Saturday in Bartlesville

Yesterday we spent the day in the Bartlesville area.

 

We started with a train ride!

 

Our car--we went for about an hour round trip.

 

Ready to go!
 

Getting our tickets punched

It was a lot of fun!

 

After lunch we went out to Woolaroc.  Our first stop was the Mountain Man Camp.  This wasn't open the last time we went, so I'm glad we stopped by this time!

 

They have some different tents and things set up so you can learn about the trappers in the 1800s.

 

Inside the teepee

 

Anyone want a cat hat?

 

We also got to try shooting a black powder rifle.

 

We also got to try throwing a tomahawk!

 

Jack got it to stick!

 

Checking out some bones...

 

Then some living ones wandered by!

 

Playing on the rope swing

 

Checking out the animals on the wildlife preserve

 

For some reason, this chicken in the petting barn had an office chair.  A few minutes after this picture was taken, she laid an egg!

 

We also spent some time in the museum.

We had hoped to stay and go to the Kiddie Park in the evening, but we got rained out!

Dance Day!

 Last August Alice started dance classes for the first time.

 Saturday was her recital.  The day started with an 8:30 rehearsal.

 In the afternoon, we went to get her hair done.

 Well worth the $25!  I cannot do hair!

 Ready for the recital!

 

 She did a great job!

 

 Jay and Jack brought her flowers.

 With Great-Gran after the performance.  She also had all of her grandparents in the audience!

After the recital we went out to eat and Alice was so tired she almost didn't make it through dinner!

Sidekick

And don't you wonder why

the things that you want are so hard to find?

Well it just occurred to me

the one that I need could be right here by my side. 

Thanks for letting me be your sidekick for the last twenty-one years.  I love you!

Teacher Appreciation Week

 If you're on Facebook at all, you likely know that this week has been Teacher Appreciation Week, a designated time for parents and students to send gifts, etc. to show how much they appreciate their teachers.  It doesn't really work that way when you're a homeschooler, but I really can't complain, because lately it's been clear to me how much I appreciate this life we have, too.

 I appreciate that when I come in to wake Alice up and find her like this, I can let her stay in bed instead of rushing her through the morning.

 I appreciate that a break from schoolwork might include a horse.

 Of course I appreciate cupcake days!

I appreciate the strange and fun opportunities my kids get, like learning to play the theme from Harry Potter on Pawnee Bill's baby grand piano.

 I appreciate that when I let Jack play in the creek after PE, he always says it's the best day ever.

 I appreciate that my kids can learn at their own pace instead of feeling the pressure of standardized testing, and if Alice wants to give an impromptu reading of her entire Bob Book repertoire at bedtime, there's no need to rush her along so she can get up early the next morning.

I appreciate that these two are friends and get to spend their days together instead of a few hours each evening.

And of course, I appreciate my husband, who works hard to take good care of us so I can stay home and have all the fun!

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!

April

If February ate my lunch, April finished off my dinner and then cleaned out the pantry.  It was go, go go, starting with Easter.

 

Bunny pancakes!

 

Easter morning

 

I forgot to take a nice picture of everyone before church, which is what happens when we're trying to get to the 8:00 service and get back home to cook dinner for the whole family.  We had a good time, even if we had to hunt for eggs inside because of the rain.

 

Lunch on the go!

 

Movie time--I think from when we went to see Cinderella.

 

Jack and Hope in the swing we got for Dad when they were tiny.  They can still (just barely) get in it at the same time!

 

We went to Crystal Bridges for the Van Gogh to Rothko exhibit a few weeks ago.

 

The weather was beautiful and we got to spend some time on the trails.

 

We finished up our spring semester of co-op in April.  (This is Alice telling about a picture she made.)

 

One night Alice and I made pom pom animals while the boys watched Star Wars.

 

New swim caps!

 

The kids picked these beautiful flowers for me!

 

A couple of weeks ago we went to Pawnee to check out the Pawnee Bill Ranch for an upcoming MetroFamily article.

 

While we were (sort of) in the area, we stopped by Eskimo Joe's for lunch.

 

Alice is finally old enough for the program where kids read to therapy dogs, so she brought some of her books to practice.

 

The kids took a Tour de Chocolat class at the library and got free books and hot chocolate.

 

{Just being cute.}

 

The other day I noticed that Alice was dressed like the bunny on her shirt: pink glasses, necklace, and skirt.  Later she put on a bow, too.

 

Last week the kids tried out a homeschool art class at the OKCMOA.  The class was centered around Andy Warhol's athletes series and then the kids got to make their own silkscreen prints.  It was a lot of fun!

 

Playing in the creek after PE!

April was crazy busy, but we had a lot of fun.  I think May is going to be more of the same!

Happy Birthday, Boris!

 Today was Bobey's 14th birthday!

We made him a sunshine cake (he loves to stretch out in a good sunbeam) and sang to him.  He promptly threw up on the dining room rug.  Apparently you can't party too hard when you're fourteen.  Happy birthday anyway to the best cat ever!

Poetry Month

April is Poetry Month, so my big plan is to put a new poem up each day for us to read and, hopefully, enjoy.  While I was looking around to find some different ones that would be good, I came across this one that seemed especially appropriate for this blog!

Little Things

by Julia A. Carney*

 

Little drops of water,

Little grains of sand,

Make the mighty ocean

And the beauteous land.

And the little moments,

Humble though they be,

Make the mighty ages

Of eternity.

So our little errors

Lead the soul away,

From the paths of virtue

Into sin to stray.

Little deeds of kindness,

Little words of love,

Make our earth an Eden,

Like the heaven above. 

*I have also seen this poem attributed to Ebenezer Cobham Brewer, but I have found it credited to Julia Carney more often.