Let's Get Ready to RUMBLE!

Harper is playing outdoor soccer this fall and her team is the RUMBLE.  Richard is the coach...sucker!  No, he really is excited but they called us at the last minute to see if he would volunteer.  We only know two girls on our team but the other six have become quick friends.  We had our first game last Saturday and had only two short practices in our backyard before that.  Our team shirts hadn't come in yet, so we all just wore light colored shirts and black shorts.  When we showed up to our game, our opponents were decked out in "official" uniforms with all the fancy gear.  Compared to them, we looked like the Bad News Bears...but it's whats on the inside that counts because we ended up winning 14-7.  Harper was a little timid at first, but ended up breaking away and getting in the middle of the mix to kick the ball.  Way to Go Rumble!

A Boy and his Boots!

Owen has been on a "boot" kick lately.  He found his boots in the closet over Labor Day weekend and he has wanted to wear them ever since.  It is hilarious because he will wear them with anything.  I mean anything.  Most of the time it is easier to let him wear them with shorts than it is to deal with 2 year old tantrums.  And...at least he thinks he looks cool!

P.S.  He has also been infatuated with his cape.  Cape and Boots = Good Combo!

Harper's Big Week!

Harper's weeks are pretty full...most of our routine goes like this...

Monday: Harper goes to Ballet/Modern Class; Owen goes to Music Class

Tuesday:  Stay Home...but usually end up at a school function with Mom

Wednesday: Harper goes to Jazz/Hip-Hop class and then to Kinect at Church with friends

Thursday: Stay Home, Homework Night...study for Spelling, Sight Words and do homework papers

Friday: Friday Night Lights...High School Football...our favorite

However, last week was proved to be a huge week for Harper!  On Thursday, late morning, I got a call from Harper's principal telling me that I ought to come get her from school because at lunch...Harper's leg got STUCK in the lunch table!  "What?" I said...yep...that is right.  Her knee got jammed between the benches of the lunch table and they had to get all of the kids to stand up with their trays before they could pop the table up to get her unjammed.  When I went to pick her up, I think she was more traumatized than anything.  I took her down to OU to see Dr. Aunt Mel who gave us a bag of ice and tons of fun doctor toys to play with to make it all better.  It was slightly bruised and sore the next day, but she is fine now.  Crazy!

But on Friday, she had a much better day...she come home from school to tell me that she had made a 100% on her very first spelling TEST!  Woohoo!  We did a huge "She got a 100!" dance around the house and hung it right on the fridge.  So super proud of her!!!

Always an adventure around our house!!!

Labor Day Fun

On Labor Day weekend, we stayed home and did a few projects around the house.  It was nice to finally have decent "non-sweaty" weather and the kids had a blast just being at home.  One evening, Richard and I surprised the kids by setting up the tent in the backyard for a campout!
Both Harper and Owen went wild...jumping around in the tent.  Then it was a game of in and then out, in and out...Harper even brought every blanket and pillow that her and Owen owned into the tent. 
Before going to bed, we all gathered around the chimenea and made s'mores.  Yummy!  Of course, we had to have a little popcorn too!
Richard, Owen and I slept on the blow-up mattress, while Harper slept on her old kindermat and in her sleeping bag.  We all slept all night long and didn't even wake up until after 7:30.

 Good Morning Sleepy Heads!

Lots of outdoor fun...really close to home!

OSU Soccer

To kick off the school year, we took Harper and Owen (and my parents) to Stillwater to watch the Cowgirls play the Sooners in a Bedlam Soccer Game.  The evening included a trip to Eskimo Joes for some super yummy cheese fries...and a t-shirt of course!  We then headed to the soccer field to take in the action.  AMAZING!  It is crazy how good those girls are...I guess that is why they play D-1 soccer. :)  Harper had a great time watching the game and Owen had a blast cheering on the "Cowghillls!"  He kept running up the rope on the side of the field and hollaring as loud as he could for his team!  The Cowgirls ended up winning the game, 1-0!  Go Pokes!

Paintin' with Desmond

 A few weekends ago, we went to a benefit carnival/event and the kids got a chance to paint with Desmond Mason. Of course we love him for being a former Thunder Player...we we were ecstatic to see that he was sporting his OSU shirt this particular day!

The event was really neat.  Each of them got a small canvas and a plate with tons of colors of paint.  They each painted a little while, Owen ended up smearing most of his together to make a "grey" canvas.  Harper's was very "modern" looking.  While, they were painting, Desmond came around to check on them and offer assistance.  Once they were done with their canvases, he invited them over to paint a little on his HUGE piece of artwork.  They had an absolute blast and even got their faces painted after the whole thing was over.  The kid's canvases will go up for auction at a charity fundraising event at the end of the month.  Super Fun Saturday!

Back to School Dinner

I got this idea for a Back-to-School Dinner Celebration from my friend Sara a few years ago.  I have just been dying to give it a try...and what better time than the start of First Grade. 

The Sunday night before school started, we invited Grandma, Boppy, Aunt Melanie, Uncle Cole and Great-Grandma over for Harper's celebratory dinner.  I told Harper that I would like to serve her favorite meal from the school cafeteria.  She selected chicken nuggets...the planning went from there.  We had nuggets, homemade mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, fruit cocktail and salad.  Complete with small cups for dipping sauces and of course...cartons of milk!  For desert we had warm chocolate chip cookies and homemade ice cream.

 And of course no party is complete without decorations...the best part was...I didn't pay a penny for them. A little rummaging around in the playroom and tada! Such a fun way to celebrate this special time of year! Yea School!

Secret Fun!

We used to make forts all the time when Harper was little...I guess we just forgot about how much fun they are.  The other day, Harper asked if her and Owen could make a fort like we used to.  We don't have the recliner anymore that we would flip over to make into a fort, but we improvised with the big chair in the living room.  We flipped it over, added some blankets and had an instant fort!
Of course, Harper the Packrat went and grabbed as much stuff as she could to take in with her. There was barely enough room for Owen. But they played for awhile and had a ton of fun!