Monticello had a special admission price ($5!), so we had to take the opportunity to have a tour from Cindy! I think they enjoyed it, both because they knew the tour guide and because it was better than an afternoon at school. I loved it, because we got a special tour of the upstairs of the house and the dome room!
I couldn't quite keep up, but this is what I could catch from Ben and Rudy in the backseat:
Pretend it's fathers day and our daughters give us both the same thing and it's work stuff like a work truck and covered in weapons and rifles and and stuff.
And our daughters also have us posters that said "my dad is awesome." nd we put them both on our trucks and we always drive right beside each other and our license plates said awesome buddies.
And then when we go home we live in a brick house and when we get home there is no more work and no more homework and that's where we keep our families safe.
There's like two sides to the the house. It's split in half with a door on the middle and you live on one side and I live in one side and you live in the other.
I'm not sure who was more stressed out by the talent show tonight: James and I or the kids. It's been months of practice (or not practicing, despite the need to do so). In the end, they pulled it off and were a great success in their act: Who's on First. We're really proud of their hard work!
All of the evening's performers:
Brady's teacher even came out for the performance (she had two students performing tonight), which I thought was really special. Definitely above and beyond!
So, for your viewing pleasure...here it is!
Follow Up - the boys are highlighted in the county gifted and talented newsletter:
Above: Showcase Students—Brady with his younger
brother, Rudy, had the audience Laughing with their “Who’s on First”
routine. Kate wowed the audience playing Up on the Housetop on the grand piano.
I really wish these pictures were in better focus. These two were a couple of giggling fools after the talent show tonight. I love that Rudy has Mary Emma for such a great buddy.
We got an early start on our gingerbread houses this year when Mom and I found them marked way down on black Friday! I'm no purist when it comes to this holiday project - from a box and assembled with a glue gun is perfectly find for our traditions! (An added bonus is that it never even occurs to the kids to eat the assembled projects!)
We had one house per kid, with a tree for Teddy to work on. For as much as my boys have NOT been into crafts lately, they were quite meticulous with this project!
We got a special invitation from Cindy to join Ben and Bella at a gingerbread house workshop at Monticello. Of course, it wasn't just any gingerbread house...it was a gingerbread Monticello! The kids divided the house in half, with Brady and Bella taking the "front" and Rudy and Ben designing the "back." Each pair worked well together, and dividing it up that way avoided sibling issues!
Ready and waiting:
Teamwork:
The melted snowman:
Rudy and Ben's finished product:
Brady and Bella's design:
We had extra time after the workshop to come back and work on some Christmas crafts at home. The little boys preferred football, but I talked the big kids into crafts.
Rudy's OM practice was cancelled, but Brady's was still on. It was nice to have some unplanned quiet time with Rudy. I wasn't planning on snapping any pictures, but Ru insisted on one with his cat...
In the car on the way to school Friday morning, after we passed roadkill:
Brady: I'm glad we didn't hit that.
Jacob: The bus on Sam's field trip hit a deer on the way home.
Brady: My mom almost hit a squirrel on a bike once.
Reagan: BRADY! You saw a squirrel riding a bike?!?
The boys had their first piano recital on Sunday afternoon. They felt a little bit of pressure, but it was a pretty low key affair with several of their friends.
Mary Emma isn't taking lessons yet, but she was Rudy's loyal admirer!
Gavin may have been Brady's biggest admirer; he really loves Brady!
We didn't want to try to get a video during the recital, so we filmed their renditions at home before we left:
We are way off schedule this week...it was a challenge getting the boys up and out the door this morning! School was cancelled on Monday and Tuesday because of Hurricane Sandy, which for us was thankfully nothing more than some light wind and rain. Yesterday, their first day back after a 4 day weekend, was a Halloween candy fest at school. And last night was a late night after trick-or-treating!
We went to a different section of the neighborhood, where the houses are closer together and a lot of their friends live. The boys love going door to door with their buddies.
The total: over 8 pounds of candy. That should last a while!
