Urban Trail Bike Ride

The kids are on spring break this week, which they are loving! Eric stayed home with them the first two days of the week and I'm home the rest of the week (2 days of working from home, 1 day off from work).

After I finished up with work yesterday, I decided it was time for the kids to burn off some energy, so we opted to take a family bike ride on the Urban Trail. We have been having a few days of absolutely stunning spring weather, so it was an ideal opportunity to dust the cobwebs off of our bikes, don our helmets, and take to the trail.

The kids did a great job on our ride. Annika was a regular speed demon and Conor showed how quickly he's mastering riding on a 2-wheeler bike (a skill he learned last fall). He's still figuring out the fine-tuned balance, so grips the heck out of his handlebars (the best comment of the day was, "Mama? I need to take a break because my thumbs are tired.")

Such a fun outing and great way to spend a spring evening.  (I'd like it noted that many of these shots were taken while I was riding my bike ... I risked life and limb for a few action shots of the kids.) :)

Our Boy Is Six!

Yesterday, we celebrated sweet Conor's 6th birthday.

It still stuns us that he has so quickly evolved from a tiny baby with jet black hair to a little dude who loves music, building with Legos and blocks, playing any kind of sport, dancing with a huge grin on his face, and so much more. That said, he's still MORE than happy to crawl up on our laps for an early morning snuggle as he shakes off the night's cobwebs and gears up for another day of playing and living life to the fullest.

Upon waking, we asked him if he felt any different, to which he replied, "Yeah! I feel bigger and stronger!" Later in the morning, while sitting on the couch, he said, "Hey! My feet reach the coffee table now that I'm 6!" (Eric didn't have the heart to tell him that the table had been moved closer to the couch.)

Lucky boy, his birthday landed on the first day of spring break, so he got to stay home all day at home with Eric and Annika ... lounging in his PJs, playing, and soaking up all the glory that is being a 6-year-old-boy. To celebrate his big day, Conor requested waffles and sausage for dinner; I was fully expecting a request for eggs Benedict, so feel like I lucked out in terms of time and labor on that front!

After dinner, he opened his presents (Thank you to his very generous aunts, uncles, and grandparents -- your thank you notes are in the mail) and told us he wanted to go to Menchies for dessert. That was until he realized he would need to leave his new (and newly beloved) Transformer toys at home for said dessert. Umm... not so much. Conor decided to have a little ice cream at home instead, so he could have uninterrupted play time. As a plan B, Annika and I popped up to 7-11 (yeah, we're THAT fancy) and got some ice cream treats for the birthday celebration.

Conor declared that his birthday was "AWESOME" .... can't get any better than that!

Conor hugging his new stuffy

Opening gifts

Daddy helping Conor read the card

Conor and Annika figuring out the Transformers

A couple of weeks ago, Conor had a co-birthday party with his classmates. What is a cp-birthday party? Well, it is the brain child of his classmate's mom who realized her son and Conor are both March birthday boys and suggested we combine forces and have a shared class party. Brilliant!!! We booked it at a local Lego cafe (seriously, what is better for a group of kindergarten children??) The kids had a blast building and building and building to their little hearts content. We had snacks and Lego-themed red velvet cupcakes (fondant Legos cupcake toppers!) and balloons, but the kids loved the Legos the best! One of Conor's little buddies even lost her tooth during the party, making the day that much more memorable!! Conor even had a special (albeit very tired due to a VERY early morning flight) guest ... his big cousin Robert happened to be popping through Seattle en route back to Pullman. How much better can that get??

Conor, Lego engineer

Mama and her pretty girl

Mama and silly Conor

Lego cupcakes

Shhhh!!! Robert's sleeping! 

Conor's Cheese-ism

Today, the kids and I stopped at the store for a few items we need for dinner (make-your-own pizza). As we walked through the store, the kids took turns having items placed in their own kid-size carts. At one point, I mentioned that we needed to remember the mozarella cheese. To that, Conor replied, "I want the monster-ella cheese in my cart!" I now have a new name for that lovely, gooey, stringy cheese! LOVE, love love!!