Spring Break 2022

We had a full and fun Spring Break. At the beginning of the week, we were all excited to spend a couple of days with family. My brother and his family came to Oklahoma for a visit, and we had a very special time with them. Unfortunately, it had been 3 years since we'd gotten to spend time with our Iowa family, and we were overdue for a reunion. 

These Sweet Cousins bonded immediately and had the best time playing together. 

We spent Monday and Tuesday playing video games, putting on dance shows, eating yummy food, visiting and catching up. 

We also celebrated Samuel and Aunt Anna's birthdays on Monday evening. 

Anna has picked up a hobby of making balloon animals, and she taught Samuel how to make some. We immediately had to order some once we got home. 

Nathan brought over Risk to play with Uncle Jeremy and Papa Joe on Tuesday. 

The rest of the kids played outside almost all day. 

Katherine also bonded with Pearl. 

Everyone avoided final goodbyes on Tuesday night and spent hours wrestling and playing with each other and Uncle Matt. 

On Wednesday we met up with friends at the park. The kids ate a picnic lunch together and spent a few hours playing. 

Aside from Elise falling off the monkey bars and breaking her elbow 😥 it was a good day. 

We hosted our neighbors for dinner on Wednesday evening since our church activities were canceled for Spring Break. The kids ate and played outside, while the adults visited. 

At the beginning of the week, I asked each of my kids to tell me one thing they wanted to do over Spring Break. Katherine said she wanted to get donuts for breakfast, so we made that happen on Thursday morning. 

Nathan's one thing was to go to the recently remodeled Skate Park in Broken Arrow. So, after donuts, we headed there. 

We also got to meet up with some friends for the morning at the park. Elisabeth and Emmalynn have been friends since Pre K. They had a good time playing together. 

And these Cuties were in gymnastics together for a couple of years. We're missing them at gymnastics this year!

I didn't get a picture, but Samuel's choice for the week was to play at our neighborhood pond. Kamryn and Addisyn came over Thursday afternoon for a sleepover, so they joined us at the pond that evening. 

Kamryn and Nathan also spent a couple of hours playing Roblox together. We met Kamryn's family way back when Nathan and Kamryn were in the same Kindergarten class. I love that they've stayed good friends over all these years. 

Their Little Sisters are pretty good friends too 😃

They left Friday morning, and we had one more request for Spring Break from Elisabeth- to make a triple layer cake! She baked and decorated that (with a little help) on Friday afternoon. 

Our Spring Break ended with a bang on Saturday with Amelia's Fifth Birthday Party at Incredible Pizza. Her family was so generous at the party, allowing us to spend hours there enjoying attractions and playing games. 

We ended up having to leave and come back later because we had reservations at an Escape Room that afternoon as well. Samuel asked to do an Escape Room for his birthday and we found a somewhat kid friendly one to try. 

We needed a few hints, but we ended up making it out in time. I do think the kids were a little young. We might wait a couple more years before we try another one. 

After the escape room we drove back to Incredible Pizza to finish off our game cards. We played a family round of mini golf. 

And at the end of the night cashed in our tickets for prizes. 

Having the week without school work and most of our weekly activities opened up our days for time with friends and family and fun. Overall, Spring Break 2022 was pretty great!
 

Samuel's 9th Birthday Celebrations

Turning nine is a big deal, and Samuel's birthday celebrations spanned several days. The week before his birthday, we hosted a birthday party for him and a few of his friends. Samuel requested a video game themed party and wanted to have several outdoor games followed by pizza, dessert, and video games. 

The first game we played was Creeper Tag. We divided the kids into two teams and assigned some to be Creepers. The Creepers had to tag the Miners who were trying to collect bricks and return them to their homes. 

We played several rounds, so all the kids would have a turn to be a Creeper. The game wore Samuel out!

After Creeper Tag, we played a few rounds of dodge ball. 

Then we came inside for pizza and drinks. 

This is NINE!

Then the kids divided up. Some went back outside to play, and the rest split up amongst our two TVs to play nintendo. 

The Little Girls made up their own games while the big kids played video games. 

Before the end of the party we had dessert. Samuel asked for cobbler for his birthday party dessert, so I made two flavors- peach and apple. We also served ice cream too. 

And I made Creeper Rice Krispie treats as favors. 

We had the best night celebrating this Sweet Boy and all his favorite things. 

The next weekend Grandma and Grandpa came up to help us celebrate. I always let the kids choose their meals on their birthday. Samuel requested Ihop for his birthday dinner. He ate the entire adult meal. 

After his sweet, sugary crepes, we came home for more celebrating with his request of cheesecake. I don't know how almost all of my kids have moved on from the traditional birthday cake!

We had plans for most of the day on his actual birthday which was a Monday, so the day before we let him open his gift from us which was an attachment for his hover board. 

He spent the afternoon figuring out how to ride it. 

He also opened gifts from other family members including a fun new game and rollerblades. 

Samuel's ninth birthday fell on the first day of Spring Break. For his birthday breakfast he asked for homemade bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits. I really do love his specific and unique preferences around his birthday. 

We spent his birthday at my mom's house with his aunt, uncle and cousins and more birthday cake that evening. We celebrated hard with our nine year old! We all think he's pretty special!