March Moments

Glow Night
Always a fun night. :) The kids look forward to this each winter and its so simple. This year they even made tickets and a program for the parents for fun!

National Oreo Day
A friend told me about this one because I mentioned to her how much Makin loves Oreo anything (favorite ice cream is cookies and cream, loves dirt...) so we just couldn't resist a treat that day!

Silly Hat and Sock Day

Spirit Week
This year GCA had their first spirit week. It was so fun to dress up!

Crazy Hair Day

Cathy's Critters Field Trip
This was such a fun afternoon! We headed about 45 minutes out of town to a farm with a variety of animals. It was organized by the school and we had an awesome turn out! All but two of Lorelei's classmates made it and about half of Makin's class. They did split us into two groups, so I missed getting to see L bottle feed a baby pig! Thankfully Brittany took a few pics of what I missed with the older group. (Both kids wanted to be with their classmates of course, so we divided and conquered as best we could!) Thankfully when they got to the petting zoo and hayride part of the afternoon we ended up back together, so I got a few more shots of L.

Listening intently.

Chinchilla! So cute! We loved watching it take a dirt bath in a bowl.

Yep. That is a kangaroo. There were also a couple of wallabies. Miniature cow, goats, chicks and a pony ride.

Baby pig, ostrich, bunny, a friendly cow and of course, a dog!

Hayrides

Golf
There is nothing like warmer weather to bring out the golfers in the family. Both kids wanted to try out a few training clubs Brad recently found to help out some friends who are wanting to learn. So as the kids were trying them out they had a little golf recess. Brad and Makin haven't made it to the driving range as much as they would have liked the last couple of months, but I'm pretty sure they will make up for it now. They went on Saturday and were so adorable in their matching outfits! Brad is ecstatic Makin is so excited to play golf!

Spring Break

I'm definitely starting to looooove spring break! It somewhat takes me back to the before-school days where we could enjoy long days outside and making time for friends. This year's break was a great balance of to-dos and fun!

Loved another chance to wear her Merida dress!

Medieval Times
Brad and I really felt like this was the right timing for this bit of family fun. Both kids are at the right age, and Makin, especially, is into knights right now. We were so thankful we could make this happen for a little spring break splurge.

Learning about the falcon.
They had a flight of the falcon as part of the show but they liked seeing him up close pre-show.

Place Setting.
You eat everything with your fingers. :)

"Mama can we do this again? I love this!"

The kids both really enjoyed it and were so thankful for this. I helped us feel like we were on vacation for a couple of hours. :)

Down Time
One thing we loved about this week was just having extra down time. There is just something about not having to get into school mode, either home or GCA and just have time for little things.


The kids ask to see the Winter and Hope webcam, and we check it out maybe once a week or so.  This particular day we happened to catch a training/recess session.

Nerf Guns + Easter Eggs = Entertainment

Outdoors + Good Book = Happy Camper

And of course...more Lego building.
Built Item #3 from his Lego Boost kit.

Friend Time
I was thankful several friends were able to get together over the week.

Brittany, Savannah and Charlie met us at a park.

We caught up with Mary, Aubrey, Morgan and Kyle at lunch and the lake.
Miss seeing them every week!

Gorgeous Weather
I remember a couple of years ago it rained almost every day of break. I was so thankful this was not the case this spring. It was a bit on the chilly side, but warmed up nicely almost every afternoon, so we really loved getting some outdoor time over break!

Arbor Hills Afternoon 

Pi Day
What a fun holiday to celebrate! The pizza's were $3.14 each so we couldn't resist a fun night out!

St. Patrick's Day
We celebrated with green eggs (blender with spinach before cooking, thanks Heather!) and pancakes with non-dye green dye you cannot see. :)

In the afternoon we had our homemade Shamrock Shakes! So yummy!

I'm really sad to see the week end!

Makin at 7 1/2

You continue to grow and bless us each day, sweet boy. Speaking of growing, you were THRILLED that you grew 1 1/2 inches in the last six months. (You are really unhappy you don't grow as fast as your sister, so this was a pretty big deal!)

You are a leader and I have loved watching this in action. I love that you are able to feel confident in leading but also respectful when others want to chime in or have other ideas.

