The New Museum

After Ian got back from SF we decided to do something fun as a family, so after dinner we headed over to the new Museum of Natural Curiosity to play. We did the jungle area, Kidopolis, and the outside play area. Davin practiced his sloth skills. I was impressed with how long he hung on that rope!

In Kidopolis I finally explored a bit with Talia. Usually I stayed by the baby area with Beckett. Talia like the laundry room where you could turn on the washing machines, which lit up and spun. She also liked the giant bubble maker. It was pretty cool.

In the magic shop you could do the floating head trick, but Talia wasn't quite tall enough, so it was more like the floating eyes trick for her. Still pretty fun. The boys ran off and did their own fun things too, but I wasn't following them so they aren't in the pics.

The outside play area was a blast. Weston did the big zipline! So cool. Everything there was too big for Beckett though, so I took him for a little walk through the children's garden. We stopped and hung out by the fish pond. Beckett loves the fish. It was a fun little outing. It's SO nice having awesome things to do so close to our home.

Aquarium Take 2

While Ian was in San Francisco I took the kids to the new Living Planet Aquarium. We went when it first opened in May, but since a lot of the animals hadn't been moved in yet they gave us bounce back tickets to use before August 31st. I really didn't want to let a free trip to the aquarium go to waste, so I braved it by myself. It was super fun. The kids were great and I didn't lose anyone. Success!

The tank of huge South American fish was a favorite. Everyone liked sitting and watching them. We also really loved the penguins and the sharks. The kids wanted to play at this dumb play area. It was crowded, but I figured if they wanted to brave it that was fine. Talia got grumpy that she had to share the whale. Every time I look at her "grumpy" face I can't help laughing. She's such a stink! lol Happy as a clam when she got what she wanted though. :)

Swimming & The Dentist

Davin and Talia did another week of swimming lessons after school started. I was a little frustrated that Talia still was whining about doing a back float. I bribed her every lesson and had resigned myself to her not getting it this summer. But at our very last lesson . . . she did it! She finally did it! I think having the same teacher work with her for 4 lessons in a row helped build trust that he wouldn't let her drown. Also she just knew she wanted to pick out a toy at Target. :) I was SO excited for her and proud! We went to Target that night and she picked out a stuffed fish called Squeakers from Doc McStuffins. Hopefully we can practice a few times through the winter so she can remember how to do it by next summer. 

Ian went out of town to San Francisco the second week of school. We kept plenty busy. I took all four kids to the dentist by myself. It was Beckett's first official visit. He did awesome! He hung out it in the chair and watched the movie on the ceiling and gnawed on his toothbrush. Davin had a first too. During his cleaning he lost his first tooth! It was very wiggly. He was super happy that it came out! No one had cavities and no one cried until the very end when I made them leave the toys in waiting area. 

My Big Preschool Girl

The big boys had a great first day of school. Unfortunately Weston came home sick on Thursday. I didn't worry too much about it when he said he wasn't feeling good on Thursday morning and when he came home and flopped down on the couch and said he wasn't feeling good I thought he was being dramatic. I told him to go upstairs and lay down on his bed thinking he would actually feel good enough to go out and play with his friends. I was wrong. He went upstairs and fell asleep for 2+ hours. Oops. Mom fail. He woke up with a fever. Once he had some Tylenol though he felt a lot better. Friday he got up and got himself ready for school and said he felt much better so I let him go to school, but when he got home he crashed again. Needless to say he had a very mellow, resting weekend.

While the boys were at school that first week I took Talia to get a haircut before she started preschool. Her hair was getting really long and she didn't ever let me put it all up, so it was always tangled and in her face. I wanted to cut it short and she seemed to be fine with it, so she got the cutest little bob. She loves her short hair and even lets me round brush blow dry it after her baths! I think it makes her look SO grown up too. Love it.

The next week after her brothers Talia started school. She is going to preschool at a home in our neighborhood. She had a great first day and is loving preschool. She is doing really well getting along with the other kids. I think her preschool is so cute. I love that there are only 8 kids in her class and that it's so close to home!

While Tal is at school I run errands while I can go with just one kid. Sometimes Beckett and I just hang out at home and get stuff done and play. Beckett is such a good kid. He plays really happily by himself. I imagine he kind of likes having all the toys (and Mom) to himself. :)

First Day of School!

The boys went back to school on August 19th this year. They were both pretty excited for their first day. Weston is in 3rd grade this year and Davin is in 1st grade at Fox Hollow Elementary. They both have wonderful teachers. Weston's teacher is having some health problems though so he has a long term sub and a student teacher helping out for the first couple of months of the year. Davin has a brand new teacher, but she seems great and Davin loves that her class is pirate themed this year.

The boys are early birds this year and Davin is finally at school full day. They get themselves up in the morning and get themselves ready. I get up to make their lunches and get them out the door. :) So far (a month in) it's looking like another wonderful school year! I sure love my big boys!

Getting Ready

We enjoyed our last week of summer. Playing with friends, swimming lessons, hanging around with no homework to do. It was great.

One night I took Weston and Davin out to do a little shopping. I had so much fun with my boys! Weston got a new backpack this year and he has finally graduated from cheap character backpacks. Hooray! The boys each picked out a first day of school shirt. Weston needed new church shoes and Davin found some tennis shoes on sale so he got those too. We were on the hunt for lunch boxes but the boys wanted tin ones and I couldn't find any in the stores. We ended up ordering them from Amazon and they are awesome.

When we were done shopping we stopped off at Culver's for an ice cream treat. We got mini concrete mixers. Yum.

The weekend before school started we had one last hurrah at Jump On It. The place was pretty much empty and the kids had a blast. We went out to dinner afterwards.  I think everyone had a very fun, relaxing summer.