Luke's Big Weekend

Luke's big day started with cinnamon rolls...yum!!

He played his last soccer game of the season. Unfortunately, they lost the game.

He came home and showered and got ready to open presents....he could hardly wait!!

Aunt Johnnie brought Tenley, Miles, Sydney, and Madison over to help us celebrate. Luke immediately wanted to hold Madison. He sure loves his baby cousin! Granny also came to celebrate with us.

Finally, it is present time!! Luke received Legos, a back pack, Cherished Teddy figure, pajamas, a Lego game, and MONEY!!

Oh yeah, and he got his bike!! He has been riding it non stop since. I just love that he loves his bike!!

Doesn't he look cool on his new bike?

Group shot...minus Momma and Aunt Johnnie. We were taking the pictures and video.

Time for the cake!!

I just love this picture!! So sweet...you can tell how much they love each other.

Then Chris and Granny took all the big kids to the movie. Apparently the movie was really boring because Chris slept thru it and all the kids wanted to leave and come back to the house and play. But they finished the boring movie.

Luke had so much fun on his birthday he decided to make two days of it. We went to see Memaw Linda, Granddad Bob, Lorita, and Memaw Dena in Snyder to celebrate some more. Memaw even made him another cake...lucky kid!

More presents!! He got the new Chipmunks video and more money!

Granddad Bob took Luke for a ride around town in the Studebaker. He did not even have to wear a seat belt because there aren't any. :0) Luke had so much fun he asked to go for another ride and this time he let the girls ride too.

Picture with Memaw Dena and Aunt Lorita.

Picture with Memaw Linda and Granddad Bob. Luke was being a little silly.

Somebody wanted her picture taken too.

Lukie had a great eighth birthday!!

Happy Birthday Luke!!! You're Eight!!!

Happy Birthday Luke!!

I can hardly believe our big boy is EIGHT Years Old today!!

Luke's favorite things are Legos, video games, playing soccer, jumping on the trampoline, and making his sisters scream....and he is very good at all of them.  I would like to say school is one of his favorite things too....but I am afraid it isn't. He is doing good in school but summer vacation can't get here soon enough!

For his birthday we plan to have cake and go see a movie. He is excited for his birthday present. He asked for a new bike. We will see if he gets his wish!!

There is one thing in particular Luke is extra excited about his eight birthday. He does not have to sit in a booster seat when he is riding in the car any more!!!!!

Some of Luke's favorite foods are fruit, fruit roll-ups, fruit snacks, candy, slushies/snow cones, popsicles, and McDonald's hamburgers. That sure does not sound like very healthy choices to me. He told me he did not really have a favorite meal that I cook...my feelings might be a little hurt.

At eight years old Lukie is weighing 58 pounds and is 52 inches tall. He sure is growing fast and getting tall....which makes his mommy sad. :0( I like to compare their birthday picture with last years in the sidebar. They change so much every year.

Okay Lukie, I am done with the pictures. We love you so very much!! We hope you have a great birthday!!! You are such a special part of our family!! And it is a privilege to be your Momma and Daddy!!

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well, we will just have to see if it does. I have been wanting to try to grow some tomatoes or something with the kids for a couple of years now. I always decided it would be too much trouble and the plants would probably die. This year I figured we would give it a try. With three and a half little helpers it should be fun! I bought a raised planter bed kit and we filled it with dirt. The kids were very excited to get started.

Wade decided to hoard all the seeds.

You are not getting my seeds.....

We planted tomatoes, strawberries, carrots, corn, and pickles. :0) (I tried to explain to Kate that they are cucumbers but she insists they are pickles because there is a picture of a pickle on the tag.)

Here is our little garden while it is still alive.

Model Knight

Luke received the Model Knight Award for the fifth six weeks of school!! One student from each class gets picked by their teacher each six week term. We are very proud of him!! He has really had to come around to his teacher's way of thinking this year....some people just don't appreciate silly I guess. He has come along way.

There was a luncheon today for the students and their parents, so we got to go eat lunch with Luke. Keep up the good work Luke!!! Just six more weeks until summer vacation!!

I think it is funny how they want us to take our picture in front of the knight poster and then we completely cover it up.

Sitting on a Hog

Last week Chris's friend, David, came for a visit. He rode in on his Harley. This was our kids first experience around a motorcycle. They thought it was pretty cool and so did I.

Wade thought the mirror had a cute little kid in it.
Wade liked the motorcycle so much he crawled up on his own.
Doesn't he look cool up there?

Honking the horn was fun too!

I would never want my kids or Chris to own a motorcycle, but I do think they are neat and fun to ride.

Note: Luke was playing at the neighbors, and he missed his chance to sit on the motorcycle.

Stansell Getaway

Over Spring Break we headed to DFW to spend some time with Chris's family. We had so much fun!! The plan for the weekend was just to let the kids swim and wear themselves out....and that is just what they did!

Luke loved using Uncle Aaron's big arms to propel him through the air. So fun!!

Grandpa worked out at the gym while we swam.

Group shot.

In age order:

Rachel - 10
Luke - 7
Tenley - 6
Kate - 4

Miles - 4
Ian - 4
Sydney - 2
Mac - 2

Wade- 19 months
Madison and Tye - 1 Month

All the Stansell Grandbabies.
It was such a fun and relaxing time with family. We can't wait to do it again.

Kate's Hurt Arm

Kate had a little accident involving a foot powered car and an underage driver. Wade was driving and Kate was riding on the top of the car. Wade drove off the porch throwing Kate off the top of the car. We did not take her to the doctor until the next day when she still was not using that arm and it was swelling. Our pediatrician took one look and said it is broken. She scared me by talking about surgery and pins. She sent us for an x-ray.

I had a flash back. My sister and I, between us both, had two elbow surgeries, a broken arm, and a sprained arm. I still have a pin in my elbow. I was really hoping not to go that road.

Luckily the doctor called that evening to tell me the arm was not broken. She did want me to go to the ER and get her arm stabilized because even though the arm was not broken there were growth plates and other things that could be wrong. She wanted us to see an orthopedic doctor. This is Kate after she got her splint in the ER. She was so tired and just wanted to go home.

Kate did just fine with her arm bandaged up. She actually really enjoyed the extra attention. And boy did it bring back memories for me. This is Kate much happier a few days later.
We went for our appointment with the orthopedic doctor about a week later. He thought she had hyper-extended her arm when she fell. He took the splint off her arm and gave her strict instructions to keep her feet on the ground for two weeks. That meant no trampoline, gymnastics, bicycles, scooters, skates, and tricycles. Swimming was okay!! This was going to be very hard for Kate....she is more than just a little active. She has done very good following the doctors orders.

Two weeks later her arm is still pretty stiff. Bending and straightening beyond a certain point still hurts her. I am a little concerned about this. We go back to the doctor next week. He told us if she was still hurting he would order another x-ray. Sometimes hairline fractures don't show up right away. Lets hope everything straightens out with her elbow, literally, before we go back.