Fun with a Big Box

This was a trick of a weekend on us with temps in the 60s.  The kids were thrilled to be playing outside in shorts and short-sleeved shirts.  We got a new ottoman for the living room, but the kids thought the box was more exciting.

They had fun hopping in and pushing each other down the little hill of our front yard.

They had so much fun!

No need to take off the roller skates to play :)

Always nice to see when it is the simple things like boxes that provide them with the most entertainment :)

New Soccer Duds

Todd took the kids to Sports Authority while I got time on the torch.  He brought them home with bags of soccer clothes, shin guards and cleats.  Both kids had to change into their new duds immediately upon walking in the door.  Owen then went out to the backyard to practice his soccer moves.  I caught him from above when I was out on the deck taking bead pics.

I just love this boy.  Look at those blue eyes!

Visit to the Alpharetta Police Station

Owen's Boy Scout troop visited the Alpharetta Police station.  They have the 911 dispatch center that handles all 911 calls for North Fulton, not just Alpharetta.  We got to look in on the dispatch center through big windows in a conference room.  But our cameras were shooed away after I snapped this pic.

Then we got a Q&A session with a Captain and a Detective about what police officers do.

They passed around a protective vest for the kids to try on.  They weigh a good fifteen pounds.

Next we walked out to their garage and saw all their motorcycles.  One officer started several of the bikes to demonstrate how loud the sirens were, but after several attempts on four different bikes they gave up and said they needed to get the bikes into the shop for maintenance.  I was thankful since loud noises (like sirens or train whistles) can bring both kids to tears.

Then we went out to tour the SWAT bus (which was locked and keys hidden) and to meet the K-9 named Bok.  You can see him on the floor next to the stairs.  Obeying his master's command, he lay still for a good 15 minutes while the police officer talked to us about his training and capabilities.  Bok was trained in Czechoslovakia and only knows Czech commands.

Bok LOVES his tennis ball.  The tennis balls serves as a better reward for good behavior than treats or food for this boy.

They demonstrated Bok's unfailing loyalty and obedience by commanding him to attack the detective who was wearing a protective arm covering.  Bok did not relent until he was commanded to release.

After the K-9 demonstration, the kids were allowed to get inside a brand new police car that had fewer than 9 miles on the odometer.  They had fun.

Chloe hung out in the backseat.  Most of the boys were crowding out the front seat.

We finished with a group shot in the lobby before going home with special pocket/key-chain lasers.

Dental Visit - Part 2 with Chloe

Chloe made herself comfortable.

Doesn't she look tiny under the metal blanket?  This was the first time Chloe had to get x-rays.  She walked into the dentist's office announcing she was not going to get x-rays taken of her teeth.  But somehow, Jennifer talked her into it.

The films barely fit inside her mouth.

That's right, Momma still asks you to say "Cheese" with a mouth full of x-ray films and covered by a metal blanket.

Chloe said getting the x-rays wasn't so bad.  Next was the cavity check and teeth cleaning.  She's not a fan of the bright light and always gets a pair of over-sized sunglasses.

How cool is the Bean in her shades, sweatshirt and pink leopard pants?

Dental Visit - Part 1 with Owen

Both kids took quite a bit of time to analyze the computer chart showing Owen's teeth.

Owen was ready to get his teeth checked!

He did so good getting his teeth poked and scraped.  No cavities!

Next up was a fluoride treatment.

After the fluoride treatment, he got to hold the sucker straw.

Owen really liked how it felt on his tongue.

Valentine's Day - Candy and Tennis

The kids got a bit of candy for Valentine's Day.  Then we drove them out to Stone Mountain to meet my Dad.  He took them to a circus and then spoiled them at the Dollar Store before bringing them home to spend the night.

The circus and going to Papa's were last minute plans, but it freed up my afternoon to watch Todd play tennis.  I always enjoy seeing him play because he has such a love for the sport and is a great player, although I rarely am relieved of parental duties to go watch.  Bringing the kids to the courts is hard because they have so much energy and want to run around and play, or just yell out "HI DADDY" right when Todd is preparing to serve or hit a set point.

He is a jumper!

This was a mixed doubles match.  It was a difficult match because Todd's partner wasn't as strong of a player as the opposing woman, although Todd and the other guy were evenly matched.

Todd has a rockin back hand!  His skills on the court really amaze me.

But it is his sportsmanship that makes me the proudest.  The woman on the other team made multiple bad calls, which ultimately ended up winning them the match.  It is always a disappointment when other players resort to intentionally bad calls and unfair play.  My honeys politely asked her if she was sure of her calls and handled himself well.  If the kids were there, he would have been the best role model for them to see how adults should behave towards cheaters and not stooping to name calling or anger.  That's not to say Todd wasn't angry, but he kept it to himself.  

And so on Valentine's Day, while sitting on the outskirts of the court, I was reminded of how much I love Todd.  Not just for how he treats me and our kids, but for how he treats others in difficult situations.

Walk in the Snow

We started a second snowman and then bedtime came, so his bottom got rolled to the front of the first snowman. It made for a good step up for the kids to be eye level with the snowman.

We got a couple more inches overnight, which made for a very snowy walk after we woke up the next morning.  The snow was so beautiful with the sun making everything sparkle and glisten.

We had to pause our walk so the kids could make snow angels.

Hard to photograph snow angels when the sun is so bright.

The branches on the pine trees were all pointing South.  Owen had fun shaking them and getting covered in their falling snow.

Dylan was impatient with all of the steps the kids wanted to make on our walk.  When Little Horse goes for a walk, he is intent on WALKING.  No dilly-dallying!

Owen is shaking one of the really tall pine trees to make the snow fall off the top branches.

Don't they look like they are on a mission?  Little Explorers with their sticks.  Of course what this picture (and all the others) is missing is the excessive whining and crying from the girl child because she was freezing.  She snuck out of the house without wearing socks, so the snow was freezing off her little pigs.  And she refused to keep her sock gloves on, so her fingers were raw from playing in the snow.  Poor Bean.

Owen was preparing to eat the snowman's face.

See? He builds a snowman up so nice and then he tears him down, one mouthful at a time!

Snow Dog!

Dylan had so much fun running and playing in the snow!