Happy Labor Day weekend!

 Mike is off at an all-day concert, and fortunately the weather was nice enough for the boys to have some water time.  :)

Trike Track

 Mike drew a tricycle track for the boys on the deck (with chalk), and they've been having a great time racing around! 

Adventures in Alamance

  After the Lego exhibit, we went to the Alamance County Children's Museum.  It's small, but very nice (probably even better for slightly younger kids).  The boys loved this flower climbing structure.  (The photos do not do it justice; it's actually very pretty, and the mesh netting is much more unobtrusive without a flash.)  They also enjoyed playing on the old-fashioned truck, although they couldn't both steer and get the pedals all the way to the floor (so James would just hang on to the steering wheel and push the pedals -- any opportunity for acrobatics!)

The weather today was just perfect, clear and not too hot, so we especially enjoyed the outside section -- a sandbox, little water stream, and play area.  They both had a great time "fishing", and then Mattie was especially delighted to jump off one of the large stumps. 

On the way there and back, we listened to a little bit of Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle as an audiobook.  Listening to audiobooks with Matthew is a rather demanding experience, because he wants to stop approximately every 30 seconds and clarify what's happening in the story.  (I could understand this with the Paddington Bear stories, especially the ones about more obscure things like Guy Fawkes Day traditions, but these are much more straightforward -- we keep telling him that if he's just patient and listens, it'll probably become clear to him!)  But it's nice that he's so interested.  :)

Lego Art

We made a (short) road trip to Graham today (only about a half-hour away) to see the Art of the Brick exhibit.  The artist makes all of the figures out of just standard Legos -- very impressive!  (And even better, it was free!)

Matthew was especially intrigued by the ones where the figures were doing something odd with their faces (like the yellow one pictured here where parts of the face are moving to the sides).  Mike liked Lego Mount Rushmore for the South Dakota connection!

Most of the exhibit was in the Art Center, which is in a beautiful old house.  The rest was in the Children's Museum, right behind it. 

Presented without Comment

Last weekend, I was telling Matthew to be sure not to lose any of the pieces of Daniel's new game, because Daniel would be unhappy if he tried to play it and some pieces were missing.

Mattie: "He would be frustrated [fwustewated].  James gets frustrated sometimes, but I don't."
Me: "What makes James frustrated?"
Mattie: "Well, I do."

Continuous Improvement

The boys were doing a "dance performance," and I was their audience.  Matthew said, "I hope you enjoy the show!" and then he added, "If there's anything you don't like, write it down.  And then you can call us, and we can try to do better dances next time."

Post-Party

The rest of the day involved opening more presents, playing with the Play-Doh "candy" maker, squirting silly string, and playing ball with Grandma.  :)

Glow Party

Everyone had a great time at Daniel's Pump It Up party.  :)  James insisted that Sue come and bounce with him!  (And Mattie got Grandma to go down the slide!)

Daniel's Birthday Weekend

Daniel's birthday celebrations have started off well -- with both air hockey and the release of Plants vs. Zombies 2!  (And, of course, the arrival of his friends and relations.) 

When we arrived, he serenaded us with a song about being five.  :)

Daniel called us on the phone yesterday, and when I told James and Matthew to say happy birthday to him, James asked, "Is he at Pump It Up?"  (Nope, that's tomorrow!)