Mini-Masterpieces

Both Evan and Ben love to do artwork.  Ben would grab markers, pens, chalk, or any other writing utensil and draw all over the house if he had his way.  Evan has discovered how to draw on his Leap Pad and draws me pictures every day on the way to preschool, so sweet!

A few days ago, I discovered a little project to give the boys a chance to express their creativity, and create beautiful art.  I have to thank my sister for this art project.  She introduced me to this addictive website called Pinterest which has a bunch of ideas other people have posted on every sort of topic imaginable.  One of my friends posted this idea, and I had to try it.

I had several canvases left over from a project I had been doing for the house, so I pulled them out.  I then took masking tape and wrote the boys name in tape on the canvases.  Then, I let the boys have a ball with the fingerpaint.  It was interesting to see how different each of the boys pictures turned out when they had the same colors to use.

At the end of our art session, there was a little paint on the floor, on the walls, on the paint smock, and even a little (ok, a lot) on Ben's sock, but there were also masterpieces we will have forever.  Love it!

(Check out the sock footprint accidentally left by the artist on this one.)

(Yes, those are Christmas PJ's-Hey, they still fit!)

Spicy!

Tonight for dinner we had a salad with our pasta.  Ian and I have taken the advice of our brother-in-law Tommy and have been putting ranch dressing on our iceberg salad and topping that dressing with Tony Chachere's cajun seasoning.  It's a genius idea from our Cajun family member...thanks Tommy!

Anyway, this time, when we got out the Tony's Evan and Ben were interested in what we were putting on our food.  We told them it was a little bit spicy and put some on their plates.  Evan avoided it and just kept poking at it.  Benny on the other hand, is not that kind of guy.  He immediately put a little bit on his finger, put it in his mouth, then shook his head and stuck out his tongue.  We said, "we told you it was spicy" and told him to drink some milk to wash it out of his mouth.  He took our advice and drank some milk.  Then, he went right back to the Tony's and put more on his finger and back in his mouth it went again.  He repeated this about 10 more times-eat the spicy food, make a face, drink some milk, repeat.  Looks like we have a little Cajun boy on our hands!

(Lick...)

(...then drink, yum!)

What we do

I talk a lot on the blog about special things that we do and special events, but I don't talk a lot about what we do everyday.  One of the things that we do the most is get outside or head inside and play.  Whether it be sliding or climbing at the playground, digging in the dirt and playing with sticks, or finding a way to get out energy out inside, we try to get active and goof off a little everyday  Here's a little look into some of our playing from last week...

(Playing at a park with daddy's old ski goggles)

(Cooking at Play Nation)

(Benny cooks with bananas.)

(sliding)

(Benny loves playing with some froggies.)

(and a little pose as we walk)

Two Seasons...One Weekend

Our little family had a great time this weekend, but it definitely was a strange weekend from start to finish.  To start off the weekend we headed out to Duke Gardens with our friends Scott, Amy, Amelia, and Alex to enjoy a day of beautiful weather.  We wandered through the gardens to a large lawn.  There we laid out our blanket and just laid down to bask in the sun.  Jackets were not required because it was such a gorgeous day, and we had a blast blowing bubbles, running around, rolling down hills, climbing on walls, digging in the dirt, and hiding in trees.  When we got home I opened the door to the porch to get in some fresh air and wanted to spend the whole day outside.  I even went on a run in shorts and short sleeves.  It made me wish for a little spring.

(Poodle basking in the sun-and my feet)

(Evan snacks in the sun.)

(Ben loves the great weather!)

(Just relaxing)

Then, Sunday came and the clouds rolled in.  Take a look at where we were Monday morning.  Even though the snow melted quickly as the sun rose, what a difference a day made.  The boys didn't quite have enough snow to play in, but they still had a great time stomping in the ice crunchies this morning.

(When the snowflakes started to fall)

(There wasn't much snow, but it was the first all year so the boys had a great time.)

May the Force be with you...

Evan has a buddy at preschool that he hangs out with all the time.  Nathan and Evan are so much alike.  They look very much alike and they like the same things.  In hanging out together we've also discovered that both of our families have a love for Star Wars, especially the dads.  So, we got the idea in our heads to have Star Wars night where the boys could get together and watch the movie.

Last night was finally Star Wars night.  Nathan and his family arrived just in time for dinner.  As we watched the boys eat their pizza it was amazing to see how many mannerisms they had picked up from each other.  All of the parents noticed it as the boys laughed with each other.

Soon, it was time for the main event.  We started the movie.  Benny was entranced for the first five minutes or so and then he wandered off, done.  Nathan's little sister, Anna, immediately went upstairs to unbelievably sleep in a strange bedroom.  Amazingly enough, both little siblings went to sleep fairly quickly and we headed back down to watch the boys.

