Black Friday - Boy Style

The boys needed to get out of the house -- Mom needed some quiet rest -- so Matthew took them to Kid Zone to play on the slides and shoot foam balls at each other!

Here is how the boys spent Black Friday -- having fun!

They stopped for lunch at Burgerville before heading home. I'm sure they wouldn't mind this becoming their Black Friday tradition!

Fun with Grandpa & Nana!

We had so much fun when Grandpa and Nana came for a visit!

Saturday was a rainy day -- we needed an indoor activity. So, off we went to one of the boys' favorite places -- the Portland Children's Museum. We weren't the only ones with that ideas, but it really wasn't too bad. The boys were anxious to show Grandpa and Nana all their favorite things...

Sam gave a dog a bath.

They showed Grandpa how to dig in the pit.

Zak loves the pay phone!

Bench warmers!

Zak showing off his brushing skills.

Fun in the water! We were smart enough to
bring extra shirts this time -- and we needed them!

We spent a long time in the water area!

Good times!

We think we brought home the flu bug from the museum. Later that night Zak started throwing up...thankfully Grandpa and Nana escaped without getting sick! Sadly, this was not the case for the rest of the family. Monday morning, Sam started throwing up. Early Thanksgiving was Mom's turn. Dad finally succumbed on Friday night. The boys bounced back much quicker than their parents!

Needless to say, we did not have Thanksgiving at our house this year -- and we were hosting! Matthew and I have now made a pact that we will never get sick at the same time again!

We are thankful we were able to spend time with both our families earlier in the week. And we are thankful we're all finally starting to feel better!

A Kindergarten Thanksgiving

Sam's much anticipated Kindergarten Thanksgiving Program was a success!

After working in his class and watching how it was all coming together -- I wasn't sure if they were going to be able to pull it off -- but they did!

The Pilgrims sailing on the Mayflower.

The Native American's welcoming the Pilgrims.

Zak didn't make a peep through
the whole thing -- thanks to an Ipod!

Celebrating with their Thanksgiving Feast!

Poppy and Grammie made a quick
trip down to see Sam's program!

This ended up being the highlight of our Thanksgiving!

All By Myself!

Zak was so proud of himself this morning!

He's almost got it!

Matthew's College Education at Work

We're going to have to start calling Matthew 'MacGuyver' -- because he has made a couple of things lately that are impressive -- at least to the boys and me!

A few weeks ago, Sam needed a doorbell for his fort -- obviously you can't knock on blankets. So Matthew made a doorbell out of a clothespin, some tinfoil and a battery. I wish I had a picture of it!

Sam was so interested in how it worked, Matthew decided they should make something together.

We have a book in our garage entitled, "Explosives and Homemade Bombs". It's from a class he took in college -- and yes, they made bombs! Instead of making a bomb, he adapted it to make a light that can turn off and on with a trigger -- so after a quick trip to Radio Shack for a few parts -- they were ready to start assembling.

Connecting the wires...

Checking out all the little pieces...

It works!

Zak can do it too!

Matthew has really impressed us with his "bomb" making abilities!

The Clean-Up Crew

Between all our rain and wind storms, we've had a few sunny days. On those sunny days, the boys head outside to clean up all the pine needles and pine cones from the yard. It is a never-ending battle!

Sam is the best helper!

Zak is happy to help too -- especially
if he can do it his own way!

Picking up pine cones in the dump truck.

Ready to scoop up all the pine needles.


Getting to use the leaf blower is always fun!

We're so glad the boys enjoy helping out -- because there is always something that needs doing!