EvieCoon

So you've probably heard me refer to my youngest as EvieJune on occasion.  Well, Russ may have found a new nickname for her.  I was working the evening shift this week when I received the following pictures with the title "EvieCoon". . .

Apparently, the peanuts were just too good and she couldn't make her little fist open enough to get it back out of the jar.  Just like the coons the boys and I recently finished reading about in "Where the Red Fern Grows," this girl was TRAPPED.  And NOT HAPPY about it, not one bit.

I was giggling so much as I saw these pictures, but I did text Russ back to make sure she eventually was able to retrieve her hand.  I wonder if she even got to eat any of those peanuts. . .

Calvin's Basketball Season

Calvin's basketball season sadly came to an end this weekend, but what fun they had!  With Coach Russ as their fearless leader, the Bulls had an undefeated season!

Calvin generally played point guard and did a great job of handling the ball.

I was also really proud of how well he saw the floor.  He had some really nice assists to his teammates.

As any typical 8-year-old boy, he definitely liked to shoot as well.  He made a few outside shots and a lot of layups.

 

Look at that form!  Grandpa Kermit would be proud.

Calvin always had a great cheering section at his games.  Here are just a few of his fans.

Oliver liked to hang out on "the bench" during the games. I can't wait for the day that Calvin and Oliver get to play on the same team -- they love playing ball together.

 At the final game, the boys all got medals for their awesome season!

 Go Bulls!

 There were three 2nd graders on the team (the rest were 1st graders).  Calvin was so lucky to get to play with his buddies, Caden and Brodie.

What a great season!  Calvin was so sad on the way home from the last game.  I think he'll be going through withdrawal for a while.  This boy loves basketball!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Virginia!!

This young lady turned 95 yesterday!  We attended a wonderful party celebrating the momentous occasion with her and her family.

Her daughter Kay made this gorgeous and DELICIOUS cake.

And there were plenty of beautiful flowers given to the birthday girl as well.

Evelyn found her favorite place to sit: on Grandma Virginia's lap AND close to some of that yummy cake!

 Violet is never too far away, and loves to sit with Grandma, too.

The boys enjoyed the absolutely perfect weather outside by playing some football. . . 60 degrees and sunny in February -- doesn't get much better than that!

 My crew with the birthday girl on her special day!

 Happy, Happy Birthday Virginia!  We are so blessed to have you in our lives!

Home on the Range, KU Basketball Style

With Kansas Day at the end of January, the boys had been running around the house singing "Home on the Range" in their best southern accent.  Well, as they were singing, the lyrics began slowly morphing.  Instead of "where the deer and the antelope play", I was hearing, "Where Naadir and the antelope play" and instead of "Where seldom is heard", they were singing, "Wayne Seldon is (fill-in-the-blank)".  They started to think their song was pretty funny and began working to finish the whole thing. They had a little help from Jackson and me, but this song was ALL CALVIN and OLIVER. I'm not sure either of them have a future in songwriting or country music singing, but they are pretty darn cute anyway.  I've included their original lyrics below in case you can't understand the words. Without further ado, I present "Home on the Range, KU Basketball Style"! 

Oh give me a home, Where the Jayhawks will pone**.

Where Naadir and Conner Frankamp swish threes.

Wayne Selden is very

Good and so is Perry.

And Embiid gets the blocks and the T’s.

Home, Home of the Hawks,

Where Naadir and Frank Mason assist.

Wayne Selden is buff,

Black and Traylor are tough.

And with Wiggins, we surely can’t miss.

("Pone" is a word made up by Jackson, I believe, that means 'rule' or 'dominate' or 'own')

3 Piggy Opera

This evening was Oliver's adorable kindergarten musical, "The 3 Piggy Opera" and boy were these kids excited!

The Program with all of the Piggy Chorus, including my Oliver, listed:  

 There's the whole kindergarten crew!

And there's my Oliver Piggy!

 

They sang several songs telling the whole story of the 3 Little Pigs.  Oliver has been practicing all of his songs for the past month or so, and he did such a great job!

 How old are you Oliver?? (Ok, so the song had something else to do with the number 6, but I don't remember now what it was.)

 Hooray, Hooray, the wolf has run away!

 After the show, Oliver met up with his buddy Colter to greet their fans.

 Oliver's first school musical was so much fun -- I'm looking forward to many more!

Lovin' the Love this Valentine's Weekend

We started out Valentine's Day by making some heart-shaped pancakes for our little sweethearts.

Don't worry, Evelyn got to eat more than that baby-sized pancake.  The boys just thought it was fun for each kid to have their own size pancake.

 For the 18th year (except 2012 when I somehow missed because of Vi's heart surgery and pregnancy brain), I have "surprised" Russ with banana bread for his Valentine's Day present.  Guess who is a big fan of banana bread??

It didn't take long for these 3 loaves to be devoured.  I may need to make 4 next year.

Isn't she adorable??

My four sweet Valentines got cards and goodies from all of their grandparents. . .

. . . and some candy from us as well.  They wasted no time ripping into the packages.

Evelyn never met a chocolate she didn't like.

Calvin is such a sweet big brother, always there to help.

I liked the sayings on their packages.

To finish off our fun weekend, we attended the "Sweetheart Dinner" at church last evening.  We have gone the past 5 years or so, and always have a great time.

As a bonus, they feed and entertain the kids as well!

Aren't these table decorations beautiful?

 After a delicious dinner, we were treated to some wonderful entertainment.  The harpist was amazing!  She also taught us a lot about the history of the harp, what it's made of, and how it's played.  For example, did you know the strings are made of sheep gut?  And they are spun to be the exact diameter across the entire length to provide a well-rounded sound.  It was all very fascinating and the music just beautiful.

 In case you've ever wondered what a $50,000 harp looks like, here you go.  She said some harps cost upwards of $125,000!  This one was hand-carved in Chicago by Polish master craftsmen.

 Following the harpist, we were entertained by the KU Men's music fraternity.  They sang some really fun songs like "My Girl" and "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" -- They were great!

We had a fabulous Valentine's weekend celebrating with all those we love.  I'm so blessed to call this man my Valentine for the past 18 years!