Tiny Tumblers, Mario, and basketball

I took Ella and Austin to tiny tumblers at a local gymnastics center.  They open up the gym area for children between 1 and 2 and for 45 minutes once a week they get to run around and play.  It is a lot of fun. 

This picture makes me laugh because for the few minutes we had to wait, this is what Ella did:

They had a ton of fun.  They ran through tunnels made out of mats, jumped into the foam pit, and jumped on lots of trampolines...a favorite of the day.  They had set up a parachute with a fan blowing underneath and balloons inside.  I thought they would love it, but neither of them would go inside of it.

I'm not sure what is more funny about this video...the kids, or the fact that MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This" is playing in the background.

Jumping on the trampolines...I love to watch them jump:

I need one of these.  They both wanted to get in, but then could not get out.  This would be great for Austin's room to keep him safe.  :)

Officer Andrew was going around protecting the house today:

Then Mario and Luigi stopped by:

Hunter had his second to last game tonight.  They did well.  The team has improved quite a bit.  However, on defense...this is what they do.  Four yellow jerseys guarding one blue.  It did make it tough for the blue guy to do much though!



Super Bowl Fun

Another rainy, dreary day here...Hunter and I went to get a few things for his birthday party.  6 more days and my little boy will be 6!  He is so excited!

The boys had fun playing with their "light sabers."

Chris went to a friend's to watch the football game so the boys and I had our own little Super Bowl party.  We ate brownies, goldfish, pretzels, and carrots with hummus.  Austin and Sadie watching the game:

Winnie was stuck to me all evening.  I tried to get a picture of the two of us.  Then she decided to stick her tongue in my mouth.

Hunter watching the game...not really, he was watching some legos ninja thingy on youtube.

However, during the half time show, he saw the break dancers and starting his own moves:

Congrats to the NY Giants...sorry to all my New England friends.  Better luck next time.  

Sleepy Saturday...

Not that anyone got to take a nap besides Austin, but it would have been a nice day for one since it was so dreary.

We had a pretty uneventful day, but I did get the boys out to a playground before the rain started.  Well, it did sprinkle a bit while we were there...but we played through it.

The boys met up with a few of their friends and had a good time running and screaming.

Austin and Gabby:

Every time Austin went down the slide his hair would stick straight up.  Kind of hard to tell in the picture though.

Besides picking up the house and putting laundry away, the only excitement I had was fighting the crowds at Harris Teeter and getting harassed by girl scouts selling cookies.  One girl was dressed as a shortbread cookie and was jumping in front of me yelling about how great the cookies were.  I feel rude just going by without buying any, but I already bought way too many boxes for a family of four!

The grocery store was so packed and everywhere I turned someone was either bumping into me or I was bumping into them.  I guess that's what happens when you wait until the day before the Super Bowl to get groceries.  I decided today that there should be a grocery store open for those who could care less about the Super Bowl...anyone who watches the Super Bowl is not allowed to shop there.  I guess that would not be very profitable for the store, but it would be a lot more peaceful for me.  Next year I'll shop while the game is on...I bet the store is pretty empty then!

Winter Fun...even if it doesn't feel like winter!

Today was the 100th day of school and I went in to help with Hunter's class party.  I forgot my camera.  :(  But, they made a 100th day crown, displayed their 100 items in a class museum, and sang us a 100th day song. 

While at school a friend of mine, Jammie, and her two children came to hang out with Ella and Austin.  They had fun coloring and when I got back they were playing outside.  (Samantha, Ella, James, and Austin)

I fed all of the kids early today so we could get to the winter carnival on time.  Here are Andrew and Hunter "chill-axing" while eating dinner!

We met Chris at Hunter's school and as soon as we walked in we realized it was not a place for Austin.  So, he took him home and I stayed with Hunter.  They had transformed the school into a winter wonderland with lights and snowflakes.  It looked really neat.  The cafeteria and gym (which are connected) had all of the games and different bouncy places.  They also had a cake walk up on the stage. 

