Winter Fun

It's been over a month since our last post on New Year's Eve.  As you can see, we've been busy!!!

Grandma and Grandpa Cas came up to celebrate New Year's Eve with us.  They brought up Elsie's birthday presents too.  We made homemade pizzas and played.  Our friends Alan and Emily came over too with their recently adopted sons Anderson and Phillip.  The kids (and adults) played all evening.  We played ping pong, Wii, Legos, and all sorts of stuff.

Grandma and Grandpa Cas had a FIERCE game of ping pong.

On New Years Day, Elsie rode back to Boonville with Grandma and Grandpa Cas.  She spent a few days down there, and then it was Owen's turn.

This is Elsie's American Girl Doll, Maddie.

Elsie got to go back to the Boonville Clay Co.  She really enjoys that.

On Wednesday, Owen and I met Grandma Cas and Elsie in Odessa.  He stayed in Boonville until it was time to come back to Olathe for Elsie's birthday party on Saturday.

He brought his new remote controlled car!

This reminds me of something I would totally have done.  :)

Owen got to go to the Clay Co. too...

Guess what he made?  A train!

Elsie's party on Saturday was at the Olathe Rec Center.  They have a party room and a giant indoor pool.  Perfect for the middle of winter.

The kids all love bobbing along in the lazy river.

Instead of presents, Elsie asked all of her friends for donations that she could take to the Great Plains SPCA, the shelter where we got Millie.  She got a whole car load!

One evening Elsie gave Sarah and I tickets for a Saturday morning show in her room.  She had been really busy building secret stuff in her room so we were definitely intrigued.

Bright and early on Saturday morning...

...we picked a breakfast from the menu and took our seats in Elsie's room.

Elsie was going to put on her very own concert and she made all the instruments herself!  She sang along to music on her Kindle.  It was really cute and creative!  She started with drums.

She played a bit of a recorder too.

And cha-cha's

...and guitar!

If these two made an album together, this picture would be the perfect album cover.

Elsie also got student of the month in January!

The next weekend we got another invite.  This time it was to a party where we divided into teams (me and Elsie vs. Mommy and Owen) to see who could build the best swimming pool out of the recycling.

I think we all did pretty good.  Everyone was a winner!

Elsie had a sleepover at a friends house one night so we took Owen out to the Teppenyaki grill.  He loved watching the chef grill up our food right in front of us.  Owen was such an adventurous eater!  He ate all his onion soup, shrimp, salmon, and rice.  He even used his chopsticks.  I never knew he had it in him! He was a little bummed though, that he was unable to catch one of the shrimp in his mouth. :)

Owen is also starting to read on his own.  He's working hard at sounding things out.  You can tell he's close!

Another night out...goofball!

Over Christmas break, Elsie and I started working on her pinewood derby car.  It sure was pretty.  Elsie picked out the paint and decals and helped draw out the design.   

However, it was not a speedster. :(

Yesterday, we went to Anderson's birthday party at Urban Air.  It was fun.  The kids jumped and jumped on trampolines.  Subsequently, they slept good!

David and Isaac.  Check out those curls!

Elsie and Owen said that they both wanted to learn how to play golf, so we got a set of clubs for them to share.  It was really nice out yesterday, so Elsie tried them out. 

Spring should be fun and full of sports.  Both kids are signed up for either softball or baseball, and then there's golf, ping pong, soccer, bicycles and football.  Speaking of football, Owen just learned how to throw a football and he's been zinging passes to me out in the yard.  He runs around yelling "HUT HUT HUT HUT" and "GO FAR" whether he is hiking, throwing, or catching.  I like the intensity!

See ya!
Ryan, Sarah, Elsie, and Owen