Thanksgiving Point Gardens

We took a stroll through the gardens today.  Ciera wanted to smell all the flowers.  Camden just wanted to stay ahead of us and pretend he was in a Star Wars movie.  They were both sad that there wasn't any food out yet to feed the fish with.

Grrrr, Those Annoying Deer!

We planted a few tulips a couple of years ago to see if they would survive the deer.  They did and we also saw lots of tulips blooming around our neighborhood.  We decided to plant more tulips last fall.  Well, after Wednesday night's rain and snow washed off all the bitter-tasting deer repellant, the deer had a nice little feast.  We were devastated the next morning to see most of them eaten down to the ground.  Maybe it wasn't so smart to risk it.

Dive Right In

They both started up swimming lessons again today.  Camden was really nervous he wouldn't remember how to swim.  He actually did better today than when he ended last fall and can't wait for his next lesson.  Ciera still loves to jump in the water and just float on her back forever.  As she was getting into the car after her lesson, she exclaimed, "I did awesome!"

Practicing flipping over and getting out on her own.

Faces

As I was getting Ciera ready for bed, she started pulling her "faces."  She loves to make various expressions.  Here are her happy, angry, shy, and scared faces.  I thought I got a picture of her silly and suprised expressions as well, but I must have missed them or accidentally deleted them.

Something Fishy is Going on Here

We took the kids to the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium preview.  There were a lot of fish and animals missing from their exhibits because of construction or for monitoring the water, but we still enjoyed it.  It looks like it will be a nice aquarium once it is finished.  The favorites were the penguins, the shark tunnel, and the 4-D theater.  Both Camden and Ciera were reaching up with their hands to try and grab the fish in the movie.  Ciera kept saying things like, "It's going to get me!  Ahhhh!  That scared me!  What's that?  What's that noise?!?"  It was so hard not to laugh out loud.  I had more fun watching their reactions than the actual movie.  The last time we were in a 4-D theater was in San Diego, and I don't think they remember that one (obviously not Ciera, since she was only one).

Shamrock Cookies

Sugar cookies are Camden's favorite.  Since we didn't make that kind of cookie for Valentine's Day, he requested them for St. Patrick's.  Ciera was excited to help make the dough and cut them out.  They both love to lick the beaters once I finish making the frosting.

Leprechaun Trap

Ever since Camden learned about leprechaun traps at preschool, he has wanted to make one every year.  He is even supposed to take one to school this year.  I had never even heard of them until I had kids.  The one for this year is a tissue box with a couple gold coins resting on some tissue paper that is covering the hole, with a few more gold coins inside.  He really hopes it is "clever" enough to capture a leprechaun.  I thought it was cute how he wrote, "shiny things inside" pointing to a gold coin.

Perry the Platypus

Camden and Ciera like to pretend they are Perry the Platypus from Phineas and Ferb.  Whether they have their hat on or off makes them either Perry the Platypus or just Perry.  If they are just Perry, then they can only crawl around until they find their hat.  They love to chase each other around trying to catch each other or knock the other person's hat off.  This game has been popular for a few weeks now.  Ciera has to have her hat nearby.  She even makes sure it is under her bed when she sleeps, so she can put it on in the morning once she gets up.  Camden leaves his in the car when we drop him off at school and has asked me to make sure Ciera has her's when we pick him up. 

Don't Come! I'm Hiding!

I hadn't heard Ciera for a few minutes, so I knew I needed to find her.  I started calling, "Ciera, where are you?"  I heard a frantic reply, "No!  Don't Come!  I'm hiding!"  She had found Camden's hair wax and was hiding under the desk in the kitchen.  I found her like this as she was "painting" the cabinet and wall.  As always, she was super apologetic, "Sorry!  I won't do it ever again.  This is just for Camden's hair...  I said sorry, are you happy?"  It's hard not to laugh.

Comb Painting

Camden and Ciera were painting, when Camden wanted to use combs again.  He had used them when he was younger, but Ciera never has.  She started oohing and ahhing, which Camden thought quite funny.  I love how simple things can create such entertainment.

Swan Day

Today was Swan Day at the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge to celebrate the spring return of the swans.  We have never been here before, so we thought we would check it out.  We stopped at the Visitor Center first to see their exhibits and try a couple of their Swan Day activities.  Ciera made a quick bird nest and Camden wanted to watch me make an origami swan.  They really just wanted to go see the exhibits, so we didn't spend much time with the activities.

Once they finished walking through the exhibit, they were excited to go find some real birds.  We drove the Auto Tour Route and pulled over when we wanted to get out to view the birds with our binoculars.  We saw lots of swans, geese, ducks, coots, and of course seagulls.  We saw a couple of Blue Herons, a few pelicans, and lots of perching birds we couldn't identify.  We were told that March is the best month to spot a bald eagle, but we didn't see any.  We had to use binoculars to see most of the birds, which the kids loved to do.  The drive also gave them a good idea of what marshes look like.  Unfortunately, I don't have a good telephoto lens to take pictures of distant objects, so I don't have any good pictures of birds.  I did try to take a few landscape pictures of the area at least.

Stuck to You

Camden and Ciera like to play a game they call "Stuck to You."  They basically hug each other and try to walk around the house, spin in circles, or gently fall down without coming apart.  I think it's sweet and cute as long as they remember to be careful and gentle with each other.

Electrical Circuits

Camden loves to play with his electronics kit.  At first, he was just following the directions to build various circuits.  Then he just started experimenting.  He was trying to make the fan spin faster, which he accomplished.  After further tinkering he found he could even launch the fan blades into the air.  That was when he called me over saying, "Mom, look what I figured out!"  It was hilarious, because at first once the fan shot into the air, he would fall off his chair in alarm with the funniest faces.  I didn't get the camera until later by which time he was more accustomed to it, but here are a few shots.

He eventually started trying to catch it.  Ciera and I had fun just watching him.  We would all break down in laughter each time.

 

The Cat in the Hat

I took the kids to see a theater production of Dr. Seuss's The Cat in the Hat.  I was worried Ciera would be too young to enjoy this, but I think it was actually perfect for them.  They were both laughing out loud, and after almost every laugh, Ciera would exclaim, "That was so funny!"  It made me laugh right along with her, as well as the people behind us.

He wanted a funny face for his picture.