Good Grief's

Christmas in Hutchinson

2011-12-30T13:13:00.000-06:00

Jon's brother and his family were making the trek from Virginia out to Hutchinson, KS for Christmas, so we headed up for a visit. The whole Grief family was together!

The cousins were all happy to finally see each other after a whole year!

Emily and Luke got winter hats from Grandma and Grandpa. Too cute! Luke LOVES his Angry Birds hat!

Luke enjoyed some quality time playing dinosaurs with his Uncle Jamie.

Ben and Nathaniel got new knives and couldn't wait to check them out!

Abby and Katie got manicure sets. I loved seeing them getting manicures from Grandma.

We played a rousing game of Headbandz! FUN!!

A fun family weekend!

Christmas ~ 2011

2011-12-28T14:49:00.005-06:00

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Luke 2:8-14

Merry Christmas from The Grief Family!

It's hard not to get excited about presents when they are coming in the mail or sitting under the tree for a long period of time. I had presents delivered here Thanksgiving weekend. I can handle them being around, but after a while I just really want to know what is in them! Thankfully the kids did well with not bugging (too much) about opening them.

The day finally came where the kids couldn't hardly stand it anymore! Grammy's gifts came and they were ready to be done waiting! I didn't mind if they opened the Grammy's gifts early, I just wanted to make sure that Grammy could Skype so she could see everyone open her gifts. I love Skype!

THANK YOU, GRAMMY!!! We all love all of our gifts!

THANK YOU, MOM!!!

I figured it would be ok to let the kids open any gifts that weren't from me and Jon.

THANK YOU, AUNT KRIS, UNCLE SCOTT, LEX, KORT, REILLY & ERIN!!

It has always been a tradition to let the kids open one present on Christmas Eve. The funny thing is that they don't all really know it is a tradition. Every year the kids would beg, all day long, to open one present and Jon and I would finally let them open one right before bedtime. The only stipulation is that I get to choose which gift. What they didn't realize (until Ben figured it out last year) is that is that it is the same gift every year!

Every year I would make Christmas jammies for each of them. That way, they could wear them to bed that night and look cute and Christmas-y for Christmas morning. The only difference with this year's gift was that I didn't make the jammies. It was a little bit less stressful for me and a little bit easier on the pocketbook. The saddest part of the whole thing is that the kids didn't even notice that their jammies weren't homemade. :( I guess that's just one of those things that meant more to me than to them. I would love to get back to the homemade jammies next year. Maybe it's just one of those things they will remember and appreciate when they're older.

Whether homemade or storebought, they still look adorable!

Once "the children were nestled all snug in their beds" Santa came!

(Apparently this is the only picture I took on Christmas morning. I just sat back and enjoyed the morning with my family!)

All three kiddos were thrilled with what they found when they got up! Sadly, Ben was up in the middle of the night and went to take a peek and ruined the dramatic effect that Jon and I were hoping for. :( Luke was still surprised!

Dinner was traditional and dessert was delicious! (I never managed to find the time or motivation to bake all of the usual cookies and candies, so this Chocolate Peppermint Roll was extra satisfying!)

What could be better than one day of Christmas celebrating? Two or three days! We had a few gifts arrive a little bit late, but the kids were just as excited to get them!

THANK YOU, UNCLE BRIAN & HALEY!

THANK YOU, AUNT BECCA, UNCLE NEIL & NOLAN!

Happy Birthday, Jon!

2011-12-26T12:58:00.000-06:00

Jon didn't really have anything in mind for his birthday. He was pretty fond of the idea of hanging out at home and having a home-cooked dinner. So, that's what we did! He got a cast iron skillet for Christmas (Yes, we opened gifts from Mom early.) and was dying to try it out. We decided to give biscuits and gravy a try. YUM! They turned out delicious! Steak, roasted potatoes and Caesar salad were on the birthday dinner menu.

Present time!

Jon is going to start school in February. What better gift than a shirt from the new school. I think that makes him an official college student. (:

Lots of hugs!

My first attempt at an ice cream cake. I think it turned out great. Jon loved it which is all that really mattered anyway.

Happy Birthday, Jon! I know your day was a little bit chaotic this year with getting ready for Christmas and all, but I hope you had a decent day. I promise that next year won't be nearly as busy!
I love you very much!!

Tuba Christmas ~ Tulsa

2011-12-21T15:02:00.009-06:00

Have you ever heard of Tuba Christmas? Apparently these events are held all over the United States. I hadn't heard of it until last year and recently attended one of their events here in Bartlesville. The event here was held on the lawn of the Frank Phillips home. There were approximately 45 tubas and euphoniums (or baritones) playing Christmas carols. The sound was a.maz.ing! Ben (who plays the trombone) wished that he played the tuba or baritone so that he could participate. Well...his band teacher said that if he would like to attempt the baritone she would allow him to bring one home to practice on. WOW! Ben was thrilled and couldn't wait to be a part of this fun, festive event.

Abby and her friend, Anna, enjoyed playing on the toys in the mall while we waited for the music to begin.

Those who don't normally play the tuba, baritone or euphonium were recognized. I was shocked to see how many there were!

Ben and his decked out baritone.

This is the group that went down to Tulsa from Bartlesville.

Apparently, no matter the age, silly pictures are still necessary!

Ben loved being able to participate in Tuba Christmas! He struggled a bit as he was playing on a completely different instrument than he is used to, but he can't wait to do it again next year!

Our Favorite Train

2011-12-21T13:32:00.006-06:00

I don't know how many times I have posted pictures of little visits we have made to this train. The thing is, Luke LOVES it and it is a great place to take people when they visit as well as a great photo op. Well, this past weekend we went downtown for the Christmas parade and Luke knew it was very close and really wanted to go see it. (So much so that he didn't even want to watch the parade and cried and carried on until we finally went to see it.) But this time the train was different.

The light was on!

And the whistle was working! (There is always a bell that you can ring, but rarely is the whistle hooked up!) Luke was beside himself with excitement!

I love the train (not as much as Luke, of course!) and look forward to many more trips to climb in and ring the bell!

Hand-Me-Downs

2011-12-17T13:27:00.000-06:00

I love hand-me-downs. I love when the kids played with each others handed down toys. I love that all three of my babies slept in the same crib. I love that, even with two boys and one girl, that there are articles of clothing that they have all shared!

I don't think Luke had ever seen this shirt hanging in his closet before, so he was pretty excited when he saw what I chosen for him to wear that day. I had to explain to him that this was once Ben's shirt, then it was Abby's and now it was his turn to wear it. He thought that was pretty cool! (Even cooler is that it was first Alex's shirt and she is now 17!)

I wish I had time to go digging for pictures of Ben and Abby in this shirt. Maybe one of these days. In the dreary wintertime...

Snowman Crafty's!

2011-12-12T11:44:00.002-06:00

Aren't these little snow-girlies adorable!
(They certainly don't look like snowmen!)

My mom sent me the idea and I knew I would be making them! They were the perfect little gift for my MOPS group! So easy, so fun and SO CUTE!! Pretty sure I'll be making a lot more!!

All-City Christmas Band Concert

2011-12-10T08:40:00.003-06:00

The all-city Christmas concert is quite possibly my favorite concert of the year! All of the bands from 7th through 12th grade perform and then at the end all of the bands line the perimeter of the auditorium and play together! I love it!

Of course, I thought Ben's band sounded amazing!

French Bell Carol

The Grinch Medley

All of the bands wishing us a Merry Christmas together!

Christmas Time Is Here!

2011-12-08T22:21:00.010-06:00

It just doesn't feel like Christmas when you're driving around town and it's 63 degrees outside, the car windows are cracked, listening to Christmas music. I am NOT complaining!! I was, however, really excited to get out all of the Christmas decorations and make it feel Christmas-y in our house.

I love this little tree and it's tiny little ornaments and the nativity set that Luke can play with!

Luke was thrilled about all of the decorations, but all he ever really wanted was the Christmas train! He didn't care that we didn't have a tree yet! He was just as happy to play with it in the middle of the floor!

I put up the lights that I could reach and then Jon and Ben do the rest. Ben was happiest to be up on the roof! (The child scares me half to death sometimes!)

Everybody helped decorate the tree.

The finished product.

We are all ready for a fun-filled Christmas season of family, friends, playing, eating, shopping and most importantly, celebrating the birth of Jesus!

Omelete Making

2011-12-08T07:32:00.004-06:00

While Kris, Scott and the girls were here over Thanksgiving weekend, Scott made omelets for breakfast one day. Ben was intrigued and watched very closely so that he could try making them himself. He only made one, so I didn't taste it, but I was very impressed with how it looked. Especially on his first attempt.

Ben loves to come up with creations in the kitchen. He is going to make a great husband some day!

Clarinet Christmas

2011-12-08T07:10:00.003-06:00

Abby is doing a great job of adding some festive sounds around our house!

I'm so impressed with this girl!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-11-28T15:58:00.004-06:00

Back in September, when we were in Indianapolis for Kris and Scott's wedding, I asked their family to come out for Thanksgiving. I was thrilled when I got the text on the way back home that they would be coming! It had been a long time since they had been out to our house and they had never been to our house in Oklahoma! I started the countdown! I couldn't wait!

After talking to Kris about when they would be leaving their house, I figured that they would get here really late. I was so happy when she called and told me they were able to get on the road a little bit early! Hooray for happy surprises!!

Thankfully, Thanksgiving Day was a fairly low key day. It was great to be able to just sit around and hang out with family. We opted for a later dinner time which meant that we didn't have to spend the whole morning in the kitchen. We played, talked, watched the parade, checked out the Black Friday (or Black Thrusday...) sales, watched football, munched on snacks, watched The Brady Bunch...

