Computer is Down...

Well, my home computer crashed over the weekend and all I get is the blue screen of death when I turn it on now, so there'll be no new pictures for a while. I had some good ones, too. I bought an external hard drive on Friday and attempted to back up my pictures because my computer was acting funny. The crash happened in the middle of all that. I think I got them backed up before it crashed, but I'm not sure.

I took Cole to the dentist this morning to have him check out the chipped teeth. He doesn't think the chips reached the nerve layer and said they don't feel loose, so we just have to go back if they start to change color. I'm not sure why Cole had to fast -- they didn't do any x-rays or even sand down the chipped teeth like they said they would have to; they basically just looked at his teeth and poked at them a little.

Chase starts T-ball tomorrow. I'm sure I'll take lots of pictures, but unless the computer fairy visits my house between now and then, I won't be able to post them.

IMPROPER Care of Boys, or "What Not to Do"

The short version: Apparently Cole can't fly.
The colors on his face are really much more vibrant in person; apparently the morning sunlight washes him out... He has a knot on his forehead, his face is all scraped up, and he broke his front tooth. He's pretty cranky this morning, but slept ok last night (aside from us waking him up every few hours because he was sleeping uncharacteristically soundly). He'll got to the dentist on Monday (Dentist was out today) for x-rays and so they can sand down the sharp edges of his tooth. I can't get him to open his mouth (his right cheek is a little swollen, so I don't know if it hurts to open his mouth), so I don't know if he chipped any other teeth, but I don't think he did. I finally got an appointment for the boys to have their pictures taken next week (it's been more than a year since we've had any formal pictures), so I guess we'll be airbrushing these...

The Bug Hunt

Chase and Cole had a great time this weekend. Saturday morning we brought them to the ladybug ball. They each had a bug box and were really serious about their bug hunt. Chase was more aggressive this year and went into the crowd to get closer to where the bugs were being released. Cole sat in the grass in the back and waited for the bugs to come to him. Chase ended up with 20 or 30 ladybugs. Cole left with only 8 or so because he kept opening the bug box to get a closer look at his little captives and they kept escaping. Chase also caught a butterfly, which we released along with the ladybugs in the courtyard flowerbeds.
Chase was a little reluctant to release his bugs; I think he really thought he could keep them alive in his bug box. We eventually convinced him that the ladybugs would stay in the flowerbeds and live on our plants. Still, he relased them one at a time. He'd take one out, look it over, give it a name, then find the right plant for it. It was quite a process. Later in the afternoon and again this morning, he'd go find them, pick them up, and carry them around for a while before finally putting them back on the plant.
Later on Saturday, we brought them to an outdoor art show where they got to do some painting. Chase painted a flowerpot and Cole mostly painted himself.
Today they played outside almost all day. Chase did a little fishing and made a few attempts to ride his bike without the training wheels (with Charles acting as the training wheels). Cole finally figured out how to drive his John Deere tractor, but not how to stop -- the flowerbeds may never recover.
They had a pretty busy weekend and stayed outside almost the whole time. Cole actually fell asleep at the table tonight -- hopefully that means he'll sleep at least a few hours in his own bed...