Halloween Fun

FCC Fall Carnival

This may have been E’s first year to really participate in the carnival at school.  She seems to get sick right around Halloween every year and misses out.  Well she was ready for celebrating this year.  “Mom, I will wear Tinkerbell and you will be another princess and we will do princess dances together all over the carnival!”  Well, Mom did not dress up but was prepared to dance if called upon.  E is all talk before events, so when it came time to go she didn’t want anyone to look at her, talk about her costume or really even be near her.  Par for the course.  She did enjoy the carnival though and beamed when grownups told her she looked beautiful.  We played lots of games and got prizes and treats.  It was a really fun time!

Halloweeta

Grandma Lyn and Grandpa David hosted our annual tradition of carving pumpkins and having kid craziness at Coweta for Halloweeta.  The grownups did lots of great carving – check out that Jayhawk!  And the kids decorated pumpkins with stickers and decorated sugar cookies.  They had a blast as usual.  There were so many cute costumes to enjoy! 

Trick or Treating

The kids get better at trick or treating every year.  By the time they have mastered it, they will be too old to go any more.  :)  Ben was very brave this year and had no problems going up to doors and knocking.  Elizabeth did pretty well as long as Ben was by her side.  So we had to teach him not to bolt to the next house after he got his treat and to wait for his sister.  Ben was super impressed with one dad that really liked his costume.  He was surprised that a grown man would have so many questions about a Star Wars costume and like it so much.  Don't think he realizes how long Star Wars has been around!  Elizabeth got a bag of cookies at one house and exclaimed “Wow, a whole bag of cookies!  Why would they give me a whole bag of cookies!?” with much delight.  The weather was gorgeous and we didn’t even need jackets.  It was a beautiful evening and the kids went for blocks until they were both too tired to go on.  Ben even asked us to carry his candy.  Mom agreed to if she could keep it.  He managed to carry it the rest of the way home somehow.  :)  The kids enjoyed reviewing their treats at home and showing off what they got. 

 Animals at our annual trip to Carmichael's

 Corn Maze at Carmichael's

 Ready to Trick or Treat!

Family Pics

The Wednesday after fall break we had our pictures taken by a friend of ours that does amazing photography work.  We met in a field in Jenks and she pulled a couch and some other props out of her pickup and we got started.  The kids did great for a while until Ben hugged Elizabeth “too hard” around her neck and she had a meltdown.  Our sweet friend tried every way imaginable to entertain and distract her, but she just needed a little time.  We kept going and got some other pics and E rejoined us after a while.  We are so pleased with how they turned out! Thank you, Carissa!

6 Year Old Checkup

We took the whole family to the doctor this month so both kids could get Flu Mist and Ben could have his annual checkup.  He quickly reminded us that the shot schedule did not call for any shots until he is 11.  After we got that important business squared away we were excited to see how Ben was growing.  He measured 47.3” tall (79%) and weighed 49.6 lbs (69%).  He was very distressed that he didn’t measure 48 inches tall and that we had “cheated” Silver Dollar City somehow.  He was glad to hear that they let you count shoes there and that was how he was tall enough.  Everything checked out well and Ben is a healthy growing boy!  

Elizabeth had to go first for Flu Mist which she was not happy about, but she did really well.  She chose to lay on Mom and lean back so the medicine wouldn’t run out.  She was so brave and did an awesome job!  Ben went later in the appointment and decided he should lay down too even though he could probably sniff it just fine.  He was not happy about how it felt but took it just fine.  Now we can look forward to seeing how E measures up come January!

Our First Fall Break

This is the first year that Ben has been off of school for Fall Break.  We decided to make a family vacation out of it and head to Branson for our belated Silver Dollar City trip that we had cancelled in August.  We planned to hit the outlet mall while we were there as well to get a few more fall clothes and finish getting our family picture outfits.  We didn’t leave until Thursday for Branson so on Wednesday, Ben and Mom got to spend a day together.  We mostly shopped for clothes which was a total drag, but we also got to eat out at Pei Wei and take Ben back to Elizabeth’s school so he could visit some old teachers when we picked her up that day.  

On Thursday we headed to Branson.  We stopped for lunch on the way and always try to sneak in something new for the kids to try.  It wasn’t very adventurous (but the kids thought it was), but we tried Cheddar’s with the kids for the first time and had great success.  They both loved it and gobbled up their food.  We got into Branson around 2 and headed straight to the outlet mall.  We shopped until dinner time and wore those kids out!  The good part was that they ended up with lots of new things and everyone ended up with appropriate family picture outfits.  Success!  That night we headed to dinner and ended up at a sports bar.  We searched for a place that met all of our needs and finally convinced the kids that this would have kid friendly food.  Ben’s response – “Well, I guess we can go if they have cable.”  That got us a good family laugh.  We sat in a room with a giant TV and Ben was set.  The only problem was that he didn’t like any of the food.  At least he got to watch some football while the rest of us ate.  

