Ryan Graduates from a Bear to a Webelos

Tonight was Ryan's last Pack meeting for the year and they had a ceremony celebrating as he turned from a Bear to a Webelo =) Dad is back at work tonight (1st night back after being really, really, really, really, sick). He had to miss this, but we posted pictures so he could see it right away! And Ryan called him and talked to him right after and told him all about it.
The parents stood up with their Scout and took off their Bear neckerchief and they were given a Webelos neckerchief.

They had to ride the rope to jump across (sorry, don't remember all of what this meant)

Ryan really liked riding the rope though!

Then the walked across the bridge and shook the hand of the Big Chief (okay that's just my interpretation, but this is the Pack leader and he will be going on to lead the Webelos which is great! He is an awesome leader and a lot of fun (just a big kid really).

Big Chief! Little Webelo Scout! (add your own indian accent here)

Incredible Pizza

We celebrated Ryan's birthday with famiy on his birthday. But that weekend we celebrated with his friends/neighbors. We headed to Incredible Pizza and had a PARTY!
Dad brought the balloons!

Ryan had fun celebrating with his friends!

Amber was just glad that Madison got to come with her brother, they are best friends/neighbors too and Amber wanted a girl to hang with (Madison is her bestest friend too).

I was lucky enough to have my bestest friend as well =)

Ryan got more Web Kinz and web kinz stuff (He loves it!)

He also got a water gun which Mike says would be a perfect cat/dog gun (NOT)

This is the last picture we have with Mike having fun . . . . shortly after we left as he wasn't feeling well and he went down with the flu and was very, very sick for the next two days (sicker than I have ever seen him . . . it was sad)

Amber had fun playing games with Madison and her mom.

Ryan Turns 9

Ryan's BIRTHDAY - DAY! He may not look too happy, but it is his birthday morning and he started early. He wanted to open his presents first thing, and since we had a busy day ahead of us and we were all up and ready we figured why not. His favorite gifts was his new Lil' Kinz White Mouse. He asked for this gift again, and again, and again days, weeks even, before his birthday =)
He got lots of airplane stuff from Dad! Even a cool Boeing shirt that we let him wear to Scouts last night because they were talking about Space and the shirt has a picture of the Space Shuttle on it. He also wore it to school the next day (he only had it on a few minutes the night before . . . and he's a guy - hee hee)

Mom and Dad brought him McDonalds for lunch and surprised him. He had an idea we might come because we brought Amber lunch to school on her birthday . . . but that was the last (and only) time we have done that.

As soon as school was out we jumped in the car and went to Tulsa to the ToysRUs to spend the gift certificate he got along with money for his birthday. He got a big A10 (it's huge) and a metal zero model. Amber had some allowance money so she got some little pony's.

After shopping it was still up to Ryan where to eat. We had tried to get him to decide all day (Mike wanted Logans), but Ryan said Sushi so we drove around looking for a sushi bar. We ended up at a Japanese cook it at your table restaurant. It was the first time we have gone to a restaurant like this in Tulsa. We have gone to them every place we have lived (and love them).

Ryan not only got a meal, but he got a Sashimi appetizer (Dad thought he needed both, and Dad get's the leftovers for lunch - yum - hee hee). Ryan is very proud of the fact that he eats and really likes raw fish. His favorites are Salmon, and Tuna, Yellowtail.

He shared some with Dad, but ate most of it himself. (I love the Sushi sign over the guy's heads)

Ryan was digging into the Sashimi while dad just had noodles at this point.

Amber loved the noodles the best. She ate all her's and some of mine. She really cleaned off most of her plate and kept on going (she ate more than I did, that's for sure).

Amber wasn't too thrilled with the fire, they really set some big ones too.

Amber being goofy while Dad figures out the bill.

Since it was his birthday they came out singing and brought him a birthday pineapple.

After the meal we asked Ryan what was his favorite part of the meal. He said the American Flag, the Japanese Flag, the umbrella and the clown .. . . . . go figure. (notice the cool T-shirt)
Overall it was a very successful and fun birthday . . . . for us all! Now on Saturday we take the kids and his friends Sam, Grant, Caleb and Cayden to Incredible Pizza. He said he liked celebrating with us, but he really can't wait to celebrate with his friends . . .

