Weekend on Wheels

It was a busy weekend at the Devereaux household!

Early Saturday morning Joe and I went on a bike ride in support of Haiti that was held at our local Trek store. The ride was supposed to be the previous weekend, but got canceled due to bad weather. Saturday was a beautiful day, so we got to go our on a ride.

I brought my camera, but didn't really want to ask anyone to take pictures of us. I was also working on getting a "your own reflection" shot for a photo hunt. When I saw myself in Joe's sunglasses, I thought it would be a pretty awesome picture. So here is one of the pictures that I took after the ride, where Joe and I are both in the picture even though I took it myself!

After the ride we went and picked the boys up from the Randall's house. We have been exchanging babysitting, and it has been working out great! So they watched the boys for us that morning and later in the afternoon we went to their house and watched their girls so they could go out.

The boys have a great time at the Randalls and the kids seem to really get along. This particular evening we fed them dinner and then played for a while. Later on the kids wanted to watch a movie. Since Joe and I were beat from riding earlier, we didn't have a problem with that!

I like watching the Randalls daughters too because then I get to watch baby Eliza. She is just the cutest little thing! I can get my baby fix without actually having one of my own yet!

When Jason and Melinda got home we took the boys home and put them to bed. Since we didn't have time to give the boys a bath, we ended up doing that before church on Sunday. I had Ephraim wrapped up in a towel and ran to get his clothes. When I got back to our bedroom, this is what I found:

Yep. Ephraim in the buff reading a book. What a silly boy! Since my camera was on the dresser, I had to pick it up and take a few snaps!

Ephraim loves books now. Every morning Jacob gets up and opens Ephraim's door. Then Ephraim comes into my room and hands me a book and begs me to read with him! It's really cute.

Sunday afternoons while Ephraim is napping, Joe and I usually play games with Jacob. He loves the individual attention and only gets upset if Daddy wins too much! Here are some of our favorites:

Jacob loves to play Ker plunk. He doesn't quite understand that the goal is NOT to get any marbles, so he is always happy when he gets the most marbles. I guess at least then I can win and not have him get upset about it!

We also play Hi-Ho! Cherry-O! quite a bit. Jacob is really good at counting. He likes to play Chutes and Ladders, Candyland and Cootie Bug too.

I really enjoy playing games with Jacob. I can't wait for him to be able to play some more advanced games with me... but for now it is fun to play some of his favorites and watch him get excited and have a good time.

Pre-Birthday Shopping at the "Train Store"

Friday this week the boys were feeling a bit stir-crazy because it has been cold and we have been stuck inside. So we decided to go to lunch with Daddy and then go to the "train store".

The boys really enjoy picking Daddy up from work in the van and taking him out to eat. After we had lunch with Daddy and took him back to work, we went to Toys R' Us. We were actually going to scope out birthday presents for Ephraim, but he didn't need know that.

Besides, Jacob and Ephraim really like to play with the trains and the other toys. Even though we have our own trains at home, they like to play with the wooden train set at the store. I think they like to see the trains and check out some of the accessories that we don't have.

We can sometimes spend nearly an hour just playing with the trains. I would feel silly about going to Toys R Us to play, but I know for a fact that I'm not the only one there to let their kids play with the trains (and other toys).

Instead I can feel silly that I actually took my camera in the store with me! I also made sure that I didn't take any pictures when employees were nearby, lest they think I am a spy committing corporate espionage or something. :o)

I just thought that the boys were so cute that I couldn't resist taking a couple of photos.

Funny Boys

This past week the boys have done a couple of things that just had me laughing. First on Tuesday (the 23rd) I found this on Jacob's dresser:

When I asked Jacob about it, he told me that he put the airplane in the sock "so that Ephraim wouldn't get it". That made me laugh. The airplane was still relatively new, so Jacob was feeling a bit possessive. I told Jacob that next time he could ask me to put the airplane up somewhere high.

I have also noticed recently that nearly every afternoon Ephraim is no longer wearing a pair of socks. Instead he only has one sock on.

The other thing that I think is hilarious is that after a few days I noticed it is usually the same sock! What a silly boy!

I also caught Ephraim doing this the other day:

Apparently there was a toy in the bucket that he wanted to get. Either that, or he just needed to see what was on the bottom of the bucket a little more closely! Isn't that hilarious!

I love my two boys! They are so fun and definitely make life more interesting!

