April Round-Up!

I'm seriously in disbelief that this is the last day of April and tomorrow is May. This month flew by for us!

The kids competed in six track meets this month (with one being canceled), in addition to five practices a week. That meant lots and lots of running, jumping, and throwing for my crew!

Brecklyn doing long jump

Brenson throwing shot put

Brianna running

Brooke throwing discus

Several of those six track meets were long days which meant lots of time to socialize and be with friends!

Waiting for their events at a meet

Goofing off at practice!

All of our regular season meets are now over, and we are looking forward to Homeschool Track & Field Nationals next week. I plan to write a whole post dedicated to our track & field season (which has been a good one!)

Brenson has always loved oatmeal cookies, and he made a batch (or two or three . . . ) several times this month. One night he came home from track & field practice and went straight to making a batch of cookies. It made me laugh . . . it's all about balance, right?!?

We had our monthly youth devo on the first Friday of the month, and Sadie and Caroline came home with us after the devo to spend the night because their mom was out of town. The girls were so cute all ready for their slumber party!

Chris and I have been trying to make time in our schedules for a monthly game night for a while now because the kids just love it. We haven't had very many this year because we've been busy with other things, but we made it happen this month. We ordered pizza and played Trekking the National Parks. It was fun (even if Bren takes games a little too seriously), and we especially loved seeing photos of the National Parks.

For Christmas of 2023, Brianna asked for a pair of Chaco sandals. I bought her a pair that she realized several months later did not fit, so I ended up taking them. I didn't like them at first, but I love them now and have been wearing them to track meets when the weather is nice enough. Unfortunately, my feet now have funky tan lines from my Chacos!

Brianna and Brenson are definitely at an age where they are going out with friends more, and this month they went to an indoor football game with Jaxen and Oliver. Jaxen's dad, Brad, drove and chaperoned, and the kids had a great time. I'm thankful they are willing to go together because that makes it easier on this momma's heart, for sure!

Brianna, Jaxen, Oliver, Bren, and Brad

Chris had to "introduce" himself to a group of co-workers on a video conference this month, so he put together a couple of slides with photos to show the group. I thought the slides were well arranged and shared good things about him, but I did question why he used the scooter photo on the first slide, haha.

Mom and Dad were gone on a vacation for two weeks this month, and we really missed them! However, I love that they were able to go, and I really loved some of the photos they sent us while they were gone. 

Dad at Petrified Forest National Park

Mom and Dad at Hoover Dam

It has been an extremely rainy and wet month, but we had a break in the rain this past weekend and were able to get some things done in the yard that I've been wanting to do. We trimmed some bushes, replaced mulch, weeded the garden area, and planted flowers in the new planter box Bren and Dad built for our playhouse. It looks so cute with the pink flowers, and I love that you can see our "pet" bunny that lives under the playhouse in the photo!

My Granny Tiger has been having some struggles recently and was in the hospital for several days. Once Mom and Dad got back from their vacation, Mom and I went to Wichita to visit Granny. She was out of the hospital while we were there, but she was staying (temporarily) in a skilled nursing portion of Larksfield Place instead of in her apartment. She is back in her apartment now. Justin and Cindy were able to come by for a few hours as well, and I know Mom was happy to see them! Cindy is dealing with Alzheimer's and had recently taken a bad fall, but it was still a good visit!

Chelle, Granny, Mom, and Cindy

These beautiful flowers outside of Larkfield reminded me of God's manifold blessings and love 💜.

Finally, Brianna and I went to a local musical performed by a homeschool theater group associated with the co-op we used to be part of. Several of Brianna's track & field teammates were in the cast, and they performed Beauty & the Beast. It was so good!

Jaxen also had a ticket for the show, so we picked him up on our way. 

I was pleasantly surprised at how well done the production was!

Brianna's friend, Easton, played Prince Adam. Her friends Harper, Samuel, and Alyssa were also all part of the cast, plus several other acquaintances we know through the homeschool community. 

The saying goes that "April showers bring May flowers", and we have had plenty of April showers! We are looking forward to our "May flowers" and all the exciting things we have planned for the next month!

