Day 30. 2012.

Have you taken your kids to the coolest indoor play land in Minnesota lakes country yet?

The backyard is such a blast, especially when you have reached the end of winter boredom blues like we have!

It was made all the better because we were able to go on a Monday (there are some serious benefits to having a FOUR day school week!)... and at one point the kids had the place to themselves!

There was a little bit of everything...

monkey bars for my little monkey...

building block mats for my little builder...

and a kid sized basketball court for my little baller...

Seriously, it is worth the trip to Detroit Lakes...look at the smiles on these kids!

(And as a side note, yes, there was a certain mom who enjoyed it almost as much as the little guys did...hehe, how in the world do you think I could get an insider shot like this without being a part of the action myself?!)

Day 29. 2012.

We are finally getting a taste of winter and are snowed in!

I decided to create an obstacle course with some toys that rarely get played with as a surprise for the kids.

Just as I suspected, it was a HIT!

We are going to have to do this more often, even the little guy got into the action and understood what we were doing. 

 

It started out by picking up bean bags while hopscotching. And then tossing the bean bags into ice cream buckets marked with points (the harder to make shots were worth higher points). We then did a small ring toss event. And onto a round of boxing glove basketball. They then had to try and knock over the block tower with some small balls. And throw the football into the football guy (the little guy was the only one who made it!) Last but not least, they had to climb onto the toy box and knock a balloon off the ceiling and then fall into a BIG pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. The best part about the whole thing was seeing this kind of happiness on my kids' faces. Here's to making the most of a day spent being 'snowed' in!

Day 28. 2012.

To put off the inevitable Saturday morning cleaning that has to get done, I decided to get a little crafty and create some 'road' letters to help Tyson learn the letters in his name.

I took these letters off of this site (which is a great place to get ideas for letter recognition and other beginning reading skills!).

He knows the 'T' of course and mostly remembers the 'o'....only three more to go!
 I {LOVE} teaching my kids and finding ways to make it FUN!

Day 27. 2012.

I love to see {BIG} smiles on kids...and this afternoon I witnessed a {TON}!

Today, I joined my son and his entire first grade class on a sledding expedition behind our school.

Judging by their faces in these photos, I think it's pretty safe to assume that they all had a great time!

And that was a WIPEOUT! {don't worry, everyone was ok!} And another big SPILL! {These two were so excited that I caught their crash, that they had to check out the photo right away...can't tell they're BOYS can you?!} Tanner got some AIR! And so did Ian! I {LOVE} his face in this one! Even the teachers joined in on the fun!

Day 26. 2012.

There are so many things that I love about having a beginning reader in the house...

the sound of letters being blended into words for instance,

or the joy of hearing your child squeal with delight when she recognizes a word or reads an entire sentence!

There is also the amazing 'invented' spelling stage (something I couldn't wait to witness in my own kids after learning all about it in my elem. ed. courses in college).

I missed this stage with Tanner, who seemed to go from not reading to reading fluently overnight without much help from me or anyone else for that matter.

So, I cherish these moments with Miss Madi....

even when I am told in no uncertain terms to 'leave her A.L.O.N.E.!'

and then see this taped to the outside of her door when I go to talk to her.



She is my girl, and she is a tad bit dramatic....and I love it (most of the time!)

Day 25. 2012.

It was parent night at gymnastics tonight and Travis and I got to watch our girl run, jump, roll and show off all of the skills she has learned over the past couple of months.

She has found an activity that she loves and one that allows her to show off that athleticism of hers.

Although we think she did amazing, there are a few things that she says she needs to practice.

I admire her 'can do' attitude.

I could sure learn a few things from her! Practice, practice, practice! And SUCCESS! I {LOVE} that smile! Go get 'em Madi!