Rules of Engagement

While preparing for a Lego war versus his brother, Cole wrote down this plan, describing a new attack vehicle he designed.

1. If it touches it, it will disappear. [√]
2. If Grant has that power it won't work. [√]
3. It is a Lego monster remote truck. It will be awesome.

Partly Sunny With A Chance of Tragedy

Today we went to the Portland Zoo. I've been avoiding the place - annoyed by the overcrowding, lack of parking, and just not wanting to digress to the mood that crowded, crazy places put me in. But this morning, I decided we should use that Patron Membership one more time before it expires tomorrow.  We left at 8:30am, and beat the rush on this cool northwest morning.

The funny thing is, the boys got their teeth cleaned yesterday, and they have been permanently attached to these little "goodie bags" from the dentist. (You know - new toothbrush, berry-mint floss, mini toothpaste tube.)  It is worthy of treasuring,  hard earned by their bravery, and our Dentist is the coolest, so all those things give it it's great value.  Here they are - bags in hand the entire time.

Until....no more bag for Cole.

(On the train to the Rose Garden)

Tonight, as Cole was getting ready for bed, it finally dawned on him.  MY BAG!!!  Where is my BAG??  He traced his steps in his mind, and realized it was left at the zoo sandbox.  Never was there a sadder boy.  He was so choked up, he could hardly speak... and those huge tears!  He asked if I could please go find it during the night, then sobbed himself to sleep.  I almost cried just watching his heart break.  Thank goodness, THIS ONE,  I think I can fix (with a little help from our neighbor, friend, and best dentist ever.)

Paper Jumbo Jets

What do you do if dad brings home a stack of old construction blue prints from work? Make giant paper airplanes of course.

Hmmm, looks like someone was practicing their camping skills earlier in the day.

Some people just insist on weaponizing planes.

Come fly the none-too-friendly skies.

Good Presents of Great Joy!

Hi! I'm Bryn and this is what we did today.

There were lots of presents under the Christmas Tree. Grant couldn't wait to start opening them.

I, of course, was a model of patience and demureness.

I was pretty excited about my Nemo Pez!

Cole called this his "cremoter" and crashed it into things until the battery died.

Uh oh! Cole cut himself with scissors but we all got band-aids in our stockings so we were prepared.

I finally got a loving family. I like to put the baby to bed.

In the afternoon we went over to Mona and Papa Z's house for Christmas dinner.

Papa Z made something called "cheesecake" but there wasn't any cheese or any cake in it. I ate it anyway.

Then Papa Z asked Hannah to pull a sliver out of his thumb. He was pretty brave and hardly cried at all.

Of course we watched some football.

Hannah let me send some texts.

There was a brief incident where my pants got lost. That seems to happen a lot.

And finally, I helped Papa Z put on his hat.

Well, he's a little less scary than the real Santa Claus.

Now that's what I call a full day. Merry Christmas!

Keep on Truckin'

Words fail me. Fortunately, this picture is worth at least a thousand.

Blanket Transportation

What do you do when your blankie starts feeling a little burdensome?

No problem for this girl. She has brothers, and brothers have trucks.

Choo! Chooo!

Here to announce today's topic... Yes, it's trains! Our best friends Camille and Adrienne came to visit so we took them to the coast on Saturday. While driving through the town of Garibaldi, Oregon we saw two steam engines so we stopped to take a closer look. Here we all are posing with ol' number 90. Actually, Camille stayed in the car because Bryn was sleeping and the rule in our family is "Let sleeping dogs and babies lie." The rest of us examined the trains up close. One of them was in an obvious non-functioning state but the other was wonderfully and noisily functional. It obliged us by going back and forth several times while we gawked in obvious amazement.

Pedal Pushers

After months of Fred Flintstonesque bike riding, the boys have been working hard to master the pedals. If you thought their car driving was crazy, just wait until they zip past you on their new Thomas the Tank Engine bike. At least they steer pretty well... ...sometimes.

Babe Magnet

Maybe it's lacking in the leg room department... ...but as long as the girls don't care, you shouldn't either.

Our Sweet New Ride

It's official: the Crunchers are going green. Check out our new all-electric Hummer H2 SUV. This is the toy I dreamed of having when I was a child. The closest I got was the Autopia at Disneyland and that was mostly just disappointing. And to think, we found it on the cheap during a spontaneous visit to a yard sale. After fixing a minor steering issue, we're cruising the neighborhood and even off-roading around the yard. With a top speed of about 5 mph, you'll have to walk fast to keep up. Just don't get in the way because we're not so good at swerving or slamming on the brakes... Watch out!!

Dozer Day

On the way to Dozer Day the boys model their new booster seats. Bryn demonstrates her talent of chewing on anything she can get her hands on.
The boys tire of waiting in line and start picking up rocks.
At last we load into a dump truck for a ride through the quarry.
I need some big cement pipes for the boys to play in.
Heeeeere's Cole!
Wait, a sandbox? Couldn't we have just stayed home and avoided the crowds?
Oh yeah, we don't have dump truck rides or bulldozers to play on at home.
Ride the wave!
More pipes and tubes to navigate. 
Here's the solution to childhood obesity: hamster wheels.
How do you know when it's time to go home?  Usually, it's pretty obvious.