Chef-anese

Tonight after church, Brian and I decided it would be fun to take the boys to a new Japanese Steakhouse for dinner where they cook the food right in front of you. Isaac has been before and calls these restaurants chefanese. I was pretty sure Lucas had been, but we quickly realized that he didn't remember it.

It's prom night in Wake Forest, so we ended up waiting forever for a table and then another forever for a chef. 

Out came the soup...both boys devoured it.

Out came the salad...both boys ate all of that.

Out came the complementary edamame due to our excruciatingly long wait...the boys ate all that.

Then finally, the chef arrived. Lucas seemed a little apprehensive, but the chef started tossing around silverware and he watched intently with my one arm around him in his high chair. Then came the water on the burner and steam....a little more apprehensive and a scoot closer to mommy. And then came the fire. When the chef lit it, I held Lucas really close thinking it would be over in a second and back to the fun. But no, the fire resulted in the most horrified little face you could ever imagine followed by my sweet little boy attempting to crawl from his high chair to completely inside mommy's shirt. He sat on my lap whimpering for a few minutes while I tried to talk him through it, but every time the chef set something new on the grill and it sizzled it sent him further into hysterics. Finally all he would repeat is "I want daddy, I want daddy." So I let him run over to daddy. He sat on Brian's lap while the chef finished dinner, and once the chef was gone Brian convinced him it was okay to go back to his chair and eat his dinner.

We put him back into his high chair, and he went back to happy little Lucas just stuffing his face full of dinner. 

And then...

The chef came back to cook for the next table. The next table clapped as he arrived, and Lucas immediately started screaming and crawling out of his high chair wrapping his arms tightly around my neck while trying to climb on top of my head! Brian and I were like what now? So Brian took Lucas & their dinners and went and ate at the tables in the sushi bar. Isaac & I stayed behind and ate our dinner at the hibachi table. Isaac LOVED watching the chef cook again and liked all his tricks too. All the people in the room got a kick out of Lucas' reactions. I mean really, who can help but laugh...Brian & I were most of the time. It was totally not the reaction we were expecting!

Lucas was just happy to be far away!

For the record...his plate started out full and when we left it was empty, so he REALLY enjoyed the food part!

Needless to say, I think it will be a while before we splurge again on a Chef-anese dinner...but at least we have a story for the blog!

Roller Derby

The boys both got roller blades for Christmas. While they started out looking a lot like Mommy on skates, they did get used to them and actually did quite well. Here's to hoping they end up having Daddy's skating skills. It will save them a lot of embarrassment in the future!

Isaac is the best big brother...teaching Lucas teamwork.

 

NC Zoo

On Saturday, we took a road trip in a rented "party truck" (aka - suburban) to the NC Zoo with our neighbors (Dave, Lynn, Jonathan & Kathryn). The kids were treated to their first ever experience of watching a DVD in the car as the party truck came fully equipped with an onboard DVD system. They were pretty excited to be watching Toy Story while cruising along!

The weather Saturday was perfect for a day at the zoo. Upon arrival, we had a quick picnic lunch in the parking lot before heading in to explore the actual zoo.

The harbor seals were happy to entertain everyone.

The NC Zoo isn't a great place to get pictures of people with the animals in the background of the picture. The animals tend to be kind of far away in their "natural habitat" (blah, blah...I paid money put them up at the glass people!!). But they did have just enough bronze statue animals that the kids were happy to pose with for pictures. 

Lucas rode in his stroller (incorrectly) most of the day, and when he wasn't riding Isaac was happy to take a turn.

The best part of the zoo was the dinosaur exhibit. Isaac is all about dinosaurs right now, so he really enjoyed this part. They actually did look real and it was hilarious to see Isaac's face when we first walked up to them because it took him a minute to realize that they weren't actually real. He's still a little unsure in this picture.

Lucas' favorite dinosaur, the triceratops, who he says is taking a nap. Never mind the giant dinosaur standing behind him coming in for the final kill..."he just sleepin' mommy".

The Giganotosaurus

Isaac acting like a superhero...he's not scared of the giant dinosaur!

The fossil dig...give the kids a pile of dirt & rock and it keeps them busy for hours!

Isaac saving Jonathan from the big rocks!

Isaac hatching out of his dinosaur egg.