Cub World - Camping

It was time for Cub World Camping=) Of course someone didn't tell the weatherman=( After having some really nice warm days, and a lot of really bad rainy days (all the way up until Thursday) we left Saturday at 7:30am for some unusually cold weather camping.

Mike was prepared and does great in any weather! I made sure I was prepared for cold weather and did okay. The kids did great! I was very proud of them and it was a great camping trip!

Shortly after we got there and got the tent set up we went for a hike. We found the shooting range for the Boy Scouts and found a ton of clay pigeons. Amber trucked along with us although I'm not sure how she could see where she was going. We still love her cute hairdo=)

Mike and Ryan were loving every minute of it. Look at my brave little guy with no jacket (crazy kid), and it was cold, just look at Mike (and he doesn't get cold). Ryan did great! Never really complained about the cold at all=)

Look at all the clay pigeons. And yes, we brought some home . . . but I'm not sure why.

Shortly after the hike, and still early in the day we got to see some of the wildlife. YES that is a Tarantula! And that is a child's arm! I just want to know where that child's parent was! EEEEEK

YES that is a scorpion. We found at least two. Thankfully because it was cold there weren't more than two.

It was probably between 50-60 degrees during the day (yikes). Mike was volunteered (no, not by me) to be a leader of one of the walking groups. I guess someone forgot to mention that Mike had just finished working a 12 hour shift at 7am that morning and hadn't slept for 20+ hours at this point. He was a trooper! Did great with the kids! He led Ryan's group so you will see a lot of pictures he took of the things their group did. I was with Amber's group, it was smaller and we got to improvise a bit.

They got to shoot BB guns! Ryan's the first one in front with the Red/Black jacket.

They shot bow and arrows! (he looks like a natural)

We had a couple of craft projects. This was to make a noise maker for the camp fire time (like they need more noise)

My son, the goof! He has a blast with his friends at scouts! He really loves it.

I loved Amber's hat the most! She was soooo adorable in it. It was falling off half the time and she didn't care. She was so cute!

I was not quite as cute, but I was warm. I dressed in many, many layers and actually kept warm. I don't like the cold so it wasn't easy, but I had a great time.

Ryan was in a skit at the camp fire get together at night. This is him hamming it up big! (he's in red)
This is everyone in our pack - Pack 897 - you can just see Mike on the far right in the light camo jacket, and Ryan in his red and black. Amber sat in my lap the whole night and kept me warm. It was a short camp fire time, it also rained for a bit during the skits etc., but no one left. We had several worried looks as the clouds were very dark and it looked almost like a tornado could be a possibility. One had hit right in this area early in the week (yikes). Did I mention I hate rain - oh well, it was still fun! It was all good.
The coldest time was the next morning. This is our campfire with all the boys crowded around it! Amber's hands were really cold and she said there was no room around the fire=( We helped her warm them up. The kids all got their polar bear patches because it was freezing overnight. Yeah! Our perseverance paid off!

We did end up leaving early the next morning. After camp was cleaned up there wasn't really anything to do and it was cloudy and cold. Again, overall it was a huge success and a fun time was had by all! Even me=) (and that says a lot - hee hee)

The Storm

It started before bedtime, and we knew it was going to be a big one, but we all went to sleep hoping for the best. Can't remember the time but Ryan woke me from a good sleep and joined me (Mike was at work). Shortly after he came down we heard the sirens. I tried to ignore it, while at the same time making a game plan in my mind of getting Ryan to the bathroom while running upstairs for Amber. I thought of getting her right then, but figured Mike would call if it was really that bad. Then the phone rang. Mike asked "do you have the kids with you", "I have Ryan", "well go get Amber". Great, this was not going to be a fun night. Amber got up easily and came downstairs. More sirens went off and the kids had caught on by now what they were. Thankfully I was so tired they couldn't tell I was a bit worried myself. I thought of going into our safe room, but couldn't bring myself to do it. Our "safe" room is a tiny bathroom under the stairs that has only a sink and a toilet. It is very small, but still manages to have two doors (that just doesn't seem so "safe" to me). I figure if I hear anything we will all grab our pillows and the comforter and I would put the kids in front of the door that opens in (should be safe), while I lock and door and sit in front of the one that opens out (while trying to remember what way do the doors open). I wasn't too worried because I figured Mike was keeping a good eye on things and would let us know. Then the hail hit, up until then other than the thunder and lightening it didn't sound like it was raining that bad, but when the hail hit it was was loud! After awhile things finally quieted down. Amber was not doing good in the middle, so when she got up to go to the bathroom I had Ryan scoot over to put Amber on the other end. When she came back she said "I didn't want to switch", so she continued to complain, only now it was about being on the end and not about being squished (ugh). Thankfully Mike called back and I asked if it was okay to put the kids back to their own beds. He said the tornado's were gone and the next storm was just going to be rain, no tornadoes. Yea! Amber went right back to sleep (I am sure), I went right back to sleep (almost), as soon as the next storm started Ryan came back down. It was fine though, our bed sleeps two just fine, not so much three though.

