A Lunchtime Conversation About Ketchup

These boys really crack me up sometimes.  Today, over lunch, they had the most entertaining conversation yet, involving all three of them, and from their perspective it was pretty hilarious!

It all started when I asked them if they wanted ketchup with their sweet potato fries.  I accidentally got a little bit on Everett's macaroni, prompting Ethan to say, "Everett, do you want some ketchup on your mac-n-cheese?"

Everett laughed and then the round table, turn-taking, discussion of ketchup on various foods, objects and body parts began.  Ketchup on the ceiling, on toast, on the windows, on toes, ketchup on a picture frame, ketchup on the light... if they could see it or think it, it was named.

I didn't find it as funny as they did, actually it was slightly disgusting, but I couldn't help but stand back and listen, happily watching my boys interact over lunch, discussing the funny places ketchup could be and then giggling to each other at the end of each statement.

Elliot even engaged in the conversation, saying in his sweet, slightly stuttering, little voice, "Wouldn't it be funny if... someone put ketchup... on their face?" followed by a chorus of giggles.

Silly boys!

Puzzle Mania

Come into our home right now and you might be hard pressed not to step on a puzzle in progress, puzzle completed, move a puzzle box that needs to return to its home, or even push aside a puzzle so you can find space to eat at the kitchen table.

Since Thanksgiving, our boys haven been puzzle CRAZY and I don't think there is an end in sight.  

Elliot LOVES putting together puzzles, that is one thing that has been keeping him busy lately during school time, and Everett and Ethan enjoy them just as much.  

I'm a puzzle fan, loving the thrill of finding piece after piece, and back in October, when Ethan requested to do a 500-piece puzzle with him from the basement, my puzzle assembling juices started flowing again.  

Completed in October 2014, this one took us a few days.

We took a 550-piece Super Mario Bros puzzle with us on vacation to Colorado (all the kids and myself worked on it and finished it in less than an hour) and then they all did it again a few times during the week.  Even Elliot helped in putting together the Mario characters as we assembled.

Then after our vacation to Utah, it became all that I could bear, (where I had to hold back my desire to finish Grandpa Dale's puzzle he was working on), so Ethan and I decided to try out one that had been sitting on the shelf for a few years (750-piece One Hundred Chickens and A Worm).  I knew would be a bit of a challenge and it would be a fun puzzle to put together.

It took us some time, but we ended up finishing it after about a week of on-and-off progress.  

Almost immediately after completing the chicken puzzle, Ethan brought up another puzzle from the basement, again 750-pieces.  It was getting close to dinner time, and Derrick was lingering around the kitchen, wondering what we were up to, so after dinner we got started on it as a family while Everett and Elliot played in the living room.  

That night, after the kids went to bed, Derrick and I completed a large portion of it (yes, we are complete losers!), leaving about 25% to complete.  Before breakfast the next day, Ethan completed the remaining pieces on his own and it was the fastest puzzle we've done here at home!

This was the end of the large puzzles, but just the beginning of the smaller ones.  Instantly every kid puzzle we own was out on every surface you could imagine, and they would put them together multiple times a day.  

I couldn't keep up with picking up pieces, it was a puzzle obstacle course, and as much as I couldn't stand maneuvering around the 100's of pieces on the floor, I knew it was a good thing for them to do, so I let them go.

At times, Elliot would get frustrated, and in his deep-growl he'd shout out his frustrations while trying to figure out where a piece went, and at times he'd get upset when one of his brothers came to his aid and started to complete his puzzle for him, but overall it hasn't been too bad.

Proud boy working on puzzles, all by himself!

Elliot really loves Mater and can do this 24-piece puzzle by himself!

This is the puzzle that gets completed most often during the day.
All 3 work together on this 48-piece floor puzzle, but now Elliot can do it on his own!

They are really having fun and have requested a few new puzzles for Christmas this year.  I don't think this trend is going to end anytime soon.

  

Brotherly Love

Tonight, Derrick went to check on the boys before we headed to bed, and this is what he found.  He called me in to come take a look.  I turned on the light to grab a good photo and they didn't move at all.

Elliot has been sleeping on the trundle bed now that he's a "big boy".  Ethan and Everett decided to join him.

Apparently, we don't need three beds in one room... I guess one on the floor works just fine.  Such sweet boys!

Although they were pretty cute, all snuggled together, we did end up moving them back into their own beds after I took the photo so that everyone could sleep well.  I didn't want to risk having crabby boys in the morning.

Big Boy Elliot!

Over the last few days, Elliot has been wearing training pants and doing a great job going potty on his potty seat!  With M&M's as an incentive, and a lot of excitement when he goes from the rest of the family, he is enjoying his new skill!

Yesterday he put it all together and even had a successful #2 on the potty!  I think we have turned the corner and we are on our way to a potty trained 2 year old!!  WOO HOO!

Today he was dry all day long and even stayed dry during his nap!  At one point he was downstairs playing with the boys and up he ran, saying to himself "Gotta go potty, gotta go potty, gotta go potty!" as he scurried into the bathroom where his little potty seat was.

He is growing so fast and we are very proud!!

Way to go Elliot!  You are a big boy now!!