Lucas, Daddy & the Ostrich. Lucas waved and waved at him.

Isaac, Jonathan & Kathryn with the rhino.

All 4 kids with the tiny bronze elephants.

Pretending to fly over the zoo...these kids make quite the team of explorers!

More bronze animals!

Enjoying the elephants from the deck of the tent. It sure would be fun to camp here!

One sleepy mama lion.

Isaac & Kathryn with the bronze lion.

Mommy & Lucas with some last minute fun on the carousel.

The boys riding back to the main gate on the tram. Six hours at the zoo and we were all exhausted at this point!

One last picture of the whole gang. We had a great day and are already looking forward to our next neighborly adventure. We sure are glad our friends moved back from California!!!

Trains and Fun

While visiting Opa & Oma last weekend, we took at trip to Train Town at the Brookford Community Center. The room was small and the crowded, but it was definitely the coolest model train setup I have ever seen. These guys have spent years restoring it and the detail is just amazing. The boys enjoyed it too!

This picture shows about a quarter of the little city they created.


Waiting for the trains to come around.

It was hard, but they managed to look with their eyes and not touch...but just barely!

All aboard!!

Both of the boys would watch the train come around like cats watching a bug crawl across the floor. After a while it got a little wierd!

While in Hickory, we had plenty of time to play in the yard. Isaac helped Opa plant some of his garden.

 

Oma & Lucas hanging out on the porch.

There was also time to reassemble the barn garden just in time for spring.

Their little helper kept stealing the animals!

My dad works endlessly in his yard (I come by it honestly). After 35+ years he still finds something to do in it every day, and when you work that hard you get an amazing oasis to relax in when you take time to sit down and enjoy it. It looks like a picture out of a magazine! I'm not sure there is a better place on the planet than my parents' patio.



You can sit there, relax, enjoy the fire and let the world slip away for a little while. You're right Dorothy, there's just no place like home.

Painters

The shutters on the house have needed painting for the past 2 years. When Lucas was born, I picked out the color for the shutters and the front door. I did manage to paint the door during maternity leave, but we just never got around to the shutters. When I brought up painting at dinner one night and Isaac asked if we were going to paint the shutters purple again (the color they faded to), Brian and I knew it was time to get moving!

Once we got started, the project didn't take long. Especially when you have a great helper like this!

 

And once the project was complete, there was time to play before returning the ladder to the neighbor down the street. Isaac loves adventure and climbing is at the top of his list!

Two happy painters!

 

Spring Break

The week after Easter was spring break for Wake County schools. That meant Jonathan & Kathryn (the neighbor kids) were available to play all day long. Needless to say, Isaac & Lucas were ecstatic! One of the days, we spent the morning at the Science Museum in downtown Raleigh.

The boys had a great time exploring...

Jonathan & Isaac with the T-Rex

A little bee...

We did let Jonathan & Kathryn have some down time to themselves. During that time we managed to finish up some pre-Easter activities that we hadn't had time for the previous week. 

He's trying to decide if it's done...

One proud little artist!

It was a busy week full of lots of playtime and activities...most of which I didn't do a good job of capturing on photo. But this is the second week in a row that Isaac has asked if it's spring break again yet!

Easter 2013

Easter weekend is always spent in Fayetteville with Nana & Boppa for the Raynor family picnic. Saturday is a day of preparation. The boys helped Boppa set up and try out all the fun games. Boppa comes up with something new and exciting for the kids every year!



Easter morning the boys come down to check out all the loot that the Easter Bunny left for them. 

Lucas seemed to like the race cars the best!

The Easter Bunny must have one check of a basket to carry all this stuff!

The after church photo session did not go as well as I had hoped. Isaac was ready to go play the games, Lucas was crashing from a morning sugar high, and Wripley just plain didn't want her picture taken!

The only one I got where the two of them were looking at the camera.

Brotherly love!

Nana & the boys (Boppa was already busy prepping for the picnic.)

The calm before the party!

Lucas playing with his Easter rats. For some reason he liked the rats better than the eggs or the ducks.

Playing darts. Look at that awesome form! 

Isaac and Gage getting a great start at the egg hunt. We "hid" almost 500 eggs for the kids this year!

Lucas was a little on the slow and methodical side, but he got his fair share too!

Exactly how high did you hide these things??

 

Happy Easter Everyone!