The dads were commenting on the movie and the boys were sitting perched up on the top of the couch asking questions and soaking up every minute.  While there were several parts that the dads had to censor for the three year old audience, the boys sat there and watched the entire thing.  At the end, they were both really jazzed and had to run around pretending to be all things Star Wars.

Everyone had a great time, and we can't wait for Empire Strikes Back night!

(The boys enjoy their dinner in their matching Star Wars shirts.)

(Evan and Nathan perch on the couch with their new Darth Vader dolls.)

(Everyone enjoys the movie.)

Snow

For my birthday, Ian got me a ski trip to the mountains of West Virginia, complete with kid care from Gram and Gramps.  We were excited, we made our plans and hotel reservations.  Then we realized that it hadn't really been below freezing all winter and the conditions in West Virginia were probably pretty crummy for skiing.  So, we reluctantly cancelled our reservations and decided to stay home.

We made a plan to stay at home and enjoy the extra babysitting.  We planned a nice dinner out and the food tour that I wrote about earlier.  Then, that Friday morning, wen I  happened to glance at the weather forecast on the Today Show.  Lo and behold, they were predicting snow for West Virginia.  Turns out that there was a freak cold snap and snow storm predicted for that weekend.  Well, Ian and I did some fast thinking and a few hours later the plans were back in place.  We were headed up for a day of skiing!

Instead of leaving Friday night as we had originally planned we decided to head out for some Sunday skiing because the weather looked better.  However, when we woke up Sunday morning and there was a wind chill of -1 we were wondering if we made the correct decision.

We headed out to Winterplace, our ski resort of choice and rented all of our gear.  I had forgotten how truly bulky all of the ski equipment feels.  When I first got all suited up I still wasn't sure that I had made the right decision.  Then, we skied our first run.  The snow machines were blowing because the temperatures were actually below freezing, and there were frostbite warning signs up everywhere.  I was so cold when I got done  with the first run I didn't know what I would do.  But I went into the ski store, bought a face mask, and I was ready to go.

From there on out the day was beautiful.  We skied every blue and black run that was open at Winterplace that day and had a great time on all of them.  Ian is a better skier than I am, but they managed to handicap him by giving him longer and more challenging skis.  So, we were about even.  We skied all day long until Ian could no longer feel his fingers and I was getting a bit shaky on my legs, and we decided to call it a day.

So, we headed down the final run.  It was an easy boring one to get us back to the lodge.  There were beginners hobbling down the slope and falling left and right.  That didn't stop me from getting just a little bit cocky.  I saw a little jump at the very end and decided to try it.  I ended up in what the Davises kindly call a "yard sale"-when you fall so badly that all of your equipment is scattered around you like a yard sale.  Unfortunately, when I fell, my pole strap was wrapped around my thumb strangely.  So, my souvenir of the trip is a lovely thumb brace for my injury.  Sigh.  It was still a wonderful trip though, and I was so happy to be able to have all that time to spend with Ian.

While we were there, we decided that we did miss our little rug rats at home.  It was a great trip, but we were glad to get back to our little family.

(Our view from the top of the mountain-love the rainbow!)

(Evan's recreation of the ski slopes using marshmallows and pipe cleaners-a perfect representation, don't you think?)

Foodie Fun

We absolutely love living in Durham and the Triangle for many reasons.  One of the reasons is the amazing food scene.  Everyday we're hearing about a new great local restaurant.  This weekend, Ian and I got to check out even more of the food scene on a fabulous date.  We headed down to Chapel Hill and Carborro for a food tour.  It was a three-hour tour through the area where we got to meet the chefs and farmers and sample some of the best food around.  Plus, Ian and I actually got to have a chance to talk sans boys which is rare and nice.

Our first stop was Neal's Deli.  We stood outside in the chill and talked to the chef/owner, son of the famous chef at Crooks Corner.  He handed us two biscuit quarters, one filled with egg and one with pastrami and mustard.  I was a little wary because I don't like pastrami or mustard, but they were definitely some of the best biscuits I've ever hard.  It was a very good start to the day.

We then wandered down to the Carborro Farmers Market which is unique among farmers markets because anything sold at the market has to be made within 50 miles and the farmer actually has to be present at the market.  We stopped at the stall for Chapel Hill Creamery where we tasted some delicious cheese, Big Spoon Roasters where we sampled gourmet nut butters, and a stall where we sampled delicious pecan treats from a Louisiana who was just a little bit crazy.  It was a great trip to the farmers market.

