The Firestation!!!!

Monkey, Momo and T-Bear had the opportunity to check out the fire station as they held a tree lighting ceremony. Here are some shots of the kids having a great time and being very well behaved.
Everyone wanted a turn in the driver's seat:
and wearing the firefighter's helmet:
and a turn in the boat:
There was lots of silliness to be had, but it was good natured fun and great listening considering the crowds. Here are the kids getting ready for the lighting ceremony.
and then the lights were on!

We'll certainly be back next year.

Monkey's Holiday Concert

Here's Monkey at his holiday concert. He did a super job especially on his big 'X' solo:






and here's E-man's class doing there thing. Nice dance moves!

Lost Thanksgiving Day Photos

Aunt K just let me know that our Thanksgiving photos were never posted.
Oh my goodness!
Here's most of the wonderful ones that I could find.

Big C's holiday concert

Big C had his holiday concert today, Mommy was on hand with grandma to grab the video footage. Check out the hula-hoop and dinosaur song with actions!

Monkey's under the weather

Monkey's got the flu...apparently the 24 hour variety. He was sick last night around 10, then a few more times overnight. Daddy already had things prepared at work, so he took the day off, though Saje surely would have liked to spend the day snuggling him.
He had a pretty good day. He had some toast, then about an hour later a little more with some ginger ale. We worked our way through a whole banana and then later some rice. All-in-all it's been going well, considering.
We took some time after watching Toy Story to do some school work. Then we decided to take a storage container that daddy brought home from work and turn it into a rocket. Here's the progress that Monkey made:
he started with just the container
then added a cone on the top (a party hat that he went and got form the basement)
next came the little wings on the bottom
finally it was time for some windows to see out

Somehow it's important to him that Woody is part of this. I think that there's a Buzz lightyear link there, but I couldn't really get a straight answer.
He's pleased as punch with the results. It was a lot of fun to build.

The Nature Museum

Daddy got a set of passes for the Nature museum and thought that it would be a great way to spend some time with the family this weekend. Aussie was off at a sleepover as of Saturday morning, so we'll have to make plans for another trip there soon.
A gentle snow was falling as daddy parked the car, so Monkey was eager to try to catch a snowflake or two as we headed over.
We started off in the East entrance, where they were having a 'Meet the Experts' event. The boys were immediately drawn to the gentlemen who collect rocks from around the world and then analyze them. They each got their own bag of rocks to bring home.
Next we headed for the HD movie area. We saw an awesome movie about fish. The boys were amazed by the parenting skills and home-making skills of the mudskipper. Check them out here.
Here are the boys checking out the animalia section afterwards. They rode the little 'animal chairs' and then checkout the tarantulas and walking sticks.
We had a fantastic morning. The boys took in lots of new places that we hadn't seen on our last trip. We made headbands (or crowns as they called them)
went to the polar bear area
checked out 'The Abyss" (though Big C was much more interested in the spinning globe)
the submarine


and then the boys announced that they were all finished. Sensing it was wise to leave when the getting was good...we headed out. Off to other adventures.