I had some fun making some festive little place cards for a fun and festive Thanksgiving table. The bottom picture is of the kiddy table. I think it helped the bigger kids not feel so bad about sitting at the "kiddy table".

Turkey success!
I know I had made a turkey breast before, but can't remember if I had ever done the whole bird. I have to say it turned out great! Super moist and delicious!

Time to eat!
I have so much to be thankful for, but this year, on this day, I am SO thankful that I got to spend my Thanksgiving with these special people!

Ben and Alex each requested a turkey leg... (gag!!) Man, I think they really enjoyed them! There were many sounds, jokes, and just plain grossness that went along with those legs! Kris, I know you know what I'm talking about here! I'm sorry, but it was just plain nasty to me! (I am not a fan of bones in my meat!)

Our Thanksgiving feast was amazing!
I got brave and tried to make a pumpkin roll. I love to eat them but have been too intimidated to actually try to make one! After seeing a friend do it and it looked easy, I thought I would give it a try. When I was putting it together on Wednesday night...well...it didn't go so well. I made another one just to try again and have enough for eleven people and it went even worse! My cake didn't want to come out of the pan. Then it didn't want to roll without cracking and the filling oozing out. Let's just say there may have been a tear or two. Despite all of the trouble and stress, the pumpkin rolls turned out super! I will definitely attempt them again! (I would actually love to try some other flavors!)

I am a Black Friday shopper! I love Black Friday! I really wasn't thrilled about the stores opening at midnight (or even earlier). I really don't mind getting up at the crack of dawn and heading out in the cold to get a good deal. I actually look forward to it! With the stores opening at midnight, I wasn't sure if I would even go. Well...after looking at all of the ads, it was hard to resist! Kris and I made our lists and headed out! I had never been shopping with Kris on Black Friday, so I was looking forward to it even more!

I just have to say that I believe that having the stores open at midnight sure brings out A LOT more people! It was, by far, the craziest Black Friday I have ever experienced!

We had a great time and scored some great deals! We got everything on our lists for the day and were happy to take advantage of Walmart's ad matching benefits! Going shopping with my big sister was the best way to start my Christmas shopping!

Since the weather was so great, the guys decided to do a little bit of hiking out at Osage Hills.

While the guys were hiking, we tried and tried to come up with something crafty to do. We finally headed out to Hobby Lobby, but got sidetracked. We ended up going to lunch and then on a tour of Bartlesville. (Since Kris and the girls had never been here before.)

There are a few places you just have to stop on a tour of Bartlesville. The "big train" is one of them! Of course I had my camera with me!

I love it!

While we were at the train, Jon called and said that he and Scott were going to head up to the airport to go for a quick airplane ride. What?! He wasn't going to take the rest of us?!? I asked everyone with me if they wanted to go for an airplane ride to which I heard a resounding "YES!" Sooo...to Independence we all go!

I hadn't been on a ride with Jon in way too long! Isn't that how it goes? I figured if Jon was going to give rides, I wanted to get in on it!

Not only did I want in on it, but Luke wanted to go too! He knows that Daddy works at the airport and that he flies airplanes, but he had never been up in one. This was his lucky day!
YAY!! Luke's first airplane ride!
To say that he loved it would be a complete understatement! The little guy was in love! He couldn't really see anything out the window, but he didn't really care! He was up in an airplane!

This is how Luke felt about getting out of the airplane. He can't wait to go again!

We played a rousing game of Guesstures! Lots of fun! Lots of laughs!
"Underpants!" ha ha ha ha!!!

I bought these jammies for Luke on Black Friday. I still can't get over how stinkin' adorable they are! Could my little Luke be any cuter?!

Scott made some delicious omelets on Saturday morning! YUM!!!

Saturday we headed back to the train to take a few family pictures.

Something like this could be showing up in your mailbox very soon! :)

We "Love the Ville!"

If you are an avid reader of my blog, you know that I believe that no trip to Bartlesville is complete without a trip to Frank & Lola's. Jon and I knew that Kris and Scott would like it as much as we do. We decided that a double date was necessary! I think Frank & Lola's lived up to all of our hype. Kris and Scott really liked it! It was so great to hang out, eat amazingly delicious food and have great conversation. We had the best time! It was a super way to end our weekend together!

Not thrilled to be woke to get on the road...

Kris, Scott, Lex, Kortney, Reilly and Erin, thank you SO, SO much for coming out for Thanksgiving! This weekend lived up to all of my expectations and more! I had such an amazing time spending time with all of you! (We all did!) I wish we could see each other more often, but I think it makes our time that much more special! Thank you for taking the time and spending the money to drive out here. I know that we created memories that will last a very long time!

Holidays in Hutchinson

2011-11-22T17:12:00.000-06:00

Since we moved to Oklahoma over three years ago, we have gone back to Hutch for Thanksgiving. This year we had different plans for Thanksgiving, so we thought we would head up the week before.

Our family was excited to be able to go the Hutchinson Christmas Parade. For several years, Ben and Abby participated in all of the parades. It seems so different to be watching the parade with them instead of participating in it!

Luke really loved the parade! Everything that came by was so exciting to him! I love watching things like this through the eyes of my little guy as he sees these things for the first time! It was very chilly at the parade, however, so we ended up leaving early. Luke wasn't very happy when he found out that we missed the horses! Next time!

One of the things that I love to do while in Hutch is so see my friend, Athena! We don't get to see each other very often. For the past several years we have been doing our Black Friday shopping together. This year, we won't be together. :( This weekend we were able to meet up at Chilie's for a Diet Coke and some appetizers and catch up with each other! We had a great time! I am so thankful that Athena and I have been able to maintain a friendship since I moved! Thanks, Athena, for taking time out of your busy weekend to get together with me! I treasure your friendship!

Ben was also able to spend some time with his buddies while in Hutch. I am amazed that these teenage boys have been able to stay connected! I have said it before and I will say it again, I believe that these boys are going to be life-long friends!This is Luke's favorite thing to do at Grandma and Grandpa's house...

He loves to play with Toby! Thankfully it hadn't been too long since Luke had seen Toby last, so it didn't take very long for him to warm up!

I know this picture is blurry, but I think it so cute! I had to run out to the van to get the camera and capture this before either one moved! (The camera was cold from being outside.)

Abby enjoyed playing the Wii at Grandma and Grandpa's house! The two of us also enjoyed cable! We don't have all of the good channels at our house and got involved in watching cooking shows until midnight!

Since we weren't going to be together for Thanksgiving, Jeanie made an amazing meal in celebration of Thanksgiving while we were together. YUM!!

Thank you, Ken and Jeanie, for having us for the weekend!

Abby's First Band Concert

2011-11-22T16:01:00.007-06:00

Abby has loved every minute of her first year of band so far. She couldn't wait until her first concert. I know I say this about every concert, but I just can't get over how much these kids learn in such to in such a short amount of time! I think at the time of this concert, the kids had been playing for about eight weeks.

This particular band concert in called a demonstration concert. The band directors along with the students show us the things they do in class to warm and breathing exercises.

Miss Benford featured the clarinets. (The metronome sounds off, but I think the clarinet section sounds great!)

The whole band playing "El Toro".

The whole band playing "Jingle Bells".

See, impressive! I am thrilled to be a band mom and that my kids are thoroughly enjoying band! I do believe the Lord has blessed me with some talented kiddos!

Leaves, Leaves and More Leaves!

2011-11-13T20:13:00.006-06:00

We are really bad around here about raking and bagging the massive amounts of leaves that fall in our backyard. I think we ended up doing that in March this year. I swore we would never do that again! Jon got really motivated by the gorgeous weather last weekend and wanted to spend some time outside. It's usually me that wants to go rake and bag. However, this time I wasn't really feeling it. Jon made it really easy by using the mower to blow the leaves into big piles that would seriously limit the amount of raking that would need to be done.

Luke LOVES to be outside! Getting to use a rake and "help" Daddy was a huge bonus!

Of course, he spent most of his time just playing in the leaves! He wasn't happy with the fact that we were removing his "hiding spot". We reassured him that in a day or two, the leaves would all be back! Ugh...

As if the leaves weren't enough for Luke's fun day outside, he discovered kite flying! He loved it and did a super job!

I love a good, fall day outside! The weather here has been amazing! We got a lot of work done in the yard and had fun at the same time! Luke was having so much fun that we opted to let him skip his nap. (Which was fine until we made him come in the house!) The backyard is already ready for another rake and bag day...

No, I didn't intentionally leave Ben and Abby out of the pictures. They were out having fun with their friends while Jon and I did hard labor! Next time I don't think they'll be so lucky! :)

Halloween ~ 2011

2011-11-01T14:32:00.008-05:00

As a kid, my mom always made our Halloween costumes. Now, I don't believe there is any other way for my kids! I am not opposed to store-bought costumes! I just enjoy making my kids costumes!

Having said that, last year after Halloween I bought Luke a Yoda costume for this year. He loves Yoda and I couldn't pass up the bargain. (How do you resist 75% off?) As we were thinking about what each of the kids were going to dress up as this year, I tried the Yoda costume on Luke. Everything was looking great until I tried to stuff his head into the Yoda hat. The child does not have a small head! So...now I didn't have a clue what he could be! As I was searching my obsession for Halloween costumes ideas I came across a cute idea for a box of popcorn. It looked super cute and fairly easy to accomplish.

I think it turned out great! Is this not the cutest box of popcorn you have ever seen?!

On to Abby...She didn't have a clue what she wanted to be for Halloween. She finally decided that she would just be the clown that she was a few years ago. I was fine with that since it was something that I had made and was pretty proud of. I loved the fact that she would get more wear out of it. Well, while searching for costume ideas I came across something very fun and colorful that I thought Abby would love. I was right. She fell in love and immediately decided against the clown costume.

