Weekend of Surprises

This past weekend was a 4 day weekend for Nick, so we decided to take advantage and do some extra special stuff with the boys. We simply told the boys there would be a "surprise" (or two!) that day and watched their faces light up in anticipation.

Saturday night was the first surprise. After church let out we dashed to a part of town we don't often visit and found there were thousands of others heading the same direction. After making the bold decision to follow some cars that seemed to be taking a short cut (which they were), we ended up at the park just in time. In time for what, you ask? To see a bunch of hot air balloons lift off!

Chase

 Jackson

 Tyler

 Nick and Jackson (a new favorite picture for sure!)

The boys were in awe of the balloons. We were so close (as you can tell in a couple of those pictures), and they loved cheering as each balloon lifted off and waving to the lucky people riding in the basket! They're still talking about the big balloons 3 days later. 

After the balloons we went to surprise #2; ice cream at Chick Fil A! By the time we got to Chick Fil A we were already an hour past bed time and it was beginning to get dark so the boys knew this was extra special. They made huge messes with their cones (which is why there are no pictures), but they loved it. It should be noted that when Chase and Tyler walked out of Chick Fil A with Nick they remarked that it must be early in the morning because it was getting dark. That tells you how early they've been waking up lately! Ha!

Surprise #3 of the weekend came Sunday afternoon when we took the boys to a nearby sprayground (a playground that sprays water everywhere for my family bumpkins in Maine that don't have such things). They hadn't been to a sprayground before and were a little unsure. Well, to be fair, really only Tyler and Jackson were unsure for a while. Chase jumped right in and started having fun!

Surprise #4 was yesterday morning when we packed up and headed to Aunt Laura's to take advantage of the pools in her apartment complex. They had a ball (of course) and were super excited to see Aunt Laura's cat, Marbles. I don't think Marbles felt the same way towards the boys though, because she took off to hide under Laura's bed as soon as the boys ran into the apartment. 

All in all? A super fun weekend that the boys won't forget for a long time!

It's All About The Shoes

Shoes can make or break an outfit, whether you're male, female or a child. It's just one of those little facts of life. The other day the boys helped themselves to some of Aunt Laura's shoes (she has a serious shoe addiction). Chase was hoping the pink flats and then the pointy toed heels would help dress up his frosting smeared sweatshirt. Not sure it worked...

Party Zone Fun

Sunday afternoon the boys attended a birthday party for one of their friends. They're always excited about a birthday party because they love the cake, balloons and wishing people "happy birthday" over and over. This party was a little different than the other parties they've attended. This one was at one of those wild, children's entertainment centers. I can still say we've never set foot in a Chuck E Cheese, but I imagine this place is pretty similar. You should have seen the looks on the boys' faces when we walked into this wild, noisy place!

They enjoyed trying to win prizes....

They enjoyed large cups of drink, which came back to bite us later.

They enjoyed cupcakes and ice cream! Tyler ate his ice cream so fast he got a brain freeze, which did not make him happy.

L-R: Tyler, Chase & Jackson

They rode in some flying bananas, which freaked Jackson out a bit.

They rode on a train. Tyler picked this car with a little girl in it already. He's going to be our ladies man I think.

The boys all piled into this tea cup with the birthday girl.

Then it was back to the train.

As you can tell from Chase's "thumbs up", they had an awesome time. That is, until the cups of drink caught up with us and Tyler had an accident. Laura and I aren't even sure where or when he had the accident. We just suddenly noticed he was walking funny and his pants were soaked. Whoops.

Random Bits

When I asked Chase just now what I should blog about he told me "oatmeal and going to McDonald's". Hmmmm.... I don't recall doing either of those things recently. Instead I'll entertain you all with random bits of information.

I'm being featured today over at Multiples and More! Fun!

Three Times the Giggles now has a fan page on Facebook! Yes, I know I have too much time on my hands... I thought of doing it 6-8 months ago but thought it was silly. Then this week I saw some blogs I read started fan pages and so I caved to the peer pressure yesterday. You can become a fan by using the little "fan box" to the right, or by clicking here.

