Drive-in movie night!

What do you do on a chilly spring night when you are feeling a little bored? Make cars out of boxes and have a "drive-in" movie night of course! This idea was happily borrowed from Pinterest and the boys LOVED it! We started out by turning the kitchen into our design studio and began decorating the cars. Owen really got into the details. He drew on door handles, added tail lights and suggested they each have license plates. Gavin enjoyed snipping paper to tape to his car. The movie of the evening was Curious George and it was a hit! The cars were also a hit. First thing this morning they began using them to drive their stuffed friends around the house and down the stairs. This became a bit of a science experiment figuring out how many friends (how much weight) needed to ride in the car so that it wouldn't flip over. We also worked on seat belts to keep the friends from falling out during the wild ride!

Enjoy the photos!

Spring has sprung!

    Spring has sprung really early here in Minnesota! Yeah!! We just wrapped up a gorgeous week that also corresponded with my spring break. We got to spend a lot of time outside and wrapped up the week by celebrating St Patty's Day with Grandma Theresie and Aunt Cailin. We had a great time wearing green, hanging out on the deck and enjoying some Irish food and drinks.
    The boys continue to enjoy all their favorite activities from last fall. For Gavin a trip to the park is not complete without spending lots of time on the swings and playing in the sandbox. Owen is always playing super heroes or pirates throughout climbing equipment and backyard. They have also become interested in a few new activities as well. Gavin is working on pedaling his tricycle and can't wait until he can ride it to the park like Owen does. He also loves playing soccer! We spend most afternoons kicking the ball around and working on dribbling and stopping the ball. He also continues to be my snuggle bug! He loves to give hugs and kisses. The other day he was playing ball at a kids play gym and every time he made a basket he ran over to for a hug and smootch! He also knows how to play the little brother card perfectly. Whenever Owen is in trouble, Gavin immediately starts in with hugs and "Thank you mom" or "I love you mom! You're a nice girl mom"just to get one up on Owen!
   Owen is loving the scooter he got for his birthday. It is necessary for him to wear his helmet and pads whenever he uses it because he frequently bails off of it when he looses control! However, he is getting better and is really having fun with it. Joel is also thrilled that Owen is really getting into basketball! He began playing through the YMCA a week ago and did really well. His favorite part was playing defense.  It is hilarious to watch him guard/block people!! I don't have any pictures of that yet but will add some soon. He also loves to shoot hoops in the driveway and is getting much better at it. I do have pictures of that as well as St Patrick's Day, Owen's last day of tumbling class, some of what Gavin does while waiting for Owen to come out of tumbling class and some other miscellaneous pics! There is also a quick video of the boys dancing to their new favorite dance party song "Hand is right" according to Gav. Pretty funny!

Enjoy!

Keeping busy!

The boys have been keeping busy lately with lots of fun and play! They love to do projects and activities that seem special or different from their everyday routine. They really like using the science kit that Owen got for Christmas. They have become quite the little scientist changing pennies from dull to shiny and making mini volcanos! They also like to build and create with legos, builders and household items. They are constantly rearranging the furniture, pillows and bins to make "stadiums" and "tracks" for car and monster truck races. Tonight the boys enjoyed playing carwash. This was a huge highlight for the boys, "Mom this is the best day ever!" Who knew! I just wanted to get rid of some of the extra germs since we have been passing a cold back and forth for about a month now! Lastly it hasn't been a complete week without at least one round of "Ready, set, go! Tackle Daddy!".  Check them out in the photos below!

Owen had his 5 yr check-up today which went very well until they brought in the needles! Poor buddy! He is now 3 ft 8 1/2 inches ( I guess when you are five they give it to you in feet and inches rather than just inches. It seems taller to me that way!) and weighs 37 lbs.  Even though he's somewhat of a slender guy the doctor says he is right on track and very healthy. His motor skills and coordination are also improving. He has really been enjoying his tumbling class and is excited to start basketball next month. 

Gavin would like everyone to remember just how big he is as well. Owen's recent birthday celebration has made him impatient for his next milestone. He is always asking when his birthday will be and standing up really straight to show me how much he has grown. "I bigger now mom! Is it my birthday yet?" Gavin continues to be mommy's biggest helper. He follows me around joining in with, laundry, making coffee, cooking and of course reminding Owen about good behavior! ;) Funny it doesn't seem to stop him from repeating the bad behavior later!

