SPRING, IS THAT YOU?

~REWIND, REVIEW, REPLAY~

So they say spring is here.  If it weren't for over two feet of snow in my back yard I'd almost believe it!  We have seriously been getting close to the 40 degree mark here for highs, and that's above zero folks!  We've been getting outside more and more, which very well could explain this horrible head-cold that I've been suffering from for the last 3 days... should have bundled up a little more!  Anytime we head out the door Tanner now thinks he's going to go out to play.  When he is directed towards the car he flips out!  Same thing happens when he gets out of the car, he automatically assumes he's going to play out for a while and fights going back into the house.  He's definitely going to be and outdoorsman!

With the temps warming up during the day but still cooling off to below zero at night, there have been some pretty slick roads out there.  I've seen 3 cars tipped over on their sides in the ditch.  Two of those were in the exact same spot, but a few days apart!  I'll be so happy when there are nothing but dry roads to drive on!  It'll take so much anxiety out of driving for me!

Brandon and I can't stop thinking about all of the camping trips we want to go on this summer.  We've already been to Sportsman's Warehouse a few times checking out a tent we are in love with.  It's a nice  big wall tent!  Oooh-La-La! We've also been looking at big coolers, cooking stoves, air mattresses!  Starting to get some spring fever for sure!

Know how much gas is here in North Pole right now???  $4.22 a GALLON!!! I've got so many road trips planned for the summer.  Time to start saving so that we've got money to put in the tank!  (Don't know if that's spring related, but I had to throw it in here anyways!)

On to the week...

~We didn't do anything special for St. Patrick's Day, but I still dressed my son up in some shades of green.  I'm pretty sure I had some green on, probably my hair band or some such thing!

~We've been working on getting Tanner to wear sunglasses and wear baseball caps. He screams so much when the sun hits his eyes.  On Facebook last week I posted this as my status;

"Why can't my son and the sun just give each other a nice warm embrace and be friends?!? Sun, quit shining in my son's eyes. Son, turn your head and quit screaming at the sun. :)"  I love the sun and love it shining in my face, to have my little guy hate the sun so much, right now, is rough!

~Our niece, Catherine turned 12 on Saturday.  She called her uncle up and asked if we could take her brothers Isaiah and Lucas for a night so that she could have a slumber party and not be bothered by them.  The boys were packed and loaded into our car.  (We might need a bigger vehicle if we are ever able to expand our family!)

~First stop was McDonalds where the boys all got McNuggets and fries.  I had some leftover chili and after Tanner woke from his nap he had a PB and J.  I'm not a fan of fast food.  Especially nuggets!

~After naps and feedings were complete we headed out to base for some fun.  We started at the play area at the Community Center, that Tanner loves so much.  The boys had a great time there too.  Lots of running and chasing and hiding in the tunnels.  

~Tanner took a break from playing with the big boys to enjoy some toys more his size.  He raced around and screamed and hollered just like the big boys though. 

~After the Community Center we headed over to the gym and played there.  We started off with some basketball, tossing of the football and some volleyball.  When the football field opened up we raced up and down the field, kicking soccer balls.  I was too busy playing to take pictures of that though.

~Once back home, Brandon and the kids all played some Mario Kart on the Wii.  Tanner thinks he's playing and he's holding a remote of sorts, but he's not really in the game.  What he doesn't know won't hurt him though. :)  

 ~The boys all worked on a pretty big snow fort outside.  Lucas (5 years old) said that the fort was Duckie's house.  Duckie played along for a few minutes and then was back at the house scratching on the door to get in.

~Isaiah (9 years old as of today) made a runway for airplanes to land on.  Mostly Tanner walked down the runway kicking blocks every-which-way, or the dogs would lay down in the middle of it.  Pretty creative though.  Isaiah has a passion for airplanes, like his uncle.

 ~We have a little ritual, when the boys are over, where we end the day with a movie and homemade popcorn and Shirley Temples.  Brandon, about two years ago, made the mistake of putting seasoning salt on the boys popcorn instead of just regular salt. They hated it and refused to eat the popcorn.  Each and every time they come to stay with us now, they always remind Uncle "Bourbon" not to put that nasty stuff on their popcorn!

 ~We woke up to Miss Moose in our backyard.  We think it may be the moose that lost her calf in the slough a few weeks ago.  Poor momma.

~After staring at Miss Moose for a while, Brandon made us homemade pancakes and bacon for breakfast.  There was some play inside and out and then lunch and then Tanner's nap.  While Tanner napped the boys got to go to the gas station with their uncle to get some ice cream.

 ~Tanner woke up in time to snag a few bites of daddy's cone.  He couldn't take his eyes off of his cousin's scarfing down theirs!

 ~After ice cream we all loaded up and headed back out to base to go swimming.  The water was chilly. Tanner screamed and cried and shook for the first 15 minutes of it.  He finally calmed down enough to play a little.  After the swim we took the boys home.  It was a fun, action packed weekend.  If this is what it's like having older boys I'm going to be worn out all the time! :)

 ~Brandon is back on swing-shift after being on days for 2 weeks.  I have such a hard time finding motivation to make dinner for just Tanner and I.  Last night we had quinoa, fried cabbage and a green smoothie.  I'm so lucky that my son isn't a picky eater yet!

I hope the temps continue to rise, the snow continues to melt and the sun continues to shine in my face (but not my sons)!