End of School--Graham

Yay!  I wrote the last daycare check in May!  Graham graduated from the Pre-K program at KSU and is ready for big kid school in August.  He can't wait to be in the same building as Miles.  He had a wonderful experience at the Center for Child Development at K-State.  Absolutely loved Ms. Jackie and Ms. Kim and the support staff.  He made a lot of friends, including some that he will go to elementary school with.  We feel very fortunate to have ended up in this facility after a couple of daycare options fell through. The staff held a graduation ceremony at the KSU Union that included cake, graduation cap and gowns, Willie the Wildcat and singing the KSU fight song.  There aren't many things cuter than a bunch of four and five-year-olds in gowns.

 Graham receiving his diploma from Ms. Kim and Willie.

Graham with Ms. Jackie, decked out in his cap and gown.

End of School--Miles

Miles had a wonderful year in 3rd grade.  He absolutely loved his teacher, Mrs. Stenseng.  She is young and full of energy and ideas.  He looked forward to school every day.  Some highlights included "clipping up" (making it all the way to role model at one point), Stenseng Cafe (getting to eat lunch in the classroom with the teacher), math groups, book studies, class mall (trading goods and services) and reading beads.  The third grade music program as at the end of the year and was baseball themed.  The kids sang some fun songs and Miles had a speaking part to end the evening.  His year ended with a big Hollywood celebration in his classroom.  All the students dressed up, brought treats, and the teacher passed out awards, recognized various achievements and showed a class movie.

Little brother helping clean up after the program.

 Miles with his buddies Reese and Logan (plus Logan's brother, Payton).

 One of his classmates offered nail painting during the goods and services unit.

 With classmates at the Hollywood party.

Miles and Mrs. Stenseng at the Hollywood party.

Biker Boy

We are officially done with training wheels in this house!  Adam took off the training wheels this spring and two days later he was riding up and down the street.  Now he thinks he should be able to hop on and ride a couple blocks to friends' houses...not quite yet, mister.

Easter 2015

Still trying to catch up... I didn't do a very good job at my first attempt given that it has been over a month since I last posted.

After church in Manhattan we spent Easter Sunday in Council Grove with my family.  Aunt Nancy always hides enough eggs for an entire town, so the kids make out like thieves.  Although Owen and Miles still love to look for eggs, Graham was the most excited.  He sprinted from one egg to the next and had to stop to empty his bag a couple of times.

 This is as dressed up as it gets in our house.

 McKinley, Maggie, Miles, Graham, Owen (Colleen and Meredith in background).

 Graham hunting eggs.

 Miles sorting through his loot.

Even the big kid enjoyed hunting for eggs.

End of Basketball

Sadly, it has become a summer goal to update this blog from winter/spring events. First up--hoops! Basketball is a big deal at our house, whether it be playing, watching, or analyzing. I can't believe how much they know--players, records, stats, college, high school, NBA, youth teams. This was probably Owen's last year playing with this exact group of boys since things will change once they go to junior high and have to factor in school season and additional rules of play for off season. We have been so blessed to be a part of the Wildcats for four years. The coaches, boys, and their families are wonderful. They make it worth the drives to KC and Wichita. Although we know Owen will continue to play in some fashion with these boys and coaches, we were all a little sad for season to end. I had to miss the last (and sounds like best) tournament due to the dumb flu!  After the season, Adam supervised a few of the boys in a 3 vs 3 tournament which was a lot of fun. You can see in the picture below that Miles was the assistant coach. 

Miles participated in his first season of traveling basketball this year. He loved playing and you could tell that he'd been beat around by his older brother. Although the coach probably liked his aggressiveness, he was usually in foul trouble. It was a blast to watch this scrappy guy. We didn't really know his teammates, coaches, and their families beforehand, but they were also a pleasure to be around. Miles is looking forward to next season and hoping that he will finally get a two day tournament (all of his ended up being one day this year) that requires us to stay in a hotel or with Uncle Quint. 

Wyatt, Melissa, Maggie, and McKinley came to watch a KC tournament. 

Group huddle after a "big win."

The Manhattan Warriors. 

Miles and first place medal. 

Adam, Miles and Dayne at 3 vs 3. 

Champions at 3 vs 3 (Dawson, Dayne, Owen, Brett). Plus Bodyn and Graham. 

End of season party at Zengers. Coach Todd giving the highlights for Owen and Dawson. 

Miles playing in 3 vs 3 with classmates Landon and Owen.

Owen, Landon, and Miles. Miles is mad they got 2nd place. 

And in case we didn't get enough basketball with our own children's games, we followed the NCAA a tournament religiously. Family bracket plus pay-to-enter pools (boys ended up 2nd and 3rd out of about 75 entries).....then we woke up and started baseball.

