Oklahoma

Steve signed up to do Land Run 100 and since it was the girls' spring break we tagged along, too.  It was their first time in Oklahoma which brings their state total up to 13.

We brought along the 2nd grade class pet "Froggy" to take pictures because Hannah was star of the week.

It is always an adventure with us.  On our way to Stillwater, we wanted to see the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve.  We followed the GPS which led us on gravel roads and to this unlocked gate.  Thinking this was okay because there were free-roaming buffalo (so of course there would be a gate), we opened it and kept driving.  I saw something that looked as big as deer, but looked like a dog.  We thought it was a wolf (but google revealed there are no wolves in OK.)  So we might have seen the world's biggest coyote.  And we ended up on private property.  Oops.  I was laughing so hard I was crying.  We finally saw another truck and the guy gave us directions to the prairie.

This is what the actual entrance looked like.

It is the largest piece of prairie left in the world and there are 2,500 bison.

It was an adventure for Froggy, too.

I was super excited to drive by all the windmills.  The girls were not so impressed.

The next day while Steve was doing the bike race, we drove to Oklahoma City to do check out their science museum.  It is the best one we've been to yet...and we've been to a lot!  And of course it was free with our Union Station membership. :)  The museum is HUGE!  It had lots of interactive exhibits as well as science museum stuff like actual space suits from several NASA missions.

We all got to ride Segways for the first time!

And in one corner was the coolest play gym we have ever seen.

The crooked house was like the one in Silver Dollar City.

 We found several rooms with bicycles, so we took a picture for Steve.

Mirror maze= AWESOME!

Steve texted that he was halfway done around noon, so we decided to drive back and see if we could watch him finish around 4:00.  We waited and waited and waited.  Then we got a text at 5:30 that he stopped to help someone he knew and it would be another hour.  So we left to eat dinner and warm ourselves up.

 

He finally finished after 7:00pm.  It was 80 degrees the day before, but race day was rainy with a high of 40.  Everything was covered in mud and even with three pairs of gloves, he had mild frostbite on his hands.  It is now a week later and his hands still aren't completely back to normal.  The guy he was helping had the beginning stages of hypothermia and had to drop out of the race about 6 miles from the finish.  He couldn't see or walk straight.  I'm not sure why anyone chooses to do races like this for "fun."  1300 people signed up for the race, 850 started it, and only 165 finished it.

One of the best parts about any trip is always the hotel pool.

Center of Universe in Tulsa.

A Party for Justin

Aunt Becky moved to Idaho in August and in February, Uncle Justin joined her.  We had a family party for him in Chillicothe.  I didn't get many pictures. :(  It is the first time he has lived outside of Missouri so there will be many firsts and new things for him.  We can't wait to hear all about Justin and Becky's adventures in the great white north!  

Aunt Marissa and the girls made him some awesome chalk art on the porch.

Olive's favorite phrase.

Hannah drew a forest scene.

Hannah's room

When Olive changed up her room, Hannah decided to update hers as well.  She wanted pandas instead of horses.  We couldn't find a panda comforter that she liked, but we found a blanket.  I was surprised she picked out the turquiose one instead of pink.  We decorated with pictures from a panda calendar and some wall stickers.  She also wanted a picture of Union Station because it is her favorite place in KC.

 on her door

Olive's New Bed

Olive transitioned out of her toddler bed before Christmas and I finally took some pictures of her new room!  Yes, she was a five-year-old in a toddler bed.  I'm a firm believer in if-it-isn't-broke-don't-fix-it.  She never complained and the smaller bed meant more floor space to play.  But she did want to redo her room to a space theme, so it was a good time to change out the bed as well.  Olive picked out her new bed, bedding, and wall stickers.  She wasn't completely ready to get rid of the owls, so it is a space owl theme. :)  I was sad to say goodbye to the ABC mat.  Every night she would lay out her clothes for the next day with the "O" as the head.  I have lots of memories of that O.  Anyway, Olive was SO EXCITED for her new room.  She loves her bunk bed, especially since it means every weekend she has sleepovers with Hannah.

Before pictures

We found the bookcase for free on the side of the road.  Steve added a board to make it into a desk.  Olive calls it her office.  She is always writing to drawing something...including drawing in sharpie ON the desk.

After pictures

She liked this duvet cover because it had facts about all the planets.  And her sheets have little stars, planets, and rockets on them.  They are flannel and super comfy!

It took us about a year to finally hang up her solar system, but it is finally up!  And they glow in the dark. :)

I thought we should take the canopy down, but Olive wanted to keep it.  She calls it her purple rocket ship.  She is constantly taping things to her wall.  It is so cute how she wants family pictures to look at every night and morning.

Olive on the moon.

Nature Walk

It's spring!  And that means nature walks to the creek at Minor Park.

Sleeping Hannah

Our luck finally ran out.  After staying healthy all winter, we finally have a sick kiddo.  The flu has been going around school and Hannah got it. :(  She only had a fever for a day, but she was exhausted for a week.  Every day after school she would fall asleep on the couch.  I snapped this picture because it reminded me of how she slept as a baby.  And yes, she is all better now and nobody else in the family got sick.  So maybe our luck continues?

Same girl, different couch.

Olive Quotes

I think my middle name should be Fight.  Olive Fight Kerr.  Because if you mess with me, I'll fight you.

I'm so happy!  What if you could explode with joy?  Like ah, ah, ah....POOF!  And you explode!

I love you to Pluto and back.  That is farther than the moon and back.  I love you to the end of space.

me: (leaving the house to go on a playdate)  Do you need to bring anything?  A jacket?  Toys?
Olive:  The only thing I need to bring is my imagination and I already have that.

Olive: When was God born?
me:  Nobody knows the answer to that.
Olive: Google does!

Olive:  That happened a long time ago when I was five.
me: You are five now.
Olive:  And a half.  You forgot about the half.

Rosa

Rosa, our fish, is sadly no longer with us.  Our first pet passed away after Valentine's Day and there were many tears shed by Hannah.  We talked about the good times and revisited the blog post with a picture of Rosa when she was young.  I couldn't remember exactly when we got Rosa, but Hannah says it was September 19, 2015.  Olive dealt with her grief by writing a book about Rosa and also making a memorial where her tank used to be.  The papers say, "rosa. rosa was good! rosa was fun! rosa liked to play! rosa died."  She included pictures of Rosa as a young fish and a grown up.  And she even set up the laptop with Rosa's blog post!  Olive was mostly sad because Hannah was so sad and she hates to see her sister suffer.  These girls have such big hearts.

I hate to see them upset, but I know that is just part of having a pet.  :(  We haven't decided what to do about a new pet.  Of course Hannah wants another fish that looks exactly like Rosa.