Springtime

The Alaska Railroad Open House- Dash was fascinated by the conductor

Our new backyard hobby- soccer! I love the angle of Dashell's leg when he kicks the ball.

Stratton has been practicing since he will be starting his soccer team next week!

Explaining the finer points of how his soccer shoes make him extra fast.

Welcoming the turkey chicks to their garage home until they are big enough to move outside.

Back to exploring the woods! We are all thrilled to have the snow melted and green leaves back on the trees!

A Good Day

Yesterday(Tuesday) was a good day. Just a normal, good day. Sometimes those can feel rare and shiny when summer is just arriving. Brigg had been gone for 3 days at the beginning of the week, and it felt like forever. So we were glad he didn't have to work yesterday...at least not work at being a dentist. We didn't do anything too special, but it still felt like a really good day. We put a load of topsoil on the garden and rototilled it in, stopped and had lunch at Bun on the Run, and took the dogs to a pond to go swimming in the afternoon. Well, to be more accurate, we took Zeus swimming and Piper dipped her toes in. The contrast between the two dogs is very funny. And to top it all off, I got the bathrooms cleaned, finally stitched together the pieces I had cut out for a hoodie for Stratton and the turkeys are getting close to moving outside. It's amazing how getting a few jobs done that have been waiting can make you feel better. I don't think I mentioned before that we got turkeys. We have 5 turkeys that we are raising this summer, and they have been quite a funny addition to the family. Piper is obsessed. She gets all shaky just looking at them. I think their outside pen will have to be reinforced to keep her out more than to keep them in. It's been fun for the boys to watch the birds getting bigger and their chick fluff being replaced by feathers. Now that the leaves are finally popping out on the trees and the days are warm, lets hope there are many more good days like this one ahead.

Easter

I haven't been feeling like writing much, but it doesn't seem fair to the boys to not put down at least a little bit about this year's Easter. They both loved every minute of it. Dashell was quite smitten with his fluffy little bunny and Stratton decided he LOVES egg hunts.

Aside from the more organized egg hunts, he was constantly hiding the eggs he had and making Dash and I find them. Over and over...10 or 20 times a day. He didn't understand why I was in such a hurry to put away the Easter baskets and eggs this year.

This was the best picture we could get of the boys all set for Easter Sunday...we don't hold still anymore. I'm not sure these two ever really held still, but they seem even squirmier lately.

Dash is talking more and more. Nonstop narration and hamming it up when he isn't losing his temper. One of his favorite things is to pop his head in whatever room Brigg's in and say " Don't worry Dad!" and then run off to cause serious trouble in another part of the house.

We are glad that the ice is finally disappearing and the yard is starting to dry out. Thank goodness I can send the boys outside again!

Projects!

March has come to an end and we are in to sloppy April, knee deep in slush, mud and projects! Yes, spring is coming even here, it just takes a little longer for the snow to disappear. I have a neverending list of things that I would love to get done. Spring cleaning would be fantastic if I could catch up on the regular cleaning jobs from this week. Maybe next week. I'm sure that I will have more time then. The boys have also been on a real projects kick. Stratton built this cardboard robot with Brigg and then got to paint it all by himself in whatever colors he chose- blue and silver glitter. Shocking. He could hardly wait to take it to preschool when it was his turn for show and tell. Dashell could barely contain his envy and disappointment at not getting to participate in the painting. Somehow his little watercolor page was not stacking up to his brother's undertaking.

The boys also decided that they wanted to make jungle puppets, so I had each of them pick which animal they wanted to do. Dashell chose a lion and Stratton chose an elephant. Obviously, they both had to make on of each. They really loved this project...here is Dashell trying out his lion's roar. We heard it day and night for days.

Stratton shows off his creations- he went with a colorful interpretation of animal skins, although he insisted the faces had to be perfect. Trust our selectively obsessive child to insist on a perfect face with a multicolored body.

We also decided to go to the Ice Park at night for family home evening a couple weeks ago, even though it isn't getting dark until past 9 these days, so that we could see everything all lit up. The boys loved it! They lasted for hours, even though it was late. They went down every slide at the park at least 15 times, including Dashell diving down the really big slides on his belly all alone and then hopping up at the bottom insisting to do it again. I think having their Dad there made it that much more fun. It was a great night and definitely the most fun the boys have had in weeks. This is a picture of both Stratton and Dashell heading down the big slide all alone a time or two before going down on their stomachs became the faster and preferred way to go.

Stratton also had to taste out the carnivorous appetites of the ice hippopotamus one more time. He laid in there for quite a while....I'm not sure what he was expecting to happen.

And for those of you who have made it this far, we do have one more projects in the works. We are having a baby in July, and from the looks of things, this arrival does indeed intend to be a bit more of a project than the boys were. Count on a child of ours to make a splash!

More March Fun

March is such a beautiful month in Fairbanks. It is past 8 pm and still light outside! The days are bright and sunny and above zero and there is lots of fun things to do! Not only have we been enjoying the ice park, but the dog races, visiting family, our new dog, snowmachining in the White Mountains and a chance to play with Dad outside when he gets home from work while it is still light!

Dashell, Stratton and me at the Limited North American sprint dog races....this coming weekend will find us at the Open!

Wells and Stratton wrestling during some down time at the dog race. Kerry's whole family has been visiting this spring break week.

Playing with our trucks in the driveway.

Piper trying to "box" Zeus into playing with her. I love this picture of the two of them! Thank goodness they're friends!

Dashell chilling with his favorite icy bear pal.

Ice Park Fun

We have been enjoying the Ice Park this month...we still need to get Brigg there at night to see them all lit up. Just one of the fun things about Fairbanks in March!

Coming down one of the long slide runs with Dashell.

This looks good until you try and get out of a bowl of ice!

Feeding Dashell to the ice hippo.

One of the boys' favorites....of course an ice snow machine is just as great as a real one!

Always good for a laugh

Dashell is quite thrilled that we found some junior sized goggles for him to wear on the snowmachine. In fact, he won't let us take them off. Watch out for this extreme little guy! Lately when it is time to put him to bed, he starts running away screaming, " No! I want to play!" He will stand in his crib crying that he just wants to play for a good 5 minutes before he accepts that playtime is over for the day. I would say that sums up his personality pretty well right now.