A Busy Spring!

This has been a pretty busy Spring so far.  I forgot to mention in Madeline's update, that she finally learned to ride her bike without training wheels!!!  She was scared and she and Nathan took a few spills in the process, but now she rides like a pro:)  I took some video but my uploaded videos are not working on here for some reason:(

She had her April Campfire meeting at a local animal shelter called UCAPS.  As a service project, all of the girls brought supplies for the shelter.  Here they are sitting on all of it, holding up the UCAPS cards they received:)

 They learned a lot about how they rescue animals and take care of them.  They do a good job and I was so impressed with how clean the facilities and animals were considering they were so overwhelmed with animals at the time.  Madeline's tender heart had a hard time not bringing home an animal with her.  I told her that right now, 2 dogs and almost 3 kids is all we can handle at our house:)

I've been nesting a lot lately:)  I finally got the kids' closets organized!  My Aunt Cathy gave us this little dresser that was a perfect fit in Mallory's side of the closet.  It has been fun washing, folding, and hanging up little baby girl clothes again.  I can't believe she'll be here in about 8 weeks or so!  Now all we have left is to touch up paint in the girls' room and hang pictures.

 Will has been busy with tee ball practices.  He thinks it is a lot of fun but is not always that great about paying attention when he is not batting:)  He thinks playing in the dirt is a lot of fun too!  His first game is on Thursday and I am sure I will have some cute pictures to post:)
He had a major milestone this week.  He has always struggled with haircuts.  When we first started taking him to get his hair cut, he would cry every time:(  We have always had to hold him in our laps also.  Well, on Tuesday, he had his first haircut sitting by himself!!!  He did a great job too.  We normally have his hair cut with scissors and not too short but decided to go with a "buzz" cut for baseball and summer.  His only issue is that the clippers really tickle him and Nathan had to step in a few times to keep his head still so Ms. Michelle could get to his neck area.  Ms. Michelle is so wonderful and makes it such a good experience for Will with her patience and kindness!

Here is the finished product.  He was so proud of himself!  Ms. Michelle even gave him 3 suckers because he did so well:)

 Madeline had her 1st grade class picture on Friday.  She looked so cute in her summer dress.  She even let me french braid her hair, which I love because you can see her sweet face even better:)

 On Friday afternoon, her friend Carson came over for a play date.  They had a good time playing spa in the bathroom.  That is until Madeline spilled almost a whole bottle of pink nail polish all over her legs and the floor!  She looked like she was bleeding to death!  Thank goodness for nail polish remover!
They were having such a good time that Carson ended up spending the night.  Madeline has gone to a few sleepovers but this was the first time someone spent the night at her house!   They had such a good time and were so well-behaved.  I was proud that they were asleep by 10:00, although they got me up bright and early at 6:30 the next morning!

After Carson went home, we decided to take the kids to our local Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources.  Nathan and I have both been there as teachers, but we had not taken the kids before.
First, we went to the Arkansas Frontier exhibit. 
Will played with the campfire.

Then he checked out the old fashioned wagon Odometer.

They played "hunting" by tossing bean bags into the holes by the animals.  It's funny:  Will made almost every one and Madeline missed most:)  I guess she has my pitiful throwing abilities, poor girl!

Finally, they took a ride in the replica canoe.  This was their favorite part of this exhibit!  I'm not thinking they will get very far in a canoe with their paddling technique and the fact that they were both paddling in opposite directions:)

The main reason we decided to take the kids was because we had heard there was a dinosaur exhibition going on.  It wasn't very large, but it was very interesting.
Will even wore his T-Rex shirt in honor of the occasion!

Madeline did a good job of reading the plaques and they played with some neat interactive computer games that went along with each station.

This is just the leg of a T-Rex.  I can't believe how much taller it is than Nathan!

We also checked out the Oil and Brine part of the museum that is always there.  I didn't get any pictures in there though:(  The kids liked the replica Boom Town the best.
 We wrapped up our family day with dinner at our new Flying Burger and it was the best hamburger I have had in a while!!!  We will be going back soon, I hope:)

After church on Sunday, Nathan needed to work on clearing limbs off of our roof, so the kids decided to ride bikes and do side walk chalk.  It has been such a beautiful day!