Fun Friday: Road Trip

 Actually, we've been having fun since Wednesday, when we set out on a little road trip.

 We started out at the OKC Zoo, where we took a little boat ride.

 Alice got stung by a bee and insisted on using a giant bandaid, which she quickly fell off because it was over 100 degrees and she was soaked in sweat.

 And when it's over 100 degrees, you lie down in the creek.

 The kids built a dam!

 Thursday morning we set out for southwest Oklahoma--a separate post will follow later!

 After 6+ hours in the car and dinner in Bricktown with friends, we hit the pool.

We started today off in the pool, too!  After that we went to the Lego store and did a bit of shopping before heading home.  We drove 628 miles while we were gone and we are exhausted!

Check out today's post at MetroFamily!

Labor Day

 There was some labor going on this Labor Day.  We went to my mom and dad's so the guys could help cut down a tree.  There was a lot of consulting and some chains hooked to the truck and then my dad just sawed it down.

 The kids liked standing on the big stump, which my dad is going to make into a seat for them.  (Alice is standing that way because I told her to be really still while I stepped back and she froze.)  Now that the tree is down these pictures remind me of pictures from when the house was built--before I was born!

 Then they moved on to a second tree.  This picture made me think of a math problem because it was a really tall tree!

 I was a little nervous because I noticed that you could see daylight between the parts of the tree and my dad was still next to it.

 But it fell right where he said it would!

 The big kids played in the tree--and this stump will be another chair.

 Alice entertained herself with tiny acorns.

 And mud.  Lots of mud.

 Jack with his wooden axe.

 The kids had their dessert in the tree fort.  They think this should be a permanent part of the landscaping.

 Our whole weekend was busy!  Saturday night we all went out for a birthday dinner for my grandma and her twin sister, who turned 82 today.

 Delicious!

 Sunday we went over to Jay's parents' house to see some family from out of town.  The big guys played horseshoes and the little guys played badminton and Alice and I just tried not to melt.

It was a great weekend!

Fun Friday: The Aquarium

 I wasn't planning on doing Fun Friday posts this year, but since we usually save our fun stuff for then, I guess I will!  Today we went to the aquarium.

 We went because A) Jack is rowing The Raft and we were going to look at river creatures (more in a later post) and B) the kids had free coupons from the summer reading program.  I like the aquarium, but it's pretty expensive, so we usually just go when the kids have the free coupons!

 Alice was a little more interested in getting close to things this year.  She touched a few things in the touch tanks and fed some manta rays.

 These rays eat some expensive shrimp!

These rays are very friendly and will flop up and get your attention.  It kind of looks like Jack is going to join them!

Happy Friday!

 ~~~

Read this week's post at MetroFamily here!

Six Squared

 We kicked off Jay's birthday celebrations with a visit to his office on Friday.  We brought lunch and the kids loved the chairs.

 And the suckers.

 Saturday was his actual birthday and we went to his sister's house to swim and eat.  Alice served the cake (the usual carrot) and only dropped it once--and it landed right side up!

 These legs crack me up!

 The boys put these sleds together to make a boat, but Alice was the only one small enough to get in without sinking it.

We wrapped up today with his birthday Sunday dinner at my parents' house (salmon patties and peas) and molasses cookies.  Happy birthday!  We love you!

Not Back to School

 As of today, all of the big school districts in the area are back in class, including the one we follow the most with our calendar.  To celebrate, we went to the splash pad.

 The weather was great and there were only little kids and homeschoolers.

 Doing a cookie dance!

Jack.  On the lamp post.

Happy back to school--or not!

The First Day of School

 We started our day bright and early with a breakfast of the kids' choosing.  Since we're having breakfast for dinner tonight, I think they chose pretty well.

 Alice is going to be doing some things this year, too, though if you ask her about preschool she gets panicky and says she doesn't want to go anywhere.  Jack did some math, reading, president stuff, and spelling.

 The traditional first day of school pictures!

We started the year with our first field trip to Gilcrease to see the George Washington exhibit and then went to lunch at Red Lobster.  Not a bad way to start the year!

....Or Not.

 Some days I feel like I'm walking around with a big strip of packing tape on my head.  Slightly disoriented, but able to get by.  That's what I've felt like most of this summer.  I had big plans, but it seemed like every time I turned around, something else popped up.  I was ahead on writing assignments for a while, but now I need to start up again.  If you have any suggestions for topics, tell me!  (Last week's post at MetroFamily has one of my favorite pictures of Jack as a baby.)

The movies have been a big success.  Jack likes the whole movie experience and I like being able to sit in the cool dark and not have to tell anyone to do anything.

We start back to school tomorrow.  We'll be doing FIAR, math, spelling, writing, Oklahoma history, and science.  But not all tomorrow, because we're going on a field trip.  And I still need to order our writing curriculum.  But we'll get there soon.

I hope you've had a great summer, even if it wasn't exactly the one you planned!