rewind to labor day

Labor Day weekend we got a wonderful visit from our HUGSR neighbors Erin and Justin.
She really was happy to see them!

It was a great visit and made me miss them even more. They also got to enjoy that cooler weather we got, which was perfect for our afternoon at the ballpark. We did lots of things, but here's some of the highlights:
A trip to Pops

A Redbirds...I mean Redhawks game. It was 'kids day" so Elle got to run the bases. She did the whole thing by herself!



Science Museum fun

We love you Lewises!

curiosity day

We had planned a curiosity day with little friends on Sept. 16th (H. A. Rey's birthday, the author of the Curious George books). But, thanks to a wonderful power outage at OSSM we had to cancel. I didn't get to reschedule, but thought I would share some of the stuff I had planned. Maybe next year!

*Curious George books
*making Curious George masks
*Curious George matching game
*Barrel of monkeys (if you have the yellow barrel with the red monkeys it goes great with this theme!)
*Pepperoni Pizza Monkey Bread
-I did end up making this once the power came back on. It got good reviews, but they could have just been being nice. Next time I think I'd like to add more pepperoni and cheese.
*Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
-Probably my favorite cookie now. I put in 2 cups of chocolate chips though.
*Jack Johnson tunes
*Plus red and yellow paper goods, monkey food, like bananas and oranges, and some Curious George toys

media literacy note: Please talk to your children about the fact that monkeys have tails. If your curious why George doesn't have one apparently it was a sign of the times (check out this article for more info). Most importantly, don't be those people at the zoo who embarrass themselves by calling the chimps or other apes monkeys. Here's a song I used in my classroom to teach students the difference so if you get confused just sing it to yourself:

Ape or monkey?
Ape or monkey?
Which is which?
Which is which?
Monkeys have a tail, monkeys have a tail,
Apes do not! Apes do not!
(sing to the tune of Frere Jacques)

state fair

Elle and I visited the OK State Fair for the first time. We've been to the Tulsa State Fair, but hadn't experienced the one here. It's not a favorite place for Chris to go, and I hate big crowds so we went on Monday morning and tried to get there as soon as the buildings opened. It was a great time to go because we got a great parking space and there weren't any crowds to mess with. We were greatly disappointed in the lack of animals though. It was pretty empty in the barns. We found a few in one barn, the birthing center, and the Agtropolis. Elle's favorite was the baby chicks, but that could have been the fun walkway that made lots of noise. The sea lion show was cute and the wild west show at the centennial frontier area was neat, but Elle got bored with the rope tricks and started playing with the rocks. She did let me walk through the creative arts building, which is one of my favorite parts. We also got to watch some of the marching bands who were there for a contest, while we ate our corn dogs.

This is as close as she would get.


Checkin' out the CASE. Do you think Uncle Ken would like this one?



These were our fair books:


Dooby Dooby Moo is cute, if you like this series, but Elle doesn't get a lot of the jokes. County Fair is part of the My First Little House Books, which I love because I can start introducing one of my favorite series, but the stories are short enough she doesn't get bored.

horse'n around

We got a chance to go out and see Morian's horse and some other animal friends. Elle loves horses...as long as she doesn't have to stand too close. This time out she did touch one so we're making progress. Elle loved the chickens this time and would pet the tom cat Ranger. Guess we'll have to keep going and work up to getting Elle on the horse.

leah's heart

Leah is the daughter of one of Chris' classmates in the Baylor philosophy program. She is 4 years old and just got a heart transplant after waiting for a year and half. You can find the link to her family's blog on the right side of my blog if you'd like to keep up with her progress. (She's doing amazing!) The cost of the transplant is around $500,000. Insurance will cover some, but the family will still incur costs. Leah has a page on the Children's Organ Transplant Association site, where you can read about her condition and/or make a donation. To visit that page click here. I ask that you at least add Leah, her family, and her physicians and nurses to your prayers. Thanks!

Here's a book that I like to use around Valentine's Day for a science unit on the heart.

what's the buzz around ossm?

Elle got into the dress up case and wanted to go out and show Chris while he was on dorm duty. Yes, she's just wearing the costume and panties. Thankfully, the kids all think she's cute and don't mind a little distraction during study time.


A really cute series on bugs includes this book:

have ye lubbers read this one?

Happy "Talk Like a Pirate Day!"

Sheep on a Ship by Nancy Shaw