Spring Break 2023

Although we didn't travel anywhere for Spring Break, we had a week filled with visits from family and friends. My brother's family stayed with us at the beginning of the week. The kids were so excited to spend some quality time with their cousins. They played games, jumped on the trampoline, and even put on a fun performance for the parents. 

My grandparents came to visit as well while they were here which was a special time to all be together. Matt and I had fun playing games with Jeremy and Anna too. They're one of our favorite couples to play games with. We played a new game Matt got for Christmas and we all really liked it. We're ready to play it again!

 

The second day of their visit was Samuel's tenth birthday! We celebrated with donuts for breakfast with the cousins. 

We spent the day reading, visiting with Granny and Grandaddy, playing games and introducing them to Kidsborough. 

We said goodbye to Granny and Grandaddy on Tuesday afternoon. It's rare to get to be together with them and my brother, and we all treasured it. 

These two people are leaving an incredible legacy in our family. It's easy to think of what my brother and I have lost since both are parents are gone, but the Lord has richly blessed all of us with these two people who have had a tremendous impact on our lives. And all six of these kids have memories with their great grandparents. What a treasure!

Tuesday evening we celebrated our favorite ten year old with cheesecake and presents. 

It was a treat to get to celebrate with cousins. 

He got some goodies for his birthday- new books, a baseball glove, a video game and a special pocket knife from his Papa. 

After the Flamings left, we spent the rest of the week with the Millers and the Evetts. Mindy and her kids came to visit for Spring Break, and we had a fun few days with them. 

Katherine even got to have her very first sleepover across the street with all her friends. 

And the boys stayed at my house. 

We got a treat at Sugar Llamas on Thursday afternoon, and Katherine had to take a picture with the llama. 

Thursday night was also the night Nathan finally got to use his Christmas present. He and I watched Hamilton at the Tulsa PAC. It was a phenomenal show and a special night to spend with Nathan. 

I rewatched it on Disney Plus afterward- it's just incredible!

We said goodbye to our friends on Friday and had a much-needed low key weekend to recover from all our Spring Break excitement. 
 

10 YEARS OLD

 Samuel Jacob! You're officially Double Digits!! I can't believe how quickly you're growing up.

At ten years old, you are intelligent, curious, ambitious, thoughtful, and adventurous. 

You are thriving at homeschool. Your best subject is math, but I think you're favorite subject is science. Your weakest subject is spelling. You absorb everything you hear and read and shoot off incredible facts to me all the time. I'm regularly shocked at the things you know. Math comes easily to you and you rarely struggle to understand new concepts. When you finish school for the day, you like to play outside, play with the Pashkovets, watch YouTube and build, create or solve puzzles. 

You thrive being outside in nature and in the dirt. You come up with new ideas for shelters to build, and things to make. I'll always remember your dirty fingernails as a 10-year-old because you're always digging in the dirt. You have grand ideas in your head and can usually come up with a way to execute them. You also like to solve any and all kinds of puzzles- jigsaw, logic, brain teasers, you love them all and will spend hours solving them. 

Your favorite TV shows are YouTube Channels- Dude Perfect, Mark Rober, and Mr. Beast and Phineas and Ferb.  You also like to play Minecraft and Mario games on the Switch. 

You're a well rounded kid in a lot of activities. You're still taking weekly gymnastics classes. You started Trail Life this year and are enjoying that (and looking forward to being a bit older to participate in more things). You also started piano lessons this year and you played basketball this winter. You are such a content kid and enjoy everything you get to do. 

Your favorite foods are cereal, pizza, fruit, ravioli and mac and cheese. You're not a big sweets person and are picky on what desserts you like- your favorite is cheesecake and least favorite is anything chocolate. 

You love to be around animals and are taking good care of your pet rabbit, Hannah. You're drawn to any animals you encounter and have a sweet, gentleness around them. 

At your 10 year old well check you measured 53 inches tall and weighed 73 lbs. 

You still prefer to play alone often but have developed some good friendships. Your best friends are Leon and Asher, and you enjoy playing with several kids at our co op. 

Your favorite books are Dog Man. You also enjoy the Humphrey the Hamster series, Land of Stories, and you read a lot of the Percy Jackson books this year. You listen to audiobooks as often as you're allowed too. 

You are a very creative, detailed artist and you put 100% effort and work into anything you create. You never cut corners. 

You have a unique relationship with each of your siblings and are such a gift to our family. I always say that one thing I love about you is that you're not afraid to set big goals and you're never afraid of a challenge. You try hard things and persevere until you complete them. I know that will be one of your greatest assets as you grow up. We love you so much Samuel Jacob. What a blessing to have had you in our lives for a full decade!