And the morals to the story are...................

Notice I said morals ;0).

So my hopes that my leaky sink was NOT caused by the "work" that the boys did the other day were quickly dashed today. Rob took a look at it last night, and his exact words were, "Well, I know what's wrong with it, but I'm not sure what to do about it." He did some internet searching and then decided to go to bed and try again today. He called a "fix-it" kind of friend, and later after their conversation we were talking. "Did you talk to Jim?", I asked. "Yep, but he's not sure what to do either. He doesn't think that the gasket needs to be replaced. There's only 2 bolts and there should be 3. I can't figure out how that could have happened, and I have no idea where to get one that will fit." "Bolt - did you say bolt?!?!", I replied w/ a jolt. "Ummmmmmmmmmm.................I found a bolt yesterday when I cleaned up the water. I have it in the laundry room." Uh Oh!!

So here are the morals of the story:

1. Children are never as talented and innocent as their mother thinks that they are:).

2. Always, always tell you husband about random bolts that show up around the same time that the sink starts leaking:).

3. Never, NEVER leave the little plumbers unattended. They may have good intentions but the aftermath is not worth the peace that you get while they are busy:).

We are not saying that Kyle was the main problem with the sink. We hypothesize that it was loose and that maybe he just gave it the nudge it needed to fall out. We were surprised, however, that when asked about what he had done under the sink, he showed Daddy his Phillips screw driver (the right tool for the job) and told him how to use it. Maybe he does have a career in the plumbing field ahead of him - we'll just need to work on refining his skills a bit more before then!!

My new plumbers

I was making dinner last night and stepped away to answer the phone. When I returned, I found the boys hard at work - under my kitchen sink and at the garbage can.

Me: "What are you guys doing?"
Kyle: "We're fixing this leaky joint." -with the utmost sincerity
Me: "Oh, I didn't know that it was broken."
Brock: "Yea, and this is big guys work, so you can't help us because you're not old enough."
Me: "Okay. Thanks for taking care of this." - thankful that they don't think I'm old:)
Kyle: "Your welcome!"

Hard at work - not sure what Brock was trying to tell me here:).

I guess he decided that he needed Lovey's help for this one!!

As they were working, I kept getting a running commentary - "This is hard work, Mom!".

Don't you just love all of the tools - spread out everywhere like a true plumber?

Need a different tool!

Back to work!!

Not sure why Brock was working on the garbage drawer. My best guess is that Kyle told him that there wasn't enough room for both of them to work under the sink and told Brock to move over there. Brock is such a compliant brother, most of the time:).

I was glad to see that they work quickly, as it was a little hard to make dinner with a kitchen full of plumbers!! They were back to playing with their Thomas mat in no time flat.

So if you have any plumbing needs, feel free to call the Leman boys. They work fast and cheep - a Hershey's Kiss is probably all that they would ask for payment. One side note - we do NOT guarantee their work. It probably was just a fluke, but the the sink really did start to leak today:(. Coincidence, I hope:).

The budding artists

Brock and Kyle got watercolor paints for Christmas this year, and now, each morning I awake to the question, "Is it paint day?". They LOVE to paint. They love it more when I sit and paint with them, and they can tell ME what to paint. I've never been the artistic type, but I have to admit, it is kind of fun:). Here are some of their recent works and some pictures of them in action:

Kyle's poster board masterpiece - we had to move on to something bigger (and thicker) than regular old paper:). I love how he tried to fill every inch of it!!

Brock's poster board masterpiece.

Brock is usually the one asking to paint, and is also the one handing me his brush to make his pictures come alive:).

Kyle, on the other hand, is a pretty independent thinker - he likes to do it his way, much like he approaches his whole life:).

Hard at work.

Trying to keep the colors separated is always a challenge, except for blue. They both LOVE blue!!

Brock is definitely his Daddy's boy - notice his tongue sticking out when he's concentrating.

So focused.

More silly mouth movements. It's entertaining to watch him.

More focus:).

And one last shot of our first day's work. I've decided to take pictures of the masterpieces as it might eventually be a bit much to store all of their beautiful creations. Shhhhhh, don't tell them:).

Morning wisdom from Brock

B: "Kyle, if you don't share the tools with me, God will take away your tools!!"

Kyle better watch out - sounds like Brock has an inside connection:).

Snow much fun!!

Well, the boys finally made it out for a couple of snowy fun times!! These pics were taken a couple of weeks ago, and we've been out a couple of times since this. Brock and Kyle missed out on the December snows. Mommy was recuperating and Daddy just doesn't "do snow" unless strongly encouraged by a participating Mommy:). None the less, if the current snow patterns keep up for the rest of the winter, they will definitely get their fill for this year!! Here are some pics of our fun:

Working hard with their shovels - garden shovels, but who really knows the difference when you're 2:)!!

I was really impressed with their work ethic. They may have moved more snow onto the sidewalks than off of the sidewalks, but boy did they work!!

In action:). Love the snow behind!!

"Where do you want this one, mom??"

"We aim to please!!"

As I've mentioned before, we are BIG Caliou fans around here. One of their favorite episodes is of Caliou doing "winter stuff" which includes making snow angels. They talked about making snow angels continually until they finally got the chance to do it for themselves. Here's Kyle in action.

And, the finished product. Not too bad!!

Brock didn't really enjoy the whole process so much after he realized he had to lay down in the "Cold, cold snow!!". He would never fully lay back, so we did not get any angels out of him:).

Next, it was on to the snowball fight. I think Daddy is explaining the rules here. I can just about imagine the instructions: "Throw them only at each other, not at me. And don't throw them in each others faces!!!"

Rule #1 - broken!!

Really broken:)!!

"This is what you get, Dad, for not taking us out to play when it snowed before!!"

Daddy's retreat.

Lofting snowballs to see them fall.

"Look, Mom!! I made it snow!!"

One of my cute "snowmen".

And the other:).

Love, love, love this smile, and this boy!!

And this boy and his beautiful baby blues!!!

Rosey cheeks:).

Recovery time under many blankets with a little Caliou.

All tuckered out.

Times 2:).