Nose Job

A couple of weeks after Ben broke his wrist - actually the exact day that he got to take his brace off after his wrist had healed he was jumping around in a friend's room and somehow face planted into the bunk beds.  Mom was sure his nose was broken as it bled pretty good and caused immediate swelling.  There wasn't really anything we could do for it other than ice and ibuprofen though as it wasn't really crooked.  It became a joke that we had a wild small group at church as Ben kept coming home banged up from it.  Mom even had to send a note to his teacher titled - Another Sunday Night Injury.... 

Basketball Goal

The boys have had a major project underway to install a basketball goal for our family.  Dad selected a fancy adjustable goal that would allow us room to grow.  The first step was to find out where the utility lines ran and find an appropriate location for the giant hole that would accommodate the goal.  Rain kept hindering plans, but finally the hole was dug and it was dry enough to pour the concrete base.  The rebar and base plate that went down into the ground was pretty impressive!  Dad got the pole installed himself, but it took a couple of friends to help install the backboard.  It was challenging, but turned out really well.  Ben is probably the biggest fan of the goal and plays any chance he gets.  Elizabeth has her fun too and mostly likes to be lifted to "slam dunk" on the goal.  We are looking forward to enjoying lots of family time on the driveway.  It has already made us popular with the tween/teen boys in the neighborhood, which Ben thinks is very cool.  They are all very respectful and have only played a few times.  Ben probably wishes they would play more so he could watch the big boys shoot.

Meeting New Cousins

We were recently blessed with the opportunity to meet some new members of our family.  Dad's Uncle David was married recently.  His wife has a four year old and they just recently had a baby together.  The whole family was in Tulsa for a couple of days and we were able to fit in a short visit with them between dinner and bedtime.  The kiddos are technically Dad's cousins, but we are all claiming them as new cousins.  Firsts, seconds and once-removeds are just too confusing  Elizabeth was really interested in the baby, but was not a fan of sharing toys with the four year old.  She held it together until bedtime though and tolerated it quite well for most of the visit.  Ben was a little shy, but very interested.  He had a lot of questions about his new family and looks forward to seeing them again soon. 

Mom's cousin had a second child and the kids are dying to meet him.  We are going to wait until he is a little bigger, but Mom got to see him at the hospital.  He is a doll just like his big brother!  We are so grateful to have new young family members for the kiddos to grow up with.  It gives Elizabeth her baby fix as she loves visiting babies and thinks that two new babies at church are her cousins.  We will take them for sure, but now she legitimately has some new cousins to claim.