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Zoo-bound!

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My little helpers, take two

Prepping the garden

My little helpers  :-)

Cousins and friends

Last weekend, Grandmommie took the grandkids* and daughters* to the Great Wolf Lodge for some water-park fun.  The whole group had a good time!  Riley enjoyed pretty much everything.  Ev's favorite was the wave pool and he spent most of his time there (in a life jacket), swimming around and jumping the waves.  He also liked Fort Mackenzie, the huge playset with various water features.  Grady enjoyed the wave pool and the "shower" -- a 7- or 8-foot tall umbrella-shaped feature that had water flowing over the top, coming down in a circular sheet.  Kylee was up and down with her opinion of the whole adventure, and Emma seemed to always have a smile on her face.

Here are the kiddos getting ready to go for the first time!

Sweet!

Ev just asked if we can have another baby because he really likes Grady.  <3

Quick notes

Ev is gaining confidence and developing his swimming skills at an excellent pace, and he's having fun doing it!  Ms. Valerie said he's her prize student, so willing and brave and progressing so quickly.  :-)

Grady's new thing is "I need..."  "Mummy, I need cup."  "Dada, I need tractor."  "Evah, I need book."

For the past two or three days, the boys have been getting along really well.  Grady has been very suggestible, which makes Ev happy.  When Ev is happy, Grady is happy.  :-)

Story time at Great Wolf Lodge

Paint leads to bubbles

After school, the boys wanted to paint.  Well, Ev did, and Grady was feeling agreeable.  :)  Ev chose to work on a big picture and actually said he wanted Grady to work on the same one, despite my warning him that he couldn't get mad if Grady didn't paint it the way he wanted.  The painting experience seemed to be more important to him this afternoon than the end product, and that was cool.

Since they were going to work together, it was the perfect time to get Ev's art desk -- it's designed for two small ones to work simultaneously -- and it worked *just right.*  They painted with brushes for a while, then switched to finger paints.  Ev really seems to focus on what he's painting when using the finer brushes (not used today, just an observation), whereas with these chunky brushes and the fingers it's more about the experience (consistent with his paper selection).

They had a good time, but naturally it was bathtime when the painting was done!  We stopped by the sink to get the bulk of the paints off, then filled the tub with blocks, bubbles and boys!

After bath, they watched Old Macdonald's Farm (a non-fiction 26-minute show about tractors, farm implements, jobs on the farm, animals, etc) while I grilled some smoked sausage and got our plates together.  Then it was off to Bingo Night for some fun, and finally they made it to bed, after a very busy day, at around 8:45.  Whew!

(Don't forget to spring your clocks forward Saturday night!)

Bingo Night!

These are all from my phone, being posted by my phone, so quality is questionable and order is unknown.  That is tonight's poem.

They had fun,.and I'm exhausted!  Ev spent most of the time running around with his friends Laynie and Brenden.  He was super excited about the dolphin, despite the very serious demeanor in the pictures.

Grady had a blast, being allowed to run around most of the time.  He sat as still as a rock having his face painted -- it was incredible.

Bingo itself was a bust.  Grady kept messing up his and my cards, and Ev hardly had any of the numbers.  But all of the peripheral activities were great!

First vocation

Today, for the first time unprompted, Ev said what he wants to be when he grows up:  an artist.  A painter, specifically.  He suggested to Grady that he should be a construction worker, though I doubt he has passed the torch for good.

The latest bath toy is a hit!

Ev got a similar set of foam blocks, but his have tracks carved in them and a ball.  Also a hit :-)

Sigh

He's growing up.  His numbers are becoming more numberly.

(Good work, buddy!)