Day Out with Thomas

Last weekend was our annual family vacation to see Thomas the Tank Engine in Oklahoma City. Sure it is only 2 hours away, but the boys love it. We stay in a hotel for a night, which they love almost as much as they love seeing Thomas. And of course we eat out for every meal which is also quite a treat. Here are a few pics of the happy little guys. The event is held at the Oklahoma Railway Museum, so there are several old steam and diesel engines on the premises, as well as other types of cars.

Gavin and Gwydion were so excited to get inside that they could barely stand still for this pic.

They both very much enjoy playing trains.

And here they are finally getting to meet Thomas. Gavin was too busy staring to turn around for the picture.
This is their favorite engine aside from Thomas. It is one of the oldest engines in Oklahoma, built in the late 1800s. Gavin loves anything with gears or wheels and was rather disappointed that he couldn't make the big wheels turn.



There's also a caboose from late 1800s, which you can see below. The staff at the museum is working to restore it.



And finally, here's a picture of Gwydion, posing with the statue of an engineer.

September, school, and more!

Wow it has been a busy few months! I've been neglectful of this blog, I'm afraid. We've had a wonderful summer with lots of swimming, trips to the zoo, bike rides, etc. Oh and we got a video camera, which Michael was supposed to use to take videos of the kids. Gwydion has taken it over though, and records endless play sessions with trains, cars, and even his own music videos.


Without a doubt, this is our favorite thing to do at the zoo. Who needs animals when there are trains to ride?

The playground is a close second, of course.

We've also had loads of fun with Legos, of which both boys are very fond.

And even a little brotherly snuggle time.

There is even snuggle time on the computer! I'm so glad they're finally starting to get along.

We've also had birthday parties with water balloons....

and indoor playgrounds...

and of course, pizza!

We've also started school at home. Gwydion loves it and he's learning so much!

Pictures from the end of June.

How did July get here already? June flew by. It was a busy month, even more so than usual. Gwydion's school had a fundraiser/art show which we attended. Gwydion was in one of the performances, singing train songs with his classmates.

Gwydion graduated from Kindergarten. He received awards for walking 25 miles over the course of the year for the school's track fundraiser. He also got a book club award for reading over 2700 minutes.



We went to the zoo:



Played some music:


Added on to the shed, thanks to Papa and Gwydion:


Did some art projects:


And of course, opened the pool!!! This is where they spend the majority of their outside time. They're both little fish.


And this is what happens post-pool party.

A quick little update before summer really gets started...

Gwydion recreates the set from one of his favorite music videos. The boy LOVES Animusic. If you're not familiar with it, you can check it out here: http://www.animusic.com/

It really is pretty neat.

The finished set. We had to take LOTS of pictures from several different angles for his photo album.

Sweet little angels reading together. Things like this do happen sometimes!

Gavin gets creative and decides the roof pieces for his train station are shoes.

Treasure hunting at the lake!

For us, that means walking around until you see something metal, then using the metal detector on it to confirm. Silly boys! We did find a few neat things though, shells, some fish bones, and we saw lots of turtles and birds.

And of course, we stopped at the playground. These boys love to swing!


Gavin takes a quick break before heading back to the swings.

Gwydion's 6th Birthday

Gwydion had a fantastic birthday. I don't think I've ever seen him so excited! He had a cake with a big number six and some sparkler candles and Wall-e cupcakes. Both were a big hit.

The sparkler candles were really cool but a little hard to blow out. So of course, Mom helped.

Gwydion carefully selected presents to open in an order known only to him.

He had a fantastic time opening all of his presents, especially since Dad was there to help with the tough boxes.

The party lasted for about two hours, with fun and games and racing around outside. Even after the guests left, Gwydion wasn't ready for a break. He had to test all of the new colors in his giant box of crayons. And of course, nothing would but for Gavin to choose a separate activity- making animals out of Playdoh. Good thing Dad has some artistic talent. He and Gavin made cute little turtles, frogs, birds and ducks.

Lots of stuff going on lately!

I realized that I hadn't even posted Easter pics yet, and here it is time for Gwydion's birthday party. I've got a lot of catching up to do. So, here are a few Easter pics and various other things. Pics from Gwydion's party should follow in the next week or so.

Decorating Easter eggs while Gavin does an Easter puzzle.

The boys discovered that the Easter bunny left them some presents. Gavin didn't know which to look at first, but Gwydion was only looking at his new car.

After the boys raided their baskets, we went to Papa's house for breakfast and the first of our eggs hunts. Gavin had a keen eye for the eggs, once he knew what to look for. He got almost as many as Gwydion did!

And of course, after the hunting comes the sorting. Gwydion liked to sort his eggs by content. some had coins and some had candy.

Then it was off to Grandma's house for lunch and another egg hunt.

Gwydion also played t-ball for a very short period last month. He liked the idea but not the reality. We signed him up for a 'non-competitive' league, but even so, the only position he got to play was center field. And of course there are NO balls in center field when you're playing t-ball.

This is how Gwydion spent the majority of the games he played.

As it turns out, Gwydion was quite content to have the hat and t-shirt and not play t-ball. Funny guy.

Here's one of their new favorite games: rescue us from the toy box.

We've had such a busy month that poor Gavin has needed a nap a few times. Of course he's such a stubborn little monkey that he won't take one. So this is what happens. Adorable, isn't he?