Weekend Adventures

 Sometimes when the stress and the busyness gets to me, an adventure with family and friends just puts it all in perspective.  Last weekend, we headed to go learn about the history of video games at EMP in Seattle with a couple of families we think are pretty cool.  First stop was mini donuts.  And Yum.

 Lucas decided he was officially a member of the Braunz family and ditched us completely.  He was a mess of giggles all day with his new best friends.

The boys (all of them) loved the video game stuff, though I think the consensus was that it wasn't a big enough exhibit.  I did like seeing how much video games have changed over my lifetime.  Pretty interesting - well kinda....

 But by far, the favorite of all the kids was the Jam Room with all the musical instruments.  So much noise, but they loved it.  I think my ears are still ringing.

 The motorcycle was also a big hit.  I do believe I saw Lucas give it a hug on the way out...

Lyla liked it too - she was really playing the "tough" thing well...

 Lucas got mad at me that he couldn't take home one of the guitars from the installment....  MY MITAR!!!  I think he reverted back to his 2 year old self in the moment...

 It was a fabulous day - lots of laughs  - mostly at Lucas, and plenty of good snacks.

We were all exhausted after that...  Ethan even fell asleep in school the next day.  Mother of the year right here :)  But it was worth it.  My stress level dropped many floors.

This weekend was our friend Ethan G.'s birthday.  If you remember, he is Ethan's friend that is currently battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  We are in the midst of a big fundraising campaign for him and were excited to get to go to his party!  There was a DJ, a bounce house, and all sorts of great food and people!

 But most of all, the boys liked digging in the dirt for worms.

 They were filthy by the end of it - had to jump right into the shower, but had a blast.

Today we woke up and the sun was actually shining!  I could not believe it!  We texted our friends and decided to go to the zoo.  You cannot waste this kind of sunshine inside!

 The most fun part of the day was when a puffin mistook Lucas' stuffed toy for food.  It was jumping all over the place trying to get at it.  Probably the same puffin that used to follow my nose around...

 The wolves were super cool this time!

 As Lucas shows, we saw 7.  Only I'm not sure how that mangled set of fingers makes seven...

 The playground was great.....

 The goats were happy to be fed.....

 It made me smile to see Ethan so calm....

 He used to freak out feeding them - would end up just throwing the whole lot at them....

 But now that's Lucas....

A wait time for lunch meant building nests in the rocks.....

 And afterwards, Lucas got his very first build-a-bear (well, penguin)....

 Oh did he love that pretend bathtub.  Such a happy kid.

 Such a happy day.  Glad we could soak up the sun and enjoy it before March gets underway...

February Accomplishments

I am so incredibly behind, that I'm just going to type tid-bits to go with pictures and then move on to the present.  February has been busy...  And full of excitement.  Yes, Ethan did decide he must enter the Science Fair this year, so I got him what he needed for his experiment and he worked on it all month long.  Every morning he'd go and check his plants - to see if the organic or regular potting soil was growing faster.  He was a man obsessed and couldn't wait to show me when there was a change.  I tried to convince him not to do it - I didn't want to worry about it - and learned quickly that he was passionate about it, so we went with it.  Now I'm kicking myself for ever doubting him or wanting to hold him back.  He worked so incredibly hard.

Ethan's basketball team wore lightning bolt tattoos one night in honor of their teammate who is battling cancer.  We took lots of pictures and then the kiddo showed up with his own bolts on his cute bald head.  It was a very heartwarming evening.  Kids are the best.

 In swimming, Ethan finally passed Guppy to make his way over to Minnow.  His teacher wasn't sure she was going to pass him - wanted him to prove a few more things during class.  I thought I was going to pass out I was so nervous for him.  After 5 times in the level he was more than frustrated.  He loves swimming but it was getting too much for him to take.  I sat on pins and needles as he swam his heart out - not knowing if it was enough and I was going to have a completely broken-hearted boy swear off swimming for good.  And then I got the scream across the pool - "MINNOW MOM" with a big thumbs up.  And the tears started.  I couldn't stop.  I was so proud/frustrated/relieved that I just couldn't handle it.  Luckily, the tears dried up before he got back over to me.

