OKC Temple Open House

We had the amazing opportunity to go to the open house for the Oklahoma City Temple today and I'm so glad we were able to make it happen. It seemed like everything was conspiring against us, but we made it happen. 

Oklahoma City is not closer than Kansas City, but  its the temple we are zoned for.
So we drove 4 hours to the temple, under a tornado watch the entire time and when we pulled up at the temple, the dark clouds unloaded and it started pouring. 

We were able to run inside the stake center with the help from missionaries with umbrellas. 

We walked around and learned about temples.

I just love this eternal family of mine. 

Then we watched a movie about the temple and then walked across the parking lot under and awning and entered the temple. 

The kids loved walking through the temple. Benson was a big buster, but the older three were gems.
Tucker loved the baptistery and Bailey and Tanner both loved the sealing rooms. 

It was so nice to get to talk to the kids about the temple. And in just two short years, Tanner will be able to attend the temple for youth trips. 

After we finished our tour, we were able to walk around the temple grounds briefly. It was sprinkling a little bit but it was still so nice to walk around and see the outside of the temple. 

Oh my goodness this picture cracks me up. This is the background in every single picture of our four kids. Chris is the best and he's constantly setting up the pictures for me. Resetting Benson. Chasing Benson. Giving Benson treats to bribe him.
This is seriously REAL LIFE

But it ends with cute pictures like this so I am very grateful to Chris for helping me. 

It was a wonderful day at the temple with our family. I am so grateful we can be together forever. 

We drove home avoiding more tornadoes  in Oklahoma and made it home safe and sound.
Totally worth it. 

School Happenings

This school year has felt long to me. The kids are loving it but I'm worn out. 

However, I do love getting to support my kiddos. 

I was able to be at the morning assembly when Tanner was announced as "student of the week" and then I was able to have lunch with Bailey during her week as "student of the week". Happily those weeks overlapped. It made it so much easier to support them both. 

Also, Bailey wanted to dress up for Dr. Seuss day. It was "dress up like a Dr. Seuss character" and Bailey chose "Cindy Lou Who" from "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

She made such a cute little who. 

Tucker also got to go on a field trip to the Amazeum. This was his second pre-k field trip and he said it was amazing. He had the best time with his fellow preschool cuties. 

While Nanny was in town helping watch Uncle Joseph's kids, she was able to have lunch with both Bailey and Tanner, separately. It was so fun for the kiddos. They have never been able to have Nanny at their school so they were so thrilled. 

Later I was able to attend "Muffins with Mom" with my sweet babes.
They loved having me there and even though the muffins were more like cupcakes, the kids didn't care and we had a great morning.
After we ate our muffins, we went to the book fair and they each picked out a book. They both love books and it was so cute to watch them pick out their favorites. Bailey got a "Weird but True" book and Tanner got a "Press Start" book. Both kids were thrilled.

Most recently, Tanner and his group competed in the 3rd Grade Lemonade war. Tanner's class raised almost $400 for the diabetes foundation. It was pretty cute.
They sold lemonade and all the profits were donated to a charity of their choice. There is a little girl in Tanner's class with diabetes so they chose that as their charity. . So awesome. 

Now school is coming to a close. Only a few weeks left. Very exciting. 

Tucker's 5th Birthday

Today is Tucker's 5th Birthday. I can hardly believe it. Seriously, where did the past 5 years go?
Tucker is my little buddy. I feel like he is more attached to me that Benson is. 

We have so much fun together. 

We had his party the previous Saturday and it was awesome.
I love my bud and I loved styling this fun paw patrol party for him. 

I had so much fun styling this party. The paw prints everywhere. The bright colors, the personalized paw patrol shield. So fun!

Each table for the kids had a cute little fire hydrant centerpiece, balloons and then place settings. 

How cute are these paw patrol doggie bowls?

This was the drinks/favors bags. 

As for the food, I served dog bone pretzels

"Paw Berries" and "Pupcorn"

We had "Pupcakes"

and "Paw print cookies"

Oh and for his cake, I made this paw print cake with a paw patrol shield.

Before we sang to him, we added mini pups and a candle to the cake. 

Tuck loved his cake!

Of course, no birthday party is complete without your best friend. 

The kids got food first

I love all these candid shots of Tucker just enjoying himself at the party. 

And this is why I do it. This is why I spend hours working on parties for my kids. I love seeing the excitement and happiness on their faces as they discover each little fun detail. 

Then I busted out the "paint your own cookies" and the kids were so excited.
It was so fun. I ordered these cookies from a girl at Chris' office and they were delicious and fun to paint.

Tucker is my little artist so I knew he would enjoy this. 

The big kids really enjoyed painting their cookies. They worked really hard on them. 

Then Tucker wanted to open presents next so that's what we did. 

He actually got three of the same gift and we were cracking up. Tucker was thrilled with all his presents. 

Then we played pin the shield on Marshall - its like "pin the tail on the donkey".
Tucker magically got the shield in the exact right place. 

Yeah, he totally cheated. But who cares, it was his birthday. 

Then it was time to sing and have cake. 

I love this picture of Tucker with all his friends.
Seriously, how cute are they? 

Sweet friends!

We had such a fun day celebrating our favorite little 5 year old!
It was such a fun party and Tucker was so happy the whole time. 

Happy Birthday to our sweet Tucker-doodle!