Lego building

Austin has just recently started making his own creations with legos, so it was nice to get some sets from his birthday with direction he could follow. One night he wanted to put one together so I sat down with him and showed him how to read the instructions and he basically did the rest. He would ask me occasionally for help if he couldn't figure it out. This particular one has lots of moving pieces.

Happy 5th Birthday Austin

I cannot believe my baby is 5. He was so excited to have his birthday. We tried to talk him into having a family birthday and going to the new indoor water park/hotel that just opened by us, but he shot that idea down. So we had a fun birthday a the local bouncy house place. The kids all had a blast. The first picture was taken on his actual birthday (April Fools) at home and then the others are from the party with his friends a few days later.

Alpacas of America

Today we visited the Alpacas of America Ranch http://www.alpaca1.com/service/our_ranch.asp Alpacas live mostly in South America high up in the mountains. They resemble a small llama, although I guess their temperment is much more pleasant. They are smaller than a llama and are so much cuter. They are two different breeds of alpacas, the first two pictures show the Huacayas which have fiber more like a bear. The last picture is of a Suris breed which has fiber that is more like dreadlocks. The fiber is similar to sheeps wool, although it is warmer, not so prickly and bears no lanolin which makes it hypoallergenic.

Crazy Spring Weather and Baseball

Can I just say I don't remember a year when the weather has been so whacky. Just this week it snowed (Sat.), rained, and then was sunny and fairly warm, around 60 degrees (Thurs.) My kids decided to have a water balloon fight and play with the hose. I just can't wait for it to be a little more predictable.

BASEBALL SEASON has begun!
The boys started baseball a few weeks ago. They are on what would be their "home" public school team and they will play other schools in the area which will be nice. It's a step up from the YMCA league, it's still fun, but a lot more structured. Right now they are practicing 3x a week for 2 hours each time, which I thought was a little much, but they really enjoy it. They have an awesome coach who is really working with them on the fundamentals and how the game is played. I took my camera with me the other day to practice and thought I would share some pictures.

We're Reading!!

Steven has been learning to read this year and I am amazed at how fast he is picking it up. He really enjoys reading. We started in September with Hooked on Phonics, which I really hesitated using because of the whole, "I learned to read with Hooked on Phonics" saying. But I do have to say it has really worked and I have liked it up until we hit the first grade. Now we do the lesson and when we get to reading the book it comes with it throws words and blends or ending they haven't taught. So I have decided to take a little break and just have him read some "real" books. After spring break we will start back up with the Ordinary Parent's Guide to Teaching Reading by Jessie Wise from The Well Trained Mind, just to give him more of a foundation.

Steven is so excited to read "real" books. Here is a couple of pictures of him reading his first "real" book, "Hop on Pop".

Then the next night he read "Ten Apples up on top".