We got checked in to our room and were ready to sleep hard after our long day when we started hearing this shrill noise.  Was it a child screeching outside?  Was it an annoying bird in a tree below our room?  It went on for what seemed like hours since bedtime started around 8 or 8:30 for the kids.  It seemed to stop before midnight though.  Well, the next morning we discovered the source of the noise.  In our beautiful hotel there were water features downstairs and really nice plants and landscaping in the lobby.  There were also two parrots in cages.  They were the source of the noisy squawks from the night before!  

We headed out to Silver Dollar City on Friday.  It was pretty cool so we wore heavy jackets.  It was nothing as bad as the fair weather though!  The kids got measured and Elizabeth was about 40 inches and Ben about 48 inches.  Tall enough to ride way too many things!  Elizabeth was braver this year than last.  She loved the smaller roller coaster along with several of the other rides in the area for littler kids.  There was plenty to ride if you were over 36 inches.  Ben fell into the adult category except there was one ride that he was not big enough for.  He could do most of the big roller coasters though.  We really loved Thunderation and Ben ended up riding it 9 times in two days.  He also was very brave and tried PowderKeg where you accelerate from zero to 53 mph in just 2.8 seconds.  Yikes!  Dad and Ben did that and Mom and E watched nervously.  Ben came off with big eyes and a big smile.  He was so pumped and jumping up and down with excitement.  Whew!  We also saw ten year olds get off crying so Ben’s reaction was a huge relief to Mom.  He said he wanted to make Mom go next, but then thought twice and said he had enjoyed it, but would prefer to do Thunderation again instead.  Good choice!  The kids rode hard Friday and Saturday.  They only stopped to watch one stunt show and of course stopped to eat.  We enjoyed lots of yummy treats while we were there.  The biggest hit were the apple dumplings with vanilla ice cream.  Yum!  Saturday was much warmer and by the afternoon we even got brave and tried a water ride.  We did the river float ride and got completely soaked from head to toe!  It was warm enough that it was fine, but neither kid liked being wet.  Elizabeth kept asking to change clothes.  We let them play in one of the giant play house areas for a while to distract them while they dried some.  

 

We really didn’t do much in the evenings since we skipped nap and rode so hard all day.  The kids were so tired!  We hit the Olive Garden on Thursday night and added yet another new place to our list of where the kids will eat.  So adventurous!  Then on Saturday night when we left the park, the kids were both asleep within 5 minutes so we headed out of town a bit and woke them up to eat some fast food on the way home.  We packed a lot into those three days and can’t wait to go back next time! 

Interview with a Six Year Old

What is your name?

Ben

How old are you?

6

What is your favorite color?

Red, blue and yellow!  (Some things never change!)

What is your favorite toy?

Wii - Mario and Sonic Olympics

What is your favorite TV show?

Fetch with Ruff Ruffman

What is your favorite food?

Chicken nuggets

Who are your friends?

Owen, Aubrey, Jake, Judah, Ayden, Drew, Brody, Holden, Daniel, Jordan

What is your favorite animal?

Penguins and monkeys are "tied up".

What is your favorite movie?

Mary Poppins

What is your favorite book?

Pretty Salma:  A Little Red Riding Hood Story (recent pick at the library)

What is your favorite outfit?

My new basketball uniform that I don't even have yet!

What makes you happy?

Playing basketball on a team

What makes you sad?

Being sick

What is your favorite song?

Dynamite (the kid friendly version)

What is your favorite game to play?

Wii Olympics

What do you want to be when you grow up?

A person that creates and plays video games.

What is the best present that you got?

An airplane

Tell me how you celebrated your birthday.

Soccer City and playing golf at Papa's

How tall are you now?

4 and 2 inches

What is your favorite part of school?

playing outside on the monkey bars

What can you do now that you are six?

Earn longer Wii time.  (wishful thinking, mister!)

Is there anything else you want to tell me about being six?

No, it is kind of boring and only 1% greater.  (Two of his current faves - claiming something is boring and talking about percentages.)

