It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas

We got our Christmas tree up and then headed to Union Station in downtown Kansas City with Grandma and Grandpa Thompson.  It's all decorated for Christmas. 

 They loved the model trains.  They even had a Lego Whoville section.

 We walked over the bridge and got to see an actual train passing through before heading out. 

We finished the night with some oven-fired pizza. Yum!

Ornaments 2019

Here are our ornaments for the Christmas tree this year-
Little Man:

 Little Lady:

 BB:

 Little Guy:

A friend gave me these mementos as a reminder of Oklahoma.  They even glow in the dark.  Ever since I killed a scorpion in my closet she knew she wanted to give these to me as a parting gift.

My awesome friends from church got me an Oklahoma ornament as well.

Here's our ornament for our move to Kansas:

I got an ornament of Madrid to remind me of our trip this past Spring.  I also found a charm to use as an ornament from our time in Morocco.  They don't have many Christmas ornaments since it's a Muslim country, but I thought this charm would work perfectly.

This is from our Thompson family reunion at Mammoth Caves this past Summer: 

Gobble, Gobble

Happy Thanksgiving from these little turkeys.

Learning Fun

I love getting pictures of kiddos at school.  Little Lady went on a field trip to Arrowhead Stadium last week.  One of the 3rd grade teachers is married to the Chiefs Chef, so they got a private tour.  I'm quickly learning how much Kansas City loves their Chiefs.  People are obsessed around here.

Little Lady also had a great time with a library activity before the break.

 Little Guy had Popcorn Day before break.  They taste tested different kinds of popcorn, and he decided butter popcorn is his favorite.

 BB has been doing a Native American unit.  They got to Skype with the Buffalo Bill Center.  Technology really can be cool sometimes.  They also made Indian Watercolor flowers and tortilla tents.

Little Man created a World War I song, changing the lyrics of "We are the Champions" to "We are the Allies"  - "No time for the Germans, because we are the Allie."  I love his Gifted class they are learning all about World War I right now and they will be going to the World War I museum next month.

 One thing I appreciate about this school district is that they have an actual art class.  It is one of their regular specials.  Little Lady and BB were learning how to draw X-rays of their hand using chalk. 

Halfsies

Nathan Squared

We celebrated Little Man's half birthday.  He is turning into a thoughtful young man, and it gives me hope for the future.  Typically they choose the dessert they want and give half of it to a friend, but this time Little Man wanted to make what he thought his friend would like.  He prefers chocolate, but his friend likes vanilla, so we did the Buttermilk version of a Texas sheetcake. Little Man says it reminds him of maple donuts.  His friend liked it so much he asked for the recipe.

They share the same name and are in Gifted and advanced math together.

Little Lady Goodness

Little Lady has been working on a really interesting unit in school about happiness and being grateful.  She had some thoughtful insights.

We got really exciting news on Friday.  She scored in the 99.7th percentile for her age on her cognitive testing, so she qualifies for the Gifted program.  We know she's really going to enjoy her time.  They get to be in Gifted for 45 minutes every day, and her Gifted teacher is seriously awesome, so we're excited for her to further explore and learn. 

Mickey Mouse Club House

Little Guy absolutely loves Mickey, so we had an awesome time with a Mickey Mouse birthday party today. 

There were some riveting games of Mickey bean bag toss, Mickey bowling, and Pin the Nose on Mickey.

 They had some legitimate food and then they decorated Mickey cookies.

 Little Guy wanted chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.  Gratefully, that was an easy request to fulfill.

 He stuffed the entire thing in at once, so I know he was happy. 

 Happy birthday, Little Guy!  Another fun party in the books!