Cooper bear moves to a new home
I told Megan about how Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah are getting a foster daughter that she will get to meet in October.
Megan: “Oh, they are getting a baby”.
Me: “No, she’s almost your age. She’s 4.”
I explained how this little girl needs a mommy and daddy and that Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah want to be her mommy and daddy. I also told how she doesn’t have very many toys or clothes. I asked Megan if she had any toys she would like to give this little girl.
Megan runs to her room and immediately comes back with her favorite teddy bear, Cooper Bear.
Me: “Are you sure you want to give Cooper away?”
Megan: “She needs him and he needs her”
It was the weekend so he couldn’t jump in the mailbox yet and sat on Ellen’s dresser. The next day, Ellen cleaned off the dresser and put Cooper back in Megan’s room.
Megan tromps in our room holding the bear: “Cooper doesn’t belong here, he needs to go to Uncle Mark and Aunt Sarah.”
Monday morning, Cooper rode to work with me so he could get to the Post Office.
Cooper is waving from his “crate” before we go to the Post Office and send him to the Cape (should be there Wednesday when she goes home with them).
I’m proud of my little girl for giving so freely without reservation. Both of my kids don’t just give generously, they give their best.
Good Service
January 5th, 2013
Troy said “Service is great here. This is one of those places you find on a road trip”
Oxley Nature Center
We took advantage of the 60 degree weather and hiked at Oxley Nature Center as a family.
One of the best parts today was the marsh. There were plenty of cattails and it is fun to imagine how deep the marsh is as you are walking over the wooden bridges.
Dale snapped this cheesy “senior” picture of me.
We wore the kids out during the hike. From the time we started until the time we left, it took us over an hour. This picture was early on in the hike when they had energy to spare.
I snapped this “senior” picture of Dale.
You can see the Oxley Nature Center Building in the background. They have a nice exhibit about different biomes and there are buttons you can push to hear the calls of animals that live in the area. They also have fish food you can purchase for a quarter. The kids wished we would have brought millions of quarters.
We didn’t bring any snacks or drinks with us. There are some nice picnic areas where we could have sat for a rest and a snack. We decided to go to Siegi’s in Tulsa. You can’t beat the kasewurst, German potato salad, and sauerkraut. They also brought out pretzel bread sticks. The children shared schnitzel and fries.
Troy’s review: My favorite part was when we got lost on the trails. I give this activity a 3 out of 5.
Megan’s review: I did not like walking because it took too long.
Dale’s review: I thought it was fun to get out. I liked the cattails and the marshy area.
Ellen’s review: I liked the wetland area and the near solitude of the trails.
Marshmallow Snowmen
This week’s family activity was to build a craft. I reserved a Christmas craft book. We sat down in the children’s section of the library and picked out this craft.
Here are some of the things we purchased.
Troy wanted to make yellow snow. We shaved some ice and filled some cups with apricot juice and some with cream soda.
We started building lunch and snowmen.
The empty Miracle Whip jar holds the slips of paper we pick every week that have one family activity on them. We had made a goal years ago to do more family outings, but this jar system is really working to help us determine what to do next.
Here is our snowman family. L to R (Dale, Megan, Ellen, Troy) Notice Troy’s has a sword.
Eating the marshmallow creations was fun!
Ellen’s review: I liked doing a food craft. The summer sausage, cheese, and crackers were delicious. Making the snowman was one of my favorite parts of the activity.
Megan: I liked making the snowman. I liked Dad’s, Mom’s, and Troy’s. I liked mine too. I didn’t like the drink. I wanted water and not soda.
Troy: I got a book. We went to the store to get food. Making the food was the most fun. I give this activity a 4 out of 5.
Dale: I thought it was a creative thing to do. Going to the library and store was fun. I thought it was good to see everybody having fun.