We were all a bit cold at that point so we walked over to a restaurant called Acme.  The chef opened it up just for us.  We sampled his crispy catfish with bbq sauce and spicy sweet potatoes and he stayed around to talk with us about his food and his restaurant.  Next was a trip to Vimalya's Curryblossom Cafe where we had some delicious family style Indian treats including Idli Puffs and Tandoori Chicken.

After all of these savory goodies we headed across the street for a chocolate sampling including chocolate covered bacon, hot chocolate, and smoked paprika chocolate-all delicious!  Next, we stopped by Carrboro Bottling Co. for a beer tasting to go with some pecan pie picked up earlier at the farmer's market.  They were even nice enough to open up a hard cider for me instead.  Our last stop was Carrboro Coffee Company.  It was interesting and smelled fabulous, but I am yet to develop a taste for coffee.  Maybe someday.

All in all, it was a fabulous date. It was so much fun to eat all the delicious food and see how passionate everyone we met was about what they were doing. We're definitely looking forward to heading to Raleigh and Durham to take their food tours.  Hey, come visit and you can enjoy some of the delicious food too!

A New Cameron Crazy

This weekend after all of our Krispy Kreme madness, we were lucky enough to experience a little more craziness.  One of the parents from Evan's preschool class had Duke season tickets and were nice enough to give us some for Duke's game against Miami.  We didn't think Ben was quite ready for the game, so he stayed home, and we took Evan for his first game.

Ian and I have so many fun memories of going to Duke games and standing and cheering in the grad student section.  Going to games at Cameron turned us in to Duke fans for life.  So, we were extremely excited to take Evan.  Heading in to the stadium, he was just entranced.  He sat for the first ten minutes of the game and just stared at everything taking it all in.

Over the course of the game, Evan found the whole thing a bit noisy.  He would watch the game for a while then need to take a little break.  Once we headed out and got a snack of some sort, he was appeased and headed back up to watch more of the game.

The Duke boys gave us an entertaining game to watch.  They even gave us overtime.  However, they couldn't pull it off in the end.  That's okay because we all had a great time, and they made it up to us with their little win over UNC a few days later!  Go Duke!

(The view from our seats)

(Our little Cameron crazy)

(Go Duke!)

Battle Krispy Kreme

So, on Saturday morning we ran the Krispy Kreme 5 miler and came home with almost 4 dozen donuts between all of the runners.  What were we going to do with all of those donuts?  Well, Iron Chef Battle Krispy Kreme, of course.  A few months ago, Ian and our friend Bob competed in Battle Waffle, with delicious results, so they said that it was Liz and I's turn.  We tried to tell them that we are not the culinary experts that they are, but we did it anyway.

The rules of the battle were that we had to create two dishes each in one hour.  Each of the dishes had to use Krispy Kreme donuts and their added secret ingredient of honey.  Liz and I also decided to step up the game and make a savory dish together.  We were able to plan ahead and go grocery shopping which made it a little easier, and I think we did pretty darn good!

Liz created a ricotta, berries, and Krispy Kreme crouton dish as well as Krispy Kreme cake pops coated in chocolate.  I made a caramel/cashew/Krispy Kreme tart with a caramel/cashew/Krispy Kreme milkshake.  Our savory dish was a Krispy Kreme sandwich filled with cream cheese and bacon dipped in a berry sauce.  Oddly enough, most people agreed that the savory collaborative dish was the best one.  It was strangely addictive.  The competition between the other dishes was very close, but in the end I squeaked out a narrow victory.  It turned out to be a lot of fun and we all ate very well!

We can't wait for the next battle!

(The Iron Chefs mid-battle and wearing our race day shirts)

(Our esteemed judges)

(My dishes: half-eaten-notice the artistic sugar coated Cheerio donuts)

(Liz's yummy cake pops)

Krispy Kreme Challenge

Saturday morning we woke up early and headed over to NC State for a different kind of race.  So far, Bob and Liz and Ian and I have run in quite a few interesting races.  We carried pineapples over obstacles in Seattle, we ran with Santa at the Jingle Bell bash, and Bob and I even ran a marathon on the Outer Banks.  None of these races could prepare us for the spectacle of the Krispy Kreme Challenge this Saturday.

Bob, Liz, Ian, Evan, Ben, and I showed up packed up the double stroller and headed toward the starting line.  We were soon surrounded by throngs of humanity dressed in all sorts of crazy running get-ups.  We saw banana suits, tie dye onsies, intertube donuts, cardboard Mario carts, Jesus, and all other manner of costumes.  We pushed with the rest of the crowd toward the starting line and we were off.  The run was great and we successfully ran 5 miles (four of which I pushed the jogging stroller for).  However, the really entertaining part was just watching all of the crowds.

