Dinosaurs

(I have some really cool pictures to go with this post but our computer is acting up and won't download them.)


Do you know what a pterosaur is? Did you know that now scientists think they might have had feathers?

Do you know who Richard Owen or Waterhouse Hawkins are?

Do you know what the distinguishing features of a maiasaur are?  How about a stegosaur?  Maybe a troodon or an iguanadon?

I do.

I know the answers to all these questions because I have boys.

And these boys are obsessed with dinosaurs right now.

Their dreams came true when we visited the dinosaur exhibit at the Western Idaho Fair last week.

At first Jack was a little timid seeing the life size dinosaurs move around. 

Then we couldn't talk them into leaving the exhibit.

We definitely got our money's worth because we stayed in the exhibit for over an hour (and it wasn't even really that big).

A big thank you goes out to the fair organizers for keeping my little boys in mind when they planned it.

Thank you, thank you , thank you.

Rawr.

Feeling Old

Yesterday, we were at the park (see post below) and Tim and I had the following conversation:

Tim: "Look at those kids with the shaggy hair."

Me: "Yeah, that's the Justin Bieber hair."

Tim: "It's ridiculous."

Me: "I know, they have to jerk their head to the side every few seconds just to maintain the look.  Crazy."

A few moments go by and we overhear a mom talking to her son about buying candy at the concession stand.

Tim: "50 cents for an Airhead?"

Me: "That's crazy.  Do you remember when Airheads were 10 cents each?"

 

These kids aren't feeling old, but their parents sure are.

Positives and Negatives

So here are the positives and negatives of yesterday.  I'll start with the negatives because I like to end on a good note.

Negatives:

• Jack was in time-out about 7 times for various things involving terrorizing the dog, his brother and me.
• I got punched the the face by someone who is also known as Noonie.
• There was a ton of crying and whining.  None from me though.
• I discovered a bruise on my leg from when I lost my cool the day before.  Let me just give you a mental picture: I was inside, the boys were outside.  I didn't realize Jack had found a stick.  I also didn't realize it was bamboo.  He proceeded to poke Luke in the eye with it.  Now to the part where I lost my cool: I stomped outside and told Jack he could no longer have the stick.  To illustrate my point, I tried to break the stick over my thigh (remember the bamboo part?).  It bounced, hence the bruise.

Positives:

• • I baked two delicious loaves of bread.
• • I got the mound of laundry washed, dried and put away.
• • I followed through on my promise of no yelling.
• • The only time my voice's noise level increased was when I involuntarily yelped after Jack stomped on my stomach.
• • The sun was out and we got to play baseball in the backyard.
• • I applied for some teaching jobs.
• • Tim discovered a new park and we went to check it out.  It was AWESOME:  kid-sized climbing walls, swings, toys, slides, a spray park, a concession stand complete with sno-cones, picnic tables, and......wait for it.......a pond stocked with Bass that kids can fish in even without a license!!!!!!!  Like I said, awesome!
• • The day ended in a perfect way: spending almost 2 hours on Skype with Chris and Sarah.

 

 

 

 

Building Clinic

We recently found out that on certain Saturdays Lowe's and Home Depot put on kid's clinics. The best part about it, besides quality time and lots of fun: it's totally FREE!   Call your local store for the dates and times.
Last Saturday it was Home Depot's turn.  When we got there the boys got their own orange apron and materials to build a butterfly house.  They turned out pretty great, I must say.  After they finished they got a pin to put on their apron showing they completed their project.
Being the responsible parents we are, we let them put their pins on their aprons.  The next day, of course, Jack figured out how to take the pin off and promptly stepped on it.  Awesome.