No more training wheels!

Already an accomplished bike rider, the last little Nault broke free of his training wheels today. Much boohoo-ing and general disgust with the idea turned into big smiles and confidence after just a few short minutes. 

Legoland Discovery Center

Lucas' friend, Blake, invited us to go to the Legoland Discovery Center with his family one day. It was a perfect time to see the place - a quiet Sunday, on guest pass rate with Blake's family membership! First up was a little tour of how a Lego is made and each kid was given a LEGO to take home. The LEGO City car ride was fun. The kids actually got to steer these cars (instead of just riding a pre-set course). 

Lucas and Blake.

The model area...replicas of the Dallas skyline, Cowboys Stadium, Rangers Stadium, Great Wolf Lodge, the Fort Worth Stockyards, etc.

The detail was pretty amazing. This is inside the ballpark.

The 4-D movies were also fun to watch. The LEGO movies were in 3-D (hence the rockin' glasses) but then the audience was misted with water when it was raining on screen, smells were piped in when a skunk sprayed, etc.

There were no Spurs players on display, but there was a life-size Dirk Nowitzki.

The whole place was relatively small. There are a handful of rides and a playground in the middle. There were also LEGO building areas and a cafe. It was great for my younger kids but Jacob would probably be bored if we went too many times. But the first time sure was fun!

A little catch-up

Things have been rolling along pretty smoothly here. The kids are plugging away at school and scout stuff. Sarah is in the Save The Planet Club at school and we created this poster for her to talk about recycling during Family Fun Night.

Ethan "taught" a lesson on creating a "Make-Believe Comix."

For scouts, Jacob has to capture pictures of ten species of wildlife in his neighborhood. We live near a pond that is home to many ducks, turtles, fish and other birds. They are very accustomed to being fed by people and will walk right up for bread crumbs.

Like this one we like to call "Afro Duck."

Jacob took this shot of the Blue Heron with his cell phone...he was that close! 

We also captured some backyard wildlife:

This is a Texas spiny lizard. On the house. One of several that must live in the hedges below these windows. Not the cute little green geckos I was used to in San Antonio.

Mark got a truckload of dirt delivered to spread around the yard's patches. The canopy of the three large trees out front has made the grass die underneath. It's interesting to see our landscaping come to life with the changing of the seasons because, up until recently, it looked like the previous owners planted dead things and broken pots.

I'm busy with PTA stuff, as usual. I was elected treasurer for next year, but I'm still finishing out this year's hospitality job with staff luncheons and staff appreciation week coming up next month.

Starting to plan our summer vacation. We're headed back to Great Wolf Lodge and I've got the kids enrolled in basketball and scouts camps. Daydreaming about travel - maybe to the Gulf Coast?

And both Jacob and Sarah need orthodontic consults. Oh boy.

Ethan's 8th birthday

Ethan's birthday fell on the Monday after Easter this year. We grabbed a cake from the grocery store after school and I asked the young guy behind the counter to write "Happy Birthday Ethan" on it. You would have thought I asked him to stick his hand in the mouth of an alligator because he started stammering and admitted he was new and terrible at writing on cakes. Even admitted he had ruined some! So I asked if I could do it myself. He was shocked that I knew how and said that he could learn from me! So he brought out a pastry bag of blue frosting and I showed him how it was done! Steady pressure, cursive to minimize lumpy stops and starts; and make sure you know what you're spelling! 

Ethan's party day was pushed back until the following Sunday. He had a Minecraft party at Main Event. Minecraft is a computer game where everything is pixelated squares. I made the cake for this one, using an idea I got from Pinterest. Brownie-like cake for the dirt, grass frosting, rice krispie sand and jello jiggler water. 

His goodie bags had rocks, diamonds, iron bars and TNT, plus a key chain the kids helped make and some M&Ms for good measure.

Post-sugar high.