My New Toy

I've been researching these bike trailers for over 6 months and debating whether to get one or not and if I should spend the extra money to get one that converts into a stroller as well. Well the debate is over and I'm super happy I got this for me and the boys. I finally broke down and purchased this a few weeks ago online. Levi and I picked it up last Wed. He of course immediately wanted to go for a ride. I still had to go back to work but promised him that we would go out that night after dinner.

As dinner cooked I quickly got it put together and the boys were so excited to go! As I pedalled I could hear them giggling and talking to each other. Levi would say "Give me five...up high...cut the pickle...tickle, tickle" They had so much fun. We were only out for about 30 min ( I wanted to make sure everything was secure before we got too far from home) but had fun.

The next night after I got off work I asked if they wanted to go for another ride. Jace didn't even want to come inside so that I could change my clothes! We haven't been able to go the last couple days because of bad weather but are looking forward to going soon. We've even ordered an extra bike attachment for Rick's bike so that we can take turns and easily switch the trailer from bike to bike.

If you were wondering I did go for the stroller option, just in case we needed it. We now have 4 different strollers (and only 2 kids), the single jog stroller, double jog stroller, umbrella stroller, and the new one. I guess it's nice to have the option of which one to use.

Line It Up

If you'll notice the line extending beyond Jace... He started doing this a few weeks ago. Levi used to do it with cars when he was Jace's age. He would have cars lined up extending 15 feet across the family room and would even line them up by size. I'm sure Jace will have animals going across the room soon enough. (Man, look how clean that room 2 years ago was with only 1 kid, it's rarely that clean now!) Jace above with animals, Levi below (2 years ago)

Hard Work

Rick had a week off between finals and summer term so he watched the boys a lot (while I was at work) and got some projects done. I helped after I got off of work and any time I could find a minute. We did some small projects like painting trim in the bathroom and fixing vents, and then when the weather cooperated we (he) tackled the big projects.
#1 on the list: Get rid of the island in the front yard. He hauled wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of dirt to the garden, flower beds and a neighbor even came and took some of it home. Then he laid the sod. You can still see the edges but hopefully it'll blend in well. I can't even describe how good it looks and how nice it is to have that monstrosity gone.

Next on the list was the kid's play area. We leveled the area, laid weed guard, brought back in the playground stuff we had and got some of the rubber mulch. The kid's have a great time playing in it. It took a few days to get the border down and finished. The bright green stuff on the edges is "bare-spot repair" Hopefully the grass comes in soon before Jace pulls it all up.

I also planted strawberries and got the garden ready to go (still unplanted). The last big project in the back yard is to put up a fence to keep the kids out of it. Currently they play follow the leader up and over the rows.
Last fall I planted a bunch of tulips and daffodils. They are coming in GREAT!!! I'm so excited because they have come a long way from the weed infested, bark covered, clay soil area it was just a few years ago. I hope to get some more landscaping rocks and get more plants in soon.

It's finally starting to look like someone cares about this yard and is trying to take care of it.

Home Again, Home Again

We spent last Wed through Fri night at McKay Dee hospital. I thought that Jace just had a little cold but on Wed he started wheezing so I took him over to the kids care clinic and after 2 breathing treatments and a round of oral steriods the doctor informed me that he was going to need to be admitted to the hospital, run home, grab a bag and get to the hospital ASAP. We spent the next 2 days with intermittent sleep, lots of breathing treatments and a lot of waiting around.
Jace thought that he was having a fabulous time, flirting with the nurses, running up and down the halls with a mask on, playing with the toys they brought and spending one on one time with mom. He would run up and down the halls with a mask on wheezing away and stopping to laugh and say "hi" to everyone and giggle at the nurses.

I have a super cute pic of him getting ready for a bath with his little bum hanging out of the back of his gown. I would post it but don't want to get reported for obscene photos. But it's dang cute.
They diagnosed him with reactive airway disorder (RAD) similar to asthma, when I took him for a follow-up today the doctor thinks that it was probably due to a reaction to a virus (another kid at daycare was diagnosed with croup the same day. The doctor said that the same virus can affect kids differently depending on age.
Anyhow, we are now home and Jace is doing much better. We are doing breathing treatments every 6 hours now (instead of 4) and continuing to wean down. He's still happy as ever and actually seems to enjoy the breathing treatments.

He has been listening

Tonight at dinner Jace was a little upset that he didn't get to say the prayer, so I asked if he wanted to say it. He folded his little arms and bowed his head. I helped him start by saying "Dear Heavenly Father" he repeated then strung together a whole sentence on his own..."Tank oo for dis day" Rick and I stared at each other in amazement. He HAS been paying attention and understands so much more than we think he does. Now I've tried a couple times later today and he won't do it again, but I swear that he said it clear as could be.

Easter Hunt #2

On Easter Sunday we went over to Rick's sister Cathy's home for dinner and an Easter egg hunt for the kids. As you may notice, there are no pics. I think I got several good ones but couldn't seem to remember to bring my camera home. So it is sitting at her home and I'll get it in a few weeks. The kids had a good time and it was fun to watch the older kids totally bypass the all the "easy" eggs in search of the $$$ eggs. There were 8 $$$ eggs ranging anywhere from .50 to 1.00 and one having 5.00 in it. They were pretty competitive. All in all the kids had a good time.
Monday morning at 3 a.m. I was rethinking how much candy I let the boys eat. Levi woke up puking, but after him losing his stomach every 1/2 hour till 6 a.m. I realized that it was not just the candy. Turns out everyone who was at my parents Sat night ended up getting the same thing to varying degrees. So we have been pretty busy the past 2 days. The boys both seem to be doing well now and despite being sick, have been troopers.

Egg hunt #1

We decided to forego the "free" Easter egg hunts at the city park after reading about my cousin's bad experience at one last week. We already had plans for a hunt at my parent's home today and one tomorrow at Rick's sister's home.

Jace's first egg hunt. He got the hang of it pretty quickly.

Levi found his eggs and then was very helpful to his brother and cousins.