Memorial Day Extravaganza

Both of my brother's were in town for Memorial Day Weekend. We wish we could have spent more time with everyone, but the whole moving thing has really cramped our style.

On Friday, my sister Jenny graduated from high school. One more year and my parents will be empty nesters...hard to imagine! I actually took all 3 kids to graduation and we survived! We are proud of Jenny and glad we got to be there to help her celebrate her accomplishment.

The whole gang - Mike drove in from Kansas right at the end of graduation

Aunt Jenny with her 4 nieces and 1 of her nephews

The Pre-K graduate

Sabrina pushing one of the twins in the stroller. Sabrina LOVES babies and especially LOVES pushing them in the stroller. I'm thinking our new baby will either love to be strolled naturally or will learn to love it quickly!

On Saturday we threw my sister-in-law Emily a baby shower. Baby Sam is due the end of July and we can't wait for his arrival. I didn't take a single picture of the baby shower but Emily posted some on her blog.

Visitors from Texas

The first week Mike had to be up in Kansas working, his mom and sister came up from Texas to visit. I'm not sure they knew what they were getting into when they decided to come, but I REALLY appreciated all their help. They ended up watching the kids quite a bit so I could get some things done that I needed to.

While they were here we headed up to Bartlesville so Aunt Whitney could tour the town. My Aunt Julie and Uncle Ryan are building a new house on some land out of town and they have horses out there right now that they are considering purchasing. So the kids got to ride the horses and feed the llamas that are out there to "mow" and scare away coyotes. They had lots of fun and Benson told everyone that he wanted to be a cowboy.

Then we headed to the Kiddie Park. It is open on weekends in May and that is the best time to go. Short lines and beautiful weather! There was a storm coming in that Mike had to drive through in Kansas, but we timed our evening adventure perfectly. The first raindrops started to fall as we got to the car at the end of the night. Grace went on everything this year with no crying. Sabrina started out great on the bumper cars and the little cars but half-way through the cars decided that it was not for her and wouldn't ride anything else the rest of the night. And of course we ended with snocones!

I wish I had taken more pictures with Grandma and Aunt Whitney, but I didn't. I'll have to do better next time when they come to visit us in Kansas!

Excuse #2

Last weekend while Mike was home for the Memorial Day holiday he prepared a very fun scavenger/treasure hunt for our kids.

Big News Scavenger Hunt

1: First Clue
Get out the ingredients for pancakes:
Bisquick+syrup+eggs+milk

Taped to each ingredient was a piece of a picture that he had cut up and the next clue.


2: Second Clue
Get out what you need to brush your teeth

Taped to each toothbrush and the toothpaste was a piece of this picture which had been cut up and the next clue.


3: Third Clue
Look under the chairs in the kitchen

Taped under each kitchen chair were these pictures and the next clue.


4: Fourth Clue
Go look in Mommy and Daddy’s Closet!!


I'm guessing that most of you have guessed what our Big News is, but it took a little longer for our kids to figure it out.

In our closet was a piece of paper that said:
Mommy is going to have a baby!! So go give her tummy a smooch! AND baby bottles filled with M&Ms. The M&Ms definitely got a bigger response than the news that we are having a baby.

The news eventually settled in and I think they are all excited about it. Benson and Sabrina want a baby brother, Grace is hoping for a baby sister. Breeny will randomly look at me and say "there's a baby in your tummy," which I think is so cute.

Baby #4 is due December 6th so I am 13 weeks today. We are all very excited. I haven't ever really been sick when I'm pregnant, although I do have a few weeks of tiredness and nausea but I have been over that for a few weeks now. I am definitely grateful that our move is taking place now instead of in a few months.

So that is my excuse #2 for getting behind on things.

Move Update

Here is my #1 excuse for being so behind in almost every aspect of my life.

Mike started his job as Branch Manager at the Manhattan, KS branch of Wells Fargo Financial 3 weeks ago this Wednesday. Things are going pretty well so far and I think he is enjoying the new job. He has been staying with a family that are members of our church that have a basement room with a bathroom. They have been EXTREMELY kind to Mike and we are so blessed that they are willing to help us out in this way so we can save our relocation money for some of the many other expenses that come with moving.

