Mr. Bond, The Science Guy

Last week Mr. Bond, The Science Guy came to the boys' school.  Carter's class joined the rest of the preschool classes for a presentation.  Carter got to do one of the experiments with Mr. Bond.  I asked him how he got picked and he told me that he sat quietly and raised his hand and got picked.  His experiment involved shooting a rocket.  Ms. Anne and some other teachers all told me he did great!

When walking by Carter's classroom from last year, I saw this picture on the teachers' bulletin board so I took a photo of it.

Recent Pictures

Carter had a slow start to his soccer game on Saturday, but eventually picked it up after scoring a goal.  I had forgotten, but this is exactly what happened last season too.  So the first two thirds of the game, Carter wasn't getting in there at all.  He's had a few back-to-back colds over the last month with a runny nose so he honestly stood around picking his nose a lot.  But after a few misses, he put one in.  And then he couldn't be stopped!  Hopefully that drive carries over to this weekend.

Drew's mom sent me this picture of Drew and Carter from before the last game.

It rained quite a bit yesterday before practice, but since it was warm, I decided to have practice anyway.  The fields were a little muddy, but not horrible.  However we were the ONLY ones practicing.  The parents may have not been pleased (not that they said anything), but the boys had a blast getting muddy!

After the game on Saturday, we stopped by our favorite landscaping stores to look at rocks.  We found these 4 large boulders on "clearance" at Beasley's for only $100 each.  They are getting delivered (and placed) on Thursday when Brian isn't here.  Hopefully I direct the driver to place them in the right spots and at the correct angles because they cannot be moved once the driver leaves (they weigh more than a ton each).

Monday was another rainy day so we went to Barnes and Noble again for storytime.  We read two St. Patrick's Day books and made bookmarks as the craft.

And this is crazy Rylan while driving around today!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We had lots of fun with St. Patrick's Day today!

Last night, the boys and I set up a trap in hopes of catching a leprechaun.  We cut out gold "coins" and put green candy under a box held up with a clear cup in hopes we could entice a leprechaun under the box and then mistakenly knock out the cup to trap him.

Did it work???  Carter was surprisingly brave this morning and picked up the box to see if there was a leprechaun.  He was the first one up this morning and Rylan slept in so we had to hang out in Carter's room for an hour waiting for Rylan to wake up so we could all check the trap together.  Carter truly believed there would be a leprechaun in there.

No leprechaun, but there was a note with some gold candies.  The note said, "This was a tricky trap, but I'm a trickier leprechaun!  Sorry you don't get me real gold this time, but I'm leaving behind a sweeter kind of gold.  See you next year!  Happy St. Patrick's Day!"  Carter wasn't disappointed at all as he ripped into a Reece's cup right away!

We found a note on our kitchen table telling the boys about a scavenger hunt a leprechaun set up for them so they could find a "hat of green".  This note said, "Happy St. Patrick's Day, Carter & Rylan!  I have hidden a 'hat of green' for you in your house, but to find it, you must complete a scavenger hunt!  Follow the clues on the shamrocks to find your treasure! - Mr. Leprechaun"

The first clue was next to the note.

Go to they place where Mommy & Daddy get their exercise out

It sent us to the treadmill.

Go to thy place your Daddy makes money

The next note sent us to Brian's office.

Go to thy place where your artwork is hanging up

Then the bulletin boards in the playroom.

Go to thy place where you wash the hair on ye head

And to the kids' bathtub.

Go to thy place where ye dry your clothes

And we found the "hats of green" in the dryer.

Inside each hat was a shamrock necklace, shamrock tie, a mini-hat, temporary tattoos, and some more gold candy.

Carter did awesome figuring out all the clues.  The only one that he wasn't sure about was the one directing the boys to the bulletin boards in the playroom.  Rylan got so excited as soon as Carter figured out a clue to also go to the place it described and look for a shamrock.  They each found a few of them. I see more scavenger hunts in our future!

The leprechaun also did a little decorating.

 He even made a rainbow for us out of streamers in the playroom doorway (I know he's missing a color - Target was out of orange streamers on Friday).

The leprechaun also got into a little mischief (sort of like Mr. Elf, our Elf on the Shelf, which the boys talk about all the time still and keep saying they miss him and ask when he's coming back).

Apparently leprechauns have green pee (and dirty green feet).  Carter told me today they have green poop too.  Hhhhmmmm.

The leprechaun put some chairs on the kitchen table,

turned the workbench on its side,

turned a lampshade upside down,

stacked some cushions and baskets, and

turned a picture upside down.

Carter loved finding all the things wrong this morning!

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I decided to try making green waffles for breakfast.

They tasted 100% normal to me and Carter was excited about them.

Rylan, not so much.  He wouldn't eat a bite.

The boys definitely had fun with everything this morning.  When Brian got up, Carter was telling him about everything super fast and I thought he was going to pass out from forgetting to breathe.

Now on to Easter planning!

Easter Egg Hunt Playdate

Suzy organized an Easter egg hunt playdate at a park today for a bunch of us.  I think there were seven moms with most of our kids (some are already in elementary school).  We all brought 10 filled eggs and the kids had a blast collecting them.

While some of the moms put out the eggs, Ashley blew bubbles for the kids, which is always a hit.

I think right after this picture was taken, Rylan absolutely tackled Carter.  It's a good thing these kids weigh almost the same amount with all the wrestling that goes on lately!  (It usually doesn't last long before one is mad at the other though.)

Suzy's boys, Chase & Hutch:

A group picture of the kids (only Maddie & Cole are missing) - Luke, Campbell, Amelia, Will, Chase, Carter, Rylan, Carson, & McCabe w/ Van & Hutch in front:

And they are off!!!

Rylan was trucking it ...

And could barely take the time to stop to pick up an egg (he almost fell over several times).

I think Carter reached 10 first but was super good and stopped at 10 all on his own (he really wants to "win" everything).

I don't think Hutch actually got any eggs on his own :)

Missy w/ Luke & Will:

Me w/ my boys:

All the kids had to try out the treats in their eggs when we were done.

The kids played on the playground after the egg hunt and then ate lunch.  Suzy also brought these neat cupcakes for a special treat for the kids.

Thanks Suzy for organizing such a fun playdate!!!