Another Trip to Town…

Remember when I just said that you have to keep an open mind to find exciting things and that you just never know what you might find around that next corner, or through the next stoplight?  Well…  Here is another perfect example of opportunity awaiting when you least expect it.

It was just another ordinary Friday evening.  We were watching our friend’s girls tonight and decided to treat all the kids to a meal at BK.  We loaded up all five kids just after the pop-up storms passed through the area.  The clouds were thinning and the sun was starting to shine.  Off we go.  It isn’t too far into town.  The kids were having a good time chit chatting in the back singing made up songs and talking about 1st grade and 4 year old things.  The younger two were just giggling at all the big kids had to say and sing about.

Just as we pulled up to the stoplight in town, we saw it!  Ross made a quick lane change and we took a detour to see this unusual sight.  Here are some clues…  Can you guess what our town trek discovery was this evening? 

It was sleek and colorful!  Like a bright golden sun.

 

Many aerodynamic curves.

Personalized license plate in the front window?  Hmm…

 

Looks kinda like a space ship cockpit. 

Got it yet?  Any guesses?

 

Man I was hungry!  I mean we came to town to eat.  Maybe we should have just grilled some hot dogs.  I didn’t think we would ever make it to Burger King.  Have you given up yet????  Here ya go, the giveaway pics! 

 

   

It isn’t everyday you get to stand next to the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile!  To think, I almost changed my mind and fixed supper at home tonight with all the rain that was passing through the area.  Glad we once again went on one of our close to home adventures to town. 

Just Another Trip to Town…

This winter, we took many weekend trips to town.  Picking up groceries, heading to the man mall (a.k.a. Lowes), eating at McDonalds.  You know, just ordinary stuff.  Most of the time however, these trips include some fun sights.  We have watched army helicopters land at the little airport in town, seen a HUGE semi truck in an abandoned parking lot (I think it had over 30 tires on the rig!), picked up a few geocaches, gone to the farmers market, bought a couple of rabbits, and the list goes on and on and on. 

Now that I have my sometimes smarter than me Android phone, I am able to document more of these everyday moments.  Here are a couple of collages that I put together on my new PhotoGrid Android app then emailed to myself so that I could post it here.  Really like this app so far.  Amazing what phones can do today!  Amazing what all this technology can do!  You know, I never even used email until I was out of college a couple of years!  So many changes in such a short time.  Imagine telling these guys about the days when I was a kid and the phone was attached to the wall with a cord and you could not leave the house to talk.  Since the phone is our go to communication to keep in touch with family across the miles, I think that will be more amazing to my guys than life without so many of the other modern conveniences.

Here are the men planning out their manly irrigation system for this year’s garden.  Plants will go in soon.  Very soon!  TanMan did take a little extra time to peruse the many options for painting his room now that his crib is gone.  Yep, no more baby bed for this big guy!  Time to put together a bigger boy room now.  Out with the yellow stripes (it isn’t as bad as it sounds!) and in with the new…  He hasn’t picked the new color yet.  =)

On our way to Wal-mart, we had to detour to the next door parking lot to take a look at these mighty machines.  Guess their drivers were eating lunch.  The boys were all in awe, and walked around and around the trucks to take in every detail. 

Sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the daily grind of life.  To focus on the mundane tasks.  To think that life is boring.  Simple trips to town like this are a good reminder that there is excitement and opportunity everywhere you look.  Sometimes you just have to remember to branch outside the box to find those moments.  It helps to be looking at the world with the youthful eyes of our little guys too!  Search to find ways to overlook the mundane of your world too.  Let us know what you discover on your next adventure to get groceries!

Lego Mania

Yes, we have hit that stage…  The age of legos!  The boys have scored big in lego sets between Christmas and Birthdays.  Many afternoons are spent building, and building, and building.  And once in a while creations are taken apart, pieces to be used for a new creation.  Last weekend we opened a couple of more new sets and built a fire rescue brigade.  Braden and I built a fire boat, and Riley built the fire rescue truck.  Braden’s approach is to grab a little life boat and a mini figure and play at the table as I do the rest.  Every few minutes he checks my progress and goes back to his guys. 

