We woke up Saturday morning to a cool, brisk day. What a great day to go to the zoo! We talked to the kids about it, and they all agreed. So, off we head to the OKC zoo. We reach the city and find the weather is COMPLETELY different! It was hot and humid. But, we drove the 1.5 hours to get there, so we are going. We see the usual animals. Elephants, hippos, rhinos, lions, tigers, apes, orangutangs, birds, reptiles, snakes, turtles, and so on. We skipped a whole section because it was getting way too hot, and we were tired. The highlight of the trip for the kids was the sprinklers. Scattered throughout the zoo are colored poles with sprinklers attached to the top. Push a button, and you get wet. All 5 of the kids loved it. Chonda had the most fun, I think. We decided, as we were leaving, to buy a family Zoo Friends membership. We were able to apply that day's admission to it, and the cost of the membership was the same as 2 trips to the zoo for us. So, now we can go back whenever.
After the zoo, we drove to Midwest City (a suburb of OKC) to meet up with Daniel's parents. His step-mom has family there and they were up visiting them. We met them for dinner, and then headed home.
Sunday was the normal stuff. Although, due to the late night Saturday, the kids didn't get baths before bed. So, all 7 of us had baths/showers Sunday morning. That is a major accomplishment for me! Normally all the kids get their baths Saturday night, and Daniel and I have ours on Sunday morning. I got up 30 minutes early to get all the kids bathed.
Yesterday was Daniel's day to pick. We picked up Quizno's for lunch and headed to the park. After eating and playing, the sky started to look dark, so we left the park. We picked up some movies from the McDonald's RedBox and ice cream and milk at Braums. We came home and watched Bee Movie. The kids and I have seen it, but Daniel hadn't. Then, we put on the Speed Racer cartoon for the kids. Then, I went out to pick up chicken for dinner. As, I am sitting in the drive thru line, I hear on the radio that we are in a tornado warning. So, I call Daniel so he can turn off the movie and watch the weather. I manage to get home and get the kids eating. My plate is fixed and Daniel is out watching the weather. We stood outside watching the clouds around us swirling. We can see several areas dropping down from the wall cloud. Then, the tornado sirens went off. Now, we have NEVER had a tornado drill at our house, so things we a bit interesting. We had told the kids as they were eating, that if we told them to go, they were immediately to go to Mommy and Daddy's closet. So when the sirens went off, Courtland starts yelling. "GO GO GO GO GO!" I grab the baby, and down we go. Only one dog listens well enough to follow us. The cable had gone out just previous to the sirens, and the power flickered several times. We spent about 20 minutes down there. The kids did great, except Chonda. Explain to a 1 year old why she has to sit on Mommy's lap instead of playing. Camry was very worried about the tornado "picking us up." Cierra was a bit scared, but after being prompted, prayed and felt better. Courtland was being the good big brother, trying hard to calm down his sisters. Cienna just sat where we told her to for the most part.
So, after about 20 minutes, Daniel went up stairs to check things out. We weren't getting very good reception on the weather radio in the closet. Things were all clear and we headed up stairs. Other than hail, there was no problems. Since the cable was still out, we put on Waterhorse and Daniel and I ate our dinner.
Today, life began again. I put away dishes, loaded the dishwasher, and washed a few dishes by hand. Then, I began tackling laundry. I've lost count of how many loads I've done today. But, they've all be folded and PUT AWAY (that's my downfall.) But, the kids are big enough now to help put clothes away.
We had the Cheesy Lasagna for dinner tonight. I just pulled it out of the freezer and put it in the oven. That was really nice. While that was cooking, I cut Daniel's hair. The kids really like the lasagna. I was surprised since it has cottage cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream in it. But they didn't know it. We just told them is was cheese. All but Chonda and Cienna had seconds.
Courtland has a ball game at 8:30 tonight. It's a make up game. If it starts on time, it will be over at 10. Fun for us!
Cierra has almost finished with Kindergarten. Actually, she's done with everything we had for her originally, but the publisher of our curriculum added another book to the Kindergarten curriculum, and we purchased it in March. So, she is working through that book now. But she's already a third of the way through it. When she finishes that, I have a readiness test to give her to see how prepared she is for 1st grade.
Courtland finished his history today. He's got art and English left to finish.
Well, the dryer is beeping at me, so off I go!