Birthday Bonanza

It has been birthday madness at our house for what feels like about a month.  Around Labor Day, Ben and Mom started making the guest list and ordering supplies.  This is a whole new ballgame in elementary school.  We chose to invite all of the boys in class so we could send invitations in school.  Shortly after we got emails for all of the parents and were able to follow up that way as invitations seem to get eaten by backpacks.  Ben was so excited to celebrate with new and old friends.

First we started celebrating with family.  On Mom’s birthday, Mom and Ben got to celebrate at Papa’s place.  We shared donuts with family and opened presents.  There is a new recreational area on the grounds so we enjoyed some putting and tennis after our celebration.  We’ll definitely be coming back to play again during our visits!

School was closed for a day between Mom and Ben’s birthdays so Mom and Ben took off together and enjoyed a day of fun.  We started with lots of Wii play.  Then we met some friends at mini golf.  We headed to lunch after that and then home to “rest”.  Resting lasted about 5 minutes, so we turned on a movie that Mom had been saving away.  Mary Poppins was Mom’s favorite movie in kindergarten and now it was time to see if Ben enjoyed it as well.  He really did, but Mom forgot that the movie is 2.5 hours long. . . almost two hours in, Ben politely asked if he could go outside for a little bit as he was tired of TV time.  That was a welcome surprise and we enjoyed a walk and some Italian ice.  What a fun day!  Hopefully a professional day for school will fall near the birthdays every year!

On Ben’s actual birthday, he woke up not feeling 100%.  He convinced Dad that he needed to stay home.  They took his birthday treats to school as it was his week to supply snacks for the class and we had planned to take birthday donuts on that day.  After being home a couple of hours, it seemed that Ben was itching to get back to school.  Allergies had just got him down, but he was starting to feel better.  He was able to make it for the second half of the day and was greeted by some wild birthday hugs from friends.  They all made birthday crowns that afternoon and the other kids put theirs away for their birthdays and Ben got to wear his and bring it home.  They enjoyed the donuts and sang to Ben.  He felt like a king!  We had planned to go to the fair that night, but with his allergies and the cloudy weather we opted for indoor fun.  We ended up at Andy B’s to play the arcade games.  Both kids had plenty that they enjoyed and could do.  It was really fun and we’ll definitely be back.  We ended up with some prizes and then headed out for birthday dinner.  After offering Ben to eat at any restaurant in all of Tulsa, he chose Subway!  He was the birthday boy so we obliged.  

Ben’s friend party was the following Saturday at Soccer City.  We had several friends that couldn’t come because they were playing at outdoor soccer games, but still had plenty of friends that could come.  Our coach played lots of games with the kids and they ran that field for an hour.  They were beat!  They had the best time though and Ben was so pleased.  We headed to a party area for cake and presents and Ben was spoiled yet again.  We are beyond blessed!  We enjoyed Lego Star Wars cupcakes and the kids wore Yoda party hats.  It seemed to be a hit and everyone left happy and tired.  We headed home with all of the grandparents to “relax” and enjoy some dinner together.  Ben tried to open and build every toy he got but then got tired and actually took a break.  Whew!  What a day!

Who knew this is what life with a 6 year old would be like?  It is pretty great!  We’ve all come a long way in these 6 years and we are soaking up this time of change, new experiences and growth.  We are off to a great start at elementary school, making friends and signing up for activities.  We are so blessed!

Our Little Ballerina

Elizabeth has really taken to dance and likes to show us her moves and poses that she practices each week.  It is the one day of the week that is easy to get her dressed and that she likes having her hair done.  She wears her royal blue leotard and pink tights and usually two little pigtails or knots in her hair.  She is beyond cute in this outfit and is so proud and excited.  There are only four girls in class and the others are all older.  

We are so excited to get to see her in action.  Although we are fully prepared that she won’t do anything while we are watching.  We’ll have to wait and see!  There is a visitation day in December and then a recital in May.  Mom is just a little excited to see her costumes.  :)  She’ll do a tap performance and ballet.  She mostly practices the ballet at home, but let out a “shuffle step” the other day.

A Cold and Rainy Fair

The fair always starts around Ben’s birthday so we usually go the second weekend it is open due to birthday business.  This year the first weekend was beautiful and the second weekend was cold and rainy.  The kids were really wanting to go though so we layered up and headed out.  The kids enjoyed some of the kids area rides and then we took a break to enjoy caramel apples which neither kid had tried before.  They both loved them and we found a place in one of the buildings to sit and eat to get out of the weather.  We rode some more rides including our annual family ride on the ferris wheel.  We had another snack of curly potatoes and decided to head home for dinner.  It was a short and sweet visit of only a couple of hours, but the kids got their ride and treat fix for the year.