Robots!

As I mentioned before, we received a whole bunch of toys from our neighbor. Between Grant's birthday and their generous delivery, it's like an early Christmas in our house!

One of the toys is a bin of Tinkertoys. The boys love their LEGOs, so I had a feeling the Tinkertoys would be a hit - I had no idea how big a hit though.

Grant loves them. He has set up a "workshop" in the tentfort. He zips down the doors and won't let anyone in until his creation is complete. For inspiration and ideas, he has been looking at the pictures on the side of the can. Although I am pretty sure the creation in this video is all Grant. Beckett also likes to play around with them, but he's not as into them as Grant. Rescue Heroes and LEGO are still his go to toys. :-)

Here is a video I took this afternoon. The first part is Grant working on his robot. Then Beckett telling us about his robot. And then Grant and Beckett at the end. :-)

We love Riley

Riley is definitely a part of our family...and Roger is her favorite. :-) Here she is giving her nightly post work hugs and kisses.

The kids recently received a bunch of toys from our neighbor - so generous! Here is the fort tent set up in the playroom. Apparently they aren't the only ones excited about it!

Backstroke!

Today was Grant's second to last swim lesson. We was really excited to show his backstroke to Macie and Cap. I didn't think he did as well as he did in the last lesson...he was a bit distracted with an audience in the area. Anyway, he lapped the pool a couple of times. He also began to learn the breaststroke today - he can't figure out the crazy kick. :-)

He's going to take a break from lessons till after Christmas.

New Bike!

Here is the video of Grant's new bike. He went from a 12" rim to a 20" rim...big difference and he adjusted quickly. He's already very comfortable on it and as Beckett said - he's super fast. :-) Now Beck is wondering when he is getting a new bike. Ugh.

 Not sure what's going on with this smile - this is the best one I got today.

Grant's smile is weird too. He told me his face was too cold. :-)

Grant is 5!!!

I can't believe it - Grant turned 5 yesterday! It seems like we were all just in the hospital in Fairbanks, waiting and waiting for him to come. Looking out the window at the massive snow storm that was settling over the city. Sigh....it goes so fast!

We had a pretty fun, but low key day. Unlike last year, we didn't have a friend party because most of Grant's good friends are in elementary school now. Fridays are also a hard day since the kids are usually wiped out from the week. We are heading to a gymnastics gym/zip line with Grant's good friend Isaac next week.

First thing in the morning the kids found the game table we got for them. It is a great find - foosball, hockey, basketball, chess, backgammon, shuffle board, and a few other games in one. All you have to do is change out the game top. We started out with foosball and that was our morning....tournaments in the playroom. Beckett is having a hard time because he's just a bit too short for the table. He also spins his guys the wrong way so he's always scoring for the other team. :-)

Beckett and I then headed out with Macie so Beckett could pick out a present for Grant. Cap and Grant headed to the sports store to get a few more pieces for the game table. For dinner we went to the superhero restaurant for dinner...always a hit with the kids, not so much with the adults. :-) Cake and presents when we got home. The big hit with the presents was a couple of Paper Jam guitars I found for the kids. We had quite the concert happening last night! Books, rescue hero vehicles, star wars LEGO watch and a kite rounded out the evening.

Grant's big present is a new bike. We decided to wait until today to give it to him since neither of the kids took a nap yesterday and they were so excited over the guitars. I will take some video and pics of the bike and post those later.

 Grant and Beckett showing off their LEGO creations.

 Goofy picture with goofy birthday boy.

 Silly Beckett. He found this truck in the toy bin at the restaurant and just didn't want to put it down. Beckett LOVES trucks!

 Rescue Heroes!

 Rescue Hero Jeep

Beckett jamming on the guitar.

 The Simmons concert has begun.

 Grant wanted a vanilla cake, chocolate icing, brown sprinkles and marshmallows on his cake. I added the rocket and smoke to make it a bit more festive.

Happy Birthday Grant!

Stair Ball Lives!

We have had pretty rainy and chilly weather lately, so in stead of heading to the park, Riley is getting her exercise via chasing her ball on the stairs. We used to play this with Hilo in Fairbanks all the time. Glad to see that it lives again!

Last Game!

Last Saturday was our last soccer game of the seadon....and it was a COLD one. When we left the house it was chilly, but once we got to the fields we realized that it was also windy - should have brought more layers!

The kids didn't care though and jumped right on the field. We had a double header since a couple of our games were cancelled this season. We have decided that Grant definitely needs to be on defense and Beckett...well he just enjoys running all over the field. A parent on the other team did comment to me about Beckett, saying that he's a good player. That's always nice to hear.

After the game there was a brief ceremony where the boys received a mini-soccer ball and a plaque. All in all a great season...just not enough games. The boys are sad that it's all over.

 Roger was too cool to put his hood up and so he thought the half hood over the ears looked better...no so sure on that one. :-)

Best Buds - Emmitt, Alina, Beck and Grant at the closing ceremony.