Abby's hot air balloon costume turned out SO great! She loved it. I loved it. It. was. a. hit!! As Abby was trick or treating, I can't tell you how many people asked to take Abby's picture! It was crazy! As she was walking around people kept telling her how awesome her costume was! (Yes, I was a proud mama! Thankfully the Lord has forgiven me!)

Ben wasn't so sure whether he would go trick or treating this year. He thought he might be getting too old! I assured him that he wasn't too old, but that if he was going to go, he had to wear a costume. (I hate it when kids try to get candy without dressing up!) He decided to go as a hiker/backpacker. I liked it! (Sadly I didn't get a picture of Ben by himself.)

There they are. My hiker/backpacker, my box of popcorn and my hot air balloon. :)

Trick or Treat!

Abby and her ninja, friend, Anna.

Silly boy!

Checking out their loot!

I think the kids all had a fun night! Ben went trick or treating with some friends. Abby's friend, Anna called and asked us to all come over there so we could all go together. Luke has been sick all week and I was concerned that he wasn't even going to be able to go trick or treating, but he made it to about 8-10 houses before he was ready to be finished. I'm glad he made it!

We are already thinking about next year's costumes! :)

Our First Bountiful Basket

2011-11-01T14:14:00.003-05:00

Have you ever heard of Bountiful Baskets Food Co-Op? It's a co-op that distributes produce baskets, organic produce baskets, artisan breads, as well as items that change every other week. (This time some of the offerings were Halloween cookies, pumpkins, boxes of apples...lots of fun things!) I had never heard of it until someone mentioned it at MOPS. I completely forgot about it after MOPS until a few friends said that they had ordered and were very pleased with what they ended up with. I told Jon about it and we checked out their website to find out as much as we could. It sounded like something we definitely wanted to try out.

So...this is what came in our basket this week!

Avocados
Cabbage
Green Beans
Roma Tomatoes
English Cucumbers
Romaine Lettuce
Kiwi
Apples
Bananas
Strawberries
Pomegranates

All of that for only $15!! I have never made anything with cabbage or pomegranates, but I am looking forward to trying some new things!

I'm pretty sure we will be ordering again next time!

Nice & Cozy

2011-11-01T14:03:00.002-05:00

Nothing beats a new blankie!

Thank you, Grammy, for Luke's new blankies! He has gotten a lot of use out of them while he hasn't been feeling well!

Abby Goes To Camp

2011-10-27T16:38:00.009-05:00

Abby's troop headed out the Camp Wah-Shah-She to celebrate the camp's 50th birthday.

The girls decided to camp for two nights and Jon and I went out on the first day (after the first night) to help out with the festivities. When we got there, the girls were making lunch.
Who would have thought that you could cook on the top of a coffee can?! It was so cool! These cool little cans are called "buddy burners". Under the large can is a smaller can (tuna fish can size) that has rolled corrugated cardboard with wick in the middle and dipped in wax. Who knew?! So cool!

The girls also made pineapple upside down cakes on the "buddy burners". I heard they were delicious!

Jon did a dutch oven cooking demonstration. The girls loved it!

These girls are inseparable!

Abby's troop hosted several activities in their camp. Soap carving, yarn doll making, lashing, sand art. This is also where Jon did his demonstration.

Luke had a blast being out at the camp all day! This boy is all about the outdoors! He was FILTHY when we got home, but he sure had a great time!

It was neat to hear the story of the camp and to hear the lady behind the story talk about it. I hope that Abby will continue to make memories with her fellow Girl Scouts!

The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-26T09:43:00.007-05:00

I always miss Michigan at this time of year! Once the weather cools down I start thinking about going to the apple orchard, drinking fresh apple cider and eating those amazing cake donuts! Or going to the pumpkin patch and picking a pumpkin right off the vine! There are no such things in my neck of the woods.

For now, we have this place. It's nice. It's just not the same! It is insanely expensive and the pumpkins aren't even attached to the vine. I have a feeling that the pumpkins come from the same place as the ones at the stores and they just put them out in a field for you go to choose one. Disappointing! But, a my MOPS group was going, so we went anyway. Luke knows no different and thinks it's totally awesome!

Before we headed out to the "patch", Luke had a blast playing at the playground. This was his toy of choice.

It was hard for him to lift those big handles, but he did not give up! I would love to have one of these digger toys in my backyard. He loved it SO much!! He would not get off for anything! Well, until I told him it was time to ride the tractor...

The boy was amazed by all of the pumpkins! I thought he would want to choose the biggest pumpkin he could find. He, however, only wanted one that he could carry easily. He really liked the little pumpkins the best!

Once we got back from the patch I let Luke sit on the tractor. This kid LOVES tractors!!

The Pumpkin Patch had a little petting farm with goats, baby pigs, cows and some roosters that ran loose. I always hesitate to go to the petting farm. Maybe I'm a too much of a city girl/germaphobe, but petting farms just seem gross to me! I got over myself real quick knowing that Luke would love to go see the animals. I was surprised when he actually wanted to go inside the pen (instead of looking through the fence.). He played in there with the goats for a long time before I had to pull him away to go home.

So, it's not Michigan, but it gets the job done. Luke and I had a great time!

A Visit To Hutchinson

2011-10-23T19:57:00.010-05:00

We finally found some time to head up to Hutch for a quick visit to see Jon's parents. It was a beautiful weekend so we were able to spend a lot of time outside!

It didn't take Ben long to climb up in his favorite tree!

This is how Jon and his dad spend a lot of their time when they are together.

Jeanie's birthday was coming so we took a sopapilla cheesecake up with us.
Happy Birthday, Jeanie!

Luke went to the grocery store with Grandma and came back with these cupcakes. What a mess! He loved them!

Dorky!

Luke is in love with Toby! (Well, after warming up to him anyway.) Luke wouldn't really give Toby a break the whole time we were there! That poor dog was wore out and probably glad to see us leave!

The top of this shed has always been one of Ben's favorite places to hang out at his Grandma and Grandpa's house. He wasn't very happy that we allowed Abby to get up there...

Abby, however, loved it!

Abby always loves to play with the neighbor's dog, Emmy.

I love this! It's not very often that you see these two working together. Nicely, anyway... Ben was pretty patient with Abby and willing to help her out!

I tried several times to get Luke to want to be in there tree. He is a boy, after all. He is supposed to want to climb trees, right? He was afraid for a long time, but finally asked me to put him in the tree!

We had a very relaxing weekend hanging out in Hutch.

(For those Hutch friends that are reading this, we hope to be back soon and be able to visit. This was such a short trip that we decided that we needed to just spend time together as a family. Hopefully next time!)

Feeling Kinda Crafty

2011-10-14T17:46:00.004-05:00

Yes, I've been feeling kind of crafty lately. My house is a blank slate and Pinterest (yes, again) is quite the inspiration. One day I made a list of things that I wanted to make and then Abby and I made a trip to Lowe's and Hobby Lobby to get all of the supplies.

This cute frame is something I made at MOPS. (I already had it pinned on Pinterest!) I love it! I write notes, menus, grocery lists...super useful! And super cute!

I found this idea in a book and was excited when I found the letters half off at Hobby Lobby! Score! Super easy and cute!

I fell in love with these little guys when I saw them on Pinterest! Fun and easy! Luke really likes them!

Yet another Pinterest idea.

And another.

I am thrilled with how this grouping turned out! I love it!!

This is just fun to me! It makes me happy!

I am happy about the crafty things I have been able to make lately. I am looking forward to finding more to work on. The next crafty episode could potentially include a little taste of Christmas.

Puzzle Time

2011-10-14T16:46:00.007-05:00

Luke has taken a liking to doing puzzles.

Trying so hard!

It fits!

He's so proud!
(I didn't help him at all!)
I'm so proud of him too!

Mother/Son Night

2011-10-14T15:57:00.003-05:00

I was thrilled when Ben told me that he signed us up for the Mother/Son banquet at church! Last year he wasn't very excited about going and I know I guilted him into it. This year, no guilt was involved!

(Ugh...when did he get SO tall?!)

We had a great time eating dinner together and learning about what it means to be a godly mother/son and had the opportunity to pray together. Precious, special time with my oldest boy! I love you, Ben and am so proud of the young man you are becoming!

My Baby Is Growing Up! :(

2011-10-14T15:47:00.005-05:00

Ben has been very excited about the signs of growing up! I would love to leave out the fact that he would check for armpit hair everyday, but he did and it's just a part of saying that he's growing up.

For several weeks Ben has been telling us that he needed to shave. WHAT?! I can't possibly have a child that is old enough to need to shave! Well, one night Ben said it again, Jon felt Ben's face and said, "Yes!" Oh my goodness! Of course, when I think of Ben wanting to shave I think of razors and shaving cream. Thankfully this "first" wasn't anything like that! Jon uses an electric razor, and therefore didn't have any shaving cream and razors in the house. So Ben's first shave was with an electric razor. As silly as it sounds, I think it actually softened the blow to this sad mama's heart.

So, there it is. Ben's first time shaving...

There are many firsts in life and it seems like so many of them are happening these days with three growing kiddos! Sometimes it seems like they will never grow up, but some days I look at them and wonder, "when did you get so big?" I want to cherish every moment of my kiddos growing up and remember them forever!

Third Day Concert

2011-10-13T09:20:00.011-05:00

In February 2010 Jon and I went to Winter Jam. There were about ten different groups performing that night, but we were most excited to see Third Day! The concert was great, but Third Day's performance was short. We decided that we would both love to go to see Third Day the next time they came to town. Well, in July I found out that they were going to be in Tulsa in October! I knew that Jon and I had to go! I was thrilled when Jon was on board and bought tickets right away!

Jon splurged and got us great seats! Only 8 rows up!

Trevor Morgan was up first. We really enjoyed him! We bought his cd at the concert and have thoroughly enjoyed it since then!

