Catching up!

I have neglected this little space for too long, I know.  Here are some of the things we have been up to.  Hopefully it won't be another month before you hear anything else from me. 

Camping

We went camping last weekend with our friends.  We went to this really nice campsite that wasn't very far from home.  It was well taken care of and was perfect with a lot of space for the kids to run and play.  I even got my kids to sleep that night and got to sit by the fire with Derrick!  Have you ever heard of kids sleeping while camping?  I hadn't.  Don't worry, Halle slept in on the air mattress and rolled all over me, kicking me and pulling my hair.  We took a crib mattress for Hayden to sleep on.  Best idea ever.

Hayden's Train

Remember how Hayden used to be obsessed with basketballs and footballs?  Now it's trains.  He was always lining up things and telling me they were trains.  When we went to visit our friends in Tennessee, they had some train sets and Hayden was hooked.  He lined up like 30 trains and pulled them all along their hardwood floors the whole time we were there.  Then whenever we would go somewhere with a train table he would play for as long as possible and then be so upset when it was time to leave. I knew it would be the perfect toy for him, and he was growing out of all the toys we have.  I kept my eyes open on craigslist and consignment stores.  Then I saw Toys R Us had a set on sale including the table and a huge train set cheaper than anything I had seen.  I kept looking around that night but we decided it was a deal we couldn't pass up.  I didn't want to wait until Christmas, but we felt like he needed to earn it.  So we set up some chores and behavior goals for him to earn it. We used monopoly money, which was perfect because it actually had trains on it! You can see him counting his money that he earned which was enough for him to buy it.  That night Derrick and I stayed up until 2 am putting it together.  It brought back memories of Christmas, especially when he came down and saw it in the morning.  He got excited when he saw it light up or make noises, as you can see in the pictures. I am not kidding, he did not leave that living room for days.  Days!  After 3 days he finally went up to his room for a few minutes, but he still pretty much plays with it and his cars only.  It was perfect!  Worth the money.  And he's done a good job sharing with Halle too.

Imagination Station

There is a small children's museum in town, and one Saturday they had a car event.  It was really fun, and right up Hayden's alley.  They had a bunch of different huge vehicles outside that the kids could climb around in and explore.  We saw a bulldozer, ambulance, fire truck, hummer, swat car, big work trucks, a limo, a bus, a tractor, and even checked out a thomas the train movie from the book mobile!

Inside, they have a bunch of hands on activities like dinosaur dig, antique fire engine, and Halle's favorite - an airplane.  Buttons galore!

Columbian Park Zoo

We've been to this local zoo a couple times lately.  The kids love it!  You can see wild dogs and groundhogs. You walk into a butterfly house, which is  Hayden's favorite.

Chickens just run around at your feet.

You can pet horses and goats (look at that pregnant goat that looks like it's about to burst!)

The second time we went was with my mom when she came to visit!  It was so so fun to have her there.  She even took us on a train ride which made Hayden incredibly happy.

The kids found the water fountains and got soaked!

Children's Museum

We had to go to this museum when my mom came to visit.  They have so much stuff there, I don't even know where to begin.  It was amazing, and the perfect day for them.

Hayden was so heartbroken and threw a little fit when he had to leave the train table.  He certainly is passionate. :)

It was so perfect to have my mom come.  I love her!  It was fun to sit and talk with her all the time and..well, you know, a girl just needs her mom sometimes!  We worked on sewing projects, we took the kids places, and we just relaxed at home.  Can't wait till I can see hear again.  Thanks for coming mom! (PS my kids started calling me mama since you were here.)

The funniest thing - we stopped at a Dairy Queen on the way home from the museum.  One of the workers felt really bad for Halle.  Because of her milk allergy, she couldn't have any of our ice cream, so she gave Halle a cup of sprinkles!  Talk about a sugar high! She really only ate about one mouthful and she was done.

Daddy's work

When my mom came we rode the bus to campus and had lunch with Derrick one day.  He got to show her around the lab and tell her about his experiments and research.  We got to see his first test of the materials he had been preparing.  They sent composite materials on the big cardboard tube you can see, so Derrick had them save it for him!  It's now a toy in our house that the kids love to crawl through.  Or, I guess it was.  Now it's a big thing that takes up space and the kids ignore. :)

Preschool

Hayden's first day of preschool!  We have started in a co-op preschool.  He just had to take his backpack, because, well that's just what you do when you go to school!  He loves it.

Just Cute

I just had to include this because it's adorable, even though it's blurry.