Mini Vacation to Tulsa

We took a mini vacation to Tulsa, OK last week. We left on Wednesday morning and returned Thursday evening. We stayed at the Wyndham that has a small kid's indoor waterpark called Leapin' Louie's Lagoon. It was perfect for our boys. We had the whole thing to ourselves for about four and a half of the five hours we swam. The water was bathtub warm - a little too warm for Ryan and I at moments. The deepest part was three feet - just perfect for Ben to touch. Nate was fearless though. He would walk right into the water and bob up and down frantically because he could not keep his head above water. When we rescued him he would just wipe his face and go on! He also fell down the three bottom steps in the picture below. He was totally fine and just went on playing. Such different boys I have!

The big slide that they both went down a few times on Wednesday but neither was brave enough on Thursday.

Swimming with Daddy.

The frog slide.

The tree rained!

Cuteness! Guess who that is. (Ryan guessed wrong :)

It is Ben!

Careful around the pool.

Why am I not getting to take a nap here?

Ben's version of rest time while we got ready to check out.

We also went to the Aquarium. So worth it! The pictures are terrible because it is dark and not nice to use a flash. But, you get the idea.

Lots of turtles!

How tall are you compared to a shark?

Touch tank! We all touched a sea cucumber. 

Ben couldn't quite get brave enough to touch the sting ray or bamboo shark. Nate was too short - his little arm couldn't go deep enough to reach. Ryan and I touched for them :)

Proof that I was there!

The shark exhibit was so cool. You could walk through a tunnel where the sharks swam all around and over the top of you. We just happened to get there right at feeding time, but a staff member came through and told us the sharks were fasting for the day. Bummer. But, the exhibit was so cool that it wasn't really a let-down.

Face to face with a shark.

We needed a little family time away and that is exactly what we got!

Grandpa and Nana Visit

Grandpa and Nana came to visit!

We read books.

 We played outside.

 We went to the zoo.

 

 

 We fed the fish at the zoo.

 We got really close to a hungry tiger!

We had FUN!

Rose Colored Glasses

Today, I could use a pair of rose colored glasses!

My sister, Candice, accused me of never blogging about my less than rosy moments/days/weeks in raising Ben and Nate.

Who wants to read about my kids misbehaving?

Oh, right, all the people going through this parenting journey with me.

Well, today has been one of those days. Both boys woke up early. I'm run down. Ben threw a huge tantrum like I have never seen from him (I'm not exaggerating) about getting weighed at a routine appointment to the point where they weighed me holding him and then just me to find the difference. Fabulous. I didn't commit my number to memory!

His mercies are new every morning! That has never been more real to me than in moments like these.

Grammy & Papa Tom Visit with bonus pics

Grammy and Papa Tom came for Labor Day weekend. It was a short visit, but we had tons of fun!

Backyard play

 

 Grammy must have said something very silly.

 Boys will be boys, right?

 Puzzles

 Tanganyika!

They took us for our first time to a hands-on zoo! You can feed and/or touch lots of the animals. So much fun!

The boys weren't real sure about how close the giraffe was getting. 

 Family shot!

 I was holding a syrup to feed the birds. The obvious boss of the bird group jumped right on my hand and ate the whole thing while fending off the others. It was a bit more than I bargained for, but fun.

This is as close as Nate would get. Ben wouldn't get that close even!

 We got to pet kangaroos! Some of them had joeys in their pouches that we could see wiggling around!

 Ben touched the tortoise.

 Watching the tortoises - they are faster than you might think.

 Watching penguins with Grammy and Papa Tom.

 Ben wanted to ride the horse. He paid his money and proudly walked up to it. Then, quickly fussed and tried to get off...

 ...so Nate rode instead!

 Papa Tom had treats!

 

In other news.

Ben has taken an interest in learning his letters. He recognizes most of them (something I only learned today). He has chosen his left hand. And we thought he had switched to his right. Oh brother! I can't figure him out.

Nate does a little art from time to time too!

 Both boys like to dress up in our old costumes! Is he not the sweetest horse?

Ben came out looking like this and said, "Look mom! I'm a babysitter!" Random. No idea where that came from.

 One afternoon Ben was very excited for me to come see how they had cleaned the playroom. This is what I found - we usually have two rugs in the playroom. Hum? 

 And then he so proudly showed me this! All their toys and rugs on MY bed!

 Nate has taken an interest in the potty. Nothing has happened yet! Just a lot of up and down and up and down. 

I co-hosted a baby shower for a friend on staff. We had a blast making this is a wonderful evening to honor the new mom whose baby surprisingly came four weeks early and spent two weeks in the hospital! It was quite special to be able to do this for her.

With flash so you can see it all.

 With the soft lights and candles! So fun!

We also got to celebrate Ben's best buddy's 3rd birthday this past weekend!

My sweet boys!

 This cracks me up. The battery doesn't work so they took turns trying to push.

 A new buddy that just moved to Wichita! He is just a little older than Ben so we are thrilled that Ben will have someone in his grade (school. ugh. I can't think about that yet).  

That's all for now!

First Day of School

Today I began Community Bible Study. This will be the first time in Wichita that I have done a study outside of World Impact and the first time the boys have been in any kind of childcare. I was talking to Ben about it last night and he was so excited. He said, "Mom, I have been asking and asking and asking to go to school!" I don't remember all this asking that he is talking about, but I was glad he was excited. Now, the few times we have spoken in a church and taken the boys to the nursery, Ben talks all about it the whole drive there and then freaks out when we get to the door and refuses to go in. Today, we got lucky and his best friend Jackson was pulling into the parking lot at the same time we did. They held hands and proudly walked all the way in to their classroom and Ben never even turned to say goodbye. I was too excited about this big step for my firstborn to be sad that he wasn't going to miss me. A few hours later though and it makes me a little misty that he is growing up. Nate screamed and didn't want me to leave, but he was happy quickly (they tell me) and did great! When I asked Ben about his favorite part of CBS he said, "Going to my first grade!" He is so proud that he is a big boy. I'm proud but also a little reluctant to admit that my baby is growing up.

Ah, the first time Nate came home with a name tag sticker!

CBS meets every Wednesday for two hours! This will be such a wonderful time for the boys to gain some independence and for me to have some time in the Word with other ladies.