Fun at the Fire Station

The day after our trip to the circus, the local fire station had its annual open house. Aiden was with a friend at a Scout-sponsored Pumpkin Fest, so we met up with a friend who is Devin's age.

As soon as we made it across the street, they were off like a shot to go see the fire trucks!


Devin helpfully inspected the wheel to be sure it was on tight!


Then we learned about some of the tools the fire fighters use to open cars and cut down doors if needed.


And the equipment was a big hit, too!




We got to play in the fire struck a bit and even try on the seat belt.




The Randolph Fire Station recently got a new ambulance, so that was next on the list.


Devin looked a little unsure on the gurney...


We then practiced crawling through smoke in the "smoke house" they take to the local schools for experience in what a house full of smoke (or, in this case, water vapor) looks like. Devin was very good about keeping his head down which is why you only see his hat!


After all that, it was time for a piece of pizza followed by a lack-of-sleep-induced meltdown and we headed home for naps! See you next year, RFD!

Last Day of School

The last 3 1/2 months have been a whirlwind of classes (mine), school (the kids), meetings (school and church), and more construction projects (our bathroom, the tenant bathroom, and the tenant kitchen, the roof, gutters, and a little follow-up tile work). We've taken lots of pictures, and I've had the best intentions of getting them uploaded and posted, but I never quite seem to make it there. BUT, school's out! So I have had a few extra minutes usually taken up by packing lunches and rushing kids around.

Because of several snow days (you may remember our blizzard and then several snows in March), our last day of school was pushed from June 18th to June 25th! It's hard to believe the kids have only been out of school ONE day and July 4th is already on next week's calendar!

We managed to make it to school a few minutes early yesterday, and I took some pictures of the kids with their teachers. But first, you may remember how our crew looked at the beginning of the year (Aug 29, 2012):


And here they are on Tuesday, 9 months wiser:


Johanna is still taller than Aiden, but they've all grown and learned a lot! Aiden started First Grade as a beginning reader just putting words and sounds together. As of today, he's finishing up a 120-page "chapter book" he picked at the library. He has loved First Grade with his teacher, Mrs. Gureckis, and his favorite subject is definitely Math (or Science, or Gym, or Music depending on the day).


Devin has made a lot of progress in Preschool, too. He can write several letters and is getting better at sitting in his chair and following along with a group. He still struggles with attention and expressing himself, but we're making progress. He loves his teachers, and Mondays are the saddest day of the week (Aiden goes to school but Devin doesn't). Here he is with Mr. "Z," Mrs. Henderson, and Mrs. Hipsman.


We've only had one full day of summer vacation, and we've already been swimming, pulled out the Slip N' Slide and had friends over to play. We'll be celebrating July 4th with fireworks, and then we'll be headed out to Oregon and Washington for our annual Northwest trip.

Happy Summer, all!

Valentine's Cards 2013

Last year, Aiden's class list for the Valentine exchange came with a request for no candy. Very few parents complied with the request, but I anticipated a similar one this year for both Aiden's and Devin's classes. Of course, this year, treats were allowed as long as they were peanut-free. But, I had already been formulating plans for treat-free Valentines, so we moved ahead with what we had! I think both types came out really nice, and the kids had a good time putting them together!

For Aiden's class, pink Valentines for the girls and blue Valentines for the boys with two mechanical pencils attached to each

"Valentine, You get WRITE to my heart!"

For Devin's class, Valentines with heart stickers attached to boxes of sparkly crayons

"Valentine, You COLOR my world!"

Happy Hearts-and-Candy Day!

Blizzard 2013

"Nemo" was forecast for several days in advance, so we had plenty of time to prepare for the "Blizzard of 2013." We always store water, extra food, batteries, flashlights, and a little extra gasoline for the snow blower and lawn mower. But I did add a back-up power pack for my phone (or anything with a mini-USB or regular USB charger) and got an extra gallon of milk on Thursday.

