P-A-I-N-T

We decided to get good & dirty before bath time tonight. I covered the table with a vinyl tablecloth and put out some paint, paper and toys. The boys had fun!



Miles, our realist, ignored all of the "fun painting toys" that I broke out and instead painted an airplane in the midst of clouds, and a car with fire shooting out of the back. After he was done, he hopped down from the table and was on to the next thing (the other boys kept painting until I hauled them off to the the bathtub).




Noah started out painting with some of the toys. He was really intrigued by it all, but quickly transitioned to finger painting (although he corrected me, saying, "mom, its called HAND painting."






Griffin had so much fun. I definitely would have kept his picture, had he not dumped his entire bowl of water on it. :)

Super Slide

Its hard to imagine a toy that our boys really need. Most days our house seems to be bursting at the seams with superheros, cars, trucks, blocks, games, puzzles -- basically, all of the traditional boy toys. Instead of bringing new toys into the house, Mike and I decided to give the boys a combined inflatable slide for their birthdays (the boys' birthdays fall within 8 weeks of each other). Needless to say, they have been LOVING it. As soon as it gets hot, it can also act as a water slide. We can't wait for summer. Come one, come all....party at the Brown's house! :)


(In case you're wondering -- yes, our older boys ALWAYS slip into a pair of comfy pjs when we're home.)




For some reason, I think Griffy looks like a penguin in this picture. :)




It's hard not to enjoy the fun, just watching watching the boys....but Mike and I had to get a little piece of the action.




PS Noah asked me to take a "super close-up" of him. Such a sweet, yet clumbsy guy. Doesn't he kind of look like he's wearing those fake Halloween teeth? :) Wonder if he'll knock out anymore teeth anytime soon? :)

Carmel Park

Its Spring Break and I'm determined to maximize every minute of our "staycation" -- so after church we dropped off Mike (who was Target & gym bound) and headed to Carmel park.


The park gives the boys room to run and break away from each other....yet they are determined to join together in the smallest of spaces.




We ran around for the 1st hour, but then lost some steam. As you can tell from their cheeks, it was HOT. By the time I took Miles' picture, he was ready to wither away from the heat. He's definitely inherited Mike's hot nature (I heard him exclaim to Noah yesterday, "move away...your body is SO HOT!").



Love this sweet gesture from Noah. Yesterday, the influence was a little different. While Griffin is only speaking in single words, he managed to pick up a knock-knock joke from Noah.
Griffin: Knock-knock
Brooke: Who's there?
Griffin: Baby
Brooke: Baby who?
Griffin: poopy!
I've heard that the youngest is often the comedian....we'll have to work on some better material for him. :)

A Boy & His Pop

Ready!


Yes!


Swoosh!


Again!

Whitewater Center

My parents came for a quick visit and we spent Saturday morning at the US National Whitewater Center. We had a great time checking out rafters, zip lines, hiking trails and climbing rocks. It was great fun and Mike and I are itching to head back with our mountain bikes. If you haven't been, its worth the visit.


This picture of everyone checking out the zip line cracks me up. Noah looks like he's saluting and Miles is sporting a pair of faux binoculars. That's my dad in the background, snapping pictures. Like father, like daughter.



It was cute to watch the boys watch the rafters and imagine them on the rapids someday. Noah was most excited when someone fell out of the raft.



We hiked down a trail and the boys had fun throwing sticks and rocks in the water. I love how the ray of light is shining down on my dad in the second picture.

Love these two pictures (courtesy of my dad). The top one looks like it could have been an old picture of my mom carrying Dana and holding my hand (if we'd been boys, of course :).

It was such a beautiful day....hard not to find punches of color everywhere.

Happy Birthday, Miles

Miles had a great 6th birthday! Noah, Griffin and I had lunch with him (at 10:40am, haha). We brought Dunkin' Donuts for his class (he insisted that every mom brings in the BIG donuts NOT donut holes). Needless to say, everyone, including his teacher, loved them.



This is classic Miles to me.....in line (the eldest-child-rule-follower) but sneaking in a little silly.


Miles opened his presents after school. Noah gave him this cool tiger that roars when you squeeze him (Noah got one too, as an early birthday present. I love how Noah picked out the SAME one for each of them).


Miles was really excited about his Nintendo DS. His neighborhood friends each have one, and he's been asking for it for weeks. I see video games as a life-long bonding opportunity for the boys & Mike. I can't tell you the number of times that Miles has said, "Mom! Do you want to watch me play me DS?" My internal dialogue immediately says, "Ugh, no thank you". :)



Dinner was Miles' choice and he picked Qdoba. After we got back, Aunt Dana & Brad came over to bring Miles some more presents (a cool English/Spanish game and some Pokemon toys). The boys got decked out in Miles' new pjs from Grandma & Grandpa. Notice Miles sporting his first tank top. :)



The boys han fun giving Brad "high 5s", but in the end, it was Aunt Dana that had the killer moves.

Spring Blossoms

Everything in Charlotte is springing into shape -- including me.  :)  April 1st marks my first day of official training for a late summer sprint-triathlon (750 meter swim, 17-mile bike, 5k run).  It will be the 1st triathlon for Mike and me and we're excited to do it together.  We've been registered for months and now is our 20-week-out mark.  Mike has been killing it in the pool, on the bike and on the treadmill, and its finally time for me to regularly join him.  I'm pretty sure it will be a one-time thing for me, but Mike has really loved his training so far.  He thinks that these mini-triathlons just might be a new passion for him (it helps that he's an awesome swimmer!).  

We'll complete it a few weeks before our 9-year wedding anniversary (which is how I originally talked Mike into doing it with me...a great bonding experience).  We'll be rewarding our swim-bike-run with a trip to London-Dublin-Glasgow and will spend our actual anniversary at a Coldplay concert in Dublin.  So glad I'll be in tip-top shape when I "meet" Chris Martin for the first time!  :)  

An April Fools Easter Parade

Noah's preschool holds a big Easter parade every year.   The kids dress up and march around the school while parents and others watch.  There are tons of kids in the parade (at least 500) and at least as many people come to watch, if not more.  Today, in the middle of the parade, the fire alarm went off.  It was crazy!  Everyone had to file out of the building, wait for the fire department to arrive and check everything out, and then file back in and resume positions.  Certainly made for a parade to remember!