Marble Madness

Auntie Kelly sent the coolest "Marble Game", as Nolan calls it, and we have been playing with it non-stop.  That is, after the kids played with the packing peanuts that were in the box for over 2 hours.  Here are some pictures of the packing peanut fun, followed by some videos of the marble madness.

Saturday's With Lauren

Over the past few months I (Ryan) have alternated taking each of the kids to Lowe's for a Build and Grow clinic.  The mornings kind of go like this:  Lowe's for the clinic, some type of errand running and then lunch out with Dad.  A few weeks ago I posted about a project that Nolan andI built together (here).

Well, Lauren and I have been having our outings, too.  She built this caboose, Nolan built a coal car, and she finished the train with an engine.  Lauren also joined me on an errand afterwards on another project day to The Home Depot where we spotted a stack-out promotion of one my safes - very cool!

It is so good to spend these Saturday mornings with the kids.  I'm so fortunate that I don't have to be traveling all the time for work like I did once upon a time.

Kids' Christmas Lists

Lauren decided to write her Christmas list to Santa all on her own this year.  To be honest, she is on the fence as to whether or not Santa is real or not.  She says the kids at school tell her he isn't real, but she still wants to believe that he is.  When she asks me, I tell her that I think he is.  Here is her list (click to enlarge):

She was also kind enough to let Nolan dictate his wish list to her, which she dutifully wrote down.  Here is what made his list (click to enlarge):

Halloween Monster Truck Project

Lowe's has a great program called "Build and Grow" where kids can build a small craft with a parent.  Papa had taught us about this when Lauren was little, but somewhere along the way I forgot about it.  I ran across a clinic at our local Lowe's while I was visiting to buy paint supplies for our new house and I thought it would make for a fun Father/Son outing.  Here are some pictures of our time at our first clinic.  He had a blast, got his very own apron and earned a badge for the project which Kimberly will be sewing on for him.  He also loves his Monster Truck (he pronounces it Monka Truck):

Making Music On The Road

Not until just recently has Nolan even showed any interest in singning songs, but he does sing Jesus Loves Me at bed time.  Then, all of a sudden, he started singing this song he made up and he sings it all the time.  Kimberly says that for her it is probably the cutest thing he does right now.