Going the extra mile

I was busy doing yardwork today and so I asked Toby to put the dinner in the oven. It was just a frozen Michaelangelo's pasta dinner and perfect for him to do for me. Then about an hour later Toby comes and out announces that dinner is ready. He not only did the manicotti, he made a salad and cooked some broccoli and set the table!!! I was so grateful to him. I was so busy getting my yard work done and he really helped me out without being asked. Makes a mom proud. 5 Smiley faces for Toby!!

Sidewalk Art

Sunday's weather was beautiful in the evening so I took the kids outside to draw with chalk on the driveway. (I like chalk because Hazel can do it and can't ruin other's drawings and it's non toxic!) Anyway it's been a long time since I wrote I love (insert name here) on anything (like when you were in the 7th grade and wrote all over your binder). It was a fun activity. Toby drew the other one. I just want to say that Toby is not into death or dark stuff. He just likes to draw monsters (usually Bionicle, Pokemon or dinosaur type monsters). He is a pretty good artist. I did ask him to stay away from things with dripping blood from now on. He also had me outline his silhouette and then he turned that into a dinosaur with very long claws and sharp teeth. He is pretty imaginitive. Having a preteenage boy is a little out of my comfort zone sometimes. (He also wants blue hair!! like the boy down the street.)

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

For Family Home Evening we went to the baseball game. The kids bring their mitts and put on their Express hats and off we go. It's always fun and everyone has a good time. Even Hazel was getting in to it. Aspen even ended up being on the big screen!! They were playing the TWIST song and Aspen was up there dancing and the cameras found her. It was great.

In the Canary Islands

Nate subscribes to a telescope service (those big huge ones that they have in observatories) that is based in the Canary Islands. You pay the fee and then have access to the telescopes via the internet. He also can sign up to point the telescope wherever he wants to as well. It is pretty cool. Isaac wanted to see the comet that is visible here on earth this month. So here are a couple of pictures of this comet. You could also see it with your naked eye on a good clear night. It is about as bright as Jupiter.

This is a zoomed-out picture of the comet. It is the 2nd brightest thing in the center of the picture.

Here is a zoomed-in picture of the comet.

Nate gets to see other cool things as well. Nebulas and galaxies as well as planets and moons.

This is the Sombrero Galaxie.

Sister, Sister

I found this very cute fabric in the $2 a yard bin and made Aspen and Hazel matching skirts. Aspen was very excited. (She wants to match with Hazel everyday.) I really liked it too and they were a breeze to make - only 15 minutes each!

Happy Hazel

Hazel fells asleep eating. I love it when they do that!

Hazel likes to read.

We got Hazel a new slide/climber. She loves it. She still needs a little help climbing on. But she gets up there and then goes down the slide - very slowly.

This is my favorite picture. She is just so happy. This is another of her new toys. (Early birthday) She played in it for 4 hours this afternoon. The kids had fun pushing her around in the car. Hazel absolutely loved it!

Have you got soul?

Nate and I went to see Collective Soul last night at the Back Yard. It was a ton of fun. We were down front (with all the chain smokers, unfortunately) as opposed to being on the lawn in the back (with all the old fogeys). It was awesome. (Not the smokers). This is our second date since Hazel was born. We hired a sitter, but Aspen watched Hazel. She is a momma's girl and Aspen is second best when I am gone. The sitter was basically there to supervise. But hey Nate and I finally got to go out without any kids. It's been a while. I loved every minute.