Lucas had his first crush this month.  This was the first Valentine's Day that he really was interested in and it all had to do with a cute little girl in his class.  "She's gonna walk with ME tomorrow," he told me as he filled out her card.  

 I heard her name probably 20 times over the next 24 hours.  All with a shy, sweet smile creeping up the corners of his mouth.

 I'm not sure anything happened that day, but I do know he was ever so eagerly going through each and every valentine - "this one's bery 'pecial mom."  

 Ethan kept working on his project - dutifully writing and typing (until I took over the typing job - a woman can only take so much 2 word a minute typing).  We discussed all things hypothesis and conclusion as we continued to watch the plants grow.

 Lucas discovered he likes life as a dog.  He never fails to entertain me.  It's actually one way he deals with stressful situations, a coping mechanism, but he also just likes to play fetch.  It probably is just confusing as there are more pets in the house than humans.  I get it.

 It finally came time to put together our results and for Ethan to do his poster.  He measured, recorded, found the median (why, oh why did I pick an even number of beans), and was astounded.

 His hypothesis was wrong.  The chemicals did not help the plant to grow taller.  The organic plants were taller.

 I taught him to use the little plastic paper cutter and we found some easy stick letters and Voila - the poster was done.

On the night of the science fair he was so proud.  The kids don't have to stand by their projects - they just present in class and then they are free to roam around.  But he wanted to tell people what he learned and explain what he found out.  And then they called his name as one of the ones who were picked by the judges to be sponsored into the State Science Fair.  And he was speechless.  And then the tears came again.

In no particular order.....

February so far.......

There was a pre-Superbowl party with Uma and Upa - and the setting up of the official pool......

 There was a (way too) long dinner out where Ethan had to learn how to eat a burger without many of his teeth.

 There has been lots and lots and lots of Pokemon.  

It is a current obsession with these two....

 There have been lots of snuggles with this guy.  

He is such a happy kid.

 There have been sibling battles, but also sibling truces.

And lots of sibling poses for my new phone.

Which I obviously am having fun with.  Yay for Instagram.

 There have been all sorts of fun times with friends.

 And even some battles worthy of skipping the SuperBowl.

There have been many basketball games/practices where little brothers must entertain themselves....

And victory treats to be had!

 There were teeth to be yanked out once the value of said tooth was assessed....

And I've spied on him trying to get another one loose at school!

 There has been a lot of one-on-one time with this guy, and he's just about the cutest monkey I know.

And finally, there's been much reading around here....  As Ethan improves greatly, so does this guy.

We have our first sight word = THE!  

Teacher moms get very excited over such things.  Also over such things as learning what multiplication is on the Ipad at 6 a.m.  These ages?  6 and 4?  I am LOVING.  We have our trials, and independence is thrown around a little too much, but the learning?  *Happy Mama Sigh*  And now I'm off to help Ethan with some science project he's proposing.  Apparently some of his friends don't believe that "soil is good" and he'd like to prove them wrong....  Hmmmmm......  Wish us luck!

January Excitement

January flew this year!  I cannot believe how close we are to February - it feels like we just had Christmas!  All is pretty good in the Sprague household.  My cute boys are back in swimming and doing so much better now that they're in two days a week.  It makes us busy, but they are so much nicer kids when they're getting exercise - especially this kid!

One big event over the past few weeks was the Reflections Ceremony.  Ethan made an awesome picture of the Olympics - so proud of him and how hard he worked!

 The kids got recognized in front of everyone and got a pin saying they are ambassadors to our city from the Mayor.

 I missed the official "shaking of the hand" picture, so I took one afterward with two very important women - our Mayor and our Principal.  Two women I thoroughly admire.  Ethan looks so teeny!

Another big event was our assembly on Tolerance.  Ethan was part of a reading of the poem/story "The Crayon Box that Talked".  He did a great job and those cute kids were a hit!  There was more narration - and I was pretty proud of the way it all came out (I wrote it).  I think it's important for kids to learn about some of the great people throughout history who have shown tolerance and love!

