Meet Millie!!

Well, it has been almost 10 years in the making, but we finally got a puppy!!! Levi and I always grew up with dogs, we always wanted to get a dog, but between moves across the country and deployments around the world, there was never a good time! Now that we are firmly planted, we were ready!

I had heard about some puppies being born and they sounded like the perfect fit for our family! I had to check them out and of course, Levi fell in love! So we kept it a secret from the boys for a while, since they literally had just been born and we hadn't 100% decided on getting one. But really, once I saw this face, I knew she was ours!!

So then we decided it was time we spilled the beans to the boys! My friend, who owned the mom, brought a few of the puppies to her house so the boys could come see them. When we arrived at her house, they had no idea what we were doing there. When they saw the puppies, Grant said, "Awww, they're so cute!" I said, "Would you like to get one of these puppies?" He said, "YES! Thanks Mom!" And Wyatt says, "Really? We can? When?" They were shocked and beyond excited!! Wyatt actually cried driving home because he wanted to bring her home RIGHT NOW!

 We went to visit her a week later at the kennel where are all the puppies are staying, and it was almost like she remembered us and knew we were her family! 

She has a couple more weeks of growing to do and a few more shots to get and then we can finally bring her home!! Very soon!

Millie, the cockapoo, you have a very excited family waiting for you!!!

1st Grade Bake Sale

The first graders were learning about consumers and producers and goods and services, so what better way to end the unit and the school year than with a Bake Sale!!! Our school has very rigid terms for what types of food are allowed in the classroom, so it wasn't your traditional bake sale. The parents supplied the ingredients, the kids supplied their imaginations! Each table group had to come up with a name for their "bakery" and what types of treats they were going to sell. They had to use Twinkies, Rice Krispy Treats, graham crackers, Oreos, Skittles, licorice, marshmallows, and some sort of sugar-free, gluten-free, dye-free (and probably flavor-free!) frosting as the glue! Oh, the ideas that came out of their little imaginations was AMAZING!!! They worked for over an hour making their baked goods! After that, they had to prepare to open their bakery to the public. The teacher staff came shopping first, followed by kindergarten, and then their buddy class- 4th grade! Each group had to make 100 items to sell just to make sure there would be enough!

Each item was 1 penny so that math was easy! It was so cute watching them sell!! Grant was quite the salesmen, and definitely the leader of their bakery. He'd welcome anyone that came close by saying, "Welcome to Yummy Goods! What would you like to buy today?" He really was the only vocal one in the group! A born leader!!

 Some of Grant's bakery goods their group created!

Such a fun and memorable way to end the year!!! Good times in 1st grade!

1st Grade Boat Regatta

Grant's class was learning about density and how and why think sink and float. They put their knowledge to use and designed boats and had a regatta to see who's boat would go the furthest! The kids were so creative with their designs. We used all sorts of recyclables and the kids really got into it! 

The kids took turns racing each other with a single elimination race. After narrowing it down after a few rounds, we had the winner- it wasn't Grant! He changed his design up in the finals and it was a flop! Oh well, guess he learned a little more about how things sink and float! Lesson  learned!! But it was a fantastic time!!!

Look at the dedication to winning!!!!

Mother's Day Surprises

I always love Mother's Day! The boys have no option other than to give me homemade gifts and shower me with surprises! And I love that my boys are old enough to think of these special things all on their own too! Love all my fellas!

This Mother's Day, the boys made my day so special! Grant gave me strict orders to stay in bed and NOT get up until he came in the room. Of course, I usually wake up before him, so I was laying in bed while he scampered quickly past my room and saw my eyes open and he said, "Aw mom, you aren't supposed to see me!" So I just laid there patiently until Wyatt came in and gave me the usual morning snuggles. Little did I know, that was all a ploy to "distract" me from my first surprise- breakfast in bed!

With breakfast came some beautiful gifts! Grant made a whole folder of writings for me! The first few were just so precious!!

And he made me this ceramic piece in art class! It's the perfect little bowl to hold my rings. He said it had too many polka-dots but I told him there is no such thing!!!

