Look Who's Four!

Look Who's Four!

Cale turned 4 today. It's hard to believe how quickly they grow up. Our one time baby is turning into quite the young man.

We gave him a Nintendo DS as his gift. Now he and Cade have their own DS. While we don't encourage gaming all the time, it's always nice to play some video games every now and again. I liked video games growing up, so it's in my blood too. We just don't want them to live and breathe only video games. They would play all day every day if you let them. :)

Several new photos taken over the past month or so have been posted over at Flickr. Feel free to check them out.

Happy Birthday Cale! We love ya buddy. :)

Cale Finally Gets To Slide

Ever since Cale started swimming he wanted to go down the slide. Unfortunately he wasn't at the right skill level to do so. But now he's a Pike B and able to do so. The first two weeks they didn't have time to go down the slide. It was killing him. :) This week they finally got to do it. Slowly he climbed the steps, never looking down... Never looking back. It's actually a very tall slide with a couple corkscrews. The steps are a little far apart and quite honestly I was a little worried just watching him go up.

I made a point to tell him when he eventually did get to go down the slide to not look back. He did just that. Once you get to the top of the stairs there is a big deck and then a tube slide at the end. Cale walked to the slide's opening and slowly climbed in. Then, all at once, he disappeared. Cade and I waited for him to come down. It seemed like a really long time. For a brief moment I even had thought he possibly got stuck somehow. Then, all of the sudden, voooosh out he came like a torpedo like his brother.

Apparently for what he's saying he started out sitting up and spread out his arms and legs in the tube to slow himself down. Eventually he took a turn and it threw him to his back and started jetting him down leading him to his torpedo exit.

Did he like it? Heck ya! You couldn't erase the smile from his face if you tried. :)

Cale vs. Luke Skywalker

Cale vs. Luke Skywalker

This is the picture Shelly used to design the costume for Luke. Cale had a blast in it. :)

Cale Becomes A Pike!

Solo But Assisted

Cale did great as a Perch and has graduated to the next level of Pike. The boy who was very reluctant to get in the pool on the first lesson has become a big fish in the water. He loves the pool now and looks forward to each lesson.

Grandma & Grandpa gave the kids a great gift that they both really enjoy. Thank you Mom & Dad. They love the lesssons!

Check out more pictures of the kids swimming as well as some photos from the air show over @ Flickr. There are a few new photos on page 2 as well.

More ASCII Fun

ASCII Cale

Here is Cale done in text. The further away or smaller you make it, the better it looks.

These were done with colors on, but you can do it all in black if you want.

Cale Starts Swimming Lessons!

At The Y

Grandma & Grandpa have given the kids the wonderful gift of swimming lessons at the YMCA. Both kids were really excited and Cale's lesson started today. Cade starts his lessons on Saturday.

Since Cale is young, we decided to start him in a class in which I could be involved. Initial reception to the pool was not good, but he quickly got used to it. Before you know it he was really having fun. The class is going to teach him the basics and get him comfortable in the pool.

In the end he did a great job and he's looking forward to going again already.

Look Ma, No Pull Up!

Wearin' Da Big Boy Underwear

For the last two weeks Cale has been wearing big boy underwear, except for the evenings and nap time. That being said, he's been waking up dry anyway.

This go around seemed a little more frustrating then it did with Cade. Cade seemed easier and was actually trained the same week Cale was born. Cale had it down, but would always slip up. He knew better, but just wasn't making the time. Recently he starting doing better and we threw him in real underwear 2 weeks ago. Ever since then he's been golden.

Great job Cale!

Like Father Like Sons

Like Father Like Sons

The most viewed picture I have on Flickr is the one of me and the fire hydrant. I figured why not pass the tradition of bad taste on to the kids. :)

This was taken over at Picadilly Castle the other day when it was quite hot. No one was at the park due to the heat. Most moms and dads wanted to be in the AC I'm sure. I took the kids for an hour or so and lathered them with sunscreen. We brought lots of water and they had a great time.

Camping In The Back

Camping In The Back

Yesterday the kids and I took the next step and camped out back. We started in the house a month or so ago. Next will be a real visit into the wilderness.

Earlier in the evening we hit a local restaurant with some friends of ours (Jorel & Samantha). Afterwards they came over and visited for awhile. By the time they left it was dark and the kids were primed for the tent.

We read a story, they played games on the DS for a little bit, and then we hit the hay. It was fun and the kids did great.

Sleeping on the ground is always rough. I slept kinda crappy, but the experience and bonding with the boys was fun. The kids themselves didn't seem to mind the ground at all and slept hard all night.

We woke up to a crisp, cool, damp morning and ate cereal outside. We're all looking forward to taking a real camping trip soon. Shelly, I think, will probably wuss out and stay home. We'll have to see how that works out.

Check out many new pictures from the camping trip and past few weeks over @ Flickr.

Two Kids & Some Tunes

Here is a short little video snippet of the kids jamming out to some SR71. It kinda reminds me when I was younger. Yeah, the lighting sucks a little, but what the hell. I posted it on YouTube anyway.

This was shot with our Cannon digital camera.

Brothers on Father's Day

Brothers

It was hot today on Father's Day, so I pulled out the sprinkler so the kids could have some fun. They were like two pigs in mud. Boy did they have a good time!

Father's Day on the homefront was very nice. Later on in the the day we stopped over to see my dad and give him a couple gifts. One of the things we gave him was a "Grandpa Scrapbook" that Shelly put together. She really has gotten good with this scrapbooking stuff. :) I got a Dad book as well, which was just as nice.

Overall it was a nice relaxing day. You can't ask for more than that. :)

An Interview With Cale

Cale doesn't seem to get a lot of news worthy attention since he's still quite young. I've been home with both boys the past couple days because they both have been a little ill (mainly Cale). Anyway, it appears as though they are on the mend and should be able to return to daycare tomorrow.

Today I had the opportunity to interview Cale and ask him some questions that dug deep into his inter-being. :) Check it out!