Peter Furler was up next. I didn't realize he was the former lead singer for the Newsboys. He was a little...different...but we ended up really enjoying his group.

Next up...THIRD DAY!!!

The concert was AMAZING!!! Those guys know how to put on a great show! It was awesome! I would go again in a heartbeat!

Ben's Introduction To Marching Band

2011-10-13T07:57:00.003-05:00

Ever since the first day of school when Ben got his band calendar, he had been counting the days until October 7th. On October 7th the 8th grade band students would get to go to the high school football game and play the fight song on the field with the marching band and sit in the stands and play pep songs along with them! WOW! As a former marching band member and lover of marching bands, I was happy that Ben was so excited about this experience!

"B-R-U I-N-S
BLUE & WHITE
BLUE & WHITE
FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!"

Ben had the best time at the game! As if he didn't already know that he wanted to do marching band already, this just really solidified it for him. He is ready! I hope he realizes how much of a commitment it is and how much work it is! I just know he will love it!

I am excited to have a child in marching band next year!
Bring on the games and competitions!!

Ummm...

2011-10-12T23:17:00.003-05:00

You just never know what you might find in the Grief house...

Kitchen Fun Continued...

2011-10-11T14:46:00.004-05:00

When Jon was in South America last month I got motivated to do a little bit of kitchen decorating and craftiness. I have become a bit excited with how things look and have been working on giving the room a finished look. Thanks to pinterest (again) I came up with the idea for this fun collage.

I am really happy with how it turned out! I was able to print the pictures from my own computer and have them up on the wall in no time! Hooray for progress! If I can only get the rest of my house to look cute...

Train!

2011-10-11T14:36:00.004-05:00

We have a little bit of a gem in our town. It is an old restored train engine. I have posted about this train before as Luke is completely obsessed with the train. We can't go downtown without Luke asking to go see it.

One night we ate dinner downtown and, as is common, Luke asked if we could go see the train. We were surprised to find that there was something new on the tracks. A caboose! YAY! There was a sign on the caboose that said that there was to be an open house the very next day for a few short hours and then it would be closed for restoration. I had plans during the time of the open house, but I encouraged Jon to at least take Luke down for a little bit to check it out. Being the great daddy that he is, he did! Apparently Luke really liked the caboose, but was ready to leave because he wasn't fond of the constant whistle that was coming from the caboose. (The kids were able to blow the train whistle.) I heard that Luke was pretty vocal about how he felt about the whistle...

I think the shows how he felt about all of the noise.

If the new caboose is restored as great as the engine was, this is going to be great! We can't wait to check it out!

YUM!!

2011-10-02T16:13:00.005-05:00

I have to say, we have had some delicious meals around here lately! One reason could be that I've just been in the mood to cook. One could be my obsession with Pinterest. Whatever the reason, the meals have been great! I thought I would share a few.

This chicken was amazing! I took chicken out of the freezer not knowing what I would do with it. I thought we might just grill it. Jon is burned out on grilled chicken so we tried to come up with another option. Jon thought we could stuff it, but I had already fileted it, so it was too thin to stuff. I came up with the idea to marinate the chicken in a spicy chipotle marinade, pound it thin, put cheddar cheese and sliced jalapenos on it, roll it up and grill it. Jon quickly agreed that that is what we needed to do! Oh. my. goodness. It was delicious!

Another meal we had that was amazing was a copycat from McAlister's. I saw this sandwich advertised and knew that I would be re-creating it at home! It was a southwest turkey sandwich. Turkey, pepper jack cheese, bacon, guacamole and a southwest chipotle dressing. (You could add lettuce, tomatoes and onions if you want.) One word: AMAZING!! We all LOVED these sandwiches! (Well, except for Luke, of course. He doesn't like anything!)

Here are some things you have to try. I found all of them on Pinterest! :)

Slow-Cooker Shredded Beef Tacos

The Absolute Best Crockpot Beef Stroganoff

Jalapeno Ranch Dip
This is WAY better the next day! It was a great dip for so many things!

Peanut Butter Cup Brownies

Oven Baked Ham & Cheese Sliders
I made these with and without the mustard. I liked them both ways, but Jon preferred them without.

Easy Potato and Bacon Breakfast Casserole

Cheesy Bacon Pull-Apart Bread

I love to cook (when I have the time), but had gotten completely sick of all of the same old recipes. It has become fun again since finding a great place to find new recipes or come up with some on our own! Have you tried anything delicious lately? Please share!!

Abby's (at home) Clarinet Performance

2011-09-29T08:59:00.003-05:00

One of the things that Abby was looking forward to most about middle school was band. She decided that she wanted to play the saxophone. Well, we found out that she had to start out with either the flute or the clarinet. For Abby, it was a no brainer. She knew it had to be the clarinet! After some "try-outs" at school, she found out (officially) that she would be able to play the clarinet.

Abby couldn't wait for the day that we would go to Tulsa and get a clarinet. Once we got the clarinet home she was disappointed to find out that her teacher had requested that they not even put the instrument together until they learned how to do it all together at school! Ugh...more waiting! The day finally came where they put the instruments together and started learning notes. Abby is LOVING it! She comes home everyday, hurries to get her homework done and then breaks out the clarinet. She can't wait to practice! (Let's hope it stays this way for a very long time!)

(I have to add in here that I was a little less than thrilled about the sounds that would be coming out of a reed instrument. They tend to sound a bit like a dying duck. Not to mention the sharp squeeking sounds... I will say though, I haven't been pleasantly surprised. There really hasn't been a whole lot of that! It does happen occasionally, but not the way I thought it would!)

I am so impressed at the progress that Abby has made in just the past few weeks! She is always asking us, "Can I play a song for you?" Absolutely! I was so impressed the other day when she played this song (below) that I asked her to play it again so I could record it. Take a listen.

Impressive, huh?! Maybe I'm biased, but I think she sounds great!
Great job, Abby! Keep up the hard work!

Happy Birthday, Ben!!

2011-09-27T09:59:00.006-05:00

I'm not sure how it happens, but every year my kiddos continue to get older! I know I say this about every birthday, but I can't believe Ben is 14! This is just getting crazy!

Look at this kid! He is just growing up so fast! He is looking and sounding more and more like a young man everyday!

No matter his age, I know Ben will always love to get presents!

Abby thought she was so funny. She wrapped up a movie that Ben had brought home from Grammy's the day before and some Q-Tips. Ha ha ha!!

Ben isn't a huge fan of traditional birthday cake (gasp!) and opted for Death By Chocolate for the third year in a row!

Dad and I are so proud of the fine young man you are growing up to be! You make us proud! We are so blessed to have a son who loves the Lord and wants others to know him too! We love you very, very much!!
Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Wedding Day!

2011-09-24T07:16:00.006-05:00

YAY!! It's the big day!

Our day started out heading to the reception location and getting things all set up and decorated. SO happy to finally be there for these things!

(The pictures will pretty much speak for themselves. Click on the pictures to view them larger.)

It took a lot longer than what we expected, but everything turned out great! (Especially considering what we had to work with!)

Abby looked so beautiful and did a great job as the guest book attendant!

A family unity candle. This was such a sweet way to include the girls in the wedding!

I loved that Kris wore hot pick shoes with her gown! CUTE!

The wedding party.

Cousins :)

Mr. & Mrs. Hunt!!

I loved everything about this wedding! The ceremony was sweet and personal. The reception was fun. I am so thankful my family and I were able to be there!

Congratulations Kris & Scott! We love you guys!

The Day Before The Big Day

2011-09-23T20:41:00.009-05:00

I was SO happy to finally make it to Indiana for Kris's big day! I hated being so far away that I wasn't able to be around for all of the planning, shopping, preparing, etc... Once I got there I was ready to go! Friday morning we headed to the church to decorate for the ceremony, then off to the reception location to check things out and finally to the rehearsal dinner location to get things set up.

This is Kris and her best friend (since childhood) Beth.

Kris and Beth doing their signature mosquito faces. :)

Once all of the decorating was done we all went out to lunch together. Super fun!!

Rehearsal

These boys love their dinosaurs!
Thank you, Nolan, for sharing your dinosaurs with Luke!

Abby was learning about her responsibilities as the guestbook attendant.

Luke was more than happy to help blow out all of the candles!

Kris made (super cute!) bracelets for all of the girls for the wedding.

SO happy to be with my sisters!! :D

I wanted to see Kris, Scott and the girls open their wedding gifts, and since I wouldn't be around after the honeymoon, I had them open them early.

I was really excited to give Kris and Scott the bottle of wine that Jon got when he was in Argentina! I think they were happy about it too!

I had a super great day spending time with my mom, sisters and all the rest of the family! SO HAPPY!!

Abby Bridges To Cadets

2011-09-14T09:16:00.000-05:00

It was nice to take a break from Girl Scouts for the summer, but now it's time to get back after it! What better way to get started for fall than with a picnic at the park? It was a beautiful day for a picnic!

This is Abby's sixth year in Girl Scouts and she is in sixth grade which means she bridges up to Cadets this year. I am so proud of her for sticking with it!

Ready to cross the bridge.

Officially a Cadet! :)

Abby with Sheila and Sam.
Sheila is Sam's mom (and my friend!) and is helping out with the Cadets this year.

Abby's whole troop!

Last year Abby said that she would like to continue with Girl Scouts through high school. I would love it if she did it! However, she is getting a little bit wore out with it. She didn't want to continue this year. She was already registered and has way too much cookie credit (money she earned from selling cookies last winter) to quit right now. Jon and I asked her to continue right now and we will reconsider at the end of this year. I am hoping that with some of the changes being made in her troop that she will reconsider. I won't force her to do something that she doesn't want to do. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

Best Friends!

