Restless natives

The kids were wound up this week - we experienced silliness galore! Hope you all had a fun week as well!

Nola thought it was hilarious to put shorts on over her owl cuddle duds!

We went to Brenner's class on Wednesday to do some science experiments. This one was the start of the "Pepper Express".

Next we did a penny drop. Both experiments taught the kiddos about surface tension of water.

Also on Wednesday, the kids had the dental exams. This was the first one for Nola. Both did great and got great reports from the dentist.

Mrs. Rapp posted this picture of Brenner working on his math work during the school day!

Brenner did great on his reading comprehension test. It is interesting what these test include - check out the questions to get a flavor of what they are asked.

Mrs. Rapp liked his story about a trip to WalMart with Papa.

Nola decided to do some exercises with me!

Brenner and Nola playing Barbie Zombie Battle - sigh - but at least they weren't fighting!

Brenner's first time playing Scrabble. He did really well! But I think we will play on our regular board since he likes to earn points :)

After Scrabble, Brenner took out the compost (one of his chores) then played outside for a looong time - his little cheeks were red!

Nola sneaking a peak at the hot fudge pudding cake. Cowgirl wants to steal herself some!

Brenner tore one of Nola's puzzle books. I found this note in her room while cleaning today.

Parties and Play dates!

This week was filled with parties and play dates! Kids are in full swing at school and doing great!

It was kindness week at Brenner's school. On Monday it was Red Day and KC Wolf from the Chiefs came to the school! Can you see Brenner?!

Brenner's teacher sent this to me - he made it to the next level at Rocket Math! He couldn't wait to tell me when I walked in the door!

Brenner at his Valentine's Day party at school. I couldn't make it but Papa took a lot of pictures!

Brenner with Papa in the background. His "girlfriend" is next to him.

This is the card that she gave Brenner :)

Brenner mane this one over the weekend. He wouldn't say if it was for Riley :)

Nola and Ms Gerhardt. Nola had to tell me how Ms Gerhardt teases her dog at home with her big slippers!

Elsa and Anna better watch out - here comes Nola and Morgan!

Fun games at Nola's school party for Valentines Day.

I chuckled when several other girls in Nola's class gave the same cards. Hello Kitty is popular with the four year old crowd!

Brenner had a play date with a friend on Friday and Morgan came over to our house. These sly girls talked Matt into taking them to McDonalds for lunch.

Movie time. But what is wrong with this picture? They are in my chair!!! Shame on you Matt!!!!

Cousin Eadlin also dropped by this week - Nola was in heaven!

Some of Brenner's writing.

This cracked me up. His spelling was awful though as noted by the "ok" from Mrs. Rapp!

It snowed over 6 inches on Sunday night so we spent this morning shoveling. Matt once again reminded me of wanting a snowblower. I laughed because I was the one how did 90% of the shoveling!

The kids had a ball. Once inside and hanging up clothes I laughed at Nola's snowpants. They are 2T!!!! I have a pair of Brenner's old ones that we will use next time. They are not pink but they will have to do!

Nola preparing a bed for Doodle. Such a big bed for a little puppy! She even made sure I took off my shoes so I didn't mess up the bed!

Roller coaster weather

We have had roller coaster weather this week with snow and then short sleeved weather! I caught a cold this week but luckily no one else really got it.

I came home from work on Wednesday to find Brenner playing in the snow. Apparently, Nola had been out but got bonked on the head and went inside.

I roasted a turkey and the kids got to pull on the wishbone! Nola got the bigger side much to Brenner's dismay.

January was dance month at Brenner's school and on Friday parents got to come and dance with the kiddos.  Songs included YMCA, Happy, and the cha cha slide. I wasn't able to go but Matt snapped some pictures and we recreated the dances that night after dinner.

The kids worked hard filling out their Valentine's Day cards. Brenner selected Star Wars and Nola picked Helllo Kitty. We attached three balloons to each one for their classmates.

We then shifted to making Brenner's Valentines Box. We used one of my boot boxes to create a monster complete with teeth and stickers. He told me "I am having so much fun doing this, mom. Thank you!"  It warmed my heart :) Brenner can't wait to take it to school! Nola's teacher makes a bag for her class so we didn't need to make one for her.

Nola working on her spelling skills :)

Friday was also a big day for Brenner. He was acting strangely - a little giddy like he was hiding a secret. Well - it didn't take much to get it out of him - a classmate asked him to be her Valentine and her husband. I asked Brenner what he said. He got serious and said "I told her N-O!" then told me I can't believe that I just told you about my girlfriend. He then went crazy jumping around the house (hence the picture!).

It was warm on Saturday so we heading into town for a walk. We ended up at the area where Brenner's cross country team practices and we went off trail for a bit. Love how their arms are intertwined in this picture!

Kids seemed most excited with the ice near the car! Matt wasn't with us - he was attending a men's Christian conference in Columbia. We all had a good day and it didn't stop there......

Our friends the McGruders invited us over for a sushi dinner. It was their first attempt and we had a great time assembling and eating! It was delicious!

We had some crackers and cheese for the kids but they also got the rolls, miso soup, and a salad. They were intrigued with the wasabi! They all ate a little - because they had to in order to get dessert!

Nola with her training chopsticks :)

Sunday was another gorgeous day. Papa and Brenner shot their bows!

Nola made cake (grass clippings) and put them in bowls (shredded egg carton). She was so cute to watch. As you can see from her shoes it was MUDDY! Also her hand has two bandages - she got cut on some pampas grass but was a trooper as always!

Brenner constructed caterpillars all on his own! He asked if I was mad - I said now but I wasn't wanting him to climb counters to get to the empty cartons! We made 15. He told me that he can't wait to give them to his teacher tomorrow. Won't she be in for a surprise! Also note the tatoos on his forehead - thanks to his Sunday school teacher!!!! They got washed off this evening. I don't mind him having them - just not front and center on his forehead!

We showed the kid Jupiter this week next to the full moon. Brenner decided to make a planet book!

Last Friday - Brenner had 3 tests - reading comprehension, spelling, and math - he aced them all! Way to go, buddy! He also advanced on his rocket math. Seems like he is on a roll!

100 days of school

Brenner's class celebrated the 100th day of school this week with some special celebrations. Both kids are doing well and Matt and I are keeping busy too! The weather finally turned colder and we got snow yesterday and today. Maybe winter will stick around for a little bit!

Nola has been getting up early and eating oatmeal with me. She is just too cute even first thing in the morning!

Brenner's booklet for the 100 day celebration.

Brenner's teacher sent this picture of him doing rocket math. He went up another level this week - woohoo buddy!

Brenner's school also kicked off a read-a-thon and on Thursday we went to school (in our pjs) to celebrate. Here, Brenner is showing us games they play on the Ipads. We also got to eat "breakfast" and meet Little Red Riding Hood.

We also ran into one of the cutest little pigs (my friend Melissa who is the mom of Morgan, Nola's bff). It was a lot of fun!

While it was snowing, Nola decided it would be the prefect time to put on her swimsuit top :) Brenner lost his shirt as well. They actually played downstairs by themselves for over an hour - with no fights. Amen to that!

Some work from Children's church :)

Nola added a drawing to hers :)

During counselor time in his class, Brenner drew this. I asked if he was kicking someone and he said no - a man was kicking him while going aaaahhhhh. Interesting.

Finger painting by Nola. It kind of looks like a rat being caught in a sewer, but that is just me :)

Brenner lost his 5th tooth!!!!!! Yes - it was barely loose and he yanked it out. Made me cringe!

On Saturday night, we helped Judi (Matt's mom) celebrate her birthday. It was a lot of fun and the food was only second to the company!