The Making of a Lawn Mower

Dominic's favorite past time, besides dressing up as Superman, is mowing the grass. He longs for Saturday mornings when he gets to go and help daddy with the yard work. It is a special time that he shares with his daddy. He uses the fisher price plastic mower that Isabella got when she turned 1. That mower is great for mowing carpet but really difficult to use when actually pushing in the grass.
This created quite a problem for Michael. He was determined to find a mower that would actually work in the grass, when he came up empty handed after many searches on the internet he decided that he would just build his own. It all started with a set of real lawn mower wheels that he found at the hardware store. After he had the wheels he could design the blue prints for a mower that would be strong, sturdy, and Dominic-sized. He spend a LOT of hours making the plans and even more hours meticulously cutting boards and gluing the mower together. It was so cute when it was unfinished a true work of art. But he wasn't finished yet, not until the mower was complete with John Deere Green & Yellow paint and a decal! A labor of love that will get used every Saturday morning when it is time to mow the grass. Dominic keeps asking when he will get a bag for grass clippings and a real blade put on the bottom of it. Hmmmm I don't know that Michael is willing to take the obsession that far! 9.7.09

More than just a crime fighter

Superman protects our home and keeps us safe but it is more than just that....he is a hard worker too. Here is a picture of him mowing our yard. He is such a versatile character. 9.7.09

Dominic's wish

While laying on the couch recovering from my surgery Dominic came over and asked if he could "snuggle" with me. I said yes, as long as he was gentle with my stitches in my tummy. He then proceeded to tell me that he hoped that the doctor fixed everything in my tummy so that he could have a new baby kitty.....or maybe 5!
Unfortunately I had to break the bad news to him and explain that I only grow baby humans and not baby kitties in my tummy. He then asked if he could still go ahead and get some baby kitties anyway....or five. Gotta love that kid!

Turtles everywhere

Very close to our hotel in St. Louis we found this park: Turtle park. It was the perfect park for our turtle-loving little boy. They had a great time climbing and playing on the turtles. 9.1.09

Watch out for that bear!

I know what you are thinking ---how can I just stand there and take a picture of my family happily eating their breakfast when they are about to be attacked by a bear!!-- Luckily the bear is not alive and my family will be just fine. This picture was taken at the Cheshire Lodge in St. Louis the day after my surgery.

Do note however that Isabella is quite proudly showing off the fact that she lost her first tooth the night before. More on that later. 9.1.09

City Museum St. Louis

While we were in St. Louis we had one day free to do something fun. After my surgery consult we all loaded up and went to the City Museum. Jeffrey & Amie had been here several times and they thought it would be a lot of fun for the whole family. They were right! This place was amazing. There were giant tunnels made of metal in the air that you could climb through and slides that were several stories tall. Caves with stalagmites, giant whales to climb inside. Aquariums, trains, art rooms and all kinds of places to explore and climb. We were there for hours and we still didn't get to see and do everything. Here are just a few pictures from the day of fun we had. 8.31.09

Corvette Ride

Isabella loves when my dad takes her for a drive in the Corvette because she gets to stick her head out the t-tops and wave to the neighbors like she is in a parade. I prefer that she be in a car seat buckled up but my grandparents seem to want to spoil their grandkids. 8.30.09

Happy Birthday Trista & Trinity

We celebrated Trista's 5th birthday and Trinity's 1st birthday at my parents house. The kids all had a lot of fun. 8.30.09

Lifecycle of a Butterfly

Since we started school a few weeks ago we have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of our caterpillars in the mail. They finally arrived a few days ago and within a 30 hour period all of our Painted Lady Caterpillars turned into chrysalis all 10 of them. Now we just had to move the little white paper disks to the butterfly pavilion and wait. Less than a week later the first butterfly emerged and we watched as his wings grew bigger and stronger. It was such a fast process to see them pop out of their cocoons. I always thought it took them a few minutes to get out but really it was seconds! All 10 of our butterflies hatched and a few days later we let them go. Another great science lesson on life. 8.28.09

My kids are the greatest

I had a great birthday weekend this year all though every year is pretty great (click on the links to flash back to birthdays past). Since my real birthday fell on the night that I normally teach we decided to celebrate it over the weekend so we could all enjoy the fun of my 32 year starting.
Isabella had a pretty original idea for wishing me a "happy birthday" with a crayon-bathtub greeting. That was a fun way to start off my birthday morning. Thank you Isabella.
Isabella also made me a scavenger hunt for my birthday which took me all over the house and yard in search of clues that finally led me to a yummy chocolate fudge birthday cake. Luckily I had Superman there with me to blow out the candles. It was a fun and relaxing day with the kids after cake we went for a walk in the park and Isabella got to show off her no-training wheels bike riding skills. All in all it has been a great year. 8.23.09

Look mom no training wheels

Isabella turned 6 this summer and she has done so many grown up things including learning to ride her bike without training wheels. The first time she did it we went to a walking track that was made of recycled tires...I was thinking this would be softer to fall on yet solid enough to learn to ride. She ran into a bush and an elderly lady (luckily she was fine) but in the end she mastered the art of two wheel riding. Here are some pictures a few days later at the park. 8.23.09

Remembering Grandma Bea

Grandma Bea died this week and her funeral was Sunday February 1st. It was a beautiful ceremony and all the family was together to remember her fun spirit. It was so good to see everyone. The kids had a great time playing with Michael's cousins: Kelly & Coleen. Dominic was very fascinated with the mail slot on Grandma Bea's house. Surprisingly the kids did good on the 9 hour ride home from Chicago.

Celebrating Dr. Suess

The library had a special presentation on Dr. Suess and the kids all made Lorax hats. Here are some pictures of my two little Loraxs. 8.20.09

The Wonderful World of Narnia

Union Station had the Narnia Exhibit this summer and we had the joy of getting to go. Our library gave us one free pass since we had read two of the books. Since they we have finished the whole series and the kids adore Narnia. The exhibit was based on the two movies: Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian. We got to learn more about the lands of Narnia and how they made some of the creatures look so realistic. They had the great ice wall from the Ice Queen and her royal throne. The best part was when you entered Narnia you walked through a wardrobe past the fur coats and as you came out the other side you saw pine trees and snow fell down on your head. It was a pretty impressive entrance. The exit was pretty impressive too since they had a huge shadow of Aslan that lit up and roared (unfortunately that didn't photograph well) and two lines of centaurs. We had a great time. 8.19.09