Cousin Sleepover

So a while back Tanner and Garrett came up with a plan (probably mostly Tanner) to get MariAnn and I to let them sleep over at each others houses.  MariAnn and I thought it was a good idea so MariAnn took the first round here.  On Thursday Garrett and Bethany came to sleep over and Jaxon came to play while MariAnn and Dave cleaned their rental house for new tenants.

We went to a nearby park and had a blast there.

And my favorite picture with all of them in it.....

When we got home they played the wii and watched a movie.  It was a lot of fun for all of them and I hope to be able to do it again.  Maybe be daring enough and have all the cousins like Aunt Bec did!

Ending Up Where They Don't Belong

So we noticed a recurring theme inside and outside our home this week. Can you spot what it is?

First, earlier in the week we spotted something strange in Tanner's bike tire. Can you see it?

How about now?

Okay, here it is, up close and personal:

That's right. A dying bird decided to spend its final moments perched on tire treads. We left it alone, but the next day Tanner found it dead behind our van in the driveway. Poor thing.

Oh, well. On to happier times:

Apparently Spencer decided he wanted to become a permanent fixture inside our entertainment center. Notice how well he fits in there. Tanner tried this same thing later, but he got stuck.

Finally:

It may surprise you to learn that calling in a HazMat team to scrub down your child after an incident like this actually doesn't cost all that much.

Also, see if you remember this little gem from 80's cinema:

Coincidence? I think not.

Funny Eyes

So I've heard of sleeping with one eye open, but this is ridiculous!

Final Baseball Game... GO METS

Tanner had a pretty good time playing baseball.  There were times we thought he would give up, but all in all he had a fun time, especially when he knew his team was beating the other teams.  As I said earlier in the first post I made of this, they don't keep score, but the kids and parents usually do!  They lost 2 games and won 8.  The last game they played they slaughtered the other team and so of course the Met's (Tanner's team) were having a lot of fun.  They were good sports though and cheered on the other team.

We hope to be able to do this again next year and try other sports as well. 

Pinewood Derby 2010

Sorry for the delay, but we thought we'd finally get around to posting some new stuff.

First off, here's the end result of all the hard work Darin and Tanner poured into their Pinewood Derby fun. Suffice it to say this Derby racer far surpasses the first one Darin ever tried - an only child, he made his own car, but had no access to a saw or paint or even good sandpaper, so in effect he raced the block of wood itself, with pencil-drawn artwork and wheels. And he didn't even win. Go figure.

First, they had an opening ceremony where Tanner was actually one of two recipients of Best-Dressed Award (i.e., he wore his uniform correctly, tucked into his pants and everything).

Now, off to the races. This time, we had access to more sophisticated tools. Here's what we got:

Creative, no? And that red thing on the front of the car is called an "Autobot symbol." Must be the first time Tanner's ever asked for anything remotely Transformer-related.

So finally, the big night. The car actually made a decent run. Here's the first race. On your mark, get set, go!

Now, from the opposite angle (note the excitement on the kids' faces - or lack thereof - as they wait for their cars to race down to them):

Tanner actually finished third! Here he is, proud of his accomplishment:

All in all, a much-improved Pinewood Derby experience for Darin - and the rest of us, too. Maybe we'll even have a better go at it next year.