 Also starting this month?  Basketball games!  We've had our first - and it was a riot!

 The kids looked so cute all lined up.  They tried really hard to listen well - but it's hard when you're so excited.....

 Ethan played so hard!  He got the first points of the season - in the first play of the season - but it was for the wrong team....  We were all cheering till the ref pointed out the problem....  Oops!

 I just couldn't believe how aggressive Ethan was.  Last year he'd kind of hide from the action - not this year!  We do have to work on remembering to dribble.... this was a rare moment when he did....

 But it more often looked like this....  And sounded like me yelling, "Dribble Ethan Dribble!"  I'll spare you the video!

(Thanks to my friend Jessica for the great game pics!)  The boys played hard and I was impressed with how hard they all played!
On a sad note - one of Ethan's teammates had to drop out as they discovered around Christmas that he has Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  It's heartbreaking, and we're doing what we can to support his family and send him smiles.  I can't imagine what his mama is going through!  Ethan's had a hard time with it - though he probably still doesn't totally get the severity.  So even though we've been hit with a bit of a cold and various bugs - we're feeling oh so thankful for our health this month.  For all you that are praying folk - send out your prayers for our friend Ethan G.!
And now I'll head back into my chores and school work - so much going on!

Tiger-Striped Monsta Trucks!

Any time we're out in Tacoma, we try to make a stop at the zoo.  We're members there, so it doesn't cost us anything per visit - and I love seeing the animals when there aren't a lot of people around.  Plus, I'd only seen these cute tiger cubs when they were sleeping and that was just not good enough!

This time they were playing outside - with their keepers - and they were an absolute riot to watch.  Like kittens, only much bigger!

I love them.  As did Lucas.  Ethan was enthralled for a bit, but then hunger won out.  Lucas and I stayed and fell in love with our feline friends.

 I couldn't get him to leave for quite a while.  "Mommy they're so keee-yute!"

 We traveled by light rail to make our way to the Monster Trucks - and boy was that exciting.  Remember, for my boys, it's as much how you get there as where you're going.  The ear plugs were put to use right away and the Dome was roarin' away.

 The boys loved it.  Brian and I like the local D-Derby better- more action, but the boys love the BIG.

 Intermission brought us a visit from Robo-Saurus - whom I thought was rather frightening and of which the boys were not phased one bit.  They loved him as he snacked on cars and blew fire at us.  How is that not scary?

 Afterwards, we headed to The Ram for some dinner and quality family time.  In which the two older boys watched football and made no eye contact the entire time.

And then Lucas wanted the Ipad, so poor ol' me got to read my book. :)
This week was back to the grindstone - only with a calmer, saner, less stressed out me.  And Ethan had one sick day which led to me going home early and enjoying a book once again.  I can't say I was too upset.  All is well - busy, but well.

A Week of Rest?

This week has been devoted to just chilling out and getting us all ready for the next chunk of the year at school.  The boys have been in daycare (which is way more fun than hanging out with mom while she cleans, catches up, and such).  I've been busy doing all that - but I've also read 4 books, worked out 4 times, and caught up on a little TV.  It's funny that when I talk to other young (can I still call myself that?) mothers I encourage them to take some lazy time for themselves - and yet I still feel guilty when I do.  One of these days I'll learn to relax happily - without guilt that the house isn't clean and the schoolwork isn't ready....  

Our New Year's wasn't exciting - we let the boys stay up until East Coast New Year's - which is 9 here - we all screamed "Happy New Year" several times and then pretty much we all went to bed.  Woohoo!

Probably the only exciting thing to happen this week was Ethan finally lost his 3rd tooth.  This sucker has been loose since summer, but finally popped out.  He was thrilled!

We also got haircuts - but that's not too exciting, I guess.  We've spent time swimming, playing UNO, and reading - and that's about the extent of it.  I'm normally a go-er and a do-er, but it's been nice to be a much calm-er me for a few days.  Though I can feel my inner explorer ramping up for this weekend.  Can you say
"Monster Trucks"?