Never a dull moment! Just love my little guys!    

                                    

Owen is 5!!

Our big boy is officially 5 yrs old today! Even though 5 seems monumentally older than 4 it is a fitting description of Owen. He is blossoming into a very clever, curious, thoughtful and independent boy.  Joel and I are regularly reminded of just how much he has grown and how smart he has become. Dinner conversations have regularly include questions about which continents are experiencing snow, which planets are the most like earth, can we remember which theropod is the biggest, etc. Let's just say we have  already reached the point where we don't know the answers to many of the questions that Owen has for us!

Of course Owen continues to LOVE all things auto. There isn't a day that goes by where he doesn't spend time playing with his cars. He has a fascinating imagination and becomes immersed in the schemes he creates with his cars and monster trucks. We do not see an end in sight for this interest! We joke that next year Owen will again ask for a car themed cake/party, it would be the 5th time! 

We are anxious for what Owen's future holds as he prepares to start Kindergarten. Joel and I are excited for him to expand his education, but also for him to gain the sense of culture and community that his dual language school will provide for him. So much will change for him before his next birthday!

We want to thank everyone for helping make his birthday so special. He had a wonderful party with so many good friends and family. He was truly thrilled with how the day went and thankful for the thoughtful gifts he received. 

Here are a few pics from the festivities!

                  

                                

A Very Merry Christmas!

We are feeling very blessed to have just wrapped up a wonderful Christmas here at the Caruth house. We spent our first Christmas at home and enjoyed having the extra time to hang out as a family and start some traditions of our own. On Christmas Eve day the boys happily helped bake and decorate cookies for Santa, played board games and gave Skeeter, our elf on the shelf, some last minute reminders about how good they were.  After nap we headed to mass, which was lovely if you exclude one hilarious/embarrassing moment courtesy of Gavin. While heading to the bathroom with Joel he spotted our friends the Springer's in the back and yelled out, "Derek I'm going to change my big poop!". A lot of of people heard this and turned around laughing. Joel laughs about it now but was pretty embarrassed in the moment. (As I'm sure Gavin will be when we remind him of this story in 15 yrs!) Christmas Eve night we let the boys open 1 gift each. It just so happened to be their new Santa jammies and a few new bed time stories! The perfect thing to wear while getting Santa and the reindeer's treats set out before heading to bed!

Christmas morning the boys were very happy to see that the cookies and carrots were eaten up. Skeeter left them a sweet little good-bye note too. Gavin occaisionally looks and asks about him, but cheers up when we remind him he went back to the north pole with Santa. The boys were really sweet exchanging gifts with each other and agreed that their brother did a good job picking out a gift for them. They  were really interested in what the other had opened. Owen would show Gavin his gifts and explain what they were and Gavin would say things like, "Oh that's a good one". After all the gifts were open we had Santa pancakes and then the boys spent the morning playing and setting up all the new toys. Both boys were excited about the gifts they'd received. When I asked them which gift was their very favorite they both named the gifts they had requested from Santa, the race track and the Diego underwear. Good thing they got them!

After lunch Grandpa Carroll and Grandma Cyndie arrived from Iowa. Then after nap Uncle Jennon, Aunt Beth, Cooper and Drew joined us and we had Caruth Christmas at our house. It was a bit chaotic trying to keep the 3 older boys from ripping paper off of everything at once, but so fun to see how excited they were. Owen was really excited to get a scooter and Gavin and Cooper both received new tool benches. Even little Drew helped open some of his own gifts. We had a wonderful dinner and had fun playing the new game Carroll and Cyndie brought up.

Later this week we will head to IA to celebrate and visit with Grandma Theresie, Aunt Cailin, Uncle Adam, Uncle Daniel, Grandma Jeanie and Grandpa Mike. We will also get to see to go to Flattery Christmas in Fort Dodge. We can't wait to see everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas as well! Enjoy the photos!

                           

Good-bye Thanksgiving, Hello Christmas!

