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Showing off their cars before the derby

Braylen: Miami Dolphins car

Kaleb: Philadelphia Eagles car

Aaron: just-for-fun-car :)

Aaron and Kaleb watching the races

We sure had fun at the Pinewood Derby this week. Aaron still calls it the "dervy." :) Braylen and Kaleb's cars both placed 2nd in their dens, and both boys displayed good sportsmanship throughout the night. In years past we've had some tears when a car didn't do so well...what a relief to miss out on that this year. The highlight of my night came at the end. With the derby officially over, the track was opened up for some freestyle racing. Braylen and Kaleb lined up their cars to race Aaron's car. Aaron's not in scouts yet, but somewhere along the way we ended up with an extra car kit. A few months ago, Derek and Aaron made a car together. Aaron carried his car with him the entire night, waiting for his turn to race before going home. This was that moment. Braylen and Kaleb's cars had weights, sanded axles, and sanded wheels. Aaron's car had none of that, since his car was "just for fun." This meant his car didn't stand a chance of beating his brothers' cars. As the cars raced down the track, Aaron's car fell behind, as expected. Aaron and Kaleb stood at the finish line waiting for their cars. Braylen ran along the track and gave Aaron's car a push. He wanted Aaron's car to finish, and maybe even win. There's nothing sadder at the derby than seeing one of the scout's cars not even make it to the finish line. Braylen didn't want that to happen to Aaron. It all happened so fast, and I'm pretty sure Braylen's car won. But Aaron's car flew down the track and zoomed past the finish line. And he was so proud. And Derek and I were so proud of Braylen.

For almost 2 weeks this is what our landing has looked like. Full of toys, but all of those toys lined up for a specific purpose. This is how the boys play GI Joe and Transformers, and they use all kinds of "extras" in their imaginative play. I look at this and see my path to my laundry room blocked. But I also see the end in sight of this type of activity in our home, so I let it be. Let them play. :)

Aaron brought home a little bit of spring this week. How nice to see some green grass! He planted some seeds in preschool, watered them with a spray bottle, and brought them home on Thursday. Pretty soon he'll give his grass a "haircut." I heard on the radio that this is the bluest week of the year. Just about everyone I know had a tough week, us included. What a perfect time for our son to bring home the promise of spring. :)

pink and purple day at preschool--notice his purple shirt?

Yesterday our plans for the day derailed. Not just changed, but completely fell apart. And on top of that, a co-worker of Derek's needed me to watch his kids for a few hours while he and Derek went to work. Hmm. Not the Saturday I'd hoped for. My kids whined, I whined with them, and all of the sudden I was at home with 5 kids. My boys immediately took to the 22 month old boy in my care. They played with cars and balls and all was right with the world. Then the almost-4-year-old-girl, dressed in a Cinderella princess outfit, said, "Do you have any girl toys here?" No. We. Don't. However, we do have a play kitchen. It's blue and red and very boyish looking, but it's still a kitchen. How horrified I felt when she said, "Can you play kitchen with me, Sarah?" Me, play kitchen? I play cars. I play trucks. I build with legos and blocks and read books. I pride myself in being a pretty fun mom--of boys. I have nothing against girls--I'm a girl myself for pete's sake--but I haven't played dolls or kitchen since I was a young girl. Even when my nieces come over for a visit, they play what my boys play. We have fun doing that. But yesterday, Grace and I played kitchen. I dug out a Precious Moments coloring book that my boys have refused to use over the years, and gave her crayons, markers, sequins, and glue. She loved it. But you know what we did next? We played with the toy tool set, launched screaming balloons, and played with trains. Whew! I can only handle so much! :)

Ginger's almost 10 months old

One of our favorite things to do with Ginger this winter is take her to run on the hay bales. She can run them alone, with Derek, and with the boys. She's terribly out of shape, thanks to winter, but still has loads of fun doing this. Take a look at Ginger, our hay bale-hopping German Shepherd! :) She brings so much fun to our family!