A Rainy, Rainy Bunny Day

Happy Tuesday, Everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend and survived the crazy rain. I sure hope the Easter Bunny knows how to swim!

Our Easter tradition since Brianna was born has been to spend time with the S family eating good food, visiting, and having an egg hunt. When Tia and I were planning things this year, we actually debated about whether to even have a hunt or not now that the kids are getting older. I think Brianna and Brenson were around 10 years old when they stopped doing the egg hunt. However, we decided we weren't quite ready to quit it altogether, so we modified it a bit instead :-).

This year, Mom and Dad were out of town, so it was just us and the S family. They invited us to their house on Saturday for brunch and visiting. Brunch was delicious and really hit the spot! We had bacon, sausage, eggs, cinnamon rolls, french toast, biscuits and gravy, morning potatoes, fruit, and our icebox strawberry cheesecake for dessert. I wish I had gotten a photo of the food spread because it was amazing!

It poured rain most of the morning and afternoon, so Tia and I were very thankful we planned the "egg hunt" the way we did. We decided this year that I would put together four gift bags, and we would hide four eggs. Each girl could find one egg, and they would exchange their egg for the gift bag that matched the color of their egg. It worked out really well, and the girls enjoyed the change in routine! 

Caroline, Brecklyn, Brooke, and Sadie

BFF - SBBC!

The hunt for the eggs was chaotic, as was the tearing into the gift bags. But they loved it!

Each gift bag contained a diary set, a chocolate bunny, an egg of Skittles, a flower Lego set, and a plush Squishmallow (the Lego set and Squishmallow were different in each bag). It was definitely better than 50 eggs full of little trinkets for the age the girls are now!

For the rest of the afternoon, the adults visited, the younger girls played, and the big kids watched TV. It was so low-key and nice! We headed home around 4:00pm for a relaxing evening (Bri and Bren went to an indoor football game with friends that evening, so it was quiet at home with only two kiddos). 

The next morning (Sunday, April 20th), we slept in a little more than we should have and ended up running out of time for photos and Easter baskets before church services. After church services, we drove to our favorite Mexican restaurant in the craziest downpour that made me want to just go home and snuggle under a blanket and relax. Instead, we enjoyed our lunch out and went home to do photos and Easter baskets. 

Brecklyn 💓

Brooke 💜

Brenson 💙

Brianna 💜

Our family . . . no worse for the crazy weather!

So very blessed 💖

After photos, it's always time for Easter baskets!

Brooke and Brecklyn with their new dolls

Brenson and his fishing pliers

Brianna with new sunglasses and new bluelight glasses

All the kids got a t-shirt for an upcoming trip!

Love my babies so much!

I haven't really decided yet, but this may be our last year to do Easter baskets. Each of the kids have a hunting basket and a basket they get full of goodies on Easter, and this year the hunting baskets didn't even come out of the attic. While it makes me sad if I think about it too hard, we are moving into a new season as the kids get older. I loved having littles, but the season we are moving in to is really, really good, too. Regardless of if this is our last year for baskets or not, I'm just over here trying to soak up all the blessing of this season of life. People say it all the time, but time really does go fast, and I find myself missing these moments before they're even gone. Sigh. What a blessing this beautiful life is!

March Round-Up!

Good-bye March . . . Hello April! We've already had quite a start to April with tornados coming through our area this morning, but we are thankful for safety from the storms. Before we get too far into the month, however, I want to share about our March. I think you'll notice a theme in these photos and what dominated our month 😉.

The whole month, we had track & field practice five times a week. The kids practiced on M-W-F mornings at Heart Healthy Trail in Owasso, Tuesday evenings at the track in Claremore, and Saturday mornings at the track in Collinsville. They all truly enjoy going to practice and especially being with their friends!

Morning practice!

Brianna, Sadie, Caroline, Brecklyn, and Brooke

Brianna, Caroline, and Brooke

Adele, Bri, and Kyrie

Saturday practice - the girls are all holding ducks for Uncle Jeremy!

Brooke, Sadie, Brecklyn, Annabelle, and Caroline

More ducks!

