started having play dates with the kids and decided instead of just playing we should incorporate some learning (don't you just love when former teachers get together!). So we've been doing a letter of the week, where we are each in charge of planning the activity or craft for the day around the letter we are studying. It has been great to get to use my teaching skills! Plus it makes you accountable when someone else is counting on you too! So much fun! We've made astronauts, bees and caterpillars so far! I'm so proud of A & P who know all of their letter sounds and can with about 90% accuracy tell you what letter most words start with! They amaze me everyday. Plus, little Hailey is doing so well too at letter sounds! Awesome!

Natural History Museum

One weekend we had to be out of our house for some realtor showings, so we decided to take our dinosaur loving kids to the museum. I really dislike going to huge places like this on the weekends, but we had to get out of the house, and it was raining so I thought "How crowded could it be?"

On a Sunday.
While it was raining.
And we parked in the parking garage that makes you come through the museum store on your way in.

Oh, it was crowded. And yes, my son threw a hissy fit for all the dinosaur toys as we walked through the store . But we still managed to have fun. I can't say it's my favorite thing that we have done in this great city of ours, but the kiddos seemed to enjoy.




Hopefully next time we come it won't be so crowded. And raining. And we'll remember to steer clear of the store with all the awesome dino toys. Hopefully.