Good deed for the day

This morning we went to the Provo cemetery for a Relief Society service project to help rake up leaves. There were three people who weren't on the enrichment committee that showed up (four if you count adorable little Lily) and I was so excited that they did! It seems that sometimes when we plan activities no one shows up and it can be a bit disheartening. So THANK YOU everyone who came! 

I think cemeteries are wonderful. They are peaceful and beautiful and have so much history in them. I love getting a glimpse of who people were, who they loved and their tragedies and accomplishments. There is nothing quite like being in a cemetery to make me appreciate everything I have all the more. 

Joey had to work so I brought the boys along. They were such good little "helpers." They really did do a stellar job behaving and I was so proud of them for only shedding some tears near the end of our project. It was getting quite windy and cold so I couldn't blame them. 

Riley was a very determined worker. Both boys insisted on having their own rake until the interesting head stones and tempting piles of leaves stole their attention away from the work. It was well worth the effort to take them with me. I think maybe we'll volunteer again some day.

"Try again zoo day?"

About a week ago Charlie asked me in the sweetest voice if it was a zoo day. Of course it was! He has excellent ideas. We waited until Riley got home from school and then took off for another Lasko Three adventure. The weather was just beautiful. It was overcast but warm enough that we didn't even need jackets.

Riley just comes alive at the zoo. He runs and talks and laughs and makes all the animal noises. It is such wonderful motivation for him. I wish we lived closer to it so we could visit more often. 

Charlie is, of course, a huge fan. He got really brave and sat on the big elephant statue trunk. You will have to check out the video above. He's still a bit nervous. We got lunch and ate it at one of the picnic tables outside. There was a very determined peacock that would not leave us alone. He finally ended up stealing Charlie's hot dog and scaring the daylights out of the poor kid. It was so funny but I kept my cool and didn't fall over laughing. Ah... poor Charlie. Someday he'll think being close to animals is neat. 

Check out this video of an incredibly active cat that both the boys thought was the coolest thing in the whole world.

We had a wonderful time and stayed until they closed. On the way out Charlie asked if we could try again zoo day. Sure we can , buddy. I can't wait!

Cowboy Antics

Charlie's super cheap Halloween costume pistols just couldn't take the intensity of a two year old's play. They were demolished. Charlie was devastated. 

I'm not a huge fan of guns. I totally get that people like them but I doubt very much that we will ever keep a real one in our house. I was kind of hoping that when the guns broke that Charlie wouldn't notice their absence. I was wrong and I had to look into a very mopey face for a few days before I took him to get a new one. Shopko happens to carry a small set that not only come with a very cool pistol but also a sheriff star AND a Lone Ranger mask. It couldn't be more perfect. We picked out one set for Charlie and another for Riley so we could avoid any non sharing issues. 

These guns are played with non stop. They are not only good for shooting down bandits but have also come in handy in eradicating a recent monster infestation. Charlie is becoming very adept at taking care of any scary monsters that seem to have taken up residence in our most shadowy closets and corners.  

Ramses has become the preferred  horsey.  I love how little kids just use their imagination and make due with whatever they have. It's a joy to behold. Even Riley is getting in on the action. 

Oh so much fun going on here

I haven't been able to find much time to blog lately. I'm sure you are all so so heartbroken. :) We have been doing fun stuff. We broke out the finger paints the other day. Charlie thinks they are wonderful. I tried really hard to get Riley to play but he brushed some red paint on his shins and called it good. I'm still going to count that one as a win for me. Charlie will spend close to an hour painting and has been creating some very interesting works.  He loves that he has something to put up on the door next to all of Riley's school work. 

Long days

So this swine flu thing hasn't been as bad as I anticipated. In fact, it's been very mild compared to other illnesses that Riley has gone through. So.. YAY! But, knowing that it is so contagious we haven't gone anywhere (and I do expect snaps for being a responsible member of society) or really done anything other than rest and watch movies. There could be worse ways to spend a day. :) It's been entertaining for the boys but I have found myself very restless. Maybe it comes from years of having to multitask but I couldn't just sit and snuggle the boys and enjoy the Lone Ranger for the bizillionth time. So I looked in my crafty fabric drawer to see if there was anything I could do that didn't take a lot of thought or room. Lo and behold I had some left over yarn from a Raggedy Ann wig I'd made for Halloween years ago. I consulted YouTube for instructions for how to crochet in the round (don't know if that is proper terminology) and made this hat.  Totally made it up and I think that's neat. I made a couple for Duke, which is what I'm calling Penny and Colby's baby until they name him, that turned out super cute.  I won't post pictures of them though because I want Penny to be surprised. Anyway, it's not high quality and I'm sure that anyone who actually knows how to crochet would be appalled but I like it and plan on using it consistently this winter. 

And, yes, I did edit out the massive dark circles under my eyes. Even bright red lipstick wasn't distracting enough to make them unnoticeable. It's been a long week and I'm vain. 

Hi Ho Silver, AWAY!

Charlie has found a hero.

 The last few days I've just let the kids rest and watch movies and eat as many popsicles as they can. ( Okay, just Charlie is eating the popsicles.) The point being that it has been a week of pure indulgence. There are good things about being sick. :) We've seen so much animation/puppetry shows that I was going crazy. We needed something else!

A while back I picked up a dvd with a couple of Lone Ranger and The Rifleman episodes for Charlie. (Also, Chuck Connors... kinda hot) I had originally intended for it to be a stocking stuffer. But, I decided that it would be a nice break from Disney and I popped it in.  

He has been in heaven. That is all he wants to watch. His obsession with cowboys has been taken to a new level. He runs around in his full cowboy get up, shooting his "Bang" and trying to sing the theme song. And when it's not on he whines for his "cowboy ranger." It's so adorable it almost makes me want to cry.

We have had to have some hard lessons on not pointing guns at people but I think there could be a lot worse role models than the Lone Ranger. 

This little piggy

has SWINE FLU!