Projects, Basketball, MLK, & Trains

Catch up post, and, GO!

Last weekend we were busy working on projects around the house.

The boys finally have a stable closet unit!  

We needed to take this pile,

 this pile,

 and this mess

and make it all fit here. 

 IKEA shelves to the rescue!

 Outside, Keith got a new work bench and some high shelves.

They also worked on our garden shed and built in some shelves to help clear out the garage a bit.  

Basketball practice started this last week.

 Cody's 1st game went pretty well for the kids not really having been told what the game is all about.
(More to come later on that)

Wednesday we met with our homeschooling group to learn about Martin Luther King Jr and civil rights.  The kids heard a couple of stories and watched video clips. 

 Then they were split into groups to make posters about some of the words and things that were discussed. 

 The groups then presented them.

Everyone did a great job!

Thursday we went on a field trip to the train museum.

 Here come the train!

 I forgot how long the ride was to get from Folsom to Downtown, but the boys had a good time riding the light rail. 

One of the cool exhibits they have right now displays a lot of the fruit box art.

They would make awesome pictures for your walls.

 We finished with a trip to the train toys.




When we were at Rich and Judy's this weekend the boys decided that their train board needed some scenery.  So Grandpa gave them supplies and they went to town. 

 After dinner they showed off their handy work. 

So another busy week on the books!

Ice Skating

Today we went to the Rancho Cordova outdoor Holiday rink with our homeschooling friends.  The boys did great getting out on the ice, thinking the trip we made to the indoor rink a month ago made for a huge advantage.

Ty spent a bit of time in the beginning with a bucket for balance.   

  With a bit of time to become comfortable in new skates, they were both off and skating alone.

Here's a video of them skating...


Ty ended early and became completely enthralled in a game of Angry Birds.

This rink is open through Jan 16th and we would recommend it!  

It's off Zinfandel, look for the Farris Wheel.

Basketball and Bowling...

Saturday, Cody kicked of his basketball season with a skills clinic.  He did great with dribbling and passing as well as being one of the faster ones when they did sprints.  I'm not sure how this league will shape up as it seams a little small, but he'll get a lot of time to play! 

Today we headed back to Strike's in Elk Grove for bowling and pizza with Keith's work.  

The VW team won the bowling tournament a few months back at the company party and it earned them another party. 

 Cody is becoming quiet the bowler.  After the first game he asked me to take the bumpers off his turn and he did great without them up. 

 Tyler is getting pretty good at the run and chuck style of bowling. 

This might be the year we ask for bowling balls for our Birthdays.  I get very frustrated because I need a lighter ball but my fingers never fit the holes. 

The dangers of reading...

Who knew.  Library books are dangerous.  

Tyler came down the hall the other day saying he didn't know what happened, holding his hand that was dripping with blood.  So not awesome.  We ran it under water for a bit, and quickly put a bandage on it to stop the mess.  

Keith walked up and down the hall cleaning the mess, feeling like he must have butchered something along with his finger.  

Finally had a chance to look at the wound a day later when the bandage fell off.  

 Seriously, one of the worst paper cuts I've seen. Thinking he caught the side of the paperback cover. 

Ouch!

Spiderman made it better again. 

 See, he's happy. 

So there, read with caution.  I guess this is a good advertisement for a Nook!

Postings...

over here.

Christmas

We are adding another great Christmas to the books! 

On Christmas Eve morning we opened the last day on the advent calendar, Santa was coming tonight!

 The boys and I made some fudge for Santa...

 In the afternoon they went over to Grandma and Grandpas for a while to spread the excitement around a bit.  While there they made an awesome gingerbread house and trees. 

 While they were away Santa's elves were busy working on their main Christmas gift...

 We all went back to Rich and Judy's to hang out for a bit and celebrate Stu's Birthday with some pizza and brownies.  

While there Rich broke out a new toy for all the boys, a remote control helicopter. 

 We had fun watching as they figure out how it worked...

 Then it got stuck on the roof...

 It was retrieved just in time for dinner!  

Before we knew it, it was time to head for home to get to bed so Santa could come!

The boys sprinkled the reindeer food on the lawn.

 We made some hot chocolate and picked some fudge pieces for Santa and they were off to bed! 

Santa came...

(really not as sad a take as it looks as the big stuff was outside!)

 Glow....

 The tree was stuffed with presents!

 The boys were up off and on all night.  Cody said the first time he checked the clock to see what time it was it said 2:30ish.  They waited until 6:30 on the dot to come wake us up!  

Tyler opened the blind right away to find the trampoline waiting for them outside.

Then they opened their stockings...

 before the rest of their Santa gifts....

 The took a break to jump on the trampoline.  It was freezing out and they only last a few seconds. 

 They happily dove into the rest of their gifts. 

Cody finally has his own pillow pet, he was thrilled! 

 We enjoyed the yule log and Christmas music the whole morning. 

The boys enjoyed the morning playing with all their new loot!

Around noon we headed over to Rich and Judy's for presents and dinner.  

Hoping everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as we did!