Snowy Sunday and the Dish Drying Dudes

On Sunday we woke up to a dusting of snow on the ground and on our driveway. We have had a really mild winter so far, which means there haven't been too many opportunities for the boys to help Daddy shovel. (Not that I'm complaining!).

So after Daddy went and shoveled the sidewalks at the church, Jacob got to go outside and help Daddy shovel our driveway before church.

  

Joe said that this time Jacob was actually pretty helpful. I think he is getting the hang of this shoveling business. It also probably helps that there wasn't too much snow for him to push.

  

Plus he's a pretty strong boy, right? (That's what he tells me!)

 

Ephraim would have liked to go help shovel too, but I knew there just wasn't enough time for me to get everyone ready for church if Ephraim went out too.

Ephraim did get to help me later though. For some reason both of the boys think it is SO fun to help Mommy dry the dishes.

So I have to set them both on a stool and give them an area to work on. I give them stuff to dry, and they stack it up when they are done with it. Jacob is getting pretty good at drying and I can even trust him with the big stuff.

  

Ephraim mostly gets to do measuring cups and little bowls and glasses. He doesn't care. He likes to be able to do whatever Jacob is doing.

  

It is nice when the boys help me because then all my dishes get dry and put away all at once. I don't usually have time to wash and dry the dishes at the same time. Good thing I have such cute helpers!

I guess now I just have to get them into sweeping the kitchen floor and then keeping my kitchen clean will be a snap. :o)

Tool Men

This morning when I got Ephraim dressed I happened to put him in a pair of carpenter pants. Then when he was playing with tools a little later in the morning, I showed him how to put the hammer in his pant's loop.

 

Jacob and Ephraim both thought this was the coolest thing ever. As a matter of fact, I had to go to Jacob's room and find a pair of carpenter pants for him to wear! Good thing he had a pair too!

  

Then both boys proceeded to stuff as many tools as possible in their pants so they could carry them around and fix things for me. It was pretty cute and kept them both amused for quite some time.

  

It amazes me sometimes the things that boys like to pretend and play with. Since I grew up in a house full of girls, it is definitely different from the type of things I played with when I was little!

  

So what do you think? Do I have two little Tool men on my hands?

Sidewalk Chalk

Today the weather was sunny and warm-ish (over 40 degrees). So I told the boys we could go outside and play. We got out the sidewalk chalk and a few yard toys and the boys had a great time.

Jacob really enjoyed playing with the sidewalk chalk. We were practicing letters and drawing pictures.

 

Of course you can't play with sidewalk chalk without getting a little bit on you!

  

The boys were both excited when I got out the lawnmower for them to play with. We had to be sure to take turns so that no one would get upset. They played pretty well together and totally made me laugh because they occasionally had to stop and check the gas. Occasionally they declared the gas tank "empty" and had to fill it up.

  

I am so excited for Spring and warmer weather. It will be so fun to be able to go to the park and let the boys play! I know they are looking forward to it too.

  

President's Day

The day after Valentine's Day was President's Day. That meant that we all got to spend the day home together!

Too bad the weather was really wet and drizzly.

 

So we didn't really get to spend the day outside, but I don't think the boys really cared because they got to spend the day with Daddy.

  

Jacob helped Daddy out in the garage a little bit, washing and waxing the van. We also found something fun to keep the boys occupied AND quiet! It was amazing.

  

Jacob wanted to work on some puzzles, so I set him down at the table. That way Ephraim couldn't destroy his work. Then Ephraim came and told me "Puzzles too!". How can you say no to such a cute request? So I got some puzzles he could do and set them on the table too.

Both the boys sat there and worked on their puzzles for over a half hour while I cleaned. It was wonderful!

Valentine's Day

It was a fun Valentine's weekend at our house. First on Saturday we made some yummy sugar cookies. I used my cookie press for the first time, and it was fabulous!

 

How else can you make so many cookies so quickly? I was really glad that I didn't have to roll the dough and cut all of these out! I also used my decorating bag to frost them, which was much faster than frosting them by hand, and the sprinkles added a little something too. :o)

After church on Valentine's day we opened our goodies. Grandpa and Grandma Heiner sent Jacob and Ephraim some fun sticker cards, which they absolutely loved.

  

Ephraim and Jacob thought it was so fun to get all the stickers and put them on their cards. Don't you think they turned out pretty cute?