You are still sweet. You are so patient with all of us. You always come and give me a hug when you know I need one. You know how to ask for things super-sweetly as well...which makes it way harder to say no. (Coming to mind, staying in bed longer for extra cuddles type of things.) Mrs. White often mentions she is amazed at how sweetly you deliver anything you say to people. You also know to use the sweetness and smile in all your persuasive tactics.

You love to be funny and laugh. I love that you have your buddy Charlie who helps bring out your silly side. You now think gross stuff is funny, which I know is a boy thing, but I'm not a fan.

You especially love all things Legos and robots.

You like to blare music from your room and right now love techno, especially Crazy Frog.

You don't go off and read for fun most of the time, but are getting there. You are reading a couple levels above grade-level, but like to have me nearby to tell you if there is a word you don't know.

Quotable Moments:
(Makin rollerblading around the living room...I hear a thud...)
Me: Are you okay?
Makin: Barely.


(Reading the GPS)
"Edgewood Doctor" (Edgewood Dr)

"Its like I'm living on grapes, RX bars and goldfish."

Me: Are you just going to look at those books on the drive then?
Makin: Yeah. And look out the window. The old fashioned way.

Lorelei: They are lying!
Makin: It's called false advertising.

(Leaving chapel after they had to work together as a class to build the tallest Lego tower in 4 minutes...info passed along from Mrs. White...) "I wish we could do that every chapel, only for 1,000 minutes!"

Celebrating 7 1/2 by measuring (which we do each 6 months)
and elated to see he grew 1 1/2 inches!

Brad: If you work really hard maybe you can have a car like that someday.
Makin: You might have more money than me.
B: Why is that?
M: Because my robots have to SELL!

Me: I'm so glad I haven't been on my phone at all this morning. I worked extra hard on that today.
M: I feel the love.
(Disclaimer...My main distraction is texting...and what a great motivator to do better about keeping my phone out of sight all morning!!!)

"I'm gonna have good memories of me helping you cook while I drink my milk."

"Tomorrow is going to be such a great day. Just hanging out with you building Legos."

Lorelei at 9 1/2

How can this be possible? So close to those double digits! It certainly seems possible when you look how tall you are! That is a comment people always make about you. "She's so tall!" You aren't a huge fan of it, but embrace it ok. You are excited you are almost eye-level with your mom. :) You have grown another 1 1/2 inches in the last 6 months.

You love hula right now and love showing us how well you know the dance in preparation for your recital in May.

You continue to love reading. Pretty much anytime you get a spare moment you go off and read. Right now you are reading the Winnie The Horse Gentler series and Boxcar Children. If you get tired of reading usually some coloring (favorites right now are the super-thin colored Sharpies) is the next choice. You still do pretend to a puppy as well.

Anything outside is also at the top of the list, whether its drawing with chalk or playing in the mud...anytime the weather is looking good (and even when it isn't!) you want to head outside.

You are still a social butterfly.

You still talk constantly.

You cannot wait for our trip to go see Winter and talk about every. single. day.

You think the song "Shiny" from Moana is hilarious because it says "going to kick your hiney" in part of the song.

You have somewhat given up on asking me for a dog each day because you and your brother came to the conclusion that you would have better luck convincing me of getting a cat. (I'm pretty sure this is because my main issue with a dog is that I don't want to clean up after it and you think the litter box and hypoallergenic cat seem more clean-up-able.) So now you ask for a cat every day.

Quotable Moments:
(After getting the side-bangs she requested.) "It's like I'm brand new!"

L: I'm gonna teach you Shurley English.
B: I really don't want to learn Shurley English right now.
L; You have to! You are 34 and you don't know what an adjective is!!!

"I'm one big ball of goof!"

"Stuff is way more expensive in Kansas!!!" (Looking at the Canadian..."Can" price on a box.)

(Tired of studying for a Science test...so whining/crying tone goes with this one...) "You mean I have to study till I KNOW it!?!"  (We quote this back to her all. the. time.)

For the play in DI one of the kiddos told a joke. "What do grapes sing at Christmas?...'tis the season to be JELLY!" After hearing the joke at home L said, "Tis the season to be wi-ine!"

"She's pretty hilarious when she calls a grown woman like you "Sweetie"!"

Celebrating 9 1/2 with cheesecake!