Fun with the Kids

For the past several months, we've had a pretty great system going on. It's nothing too original, but seems to work well for our kids who love rewards and visible progress. We call them the "Puff Jars." Benjamin and Peter each have their own jar, and try to do good things to earn puffs. They're not allowed to ask for puffs, but we fill them whenever we catch them being good. Once their jar is filled with puffs, they get an outing of their choice with either me or Paul.

The latest outing that they earned was a trip to the City Museum with Paul. Paul and I have only been there once, but this was the first time for the boys. And since that day had such nice weather, they got to explore some new areas that we never got to. SUCH a crazy place. You can see Benjamin almost reaching the top of that giant dome and Peter looking on from the bottom.

 I tell people who have never been that you have to have a certain level of tolerance for filth. There are so many bizarre passages and places to climb though, most of which I have no idea how you'd ever keep clean. But if you're okay with climbing all over decades' worth of germs, it's a blast.

Benjamin and Peter up on the roof.

 And riding the carousel on the roof.

 Exploring the craziness outside.

 Climbing up to the helicopter via metal tubes FIVE STORIES UP!

All in all, a perfect outing for boys! They had a blast!

 And on an unrelated note, we've been getting our Thanksgiving on a little early this week. We're so excited to spend the holiday with our families! Peter and Nora had fun making little apple turkeys while Benjamin was at school.

We also made butter in little glass jars (sort of like pilgrims), which was right up Nora's alley. I think butter is her favorite food group.

 Our Thanksgiving tree that we're filling with "thankful leaves" was started on Sunday, and Nora made sure that we added Hello Kitty. Seriously, I don't think her life would be complete without it. :)