 

Legos are right up Riley’s alley.  He loves the detail of putting something together and does great at following along with the instructions.  He is determined and focused.  He likes seeing the finished product.  He then likes to take things apart and rebuild it.  All is good unless someone (a.k.a. Dad) has made modifications to the original.  That throws him off.  We are working to encourage him to create his own ideas and be flexible with substituting pieces if he can’t find the exact one the instructions show.  He will get it… 

 

Of course, once the build is finished it is time to play!  We had quite the entourage of lego rescue vehicles in the living room.  I felt quite safe!  (TeeHee)  TanMan even gets in on the action once he wakes up from his naps.  (Most lego building is done while TanMan sleeps.  He has a tendency to latch on to a handful of legos and stake claim to them, not wanting to give them up for ANY reason whatsoever!)  He grabbed a little life boat and fought with Braden over a couple of guys, then was content to play along with the big boys.

Braden just grabbed his helicopter and headed off on his own.  Easier than having that pesky little bother brother following him around.

 

See…  Quite the crew!  Perserverance and determination resulted in one mega fire boat, one ladder truck, three helicopters, and a rescue truck.  Not bad for a couple of hours of building.

Celebrations

Spring is a busy time here, full of celebrations.  Once Christmas is over, the craziness of birthdays begins.  First TanMan, then Braden, and Riley.  Three birthdays over the course of 7 weeks.  (Even their dad has a birthday just 3 weeks later!)  My spring boys…  Thank goodness these guys are good friends as well as brothers and we can finish off with a bigger combined party.  Makes life a little easier, at least for now.  I am sure that one year soon, the boys will each want their own day.  We will cross that bridge when it comes.  We usually do a small cake for each of the earlier birthday boys on their actual birthday too.  That way they get a little celebrating in on their own birthday.

First was TanMan’s 2nd birthday…  I posted a brief couple of pictures last time too.  Tanner wanted a train cake.  He loves Thomas and all trains in general!  We are going to have to take another ride on the amtrak sometime.  Maybe a trek from Central IL to Chicago???  Hmm…  We will have to see what we can work out for that one.  He was excited to tell everyone that he is two.  He spent much time trying to get his fingers to work so that he can show the world he is two!  I can’t believe what a big boy he is now.  He never really wanted to be a baby.  He had keeping up to do.  No time for that little baby stuff!  He is now potty trained, sleeping on his new big boy bed, and playing with all the big boy toys.  Where did my baby go?  He will be in college in the blink of an eye!

  

 Next came Braden’s 4th Birthday!  Did I already say that these guys are growing up too fast?  YEAH????  Well… I just said it again.  Braden got to help me decorate his cake.  We did a dinosaur cake with a river running across it.  Most of the time Ross does the cakes, but we decided that Braden and I would attempt this one.  It was fun.  Braden helped me figure out where to put the river, picked out dinos to put on the cake, and then placed most of the dinosaurs himself.  He was proud of his work.  That evening we went to McDonald’s for dinner so that he could have his favorite chicken nuggets, and then came back for cake and nutty bars.  He was ecstatic about his special night.

 

 Finally came Riley’s 7th birthday, and the boys’ combined birthday party!  Riley and Braden decided together quite a while back that they wanted a wildlife themed party.  After we looked at many ideas for cakes and decorations, we decided on a camping/wildlife theme.  It worked out great.  Ross and I used teamwork to tackle this cake.  He baked it and did the base green icing.  I put on the river, and border.  Then we both worked to add the finishing touches-rocks in the river, a tent, campfire, log benches, and plants all around the campsite.  The trees were the only thing that were not edible.  We even let people eat the rocks.  Great Grandma Pogue got quite the kick out of that one.  I think I am going to have to find her some rocks of her own to eat.

The boys got to invite some friends and we invited a few family friends too.  Grandma, Grandpa, and Great Grandma Pogue were all able to come for the weekend too.  It was a good party.  Just wish it would have been warmer so that we could have spent some time outside too.  Oh-well, maybe next year. 

 

 

Now it is time for much exploring for the spring.  I am so looking forward to days spent outside as we meander around our backyard and beyond.