Outdoors they had "Snow in My Yard" set up a sledding area.  Hunter loved it and went on it several times.  (if you click on this picture you'll be able to see it better)

The best part about this video below is the guy next to me that would not stop talking to me.  He was a worker for the snow place and went on and on about nothing.  When he found out what Hunter's name was he almost wet his pants.  His wife is pregnant and they are naming their son Hunter.  You can hear him in the background of the video blabbing away.

One of the hallways in his school:

Learning how to break a board...he did it on his first try:

He tried several times to win a cake by participating in the cake walk.  No luck...he was bummed. 

But, he got over it pretty quickly has he went down this slide over and over again:

He had his face painted like a zombie.  He picked out a small mirror as a prize and kept looking at himself after his face was painted.  It was the first time he was interested in having his entire face done.

The sledding zombie:

Austin did not like the paint on Hunter's face.  He kept grabbing his own face saying, "off, off" to Hunter.









The beginning of a busy season...

I woke up to Hunter crawling into bed next to me and whispering, "Mom, I really missed you."  Such a great way to wake up.

He was so excited this morning...here he is doing a dance while we were eating breakfast.  He had both fingers up his nose and his knees were moving back and forth.

Here he is dancing on his bed:

He was so excited to wake Austin up:

And my personal favorite...can you tell they love each other?

I guess Austin thought his head needed to be cleaned prior to bath time.

Our friend, Tripp, came over to play for a bit.  It was so warm out!

Austin really wanted to get into the shed to get his bike out.  There were a ton of planes flying overhead today...each time one would go by he would just stare at it.

Tomorrow is the 100th day of school for Hunter.  He had to collect 100 of an item and display it in a neat way.  Not 100% sure how it's going to fit in the truck with Chris tomorrow.  I guess it will have to ride on Hunter's lap.

There were 100 balloons on there when we finished.  We'll see how many make it!  He painted the board, drew his house, colored it, cut it out and glued it on.  I did the balloons.  Thankfully we had a handy balloon pump...those tiny balloons are almost impossible to blow up!

We survived...

Too tired to write much now, so I will have to add more tomorrow when I upload all of the pictures.  But, we're home! 

We left Norwich at noon, made it to Boston before 5:00 (Austin did great in the car again)...got on the plane at 7 and landed at 9 in Raleigh.  The flight was "fun."

When we got home Austin pushed right past Chris looking for his "bro bro" who was already asleep.  Then he went nuts...he started playing basketball, he rode his plasma car, his motor cycle, rocked in the chair, etc...

Needless to say, he was happy to be home.  Looking forward to seeing Hunter, Andrew, Ella, and Cam tomorrow!  But, I am missing my dad tonight.  He's doing well.

Special shout out to my mom, Nonna, for putting up with Austin for the past several days!

Busy busy busy...

Today was my last full day in town with my dad, so I had a lot I wanted to get done.  I had to start the day off by shovelling the inch or so of snow off his driveway, but the sun came out 1st thing and helped melt it all. 

I ran a few errands, cleaned a bit more, and hung out with Austin for a bit. 

This afternoon my dad drove his car for the first time in two weeks.  He said he felt human again.  He did well.

I made turkey quinoa meatloaf for dinner and had enough to save for him for tomorrow night and some to freeze.

I took Austin over to my aunt's to say goodbye and he, of course, played with her walking cane...he used it to walk and to sing into.

Back at my dad's he played one last round of cleaning supplies bowling with an orange and got to take a bath in the tub that I used to take baths in when I was little.

Just a few things to finalize before Austin and I leave tomorrow around noon for Boston...then we're flying home to Raleigh.  I can't believe tomorrow is February 1st!  Hunter will be 6 years old on the 11th. 

Hunter had school and then hung out with our neighbors while Chris went to band practice.  Thanks Jay and Emily!

***pictures to follow***