Thanksgiving has already come and gone and we are in full Christmas count down mode at the Caruth house. It has been a really exciting couple of weeks filled with lots of family and friends. Last week we traveled to Des Moines for Thanksgiving with the Finnegans. It was a beautiful, warm day that we enjoyed with 38 of the 42 relatives. It was great to see everyone, but went too fast. Over the weekend the boys had a great time at Grandma Theresie's building and decorating a fort made out of a huge box grandma saved for them. The weather was so mild we even got to have a bonfire on Friday night. We also got to spend some time with Grandma Cyndie and Grandpa Carroll. Grandma Cyndie proved she still knows how to rough house with little boys. At one point the 3 of them were laughing hysterically while the boys did somersaults into her lap!

When we got back to MN we wasted no time in getting our tree and Christmas decorations up. The boys were so excited to see the tree and stockings up. Mid week their little elf Skeeter returned to be Santa's reporter on Owen and Gavin's behavior. So far the boys have been pretty good and Skeeter has had only good reports to Santa. Gavin is also working towards toilet training and has asked Santa for Diego underwear. :) He loves to tell Skeeter when he has gone on the potty. Today he got to tell Skeeter that he went #2 on the potty for the first time! It was a really big deal!!

This weekend we did so many fun things! On Saturday morning we celebrated our buddy Bryson's 3rd birthday. We had a blast at the pirate themed party! After the party we headed north to Duluth with Uncle Jennon, Aunt Beth, Cooper and Drew. We went on the Polar Express train ride and got to meet Santa. We rode the train to the "north pole" where they read and reenacted the story of the Polar Express. During the story the storyteller would ask questions to get the kids involved. Of course our boys were some of the first and loudest to respond. Owen started launching into some story involving a car, but she was able to tactfully cut him off and keep the story going. (There is a photo of the storytelling and Owen and Gavin are in the lower right corner.) After the story the kids got to go and talk to Santa and give him their wish list. Owen asked for a race track and Gavin for his Diego underwear and "something else". The "north pole" is actually a train museum and their were several real engines inside. The boys thought it was so cool to see them. When it was time to get back on the train Owen was asked to ring the big bell on one of the engines to signal the crowd to board our train. It was so special for him. Unfortunately it was so dark in there the photo isn't great.

In Duluth we stayed in a really nice condo that Uncle Jennon found for us. It was right on the shore of Lake Superior so we had a great view! This morning we saw a large ship right outside our window. One of the bedrooms had a jacuzzi tub and we thought it would be fun to have the kids go swimming in it. They loved it! The 3 big boys all laughed and splashed with the jets. They would have stayed in their all day! Baby Drew thought it looked like fun as he watched from the side lines. It was so nice see the little cousins enjoy some bonding time. We ended our trip by visiting a local toy store and letting the boys pick out a little toy.  Like I said so much fun!

I am sure that this month will go even quicker than the last as there is so much to do. Happy shopping! Enjoy the photos!

                                  

  
                                  

Happy Halloween 2011!

   The boys have had a really fun weekend leading up to Halloween! They had a blast at buddy Will's birthday party Saturday morning. We ended the day with our first family movie night. After hearing Will talk about how much he loved the movie Rio the boys just had to see it! So we popped some corn and created a theatre in the basement. The boys really liked it, especially Owen! That is really saying something since Owen has been very anti-movie lately.
   Sunday was pumpkin carving day and the boys dug in and had fun with all the goo. Owen chose a vampire face and Gavin picked a ghost. Both were thrilled with the results. Way to go Daddy!!
   Today we got the house in the Halloween spirit by brewing a witch's potion (aka potpourri). Owen loved stirring his potion and doing his best cackling and scary faces. Then it was time to get dressed in our costumes. Owen's costume is a robot named Plex from the show Yo Gabba, Gabba. Gavin is Diego from the show Go Diego Go. Gavin was beyond excited to wear his Diego costume and sang the theme song for the first 20 minutes he had it on! The Caruth's came by for a photo shoot and we actually got a great photo of all the cousins. Sweet little Drew slept through the photo shoot but still looked adorable!
    After dinner it was time for Trick-or-Treating! Owen got the hang of wearing his costume after a bit. ;) He was definitely a hit in our neighborhood. When he would get to the door of a house the person who answered would have him wait so the others in the house could come see him too! All in all a great Halloween! I hope you enjoy the photos. I included some images of the real Diego and Plex. I realize that not everyone is up on the lasted Nick Jr shows! :)