Fast and Furious

Yes, the boys are 8 and that means....

Pinewood Derby!

First a little pre-race discussion to decide whose car looks the fastest.

They both chose pretty standard shapes but very different color schemes. Cole went with an America flag theme and Grant wanted gold, lightning, and flames.

After what seemed like hours to a bunch of 8-year-olds it was time to race. Grant won this heat easily.

Cole took first in this one.

In fact, both boys won three of their four races. In their only head-to-head match-up the boys took second and third behind the overall fastest car of the day, a silver wedge by their friend Aaron.

The final results mirrored that race, Cole took second and Grant took third overall.

Back to School

Yes, the boys are heading off to their first day of second grade.

Don't they look excited?

But first, a little backpack battle.

Take that!

And that!

Now it's time for some serious pictures.

No, I said "Serious"...

Close, but that's not quite it.

There's a little enthusiasm but it's still not what I'm looking for.

No, that's not right, either.

Almost...

Finally, some friends to calm things down and share the walk to school.

Let's Go Fly a Kite

It was a beautiful day on the coast so we headed out to join some friends for some sun, sand, surf, and kite flying.

Also, since it is Easter weekend we hunted for Easter eggs.

Finally, we capped the day off with a campfire on the beach. We roasted seaweed (which we didn't eat),

hotdogs (which we did eat),

watched the tide roll out (nothing to eat here),

and yes, s'mores were involved (we ate them).

Drill Baby Drill!

The boys went in for their dental checkups this week and it turns out we haven't been flossing them enough.

Or at all.

(Not even once.)

Anyway, Cole had a few little cavities between his molars. Today we went back for the fillings.

He's looking cool in the sunglasses.

This is Dr. Church. A great dentist, all around good guy, and he and his wife Karen are two of our favorite people. You may remember him from such classic posts as Clean Teeth vs Agency.

Time for the gas. Cole insisted throughout that he never felt funny or tingly or even sleepy. I had most of those feelings and they wouldn't even let me take a turn with the mask.

Then the shots began. Cole hasn't always been the best at sitting still for shots. However, today he never even twitched. One thing I learned is that the slower the dentist is while giving the shot, the less painful it tends to be. I always thought they just took so long so they could make an unpleasant experience even worse. Maybe they actually have our best interests at heart. In any case, Dr. Church does, and I'm not just saying that because I'm going in for my cleaning and checkup next week.

Even during the drilling, Cole never showed any signs of discomfort or tension or even that he cared about someone putting a power tool and several other items into his mouth.

And when it was all said and done, he got to choose two prizes from the prize box because he got two cavities filled. Win-Win!

I asked him if he had fun and he gave a rather enthusiastic, "Yes!" Good thing, because we have to go back in a few days to fill the cavity on the other side of his mouth.

And we promise that we'll floss every day from now on. Or at least until we get lazy in a few days and forget until a few days before his next cleaning. Then we'll sheepishly admit that we may have skipped a few days here and there and promise to try harder. At least, that's how I've always done it. Which reminds me, time to floss!

Go Ye Into All The World

Grant has recently been asking questions about how the government works. Sue has been answering him and trying to help his 5 year old understanding try to grasp why we even need a government. A couple of days ago she remembered that she has several small books about various aspects of the United States, including one that has a short biography of each of the U.S. presidents up through George W. Bush. Since then Grant has insisted on taking the book with him wherever he goes and showing whoever is nearby some of the portraits of the presidents. Not surprisingly, his favorite is our 18th president, Ulysses S. Grant.

Today he took the book to church with him and shared it with other kids, the people sitting in the pews in front of us and behind us, his Primary class teacher and one of our favorite people, Brother Longfellow who walked past us in the foyer.

I thought Cole looked like Grant's mission companion in this next photo, adding his testimony while Grant prepared to present the next topic.

If you'd like a couple of LDS missionaries to visit your house with a message about Jesus Christ and the importance of families, visit mormon.org and submit a missionary request. If you'd like a couple of kindergarteners to visit your home with a presentation about their favorite U.S. presidents, Church presidents (try to guess Grant's favorite), and other interesting historical figures, drop us a line and we'll arrange a time. Either way, cookies are appreciated.

Our Baby is 3 Today!

But as her brothers like to remind her several times a day, she will never catch up to them, and they will always be older AND bigger.  (But a little sister can dream, and even wish - while she blows out candles.)

Feeling all special while being sung to.

Munching cake with her best buddy from a few houses down.

Best of all, it was a day full of princessy goodness.

And as far as we know, all her dreams came true and she will be living happily ever after. 

The boys, hiding from all the new girl toys.

How Do You Like Them Apples?

Having a magical Halloween is all about having the right neighbors. Cool neighbors, just a few doors down, with kids the exact same ages and genders as our own.  Plus lots of apple trees,

plenty of space,

a cider press to put those apples into,

which all the boys agreed was the most miraculous contraption ever created, (juice comes out!)

a huge garden in which to find the perfect pumpkin,

everything to decorate your pumpkin, and your clothes,

Someone to go to the school carnival with (that's just our Cole on the right - Grant was sacked out with a high fever on the couch, and Bryn was opposed to the photo op)

And all of this got our little vikings in the appropriate character,

(I think they're going for tough and threatening, here)

for the BIG NIGHT!  Happy Halloween to our little Crunchers!

(Bryn is a viking princess.....just use your imaginations - we couldn't get her to take off the tutu and yes, that's a tiara on her horned helmet.  Oh well, she still got lots of candy and quickly decided to get rid of all the chocolate, which is "yucky" in her opinion, so Evan and I had a VERY happy Halloween.  It gets more fun every year.)