I added a new cookie to my Etsy Shop yesterday! Meet The C3 Cookie!

Just a little cookie I whipped up that contains chocolate chips, coconut and dried cranberries.

We're now a week into this one car family thing and so far it's not been too terrible. There have been a couple of afternoons it would have been nice to run an errand with the boys and then stop off at Sonic for a Happy Hour Diet Coke, but I've survived.

I'm finally almost done with the Couch to 5K running program. I was derailed for almost 3 months thanks to the exceptionally cold and snowy winter we had here, but I got right back into it just as soon as the paths were clear of snow. Today I started Week 9 - the final week! 

On Thursday I'll have a giveaway for you all! 

Last night I updated our 365 Blog, so there are lots of pictures there you can see!

That's all I've got. Oh and these cute pictures of the boys....

Video Clip of the Week - Double Feature!

As a way of saying "thanks" for your patience in waiting for me to post today (like you really had a choice), I'm pleased to offer you a video clip double feature!

Toddler Prayers: For the last couple of weeks (since the boys had the stomach flu) we've heard the following tacked onto our mealtime prayers...

Please help bellies feel better, so we can go to Chick Fil A and McDonalds.

In Jesus name, Amen

Sometimes that prayer will then be followed by a song they learned in church or even part of the Signing Time theme song. Good times! Anyway, it cracks Nick and me up on a daily basis, so on Sunday (yup, that's fresh snow there in the background) I whipped out the camera to catch it on video. They kind of talk over each other, but you get the idea.

Singing Games: My sister, Aunt Laura, is a dance teacher. A couple of months ago she taught the boys a little "game" she plays with some of her youngest students. The boys love the game and apparently while Aunt Laura was watching them this past Sunday she played the game with them again. This video features Jackson (on the left) and Tyler (on the right) showing off. Oh, and I should mention this is also the song that Chase was singing the other night that ticked the other two off.

Sailing, sailing, over the ocean blue

Tip, tip, tip

Fall over and kick your legs

Get back in the boat! Get back in the boat!

Remember, you can always watch these and other videos on our YouTube channel! Click here for that, or access it on our "Favorite Sites" page.

Exhausting A Cat

When the boys woke up from their nap on Sunday afternoon I decided to load them up and head to their Aunt Laura's apartment. They've never been over there before and she has a cat, so I knew the trip would be a hit. I pumped them up the whole drive over. By the time we got there, they were pretty excited to see Aunt Laura and her cat Marbles (by the way, that name was chosen by Nick when "Marbles" was just a stray kitten hanging out around our house).

When the boys first entered her apartment they weren't quite sure what to make of the cat. This wasn't the first time they've seen a kitty up close, but to be fair it has been almost a year since they saw one, so I guess to a 2 year old this could be their "first time". It was cracking Laura and me up how the boys were seemingly trying to avoid Marbles and yet Marbles was following the boys.

That didn't last long though. Before long poor Marbles couldn't catch a break!

 

 

 

 

 

Chase wouldn't even let Marbles hide under the table.

 

 

 

 

 

"Where'd the kitty go?"

 

Marbles eluding Chase

There were a few times Marbles got a little break from being chased down... For the 20 minutes or so I had Laura stick the cat in her bedroom to give my allergies a little rest, and...

Whenever she found a hiding spot...

When Laura brought out the singing Piglet she got when she was a kid

When the movie Elf got turned on (but even that only distracted them for a few minutes)

And when Tyler decided it was time to destroy her living room by throwing all the couch cushions on the floor. (Notice Jackson laying on the little table as well.)

A good time was had by all and Laura says Marbles spent the whole rest of the night curled up asleep. Guess we wore the kitty out. When we left the boys said they wanted to sleep there (and Jackson went a step further to say he wanted to sleep next to the kitty). Now to set up a sleep over so Nick and I can have our first night alone since before the boys came home from the hospital!

Watch tomorrow for an exciting announcement! Well, it's exciting to me at least and that's all that counts seeing as it's my blog.