I thought the night had been exciting . . . . . that was before my drive in to work. I PROMISE I will never take 96th street when we have heavy rains again! I know, I have promised this before, but this time I MEAN IT!!!!! After the last storm and I literally swam into work I said this, but today was even worse!!! I didn't think it had rained sooo much last night (WRONG!). I saw the water on both sides of the street most of the way up 96th, but I didn't turn back (BIG MISTAKE!). I got to 145th and had a great opportunity to turn, but I didn't (BIG MISTAKE). As soon as I went over the first hill I saw a lot of red lights (oh no), it was a fire truck. I still managed to see this as a positive sign "if he can get through . . . ." But actually the fire truck was in the driveway of a house on the right, not coming down the road. Then a white truck turned to come down 96th from the street in front of me and I could tell he was taking the turn wide (don't ask me why) before I was even past him it was clear he was in the ditch and was significantly under water. I could see his tail behind me as I kept going, but now I was significantly worried at this point. Don't ask me why but I continued to keep going as the water rose, I hit a dry spot, then started to swim. Now everyone asks me why I didn't turn around . . . the roads are so narrow and the ditches are full of water so the only answer at this late point would be to back up . . . way, way, up and I'm not so great at that. Plus, my foot was still on the gas so I felt there was little I could do at this point (BIG MISTAKE). I started screaming as I saw the very tail end and only the back window of a PT Cruiser (I think that is what they are called), just off to my right, off of the road heading downstream. The water was flowing at a very high rate across the road and I thought I was going to be right along side the cruiser in a few minutes. Considering the only part of the Cruiser that I could see was the back window, the rest was under water, I was really screaming at this point. It went something like this "OH GOD, PLEASE JUST GET ME THROUGH THIS AND I PROMISE I WON'T BE SO STUPID AS TO EVER DO THIS AGAIN" repeated several times with extremely high pitched squeals in between. I now have a death grip on the steering wheel and my foot, oblivious to everything going on around it, is still pushing the pedal. PRAISE GOD! I made it to the other side, but I'm still not quite myself. I see two cars coming down 96th towards me. Last time I tried to signal them to turn around and they ignored me. This time I rolled down my window, flashed my lights and waved my arm like a crazy women (which I really was at this point) AND THEY STILL IGNORED ME. One lady even waived back . . . LIKE I WAS TRYING TO SAY HI???? Oh well, I can tell you if any crazed looking lady (I had to be a site) had been waving at me at any point before I started my swim I would have backed all the way up to 129th, but I had no such OBVIOUS warning (okay, several slightly obvious warnings like the rising water, the fire engine, the Truck that went swimming right in front of me, but no crazed lady waving her arm out the window. It took awhile for me to calm down. Just ask any of the pastors who talked to me that morning. But I warned several more people. And I called Mike as soon as I got to work and told him that anytime it rains heavily he is to make me promise I will not go down 96th street.

Oklahoma . . . . gotta love it!

TV is refreshing?

R - I think I will take a break and refresh my memory. I'm going downstairs to watch T.V.

A - Okay, I think I will take a break too, to refresh my memory.

Our Cute Chick

Amber was a "cute chick" in their school play tonight, E-I-E-I Oops!. She had to sing a song "cute chick, aren't we just adorable", and they were so cute and adorable!!
Amber's friend Emma was a sheep.

And her friend Hannah was the cow=) (and a crosseyed cow at that - she was sooo cute)

Her friend Cole was a Sheep too

Ryan and Amber having fun after the performance.

I included only one picture of Amber in the performance because they really didn't turn out. We were too far away. Hopefully the video Mike took will turn out better.

It was a good time! Amber was excited about this for the past month - it is all we have heard. It was a lot of fun! The kids did great!