After a long day with an extra 2 year old (filling in as a day care provider for a friend since my neighbor who does daycare took Friday off). The boys and I headed to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a little fun and relaxation. (Daddy was at State Track for the weekend). After a delicious supper of chicken strips, applesauce and pudding, the boys went outside to play. Clayton started off by watering all of Grandma's plants up on the deck, and when that was done, when I went to turn off the water (which is on the side of the house, but below the level of the deck, so you have to reach down into a little cutout to turn it off), the local cat, Bootsie, was under there to surprise me (and I mean I jumped and yelled a little out of fright!) So Reese being the brave hero that he is, thought about it for a while it seems and then decided to climb under the deck to shoo the cat out of the way for mommy.
Reese under the Deck
Working his way out!
His escape:
Then he joined his brother in his adventure making mud in Grandma's day lilies! Here is an epic video of their adventures!
Here is an un-edited clip so you can hear Clayton sing/chant his "makin' mud" song
Reese taking a seat in the mud, oops!
Unfortunately, Reese got his feet full is stickers and slivers we noticed the next day. I guess it was from tromping around in this muddy mess. He hasn't complained about them, so we are just trying to get them out every now and then and hope they don't get infected.
Clayton likes to ask to "paint the road" (probably because of this book) which is just a simple cornstarch paint with foam brushes on our driveway! I mix equal parts of water and cornstarch (1 cup of each is about perfect for their attention span) plus a tiny squirt of dish soap (to keep the cornstarch from sitting at the bottom) in a measuring cup in the house. Then once we are outside I separate the white liquid into little paint cans that I got with some actual sidewalk chalk paint.
When I bought them there was colored powder inside to mix with water - it was probably colored cornstarch, LOL
Then I add several drops of food coloring to each can and stir with the end of a paintbrush. The sidewalk chalk paint came with two foam roller brushes and these trays so then I pour each color in there.
The fire station got a new fire truck this week and we thought the boys would enjoy seeing it.
In front of the new truck
Reese driving (a different truck, the new one is in the background)
But right as we got to the fire station, Papa got called away for an emergency! :( But we still let the boys check out the truck for a few minutes anyway. They were disappointed, but we bribed them with a trip to the green bridge to watch for a train instead.
Clayton was excited but Reese was scared, and clung to me, refused to put his feet down on the bridge and covered his eyes! He did peek once or twice though. . . So strange! We'll have to see if wants to go back again another time or not.
The boys got an awesome present a couple of weeks ago- a power wheels Gator to drive around when they are visiting Grandpa and Grandma Branz.
Clayton picked up the driving and steering thing surprisingly fast, with in the first hour he tried it I think. Reese's favorite thing to do is bail out mid way down the sidewalk and (even had a leg run over by the back wheel, but it didn't seem to even phase him) then he chases Clayton down the rest of the way. We think that maybe he just likes to watch the wheels!
I have been collecting photos and videos of them driving it to make this cute video with a fun movie making app on my phone. . . Enjoy!
Yesterday was was an incredibly fun afternoon/evening! After naps we met mommy's friend Laura and her kiddos at Miller Park, where she let me in on the secret of the "Green Bridge" where you can watch the trains go by right underneath you. Clayton and Reese were totally stoked! I promised a trip back to see more trains after supper and we sure enjoyed it since this time the train was full - what a rush! (Ok, Mommy really likes it too ) We played in the park for a while, then Clayton and Reese became the only two spectators of some co-ed softball practice, cheering and clapping loudly whenever they hit the ball. We finished the evening with a trip to Runza with the summer's first chocolate ice cream cones. YAY for summer!!
There is a never a dull moment when the boys and I walk down to visit our neighbor, Heidi down the street. She has an in-home day care and Clayton and Reese really enjoy a little interaction with kids their age. Heidi and I don't mind a little interaction with an adult either! Heidi was just trying to take a picture of a car shaped toddler bed she wants to sell, and all the kids climbed in. We broke into song; a spontaneous version of the Wheels on the Car go Round and Round (all through Heidi's driveway).
On May 1st, the boys and I delivered these cute May Day baskets to our neighbors.
I had the boys take turns taking a basket to a door, setting down the basket, and we had to try hard to learn "knock and run!" Clayton tried to go into the first house we visited and caught and given a kiss! They figured it out though, and here is Reese doing the last house.
Heidi put out caution cones at the end of her driveway as a boundary for her kiddos, and Clayton thinks that her house is now a Construction Site. Reese thinks this caution cone will make a nice bike helmet!