  

It was fun to have an activity for the boys to do as well. Here is a picture of both the boys with their cards. Joe was taking the pictures, and trying to get the boys to smile. Jacob's "smile" in this picture just makes me laugh.

  

Then we opened the presents that Grandpa and Grandma Devereaux sent. The boys were excited for the Disney Cars themed lunch and snack bags. They were also excited for the Toy story fruit snacks.

  

Jacob and Ephraim also got some chocolate hearts from Mommy and Daddy as well as some candy hearts (the yummy sweet*tart kind, not nasty, chalky conversation hearts). Of course the boys were both excited for their sweets.

 

After opening our Valentines, we ate some yummy strawberry-topped cake. It was supposed to be a surprise for Daddy, but since Jacob knew about the cake it wasn't a surprise for very long (even though I hid it in the fridge and he would never have seen it!)

Valentine Robots

Jacob was really excited about Valentine's Day this year. He told me that he wanted to make all his friends Valentines and take them cookies. I was planning on making sugar cookies anyway, so I figured we could find some fun, easy Valentine cards to make for his friends (like the ones we made for his grandparents).

Then when I was looking at Family Fun magazine, Jacob saw robot Valentines and decided that those were the ones he wanted to make for his friends. So we went to the store, got the supplies, and got busy.

I made the basic robot body, and then Jacob helped me put the candy and stickers on the robots using glue dots.

 

Of course we did this little project while Ephraim was asleep. Otherwise we would have had peanut butter cups and Lifesavers opened all over the place!

  

Jacob had a lot of fun making these robots. He even chose the candies that we used. Of course we had leftovers, and now Jacob loves what he calls "buttercups".

  

The robots turned out really cute, don't you think?

  

The robots weren't the only cute thing at our house that day. Check out the posing that Jacob did for me! What a cute boy!

 

Horsey Horsey

Every Wednesday Jacob gets to go to his preschool... and every Wednesday Ephraim gets upset because he doesn't get to go and play with the other kids too!

This week after we dropped Jacob off, Brenda suggested that we come with her and Ty to go look at the horses in her neighborhood. Since we didn't really have anything else spectacular planned, I said "sure" and we hopped in their car.

Usually Brenda and Ty watch the horses from in the car. But since we were all there we decided to get a closer look.

 

Ephraim and Ty were so cute watching the horses together. Ephraim kept saying, "Hi Horsey! Hi, Horsey!". It was pretty cute.

At first Ephraim didn't want to get really close. But after he got close with me holding him and saw me pet one of the horses, he decided that they must be ok.

 So he went right up to the fence and crouched down to get a closer look. I thought it was pretty cute.

 

It took Ty a little while to decide he wanted to go look at the horses up close too. I think that having Ephraim there probably helped a little bit, and Ty went closer to the fence to take a peek too.

Both the boys got their shoes pretty muddy. So we walked up and down the sidewalk a bit to get some of the mud off.

 

We actually ended up taking off the boys' shoes and put them in the trunk. Ty fell on his rear, so he ended up riding home without shoes or pants!

We may have to go visit the horses again because the boys had such a great time. Hopefully next time the ground will be a little less wet!

February Cycling Update

Monday the weather was pretty nice. We have not had any snow at all so far this month. So after work Joe decided to put on his cold-weather gear and take his bike out for a spin.

When he came home I made sure to take some pictures of Daddy on his bike.

 

Isn't he a handsome cyclist? I think he looks great on his pretty blue bike, with his nice blue gear and sunglasses.

As you can see, most of the snow has melted off the grass. The temperatures have been in upper 30s and low 40 degrees, which hasn't been too bad. Joe and I have been trying to get some time in on our bikes because we may be doing a ride in St. George at the end of March.

Of course the boys had to come running out of the house with cries of "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!". They are always excited to see Daddy whenever he comes home. They thought that Daddy looked pretty cool dressed up in all his gear.

 

Joe ended up taking his bike to work this week, where he pedaled on Wednesday and Thursday during his lunch break with his boss, Kevin. So he put in 60 miles or so this week. Not bad for the second week in February.

On the other hand, I have been riding my bike inside on the trainer, which isn't nearly as fun as riding outside. This week I was a bit of a slacker. I only did 20 miles on the bike, plus two aerobics classes.

Maybe if the weather continues to get warmer and we don't get any more snow, then I will be able to take my bike off the trainer and start riding outside again. Hooray for the end of winter!