1.  Sabbath was a beautiful day and we were anxious to take advantage of the weather.  Everyone got dressed and we headed out on a bike ride.  We rode quite a ways and Samantha only had to stop 2 times!  Blake loves the ride and is in charge of the water and anything else we want to bring along.   It was a great Sabbath activity and I hope that we're able to take lots more rides this summer.

2.  Sunday we headed out to the Legends for a bit of shopping and browsing.  We ended up going to the dinosaur restaurant for a late lunch.  Blake claims he was a bit scared but he did so well.  The kids loved the animated dinosaurs, octopus and jelly fish.  It was a great afternoon of family time.

3.  Blake broke out with some hives last weekend but now he seems to be doing just fine.  His cold is getting much better which we are very thankful.  He's been trying to use the potty a bit more.  He does so well sometimes and goes potty in the "big" potty a lot but it seems once he gets distracted he forgets.  We're not in any big hurry and I know when he's really ready it will happen.

4.  The kids made little snack crafts for their friends and neighborhood kids.  They loved making them and giving them away.

5.  Wednesday we needed to get out of the house to I took the kids to the Johnson County Museum where we happened across a story time by Jo Ho.  Samantha volunteered to become a bunny for one of the stories right away.  Blake chose to sit and watch.  The kids loved the story time and afterwards we headed to Kidscape which they loved.  I think we'll have to head back some time!

6. Lastly, we learned after Thursday's swimming class that Samantha is doing so well that she can skip the next class which is Preschool and head right to Level 1!

7.  Last Sabbath we did a craft and made butterflies out of the shape of our hands.  Blake started his but declared it "too hard" before I was able to take his picture but Samantha finished her.

Samantha Turns 5!

Samantha actually started celebrating on Friday as I said in an earlier post.

Sabbath we celebrated her birthday in Sabbath School.  Now that she is give she is able to move up to the next classroom, Kindergarten.  She is thrilled to move up to be with her friend Heidi, and not have to wait for her dad to come and get her after Sabbath School.  She informed us that she would meet us in the sanctuary and pick out the seat:)

Although Sabbath wasn't actually her birthday we let her open her presents from the Renfro grandparents Saturday night.  She loved them and was excited to get started.  We also had her cake and ice cream that night.  She chose a Tinkerbell cake and cookie dough ice cream.

Sunday morning she opened up her presents from the Britain grandparents and we gave her a bike.

She requested that we have pancakes with raspberries and cool whip for breakfast so that's what we had.

She had a wonderful birthday and thanks to everyone for the gifts!

It's Friday Again!

1.  Blake has caught a cold this week and suffered from either a stuffed up or runny nose.  When his nose is stuffed up he says that his nose isn't working.  He had a couple nights of poor sleep but the last two nights he's slept well.  He's also taken naps this week so I know he's tired!  I think it's all moved into a nasty cough now.

2.  Samantha has become the neighborhood watch girl.  When outside riding in the street she's constantly on the lookout for cars and is the first to alert others and tell them to get out of the street.

One day I had them outside and was sitting on the front steps.  The kids were on the sidewalk riding their bikes.  Samantha had to go inside for something and told me to watch Blake because she was going in!

3.  Blake skipped swim lessons Tuesday night because of his cold and didn't want to go last night so we are letting him drop the class.  It's not that he doesn't like the water or is afraid of it but it's just to cold for him and he hates it.  We'll try again during the summer when the water is much better and it's warmer outside.

4.  Samantha had a cavity filled Monday morning.  I think I was a bit more nervous for her Monday morning than she was!  The dentist used a laser to remove the cavity and we were finished in 15 minutes.  I had given her some tylenol before had and it must have taken off the edge because she said it was no big deal and didn't hurt at all.  I'm so thankful that her first experience was a good one.

5.  Yesterday the kids were especially giggly and silly.  They were laughing and playing with each other.  Samantha read a funny joke in a book that afternoon and they couldn't quit laughing about it.  It's so much fun to see them enjoy life.  It seems sometimes I get caught up in the day to day that I forget to laugh and have fun.

Six on Sunday!

1.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous so we have spent quite a bit of time outside this week and that meant time on the bikes.  The kids love their bikes and get good exercise on them.

2.  Tuesday found us at Miss Maria's Dance Studio.  We had missed a class when Samantha took tumbling back in January and it was the one where Miss Kelly, the teacher, took everyone to her gym to play and tumble.  She was gracious enough to let us come back.  Samantha got to jump on a couple of different trampolines, practice her jumping on a inflatable floor and practice her tumbling.  Miss Kelly was kind enough to let Blake play also.  He got to jump on both trampolines which he loved.

3.  Wednesday found us at JumpStart again at Midland.  The kids got to look for eggs and inside each one was a reminder of what God has done for us.  At the end they got to look for eggs that had a little treat inside.  Wednesday was also the day we turned in Samantha's registration for school.

4.  Thursday found us at the dentist office.  It was Blake's first time at the dentist.  Samantha went first to show him how it's done.  Five is the age in which they start to take x-rays.  She was a perfect patient.  At the end the doctor found a cavity in one of her back teeth (he assured me it couldn't have been avoided by more brushing) so we'll go in on Monday to get it filled.  Blake was also a model patient and his teeth looked great!

5.  Swimming lessons continued this week.  The water continues to be cold that Blake shivers a lot during class but I think he's learning some things.  Samantha loves her class and the teacher said that she's doing well.

6.  As an early celebration for Samantha's birthday we went to Krispy Kreme Friday morning on our way to Debbie Howard's Gym for some play time.  The kids each got to pick out a donut and then we headed out for some play time.  Carson and his mom met us and after playing we all headed out for lunch.  It was a nice way to celebrate Samantha's birthday a bit early.

Cousin Pictures

When the cousins were here in March we decided to have their pictures taken again.  We thought they did so well and wanted to share them....