Last Day of Pre-K

Today was Clayton's last day of Pre-K.  We will miss Mrs. Kirk and Mrs. Koepke soooo much.  It was a great year, and now he's ready for kindergarten.

Aaron Wesley

Today I officially realized that Aaron is no longer a baby.  Today alone, Aaron has drawn all over the glass panes of our office door with (washable) marker, painted on the front of the dryer with (washable) watercolors, played in the potty twice, unrolled a full roll of toilet paper, and it's only 6:30pm.  Apparently I need to step up my game a little.  I will say that neither Clayton or Eli has ever played in the potty.  They probably unrolled the toilet paper less than 5 times between the two of them, and Clayton colored on my pantry door once.  Aaron has practically met their combined record in one day.  I'm foreseeing a lot of "correction" in his future.

Also, a big thanks to the Wal-Mart greeter the other day, who insisted the boys have a free cookie and then handed them chocolate covered cookies on a hot day.  Luckily, very little cookie ended up on his shirt and the carseat.  Most of it was left on his face.

Clayton's Pre-K Celebration

The quality of these pictures is definitely lacking, but at least I remembered the camera this time.  Clayton had his Pre-K Celebration last Thursday night.  They had a very cute program.  It was a little overview of some of the fundamentals they've learned this year.  I was so impressed.  The kids did so well with their lines, and I think the partner dance was the highlight of the show.  They even performed the dance for the whole school the next morning.

Clayton's teacher has been such a blessing to us this year.  She's been so supportive of all his needs.  We could not have asked for a better start to school.

Climbing the stage stairs made for a rough start.  Clayton's arthritis has been really bad this week, but he eventually got up there.

All seated and ready.

Clayton's big line was, "A rainbow of colors," which he shouted into the microphone with as much gusto as I've ever seen from him.

Color parade.

Receiving his binder of work from Mrs. Kirk.

Cheese face.

Posing for a picture with his dance partner and good friend.

Clayton and his "girlfriend".  They are too funny, and yes, she's a full head taller than him.  They have a sweet little friendship.

Oh Aaron!

You are trouble.  This is about 100 diapers I had just loaded into the diaper stacker.  Apparently he was quite busy before he fell asleep.

Downtown

Ryan's sister, Kristin, came for a weekend visit a couple weeks ago.  We had such a great time catching up and having fun.  On Friday afternoon Kristin and I took the kids down to Myriad Gardens to check out the renovations.  We took a little Chick-fil-A and ate by one of the new fountains.  There were a few other kids down there, and while it was a bit chilly, they were playing in the fountain, and soon, my boys were too.  Thanks to Aunt Kristin for taking some cute pictures for us.

We'll definitely be back a lot this summer. 

Cross Point Camp

Over Mother's Day weekend, we were so blessed to be invited to join a large group of our church friends down at Cross Point Camp on Lake Texoma for a weekend of family, fellowship, and relaxing.  We drove down in the rain Friday night.  We had our own little cabin with four sets of bunkbeds and a large bathroom.  The camp had a dining hall where our meals were provided. 

On Saturday, we spent the very chilly, drizzly morning on one of the beaches.  The kids mostly played in the sand, as it was a little cold for swimming, and by lunch, they were so dirty, they required a shower before we could take them into the dining hall.  After lunch, the boys napped for over three hours.  In the meantime, the weather had greatly improved, and I headed down to the beach with some friends for a relaxing afternoon in my camp chair with my Kindle and a Diet Coke.  After dinner, we took the boys back down to the beach so they could enjoy a quick swim before the evening bonfire, where we had a great time with friends and s'mores. 

After breakfast on Sunday morning, we met at an overlook and had a church service together.  Then it was time to hit the road for home.  Eli was distraught that we were leaving.  I think he thought we'd just live there forever.  He keeps asking when we can go back.

Ryan and I are beginning to get the feeling that our days in Oklahoma could be numbered.  We've been here nearly five years, as long as I've lived anywhere in my life, and we might be approaching time to move.  While I usually enjoy moving, seeing new things, and meeting new people, leaving this church family will be very difficult.  We'll see what the future holds.

 Clayton

Eli

Aaron

The little boys were obsessed with trying to fill this tire up with sand.

Eli loved the water.  It was so cold, but he was determined to get in.

Our campfire with friends.  There were about 75 of us there, a really great group.

Clayton's s'more.

Cheese!  The big boys loved wearing these headlamps.  They can also switch to a red light which was very handy for keeping track of them after dark.

Happy camper.

At the cross.  The lake was beautiful on Sunday morning.

All the kids.  It was quite a bunch.  I love that the older kids take such good care of the little ones when we're all together.  They're such a great example to my boys.