Lego Meets Machine

Roger is really into electronics lately. Combine that with his love for Legos.  Tonight Will challenged him to make a replica of a CNC machine.  This is his version of a CNC lathe.  It actually looks kind of similar to the machine that Will worked on while working in Vernal.  Check it out. :)

Mine

The things our kids say...

Eddy: Mom, can I have Walter?
Mom: No. He's mine.
Eddy: He's not yours! That's not fair!
Mom: (laughter)

Being a mom is the best! :)

Allen's Story

Allen is pretty proud of this story he wrote.  He has always had a great imagination.  This is his first published story.  Credit to the Chronicle of Narnia books and the Hobbit for some of the inspiration.

ALLEN’S STORY

         Once upon a time there lived a knight named Caspian. Once, while Caspian was on his horse he came across a dwarf and his name was Bombur. Bombur told Caspian about a dragon and his name was Shadow. Right now Shadow was not really a dragon, he was the son of the black knight. Shadow was trying to kill Caspian, but Caspian had some spies spying on Shadows plan. The real dragon’s name was Smog . Smog has every piece of money in the town Riverdale. Shadow has the biggest army ever. The warriors name’s were Thunder, Lightning, Thor, Trap Shadow, Shadow Shift, Thunder Fire, Storm Night,  Storm Flight, Storm, Bolt and Shadow, who was the leader of course. Caspian has a different dragon on his army. His army also has the dwarf, of course, and his dragon’s name was Blaze. Blaze was an ice alpha dragon. Blaze did not fight because he was kind to other people and he shared his money with them, even with Shadow. Because the dragon was so nice and shared with Shadow, Shadow changed his mind about fighting Caspian’s army. And that is how Caspian and Shadow were friends again.          

The End

For the Love of Hot Wheels

My boys love hot wheels.  It's a car thing and a boy thing I think.  A few years ago we inherited a gigantic collection of hot wheels track.  They love to make long runs that cross the whole house.  Well, since moving to our new house, there is a vent in the basement and it looks like it could connect to the vent in the dining room upstairs and I know that my children have been eyeing this as a possible car run for awhile.

Well the other day my  boys decided that it was time to test the duct-work in our house.  While I was making breakfast they connected more than six feet of track and started putting it down the vent.  I thought they were just playing their normal play, little did I know.  When I start smelling burning plastic and running through the house wondering what has been left on one of the furnace vents, I enter the dining room to see my children desperately trying to use a grabber(you know the kind to pick up trash) to get something out of the vent.

You can imagine the scene from there.  I'm freaking out, the kids are desperate.  We turn off the furnace, and I try to figure out what they have done.  We use the shop vac to try to get the track out, to no avail.  Apparently, they had put the track in until it stopped and then when they started pulling it back out, part of it got left behind.  I cancel our plans, afraid we might not have a house to come home to if we leave things unattended.  Thankfully my friend's older son was home and he came and helped me get the duct apart in the basement.  We pull out at least 4 feet of track, but lo and behold, there are still some pieces IN the furnace, one of which has melted to the side of the heat exchange.

What my furnace looks like. The round duct at the
top is where the track had gone in.

A view from the hole into my furnace.

I called around to get some estimates and advice from HVAC professionals.  It would cost at least $75 just for someone to come check it out.  My handy husband was pretty sure he could do it himself while I was thinking we might need to buy a new furnace.  I laid down the law with my children.  See, I love their thinking and innovation about the whole event, but there are some elemental problems.  We were supposed to be leaving the house, and the children were not only not dressed or ready, but then they caused trouble.  They disregarded the law of NOT putting things in the vents, EVER! So it was a boring day of just chores from there on out.

A close up of the melted piece once my hubby got
the cover off the furnace.

But then my AMAZING husband came home and was able to take apart the furnace, get off the burnt plastic, and had it running again by dinner. AMAZING!  Apparently, he has always wanted to work on a furnace, and this was a good opportunity to try it. :)

The melted remains.

So that is a day in the life of a household of boys who love hot wheels.

...Two Years Later

I hadn't realized it's been 2 years since I posted anything.  Well, a lot has happened in two years.  We moved to Vernal, then on to Roy, then added another boy.  Love me some baby boys. :)   Here are a few pics of the boys today.

Happy Birthday 2 You!

Our baby turned 2 last week.  Its hard to believe for me!  It has gone so quickly.  The boys sang to him all throughout the day, and he walked around all day singing to himself.  Here he is singing his own birthday song.

He got to play with friends in the morning.  He got pizza for dinner.  Then we made homemade ice cream sandwiches for dessert, because the only thing he likes about cake is the frosting, but he loves ice cream and cookies.  :)

As for presents, we tried to keep it simple and he loved them.   Bubbles, stuffed animal, cars, and a new spiral race track.

          
He also got a handmade card from his great grandparents(We miss you Grandma and Grandpa!)  What more could a two year old want.  He was so happy, he even took the cars to bed with him and kept singing his birthday song in his bed.  I think he had a great day!