Ten on Tuesday

I haven't done a Ten on Tuesday for awhile so I thought it might be fun. I'm pretty sure I can come up with ten things to share with you all. :)

1. Birthday Party at The Track.

Axel and his BFF Parker.

Cute balloons and bubble decorations.

This photo cracks me up...can't even see the birthday girl. The kids LOVE the present opening part!

Party fun. It was freezing! Yes, I know it's hard to imagine the cold wind chill in Florida but it's true. Winter weather does make its way and it comes with a bit! The humidity definitely makes it a worst cold, a bone chilling cold. Anyways, we bundled up and had a blast.


Axel & Fin on the Choo-choo.



Fin is another BFF and they loved this train.



There's the birthday girl, Cokie. See, Axel is all bundled up!

2. Down for the count....STREP Throat! The day after the party, I woke up with a splitting headache and a sore,sore throat. I could barely move. Daddy skyped with the boys, talking and reading stories so I could "check out" awhile on the couch. My nausea was making it impossible for me to be a good Mom. I remember Axel asking me, "Mom, can I have goldfish crackers for breakfast?" It was time for Tylenol and a call to some friends. Luckily, the Tylenol gave me a little life back so the kids had a half of a Mom for the day.  After waking up the next day with everyone complaining of aches and pains, we headed for the doctors. Axel and I were positive for strep and Lucas as negative but we all got treated as a precaution. We had a lazy Monday at home and started to feel better quickly once antibiotics kicked in.

3. THANK YOU FRIENDS!!! Big thanks to my neighbors and two wonderful friends for bringing over dinners. What a different it makes to have wonderful people in your life.

4.  Ever since Lucas found some dry ice experiments on the Internet, he has wanted to get some. I think our little wizard wanted to make some real potions! We had big discussions about wearing gloves and how dangerous dry ice could be. With everyone briefed, brought some home one night after school.

Dry ice and bubble solution is super cool!

Pop!

Making potion...next time safety glasses will be mandatory, just in case. We had no incidents but it would be safer!



Little green food coloring makes it way better.

Our wizard at work!

Our wizard in training!

 5. Legos, of course! Axel is still over the top for Legos and his persistence/patience just amazes me. He is so fast at building this kits and loves the entire process...the hunt, the piecing together and the taking apart.


Finishing touches...

Built another one of Daddy's Star Wars kits.

On to the next...

And the next!

 6. We took the week to recover from our bout with strep but felt great by the weekend. Our trip to Huntsville, AL was on schedule and we had a wonderful time.

Morning cartoons.

They had no clue I was taking photos.

Yummy pancake breakfast!

 

 7. Lucas & Sarah go way, way back until before they were born. Erin and I were pregnant at the same time and a few month after Lucas entered this world, Sarah joined him.

 

Sarah (1 mo) & Lucas (3 mo) catching some zzzzzz's. November 2005.

One of my favorites! I love Lucas (6yrs) & Sarah's (6 yrs) faces in this photo...they speak a million words. October 2011

Cardboard Carnival Inventors. Lucas (7) & Sarah (almost 7). September 2012.



Sarah (7 1/4)  & Lucas (7 1/2). Sarah made him a "satchel" out of duct tape. March 2013.

Silly setting in...

which ended in a head bonk. These two I tell you! :) They are great friends and do so, so well together.

8.  Then there's these two...they came from the same mold too! :)

Ephraim (4yrs) and Axel (3yrs) being their silly selves. Sept 2012.

Axel looks up to Ephraim and loves him to death!

Axel (4yrs) and Ephraim (5 yrs) showing off their Lego creations. March 2013.

And that silly side came right on out!!

9. A real climbing gym. Oh, I have so missed having a local climbing gym. The treadwall is great but it's not the same by any means. On our way home we hit up Birmingham's local climbing gym, First Ave Rocks. We had so much fun and I am so glad we stopped. The boys did awesome and Daddy was so proud to see the videos. Axel's fear of heights was no issue this time around and the little monkey showed off his new skills. Lucas, the old pro, showed off just as much as his little brother and had a blast!

All the way to the top of the bouldering wall. Don't worry, it's not super duper high but
definitely up there if you are 4yrs old.

Way to go Axel!!

They even roped up on the auto belay wall. These are wonderful devices that belay you up automatically and lower you when you weight the rope. The boys could do it all by themselves while Mommy got to climb...or make movies!

Lucas showing Axel how to go to the top.



He went up and down and up and down....

Oh look, I was there too!

10. We are getting anxious for someone to get home! Spring cleaning is in full force and new counters are being installed right now!!  We are getting this place ready for Daddy! We love and miss you!!!

"M" Day!

March 1st has arrived!!!
I think we are all in shock that March is finally here. Daddy is scheduled to come home in just over a month so we definitely enjoyed celebrating today.

Today was also a special day because Lucas was the "Mad Scientist of the Week"in his classroom. One week ago, his name was drawn and he started to prepare for his big presentation. He tested out numerous science experiments and settled on making 3-D Puffy Sand Paint. We had a blast mixing concoctions and testing out recipes. His favorite ended up being a homemade variation using chocolate. It smelled delicious and was really fun to work with.

Lucas was in the spot light and taught his classmates everything he learned about his puffy paint . I helped him set up but then he was on his own and he did a wonderful job. He's very comfortable speaking in front of people and very meticulous in his measurements...a true scientist.

Axel was thrilled to be invited and fell in love with all the girls (15) in Lucas' class. :)

Getting started, lab coat and all.

Measuring out flour, salt, sand, chocolate and water.

He has an awesome class...awesome teachers!

Mixing away. You can see Axel over on the left side with the big kids.

Explaining all the tests he did using 3 different recipes on 5 different types of paper.

He was very serious and very confident. Adorable!

March 1st Celebration!
We opted to stay home this March 1st. We did a little climbing were content to have dinner at home. I told the boys we could go our for breakfast or lunch or dinner later this weekend if they wanted to stay in tonight. They were sold. After dinner, I had two excited boys wondering what Daddy had planned for them.

I have to torture them with photos first..



Then, I give up when I get these types of smiles.

Daddy did AWESOME!

Lucas scored a Magic Science Kit. Axel got an excavation jewel kit and some exciting color changing paper.

They were both thrilled but very interested in what the shared gift was.

More Legos! I know, like we need more Legos but we found a screaming deal and these encourage using your own imagination. A note from Daddy challenged them to create masterpieces from their mind and share them with Daddy on skype. They both liked the idea but Axel was extra relieved to find an idea book in the bottom of the box.

There's the photo I was looking for! :)

Lucas got right to work on building his Magic Wand.

Axel dove into the Legos taking a break from his Star Wars kit.

By the end of the night, he was back at his big kit. Here he is checking everything out with his flash light to be sure it's working just right. The boys is good!

Magic Sorcerer Lucas! He has magic potions and even made water glow this evening! Watch out everyone!

2 pages away from completion. I was barely able to pull him away to bed but now the morning will be so exciting!

Daddy,
We love and miss you so much. We are so excited it's March and can't wait to see you. Enjoy your quiet room and alone time because there will be no such things back at home. Be ready to get attacked with love, hugs, kisses, projects, bike riding, climbing and of course, LEGOS!!

Big hugs and kisses.
Love, Janelle, Lucas &Axel