Hippos!

We played a little bit of hookie yesterday and went to the zoo. GMan and I got to pose next to the hippos and the elephants. Unfortunately the baby black rhino wasn't out or we may have stayed longer.

Watch out world!

https://youtu.be/s8n_7Yh8cWA

Month is Gone

We had a long HOT July here.  We were under heat advisory/watch/etc  for most of the month.  We also had several visits from people and went to OK for the 4th of July.  We ended the month sending A back to OK for Grandma Camp! Everyone has loved the break the past couple of days from each other and A is loving spending time with her cousin and grandma!

 Before Chris took the girls for camp I got a picture of all the kids on our stairs.  I think this turned out well.

 With it being just boys and mommy for the afternoon we decided to go to the splash pad.  We hadn't been to this one and probably won't go back.  The park part was good but the splash pad not so good.

Mommy and twins!

Baby feet! Sleeping babies even better.

 Big kids with Uncle J who came up to visit the last full week of the month.  Both big kids adore their uncle and were excited to have him sit between them in the back of the van.

We started A in taekwondo this month.  It is a black belt program and we are going to be able to get G through as well once he's big enough.  G called them "Pajamas" which is really funny because we aren't allowed to wear pajamas outside as a family rule.  :)

 Kids in a line at Grandma's house.  The twins are getting big and are starting to roll every which way.  They are also starting to eat non-milk food!  M has taken to that like a "duck on water" as Chris says with Big E not enjoying it as much.  He'll eat what he wants -- which isn't very much normally.  Big E also prefers non-pureed foods so that may be a problem until he gets his teeth.

Mom and I are going to do the Route 66 Half Marathon in November.  We did a training run in the hot hot sun and it was okay.  It was a "kick" off run at the Fleet Feet in Tulsa.  Not bad time for the heat and out of shape people who did it. ;)

Church Service

We regularly make it to church.  With twins and bigs who don't remember how to dress themselves this is normally quite the feat.  We even manage to be within five minutes most days.  There are thankfully several twin families at the church and we all kind of sit together.  We are all forgiving and just excited to see each other that it is fun! Sometimes we use the twins to help settle disputes.  A and GMan both love their brothers and if fighting the chance to hold one in church is the best.  Typically we end up something like this:

We also have had a fairly easy week this past week. After the birthday celebrations this is a relief.  This coming week will be VBS for the bigs so hopefully Chris can work everything out with just the littles.

Birthday Celebrations

May is birthday month for us as it contains A and Chris birthdays.  We did A birthday stuff the weekend after she got out of school and went to the butterfly house and St. Louis Carousel in Faust Park.  It was a lot of fun and the twins weren't quite sure what to think of the carousel.  M thought it fun while Big E wasn't so sure.  The next day A and I ran (and walked while she whined a fair bit) a 5k.  A and GMan also did the 1/4 mile kids run which they enjoyed.  We also got to go around the zoo and do a scavenger hunt which earned each of them a backpack.  We will be doing the run again next year. :)

This week Chris put together a bench for our table and it is going well.  We need to paint it and get it all finished but it is currently functional.  We also did Chris's birthday and had friends over to make red velvet cake.  

Here are some pictures from the fun. 

After the race as the babies wore these around the zoo.  A lady with a deathly hallows symbol braved talking to us (along with several other people) and commented on "HOW CUTE!" they were -- especially as there were two of them. 

Before the race at the starting line. A was impressed by the HUGE american flag of the United States of America. 

We parked and had to walk a bit

Swinging -- Big E really likes swinging

On the Carousel

A and I were the only ones on horses who went up and down

M is not so sure about the swing.  

Happy 6th B'Day A!

Working on sitting up in a chair

We played dominoes and had Red Velvet Cake for Chris. 

Tummy Time with twins.  They may be a bit more identical than we originally thought. 

Strawberries

We managed to grow a strawberry. We got the carboys from with and Chris cut them up. We added the dirt and planned some plants. After a bit of rain and sunshine we have a strawberry. The kids were super excited about it, but not excited enough to try it unfortunately. I'm secretly hoping that if they help grow food they will be more interested in eating the food and veggies.

Recently Chris introduced the kids to computer video games. It is now all they talk about it seems. However, it will be good times for them as they are here with this summer with the twins. 

Everyone is doing well per the pediatrician. Big E is the only one in the >50 percentile and he's in the 80th or something like that so he's definitely earning his nickname. Both are rolling over if they don't think anyone is watching. Both are quite interactive these days and able to tell time without knowing how to read a clock. Both are adamant that Mom gets home from work around 330 and that bedtime is between 645 & 7. Having had 2 kids who are still up 2 hours past being put in bed this is a novel concept for us.

A is a big 6 now and it's having a lot of fun being out of school. The last bit was tough on everyone. She isn't sure about 1st grade as she has the mystery teacher and she doesn't know everyone in her class yet! She did quite well in kindergarten and was actually the only one for her class to get to go to first grade this last quarter. She loved that.

G loves his big sister and is torn between being a big kid and a baby. He's getting better but we need to remember that he's only 3.

However, it is getting close to bed time so I'm being called to go for prayers and tucking in, again.

Almond-Honey yum

I've stopped trying to categorize if I make a bread, a cake, a muffin, or some thing else. Since the kids call everything I put in the oven "yum" I'll go with that.

1 C Butter
1 C honey
1 C almond butter
4 eggs
2/3 C Tapioca
2/3 C millet
2/3 C brown rice
1 1/3 C oats
2 tsp baking soda
1 TBS gum

Cream butter. Add honey and cream some more. Add almond butter and cream even more. Add eggs and mix thoroughly. Slowly add the dry stuff then portion into containers to bake @ 350°F.

This is the first recipe in a while that I haven't had cinnamon or vanilla in, but Chris says they will be yummy. They went into the muffin cups well so that's always a plus. I'll update with a picture, though it won't be much different than a lot of other pictures.