A Day Out With Thomas!

It's become a family tradition - at the start of every Memorial weekend, we get to spend some quality time with our favorite train engine . . . Thomas. This year we had lots of company and the whole thing was a big surprise for us!

But first . . . . Snow . . . . at the end of May? Yep - mommy snapped this picture as she was leaving for work last Monday morning. The snow had just started and we had a couple of inches by the time it was done. May 24th - and snow - amazing!

And bubbles . . . . we love bubbles. Daddy was kind enough to blow a bunch of bubbles for us to chase the other afternoon. And now . . . . back to Thomas. Daddy picked us up early from school on Friday and we met up with mommy. They told us that we were going somewhere fun and that there were going to be some friends there. We had a bit of a drive from our house to Heber City and Sam and I both managed to fit in a quick nap on the drive. But as we pulled in to the station, we both perked right up as we saw Thomas waiting there for us.We take this Thomas thing very seriously! We were both in heaven!We love the fun things they have for us to play with and do while we wait for our turn at a train ride. But there is nothing like riding in Thomas' cars as he pulls us along the tracks!Our friends that came to meet us included Uncle Noley and Aunt Christy.And Grandpa and Grandma L.

Aunt Christy took this picture of us as we pulled back in to the station after our train ride.There was lots of posing with Thomas - here we are with daddy and Uncle Noley. We're sure we saw some of Thomas' other train friends there . . . like Salty and Mavis, and Annie and Clarabel. The breakdown train with his flatbed was there too. We played a little miniature golf too. We were surprisingly good at this game! And here is the big group photo with Thomas. Thanks for coming up to spend the afternoon with us everybody! We had the greatest time!On Saturday we went up to put flowers on some graves with mommy. And this afternoon we took flowers up to Grandma June's grave. It was such a beautiful afternoon that we bbq'd in the backyard this afternoon and enjoyed a great day playing and watering our flowers and garden (which consists of four different types of cherry or grape tomatoes this year . . . nothing like fresh bite-sized tomatoes off the vine!)Sam Alert: Howdy y'all. Wow did I enjoy our Day Out With Thomas! I think I like these trains almost as much as Mason does. Talk about a couple of very happy boys!And check out my mini-golfing form. I wasn't sure I wanted to do this at first, but once I saw how easy Mason made it look, I hopped right in and quite enjoyed myself. Of course, the easiest way to get the ball in the little hole is to pick it up and drop it in . . . . I figured that out right away! Maybe I have a career as a professional golfer coming up!

Random Pictures

It was a surprisingly long week . . . we seem to be fighting a weird bug at our house - it is only lasting about 36 hours and none of us have been sick at the same time . . . headaches, body aches, itchy swollen throat, and fever. Anyway - aside from that, here are some random pictures for this week for your viewing pleasure.

We did manage to spend a little time outside playing this week. It's been a very cold spring but while we're ready for warm weather, we're not ready for the heat of summer yet. Here's Sam riding his bike - that boy loves this bike! I'm helping him, of course, not wishing at all that he would hop off so I could take it on a quick trip around the circle.

Here we are playing in the sandbox. This is daddy giving me and Sam "leg rides" after we finished mowing the lawn on Thursday night. And this is us helping daddy check the dishwasher after somebody (who will remain nameless . . . but his name starts with the letter M and ends with the letter N) dumped a big bowl of water all over the floor. It's all good!And here is a picture of Sam dancing to the "ABC" song. Sam loves music! And yes, that's a flashlight in his hand? Don't know why - daddy says "Disco", whatever that is?On Saturday, mommy put together some craft time for us. She got out scissors for us to use - for the first time ever. Why did she say she was very nervous? Why did we get a long lecture about only using scissors on approved paper - not hair or fabric or anything else? Didn't the package these come in say "Safety Scissors"? What's the deal - they were super fun to use!We made space rocket pictures. Sam's is flying to the full moon.And my spaceship is flying to the crescent moon (of course!). Note our "circle stars" and the colorful flames coming out of the bottom of the rockets. This was a great craft! Thanks mommy.I was playing blocks this afternoon and came running in - Look mommy, I made a circle! And I asked to have my picture taken - so here it is.Sam has entered his "Little Einstein" phase - and despite my face, I'm actually enjoying watching these excellent episodes again. When we think no adults are watching us, we jump around patting and singing and doing all the things we're supposed to do as good Little Einsteins.
Here is the view from the other side. Hum - what to call this view? Use your imaginations!Sam Alert: Howdy y'all. Mom insisted on taking my picture in this shirt the other afternoon. Since I can't really read yet, I'm not sure what all the fuss is about, but I humored her and let her post this picture here. And here's yet another super cute picture of me. I'm growing up, aren't I?