Nemo moved in on Friday afternoon as predicted and started to grace us with big, fluffy flakes. Every school in the state closed in anticipation of the event. So the kids and I were home to enjoy the lack of snow and watch endless weather reports. Ian went into work early and came home on the 2:10 train (the MBTA closed down at 3:30 to prepare for the weather).

By 4:30 we had a few inches of snow, so Ian and the kids headed out even though it was starting to get a little dark.





Snow baseball. If you look closely, you can see that Aiden has gotten a piece of this one!








Malcolm and I mostly stayed inside, but, in an effort to be "in the picture" and to bend to the demands of peeps on Facebook, I took Mr. M outside for just a few minutes. I don't think he was impressed.


On Saturday morning, we woke up to the power on (YAY!) and a just a little more snow.






Everyone was fascinated by the continuous weather updates!


Ian took the kids outside, but Devin was overwhelmed by the snow (of course, if you were shorter than the average snowdrift, you'd probably be a bit nervous, too). So he came inside to enjoy some fun in his "fort."






Ian and Aiden lived it up outside for close to TWO hours!




Love this picture! I might have to have it framed.


And, who needs a hill when you have stairs?


The following day, Ian got down to the business of clearing the driveway. Thank goodness we bought a snow blower when we moved in to this house!




You can see all the pictures of our fun here:
 

Wild Times

With a gaggle of little boys running around, you're bound to open the door and find all kinds of wild behaviors being displayed inside our walls. But the favorite state of wildness is definitely the state of undress! Everything seems to be more fun when unconstrained by clothing. It makes taking pictures challenging, but, every once in a while, we seem to catch a few smiles while keeping our dignity in tact.

Pie-Crust Promises (aka, "New-Year Resolutions")

"That's a pie-crust promise. Easily made, easily broken." says Mary Poppins to Michael and Jane when they ask if she will stay if they promise to "be good." That's kind of how I feel about new-year resolutions. We start out strong on January 1st, and, by about the 15th, we've lost momentum. By February, those resolutions often seem like a silly idea to have toyed with in the beginning.

I stopped setting these types resolutions years ago. However, earlier in 2012, I read an article online about moms being "in the picture" with their kids--literally. Too many of us moms stay behind the lens of the camera, capturing every moment of history in our children's lives. And, yet, we're hardly ever in the pictures ourselves. So my only big resolution for 2013 is to "be in the picture" with the rest of the family. (Click HERE if you would like to read the aforementioned article yourself)

This morning, I put together a quiche for our new-year's day gathering at Ian's parents' house. Devin wanted to "help" with the pie crust dough, so I took a few shots before I realized, "Wait... I need to put myself in there, too." I have a timer on the camera, so we set up a shot. I still think the ones of Devin are cuter (which is why they are first), but be prepared to see more of me* on the blog in the coming year.

Happy New Year and best of luck with your own resolutions!







For Grandpa Wrz...




*Please note, I make no promises about whether such pictures will be PhotoShopped prior to posting. In fact, you can almost guarantee that all of them will be!

'Tis the season for cookies!

This week, I had the pleasure of going to both Aiden's and Devin's classrooms to decorate gingerbread men. In Aiden's class, it was actual cookies. In Devin's class, we had to stick to paper gingerbread men because one of his classmates has a food allergy. But, I think the non-edible option was probably the best for preschool-aged children, anyway.

I forgot to take my camera to Aiden's class, and the picture his teacher took of us didn't come out (total bummer). But I did remember to take it to Devin's class the next day!

When I arrived, the kids were practicing counting gingerbread men on their "cookie sheets." Devin is a big fan of counting!




Then we moved over to a table to work on our actual decorating activity.




I had fun coming up the the plan to decorate and taking the activity into Devin's class. The "cookie" isn't completely dry yet, so it's still at school. But I'll take pictures once the masterpiece makes it home!