Van Gogh to Rothko

 Now that I'm finally getting a chance to blog, here are some pictures from our trip to Crystal Bridges to see the Van Gogh to Rothko exhibit--in April!  Between the regular collections and the exhibit, we saw works by many of the artists we've studied over the last few years.

 Calder

 Cassatt

 Chagall

 Dali

 Degas

 Gaugin (who will be our first artist study this year!)

 Kahlo (on my list of blogs I need to do from this year)

 Kandinsky

 Matisse

 O'Keeffe

 O'Keeffe

 Picasso

 Pollock (also on the list of blogs to do!)

 Remington

 Rockwell

 Rothko (who we studied in our art class a couple of years ago)

 Rousseau (on the list for this year)

 Van Gogh

 Warhol

 Warhol

 The kids were happy to see an old favorite back on display.

 I really liked this one!

And we finally got a chance to spend some time on the grounds!

Storytime in the Gardens

 While Jack was in camp last week, Alice and I went to storytime at the Linnaeus Teaching Gardens.  The theme was fruits and vegetables.

 After the stories were over, each child got a fruit or veggie from somewhere in the garden and then they were supposed to find its spot.

 Looking....

 Found it!

 Exploring more of the garden!

 Feeding the fish

I think they liked it!  We had a great time and are going to try to go back a few more times this summer!

Mom & Son Luau

 Last weekend was the annual Mom & Son Luau!  We started off the evening at Buffalo Wild Wings.

 Sumo wrestler Jack!

 Ready for the party to start!

 We did the slides quite a bit.  The water felt great!

 They also had some little games, like coconut bowling.

 Free slush puppies!

 After a couple of hours of swimming, we headed to Cherry Berry.

Delish!

It was a great evening with my favorite boy!

Jack's Lego Camp

 This week Jack went to Lego Camp at the Tulsa Children's Museum--this is his "I survived five whole days in a row of getting out of the house way too early!" picture on Friday.

 In case you're not familiar with Tulsa geography, the children's museum is on the northwest side of downtown, which is way far away from my house.  We had to leave each day by 8:15, which is a huge challenge when you're not used to leaving until 10:30 at the earliest and you keep at least one day a week completely free of commitments so you don't have to leave at all.

 

 I don't have a lot of pictures from camp since I pretty much just dropped him off and picked him up, but this is one from the first day.

 In addition to Lego time, the kids also got time to play in the museum.

 One day they got to watch a 3D printer make Lego bricks and they got one to take home!

 

 Friday we got to the museum a little earlier and the kids got to play together.

 They also played at the splash pad!

 We made it!  Although I know he got tired of the all day, every day routine, I think he had fun overall.  We drove almost 550 miles during the week, so I think we're all ready for a more relaxed time next week!

Happy Fourth of July!

 We started our celebrations on Friday night at my mom and dad's.  (This is the gravesite of Fourthie the Mole, a dead mole the kids found and buried.)

 After dinner they took the shopping cart and headed to the fireworks stand.

 After a little while they came back with the goods!

 Grandpa let them each spend $25!

 I meant to bring my selfie stick, but I left part of it at home, so this was a picture of all the grownups with no one moving chairs.

 We had a great time!

 Saturday we spent most of the day at home.

 We did hit the fireworks stand for a few more things to do at our house.

 

 Jack tried making a pyramid out of snakes.

Throughout all of the controversies over the government decisions of the last few weeks, one of my favorite remarks was by Elizabeth Foss, who said, "There's more than one way to change the culture.  The way that is little and hidden is not to be underestimated." I'd like to think that in our own small way, this is what we're doing with the kind of life we've chosen.  Day in and day out, we're choosing something different, and I'm very thankful for the freedom to do so.

Happy Independence Day!