Nails!

Daddy was away at a track meet this evening so we planned a fun adventure to the hardware store to grab some nails so Cade could finish his tree house ladder. We didn't have any quality nails here. The nails we have picked up off the ground from our neighbor's roof, we're not quite cutting it anymore! 

We had a nice safe bike ride to Ace, a success in finding the nails for just $3, but our trek home started out with tragedy as Joel crashed in the alley. We rushed to Max and Kay Wallace's home, and I rushed in to get some paper towels. They didn't answer the door, but I went in anyway and made lots of noise telling them I was entering! They were home, and were a great help with peroxide and bandaids. The scrap was pretty bad, and Joel was ik quite a lot of pain. He was tough, and we made it home. Joel went and soaked in the tub, and Cade finished his ladder with his new nails. What an evening without Daddy here. 

Dress Up!

Dress Up and Play! Callie and I have been enjoying Carson and Mia's home for some playtime fun the last few Fridays. It is alway so fun to play together! 

Rhubarb!

We have enjoyed some stalks of rhubarb from our rhubarb patch this spring! Mommy has made a delicious rhubarb cake that everyone has been approving of. Cade has even enjoyed the giant leaves as a sun and rain shade!! 

Gardening Time!

It is time to water the garden, and we are well prepared. Joel helped me with a few trips from the spicket to the garden. We are ready to see our veggies grow!!

Building!

Somehow Cade wants a tree fort. Though we wish it was as simple as owning a hammer and nails, it is not. For now, we will let him nail some boards to the tree as a ladder to get up it. I guess we will see where it leads!

Playtime!

We stopped over to play at our friend's sandbox again, and they were home. Success! We enjoyed some sunshine, snacks, and sand!

First Baseball Practice!

With Awana over, our Wednesday evenings have opened up, and filled up in no time (ha, ha!). Cade and Daddy are off to their first practice of the 2016 Baseball season! Daddy has a busy two weeks ahead of him with track, but he will make as many practices as he is able. Grandpa Bill's ball tee and extra baseballs have come in handy quite often for practice. We are ready for another season to begin!

Happy Glasses!

We pick up Cade's glasses from the eye doctor last night, and he is off to school with his new look at life! As we drove away from the store yesterday, he said, "Mom, there are plants in the fields." He is now able to see the tiny details and textures in our world! Hopefully these will help him stay more focused in the classroom. 

May 4, 2016

Library May Pole!

We had a really fun surprise for the first Tuesday Story Hour of May at the library. Mr. Rob made a fancy May Pole and he attempted to teach the preschoolers various walking patterns to make the ribbons do pretty patterns on the pole. It didn't work too well, but the kids had a wonderful time. 

Conquering the Park!

Each time we go to Zearing Park, Callie conquers one more piece of the equipment. Today, we worked hard on the D-Ladder. She did a fantastic job!

PCA Food Fest

We enjoyed a fun Saturday afternoon (April 30th) at the PCA Food Fest Fundraiser! A couple from our school pulled together a fun fundraiser in just a few short weeks. Pop cooked the many many pounds of pork, which took him hours and hours. Mommy donated a Pampered Chef basket, and got a few friends to do the same. With everyone's efforts we raised more than $1200 for our school. What a blessing!!

The kids enjoyed the games, cotton candy, and the ice cream eating competition. Daddy even participated in the paper eating challenge, which heated him up!

Cleaning!

It is a chore to teach her kiddos how to do chores, but I am hoping it will pay off in the long run. Here are two of my hard workers!

Baby Chicks!

Joel's class has had baby chicks hatching in their classroom this week. Soooo exciting. We went and checked them out before we left school and he had names for them all. I have no idea how he could tell the differences between the two of them, but he is amazing. Many of the chicks will be going home with students' families to grow up. What a fun project for the kids to be a part of!

April 28 - Eye Exam

Cade has been complaining of not being able to see the screen at church during singing time lately. He also said he has to walk to the front of the room to see things on the chalkboard. I decided to fetal eye exam for him, and he is definitely needs glasses to see things that are at a distance. 

We picked out a frame for him, and his glasses are ordered. He may be seeing a whole new world soon! 

Awana Promotion

We celebrated another year of Awana on the evening of April 27. The boys were excited to earn their awards, and celebrate with cookies! 

Cade held the Bible for the pledge time. He received a new stripe for his uniform. 

Joel received his wings with all the jewels. He also received an award for saying the books of the New Testament. 

I know it is not easy going week in and week out to our Awana program. We get tired and the boys are troopers. Wednesdays are always a long day because of our late night. The boys have gotten better at our bedtime routine each week, as Daddy has to stay at church late on Wednesday nights. I am thankful for their improvement. 

We will be back at it next year! What a privilege to have a church that cares about our kids. 

April 27 - Kindergarten Field Trip

We had a wonderful day at the Peoria Children's Playhouse Museum and Peoria Zoo for the Kindergarten Field Trip. Both of these places were new to our family!

The museum was so much fun, and had a few new exhibits we had not seen before at other children's museums. The ball area was amazing. Joel and Callie could have played there for an hour alone. There was a special "movie" area and more. The activities were all in nice conditon which made them nice to play with! We will definitely be going back!

The Peoria Zoo did a special presentation for our class. The kids got to see a turtle, armadillo, and ferrets. The presenters did a wonderful job. Even though it was a bit rainy, we enjoyed walking through the exhibits to see the animals. Callie enjoyed the tigers and lions. It is so amazing to see God's beautiful animals so up close and personal. I also loved the nice wooded atmosphere of the zoo. I hope to go back on a discount day with Cade (and maybe Daddy too!). 

We made the hour long car ride and Callie even took a short nap on the way home. Lily, Jett, Elise, and Elise's mom, and Mrs Whitlock rode with us, so that was fun too!

April 25 - Playing catch with Dad

We didn't have have an evening activity so the boys got to play a bit of catch. Our days are long and these moments are special even if they are short. 

Sandbox Fun

We went over to our friends home to play with them in their sandbox, but they were not home, so we played anyway! Ha ha! Miss Callie loves playing in the sand! 

Smelling Life!

We made it home from church, and had to get out and smell the beautiful flowers blooming in our flowerbed. Life is too short to not enjoy the beauty God has given us. Thank you Lord for your amazing creation. 

Daddy and Mommy!

We went out on a date! It has been a busy season of life and we haven't gotten out, just the two of us, since our anniversary. We had a nice evening away! Laughed, talked, smiled, and connected!

Garage Sale Find!

Garage sale season has started and we found a fun $1 toy for Joel at a quick Saturday morning stop. This tracing projector is right up Joel's alley. He is loving it. Hopefully it will be of interest for more than a day, but if it isn't, it was only a dollar (but the batteries were $5! - ha ha!). I love our garage sale bargains!!  

Puppy Friends!

My friend Lisa raises puppies and she invited us out to see her new litter of puppies. The pups were just a few weeks old that we got to hold and play with. Their eyes opened just days before we arrived! The kids had so much fun with them! Thank you Lisa for letting us come visit!!