monkey jungle

Hey Dad- I have an idea- said Owen one day in April. Why don't we put up a playground in the backyard for Ben and I to play in. Just a few weeks earlier Richard and I had come up with the same idea. We decided to go the easy route and instead of losing multiple weekends and further educating the boys on swear words by building it ourselves, we had Costco deliver and build the whole thing.

One cold, rain-y, sleet-y, hail-y Wednesday in the middle of April, two men showed up and put up the Monkey Jungle.

The boys came home from school and were thrilled with their present. Owen, of course, took credit for the idea. Ben was able to get up the climbing wall on his first try. Both learned that the slide, when wet, is very fast. Next step: deer fencing so there will be less land mines in the back yard.

laurel's 5th birthday party!

Laurel's 5th birthday party was at the gymnastics place, and the boys had a great time. I love the colors there. Ben was shy at first, but then joined in on the fun. Valerie, Maggie and Sylvie were there along with a bunch of kids from Laurel's Pre-K class.

march

Ben in hats! Laurel's first time bowling! Plus, Spring Break with Grandma Sally!

The construction paper hat was made at Ben's day care, and he loved it so much. He didn't take it off for 3 or 4 days.

Grandma flew out during Owen's spring break. Richard took the week off and the four of them had lots of adventures- they explored all of the Corvallis parks and got to enjoy all of them in the rain, they drove up to the Evergreen air and space museum, and we all went to the Science Factory in Eugene. It was wonderful having Sally here with the boys. And they boys enjoyed having someone around to watch the shows they put on!

snow day!

It was almost the end of February, with not much snow this winter when- Jackpot! We got a snow day. It was perfect for playing in. We made a snowman in the yard then towed the boys to the dog park for some great sledding.

Both boys LOVED sledding- requesting multiple runs until the hill was more mud than snow.

giraffes, panda bears, and toothless lions

Oh my!

so far behind!

Richard and Owen are on the east coast celebrating Liza's Baptism, and so I have a little time on my hands while Ben naps. One of my goals this weekend was to do some posts. Ben's finally down and I was faced with a choice: blog, work, or nap. A nap is very tempting, but I'll give this a shot.

Here are some pictures to close out January and start February. I was up early enough one morning to catch this sunrise over the Sisters. I especially like that they look like they have halos.

One weekend while avoiding the rain, Owen and I sewed blankets, pillows, and stuffed toys for his Bubba and Blankie. Yes, a blanket for Blankie. He enjoyed running the sewing machine and kept these beds on his bed for a few months.

We had a few winter weekend adventures- a trip to Portland with Russa and Andrew, and a trip to Newport on a surprisingly sunny day.

january

After all the holiday and birthday fun of the beginning of the year, I took some time away from the blog and my good camera- capturing our events via iPhone.

We took a trip to Astoria during a long weekend in January. We learned the hard way why Lewis and Clark were not too fond of Oregon- Astoria in the winter has strong winds off the ocean and horizontal rain. We spent a wonderful morning at the Maritime Museum, and the afternoon at Ft. Clatsop (top picture), the winter fort of Lewis and Clark, and current home of some hard core historical re-enactors. This visit impacted Owen and he has been excited about Lewis and Clark ever since- he and Richard are building the fort right now in popsicle sticks.

Back in Corvallis, where the rain is at least kind enough to stay vertical, we did have some nice days this winter and enjoyed a weekend day at Wildcat Park with Laurel. Of course, Ben found the puddles and managed to end the trip short by rolling around in the water.

In January Owen lost his first two teeth; he lost a third last week. With the adult teeth no where in sight, he's looking like a cute jack-o-lantern, and raking in the tooth fairy loot. Ben continues to be a big cutie, showing us his belly and his nipples on request. Sibling relations are getting tougher- Ben's current yell of alarm is "NO-WEN!!!!"