Swim lessons: minnows
I worried that taking a break in February would make it hard for Jack to start the next level of swim classes. But he was a happy, floppy fish today!
High -five-giving after getting a toy off the bottom of the pool by himself.
March 2016
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One sharp looking dude
Monster Truck Build
Lowes Build and Grow is a great free program that we've been doing for years. Sam joined his expert brother last Saturday to build monster trucks. 
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Dr. Seuss's Birthday
If you don't have a primary school-aged child, you might not be aware that Dr. Seuss's birthday is a Big Deal. It is also National Read Across America Day. I had forgotten all the hoopla that we had with preschool last year.
Jack's teacher shared photos through ClassDojo (that I stole with screenshots). They got to wear crazy socks to school, do special crafts and activities. Below you can see their hats and the kids testing whether they like their bread buttered on the top or bottom. I helped celebrate by making Seuss-like cookies for my boys.
St. Patrick's Day
Speaking of big deal holidays, St. Patrick's Day never registered for me, except an excuse to bake soda bread and avoid the drunks on city streets. Then my kid started school and suddenly we have a reason to celebrate. Jack spent all day telling me about leprechauns. Apparently one visited his classroom while they were parade. It upturned chairs and spread glitter and candy all over the place.
Sam and I make some festive snacks at home.
Here it is before the second proof.
And sliced into corned beef sandwiches. It's pretty good if you don't look at it while you eat it.
Face Swaps
My parents are in Germany, heading next to Austria and Hungary. My sister is traipsing around India. We are spending our Mason spring break in boring old Arvada. Ben brought excitement home by joining the face-swapping craze with his phone.
Results were hilarious and frightening, as expected.
Proof that Jack and Sam look very very similar:
Spring break bummer
Zoo Zoo Zoo
We've had a fun spring break so far. The Masons came to visit family and play like crazy with the boys. They love seeing their grandparents.
Today we had nothing planned. It's supposed to snow tomorrow, and my zoo membership expires the end of April. That suggested to me that today would be a splendid day to see animals.
It's fun to see Sam get more and more excited about seeing animals with each visit. Jack brought his notebook and made a list of every animal we visited.
Spring Blizzard
The weather flipped from the sunny zoo trip yesterday, to a blizzard today. All schools were closed along with my Zumba class at the Apex Center :-( At least the official closure dismissed my guilt about sleeping late (8:20!) and not wanting to drag the kids out in the snowy streets.
I did my best to keep the boys entertained without going anywhere. Ben planned for a snow day and worked from home. Best of all, we didn't lose power! The snow was very wet and heavy and there were strong winds. I saw on the Xcel website that there were many outages in our area. Woohoo for us!
Extra pajama time after breakfast, because why not?
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I built them a fort. I don't think they appreciated how dope a fort I made. 
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This was in the morning, before it got super heavy. 
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I'm glad I keep a well stocked baking pantry. I made a loaf of garlic bread from scratch for dinner, and the boys helped me make cookies with chocolate chips, pretzels, and caramel chunks. (The first pic is a high five in progress)
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Before naptime they bundled up to play.
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Me keeping a safe watch from inside.
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Ben heard a big galumph and was surprised to see Jem crash down into the basement window well next to his desk. Jack helped make a rescue. 
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After spaghetti dinner and cookie dessert, the roads were cleared fairly well and the snow finally stopped. We all went to Target for this and that and to stretch our legs. I hope I can make up that gym visit and get the guys some indoor playground action tomorrow. I bought some paint crafts and boiled eggs for dying too. Oh, spring break. Why are you so long?
To mroe is Estr!
Tooth Extraction #2
Jack's second chipped tooth turned gray and started hurting. Time to take it out for the Tooth Fairy!
Before:
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After:
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Sam demanded a picture too, but only gave me tongue:
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