The Pumpkin Patch

This week Jaxson's class went to the Pumpkin Patch. Its such a cute place, I'm glad we have one in our town. They have a playground, haystack maze, ponies, and of course the pumpkins. They were only able to choose from the small ones, so he was disappointed about that, but we had a lot of fun. I was glad I was able to go with him. And Nicole was here visiting so she stayed with Sydnee, making it a great activity for me and Jaxson!

Air and Space Museum

Over Fall Break, we tried to think of something fun to do that we had not done yet. So we decided to take the kids to the Air and Space Museum and planetarium. We had a great time. It was the first time the kids had seen a show in the planetarium, and Jaxson is still telling us the facts he learned about the planets. Most of the airplanes were open and the kids could get in the cockpits and play with the controls. I was glad to see it was kid friendy.








They had a great playground outside of the museum. Sydnee was not to be outdone. She went on the slides, and climbed on the ladders, and then wanted her turn on the monkey bars after the older kids went.

Woolaroc Race

There is a historical ranch and museum outside of town that was owned by Frank Phillips (the founder of Phillips 66) called Woolaroc. Every year they have a race out there that is known for being treacherous and challenging. It's a 5 mile race and the whole thing is uphill. Sam ran in it this year and did a great job. He finished the 5 miles in 41:52. While he was running, the kids and I went to see the goats, zebras, roosters, and other animals they had in the stalls nearby. It was a fun morning for everyone.
Here he is about 1 mile in. Still smiling!

The final hill was straight up to the finish line. Way to go Sam!

The Bruin Mile

Every year the High School Cross Country team sponsors a mile run for the elementary kids. The 4th and 5th graders are highly encouraged to run, and the 2nd and 3rd graders are allowed to if they can run a mile without stopping. I was a little worried Shaye would be too young, but Sam encouraged her to sign up, so she decided to go for it! We are so proud of her, she did great! The 2nd and 3rd grade girls all ran together. There were a total of 78, and Shaye came in 20th. She ran the mile in 9:34. She did such a great job!! I think she had fun and was glad she ran!

Domestic Dad!

Trust me, we are not at any shortage of desserts around here, but I tend to make things like cookies, brownies,cupcakes, ice cream... typical baking things. Sam grew up on cobblers and pies and a different style of dessert. So on Sunday, he decided to make a chocolate pie. As he always is, Jaxson was right beside him the whole time till the job was done! Here they are hard at work!

Enjoying the fruits of their labors! Somehow he was able to hold Jaxson off till the end.

The final product! It was delicous, we all loved it! Way to go Sam!

My Poor Jaxy...

Jaxson started running a fever on Sunday, and it was even higher on Monday - 102.9. I took him in to the doctor that morning and couldn't believe it when he tested positive for swine flu. Thank goodness we caught it in the first 48 hours and he was able to start Tamiflu. He was pretty miserable Monday. I felt so bad for him. He slept almost the whole day and when he was awake he just laid and watched a little tv.
When I called his school to let them know, his teacher told me 15 kids from class were home sick. 15!!! By the end of the day I had talked to three other parents whose kids also had the swine flu in his class.
Today, Tuesday, he is feeling a bit better. He is awake and just lying on the couch. He still has a fever of 101, but Motrin helps him feel a lot better. We are praying for a speedy recovery, and hoping nobody else in the family catches it.

Sydnee's First Zoo Day!

We finally got some cooler weather, and decided to take the kids to the zoo. Sydnee had never been before and we were looking forward to taking her. She loves animals! She gets very excited every time she is around a dog, or sees the cows in the backyard. She loves to read animal books, and makes lots of animal sounds. She was a more quiet observer than we expected, but we all enjoyed the day together!


This is Sydnee's excited face when she got to be so close to the goats in the petting zoo.

And this is her telling the goal what she wants it to do.

And this is her "ok dad, hold me before they eat me" face! :-)

Swimming Fun

This weekend we went with some of SAm's family - his dad, Aunt, Uncle, and several cousins, along with some friends - out to a ranch that had a private lake and dock. It was so much fun! We swam all day, bar-b-qued, and most people camped over night. The dock had a slide, diving board, trapeze swing, and a few diving points. Shaye spent the whole day in the water, and after Jaxson did a few slides with Sam, he was confortable to go on his own. I notice now I didn't get many picturesof everyone, and of all there was to do, but this is what I did get.


The kids spent most of their time on the slide. I was surprised how steep it was, it was a little scary for me for them to be on it, but they didn't mind. Shaye was going down backwards, upside down, and twisting after a few hours.



This was the highest platform and it was about 30 feet up. You sure didn't catch me up there, but Sam went for it.

First Day of School

Wednesday, August 12th was the kids' first day of school. Shaye is in Ms.Tucker's second grade class at Wayside Elementary, and Jaxson has Ms.Dunlap for pre-k at Will Rogers. Here in Oklahome, pre-k is all day in the public school system, so both of them will be in school from 9-3:30. It was a little sad to see Jaxson go to school all day, he seems so small when you get him there, but he is ready. He was borred last year without Shaye around and is looking forward to all the activities at pre-k. So now it's just me and Sydnee home during the days. I am looking forward to spending time with her. We are going to go to the library, music makers, the park, and all the other things she has been missing running around doing big kid activities. But we will miss Shaye-Shaye and Jaxy!


Just getting off the bus after a long day at school.... The bus picks them up and drops them off right at our house, which is wonderful!

Party Time!

We had Shaye's party the night of her birthday. We did a summer theme and made flip flops, went swimming, played aloha Bingo and enjoyed a cookout! I think they had a great time! Poor Shaye always has a hard time getting a party together since lots of friends are gone in the summer, but she had a great time with those who could make it! It was a slumber party, and the girls were up till about 2am! I think the goal was to stay up all night long!





Sam painted the girls' faces, and when he was done he was a good sport and let them paint his! They loved it.