Games brothers play

I was washing dishes and watching Karsten and Liam play together on the swings.  They started just swinging side by side, but then they started this game where they had to drop a golf ball in the other persons lap.

Both Scott and I watched to try and figure out the game, but it seemed as simple as reaching over and dropping the ball when the other person swung past.

Simple pleasures for brotherly fun.

Weekend Getaway

I really wanted to attend an essential oils seminar in Oklahoma City, but I was having mom-guilt about leaving the boys for a weekend since I have such limited time with them anyway.  Scott had the brilliant idea of everyone going to Oklahoma City and then we would still have time together!  Isn't he the best?!

They spent the day at the OKC Science Museum. All of them seemed to have a great time, they spent all day there!

Homework together

We put some time into homework for Karsten each night.  Usually it involves practicing spelling or sight words, then reading together at bedtime.  Once or twice a week, he'll have a math worksheet to do.  During these times, Liam will often decide that he wants to do homework too, so he'll work on writing or play a math game on the ipad.

Karsten's school is really focusing on story problems in math this year and getting them to think through the scenario rather than just repeating and memorizing math facts.  For example, Juan has 8 pieces of fruit.  2 pieces of fruit are bananas.  How many oranges does Juan have. WOW - first grade math is harder than it used to be!  

First Football Game

Karsten is playing flag football this fall, and it's fun to watch the kids play together for the second year and see the plays 'click' as they learn how to play and work together.

His first game was today, and Karsten scored the first touchdown for his team!  I thought they were on defense, then Karsten came running down the field with the ball!  Apparently I was chatting a bit too much and not paying quite enough attention to the game - shocker, right?

We're lucky to have several dads that are doing a great job coaching the team - the boys are learning so much!

As soon as his game finished, he asked me 'guess how many steps I have?' LOL, there's no way I can compete in steps with him - he's always so far ahead of me!

Such a cutie - I'm so proud of him!

Karsten was happy to see Grandma and Papa to watch him play, and Liam was happy that he would have someone to play with during the game.  Plus, Grandma always has mints in her purse and that makes the time pass faster!

The first game is in the books - can't wait to see what the season will hold for these boys!

Boy Scouts

We now have a Tiger Scout at our house.  Someone came to talk about Boy Scouts in Karsten's class at school, and he was sold.  He brought home a flyer for an information night, so he and Scott went to check it out.

It sounds like several of his friends are going to be in his Den, the first 'official' meeting is this weekend.  I made a trip to the Boy Scout store during my lunch break to purchase the gear he needs - he looks pretty official, doesn't he?

Most troops (or is it Dens, I'm not sure, I'm still new to this) sell popcorn, but Karsten's group is selling gourmet coffee and hot chocolate.  So, if we can interest you in a bag (or K cups) of coffee or hot chocolate, let me know!

Ladies Night at the K

One of the mom's at Karsten's school organized a group of ladies to go to the Ladies Night at the Royals game.  I didn't know all of the ladies, but thought it would be a good way to meet some new people!

The day was rainy and dreary, it was even pouring rain when I picked Karsten up around 3:30pm. I had very little confidence that the weather was going to clear off and allow the Royals to get a game in tonight.

Lucky for us, the weather cleared and we had a beautiful night for a game.

After we arrived at the stadium, we were wandering around for a while and I ran into not one, but TWO old friends!  I ran into the first one in the bathroom (of all places)!  I hadn't seen her in ages, so it was great to see her!

Then, we were trying to find something to eat for dinner when I heard someone call my name and it was Jamie, a friend from High School and my college roommate! She lives in Texas, so it was a HUGE surprise to see her!  So much fun!  I just wish we had been able to chat - we were both with groups and had to keep moving!  It's been far too long!  

So glad the weather cooperated so we could have a fun night at the K!  Thanks ladies for a great night!

Wordless Wednesday - Masked Men

Art Masterpieces

We stopped by my parents house on Sunday to wish them a Happy Grandparent's Day.  Karsten spotted a new quilting pattern that was a large bird.  He asked my mom if he could have a copy of the bird so he could color it.

She carefully assembled two birds and send them home with us.  I wasn't sure what the boys were going to do with them, but they have worked on them for the past two days and the results are awesome!

We had to ask Google to tell us about the colors on an American Bald Eagle because Karsten wanted his to look as real as possible.

Liam wasn't concerned about making it look super realistic, he said he was choosing colors that Grandma and I would like.  :)

Dining Adventure

We had plans to meet Kelli to hand off some stuff that needed to get to Linda, so we decided to be adventurous and have dinner at a ramen noodle restaurant that I've heard great things about and have wanted to try.

I scoped out the menu ahead of time and saw a dish that sounded a lot like chicken noodles soup - a favorite of both of the boys. Ramen noodle shops seem to be the new trend, but we've never been, so I wasn't so sure what to expect.  I chose a kimchi bowl with pork belly - adventurous choice, right?  I'm glad I branched out and decided to give it a try - it was delicious!

The boys each got a bowl of chicken ramen called Sunshine Bowl (or something like that) and they LOVED it.  They kept saying, you need to try this, it's so good - SUNSHINE POWER!  Karsten said he wants to come to this restaurant every time he we go out to eat - a rave review!

Wordless Wednesday - Ready for Halloween

Sunflowers

The Grinter Sunflower field bloomed shortly before Labor Day, so we made plans to make our annual visit on Saturday night.  Thankfully we didn't wait until Monday, because traffic ended up being so bad that the local sheriff closed down the sunflower farm and didn't allow any more visitors.  

When we started visiting a few years ago, there were not near the number of visitors as there are today.  The field was crawling with people and we walked past loads of sunflower stalks where people had chopped off the flower.

The farmer's wife is a hoot and posts on their Facebook page with the Rules of Engagement for their farm.  They're so kind to allow thousands of people to traipse among their sunflowers and even cut them down to take home.  They recommend a $1 donation for each sunflower you take with you - I sure hope people are respecting that request and dropping money in the donation box!

Despite the crowds, we had a great time exploring and taking photos with the sunflowers.

This year, many of the sunflowers were shorter so the boys were able to get an up close look at them.  It couldn't be that the boys are getting taller, could it?  Nope...no way...in denial.

We walked pretty deep into the field, following a trail that had been blazed through the rows of sunflowers.

I was happy that I was able to capture some good smiles - I love photos of the boys in the sunflowers!

Check out all of the people in the background - I didn't try to frame this photo to crop out the people, they were just everywhere!

I wonder if I'll be able to pick Liam up like this in next year's photo - he's getting so big!

Has anyone seen the boys?  Where'd they go?

Another fun family adventure!  See you next year, sunflowers!