CAUTION: Construction Zone

Since the whole family except for James was going to be in D.C. for a week, we decided it was a good time to redo the boys' bedroom. He started the Saturday before we left, so I got some shots of it.

First, we had to move all the furniture out of the room. The bed is in the living room, the dresser in the office, with all the closet clothes stacked on top of it, the crib in our room, and various other things in the basement. Zach helped with the moving: (for those of you who get this by email, you really have to go to the blog and watch the video - it's too cute!)

Before you call the press because of his strength, I will let you in on the secret that James was pulling the other end. But it was adorable how he wanted to help.

This is the boys' room before. Seriously. It's looked this bad for nearly 5 years.

Eldon was super-excited to get to be part of the destruction. He was only allowed to work on the outside walls so he wouldn't destroy the interior walls on the connecting rooms. But it is curious that our room ended up with 2 Eldon-height holes in the wall. Hmmm.....

Why James allowed him to have a hatchet - with a sharp edge - I'll never know. But he managed to not chop anyone into bits.

A shot of all the walls torn down. Those are exterior walls. With. no. insulation. Brrrrrr cold in the winter and steamy hot in the summer. One of the reasons the drywall went down.

INSULATION!

The drywall. James and two men from our ward helped with the destruction and putting up the walls. Thanks, guys!

This is the room as it currently sits. Another friend from the ward helped James mud and tape. The trim still needs to be put up and painted and probably a million other little things that get the room ready. But it's progress! The walls are jazz blue and the ceiling is planetarium. We'll put glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Eldon wanted it black, but he didn't finish practicing piano in time to go pick out the paint colors with his dad. But we made it darker to try and make him happy. I think he likes it. I'm not sure if he knows about the stars yet. I'm sure he'll like that!

Zoo

It seems like forever since I've been able to update my blog. Looking at the number of pictures on my camera, I'd say I'm right.

On Good Friday we went to the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT (about an hour from here.) It's a small zoo - no large animals. But just the right size - about the time you think you're ready to go home, you realize there's only one more section left to look at, and then you can go home. It was beautiful weather, the perfect day for an outing.

First, we measured everyone's wingspan to see if they're growing well.

Eldon's a good-sized turkey vulture.

Jess measured about the same.

Yep, 3 turkey vultures.

Then there's the obligatory picture in the peacock.

And the cutest animals at the zoo. They let us pet these ones and even take them home with us. :)

Groundhogs peeping out of their holes. The white cylinders behind them are tubes you can crawl into and pop up out of the ground to get the full groundhog experience.

Lazy tiger.

Can you guess what it is? Crocodile? Alligator? Nope, it's a caiman.

Scarlet Ibis

Toucan. Although I'm not sure if his name was Sam or not.

Dad, this picture is for you. WHAT IS THIS?

Update: It's a blue-eared pheasant. (Thanks, Dad!)

This duck has his feathers in a ruffle. Maybe it's the new fashion among ducks.

This is a peafowl. We learned that the males are peacocks and the females are peahens. Who knew? (Yes, Dad, I know you did. :))

A very shaggy sheep. Time for shearing!

This, we learned on the way out of the zoo, is a grouse Guinea fowl. It is *very* loud. These and the peafowls were running loose around the zoo. The kids liked chasing them. Poor birds.

It's a.....

.....healthy baby! Ten fingers, ten toes, and a fully intact spine. Hip, hip, hooray!

What? You thought we'd find out the gender? Sorry, you have to wait 5 more months!

Whose side are you on, anyway?

Several mornings I wake up with little room to spare. Why, you ask? Well, James is a cuddly sleeper, a bed hog, cold, I don't know. But one morning I took a picture as proof. I have no space.

I'm just sayin'. Good thing I love him. :)

1st Haircuts

James keeps telling me that Zach needs to get a haircut. I hated to cut off the cute curls. Plus he's so young, I wasn't sure how well he'd do. A friend of mine told me about Scissor Kids, which cuts kids' hair. Later that day Jessica gave Zachary a haircut, so I decided it was time to take him in.

They have little cars for the kids to sit in and a TV to watch. Zach still wasn't too thrilled, but they're *fast*, so he didn't have time to get too fussy.

James keeps saying that Jess needs a haircut too. Her hair goes to the middle of her back, and it gets tangly. But no way was I going to cut it. Jessica keeps saying she wants a haircut (she hates having it brushed), so I figured I could let her get a trim to keep her happy and hopefully keep the scissors out of her hair!

She, of course, was still during the haircut. The hardest part was pulling her away from the TV. This place even has a little playzone for toddlers. It has walls all the way around it that are about waist high so that toddlers can't escape. Most of the toys were covered in hair, however, so I wasn't too upset when Zachary didn't want to play in it.

Eldon's 9th Birthday

Eldon's 9th birthday had everything a boy could want:

Balloons and streamers

Cake (pound cake with lemon glaze)

Presents

and Star Wars Legos!

It was funny watching Eldon and his friends when he opened presents. His friends were as excited as he was and kept trying to open them with him, as you can see by the fury of arms ripping open this one:

For Eldon's party, each kid made their own pizza for lunch. Some piled on the toppings, while others were a bit more conservative. But they had fun making the mess!

After that they watched Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. And of course, the obligatory video of Eldon blowing out the candles:

At the end of the party they went outside with their "light sabers." These were pool noodles that I cut in half. They had a blast with them (no pun intended), but I forgot to get a video of it. Eldon enjoyed the party and we had a happy birthday boy!

Simply because it's spring

Why is the sky so blue today?
Why is the robin's song so gay?
Why is the sun so warm and bright
Filling the earth with glorious light?
Why are the fields so green today?
Why do the clouds all float away?
Why does my heart with gladness sing?
Simply because it's spring!

Ok, so it's not spring yet, but there are tell-tale signs!

Playing outside!
Tulips!
Daffodils!
Crocuses!