A Typical Day

In our family, as in most probably, we have some very familiar routines. Every day begins and ends with basic hygiene including brushing our teeth. Here are the boys brushing away.

Baby Sam loves to spit as he brushes - and to make sure that he doesn't miss his aim, he gets positioned right over the sink.A typical Friday morning will find us "perched" at the front door watching for the trash truck and the recycle truck. Oh how we love those big trucks!We wish every day consisted of doing "Ice Treasures". It is one of our most favorite activities and its always fun to see what mom hides in the ice for us.

A typical Saturday with good weather (like we had yesterday) always consists of yard work - we start with mowing and trimming the lawn. Here's Sam filling his new mower up with gas.And you can't miss the lawn mower races with daddy - now that makes for a fun time!Then there is some time playing in the sand box. Good thing we got some new sand tools this week for the summer. And of course, you can't forget to get in some bike riding time.
And no matter what day it is, there should always be time for looking at bugs up close and personal.Sam loves the bugs too!A good Saturday also involves visiting with our neighbors. Aunt Rhonda and Uncle Bob asked me to help them plant their garden. I'm sure they never would have finished the job without me!And any day should involve either me or Sam driving . . . . Sam got to drive the truck out of the garage and I got to put it back. Daddy and mommy had to get their bikes out to go for a nice long bike ride along the Jordan River Parkway with the neighbors while we played at Aunt Cindy and Uncle Sandy's.And any good day involves just simply being outside and playing our little hearts out. Have a good week everybody! Sam Alert: Howdy! This picture shows one of our family traditions . . . . in this case it is called a "Sam Sandwich". We take these pictures from time to time to show how we're all growing up (or in mommy and daddy's case - "getting older").And just another super cute picture of me . . . I've got lots and lots more of these - stay tuned!

Look Who's Two!

Sam Here - I love birthdays! And it was my birthday last Thursday. And true to our family tradition, birthdays aren't just celebrated on one day. We were out doing some yard work earlier in the week and so I got to open my early birthday present from Aunt Jen Jen and Uncle Michael - a new lawn mower. I love it!

Then on Wednesday we made my birthday cake. I got to lick a beater - yum yum yum! Then finally on Thursday - the big day - I got to enjoy our family party. There were a load of presents waiting for me. And oh what fun they were to open and play with. I got "Woody" from Toy Story - love that movie!And I got "pig" from the If You Give a Pig a Pancake Book - along with a new book, If You Give a Pig a Party. He's soft and squishy!Mason gave me a new vacuum - so now I can help him and daddy vacuum the house. Great present!And I got some cool new tractors from Uncle Carl and Aunt Fran.
Mommy made me a fun new car play mat. And I got some new cars to play with. A birthday tradition at our house is balloons - It's always a surprise to see what balloons end up at the house. One of our balloons popped this year, right in the middle of dinner. It was loud!And here I am getting ready to blow out my two candles. Check out my birthday cake - a magnifying glass with some ants in it. Super cool! (Nice job decorating daddy!)But probably my most favorite present this year is my new "bike". I love this thing! And mommy and daddy love it because of the long handle they can use to push me around. I could spend all day every day outside riding my bike. Ahhhh - a good summer is ahead!See what I mean . . . all day, every day! And longer, if I had my way.
Mason Alert: Hey everyone. I tried hard to be a good big brother this week while Sam opened lots of presents. It sure is hard though. Daddy and I had lawn mower races earlier in the week. And I've been riding Sam's bike whenever he's not looking. And playing with his new toys . . . but generally I ask permission first. Have a great week everyone!