We are in the process of buying our first home. We are hoping to close in 3 weeks or so, but you never know how long these things can take.

So obviously we are living apart for the time being which is no fun. We are ready for this part of the process to be behind us. I know there are many people out there who have done it for much longer or deal with separation much more frequently and really you all amaze me. But we are surviving and this too shall pass, right?

There ends excuse #1....

Last Day of Pre-K

Life has been a little crazy around here lately, and I definitely have lots of blogging to catch up on. But I didn't want to miss marking Benson's last day of Pre-K.

Benson has grown so much this year it amazes me. He was very blessed to have two of the best teachers ever, Mrs. Gifford and Mrs. Moeiera. They have been so positive and helped Ben progress in so many ways, I am so grateful for them. It is hard to believe that he will be in kindergarten in the fall. He has really loved school, but he is definitely excited for summer vacation.

Last Friday, the girls and I went to school with Benson to help with water day. They got to wear their swimsuits and spend the afternoon playing in the water outside. It was fun to see Benson interact with his classmates and get a glimpse of what went on in his classroom. It is impressive to see a bunch of 4 and 5 year olds recite the Pledge of Allegiance in unison. Here are some pictures from water day and the last day of school.

They had shaving cream, bubbles, sprinklers, and water tables for all the kids to enjoy. They loved it!

Benson in his favorite center, reading center. There was some time left after we came inside from water day so the kids got to pick which center they wanted to go to and Benson headed straight for reading center. He's reading the Reptiles and Amphibians Dictionary, which is favorite according to Mrs. Moeiera.

Benson with his good buddy Miles on the last day of school. Miles was also a walker after school, so we would walk home with him, his older sister, and his mom. Benson loves going to play at Miles' house and I know he will miss him when we move. It's hard to leave good friends!

One of the things that I think is so great about Mrs. Gifford is all the songs she taught the kids this year. Previous to starting school we often had to threaten Benson to get him to sing anything. It's been fun to hear him sing all the songs that he learned at school so much that Grace and Sabrina can also sing them. Here's a little video of his class singing. This was a week ago and he can pretty much sing the chorus by himself now.

(technical difficulties with the video...check back later)

Overheard during Family Night

Daddy: Benson do you know what responsibility means?
Benson: No, but I know what indestructible means.

Good news, bad news

The good news is that after 2 1/2 years with Wells Fargo Financial, Mike has been promoted to Branch Manager!!

The bad news is the branch he will be managing is in Manhattan, Kansas. So we will be moving soon...very, very soon!

More details to come...

My Little Dollhouse

Last week the girl's got invited to a birthday party at a cute little party place called My Little Dollhouse. They have all kinds of dress-up clothes, do the girl's hair, paint nails, and put make-up on. They have baby dolls, tea party sets, hula hoops, and a castle bounce house. It is the ultimate girly experience. Grace changed her outfit at least 3 times, while Sabrina chose to wear her first pick the entire time. Sabrina refused to let them touch her hair, no surprise there as she hardly lets me touch her hair these days and she only ever wants a barrett, NO ponytails! They both loved all the "sprinkles" (glitter) that they put on their eyes, nails, and hair.

1 - Sabrina in her Snow White dress, 2 - Grace getting some eyeshadow, 3 - Sabrina getting her nails painted, 4 - Sabrina showing off her blue sparkly eye shadow, 5 - Grace's fancy hairdo (it's supposed to look like a bow), 6 - Playing Ring around the Rosies in the Secret Garden room, 7 - Sabrina hula hooping, 8 - Grace in her 3 outfit change, 9 - Sabrina playing babies and tea parties

The whole group of princesses


Once the girls were all done up, they did a little runway show. They would annouce each girl and then try to get them to walk to the star and pose. Grace was the only one who really did it, but she was also the oldest girl there. She was so into it and I have laughed every time I've watched this video. Hilarious!

They gave all the girls pom pons and had them dance together. So cute!

I see many more trips to My Little Dollhouse in our future!