Spring Into Potty Training : )

Happy Spring! Even if we did wake up to snow and even if the pass did get 2 + feet overnight and close this afternoon for avalanche control and even if it is 35 degrees outside--spring did come, at least that's what the calendar says! ( I know, I know, for those of you from up North 35 is steaming hot). I love daffodils, both because they are readily available around here and because they are so sunny and cheerful. They seem to greet me every time I walk by them in the living room.

Last night Ezra put the final sticker on his potty training chart. One sticker for each day that he went without any accidents in his underpants. The 30 days didn't have to be in a row. Can you imagine? This poor little three year old goes 29 days and then has an accident the last day and has to start all over again. Haha. What terrible torture that would be! He did a great job. I think we started the chart 33 days ago, so there were only 3 days he didn't get stickers.

This was a proud moment. I never thought it would happen. By the time I was brave enough to start the "training" he already knew what to do and did it all on his own. Praise the Lord!

Little sister always has to get in on the action. The chart reads that if he can get 30 stickers he will earn a scooter (or "scooker" in Ezra). He's been wanting one for the past year, so we knew it would be a great motivator.

Thirty days seemed liked sooooo long back at the beginning. Every night he added a sticker, he would ask "Now do I get my scooker?" .

Daddy came home from his Ocean Shores presentation just in time to present Ezra with his scooter this afternoon.

Pretty excited.

Taking it outside for its maiden voyage. Shoes on the wrong feet and all : ) I think I saw daddy fixing that in the front yard. At least they are velcro and not ties so they won't get all tangled in the wheels!

Last I saw the trio, Caroline was in the back of the bike trailer, Daddy was on the bike and Ezra was scooting along on their way to the park. Nothing like coming home from an overnight trip and spending time with your kids as a dad. I don't know who of the four of us enjoys it more (but I'm willing to bet a lot of money that it's me!).

Bounce House

One of the kids' favorite places to go romp on a rainy day is the bounce house. If you've never been to one and you live in a rainy/cold wintry place be sure to google it and see if there is one near you. It's a great way to get energy out. What it is is a giant room filled with those "bounce house" contraptions. You know, the ones that are all filled with air. At the one that we go to I have to pay for Ezra, but not for Caroline since she's under 2. Also, all adults are free. Moms of older kids are lucky--their kids like to play by themselves. Those moms are the ones who get to sit on the benches or stand in the middle and gab while sipping lattes. The rest of us squeeze our adult size bodies through the obstacle course while holding toddlers and bounce ourselves into a headache in the basketball room. It's actually fun and great exercise. It's best on days when hardly anyone is there. Today was not such a day. It was crowded! Kids love chaos, though, and so they all thrive. It is quite hard to get pictures since I have to bounce with the kids, but I took a few desperation shots just so that I could finally blog about this place : ) By the way, we don't always go to so many places. When the weather is nice we prefer to play outside in the yard or ride bikes through the neighborhood--but with such a rainy and snowy month so far, we've taken advantage of all the close by opportunities.
This is the obstacle course I referred to--I usually come out all sweaty and staticky.

The above is one big room with several different bouncers. They also have a second room across the hall.

Hmmm, wrong direction--the ultimate attraction with a slide.

Perfect form.

Who should go first?

"Whee!"

The theme at this bounce house is "Come let your kids bounce off our walls."

Hungry kiddos devour the rest of their lunch. They didn't want to eat too much before we got there so that they could bounce better :) I have found that bouncing doesn't make them as tired as I hope--but it does make them eat even more.

That's all folks!

Museum of Flight

In the words of a good friend "brace yourselves!" this is a looooooong one. I had way too much fun taking pictures of planes at the museum yesterday. You think I posted a lot--you should see how many are on the camera :) My brother Brett is home from the University of Idaho for spring break this week, so he and my mom met us at the Boeing Museum of Flight. As soon as we got close Ezra could see the planes taking off and landing at Boeing field and got excited. And then in the parking lot we stood next to the runway and watched a man taking helicopter flying lessons. Off to a good start. I'll let the pictures tell the stories with a few words as tour guides along the way...

"car-planes--one for every garage".

Ezra in the flight simulator for kids.

Looking up--planes hang at all different levels from the ceiling--it's an amazing view.

Trying to get the top to come down in the fighter jet.

He getting in, she getting out : )

His wing woman.

I loved this flying woman : )

Ezra and a moon-mobile.

Trying to land on the moon--he crashed twice and then the computer shut him out.

This is the Mars Rover shown in the diagram below.

Some freaky astronauts I found there.

Yep, they found a pacifier that is allowed in space!

Hang gliding Gramma and Ezra.

Look at those fly-boys (and girl).

Grandma making the air balloon fly in the kids-zone.

The second time Ezra took a turn in the simulator, Caroline decided to go with him. It was pretty cute, I have to say.

After lunch, we crossed the sky-bridge and went to the air park to tour the Concord and an old Air Force One. It was the 707 model that Presidents Kennedy, Nixon and others used.

Jackie K (not O) exits the plane with her family : ) After posing for the press.

The hair twins check out the first Boeing 737 to fly. My mom remembers that its first flight was to Moses Lake and then Walla Walla. Uncle Brett kept lifting Ezra up so he could touch the "belly" of the plane. So later, Caroline kept pointing at other planes and requesting "tummy??" Hehe.

In the "Heroes of the Air" WWII exhibit--all the uniforms of the different divisions and countries involved in the war.

Some of the "nose art" was cool to look at. There were many examples. Thankfully, they kept the ones I didn't want Ezra to see hidden away in a little binder instead of displayed on planes.

And that's when I finally put the camera away and took two tired kids home. I thought that this museum would be a quick trip--but we were there for 4 hours and Ezra still wasn't ready to leave (he never is). Caroline knew how tired she was and kept asking for "home".

And this here is a little shot from the Palisades restaurant where Tadd and I ate dinner Tuesday night courtesy of an anniversary gift from my parents last year : ) Thanks mom and dad! This photo is taken directly from the seat I sat in for dinner--talk about an amazing view!