Sunday, October 26, 2008

Biking

We finally, FINALLY, got it all together ... we got all the bikes working, sized correctly, attached the new bike rack to the back of the van, and drove to the American Tobacco Trail and went for a ride. We went 4 miles, it took us a little over 30 minutes. But it was a good ride.

The day here was so beautiful, there were lots of horses on the trails, lots of runners and other cyclists. We looked so athletic with that huge rack on the back of the van!!

After the exercise, we snacked on orange slices, pretzels and diet sodas. It was a terrific afternoon.

Last night was a lot of fun too! Alek and I went to a Halloween party at one of his friend's house, and Ben and Gary had a special night out. They started at the NC Museum of Art, then went out to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner, then went to our favorite game store, All Fun and Games, and bought a 300 piece puzzle. They completed it this afternoon, so after the bike ride we stopped by and bought another. We have a special table that's perfect for puzzles, and my parents got us one of those felt puzzle keepers a couple years ago. So, if they put that down first, they can then move the puzzle at any time.

Right now, were taking baths early so we can watch A Series of Unfortunate Events tonight. Hope your weekend was great!

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Walking With Dinosaurs

We had a night out last night! We went with our friends, the Meyers, and had dinner in downtown Apex at Anna's Pizzeria - it was already packed when we got there at 5:15! Then off to the RBC Center to see Walking with Dinosaurs. It's a big show with animatronic dinosaurs. There's a palentologist who narrarates, and it takes you through the millions of years the dinosaurs were on the earth. The dinosaurs themselves were incredible - very life-like. I never thought of them as protecting their young, and interacting with each other. I thought it was fascinating. The boys liked it 'ok'.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Rearrange: the play room

Here it is! The newly arranged playroom - it looks so open and clear! I think it will make a very nice guest room for Mema and Papa next weekend! They boys came home from school and were ooh-ing and ahhh-ing over it.

Rearranging: the play room

After arranging the living room, I vacuumed downstairs and was motivated to work in the play room. WOW, does it ever look different! Without the piano, I could move the couch against the wall, pull the 'train table/coffee table' out to the middle of the room, and add a side lamp on a small side table. Love it! Now it really looks spacious for Mom & Dad's visit next weekend.

I'm trying to load the video ... keep checking back for it!

Rearranging: the living room

I spent this morning rearranging (and cleaning!) the house. The house hasn't gotten much attention lately; not since the weekend we moved all the mulch and pulled out the front bushes. So, I started by moving the piano into the living room - see the video above. I think it looks pretty nice. Not ideal, but definitely livable.

Monday, October 20, 2008

It was truly a super weekend here ... weather was cool and clear ... and we were out and about. Saturday started with my going to water aerobics (YES! it has been a while, and I was missing it), then on to Alek's football game (they won again!). After that, Gary and I took the manual belay class at the gym so we could belay Ben on the rock climbing wall. The dictionary defines 'belay' as:
Mountain Climbing. a. to secure (a person) by attaching to one end of a rope. b. to secure (a rope) by attaching to a person or to an object offering stable support.
Mountain Climbing. a rock, bush, or other object sturdy enough for a running rope to be passed around it to secure a hold.
Basically, we hold the bottom of the rope using a device so that Ben won't come crashing down off the wall. We're literally holding his life in our hands. This was a pretty serious training, and we learned a lot. We both passed, so now we can take Ben on the manual belay courses on the rock climbing wall any time it's open. This is great, because it's one of the few activities Ben enjoys.

After belay class, we head up to Duke University for their football game. We stayed through the first half. I have to say, I'm biased coming from the Big 10, because I had high expectations for an Ivy League school ... the stadium was old, the technology was old, and the band was small. Not too impressive. But a bit better than the UNC game we went to last year, which was more like a high school stadium. I guess NC State is the local place to see a great football game ... and so goes the local rivalry ...

Anyway, after the game we came home and had a quick dinner and ended the night with a few songs on Rock Band.


Sunday morning we slept in and then headed out to the North Carolina State Fair. What fun! We rode rides, ate corn dogs and stuff, walked through the exibits, held the baby ducks and ended the day at the Tractor Pull. It was rather cold, so we were ready to come home after 5 hours. We like going on Sunday morning because the attendance is low, and then we can leave early afternoon when it starts getting crowded.

We just hung out for the rest of the day and night, and went to bed early. Everyone was up and ready to go to school this morning ... we're hoping for the best ... later!

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

More Chicago Pictures

Sweetie-pie Lauren at Giordano's for lunch
Lauren at Giordano's, with Alek in the background
The fearless duo: Ashley and Ben
Lauren wanted a picture of her and her mommy for her new Chicago locket, but every time I went to take the picture, she ducked in front of Andrea!
Andrea, you and Lauren are just going to have to pick your favorite!
This was the closest I got to a picture for Lauren's locket of her and her mommy
Oh, this will look nice in Ashley's locket
Wasn't there a Beatles' album cover like this? The kids are standing in notches in the stone building - so cute - Lauren is in front, followed by Ashley, Alek, and Ben. Where's Lucas? I think he didn't pop out in this one. Andrea is looking at them of to the left.
Ben in the atrium of the Museum of Science and Industry
What a great picture! All the kids in the atrium at the Museum of Science and Industry!