2011-09-14T08:34:00.004-05:00

Life changed when we met the Pursley's! We became instant friends! For the first time ever Jon and I found a couple that we could hang out with. All four of us got along great!

Then they moved. :(

I was beyond thrilled when Laurie called me and told me they were planning to come for a visit! YAY!!!

As soon as I knew for sure when Dan, Laurie (and the girls, of course!) would be here, I set out to get a babysitter so the four of us could go on a double date! We had a super, amazing time!

We love you guys and miss you SO much!! Thank you SO, SO, SO much for coming for a visit!! We can't wait to do it again!

Washington County Free Fair

2011-09-14T07:28:00.008-05:00

Last year was the first year Abby entered anything in the fair for Girl Scouts. (We had never even known anything about the fair!) After her experience last year, she was eager to do it again this year. (Abby was especially eager due to the fact that if you win a first, second or third place ribbon, you win a little bit of cash!) We came up with two things that we thought would be great for the fair and then, at the last minute, Abby threw in another entry that she had made at Girl Scouts this year.

She did great!

First place for her Girl Scout!

Third place for her rag doll and honorable mention for her pillow. (Let's not get started on the pillow! It was great! Definitely deserved better than honorable mention!)

Abby and Miss Joy, Abby's sweet Girl Scout leader.

Luke was pretty excited to check out the (few) animals at the fair!

Turning corn...

...into cornmeal.

Abby made a rope. Cool!

Any trip to the fair wouldn't be complete without some kind of food! We opted not to eat at the fair, but we did pick up some cookies!

The fair is very small, but it was fun for Abby to participate and it was fun for me to take Abby and Luke for a little while.

The wheels are already spinning thinking about what Abby can enter next year!

Labor Day Campout

2011-09-12T15:37:00.006-05:00

We opted to stay home and camp out in our own backyard for Labor Day. (We weren't sure when Jon would be home from his trip to make plans ahead of time.) Jon was thrilled to finally get to use our tent this year! With the intense heat we had all summer, we really couldn't even think about going camping. :( We had all the fun of camping with the conveniences of home. We cooked our dinner over the fire, enjoyed sitting around the fire and slept in the tent, but were able to do dishes in the kitchen and use a nice, clean bathroom. :) One of the best things about the weather over the weekend was that the temperatures actually got quite cool. We had to break out the hoodies! We woke up to a crisp 53 degrees on Monday morning! Hooray for fall weather!

Oh yeah, one other luxury, movie time in the tent. :)

Jon's Mississippi Mud dutch oven cake turned out AMAZING!!

I love these kiddos!

We had a super time camping in our own backyard! We are looking forward to doing some real camping now that the temps have cooled down!

He's Home!! He's Home!! He's Home!!

2011-09-12T15:17:00.005-05:00

One of the benefits of Jon's job is that he occasionally gets to go out of town. Occasionally it's not just out of town, but out of the country. A while back Jon found out that he was to be going to South America for three weeks! Jealous...YES! It's not like he was just going to one country in South America. No, he was going on a South America demo tour. (His boss would be doing demo flights of the airplane.) Jon started out in Argentina, then headed north to Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Panama, Guatemala and finally Mexico. Sad, huh? I kept having to remind myself, "He has to work while he's there...He's going for work...This is not a pleasure trip..."

Thanks to Skype, we were able to see him and talk to him every day that he was gone! It made the distance and the length of time a little bit more bearable for us all! (Until he told me about one, of several, hotel rooms right on the ocean where he listened to the ocean waves all night long...)

Obviously, we were all very anxious for Jon to come home! Thankfully he came home a few days early! YAY!

Luke and I made a welcome home sign on the driveway. Well...I guess I made a welcome home sign. :) Luke loved the idea, but wasn't so fond of the actual drawing or getting his hands all chalky. Jon loves when there is sidewalk chalk all over the driveway!

Here he comes!

Getting closer!

We couldn't get out there fast enough!

Luke was completely obsessed with the airplane the entire time his daddy was gone! He told everyone that Daddy was in South America flying a Caravan! Luke was thrilled that Daddy was coming home, but he was just as excited to see the airplane that his daddy had been flying! He couldn't get up in the cockpit fast enough! Perhaps we have another pilot in the making. ???

One of the best parts of any trip...Souvenirs! Jon brought home some amazing mementos. Textiles from Guatemala, pottery from Mexico, jewelry from Peru, a authentic Panama Jack hat for Ben from Panama. Fun stuff!

We are SO thankful to have Jon back home! Now life can proceed as normal!

Thank you, Lord for protecting Jon on his travels and for bringing him home safely to our family!

One Last Hurrah At Kiddie Park

2011-09-08T08:32:00.001-05:00

As soon as I found out that Kiddie Park would soon be closing for the summer, I knew I had to take Luke one more time! Jon was in South America and Ben had no desire to go, so I headed out with Abby and Luke for one last hurrah at the happiest place in Bartlesville! Obviously everyone with small children had the same idea. The place was packed!

We got in line for Luke's first ride and waited...
and waited...
danced and waited...
We waited in line for 45 minutes!

But it was so worth it! Luke loved the bi-planes!
(They weren't open any other other times we were there this summer, so they were a must tonight!)

The three of us had a super time at Kiddie Park! Luke asks almost daily to go back! If I could only get him to understand that they are closed until next spring... I see many more trips to Kiddie Park in our summer next year! What a fabulous place!

Boys...Boys...Boys...

2011-09-08T08:25:00.003-05:00

I love this sweet, silly, happy boy!!

Kitchen Fun

2011-09-05T19:51:00.000-05:00

I am so addicted to Pinterest! I can spend way too much time on there before I realize how much time has passed! I found some really cute ideas for my kitchen and figured it would be something great to work on while Jon was in South America.

Here is what I found and had to do.

Ready to go!

The process was a bit tedious.

Measuring and drawing lines.

Taping.

And painting.

I even pretended I knew what I was doing. I know Nate Berkus does this, so I felt pretty cool. :)

Of course, in all of the fun of doing a project there had to be some issues. When I went to hang my "E", I discovered that the hole that had been drilled in the back had been put in the wrong place. If I had hung the "E" where the hole was, it would have been upside down and backwards. :( Also, while I was in the process of making the curtains, my sewing machine broke. What the heck?! SO frustrating!! I was really bummed to think that the project that I wanted to get done before Jon got home, might not be. :(

Thankfully I have a friend that was more than willing to let me borrow her sewing machine! Score!! My curtains would get finished after all! The "E"...not so fortunate.

Yay! One curtain hung! I LOVE IT!

I had this muffin tin up before, but it was black. I LOVE this re-do!

I am pretty proud of this too! I took a picture of each of these bottles of pop and made a collage. I love how it turned out!

And the second curtain is up! This is what it looks like during the day when Ben and Abby are at school.

This is how it looks everyday after school. :)

I still want to get an area rug, paint the chairs and some other fun things, but I am happy with how things are looking so far!

Abby's Room

2011-09-05T19:15:00.000-05:00

My baby girl is growing up! Right around her birthday, Abby decided that she would like to re-do her room. It was cute, but it was definitely ready for some updating. She wanted to go with a zebra theme with hot pink. Cute! I was really excited to get started!

The first thing we started with was this lamp. Easy peasy! We took a simple white lamp shade and covered with a zebra printed bandana. Then hot glued some feathery boa. I love how it turned out!

This is a board that Abby had and I just recovered it.

While Mom was here she offered to make some pillows for Abby's room. LOVE!!

I love the cute necklace holder that Abby picked out! So girly :)

This is the half of the room that is done. I am loving how it is turning out! I have made some things on the shelves and Abby has made some things. The room is still a work in progress, but we are having fun doing it. I have more ideas running through my head, which I can't wait to get to, but with everything that is going on around here, those things are going to have to wait. I will make sure to post more pictures once we make more progress.

Abby Learns To Sew

2011-09-01T21:39:00.000-05:00

I was thrilled for Abby when Grammy offered to teach her how to sew! I love that Abby will always get to say that her Grammy taught her how to sew! Abby still needed to make something for Girl Scouts for the county fair, so this was a great opportunity to work on that as well.

I wasn't home the night that Abby and Grammy worked together, so the pictures in this post will have to do most of the talking.

This is the same way Mom taught me how to sew. She drew lines on paper and we used the machine to poke holes in the paper. No thread.

Abby did a super job! I was very impressed!

Grammy and Abby had to go out to get a few supplies for their project and made a pit stop at Cherry Berry.

Cherry Berry has been opened since last spring and, much to Abby's dismay, we hadn't been there yet. This was very special for Abby!

Back to work!

The finished product turned out GREAT! I am so proud of Abby for doing such a great job learning how to sew!

Thank you, Mom, for taking the time to work with Abby and make this a special night for her! I know she will always remember when Grammy taught her how to sew and took her to Cherry Berry!

Now we'll just have to see how she fares at the fair!

Bridal Shower Favors

2011-08-30T21:01:00.000-05:00

It was a little on the frustrating side trying to figure out what to make for a favor for Kris's bridal shower. It just seemed like we couldn't find anything that would work. We scoured Pinterest for ideas and still kept coming up short. Can you imagine, not being able to find an idea on Pinterest? Gasp! Finally, as we neared the eleventh hour, we finally stumbled upon the perfect favor! Cheesecake in a jar! What could be better!

Thankfully I have a super, crafty friend that allowed Mom and I to come over and use her tools to make so tags for our jars! I don't know what I would do without my crafty friend! Thank you, Deborah! You're the best!

This is as far as we could get on the jars at my house. Mom filled them with cheesecake at her house just before the shower.

I think they turned out SUPER cute!

I was really sad to not be able to be at Kris's shower, but I was thrilled to be a part of it by making favors!

Mom/Grammy Comes to Visit!

