Trip to Norman

After a morning of soccer, we took the kiddos to Norman to tailgate with friends for the OU/Ohio game and see the new Kappa Sigma house.  It was neat to take the kids around the houses.  Unfortunately we didn't get to go around campus as a storm came up.  It was really neat to take Avery in my old house and show her around.  She thought it was super cool.

Once back at our friend's house to watch the game, all the kiddos played and had a great time.  It was a long drive home but totally worth it.

Exciting Weekend: SOTM & Soccer Season Kicks Off

So proud of Avery for being chosen as student of the month!  Ahem...first month, third year in a row-but who's counting?

It was so cute to see Ben walking in with his class to the rally.  

He was a little out of sorts with seeing his family sitting there...not one to embrace the unexpected, this one.

Looking very big.

We treated her to hibachi dinner that night.

Saturday morning we were up and ready for soccer games.  Ben's very first game!

Ben became a bit enraged upset when he wasn't allowed to run, unimpeded, down the field towards the goal.  Much to his disappointment, other kids were also trying to take the ball.  Little guy doesn't have the concept down just yet.  We'll keep working on it...


I love how you can hear Avery cheering him on.

Avery scored a goal during her game!  She was so excited and proud of herself.

We loved seeing her hustle and take control of the ball.  Last season she tended to shy away from the ball.  Hopefully her confidence continues to grow!

Cherry Berry treat after the games!  I don't know that there's a more exciting treat for these two...

Ben continues to gain more confidence in the pool.  He is now not only jumping off the side but jumping by himself with no one to catch him.  This is big.  Unfortunately we're coming to the end of summer!   We need to harness this momentum the next few weeks!

Labor Day Weekend

I got to start the weekend by taking the kids to school on Friday.

It was a beautiful day, and Ben and I had a nice afternoon after he got out at 11:30.  For some reason, he's really backed off of riding his bike lately so I made him get on it and ride for a bit.  He seemed to enjoy it once he got going but he is much more cautious than he was a few months ago.  Not sure what happened (he's never had a crash or anything)...I don't mind the caution, for certain, but I don't want him to get out of the habit of riding, either.  

Saturday was the season opener for football and even though the OU game didn't go well, we enjoyed the day at Gigi and Pepaw's anyway.  Ben is doing so well with swimming.  He is definitely getting braver in that area, letting Rob take him around the pool and jumping off the side to him.  All summer he has only wanted to stay where his feet touched the ground, and didn't even trust any of us to hold him in the water, and don't even think about getting on a floatie.  

Sunday morning we got up and headed to Branson for a quick night away.  

After a few hours at Silver Dollar City we were ready to relax in the condo.  

We put the kids to bed, but much to our surprise Avery came out a while later with a bloody mouth and her other front tooth dangling by a thread.  Apparently, there was some sort of scuffle in the dark resulting in a kick to the mouth.  Notice the smear of blood on her forehead...

Once the dangling tooth was removed, we got her settled back in bed and sternly told Ben to keep his legs and feet to himself.  Turns out the tooth fairy does visit you even if you're out of town (we didn't know).  The next morning she was trying to split her tooth fairy money with Ben because, "he made it possible." 

We spent a few more hours at SDC before heading home.

We headed home tired but happy.  Branson has proven to be a nice change of scenery for us this year when we get the itch to get out of town for a night or two.  

Happy Labor Day!