Snow Days

We all three had a snow day last week.  Coop and I started the morning making a necklace of dinosaur teeth (actual size, according to the book where we traced them!):

 

And then I sent the boys outside to shovel/play in the snow:

Behold the magic of food coloring!

They warmed up afterward with hot chocolate, popcorn, and Mr. Rogers dvds!

Day two of being at home.  Legos:

More outside time, which resulted in the start of an igloo:

And a snow cave:

And more hot chocolate!

Introducing: Scratchy

Coop opted to use some of his birthday money to but a pet hamster.  (Some he used to buy cheap plastic crap treasures at Dollar General.  But at least some of it went to a slightly better investment...)

 

We got the hamster's cage set up on Coop's dresser:

There he is!  Scratchy!! (Because he scratched in the box on the drive home from the pet shop.)

Adelaide was mighty interested in the new addition:

The first night Scratchy was home, Cooper made a list of things he does:

("iglue" = igloo, by the way.  "Dreenc" = drink.  The rest are pretty understandable...)

Cooper sits on his desk chair, watches Scratchy, and makes check marks by the things he observes.  :)

catching up

Cooper using his doctor kit to make sure Alex the alligator is ok:

Making valentines for his classmates:

With Aunt Ellen at his birthday party:

Sudsy beard:

And some more woodworking projects.  Coop used his new hand drill to drill a hole in this piece of wood and then glued in a hook he found somewhere.  Presto -- a coat hanger!

Mr. Scott, a friend from church who's a carpenter, gave Coop a huge box of scrap wood!  Coop (and Alan) used his new coping saw to cut out this dinosaur:

My "Secret Eadmirur"

The day before Valentine's Day, I found the following note in my school bag, just after I had picked up Cooper from Raintree:

"I love you in Londen.  I love you in Rome.  Look in your mailbox when you get home."

It was signed on the back:

"Your secret eadmirur."

In the mailbox at home, after Cooper checked it to make sure it was safe, I found this sweet Valentine:

And then when I woke up on Valentine's Day, this note was waiting for me on my computer:

"Today is the day we meet at Chinese.  5:30p.m.  We sit at a table, and have ice cream in a cone for dessert.  Your Secret Admirer."

So on Valentine's Day, I got ready to meet my special date at the Chinese restaurant.  Alan and Cooper weren't invited, so they left the house at about 5:20 to "go to the grocery store" to buy themselves something for supper.

When I arrived at the Chinese restaurant, I saw some familiar looking coats:

My secret admirer!!

What a sweet Valentine's date!

Some of Coop's birthday treasures

A wind chime, with a prism at the end:

Opening a big box of tools that Alan picked out for him:

The tools in his special toolbox:

Working in the basement on wood working projects:

A human body kit:

A pirate pinata (not filled with candy so we didn't have to bust him open):

Some put-together dinosaurs:

In a punch-out dinosaur scape:

Putting together a desk chair:

To go with his new big kid desk:

We found it on craigslist, and then Alan sanded and repainted it.  It's got little drawers and even secret compartments.  Coop loves it!

The Golden Birthday celebrations!

Cooper turned six on the sixth, making this his Golden Birthday.  Alan is convinced I made up that term, but it doesn't matter now, because I've taught it to Cooper and so it will live on for another generation! 

We celebrated with Coop's classmates at Lawrence Indoor Aquatic Center.  The kids had a great time swimming, and then we fed them cake!  And juice!  And sent them home with their parents!

Cooper also participated in a special birthday ceremony at Raintree, where he celebrated six trips around the sun.

Cooper asked Ruby to help with the ceremony, and she passed out napkins.  This is perhaps the sweetest part of the event for me.  Ruby walked around the circled, crouched down in front of each child, called them by name, and whispered "Tyler, would you like a napkin?"  For every kid.

And then Cooper did the same thing with the cake.  It was the softest and sweetest I had ever heard children speak.

During the day of the party, Cooper and some friends made the special Raintree birthday cake (which he requested for his family party, too).  Everyone sang and he got to blow out candles:

 

We had a party for our family and friends at the house this past weekend.  Another "golden birthday" cake complete with gold spray paint (edible) and gold sprinkles!