2011-08-27T18:02:00.014-05:00

While Jon has been away in South America (I know, sad, huh?), Mom came to visit. It was nice to have someone to talk to and hang out with while the kids were back at school or in bed for the night. We kept very busy!

A random buffalo in Bartlesville.
One of these days I am going to make a picture of something using pictures of these buffaloes!

You got it, dinner at Frank & Lola's is a must!

Like any other time my Mom comes, there was shopping involved! For one, Mom ALWAYS finds the best deals! Two, we have a wedding (my sister, Kris's) to go to and this is the best time to find a good deal on a new outfit!
Ben and Luke aren't much into shopping. Ben spent a lot of time helping out with Luke. Luke spent a lot of time on my iPod. I'm not sure how we ever survived without the iPod!!

Luke thought this table was the perfect place to take a little rest.

You could tell little Lucas was wore out from our day of shopping. As soon as he walked in the door he hit the couch!

Even Elvis made an appearance!

And we played LOTS of rummy!

Yes...even I had to try out the Elvis glasses...

Normally when we go out for ice cream we go to Jared's. It's actually custard, but you know what I mean. Sadly, Jared's has been closed due to broken equipment. :( We made the best out of the sad situation and headed to Braum's. It was SUPER! And cheap! (Jared's is a little on the pricey side.)

This was Luke's first attempt at an ice cream cone. It was hilarious! We all enjoyed watching Luke eat his ice cream! He just enjoyed eating it! :)

Time to play outside :)

Abby got a hold of the camera.

Time to play at the park.

Mom and I talked to Kris earlier in the week about her bridal shower and found out that nobody was doing a favor for the guests. Kris asked if we could come up with something. You betcha! It took almost the entire week to come up with something, but we finally figured it out!
Cheesecakes in a jar!
Well, Mom and I made the jars and then the day before the shower Mom will fill them with the cheesecake. I think they turned out adorable!!

One more shopping trip! Luke was a super shopper! (Thank you, Lord!) You just wouldn't even believe the deals we got! Here's one short (well, I'll try to keep it short...) little story about one of our super, fabulous deals.

I saw this purse back in June. It was on a 50% off rack, plus there was supposed to be some other % off of the sale price. I scanned the tag to see what the price would be. It scanned for $118.00. Not. on. sale. I about cried. It's not very often that I find a purse that I like. I didn't just like this one. I fell in love with it! I was very sad to leave the store without it.

Fast forward about two months. Mom got an e-mail from Dillards saying that all clearance items were an extra 40% off. Great! We knew we had to go check things out. When we walked into the store we noticed signs that only said 30% off. Hmmm... Mom and I questioned one of the employees and found out that this Dillards was the ONLY ONE doing extra 30% off. WHAT?! The employee lady said that they would give us the 40% since we had the e-mail with us, but also showed them that the website said 40% off as well. Great! Well, it ended up that they gave us the 40% off, but then when Mom scanned her card, it took off the extra 30% off too!! NO WAY!! It all sounded too good to be true! We showed the lady (who turned out to be a store manager) what had happened. (Had to have a clear conscience!) She said, "Consider it your lucky day! We did what we were told to do. What the computer does after that is out of our control." YES!!! Back to shopping!

I was looking around the purse department and found the purse that I had fallen in love with two months back. They had ONE. I told Mom we had to give it another try and see what happened. It was originally $118.00. It was 30% off, plus an extra 40% off. Good so far. Mom scanned her card again and it took off the extra 30% off AGAIN! I ended up getting that purse for $34!!! Again, there were tears in my eyes! I got the purse that I had wanted SO bad! I guess patience pays off! I think the Lord really wanted me to have that super adorable purse! THANK YOU, LORD!!

Luke had seen so much of us girls trying on shoes that he had to give this cheetah print pair a try. He's so funny!

See, what would we do without this modern technology???

This is a story for another blog post, but Abby and Grammy stayed home together on Wednesday night and Grammy taught Abby how to sew. So neat!

We had a fun time while Mom/Grammy was here! It made the first week of Jon being gone go by much faster!

First Day of School ~ 20011-12

2011-08-17T08:20:00.003-05:00

It's here! The first day of school!

Ben and Abby were very excited for the first day of school. I think they got bored due to the fact that the insane heat kept us in the house the majority of the summer. It's always nice when they actually look forward to going to school. They actually got up quickly, without too much prodding! (I'm sure that will change once the new-ness of school wears off...)

Ben ~ First day of 8th grade.

Abby ~ First day of 6th grade. (Middle school!!)

Luke had to make sure he got all of his hugs and kisses in before the big kids left for school. Ben had to make it quick so that none of the other kids walking to the bus stop would see him with his family outside!

And then they're off!Yes, they walked together! I think Abby even talked to Ben on the way to the bus stop. Abby mentioned that Ben was even going to let her sit with him on the bus! Gasp!

Both kids had a great first day! They were anxious to tell me all about their teachers, classes, friends, the bus...so full of information! (They were also surprised to find that Grammy was here when they got home from school! :)) This is going to be a great year!

End of Summer...

2011-08-16T23:56:00.004-05:00

Backpacks are packed. Lockers are stocked. Cookies are baked. Kids are sleeping soundly (finally!). I guess that means it's official...Summer break is over. How can that be?! It seems like just last week that we were all excited about the last day of school. How does time fly by so fast? I have two kiddos that, as of tomorrow, are both in middle school! Seriously?! I can't have two middle school aged kids! That means I'm getting old! Right?

Ben and Abby are both very excited about the first day of school. Ben feels like, as an eighth grader, he is king of the school. This is his third year at Madison Middle School. He has endured being the "newbie" as well as being stuck in the middle. This is it, his last year of middle school. Sigh. (We won't even go into what that means about next year! We have to make it through eighth grade! No rush!) I am glad that Ben is feeling confident this year. Sixth and seventh grade both started out with some fear. Not this year. :) He is confident and that, as far as I'm concerned, is a great way to start!

Abby is the "newbie" at Madison this year. Her first year of middle school! We have had fun going school supply shopping and decorating her locker. She got some cute new clothes. She got her hair cut and it makes her look so much more grown up. We've been to the school three times to make sure she remembers her locker number and combination and that she can get into her locker without any problems. We have also walked through her class schedule several times to make sure she knows where each of her classes are. We went today and she told me as we were walking out that she feels confident about her locker (Weren't we all a bit nervous about our first locker?!). Yay! That was great to hear! I know Abby will be a little bit nervous about her first day of middle school, but I know it will be great!

I am happy that Ben and Abby will be riding the bus together and will be in the same building. For some reason, there's just something comforting to me in that. I think Abby is glad to know that Ben will be there too. Ben, on the other hand, isn't too thrilled! One of the first things he told Abby is, "There are going to be some rules!" Ha ha ha!! He, basically, doesn't want anyone to know that he has a sister in the building. Please tell me this is normal! She is not allowed to call out to him, run up to him and hug him, wave real big and smile at him... Please! Abby just laughs it off and says she's going to do all of those things! As much as Ben acts like he's not thrilled about Abby being at his school, I know that he will be the first one to be there if anything were to happen or anyone would ever do anything to Abby! He's a good big brother that way!

I am praying for a good school year for Ben and Abby. I am praying that they will make new friends and good choices. I am praying that they will remember who they are and who lives in them. I am praying for their teachers. I have always said that I wouldn't request specific teachers for my kids because I believe that the Lord places them in the classrooms and with the teachers that he wants them to be in. Everything for a reason. I pray that their teachers will be kind, patient, wise, understanding, helpful, fair.

The summer has flown by and as ready as I am for Ben and Abby to go to school, there is always that piece of my mama heart that worries about them. I know they will do great and they will have fun, but, yes, there will be tears. Yes, still, this many years later! I am happy and excited for them! It sure is going to be quiet around here having two less kids around all day long. Luke isn't going to know what to think when they are gone again all day long! He sure will be happy when he sees them after school!

So, here we go, let the school year begin!

Lake Time!

2011-08-16T16:22:00.008-05:00

We are so happy that the heat has broke and we can spend time outside again! We opted to head to the lake on Sunday evening. I was a little bit apprehensive about the water temperature. Last time we were there, the water was HOT! This time it was great! It was GORGEOUS evening!!

Ben and Abby each brought a friend along.

Texas Rangers

2011-08-16T16:12:00.002-05:00

One of Ben's favorite t.v. shows this summer has been Walker Texas Ranger. While cleaning his room last week he came across some old sheriff's badges and cowboy hats.

Luke was excited to be a "Texas Ranger" with Ben! I love it when my boys play together!

"Go Outside and Play!"

2011-08-15T22:21:00.002-05:00

Like most of the country we have had a sweltering hot summer! Thankfully, last week, the Lord brought us a break from the heat and blessed us with some much needed rain and cooler temps! Since it had been too hot to go outside and play most of the summer, we have had a lot of togetherness and time in front of screens. I had had it! I shooed the kids outside! (Well, Luke will play outside rain or shine, hot or cold, but he was napping, so this doesn't pertain to him.) I forced them to go ride their bikes! Can you imagine such a thing, kids riding bikes?! You would have thought I asked them to do the impossible. I must be the meanest mom around! Making kids play outside...the nerve! Ben and Abby weren't thrilled. They tried several times to come in, but I wasn't having it! It was way too nice outside to be in the house!

I looked outside and this is what I saw...

Don't they look happy to be out there! HA! I really didn't care if they were happy or not, I just cared that they were outside enjoying a beautiful day! (See...mean mom! :)) I know that one of these days they will be begging for time to go play outside! Right?

Cooling Off!

2011-08-15T22:12:00.002-05:00

That's one way to cool off from the summer heat! :)

Middle School?! Already?!