Caroline, Annabelle, Sadie, Brecklyn, and Brooke

In addition to regular team practices, Chris would take our kids at least once a week to practice throwing (typically on Thursday evenings).

Brooke, Brecks, and Bri 

Not only did we have track & field practice five times a week, but we also kicked off meet season this month. I'll post in more detail about each meet later on, but I wanted to include a few photos from the meets in this post. If I didn't, I wouldn't have many photos in this round-up!

Our first meet was March 11th at Caney Valley. It was a junior high meet, so Brenson was the only one from our family who competed. As always, though, Brianna was there to help and socialize!

Bri, Sadie, and Kyrie

Hope, Adele, and Bri

Maci, Bri, Sadie, and Caroline

Meet number two was a high school meet in Glenpool. This meet was a mess! The wind was ferocious that day (like 60 mph wind gusts) and made everything difficult. Bri was the only one from our family competing, but Bren came along for fun and Gavon also rode with us. 

These kids are great at finding things to entertain themselves between events. In this photo they're playing an obnoxious game where they chant about bullfrogs on the bank of a river or something. I find it very irritating, but they're cute doing it!

The older boys generally want nothing to do with the game, but somehow Kyrie convinced several of them to join in. It was hilarious when the older boys were the only ones not eliminated!

Bren, Easton, and Gavon

In addition to the crazy wind, there were also wildfires all around the area that day. The air quality was lacking, at best! 

Hope, Bri, and Kyrie

While we were battling the wind at the meet, Chris sent me a photo of our roof (which we had just replaced in November) also battling the wind. Not good!!! Thankfully, the roofing crew came out and fixed it the next day.

On March 26th, Brooke and Brecklyn had their first meet of the season. They competed in a 5th and 6th grade meet (as 4th graders) in Porter. It was a great meet to get their feet wet and get some experience for the season!

Brecklyn running a 4 x 200 relay

Brooke throwing shot put

They both competed hard, but Brecklyn, especially, had a stacked schedule. She was worn smooth out on the way home!

The day after the Porter meet was a JH/HS meet in Oologah. Although this meet is long, it is one we really enjoy every year. Long meets equal lots of down time which equals lots of hanging out with teammates at the team tent!

Harper and Bri

Harper, Bri, Jaxen, Sam, Easton

Adele, Abby, Harper, Bri, Jaxen, Sam, Easton

Bren tried hurdles for the first time in a few years and did really well!

He also did great in discus!

Bri looked strong!

The mile runners had just finished up as the sun was setting.

And what a lovely sunset it was!

I always say that track & field is about a lot of things besides just running, jumping, and throwing. I'm grateful our kids are part of such a good team! They even choose to hang out together when they're not at practice or meets.

Harper and Bri

Bri, Harper, Adele, Kyrie, and Abby playing games at Abby's house

Bren also had the privilege of attending a throwing clinic for three days this month. It was a wonderful opportunity for him to really learn good discus technique and work with coaches who have a lot of experience and success!

Okay, so what we were doing when our schedule wasn't filled with track & field events? Well, Jeremy, Shawna, and Kaylee visited for a few days during spring break, and we got to spend some good time with them. 

Of course, Jeremy had to put Bren in his place a time or two!

The children also continued to spend most of their Fridays with Grampy and G-Jo. G-Jo and Brooke sewed a skirt together, and Brooke was thrilled with the outcome. She couldn't wait to wear it!

We "celebrated" St. Paddy's Day on March 17th by wearing green, 

and eating Lucky Charms with green milk. Fun and silly traditions!

We are currently planning and preparing for a vacation to North and South Dakota in May. I made us all vacation t-shirts for the trip!

I was able to have lunch with Angie one day during Spring Break. It was brief, but I'm so so grateful we were able to do it. They are going through it right now with family things, so she and I haven't been able to see each other much at all in the past year. She is such a light to my life, and even a quick lunch made my heart so full. 💓

Finally, we hosted our monthly youth devo (one of the few months I didn't take any photos) and our annual in-house lectureship during March. Both events are such a blessing, and I'm always thankful for opportunities to grow spiritually!