ROCK CHALK!!

At Aiden's school, the kids can earn different awards for good behavior. Collectively, the kindergarten class earned enough gold stars in the lunch room that they got to celebrate today with CRAZY HAIR DAY!

Since Aiden's hair is all of a quarter of an inch or so, we tried to get creative. Given that KU is playing in the SWEET 16 tonight, we thought we might influence a little more luck to get those hawks to the championship if we supported them in style...

My Lucky Charms!

With Aiden on spring break, we decided to take a family day on St. Patrick's Day. The weather was gorgeous for this time of year, so we thought it would be a perfect day to head out for one of the local St. Patrick's Day parades.

Since we had both boys, we decided to visit a more laid back family friendly version of St. Patricks Day in the great town of Lawrence, KS!! Mass St. was full of people - including many of our neighbors! The parade was great - some very interesting floats to see. My favorite was the jayhawk flying the rocket, which I had to get a picture of (see below)! Aiden enjoyed all of the candy passed out during the parade most, I think! However, on our way back to the car we decided to let the boys get a treat and let them try their first cotton candy. Can you believe that Aiden - my son who would eat chocolate or treats with every meal if we let him - does NOT like cotton candy? Tried one bite and then left the rest for Kieran! Unbelievable! Kieran was funny too...I don't think he was quite sure how to eat his cotton candy! It was definitely an experience!

Although it wasn't the same as sipping a nice frosty drink while the waves roll in, it was definitely a bit of family fun that we enjoyed during our spring break "vacation".

Say What?

So, life goes on at the Smith household. We are currently enjoying Aiden's 1.5 week spring break VACATION! Seriously, where was that when I was a kid? I'm pretty sure the kid's brain is going to be jello by the time he goes back to school next Monday. So far he has enjoyed spending some time at Gram & Papa's house, playing the Wii and an old magic set from when I was a kid. (Psstt...don't tell my mom this, but I used to think she was crazy when her refusal to not throw things away resulted in a collection of many of the toys of my youth still in her basement. However, that is one of the things my kids love about going over there - there are tons of toys they don't find anywhere else! Ha! Who would imagine?)

We've also enjoyed a small break from sports. Basketball wrapped up a few weeks ago - although soccer practice 'kicks' in next week! Hope this weather turns around so the boys enjoy being out on the field. We haven't thrown in the towel altogether though...during our break we got to celebrate KU's BIG 12 VICTORY - AGAIN!! (You know...a win of 5 out of the last 6 seasons. No big deal...just sayin.) I think I have finally gotten the boys to be true Rock Chalk fans while we have cheered on their victories. Aiden's definitely becoming more aware of sports teams and mascots. It's pretty cool to watch him get excited about sports.

Kieran has just recently moved classrooms at his school into the preschool room this past Monday. So far the transition has been ok; however, there was an interesting discussion with his teacher. The conversation went something like this: Miss Jenny: "Does Kieran have older siblings?"; Me: "Yes, he has an older brother who is almost six."; Miss Jenny: "Aahhh, that explains a lot." Apparently Kieran has been using his love of wrestling with his older brother as a way to introduce himself to the friends in his new class. Seriously - I do love my boys, but do they always have to be so physical? More to come to see if we are able to reel in the littlest wild man of the family.

Along the same lines, his language skills are growing every single day. It is just amazing. While we still can't have full conversations, it is great to know what is going on in that little mind. He does, however, still have that two year old slur to his words. One of the funniest things I can recall of late was Kieran using his manners for something his daddy had done for him. Now - when Kieran says "thank you", I'll admit that it sometimes comes out something like "Dankoo". Chris turned around to Kieran and says "Kieran, I don't have a dingo." Say what? Can we please get an interpreter in here?