Category: Family

With the kids riding their bikes so well, last weekend we decided to take a drive out to Odiorne Point State Park, and ride the paved bike trail along the shore. The kids did really good - they finally got a chance to ride some distance, without having to turn around constantly like they do in the driveway. We also did a little exploring on foot - we headed out across the salt marsh and found a nice tiny section of sandy beach.

Yesterday Sean finally graduated to a two-wheeler! He went from not being able to do it, to riding with no training wheels on driveway, dirt, gravel - you name it! Carter was so jealous, that she asked me to take her training wheels off as well. I tried to convince her that she wasn't ready yet, and she would just get discouraged, etc., etc. But she talked me into taking them off anyway, and lo-and-behold! She was cruising right along, no problem! Lori took a little video of them riding around - click below to watch it.

A couple of weekends ago, we took the kids to the Boston Aquarium on a whim. Unfortunately, none of the picture from inside the aquarium came out at all, but we did get this one from out in front of the aquarium. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the animals. They had a cool touch tank where the kids got to pet the rays. Sean really loved the jellyfish exhibit, too. It was crowded as all get-out, but we all really enjoyed it.

The kids found a pair of trees in Grandma King's yard that were close enough to climb. At one point, Sean was at least seven feet off the ground!

For the past six months or so, Sean has been taking showers rather than baths. But the other night, he was feeling nostalgic and decided he wanted a bath instead so that he could relax and play with some toys. So I just left him alone to play, and went and hung out with Lori and Carter. At some point, I went back to check on him. He was playing with a bunch of toys - a plastic dog, a little fish, a Barbie - stuff like that. I didn't think he had even noticed me coming back into the bathroom, because he didn't look up or talk to me, or anything. After a minute or so, he looks at me slyly out of the corner of his eye with a Barbie in his hands and softly says, "hey Dad, wanna see her boobs?"

We went to Maudslay State Park yesterday for a short hike. The kids did great! They've really grown a lot in the last year - they both walked by themselves the whole way, and no one asked to be carried.

In the days leading up to St. Patrick's Day, the kids were making traps for leprechauns. They were really hoping to catch one, but alas - he managed to elude us. They were pretty excited to see the footprints and notes he left behind, though!

The kids saw a commercial recently for something you can add to the bath water to make it all thick and gooey. Lori and I had no idea what they were talking about, until I saw it at Wal-Mart over the weekend. We gave it a try on Saturday night, threw on the bathing suits, and let them go to town. They had a good time with it, but holy crap did it make a mess. I think if we ever try it again it will be outside in a kiddie pool, where we can hose them off afterwards.

Carter was getting pretty silly in there, and was making up goofy dances to amuse Sean. Lori took a short video of this goofiness, and we just had to share.

This winter has been so incredibly mild, that the 2-3 inches of snow we got in this 'storm' has been the only sled-able snow we've seen this winter. The kids enjoyed themselves, but I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop and dump three feet of snow on us in a single storm.