Bowling

Saturday night we decided to take the boys bowling.  We've all been together before, but it had been awhile since our last trip to the alley.  Elliott was super excited because the previous week he had missed out on a bowling experience. 

Elliott has gotten a lot better at bowling since our last trip to the bowling alley!

Oliver was very insistent on carrying his own ball and doing everything on his own.  

He wanted to push the ball down the lane on his own as well, but he's not quite strong enough for that yet.  Each time he bowled we let him give it one good push and then we would give it another shove to get it down the lane. 

I tried to get a picture of the final score.  As you can see, I had the lowest score...I'm going to attribute that to using all of my energy to run my first 10K that same morning. ;)

Tulsa Air and Space Museum

On Friday we took a trip to the Tulsa Air and space Museum with our Play and Learn Group.  The boys were super excited to get there!  Oliver kept saying, "pay-pane" airplane, and when we pulled into the parking lot Elliott asked if we were at the "blast off place."  

First we went upstairs to check out some of the "hands on" activities. 

  

After we were finished upstairs we headed over to the Planetarium. The video that was showing was really above our kids' heads, but Elliott thought it was pretty cool.  He liked pretending that he was in a rocket ship flying through space.

After the Planetarium we had a picnic lunch inside the museum breezeway and then we headed inside the museum to check out the airplanes.

Elliott and Oliver climbed the little ladder behind the astronaut so I could take a picture.  Elliott was tall enough for me to get a picture, Oliver was not.  :)

 Lilly was pushing the buttons to launch the space shuttle.

 Elliott had a turn launching the shuttle! 

 Oliver took a turn!!

 Blasting off!!

 

15 Minutes Outside Challenge

At the beginning of January we read about a challenge of getting outside with the boys for at least 15 minutes everyday in the month of January.  So far we have done very well.  We have missed a day or two, but we have gone out on some of the coldest days in January. There have been days I've wanted to skip because the warmth of our house is just too inviting, but I really think we've all benefited from a little outside time each day.  Surprisingly, we've had mild weather, which has made getting out a little easier.  If you want to find out more about the challenge click here.

Greg went outside with the boys today, so I headed out with my camera! 

I like this shot because hit shows how tall Elliott is compared to Greg.  Elliott is getting very tall!

 Daddy chasing the boys.

 The boys chasing Daddy!

 Daddy down! 

 

Fun Trays

Last week we started doing what I have named "Fun Trays."  These trays have different activities for the boys to do and so far I have changed them weekly (this is only the second week, haha).  I haven't found a good place to keep and store the trays when we're not using them.  I'd like to have a place that is accessible to the boys, but I don't want it to be something they can play with anytime.  That is my next "project." 

Here are just a few of the activities the Elliott and Oliver have been doing with the Fun Trays.

Pattern Blocks - Oliver is working on the train.   I like this set of pattern blocks because they are more like puzzles.  The pieces fit right into the board - perfect for Oliver!

 

Elliott's pattern blocks - he's working on a train, too.

Elliott and I made our own creation.  Elliott called this a rocket ship!

Elliott is making letter F with the Handwriting Without Tears Roll-A-Dough letter cards.

I helped Oliver to make a circle with his play-dough.  Oliver is saying, "Cheese!"  

The boys are playing with our homemade play-dough and their new Melissa and Doug play-dough set they received as a Christmas gift.

 

 Elliott used the Handwriting Without Tears wooden pieces to make letter "P" and he used a clothespin with a pom-pom on the end to trace the letters he made.

Oliver used the HWT letter pieces to make a road for his cars!

Elliott was using buttons for some counting and number recognition practice. 

Oliver put a few buttons on his paper because he likes to do everything Big Brother does!  He really liked dumping the buttons out of the container!

I found the number pages and play-dough shape cards on Confessions of a Homeschooler - she has such a great blog, so many resources!

Kansas City

We made a trip to Kansas City last weekend to visit Aunt Brenda and Uncle George.  Cousin Erik had already headed back to Columbia so he could getting ready to start his last semester at Mizzou.  My great friend Caroline and her boyfriend were also going to be in KC, so it worked out perfectly!  Caroline, Paul and I are training for a half marathon, so we were able to do a 4 mile run together on Saturday morning!  Greg made breakfast for everyone and showed everyone how the Kangen water machine worked.  It turned out to be a nice weekend so we were able to get outside!

We went to Shoal Creek to see the buffalo and so the boys could run around.  It was chilly outside, but still fun.

Shoal Creek has a lot of old buildings to see.

Uncle George helped Elliott look into the old school building.

  

Oliver had fun walking on the rocks.

Elliott is getting better about looking at the camera and smiling at me!

Greg made me a chocolate birthday cake and the boys help to put on the decorations.  This pic isn't great of Oliver, but it has Aunt Brenda in it.

Oliver kept looking at me and saying "cheese!"  The cake was delicious!!!  Turning 32 isn't so bad.