Liver Dogs and Binoculars

Wednesday was a fun day~despite the fact that I had to go to work that night. That morning we got out my special smelly markers and the boys decorated toilet paper tubes. Then we taped them together and made....binoculars! Original~not really. But we've never done it at our house, so it was really cool. (o: We were preparing a small picnic lunch to take with us on our "I Spy Signs of Spring" walk we were getting ready to go on when the phone rang. It was Travis with news that his boss was at Kohl's with her dog and if we hurried over she would wait for us to come so the boys could meet Icicle! This is huge news because every day for a month, Joseph will ask Travis if he saw Diana's dog, Icicle when he comes home from work. (She brought the puppy in to work with her one day last month.) Travis told Joseph about it and it's been excitement ever since. See, Icicle is a dalmatian and anyone who knows Joseph well knows he loves dalmatians. (Grandma Deone just bought him 101 Dalmatian movie and it hasn't stopped running since Tuesday!) His first stuffed animal was a dalmatian that barked from my Grandma Margaret. He named it Baby Doggy. He cried for a very long time when Baby Doggy lost his bark. He has accumulated several dalmatians since. He bought a little dalmatian statue at the dollar store on Tuesday. He named that one...Icicle.

Anyway, sorry, I got distracted. Back to my story. I rounded the boys up, grabbed their food and we hopped in the car. They had their "picnic" in the car on the way to Kohl's. They were willing to give that up because they were finally going to get to meet Icicle!!! Before we got there, we went over the rules for meeting a new dog. (asking owner for permission, offer your hand then let the dog approach you, let them smell you first etc.) When we walked into the office, Joseph approached a tad too quick and the poor dog, who isn't used to little kids barked her head off. We reined the boys in and one at a time they got to pet her. Joseph asked a couple of questions. One was why Icicle has brown spots instead of black. Diana told him Icicle has liver colored spots. He asked where she came from~answer was California. ("Mommy, that's where the Jack in the box guy lives!") Needless to say it was a thrilling experience for the boys~especially Joseph. When we got home they drew pictures for Icicle and I put them in Diana's box that night at work. Here is a picture of the famous Icicle.

I know that you are wondering, "What happened with the ultra cool t.p. binoculars?" Well, when we walked out of Kohl's, I realized a couple of things. 1. It was flipping cold outside~too cold for the park 2. Kohl's had a nice sidewalk that went completely around the building and parking lot~which was lined with trees and bushes. So, we got our Nature Notebook and binoculars out of the car and started around Kohl's looking for signs of spring. The boys quickly spotted (haha~spotted~dalmatians~I'm tired, so just laugh for me) signs of spring. Joseph drew a flower and picked a few dandelions and a couple of pretty little purple flowers. Spencer drew a bush with flower buds, and Mommy drew the tree with flower buds. Then we walked the entire perimeter of Kohl's. It took a half hour. We looked at lots of things and had some very interesting conversations about spring, dogs, car washes, pt cruisers, dogs, car washes, stoplights, service projects, the fact that we were cold, dogs and car washes. (o: We wrote an I Love You note and put it Daddy's car, and then we went home. It was a very fun day and it was really hard having to leave home that night for work. Joseph even informed me that I was a good mom. So, here are a couple of pictures of my 'spring spies.'
That's all I have for that day. Yesterday we did the usual drive to Seattle, but we drove a different way getting there. The boys really love just riding in the car. We got them a burger from Dicks Drive-In(YUM!), and they got a little gulp from a 7-11(a huge thrill!!). Travis and I read together for a while and we called it a good day. (o: Today I think we might go visit the Covington library. They spent 4 months remodeling it and I hear it's fabulous. The boys are super stoked to see it, so if we go, I'll give a report. Until then...have a super day!