Lesson in rotating tires

Today Tim gave the boys a lesson in rotating tires. They were only interested in certain parts and mostly preferred to supervise but the Daddy/Son car lessons have started!!

Little pit crew

Cole trying his hand at the jack

Learning to use the lug wrench

Tightening the bolts

Museum of Natural Sciences

After a week of cold and rain (and too much inside time!), we headed downtown to the Museum of Natural Sciences. It has been quite a long time since we've been down there so it was a treat! The boys loved looking at everything and were running from exhibit to exhibit. Cole especially kept asking "what's next" and "what else". Going to be hard to teach these two wild boys to live in and enjoy the moment! We enjoyed going through the museum as well as the new addition and then had lunch at Chick-fil-a. We let the boys play for a bit at the playground and then headed back. A fun morning!

Amazing dinosaur bones

So big!

Checking out the tank with Daddy

Happy boys

That's one big mouth!

Looking in the tank

for this little guy - a green frog.

Doesn't Daddy look thrilled?

Two boys in a tree

Two boys in a tree with their Mommy

More neat stuff

Snakes!

The boys loved the Terror of the South exhibit. They are in front of the Acrocanthosaurus skeleton.

"Look Mommy, he got bit!"

Eli in the dinosaur footprint, he has big feet but not quite THAT big!

Cole in the dinosaur footprint

I would have hated to encounter this guy. 

Under the ocean!

T-Rex!!

Eli measuring himself against the dinosaur bone. 

Checking out the various stages of a butterfly

 The Acrocanthosaurus skeleton from above.

All Lit Up

 We finally, at the boys' insistence, put lights on the house this year. 

Kinda hard to capture but it looked really good. We'll definitely do it again next year!

Future Umstead volunteer

Cole borrowed my Umstead 100 Endurance run headband for our walk tonight. He'll be a cute volunteer soon!

Elfie Jim's antics - 2012

Elfie Jim had a lot of fun at our house this year. He was pretty quiet to start with but started goofing off as it got closer to Christmas. Here's a look at some of his stunts. 

He replaced the boys stockings with their underwear. 

He gift wrapped our hall toilet. 

The boys thought that was just hilarious. 

And they had a fun time unwrapping it. 

Toilet paper countdown

He showed up on the mantle

to let Eli & Cole know about their video messages. 

Brought donuts back from the North Pole for breakfast. 

The roofs on the boys' gingerbread houses slid off so he hot glued them back together while they were sleeping. 

When we got back from the farm, we found that Elfie Jim had toilet papered our tree. 

Silly little elf!!

Christmas with Grandma & Grandpa N

Christmas afternoon, Grandma & Grandpa N came to visit and complete our Christmas celebration. The boys loved showing off their new Legos and scooters but were super thrilled to see that there were more presents for them! We had a fun gift exchange and then enjoyed hanging out. Eli & Grandma put together a big puzzle while Cole napped. We had a great Christmas dinner and time together. 

This morning, Tim took the boys (and Grandma & Grandpa) to the indoor playground so I could do some chores around the house. It was marvelously quiet and I got a lot done! The boys, apparently had a great time playing and lots of fun. We all had lunch together before Grandma & Grandpa had to head back home. We're so thankful they came to visit us and that we got to spend Christmas time with them! 

Oooooo....CAT construction vehicles!

This was hilarious. Cole & Eli had to help everyone open their gifts. Here Cole presented Grandpa with his special Grandpa bottle. Grandpa's face is priceless! 

The boys got headphones for our travel dvd player. Excited to use them - Tim & I may actually be able to have a conversation! I had to take a picture because they had on the package that they're for ages 3-93. I would love to see a 93 year old with Elmo (or Cookie Monster) headphones! 

Eli and Grandma N

Puzzle time. They did a great job together. 

Rub a dub dub, two boys in a tub.

Silly boys in a tub. Seems like every picture has to have a silly version! 

Monkey boy at the indoor playground.

Cole-man....on top of the world!

Told you he is a Monkey boy - on TOP of the structure. 

Lots of fun climbing. 

A great place to run, play and have fun when it's cold and/or rainy. 

Merry Christmas!!