It's done!

Nick's new office

(in the process of getting organized)

Nick and Steve have been working so hard on their new offices, and the addition is finally done! (except for a few touch ups here and there, of course) They moved in this past week, so after lunch at my mom and dad's house on Sunday we went to check it out.

The Boss
Trying out the new customer service counter
The hallway of the new addition

We were finishing up lunch and Brady decided to play with some of Grammie's dress up collection. He'll probably regret this picture someday!

Hello Spring!

Spring weather is finally here to stay. Before this we've had a couple of warm days here and there, but this week has finally stayed consistently warm. The kids are excited to be wearing shorts to school, and I'm excited that we can all get out and enjoy the fresh air. This is a recap of how we've enjoyed the nice spring weather.

MONDAY

After school we headed to the park with the Wixoms and the Johnstons.

Just hanging around

Brady, Grant and their friend Cole

TUESDAY

We played at the park next to our house with Drew's friends Caleb and Rebecca. I didn't take any pictures, but it was fun.

WEDNESDAY

We met Owen and Kylie at the park while the big kids were at school. The kids were enjoying it so much that we stayed for almost 3 hours. I find that staying at the park is a great way to avoid the laundry that's waiting for me at home.

Building a castle

This is Drew's friend Owen. He was actually playing at the park with his hat over his eyes like this. He's too funny!

Having a snack. All that playing made us hungry!

THURSDAY

We tried to take a break from the park and go to the zoo with Mazee and Emmy. They arrived first and were told that the zoo was closed because the parking lot was flooded from all the rain the night before. They were only letting field trip buses through. Drew and Mazee were both upset, so we tried to think of somewhere to go that would make them happy. You guessed it! We went to the park.

Drew was trying to avoid having his picture taken. I don't think he realizes that I can still see him even if he can't see me.

Emmy got her first tooth today! Hooray Emmy!

I don't get any points for coming up with original things to do this week, but I am happy that we live close to this many fun parks. Spring is my favorite season. I hope everyone else is enjoying it, too!

Swim Lessons

Drew is taking swim lessons on Monday mornings. The first week was a little rough when Drew realized that I wasn't getting in the pool with him. He stuck his lip out in a pout for the first half of the class, but finally decided he liked it.

Swimming with his teacher, Ms. Glenda

The best part of swim lessons is playing with the toys at the end. He loves to pour water on Ms. Glenda's head.

WallBall

Wallball is the hot sport at Glenpool Elementary right now. The competition at recess is fierce! Grant and Brady wanted Nick to practice wallball with them at home this weekend so that they would be ready for recess on Monday. For those of you not familiar with the popular sport of wallball (I'm sure it will be the next olympic sport), it has something to do with throwing a tennis ball at the wall and trying to catch it. If you don't catch it, you have to run and tag the wall before someone else grabs the ball and throws it at the wall. If the ball hits the wall before you tag it, you're out. I guess tagging the wall can be quite dangerous since tennis balls are being pegged at the wall. So, now you can understand the popularity of this sport. I can only hope that all this practice will pay off and my kids will get their college education paid for with a wallball scholarship.

Cheese

I told Drew to "say cheese" and this was the face I got.
I just thought I should put a picture of Drew's favorite toy. All of our kids have loved Thomas the Tank Engine, but Drew is obsessed with it. He can play for hours without taking a break. He was saying a prayer last week, and he said, "Bless that we won't have to go anywhere today. Bless that we can stay home all day so I can play Thomas". I know right now you are all feeling sorry for Drew. After all he is the poor kid who occasionally has to leave home to grocery shop or pick his brothers up from school. It's so hard to be 3!

School Carnival

Saturday was our school carnival. The boys have been looking forward to going all week, and they had a blast. There were lots of games and other fun things to do. It was 80 degrees and sunny yesterday, so it couldn't have been a more perfect day! We love Saturdays!

These are some of the cupcakes we made for the cupcake walk at the carnival. Our creativity doesn't come across very well in the picture, but Grant's cupcakes are gummy fish swimming in blue frosting.
Brady getting his face painted
Grant's finished product
Brady supporting his favorite team

Drew loved this bowling game. A still picture did not do him justice, so here is the video. His form looks a bit more like baseball than bowling, but he was having so much fun.

Baby Shower

Lauren, Lacey, Kressyda and me

(either I'm really tall, or my friends are really short!)

Really yummy shower food!

Tonight we had a baby shower for my friend Kressyda at my house. She's having a girl, so naturally I LOVED all the adorable pink clothes and hairbows she received. We don't have a lot of pink around our house! It was fun to have so many friends over to celebrate. Lauren and Lacey

made all the food and it was delicious!

During the shower, Nick and the boys went out for pizza and to see "Horton Hears a Who" for the second time. The kids were exhausted after a soccer game, a birthday party at Bounce U, and then movie and pizza night with dad. It was definitely a busy Saturday, so I'm hoping for a restful Sunday.