2011-08-12T21:57:00.000-05:00

Is it really possible? Can Abby actually be going into middle school already?! Well, ready or not, she's going! We went to the school last week to pick up her schedule and locker assignment as well as do a little bit of locker decorating.

It only took a few tries before she got her locker open. She was pretty excited!

Cute stuff!

Thankfully we have a few days before she heads off into the big, scary world of middle school, but I think she's ready!

Dirt & Tractors

2011-08-11T12:35:00.007-05:00

I love watching my little guy play. He's so intense.

Dirt makes him happy!
He makes me happy!

Sunflowers!

2011-08-11T12:19:00.005-05:00

Jon took some pretty cool pictures of our sunflowers that I just thought I would share. The sunflowers are pretty, happy flowers!

Ugh...

2011-08-02T15:39:00.005-05:00

On the plus side, it's going to cool down a little bit by the beginning of next week. Right?

I'm pretty sure the weatherman said that today was the 39th day over 100 degrees!

Needless to say, we've spent a lot of time indoors this summer!
(Luke's not loving that at all!)

My BFF Came To Visit! :)

2011-07-30T08:51:00.018-05:00

I was beyond excited when Karen sent me a text asking which week would work best for her to come out for a visit! It had been a while since we had seen each other and I was really missing her! Last year we spent an amazing time in Branson after not seeing each other in two years! (She had just moved back from Oregon.) I would LOVE to make this an annual event! :)

Karen and her daughter, Madison (who is the same age as Abby), arrived on Sunday afternoon. We spent the day just hanging out, eating delicious dinner and teaching Karen and Madison how to play Rummy!
In our house, you MUST know how to play Rummy!

Monday morning we headed out for Oklahoma City! First stop: Pops! My family loves Pops and think it is a must when family/friends come to visit! I love that old Route 66 feel!

Abby opted for Fizzy Lizzy Yakima Grape pop.

Madison went for Gardena Grape pop.

Once Karen discovered that there was crushed ice, she got really excited and ordered a fountain Pepsi. Her favorite!

Aren't we just cute?! :)

Karen had never been to Oklahoma City (or Oklahoma, for that matter) so the Oklahoma City Bombing Memorial was a must. We didn't take the time to tour the museum. We just walked the outside grounds. The memorial is beautiful and touching, but I just never get over that awful feeling I get in my stomach when I go there. Such a terrible tragedy!

Each chair represents the people that lost their lives in this tragedy. Large chairs for the adults. Small chairs for the children.

This is a statue across the street from the memorial entitled "Jesus Wept".

This is the Survivor Tree. Just as the name says, it survived the blast on the day of the bombing.

Madison and Abby wrote messages in the children's area of the memorial.

This is what happens when Abby gets a hold of the camera. :)

Karen's dad had told her that the Women's World Cup of Softball was going on while we were going to be in OKC. We knew that Abby would definitely be interested in that, so we checked it out. That night was the championship game. What made it even more exciting was that the USA team was in the final game! USA vs. Japan! Sweet!

Madison and Abby each caught a pair of batting gloves!

Of course, Abby had to try hers on. It was almost like watching the O.J. Simpson trial all over again! HA HA HA!! Her gloves were too small. :)

USA WINS!!!!

We all had a great time at the game! I would definitely take Abby there again!

The girls spent some time in the pool before we headed out for the day. I would have loved to jump in that pool later in the day!

Our next stop was the Bricktown Canal. It was pretty, but OH. SO. HOT!!!

Abby and Madison thought the ducks should be in the water since it was so hot!

The little fountains of water at the end of the canal couldn't have been more welcomed! Who could resist?

This kind of grossed me out a little bit. Who knows where that water came from? But, in case I hadn't mentioned it yet, it was HOT! We were all desperate for a drink! We decided it was time to take a break from the outdoors and go inside for lunch.

This is what happens when you drink a blue coconut slush! :) Silly girl!

We ended up spending the rest of our day in Oklahoma City at the mall! Nice and cool! We scored some great deals, which was great! (I have to say, we spent something like three hours in JCPenney's alone! Crazy!)

I am SO thankful that Jon was able to take a day off of work for me to be able to go play in OKC! He did a super job of taking care of the boys and making sure that we came home to a nice, clean house!

Wednesday we headed to the dollar theater (Which actually costs $2. Go figure.) to see Mr. Popper's Penguins. Cute movie.
We should have had the girls in this picture since they were there with us!

After the movie, Karen and Madison set out to make a little craft to take home with them.
Madison made hers for herself, but Karen made hers for her younger daughter, Erika.

They turned out ADORABLE!! I forgot to take a picture of the finished product, so I am waiting for Karen to send me a picture.

Karen and I had the opportunity to go to the movies by ourselves! We were the only two people in the entire theater! It was great!

Waiting for Karen to send me this picture too! :)

Karen and Madison headed out on Thursday afternoon, but like I always say, no visit to Bartlesville is complete without eating at Frank & Lola's! So, of course, we had to partake!

(Ben and Luke were there too, but for some reason, I didn't take a picture of them. Sorry boys!)

I LOVED having my best friend come visit me! We had a great time! I hope this is becoming an annual tradition and we will get to go on a fun little trip again next July!

Thank you SO much, Karen (and Madison), for coming to see me in Bartlesville!! Thank you, Chris, for setting us up in a great hotel in Oklahoma City!! I appreciate it all SO, SO much!! I love ya, Karen! Thank you for being such an amazing friend!

Beating The Triple Digit Temperatures!

2011-07-28T21:39:00.005-05:00

It has just been way too hot outside to really even think about going out to play! We have been doing a lot of staying in the house playing games. We love playing games! We usually Rummy. We love Rummy! This time we opted for Monopoly. Why is it that we know how long this game takes to play, but we always forget how long it takes?! HOURS! Oh well, we have plenty of time for games! It is summer vacation, after all!

Abby had a nice little rainbow going on!

I have loved playing games and hanging out with my kiddos this summer! All too soon it is going to be time for them to go back to school and our time of playing games is going to be severely limited. For now, I will enjoy what time we have and continue to play lots of games with my kiddos!

Sweet Emma Lou

2011-07-28T16:18:00.004-05:00

I'm pretty fond of this little girl! This is my friend, Deborah's, little girl Emma. She is one sweet, smiley little thing! Check out the sweet shirt Emma wore on her first birthday...
Isn't it cute? Yep, I made it! I made a shirt like this for Luke's birthday and couldn't wait to make another one! Emma just happened to be the first birthday to come up! I think it turned out super cute!

I was so pleased with the shirt that I made this too...
I was even more pleased with how this cute little bag turned out!

I love it!

Last week we got to watch Emma while her mama went to a meeting. :)

Luke is pretty fond of Emma too!

Until she tries to play with his toys... (He's totally three!)

Abby LOVED babysitting Emma! There aren't any pictures of her and Emma, but she did everything with/for her! Abby played with her, carried her around, protected her from Luke, fed her and changed her! She still has a lot to learn (obviously, since she's only 11!), but I think Abby is going to be a great babysitter and an amazing mama when she grows up! (NO HURRY!!)

Oops!

2011-07-28T16:13:00.008-05:00

Don't you hate when your shirt gets caught in the back of your pants and no one tells you that your hiney is showing?

Luke doesn't seem to care.

And I just couldn't resist taking a picture! There's not much cuter than a tiny hiney!

Uh oh! I got caught!

Luke's Visit To Bartlesville

2011-07-28T15:10:00.011-05:00

I love that Ben's friend, Luke, called me to ask if he could come down for a visit! The timing was so perfect! (Since we had to take Sam back, we could pick Luke up at the same time! Perfect!) How could Ben possibly be any happier? Sam was here for a few days and now his other best bud was coming?! He was thrilled!

I love that, even though these boys are 13 years old, they still enjoy playing and building with Legos!

Fishing at the pond (at the school next to us) produced this one little fish! Things were a little bit more productive when I took them to another pond. I couldn't believe that the boys wanted to spend time outside in the blazing 105 degree heat, but they did and they really enjoyed it!

Desperate times call for desperate measures! While (little) Luke was napping, the big boys took over the little pool! Anything to cool down!

What could be better than a game of Monopoly on a hot summer day?! This game lasted several hours!

Nobody's visit to Bartlesville is complete without a trip to Frank & Lola's!

Bartlesville buffalos.

Friends for LIFE!

Ben's Memphis/Springfield Vacation

2011-07-28T14:33:00.011-05:00

Ben had the amazing opportunity to go on vacation with one of his best friends (Sam) this month! He was really excited when he found out that they would be visiting Graceland. Ben has been an Elvis fan for a long time!

He even dressed up as Elvis for Halloween in kindergarten! :)

Anyway, Ben LOVED Graceland! He only took a few pictures because the camera battery died. :(

Elvis's mom and dad.

Springfield was also on the trip agenda, which included a tour at Fantastic Caverns and a trip to Bass Pro Shop. Apparently Bass Pro Shop is a must for 13 year old boys!
Ben + Bass Pro Shop = New knives. (No, these aren't all Ben's!)
I'm told this is normal. I guess boys will be boys.

When Ben got back to town, Sam got to stay with us for a few days. I am so glad these two great boys got to spend some time together! I know I don't need to say it, since I say it every time I talk about Ben's buds, but these are some great boys!

What boys do...

No visit to Bartlesville is complete without a meal at Frank & Lola's!

Friends for LIFE!

I really enjoyed having Sam here for a few days! He is a sweet, polite young man! :)
Thank you, Christy and Steve, for taking Ben on such a great vacation! I know it is one that will live on in his memory for many, many years!!

Our Garden

2011-07-18T09:14:00.008-05:00

This was our garden in May.

This is our garden today!