1 day = 6 games

Mike and Rosie made the trip from Atwood to Manhattan to watch the boys play in the Manhattan tournament in early February. They timed it well and were able to catch six games in one day. We drove from one site to another all day long. Owen's team had an exciting win over a 30-0 team in the championship game and Miles team had an exciting three overtime game that they lost by one point. Adam and I were able to enjoy dinner out (after spending quality time together working the concession stand). 

They must have missed the "wear your Under Armour" memo. 

Hoops

IBoth Owen and Miles have been busy playing basketball every weekend--Wichita, KC, Topeka and also some local tournaments--Wamego, Clay Center, Chapman. They both love basketball and really like their teammates.  Adam has become the psycho dad who takes his own stats at Owen's games (Miles' games still have too many jump balls and turnovers to keep very accurate stats). Actually, he just has a cool iPad app he enjoys using and Owen likes to go through it after games.  My parents have been able to watch both boys play and Mike and Rosie are planning to be at the Manhattan tournament next week. 

More Christmas 2014

A few more pictures from Christmas 2014...

Owen had been hoping to get these shoes. Thanks Grandma Jean and Grandpa Harlan!

Graham trying out his iPad. 

Owen's phone was wrapped with a bunch of books (to confuse him). 

Graham helping put the girls' chair together. 

Trying to decide which one is bigger and better. 

Grandma Jean is moving into the smartphone era. We set her up with a new phone. This is one of her practice sessions. 

Christmas 2014

We spent Christmas in Lebo this year.  I'm pretty sure we all came home 10 pounds heavier after snacking for four days!  It seemed like the boys loved every gift they received this year.  They've certainly played with/used/worn everything during the break.
The kids couldn't wait to get to Lebo, so we left Adam to work in Manhattan and started down early, making a short stop in Council Grove to wish Aunt Nancy and Uncle Rolland a Merry Christmas. Grandma Jean was ready with lots of gifts for Miles to sort through (he loved looking at all the presents and guessing who they were for and what might be in them) and tons of food.  Quint, Susan and the twins were also in Lebo, and we had lots of fun playing with the "babies"--we still call them babies, even though they are growing up.
This year they all received new games to play on PS3 or iPad, hoodies/sweats, tennis shoes, other necessary clothing items, basketballs, and giftcards.  We broke down and bought Owen a phone, and he was thrilled.  So far, he's been very responsible.  Miles' main gift was a new iPod touch, which he loves and uses all the time.  He's an avid texter to the people he's allowed/able to text.  I was gone for two hours one morning and he texted me emojis of smiley faces, poop, and a snowflake, along with numerous questions of when I would be home, could he have a snack, what do we have for snack, etc.  I apologize if he has your number!  Graham got a new-to-him iPad that he will get good use out of at basketball games and during travel to games.

Checking out what Santa brought.  

As you can see, the twins didn't get much for Christmas :).  

Miles was excited to get Minecraft from Aunt Nancy.  He and his friends are really into Minecraft this year.

Graham with Hulk and the bad guys, also from Aunt Nancy.

Thanksgiving

I had good intentions of posting our November/December events BEFORE the end of 2014, but holiday travel, prepping for second semester, play dates, organizing/cleaning drawers and closets, etc. has eaten up every bit of my break.  With only a day left of break, I'll attempt to squeeze it in. Starting with Thanksgiving...
This was our year to go to Atwood.  We lucked out and didn't have to pack coats since we timed our trip with the 70 degree November weather.  The kids enjoyed all the time spent outside, especially driving the cars and trying out the metal detectors that Rosie bought.  They didn't find all the treasures that Mike had buried, but they worked hard trying to.  Other highlights were talking to Santa (at the local discount store), working at the store, going to the store after hours, lots of cousin time, and early Christmas with this side of the family.

Graham and Jack driving one of the cars in Grandpa Mike's pasture behind the house.  They are wearing the headlamps that Grandma Rosie gave them for Christmas (she has a soft spot for anything that lights up).

Uncle Josh cuffed Miles (who probably deserved it).

One day the biggest of the "Big Kids" worked for Grandpa Mike at the grocery store.  They got paid half of the minimum wage salary (along with ice cream, candy, etc.).

The three Littles had a great time playing, tattling, trading electronic devices, etc.

On a different day, the other "Big Kids" worked for Grandpa Mike.  Surprisingly they actually got paid--we thought they might get fired.  

We kicked them out of the car and made them run home to burn off some energy.  Miles and Reese are definitely two peas in a pod.  

The "Littles" riding to the park in the "Granny Car"--an old Buick Rosie drives around town.  They were on a roll talking about all things poop.

We were trying to recreate an awkward family photo we had seen, but I think it's actually pretty cute. All eight grandkids in order from youngest to oldest.  There is an adult version on someone's camera that I will have to track down.