Gotcha Bracelets

Brady and his collection of 12 gotcha bracelets

There are so many reasons why I love Glenpool schools. One of the reasons is that they have so many creative behavior reward programs. For the last 9 weeks of school, the elementary grades are participating in the "Gotcha" program. When a child is caught doing something good, teachers and other school staff give them a gotcha bracelet. They can then redeem the gotcha bracelets for prizes. Some of the kids, like Brady, are saving their bracelets. Others, like Grant, are cashing them in. Yesterday Grant turned in 4 gotchas and got a pass to wear slippers to school today. He has also redeemed his for a "no homework" pass. I think it's great that our school is focusing on rewarding positive behavior instead of just punishing bad behavior.

Warrior of the Week

This week Grant was chosen again to be Warrior of the Week. The Warrior of the Week from each class gets to eat lunch on Friday in the "Warrior Cafe" with the Assistant Principal. They also get an extra long recess (Grant's favorite part). Each time the children are picked, Mrs. Aikins writes a few words about why they were chosen. This is what she said about Grant this week, "Grant does his best work everyday and comes to school prepared." Way to go Grant!

Playing Pretend

I was mopping the kitchen floor, so I moved all of our dining table chairs into the living room. When I got done mopping, this is what Drew had created with a blanket and the chairs. He was playing "Santa" and the chairs were his reindeer. He has quite the imagination.

Drew's headband is actually an exercise band that I work out with. He has made the band into every possible toy he could think of, and now he is wearing it as a costume. It's interesting to see what captures his attention. I'm sure tomorow it will be something else!

My silly boy!

Today I was standing in the checkout line at Sam's Club, and I could hear people laughing behind me. I glanced at Drew and noticed he was playing peek-a-boo with an older couple behind us. Then, as I was unloading our groceries out of the cart, I heard more laughter. Drew was making silly faces and very silly noises at the lady in the next line over. She obviously thought he was hilarious which made him act even more crazy. As we were leaving the store, he said, "I make people laugh just like Tom and Jerry." Grant and Brady love to watch "Tom and Jerry" cartoons, and they crack up at the funny parts. Apparently Drew has noticed and decided that Tom and Jerry are great role models. He's such a funny boy!

Nick's Project

It's been a long time since Nick has had a building project, so he was excited when they decide to expand their office. Even though it's been a lot of hard work, he has enjoyed doing something different for a few weeks. They are adding larger offices for Nick, Steve, and Ben.

Easter

My camera broke just before Easter, so I wasn't able to take any pictures. My sister just sent me the pictures that she took, so I thought I would post a few. (Thanks Alicia!) We got together the Friday before Easter and dyed eggs at Grammie's house. On Saturday, everyone came to Grant and Brady's soccer game, then we had an Easter egg hunt at the park next to our house. Actually, we had 3 Easter egg hunts because the kids kept wanting to do it again. Grant and Brady hunted the first time, then after that they were in charge of hiding the eggs for the younger kids. On Sunday, we had another egg hunt after Easter dinner at my mom's house. We love spending time with our cousins!

Drew and Brent

Kaylee
Mazee
Emmy didn't hunt eggs, but isn't she adorable?

Basketball Party

Tonight our basketball team, The Glenpool Bulls, celebrated the end of our season with a pizza party at Mazzios. We came in 1st place in our league

after only losing 1 game!

Brady accepting his trophy.

He thought it was so funny that he had to shake his mom's hand.

Proudly showing off his trophy

Grant accepting his trophy

Grant showing off his trophy and his 1st place free throw medal. The boys participated in a free throw contest on the day of our last game against all the other 1st and 2nd grade basketball players. Grant came in 1st place! His friend and teammate, Josh, came in 2nd place. Brady was such a great sport. He kept telling people in the stands, "That's my brother that won the free throw contest." He was as proud as Grant was.

Grant, Josh, Darius, Brady waiting for their pizza

Our team cake tasted as great as it looked!

Our team (and a few siblings) enjoying pizza

Drew was so tired during the pizza party. Here he is about to fall asleep on Nick's shoulder. He had a busy day playing with his friend Jonathon while I was at the Aquarium with Grant. (see next post)

The Bulls with their trophies

Aquarium Field Trip

The 2nd grade classes at Glenpool have been doing a science unit about ocean life for several weeks. Today they finished that unit by taking a field trip to the Oklahoma Aquarium. Even though we've been to the aquarium many, many times, Grant was excited to go with his friends. I was able to go as a parent volunteer, and I was assigned a group of 5 kids to keep up with throughout the day. Kinzie, one of Grant's classmates, kept commenting that she couldn't believe they were learning and having fun at the same time.

Our group--Stephanie, Kinzie, Hunter, Colin and Grant holding

shark eggs and other neat sea life

Waiting to touch a stingray

Enjoying the brand new otter exhibit

Petting a shark

Grant and his teacher, Mrs. Aikins

(Grant's face is still red and windburned from our ski trip. Ouch!)