Duathalon

This morning the kids took part in a duathalon. Emmett's age category went first; they only had to run. Emmett decided NOT to run--he just kind of walked with Aaron pulling him along. Oh well, at least we could hold out hope for Ethan's age category. Emmett's friend Mia took first for that age, though! Way to go Mia!



Next was Ethan's age category. The girls went first and his friend Olivia, also from Too Blessed to be Stressed, placed 2nd! Way to go Liv! When it was Ethan's turn we had a repeat of Emmett's event. Ethan, too, decided NOT to run. He gets easily embarrassed by attention on himself. SO, to make matters worse, because he was the last competitor, the crowd cheered all the louder for him while he biked. Aaron said he would pedal and then stop altogether.

Next age category was our nephew Carson's. He did great! He finished 4th for the boys in his age category. Way to go Carson!



The final race of interest to us was the next age category for girls. Our friends from Too Blessed to be Stressed had yet ANOTHER victory. Their oldest, Elli, took 2nd for her age category! Way to go Elli!

The kids had a good time playing games, doing a cake walk, getting ID badges made, and making and eating a healthy snack of trail mix and fruit kebobs!


Thanks to Tabitha for the pictures again!

Bike Parade

This morning the boys were part of a bike parade in our town. Last minute (last night) I decided how they would decorate their bikes. Last minute (this morning at 7:00 am) I went to my parents and Wal-Mart to gather last minute items to decorate their bikes.

Ethan's bike was a fire truck and he was the fireman. The hose is a 10 ft. extension hose that I had to buy from Wal-Mart. The ladder Aaron made from six 5 gallon stir sticks and staples. The firefighter clothing we had already.



Emmett was a farmer. The tractor bike came from my parent's house as did the wagon. The miniature corn stalks came from a food plot on my parent's land that never really grew. I felt the hard work of planting that corn should go to some good, so I just assumed it was okay to use.


The kids had a good time. And, we thought they were pretty cute!

Thanks to Tabitha for the pictures!

Our Eventful Saturday

This morning Aaron ventured off to a football game with is dad, brother, and brother-in-law. The game was a birthday gift for Aaron's dad. So, the boys and I set off on an adventure of our own.

First, we followed my brother and his 2 kids to a pancake breakfast in a neighboring town. After the breakfast, we looked at antique tractors and FFA farm dioramas. The kids did GREAT not touching these very intriguing items. My boys and I then went by ourselves to walk around a car show.

After all that BOY stuff, I wanted to do some shopping. Before shopping, though, I thought I would take them hiking for a bit. This of course would burn some of that run-around-the-store-and-touch-everything-including-mannequin-private-parts energy. Not so! They did have a GREAT time hiking. Ethan took off up hills and was gone before I could warn him to wait up for Emmett and me. Every walnut they found was just as exciting as the last. They wanted to keep going on new trails, but I was afraid I'd get stranded a 1/4 mile or further from the car with two kids too tired to walk. So, I cut it shorter than they thought they wanted.

Next, we headed to TJ Maxx. Not the best store for kids ... they did okay, though. Then to Old Navy. That is where the mannequin fondling took place. It may sound funny or weird, but really it is just pure embarrassing!!! I don't really know why they do it or where they came up with the idea of touching private parts--real or plastic. Whenever it happens we scold them and explain whey it is bad. They just feed off each other, really. One more stop and then a good swift swat on their bare legs with a spanking spoon gifted to me from my mom to carry around in my purse. After all that they thought we should go to Chuck E. Cheese! No way! So, instead, I made them eat at Wendy's.

I was brave enough to stop one more place and it went fairly well considering it was close to 3:00 and they woke at 6:00. The whole way home Emmett protested with me that he wasn't tired! When we got home I put them in their beds and instantly they were both asleep!

It was a very fun day, but very exhausting for me! I don't even have any pictures to share, because my camera's desire to work is really hit or miss.

Down on the Farm

Last night we went to a farm experience put on by Family Resources. The boys got to see and touch rabbits, goats, a donkey, and chickens. They also got to feed hay to the goats and donkey. Emmett was not interested in touching or feeding the animals. But, he did like getting the hay for us. They also got to go in the chicken coop and touch a chicken, and there was one egg that a chicken had laid.



After seeing the barn and animals, we walked through the garden and looked at what was growing. We saw a lot of pumpkins and apple trees. Here are my boys by an apple tree.



There was a sandbox, merry-go-round, refreshments and a little chick craft. Here they are eating watermelon; the first time they have eaten it like this! A cute idea they did was put corn pops and candy corn in bags and called it chicken feed. They also make paper frogs with a hole where their mouths would be and stuck a paper party blower in it to look like its tongue. Let me tell you, that was our saving grace for the first 20 minutes in Kohl's. We went there after the farm and after the blowers ripped from too much spit being forced through them, it was all downhill!



Here is the little chick craft they had for the kids. This was such an easy and cute craft. They took baby powder mixed with yellow powdered tempra paint and put it in a paper bag. The kids got to drop in 2 cottonballs and shake. Then, they took the cotton balls out and dipped them in glue on a paper plate. They stuck one in the bottom of an egg carton cup and then dipped the other and stuck it on top. They had felt triangles and circles cut out that the kids also dipped in glue and stuck on the cotton balls. So cute!




They had a great time! Emmett is sitting on my lap while I do this and he keeps asking me if we can go to the farm today!

Concert in the Park

Tonight we met Jake, Tabitha and the girls at the Concert in the Park. First, Yogi Bear and Cindy Bear came out to sing and dance. Ethan liked them, but wouldn't go dance on the dance floor. Emmett was very unsure of the whole thing and cowered on Aaron's lap. Then, the Apple Annies performed. Ethan and Emmett suddenly wanted to go out and dance. That was great. What wasn't great is HOW they were dancing! They both ran out there with their shirts in their mouths exposing their bellies. Quite embarrassing I must admit. Think about if that was your child out there running around like that for about 5 minutes. Then, I realized most people didn't know who their parents were ... that is until we had to go get them for being a bit too rough around some other kids ... again, embarrassing. They had a great time and actually didn't want to leave. When I kissed Emmett goodnight he asked me to sing the "scarf song." That was a song they sang tonight to the tune of "Bingo" about Cindy the Bear. Thanks Tabitha for the picture so I can remember this moment for the rest of my life!