We are growing tomatoes, green peppers, red peppers, jalapeno peppers, onions, lettuce and we may or may not have any of our garlic left. The tomatoes are completely overtaking the place, unfortunately they aren't really producing a whole lot of tomatoes. We have four. The jalapenos are producing like crazy. The green and red pepper plants look great, but we only have one pepper. I'm not sure what we are doing wrong, but we would love to be enjoying the fruits of our labor!

This is the lettuce that is planted in the front yard. It has done really well!

We have been able to enjoy a nice green salad!

More lettuce is in process.

Jon decided to pull out the onions that didn't look like they were really doing anything. They are tiny, but have been so good in salad, on homemade pizza and in salsa. I am trying to keep my over-anxious husband from pulling out any more just yet!

The sunflowers are getting tall!

This one looks so neat as it's getting ready to open up!

This little tomato came from our neighbor's little plant.

Our other neighbor gave us this cucumber and tomato. :) Luke was so excited to have a Bob and Larry!

This is a pot of Cosmos. Our neighbor's daughter gave us a packet of seeds and this is the progress they have made so far. I am so excited to see what they will look like soon! Thank you, Marsha!

Southwestern Burgers

2011-07-09T15:39:00.001-05:00

Oh. My. Goodness.
These burgers are amazing!! You have to try them! Here is the recipe! The recipe says it makes eight burgers, but I made mine a little bit smaller and got twelve out of it.
I. Love. Them!

5th of July

2011-07-07T15:20:00.001-05:00

We talked about going to the lake on the 4th, we just didn't make it. I really didn't want to brave the holiday crowd and we were having a lazy day and we never got the gumption to get ready for a day at the lake. (Plus, it's always a struggle to want to put on a bathing suit...) We decided that we would wait and go the next day when it wasn't quite as busy. I'm really glad we waited because we ended up, basically, having the beach to ourselves!

The craziest thing about the beach is that the water was literally HOT! The water temperature had to be in the 90-95 degree range! It was insane! We thought it would be nice and refreshing to go to the lake and cool off from the miserable triple digit temperatures we have been enduring. It was anything but refreshing! We still had fun playing for a little while.

Luke was wiped out! He came home from the lake and took a bath and fell asleep on his daddy while he was drying off!

HA! Maybe we should go to the lake more often! :)

4th Of July Weekend

2011-07-06T15:05:00.020-05:00

Jon's parents came down for a visit for 4th of July weekend. It was just the motivation I needed to clean house (Because that just doesn't happen as often as it should!) and the permission to make some fun, festive treats!

They were just as fun to make as the were to eat!
Of course, we had the typical summer cookout food too!

After dinner we headed over to the hotel that Ken and Jeanie were staying at so the kids could go swimming. A nice break from the blazing heat outside!
Of course, if you're in a hotel, you have to jump on the beds, right?!

Or spin in the chairs until you fall out! (Yes, Abby almost fell out from spinning so fast!)

On the actual holiday we didn't have anything planned. We talked about going to the lake, but with the heat and the crowds that were sure to be there, we just never made it. We decided that we would go bowling! How much more American can you get on the 4th of July without going to the lake?

Tiny bowling shoes are just way too adorable!

Check out that form!

Luke really enjoyed bowling! For a little while anyway. He got bored with it and would rather go play in the arcade. Go figure.

I just love this picture! Luke loved to watch to see how many "bullets" he knocked down! Too cute!

Bowling superstars, we are not!

Since we didn't know where else to go for fireworks, we headed downtown for the Bartlesville fireworks display. We had been two years ago and were really disappointed. But, again, we didn't know where else to go.

My sweet 4th of July kiddos!

I got festive and decided to make Abby and Luke special shirts for 4th of July. I think they turned out pretty cute!
Luke thought his shirt looked like fireworks! I loved it!

Cheese!

Counting stars while waiting for the fireworks show to start.

The fireworks were still a bit disappointing, but they were better than nothing! Next year we will have to do some asking around to find some good fireworks!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!

Cars 2

2011-07-04T10:41:00.006-05:00

With a little boy in our house, we knew that we would have to go see Cars 2 as soon as it came out! Thanks to a deal that I bought on livingsocial.com (2 movie tickets from fandango.com for $9! You just can't beat it!) we were able to go rather inexpensively! ($8.75/$6.25 for tickets is just insane!)

The movie was cute, but not as good as the first one.
Abby liked it. Luke LOVED it!

The Three Amigos Summertime Fun!

2011-07-01T13:22:00.004-05:00

I know I have blogged about Ben and his amigos before, but it never ceases to amaze me how these three boys have been able to maintain such a great friendship over the past three years since we moved away from Hutchinson!

A few months ago, Sam's mom called me to see if we could arrange a time this summer for Ben to go up to Hutch and spend a few days with the guys. Absolutely! Ben counted down the days until it was time to go! He was packed three weeks early!

Sam, Ben & Luke

They had a great time! When I picked Ben up I found out that he hadn't slept at all the night before! That wasn't exactly shocking news. That's pretty normal when the guys all get together. They want to spend as much time together as they possibly can while they can! I can't blame them! Anyway, I thought Ben would end up sleeping most of the way home. He didn't! He talked almost the entire way! All the way up until we were 15 minutes from home! (That wasn't terribly shocking either since Ben is into sharing all the details of everything!) This is what happened when we got home...

He crashed! Obviously a great few days!

It is awesome to watch these boys all grow up together, yet far apart. They are three of the nicest boys that I know! I definitely think they have the makings of a life long friendship!

Birthday Party Time!

2011-06-26T15:13:00.000-05:00

Abby hasn't had a birthday party since her 7th birthday. She begs for one every year, but we just don't do it. It's not that she asks for a lot. Last year she just wanted to have a party at the lake. I know, I'm a terrible mom! I don't know if it has anything to do with the fact that, when I was growing up, we just didn't really have birthday parties. Besides the fact that they can cost a lot of money. I have also questioned who Abby would invite to a party. Since moving here, she didn't have very many great friends that I thought would either come to a party or that I would want to have at a party and have to be responsible for.

This year was different! Abby has some great friends here now and I was glad to be able to do a birthday party for her! Our party plan was a bit different than the typical sleepover or "destination" birthday party. I was excited about this one!
We started out the party at our favorite restaurant, Frank & Lola's!
Call me cheap, but kids eat free there everyday, so it was a great place to take the girls for a delicious dinner!

Apparently Dr. Pepper is the preferred drink among 11 year old girls!
You could tell later in the evening that they had all had their fill of caffeine!

And then there were presents!
Thank you Anna, Sam and Hannah!!

After dinner we headed to the movie theater to see Soul Surfer. (Yes, that was out a while ago, but in my cheapness we went to the $2 theater for the movie.) The movie was great! We all loved it! I was so happy to be able to take the girls to a good movie with a good message! (I also loved that I never heard a single bad word!) I highly recommend this movie!

Since we went to the movie straight from dinner, most of us weren't hungry for popcorn. We decided that it would be more fun to go to Jared's Frozen Custard.
Sundaes all around!
Abby has some sweet friends and I think they all had a fun time!

I hope Abby enjoyed finally getting to have a birthday party! It was fun to do it for her!

Happy 15th Anniversary!

2011-06-22T14:17:00.003-05:00

WOW! I can hardly believe it has been fifteen years since we said, "I do!" (I think we actually said "I will" but that's beside the point!) FIFTEEN years! I am proud to say that I have been married for fifteen years! It seems like quite an accomplishment these days!

Happy Anniversary, Jon! I love you and am looking forward to the next fifteen+ years! Thank you so much for all you do for me and for our family! I am one lucky, blessed lady!

Happy Father's Day!!

2011-06-22T08:11:00.000-05:00

Father's Day was more of a weekend long event at our house! It was SUPER fun! We had talked about going camping for the weekend, but it was just so hot that I really wasn't interested. (I would go if that's what Jon wanted to do, but he decided on something else! Darn!)

Jon thought it would be fun to go to Tulsa for a Drillers game. I loved that idea! But first we had to have dinner at our favorite place, Qdoba!
I had received an email with acoupon for buy one meal, get one free! It doesn't get a whole lot better than that!

We opted to go to the baseball game on Saturday versus Sunday thinking that Sunday might be crazy. It was great! It wasn't very crowded at all!
Abby enjoyed hanging out watching the players in the bullpen.

Ben really didn't want to be at the game and had a bit of an attitude the whole time. Jon and I were a bit unhappy with him.

Luke enjoyed every minute of being at the game! He had quite a bit of fun cooling himself down with a water bottle that we got while we were there! I should have tried that! It was HOT!! There was a great little playground very close to where we were sitting, so we took advantage of that a time or two.

Jon and his kiddos!

Of course, on Father's Day morning, we (well, the kids) showered Jon with a few gifts!

What Jon really wanted for Father's Day was to hang out outside, play, hang out and grill. That's exactly what we did! It was a great day!
Jon is a GREAT dad! He is willing to do anything with or for the kids! He will paint toenails or let his be painted! He changed diapers without any complaints! He drives kids where they need to be, sits at games, cleans up puke...ANYTHING! He is a GREAT dad! Ben, Abby and Luke have blessed with an amazing dad and I have been blessed with a great dad for my kiddos!

Parade of Homes

2011-06-20T12:33:00.006-05:00

I have never been to the Parade of Homes before, so I couldn't pass up the opportunity when I was asked to go! Especially when I knew it meant spending the day with some pretty awesome ladies!
Deborah says she needs these for her closets.
(Sorry Deborah! Don't hate me!)

Lanae NEEDS this bed! She was Mrs. Oklahoma, after all, so the crown is only fitting!

Lanae...I'm not sure what to say! I just know that Deborah doesn't work with feathers! ha ha ha!!!

I had a total blast hanging out with these girls all day! Thank you so much for inviting me! I can't wait to spend more time with both of you!