And Wyatt had given me all his gifts on Thursday when he got home from school. First, they had a "Who's Mom is This?" game in the hallway. I guess mine right away, except I was little throw off by the "cooked potatoes" because I never cook potatoes!!! But I love his answers!! Plus, most of the other kids said their mom was 16 or 59 or 98. I knew Wyatt was much more on the ball than that, plus he drew me wearing a KU shirt! How could I not guess it was me?! :)

He made me a sweet little pot, complete with fingerprint bugs all done by him! And seeds to plant marigolds, which he quickly planted as soon as he walked in the door! 

The rest of the day was spent doing a little bit of work outside, but then it clouded up and rained the rest of the day, which was the perfect excuse to lounge around and catch up on some TV I was so desperately missing!
Very thankful for these sweet people in my life!! I love them and adore them with every ounce in me!!!

Fairy Garden, New and Improved

With Mimi and PawPaw moving in, Wyatt was very concerned about the fairy garden and where it would go. After some looking around our yard, they found the perfect spot for the new and improved Fairy Garden!! On Mother's Day morning, the boys went with my mom to get some flowers to set up their new garden. Once the flowers were planted, the fairies started coming and so did all their treasures!! They had so much fun setting up their fairies houses (we have a Grant, Wyatt, Mason, Luke, and Mimi fairy). They definitely didn't overlook any detail!! 

So sweet they have this special space! Every now and again the fairies leave them new treasures! You never know what you might find in that magical little place!

 Ta-Da!!!!

 Here is the cafe, currently serving pets!

 The playground!

 Wyatt's house. He is the baby fairy. Although after putting the garden together, he decided he didn't want a baby fairy anymore, he wanted one that actually stands up. Of course, since Mimi is in charge of the fairy garden, he got his wish!

 This is Mason, Luke, and Grant's tree house.

 This is Mimi and her Lego house Grant built her.

 This is another playground area!

There have been numerous additions to the fairy garden since this day when they put it together! Probably calls for an updated post!!

Thankful!

I love this view out the backyard!!!!! :-)

Carnival and Fun Run!

To mark the end of the school year, Morse throws a Family Carnival and Fun Run through the neighborhood! Grant was so excited to run the mile with Levi this year because he was in Bahrain last year. They spent a few weeks training prior to the fun run, it was so cute! Good bonding time!! Wyatt and I made really good spectators! ;-) 

 Levi said Grant ran the entire mile without stopping! He said he definitely wanted to at times, but kept pushing his back to give him some oomph and then he'd take off again! So proud of him- he typically gives up when things get tough!

Here they are at the starting line!

 And at the finish line! Yes, thats our principal dressed in a fox costume. Long story short- we had an elusive fox that would frequent the playground earlier this year and caused some recess-schedule problems. Mr. Frazell said that if the kids met their reading goal this year, he'd run the race as a fox. So he did!

Look at these sweaty pink-cheeked friends!!!

These future-kindie friends cheered on their big bros!!

 Then it was on to carnival time! I only bought 10 tickets for each boy and a pass for an ice cream sundae! They couldn't probably spent 50 tickets each, but thats ok!! They had fun anyway!

 Plus, they got free cotton candy!! Can't beat that!!!

 We love our school and we love our neighborhood!!!!!!! Thankful for a wonderful year!!!

Pool Opening Day!

Grant has counted down the days since September 25th of last year until we open the pool! He literally LOVES the pool! He prays about the pool, and for the pool! It's quite the relationship going on there!

I'm always have a little mixed feelings on pool-opening day! I am soooo excited for summer and to lounge on a raft, but I dread the maintenance part of it!! Granted, this year, Levi is home and eager to maintain the pool, so I think I'll just sit back and let me pool boy take care of things for me!! Not that its even that much work, its just having to always have it on your mind constantly for 4 straight months!! Oh well, this summer, I'll just sit back and enjoy the fun!!!! Well, maybe once its not green anymore!!

May the 4th Be With You

What kind of family would we be if we didn't celebrate May the 4th in some shape or form!! Unfortunately, we didn't all get dressed until after Grant went to school (he was also wearing his Star Wars t-shirt) but we missed the photo op with him- sorry Bub!! Levi and I put on our t-shirts and Wyatt just continued wearing his Star Wars pajamas ALL DAY LONG! Wyatt declared it "May the 4th Be With You Game Day!" He gathered all our Star Wars games, which is surprisingly more than I thought we had, and he set them up all over the living room. We spent the morning rotating from game to game! 

We did watch some Lego Star Wars mid-day after we were gamed- out! 

Such fun celebrating with my Star Wars fellas!