How Not to Pick-up Chicks

It seems to be fairly important to young men to have a game plan in how to approach females. Brian and I have shared a giggle about how Matt rather unsuccessfully engaging a pretty young lady with the opener, "Who are you?" with the same tone you would reserve for the person who just stole your job.

Based on there opening lines with our new babysitter last night, we will have to spend more time on this craft with Ben and Neil. Ben opened with "I go poop in the potty". While Neil, not to be out done, chose "I farted – he-he."

Also the new babysitters name is Delaney. How weird is that.

Parent's Night with Ben

Ben picked me to take him to Parent's Night at his Montessori last night. He got to give me a tour of his classroom and some of the different projects he's been working on. Initially he had a hard time warming up to the idea, possible because there was so many unfamiliar adults in the room, but once he did warm up he was excited to show me everything to the point that he didn't want to go home. Some of his projects included, rubber stamping, scooping aquarium pebbles from one bowl to another, separating magnetic items from non-magnetic items, shape and color stackers and much more. I was kind of surprised he wasn't very interested in showing me the number of animals in his class, two of which are a gecko and a tarantula. My favorite project was probably his demonstration of window washing. He explained, "squirt once, do this (use squidgy), wipe once". I asked if he would do that chore for me at home (considering the door wall window is always filthy), but he quickly replied – no.

Parent Teacher conferences are Thursday night. We're very eager to hear what his teacher has to report. So far though he's able to write B-e without any assistance. I'm sure n is soon to follow.

Boo at the Zoo

We became members of the Brookfield Zoo this year, so we took advantage of the great weather and spent Sunday there. Ben decided to celebrate Halloween and wore his Spiderman costume. We've been about 4 times now and the boys still enjoy it. Probably because we see something different each trip. Boo at the Zoo had a special free admission to the children's petting farm so that was new for us.

The boys are determined to ride the carousel each time. This time they upgraded to riding the animals. Last time they were both a little nervous and insisted on sitting on a bench instead. It's also a must to sit inside the giant kangaroo pouch.

Yee-Haw for Fall

We couldn't have gotten any luckier this past weekend. Ben had a long weekend from school for Columbus Day, so we headed to the Double JJ Campground just north of Muskegon, MI. (Got to enjoy the great fall colors on the ride home. Who knew three days could make such a difference?) What a great resort. They had so many great attractions and activities the boys were pretty much busy from morning til bed. (Okay, so much activity causes mom and dad to need a nap in the afternoon so the boys got a chance to watch The Incredibles, over and over.) Double JJ has an indoor waterpark, horseback riding, petting farm, stunt show, hay rides to the pumpkin patch, carriage rides, pig races, bull rides, and an old time downtown featuring an ice cream shop most importantly. We will definitely be going back to this campground. Plus, if anyone would like to join us in the future they have a hotel and cabins too.

 Neil said his favorite part was feeding the chickens (despite being pecked – Ow), we'll have to settle for this pic with Rita the pig.

Ben's favorite part was the stunt show which included fighting, zip-lining, and falling from two-stories.

Probably could have been our Christmas photo if these darn kids would look at the camera and take their thumb out of their mouth. Oh, I guess dad would have to take his hand out of his crotch too.

Morton Arboretum

Yep, again with the water.

Dupage Children's Museum

Water is always the funnest thing wherever we go. Sorry no good shots of Neil from here.

Romeoville's Newest Playground

Nothing better than spending an afternoon at a new playground. (This is from a week or two ago.)