The premise of the race is to run 2.5 miles, pick up a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts, either eat them, or run back to the finish line holding them.  If you can run all five miles and eat all dozen donuts in an hour then you have completed the Krispy Kreme Challenge.  We, however, signed up as casual runners, so we didn't have to actually eat the donuts.  The boys did enjoy one on the way back which made for much happier riders.

A good time was had by all, we loved watching everything that was surrounding us.  Perhaps the only off-putting part was all of the people that couldn't quite keep their donuts down at the end of the race, but we tried to ignore that.  It as quite a spectacle and a successful run.  We can't wait to see what race we all find to run next.

Oh, and check back because you won't want to miss what we did with all of those left-over donuts.

(Our little family is ready to race.)

(Bob and Liz before the race)

(the masses wait to start the race)

(crowds try to down their donuts.)

(Liz, Ian, and I run while Evan and Ben eat donuts.)

(Okay, so we each had to eat one.)

(The tough guys enjoy a donut too.)

(Evan runs off to go flirt with some college girls.)

Gymnastics

A few weeks ago, both boys started taking a gymnastics class once a week.  Ben finished up Kindermusik in the fall, and I knew he'd have fun in an activity that got him moving.  Evan finished up soccer in the fall, and while he didn't move much while he played soccer, he'd been climbing like a monkey lately and I knew he'd find gymnastics fun.  Plus, it would give both boys a chance to practice all sorts of good skills like balance and jumping.

So, we started gymnastics.  There are two classes going on at the same time.  So, I can head in to the Tumble Tots class with Ben while Evan and his friend Nathan head to the Aerials class which is done without parents.  It's nice because I can be in the gym with Ben and keep my eye on what Evan's doing at the same time.

They both really enjoy their time at gymnastics and I think they're learning a lot.  They usually rotate through several different stations during their time there.  They start with stretching and then they move through the beam, bars, vault, and trampoline.  Then, every class ends with some time in the foam pit. 

Ben definitely didn't quite know what to do on his first day, but now that he's been to a few classes he's starting to get the hang of it.  He can walk across the beam easily holding my hand now.  He can even do it while stepping over stuffed animals.  He's starting to get the hang of jumping, even though his jumping on the trampoline still looks like running across it with a huge smile on his face. 

Evan has been having fun the whole time.  It's so much fun to watch him following directions and participating in class like a big boy.  Since he's been there he's learned how to hang on the bar and put his feet up, jump backward on the trampoline, and walk across the beam. 

Evan's favorite part is definitely the pit he jumps in and worms his way down as far as he can in the pit so you can only see his head.  He loves it, but always need a little help out.  Ben on the other hand is not as much of a pit fan.  At first, he wouldn't get in at all. Since he's seen his brother get in, he's willing to hop in, but he still prefers to pick up the foam pieces from the edge and throw them.

They both eagerly run to sit on the balance beam at the end of class to get their stamp or stickers.  I have such big monkeys, and it's so much fun to watch them learning and having a great time!

 (Monkey #1)

(Monkey #2)

Maybe we should have left them there...

This winter has been incredibly warm here in North Carolina, so we decided to take advantage of one of the warm January days and head down to the NC Zoo.  We have a membership, so it's always a fun, inexpensive way to spend the day. 

So, last week, we hopped in the car, took the 1.5 hour trek down to the zoo where we met our friends, the Hopkins family-Danielle and her sons Nathaniel and Josiah.  While Josiah is only a couple of months old and didn't really get a whole lot out of the zoo this time, Nathaniel is Evan's age, and they had a great time playing together all day.

It was a great time to be at the zoo.  There were basically no other people there because it was the middle of winter, but with the abnormally warm weather the animals were all putting on a show.  We watched Harbor Seal feeding and training time, the cougar and lion were out sunning themselves, the turtles were kissing the glass to say hi, and when we walked to the savannah and the giraffes, ostriches, and zebras were all out playing together. 

Our boys loved watching the animals and goofing off together.  I think their favorite part was all of the animal statues around the park.  Our little monkeys climbed all over the statues and the whole zoo.  Maybe we should have left them at the zoo with their kindred spirits??

A few views form the zoo...

 (Evan and Nathaniel pose)

 (watching the harbor seals play)

 (Harbor seals training)

 (Benny tries out some sliding.)

 (Monkeys riding chimpanzees)

 (Which one is the zoo animal?)

 

 (The cougar suns himself)

 (Another little sunning cat)

 (Ostriches on the savannahs)

(Another great day at the zoo)