Character Kid

Emily was selected as the character kid for her class for the 5th six weeks at her school.  This is a really big deal because only one kid is chosen per class each six weeks who exemplifies the character quality they have been learning about.  This particular six weeks the character trait they were focusing on was acceptance.  Emily was so thrilled to have been picked.  Here are pictures from the assembly the character kids were honored at.  Way to go, Miss Em!

 

Lunches with Kat

Being the youngest of 3 with big brother and sister away at school most days can be kinda crummy at times...mainly when you want a playmate & mom is busy at the moment.  But, it does has its perks too.  We don't do it often, but occasionally Kat & I will go grab a lunch out together.  As I sit opposite her watching her eat I can't help but smile at how cute she is & be inwardly grateful for these moments we get to share, just she & I.  It's on those occasions I've grabbed my phone out of my purse & snapped a photo so I can remember what she looked like on those days, sitting across from me. Looking so cute at just 3 years old...because I know I'm going to want to remember what that looked like. 

This one was on a cold, rainy day back when she was so in love with soup she would eat it at any meal.  So we went to Panera & it was gooooood.

 Burger at Mooyah.  She ate the whole thing.

Sack lunches at the zoo...

and ice cream after.

And I snapped this picture during one of our weekly trips to the grocery store.  I always bring along a little container of Goldfish for her to snack on to help the experience go a little smoother.  :-)

Legos

Jonathan loves Legos.  He has some of the sets you can make things with, but he prefers to just create out of his own imagination.  He had a small amount of them from a while back.  But he got more for Christmas and even more for his birthday.  Now he has over 1,000 pieces.  These photos were from a family evening of Lego creating.    

 

 

Beaver's Bend

We just went to Oklahoma over Easter weekend to the Beaver's Bend area and stayed in a nice log cabin. The kids loved, loved just playing in the house.  They ran all around it.  Up and down the stairs, under the stairs, in their room...everywhere.  They thought it was the best and didn't want to go anywhere else.  There was a hot tub out on the deck which Joel and I soaked in under the stars each night.  Down the hill was a little stocked pond that we attempted to fish in.  We caught nothing, but it was neat just watching the kids try it for the first time.  It was relaxing and a nice change of scenery for us all.

 Inside the cabin.  Very nice.

 

The view off the deck.  Looking down on the pond.

 

Joel and I enjoying a quiet morning on the porch.

 Watching the sun come up and listening to the birds.

 

The awesome hot tub!

 

Our fishing attempt.

 

Joel and Jon found some fun play guns in the nearby town.  They had a lot of fun playing around with them in the cabin the rest of the weekend.  The girls got in on the fun too.

 

Jon especially loved playing under the stairs.

Growing Family

The newest addition to our family arrived on Feb 28th.  My nephew, Joshua Allan.  He's a total cutie as you can see.  He was a few weeks early but a good weight and very healthy.  Welcome to the world and to our family, sweet Joshua.  You're a blessed little man!

Jon's 6th Birthday

Jonathan also had a great birthday this year.  Which is good because the 2 days right before he was home sick with the stomach flu.  Ick!  Luckily he was all better to go back to school on his actual birthday - which is a big deal when you are in Kindergarten.  His class sang to him, he got to wear a special birthday hat all day and his name was read over the announcements.  Katherine and I also brought him a special lunch from Chick Fil A and he got to select an ice cream from the cafeteria for dessert. 

Grandma and Grandpa joined us for dinner because Grandma's birthday is the same week.  So They got to celebrate together this year.  Jonathan had requested a chocolate cake with lots of sprinkles and decorations.  I made him & Mom (aka Grandma) their own individual 3 layer chocolate cakes and cupcakes for the rest of us.  I really enjoy baking so it was a treat for me too. 

 

Jon got some really nice presents this year.  His favorite was the Lego Star Wars video game.  He could not wait to play it so he ended his birthday playing a level with his dad.  A very nice 6th birthday for one cool kid.

 

Em's 9th Birthday

Emily had a self-proclaimed "great birthday" this year.  Kat & I took her a special Chick-Fil-A lunch to school & then she got to buy ice cream from the cafeteria for dessert (she chose an all fruit Strawberry bar - love that!)  Then we had dinner together as a family followed by a yummy fruit tart I made for her.  She LOVES fruit & we decided this would be a great birthday desert this year. 

And...by the way...Jonathan brought his suit to me, **on his own**, and asked me to help him put it on so "he could look nice for her birthday dinner."  I said of course I would help, while trying not to let him see that he totally made me tear up.  Here's a photo of him in it holding the birthday card he made for her.

Now, lest you think they get along like this all the time, know that perfect harmony is soooooooo not the case.  They are typical siblings, through and through.  We have plenty of "stop copying me's!!!!!!" and "Moooooommmmmmmm, Emily did this, or Jon did that or, Kat won't give this back."  You get the point.  But, I am impressed on a fairly regular basis with how sensitive and caring Jonathan really is about his sisters.  He is going to rock husbandhood (because that's a word).  Having 2 sisters living with you 24-7 is some pretty great training in my book.

After dinner Em had requested that she get to pick out her present from Justice (a girl's clothing store she is particularly fond of).  Grandma & cousin Edna met us there to also contribute to the shopping spree.  She had a blast.  Mom (grandma) even texted each outfit to Emily's Aunt Kerry in California to which Kerry would text back her responses. It was fun.

Once home she modeled her new things to her daddy who did a great job praising her picks.  Then off to bed.  Great birthday it was!