Micah turns 5!!! (Almost :D )

I know, I post a lot of slide shows, but I love to take pics!!! Anyway, Saturday night we had Micahs birthday party! It was so much fun. He wanted a Hoops and Yoyo theme (they are Hallmark characters) and no one carried any of that stuff!! So, we set about making our own decorations, and I've got to tell you, I think it was the most fun I've had putting together a birthday party!! I went online and found some printable stuff, so we spent one evening coloring pages to put up around the house to decorate with. It was so great, sitting with the kiddos and hearing them talk about how special this was to make it by ourselves. We spent Friday evening putting things up, and they helped me decide what would go where. Saturday was the party, and of course, it was pouring rain all day. Micah had wanted a pinata, but I was not going to have a bunch of 5/6 year olds swinging bats in my house! So, we decided Twister and Apples to Apples for kids was a better alternative. They all had a ball playing. It really was a fantastic day!! I still have all the stuff up in the house b/c Micah dosent want to take it down until his REAL birthday....not that I mind it, it's pretty cheerful!! :D

Jenks Wild

Last week, Ethan had the opportunity to go to a environmental/science camp with all the 6th graders at his school. It was at Dry Gulch, in Pryor about an hour from here. They left Tuesday morning and finished up Friday afternoon! I got to go for the last 2 days and we had a ball!! We were in a bunk of 18 boys! Holy cow. During the day, the kids would have outdoor classes and activities and each night was something special. One night was a talent show and the night I was there was the "Social". Not a dance, but there was dancing :D. All the kids did a great job performing the line dances they learned earlier in the week. It was so neat to see Ethan in that element...I tried really hard just to blend into the background and not "mother" him. All the bunks were arranged so they had one or two people from their class in thier bunk, but for the most part, had to make new friends. E was really nervous about that, but did a fantastic job. It was quite an experience!! I cant wait to go with Clay!! :D

Oh Heavens......

Look closely and you'll see the new haircut the boys tried to give themselves!!! This morning I was talking to Micah and realized, HOLY COW!!! He'd tried to cut his hair!! I was trying not to giggle, lectruring about how it's not safe to have sissors by your eyes, etc...but it was too funny!! Clay came in and I was telling him to look at what Micah did, and then realized, OMG!!! He did it TOOO!!!!! At that point I was beyond trying to keep my composure. Both Josh and I were laughing pretty hard. Seriously, what else are you going to do??? Once Micah realized that we'd have to cut his hair, he was not so thrilled with his little adventure. Josh gave them buzz cuts tonight, and we stayed as long as we could, but it had to go pretty short. Too, too funny....
(By the way, for those of you thinking I'm a horrible parent for having sissors accessible to my children, they did it with thier safety sissors!!! Can you imagine the SAWING they had to do??? Oh, and they did get a serious lecture about sissors near eyes, and their ones taken away for right now. :D )

Our new tree house!

The weekend I was in Chicago, Grammy and Papa came down to visit and built a tree house! Josh and his dad worked all weekend, making an awesome fort for the boys. They love it! This weekend we painted it, and finished the trap door. Now, the neighborhood kiddos are begging their parents for one. ;D

Trip to Chicago!

About a week ago, I headed to Chicago to help my sister and bro-in law, Jason move into their new house in Lombard. It was a fantastic trip. We spent the first day unpacking and putting up pictures and things, and the next day was shopping!! We headed to the outlet mall for a bit, then into the city to meet one of my dearest friends who lives in the area, Mimi for some lunch. It was fantastic!! We went to the Cheesecake Factory right at the base of the Hancock Tower, and after eating, Betsy and I headed up to see the view. Pretty awesome...the boys got a kick out of seeing the swimming pools on top of the big buildings. :D Sunday was Jasons first *official* Sunday to preach and he did amazing. They are such a fit for the church, and I know they are oging to do amazing things there. We got to spend some time with all the peeps afterward, and it was fun to get to know some of them better. That afternoon, we headed to White Castle for some sliders. Yes, they are called sliders, and that is exactly what they do!! ;D Overall, it was a ball, eating amazing food, shopping, unpacking and just goofing off having agood time. We bawled like babies when it was time to go...and I already miss her like mad.