Ringling Brothers Barnham and Bailey Circus

The circus has come to Tulsa! Clowns, animals and all the fanfare!

Our friends Michelle and Jack told us about the Popsicle Party with the Ringling Bros. Circus elephants. 

The event: From 4-5pm, the circus ring leader and a couple of clowns perform on the lawn of the BOK Center.  The circus elephants parade onto the lawn for the crowd to see.  As the elephants eat frozen watermelon, the audience gets to eat free popsicles.

Sounded exciting to me!  I just knew Adeline and Anna would LOVE to see the elephants up close and in person.  William is always happy to go along for the ride, so he was game for the adventure.  Madison and I packed up the car and headed downtown.

We had no trouble finding parking and quickly loaded the girls in the stroller with snacks and drinks to pass the waiting time.  I didn't know how popular the event would be, so we got there early to get a spot.

As it turned out, the crowd was a decent size but nothing overwhelming.  We rolled right up the boundary fence and staked our claim for the kids.  Within 3 minutes, a HUGE random rainstorm pelted us.  It was comical.  The girls were under huge stroller canopies.  I quickly remembered I had a blanket in the stroller bed, so I made a tent for Madison, William and I to huddle under too.  We laughed while Anna cried. Bless her heart, she was so confused and nervous.  Madison braved the skies and stood watch by our viewing section so we wouldn't loose our spot.

The rain was over pretty quickly and we were drenched.  But that didn't stop us from having a great time.  Soon enough, the circus clowns were on lawn playing games and doing tricks.  Adeline and William loved them.  They laughed at the clowns and ate their weight in popsicles.  Anna also enjoyed a popsicle.

The Ring Leader came out and introduced the elephants.  2 Ringling Bros. circus elephants came out to greet the kids.  Oh my goodness, my kiddos loved it.  Anna stood on the wall and pointed saying "CUUUTTTEEE!" and making the sign language motion for "elephant."  Adeline and William got a kick out of watching the elephants eat the frozen watermelon.

The outing was such a fun, spur of the moment event.  So glad it's summer and we have the flexibility to take on adventures like the Elephant Popsicle Party.

Baseball Awards

The Patriots completed their baseball season last week.   William absolutely loved playing baseball and being part of this team.  Dan and I were so pleased with the experience and we sure hope William can play baseball with these boys next spring. 

William earned the  "most patient hitter" award and earned a trophy.   The coaches dubbed him the most patient hitter because there were numerous times William would be up at bat and hit the ball 15 times - all foul balls!   It was comical at times and then despite the 15 fouls, he'd finally nail the ball into the outfield and take a base.   

One of the dad's designed baseball posters for each of the players.  The poster is fantastic and shows a collage of pictures from William's experience playing ball.  We love it so much and I was touched by the time and effort this dad took to make 14 posters honoring each kiddo.  

William's poster is currently at the framer and will hang over his bed.   He is so proud of it.  

Sleeping Beauty

A dream is a wish your heart makes, when you are fast asleep.........in your dress up shoes.  

Bows like her sissy

Anna loves Adeline's hairbows.  She helps me pick them out in the morning and says "bows! Bows cutttteeeeee!" She sticks them on top of her head and watches them fall off.  Then she laughs a belly laugh and giggles.  

Recently when we get in the bow box, Anna says "bows mine!"   I asked her if she wanted to wear a hairbow and oh my goodness, she clapped her hands, signed "please", shouted "please!" and said "cuuutttteeee!"   

I put a bow in her hair and showed her how pretty she looked in the mirror.  She beamed and patted her bow with delight. 

I don't know that she will wear them every single day, but it's cute that she is interested and thinks bows are fun. 

Mad Hatter Tea Party with Evy

Adeline attended the Mad Hatter's Tea Party at Southern Hills with her buddy, Evy, from school.  They were so excited to be together AND eat all the cupcakes they wanted.  Adeline doesn't know about Alice In Wonderland, so she basically thought she was at an over the top birthday party!

The club had the Alice characters in costume and provided lunch and dessert for the kids.  It was somewhat informal (no planned games or activities) and so the girls ran around the room to fill time.  Personally, I thought it could have been MUCH MUCH cuter and tailored to young children by having craft stations and games.  But, I was a guest not the party planner this time.  Nevertheless, Adeline and Evy enjoyed their fun morning together and left the party on a less desirable sugar high!

Bentonville, Arkansas, Crystal Bridges, and Pea Ridge Battlefield

Over Memorial Day weekend, we took the kids to Bentonville, Arkansas.  I've wanted to see Crystal Bridges for a long time and the trip isn't terribly far.  Along the way, we stopped in Fayetteville to tour an airplane museum. 

We had a really good time.  Bentonville is the home of Walmart and only 35,000 people.  The town square is alive and thriving.  It's so quaint.  I could tell that it is a popular gathering place for residents and several people mentioned the fabulous farmers market on the weekends.  There are great restaurants, an old fashion ice cream shop, the Walmart museum and a variety of stores.  Because it was a holiday weekend, the stores were closed as were several places to eat on the square.  But, we found a fish market and ate with the locals.  The kids and I stuck to chicken while Dan tried the fish. 

We toured Crystal Bridges the first day we got there.  It's amazing and so beautiful.  I am so thankful for people like the Waltons who see the everlasting value in investing in their town.  Crystal Bridges is a multi-million dollar museum that houses some of the finest collections of art anywhere in the world.  It's just amazing to tour the place.  There is also a wonderful children's area.  Madison took the kids to play in the children's museum the entire time we were there.

We walked around the grounds and enjoyed the hiking trails that surround the park.

The next day, we all headed to Fayetteville to tour an airplane museum Dan read about online.  It did not disappoint.  William loved it.  The hangars were FULL of old and new planes.  The kids had fun walking around the life size airplanes and running down the runway outside.  Very fun and a great find on our adventure.

We hit the Bentonville Native American Museum too.  The kids had fun playing in the Teepee and searching for arrowheads in the gravel yard.

On the way home, we stopped at the Battle of Pea Ridge.  Just like our days in Virginia, we've never met a battlefield we didn't like!  Pea Ridge was great.  We got a map and drove through the battlefield.  We stopped at all the markers, read the information and let the kids run around.  We also stopped at the Pea Ridge log cabin.  The kids had a blast running around playing tag, stomping on the old wood porch, and climbing on the fences.