Drink Up!

Lemonade and popcorn for snack time today!

Today I decided to put underpants on Elliot, give him a bunch of fluids, and try to convince him that he should join the "Big Boy Club".

So far we have had 5 wet pairs of pants and a few dribbles on the floor to clean up.  Derrick thinks I'm nuts but I have a feeling that things are going to go differently this time!  Wish us luck!

Late Night Family Night

Getting ready to start the game!

Tonight after dinner the boys were begging to play the new game I brought home from the thrift store.  We gave in, even though it was very close to bedtime, and it was actually a fun game.  

The game is called State the Facts, by Get Ahead Games, 1993, and it is a geography game with trivia about the fifty states and the different regions of the US.  Some of the questions were ones we didn't know, so we had to make educated guesses, but that made it fun and we learned a little in the process.  Ethan enjoyed it a lot, as he loves anything dealing with the fifty states right now, and because we have been studying them this year for 2nd grade, it's a bonus educational lesson as well!

Everett and Elliot got a little tired of the game (it was a trivia game and they had to be on my team or Derrick's team) so they decided to break off and make a snack and then play in a big box in the living room until the game was over.  That was much more fun of course!

PB and J for snack time!

Elliot instructed Everett step by step during the sandwich making process.

It is amazing how much fun an over-sized box can provide!

We are having a...

Elliot had been napping and woke before the announcement.
He was slightly nervous about what was going on.

We had our 20 week ultrasound today and the baby showed his gender.  We kept it a surprise from the boys during the ultrasound and announced it together at home with a box full of helium balloons and confetti.  They had fun opening the box and were just as excited to hear we will be adding another boy to the family in April!

 

It's a BOY!!

2014 AWANA Grand Prix

Over the last few weeks we have been in the race car mode with both Everett and Ethan entering a car in our local church Awana Grand Prix, pinewood derby car races.  Last year was our first year doing it, so this year we had a little more insight on what would be required of the cars and how things would go.

Ethan decided he wanted his car to look like a shark and Everett wanted his to look like Lightning McQueen.  The shark seemed more intimidating, as we had no idea how we were going to make the body round and I didn't have any confidence that it would actually "look" like a shark when we were done, but we looked at a lot of photos online, discussed our game plan as a family, and hoped for the best.

Last weekend, Derrick took the boys to a workshop at the church to do the bulk of the cutting for the body of the cars.  Everett's was pretty straight forward, as it was a race car, but Derrick was so unsure of his job at cutting the shark, that he purchased an additional block of wood just in case it turned out not to work.  He shaved off a few more inches with the Dremel tool when he got home and Ethan sanded it smooth before we started paining.

Ethan wanted the car to look as close to a shark as possible, so we Googled some pictures online, studied them, planning out how the shark would look and got a pretty good game plan.  Using oven baked clay from Sculpey, we added fins to the top and then secured them with tacky glue.  We coated the whole thing with a few generous coats of gray paint.

Asking for advice from Ethan as I painted the details, we decided on a white belly and added a realistic mouth and face.  When it was all done, we were pretty happy with how it looked.  It really came together nicely.

The Shark, ready for paint 

Everett's car was a bit more straight forward, and he was eager to get painting.  He covered the whole car in a red gloss paint and then left the details to me.  It didn't even occur to me to search out rub-on-decals for the flames and such, so I ended up painting them by hand from looking at photos online and drawing the initial images on parchment paper to get a carbon copy for the opposite side when needed.  It was a long process, and I am not really proud that it took me around 5 hours to get the whole thing done, but the smile on his face when he saw it all done make the time worth it!

Derrick had the daunting task of adding the wheels, adding weight, making sure the car rolled properly and checking all the mechanics for good racing.  "This is as good as it gets." was his statement after messing around with the wheels and trying to get things just right for quite a few hours one night. During the addition of wheels to Ethan's car, he fractured two of the pieces of wood, there were a few tears when Ethan watched his prized car break, but it was nothing a little glue and more paint couldn't fix.

Ethan, helping Derrick add the wheels to Everett's car.

So, with all the preparation, today was the big race day!  The kids were both so excited to show off their cars and see how they would do during the race.  The competition was pretty tough, but we did end up coming home with a few trophies, making the day a success!

Although both cars did pretty good during the individual heats, they didn't place for speed, but Everett's friend's puppy police car placed and that made him happy.  The second part of the competition was the design area.  Ethan took home 1st place for his age group and Everett took home 2nd for his!  It was a fun day!

Everett, entering the race with his Lightning McQueen Race Car

Ethan, entering the race with his Shark Race Car

Awana Sparks line-up of derby cars.

The 100 dollar bill car received 2nd place in the design category.  The yellow and black car won 1st place in speed.

The rainbow pony car received 3rd place in the design category. 

The pink truck received 2nd place for speed.

Before the races, the drivers signed autographs for the crowd.

Everett did a great job writing his name over and over!

Right before racing the cars, the kids were introduced one by one.  They ran across the stage and waved to the fans. 

Line up of cars for Everett's age group (Awana Cubbies)

#24 received 1st place in speed.

The white race car received 1st place in design, and the police car received 2nd place in speed.