It's Fun to Play at the Y-M-C-A

Saturday was Ben's first official day as a member of the YMCA.  He got his money's worth by going there twice that day.  We played in the gym and Kidzone before lunch and went swimming in the afternoon.  You would think the guy who almost drowned twice would have some fear of the water.  No such luck.  Ben was doing cannonballs in the deep end.

Noooooooooo Gooooooooooooooooooal

Bradley has really been enjoying his soccer league.  The team is below 500, but he is having fun anyway.  The team won today and Bradley had a nice save while in goal.

A Death in the Family

Ben has a pretty strong reaction when he finds out someone has died, even if the death occurred decades ago. Here are a few recent examples. The day after we got back from California, I was driving Ben home from school. He cried out, "Why did he have to die, I never got to meet him!" This, of course, refers to Ronald Reagan and came two days after visiting his library. Last night, we were talking about my grandpa and I told Ben that he had died. Ben starts crying and says, "I don't even know what he looks like!" A trip to the computer solved that problem fast. Now, Ben needed something new to cry about. "I...I...I don't know what he sounds like!" Thanks to an audio recording from 1975 that I had made a digital copy of, that problem was solved quickly too. Since Ben ran out of things to cry about, he went to his room and got a book for story time.

Two Lost Toofs

Bradley is finally back down to 20 teeth in his mouth. He was up to 22, which necessitated a trip to the dentist. His two new front teeth were coming in behind his baby teeth. One of the baby teeth had been loose for a few weeks, but we never could get it out (even with a Nerf gun). The other tooth was rock solid as you can see from the length of the root. The tooth behind that was coming in crooked.

Free Labor!

The First Aunt

When we were at the Reagan Library, Bradley pointed at the statue of Nancy Reagan and said, "It kind of looks like aunt Carol." So of course, we took a picture.

Knott's Berry Farm

We all had a great time at Knott's Berry Farm on President's Day weekend. (By the way, there is no farm, no berries, and no Don Knotts.) The boys especially enjoyed being "big cousins" to DJ. Due to height restrictions, Ben was the only one that could escort DJ on this first ride. Since the park wasn't very crowded, they had the whole ride to themselves. Bradley was a good pusher on the hand car ride.

See You On The Beach

Our first stop in LA was the beach, specifically Venice Beach. The boys had fun playing the sand (of course). However, the water was way too cold to go swimming. We also checked out the skate park and soaked up the atmosphere along the boardwalk. The boys did not appreciate the canals as much as mommy and daddy did.

The Spin

Both Bradley have both been taking skating lessons this winter. Ben is doing much better than last year. Bradley has improved too. He is even teaching himself a few things. What you see below was not taught in class.

Professor Ben

Today's science lesson is courtesy of Benjamin: "Outer space is stinky because aliens never take a bath." I did not know that! Apparently one of Ben's friends had an alien living in his backyard. The alien was so stinky that no one ever came to visit the friend. Kind of sad, but an important science lesson for all.