Pictures from Chicago

Snacks in Andrea's new kitchen
Alek and Lauren waiting for the movie at the Sears Tower to start
Alek and Lauren looking out the windows of the Sears Tower on the 103rd floor
Alek at the top of the Sears Tower
Ben at the top of the Sears Tower
Lauren, Alek, Lucas, Ben & Ashley at the top of the Sears Tower
Lauren, Alek, Lucas, Ben and Ashley
Lauren, Alek

Lucas, Andrea, Ben, Ashley, Lauren, Alek

Lauren's Shoe

Secret Time

Scary, isn't it?

Sleeping Kids

Lucas Yawn

Alek named the following videos ... the names are as funny as the videos themselves!

Crazy 5

Crazy #4

More crazy kids ...

Crazy #3 (more car videos)

My loads are failing because I'm trying to get too many videos into a single blog ... so, the next few blogs will be single videos only - same theme: crazy kids in a car!

Monday, October 13, 2008

Crazy Car Rides

Here's what the kids did to entertain themselves on the car rides ... for some reason, watching these videos tonight sent Alek into shrieks of laughter ... obviously, a good time was had by all.






These are only 2 of the 10 crazy videos they made ... more tomorrow!

Alek eats a vegetable!

Tonight I made up a new soup, and behold, both kids ate it! Alek said it was awesome. That's high praise, because it was a VEGETABLE soup. I think the boys were really really hungry by dinner time tonight.
Anyway, here's the recipe!
Veggie Noodle Soup
6 C water
4 t low sodium chicken buillion
1 pkg creamy chicken Ramen Noodle package (seasoning & noodles)
1 - 14 oz can diced tomatoes
2 C frozen Brocolli Normandy mix (brocolli, carrots, cauliflower, green & yellow squash)
1 C Potatoes O'brien (afterwards, I decided this could be left out since the noodles make enough starch)
3 T basil
1 t Salamida's Pinch (or your favorite seasoned salt)
2 t pepper
Bring the water, buillion, ramen seasoning package, and tomatoes to a boil. Add in the vegetables & potatoes, and bring back to a boil. let it simmer until the veggies are soft as you'd like them, then add in the seasoning and noodles and simmer a bit longer.
I made this in about 30 minutes total tonight.

Friday's Lunch

The kids had a great time using the Flip Video at lunch at Giordano's on Friday. Here are the kids' crazy videos ... the pizza was fantastic. You can see what's left of the deep dish pie in front of Andrea ... of course, we let the kids pick their own drinks, and caffeine definately contributed to their 'enthusiasm' ...

Friday - Sears Tower

Friday morning we visited the Sears Tower ...

Thursday Videos

On Thursday last week, we picked the kids up from school at 11:45, and headed to the airport. We had lunch there ...

Andrea, Ashley and Lauren picked us up at the airport, and were there as we walked out of the terminal. We passed Mark Consuelos on the way (btw, Andrea, he was on Ugly Betty this week! and I heard he was at an Obama fund raiser in Chicago Friday night, hosted by Oprah). We went directly to her house (Andrea's house, not Oprah's) and spent the evening there ...

I'm going to be posting several videos over the next few blogs ... many were made by the cousins, and can probably only be appreciated by the grandparents and parents and the kids themselves. They had a great time using the Flip Video - it's so easy to use and small - they could manage it themselves, and record their craziness!

Trip to Chicago

We had an absolutely perfect trip to Chicago this weekend. I'll post pictures and videos over several blogs in the next few days as I find time to edit them! This morning, I was able to scan the BEST picture.

Ben, Ashley, Andrea, Lucas, Lauren, Marna, Alek

We flew into Chicago on Thursday afternoon and the kids spent the evening playing football and bikes at Andrea's house. We had perfect weather, perfect flights.

On Friday we planned to go to the Museum of Science and Industry, and our way into the city the kids saw the huge Sears Tower, so we took a detour and visited it! There were no lines, and the weather was clear and sunny - a perfect day to visit! We even got this wonderful picture of all 5 squirrely kids looking great!

I have many more pictures and videos ... stay tuned!

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Working too much

I've been working too much this week. I'm involved in a corporate audit, and it's required me to go into the RTP site both Monday and today, which leaves little free time in the day. I worked all day Tuesday also, because I want to be off work on Thursday and Friday this week. So, I'm tired, and I miss being with the boys in the mornings (was on a conf call at 7 am this morning) and the afternoons. I sure don't miss that 40 minute drive (each way) to RTP and I'm thankful I don't have to do it normally! Wow, that's a lot of gas, and time, spent in the car on the road.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Game Night

Wednesdays are the nights we get to stay home without any sports or exercise or commitments. So, tonight Gary grilled sausages, and I made grilled peppers and mac-n-cheese for dinner. It was quick and good. The pork sausages were made locally, and very tasty. Alek said we could have it again in about 5 weeks. Don't know why he picked 5 ...

So we had game night. A fun round of KinderBunnies which Daddo won, followed by a round of our new favorite, Rummykub, which Daddo won. We were afraid Ben would never play again, because he played for the first time Sunday night and didn't even get to make his first play (your first play has to total 30 points or more) before Daddo won. Alek has won about 3 times in Rummykub. I've won once. We just started playing two weeks ago. It's a fun game.

We're also enjoying Bananagrams, which is similar to scrabble, although without all the rules. Ben and Alek have amazed me with all the words they can spell. It's really good for the 3rd grade and up learner.

Ok, time for bed ... goodnight!
(Reggie - I'm checking to see how fast your new blog updates the date of my most recent blog after I save this!)