Wednesday, July 30, 2008

The Museum, a big stick and a hat...

The Museum was a blast! James loved how small the exhibits were so he could play with them! There's a construction site, a house, a grocery store, a farm, a waterworks, a car, a ball "pit" and a marshland (for mostly LITTLE little kids). I'll bet you can guess James' favorite: The car, the waterworks and the ball "pit". The ball area is really neat! There are TONS of small plastic balls and you can put them into hoses and watch them being sucked up and deposited elsewhere; there are peg boards that you can put the ball into and watch it bounce around. There are Sorting Bins that you deposit balls into and each bin makes a noise (not irritating ones either, more like meditative ones). James' favorite thing to do with the ball was run (and I mean RUN- top speed for at least 1/2 hour- no joke). See the picture? Thats my little Prefontaine! Honestly! Even the Primary teachers (and the bishopric, and the little old ladies) all tell me that they've never seen a kid run as fast as my little rocket! Well, actually, the bishopric tells us how much they like watching us run after James, especially when he shoots down the aisle headed toward the stand! He's so fast, we're constantly on tenderhooks waiting to spring up and catch him. But I digress...
This is "the big stick". We had a huge summer thunderstorm and it knocked down big branches. So, the boy decided to become really good friends with this particular stick. Every day, he goes outside to see if todays the day that he can lift the thing... So far, no- but keep checking back.
It was Pioneer Day here on the 24th of July. Our ward had a big breakfast, I ran a 7K race and James donned his dad's hat to keep the sun off of his face!
The Thinking Ham Man- he's so funny! Such a ham!
The Car at the museum- holding a ball. This is the epitome of James.
It is the big boy's birthday next friday (the 8th). He has a little list of things he might like to have:
Linens for a toddler bed (same size as crib sheets)
contributions to the Dresser Fund
anything with Lightning McQueen on it (check back for his cake... its going to be awesome!)
Barnes and Noble Gift Card (he loves to read!)
perhaps a radio flyer tricycle... just maybe.
Bathtub toys! (Boat, shark, you know- boy stuff:)

I'm making him a 3-d Lightning McQueen Cake! I'll make sure to post pictures of his Birthday Party!

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Hail the conquering hero...

This is the Kleenex party that seems to happen every time one of us is sick.

My little Beethoven! He particularly enjoys the organ sound- don't ask me why...

His favorite hiding spot is under the sink...
We all love the Autumn. 
This is a huge welcome home for my brother- Jacob Alan Simpson! He returned from serving honorably in the Edmonton, Canada mission yesterday morning! Things that have happened since he's been gone:
He acquired a nephew (now almost 2)
Harry Potter is complete
Amy graduated with a Masters
Ashley has a piano studio
Gas has tripled in price
His parents moved to a different country
His brothers outgrew him- Joseph is now the "tall one" and Sam is right behind!
We all figured out how much he means to us and how grateful we are to have him home safe!

I'm taking James to the Children's Discovery Museum this afternoon. This should be lots of fun and yield some great pictures!