What would you do with $1 million?

Grayson brought this home today in his school folder. It's a pot of gold that they learned about during St. Patrick's day and each child filled in the sentence, "If I had a pot of gold I would..." 

Our boy said he would "get a lot of wood to make an apartment and a wheelchair." 

I was a little confused by the random answer so I asked him more about it and he said he would build an apartment for people who were homeless and make a wheelchair out of wood for someone who couldn't walk. He said he wanted to use the pot of gold to help people. 

Like any parent, of course my heart melted on the spot. He was so genuine in his explanation and determination to help people. I love how thoughtful he is and I hope his heart stays as caring and compassionate as it is today. 

Last of the Spring Break fun

Unfortunately, Spring Break is officially over for us, but we made a lot of fun memories throughout the week. Reality hit hard this morning when our alarm clocks went off!

We capped off the week with a fun-filled weekend visiting the Science Museum, hanging out with my Uncle Sam and hitting the trails with Gray's new bike.

Grayson's recent growth spurt made his current bike too small. We raised the seat and tried making it work as long as possible, but we finally had to come to terms with the fact that we couldn't make it to his birthday in Sept. to replace it. We stopped by a friend's bike shop to test ride a few and ended up coming home with a cool new 20" Cannondale in Gray's favorite color, Green! This bike has gears, a hand brake and even a front shock. It also is big enough to fit on daddy's bike rack, so Gray thinks he's big time now!

We also enjoyed a visit to Science Museum Oklahoma with daddy. This is one of Gray's favorite places and he runs between each interactive exhibit like a kid in a candy store. We were there in time for a planetarium show which is my favorite part!

They had a cool new bicycle exhibit that was perfect for these two!

Checking out one of the space rover exhibits.

I'm sorry to see the week come to an end! I can't believe Grayson only has nine more weeks left of school. Crazy! 

More Spring Break Highlights

It's been a wonderful spring break so far, and Grayson and I have been on several fun outings.

On Monday we hit the tennis courts to do a little practicing. He's got great hand/eye coordination, but tends to want to swing the racquet like a baseball bat (just like his daddy). He's a quick learner and as he has success, you can see his excitement for the sport grow. Gray told me he wants to take some lessons this summer, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that his interest continues.

After our tennis practice, we went over to Reeves Park for a picnic lunch and what seemed like an endless playtime. The weather was so nice and we stayed for hours. Even once we got back home, we went out in the backyard and played some more!

Wednesday was rainy and colder so we headed indoors to the Sam Noble Museum of Natural History. Gray loves the dinosaurs there and they were also hosting special spring break activities. We sat in on a 45-minute "Mad Science" presentation where the professor conducted lots of fun experiments demonstrating air pressure. Gray was on the front row asking questions and soaking it all up! Afterward, we checked out the rest of the museum and I think he opened every door and pushed every button in the building. It's so wonderful to see his love of science!

This exhibit shows how some dinosaurs chewed up and down and some had jaws that also moved side to side to crush their food. Pretty cool!

Digging for fossils 

Putting Around

After a day of fun in the Wichita Mountains, we decided to spend Sunday afternoon doing something a little closer to home. We hadn't taken Grayson to play miniature golf for several years, so after church we loaded up and went to a course nearby.

It was another gorgeous day and despite Grayson's focus on playing some arcade games, once we started putting around he was hooked!

Grayson got a hole-in-one on a really challenging hole. We were all thrilled and went to celebrate over lunch and ice cream. 

Afterward, we wanted to soak up more of the sunshine so we headed over to Lake Thunderbird to hit the trails. The guys mountain biked while I hiked the same trail. I'm so excited for warmer weather and the return of getting outside!

Let's be adventurers

We officially kicked off spring break this past weekend and took a day trip down to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. It was a picture perfect day and we all had a lot of fun.

Grayson is really becoming a great hiker and managed to go on two different trails which were nearly 4 miles total. We also explored the nature center on the refuge, saw some bison, elk and longhorn cattle, plus visited the nearby town of Medicine Park.

In typical Grayson fashion, he talked nearly the entire time we were hiking, but it's fun to see what draws his attention. Maybe someday he'll figure out how to exist quietly in nature.

Fueling up with a PB&J on our way to the refuge

He loved all the exhibits in the nature center

Stamping his national park passport and picking up a junior ranger packet.

Our junior ranger ready for adventure!

Trying to lure over some ducks to feed on leftover rolls with daddy in Medicine Park

An emerald pool at the Narrows

Top of Elk Mountain (little man was pretty worn out by this point)

The photo above and the three below are from the highest point in the Wichita Mountains on top of Mount Scott.

How to solve the world's problems

Grayson learns all kinds of things at school, including problem solving and conflict resolution techniques. It's funny when he starts repeating lessons from school because you can tell he's mirroring the language his teacher used in class.

Here's a step-by-step lesson in resolving issues from a kindergartener (and I know a few adults who could benefit from this lesson as well):

Step 1:  Calm down!

Step 2:  Make a plan

Step 3:  Agree on the plan with your friend

Step 4:  Do the plan

After our recent visit to Mississippi, Grayson also added, "Step 5: Have happy hour." Whoops! Guess we made a bit of an impression on him. Although, happy hour to him means snacks and usually some screen time like watching Wheel of Fortune with his Pappa and great-grandmother Mary Lou. No wonder he's a fan. Too funny!

Our Choir Boy

Grayson recently joined the children's choir and last Sunday was his first performance with them as part of Lent. He was nervous the week before and we practiced every night to help him feel more confident. He insisted on taking his lyric sheet up with him, but ended up not needing it.

Afterward, I asked how he felt standing up there and he said the nervousness went away and he enjoyed it. They will sing again next month and then in May do a little musical with several songs and a few simple acting roles. That should be interesting!

For now, I'm just so proud of him for all of the time he spent practicing and for sticking with something even though it seemed difficult at first and he was nervous.

Cabin fever

We're going on three snow days in less than two weeks (not counting snow over the weekend) and Grayson and I are feeling a little cooped up. The amount of snow hasn't really warranted staying home (in my opinion), but his school has been cancelled which makes balancing workdays and caring for a child extremely challenging.

Grayson has been enjoying the extra hot chocolate, eating snow and "sleeping in" (until 7 a.m., goodness kid take advantage of it!).

We've played countless rounds of Guess Who?

We've watched most of the good movies on Netflix, so I decided to introduce Gray to The Karate Kid. So many wonderful life lessons, plus some rockin' 80s hair and clothes so it was fun for all!

He also made this riveting movie with my phone. Did you hear me say we have been inside too long? I have no doubt it will be up for an Oscar in next year's short film category.