Thanksgiving, Christmas and Birthdays...OH MY!

"I was thinking that you guys should come for Thanksgiving and we can celebrate Christmas and Mom's 65th birthday!"  That was all I needed to hear.  The thought of being with all my siblings, nieces and nephews (on my side of the family)...I knew we had to be there! It doesn't happen often enough!  It would also be extra special for Mom to have all of her kids and grand kids together for her birthday! How perfect! 

 I am SO thankful for these people!  I love and miss them SO much!!

(Yes, and the ones not in this picture!  They are in the following pictures!)

Check out that Thanksgiving spread!  We are such spoiled people!

This right here...it makes me happy!  I hate that I don't get to do this more often with my family, so I try to soak it all in and enjoy it as much as I can!

 All of the cousins!

 This just makes me happy!

 So... since we were all together, we thought it was the perfect time to exchange Christmas gifts.  This way we could watch everyone open them in person and not have to pay to ship gifts.  It was so fun to do it this way.  Just another thing to be thankful for.

The cousin gift exchange.

 The sibling gift exchange.

 My family opened gifts from Grammy.

 Lukey and Grammy :)

Poor Roxie!  As if it wasn't bad enough that she had a house full of people and chaos, then she had to put on the dreaded reindeer antlers!  Poor thing!

 

Mom had no idea that we were planning to celebrate her birthday!  I think she was pretty surprised when the girls brought over her birthday cupcakes!

 

You have no idea how crazy this was to see!  Mom does NOT like dogs!  However, she bought this bed for Roxie and actually invited her to come sit up there with her.  Crazy!  I think she secretly likes Roxie!

 We went downtown Indianapolis to check out the shop that Rebecca was selling her products in during the Christmas season.  It was a cool little shop!

 The guys!

With All-State auditions fast approaching, Ben couldn't miss any precious practice time, so he brought his trombone on the trip.  Abby didn't want to miss out on any All-District practice time either.

It was fun when they wanted to play for us!  Bring on the Christmas carols!!

Nolan was pretty impressed by the sounds of the instruments and thrilled when Ben offered to let him play his horn.  Maybe another trombone player in the family?

This trip was amazing!  I had the best time visiting, laughing like crazy and just hanging out with my family!  I am so thankful that we were able to make the trip!  Precious memories!

What's Happening?

The kids have been in school for 3 weeks already!  WOW!  Luke had a bit of a rough start, but now, he loves school!  YAY!!

*****

What have I been doing while the kids are at school?  Well, I got a job.  Yep.  It's been a good long while, but I did it.  I had a bit of encouragement from Jon, but it's ok.  I am working at the school that Luke went to last year, East Cross Early Childhood Center, with the toddlers.  It is a Parent's Day Out program, so I only work Monday's and Friday's.  After two weeks of working, I have decided that it isn't as bad as I expected it to be.  Those little munchkins are so fun and lovable!  Plus, the days pass very quickly!

*****

Ben is deep in the throes of marching band.  He has to be at school everyday by 6:15am!  He has rehearsals every Thursday night from 6-9pm.  And this week he starts hour long sectionals (on the other side of town!) on Tuesday nights.  That might not sound like a lot, but let me just remind you that he is almost 16.  Apparently, when you are 16, all you want to do is hang out with your friends.  Ben has some really great friends!  However, I truly feel like I run a taxi service a lot of the time.

*****

Abby is in the middle of her middle school softball season.  I couldn't be more proud of this girl!  She has worked so hard!  One of the requirements on the team is that you need to be able to run a mile in 10 minutes or less.  Seriously!  Abby has worked SO hard to be able to accomplish this.  So far, she has made it in 10:45.  She is almost there!

*****

We are going to be in a world of hurt when Luke discovers that he could have a life too!

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Jon is, also, still in school.  Blah!   He is one busy guy.  Working full time.  Going to school.  Spending time with the family.  Figuring out how to be the assistant treasurer for the band boosters.  Keep up on yard work.  It is hard!  On all of us!  But mostly him.  He is stressed out a lot of the time, but I know that in the end it will be good.  I am so proud of him for all of his hard work!

*****

My foot is still a mess.  It hurts!  I have been back to the doctor.  He thinks that the tendon that was repaired last year has been re-injured.  Super!  Last week I went for a bone scan to make sure that nothing was going on there.  I think an MRI is going to be next.  I have a feeling surgery might be happening again...

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Ben turns 16 in less than 3 weeks!  NNNOOOOO!!!!!

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I have rediscovered reading!  I have always loved to read.  I just don't take the time to read.  I guess I have let myself become so busy with life and kids, that I hadn't read anything in a long time.  Well, all three kids are back in school and I have no excuse!  I am  going to read!  I am currently reading Longing by Karen Kingsbury.  It is book 3 in a series of 4.  My house just might be a wreck for a while longer...

*****

Life is busy!

God is good!

I am thankful!

Happy Birthday, America!

What could be a more American activity on the 4th of July than to go to a baseball game and fireworks?  The temperatures had been awesome, it was fairly inexpensive and it just sounded fun.  

On our way to Tulsa for the game, Jon had me read aloud this speech by Rush Limbaugh's dad.  Jon had heard about it on a radio program, read it himself and wanted the rest of us to read/hear it.  I know that July 4th is the day that the Declaration of Independence was signed, thus giving birth to the United States of America.  Sadly, beyond that, I didn't know very much.  The speech is lengthy, but definitely worth the time.  Whether you like Rush Limbaugh or not, you really should read this speech!  It was so neat to learn about some of the men, other than John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, that risked and/or gave their lives for the freedom that we take for granted.

As we were walking from our car to the ball field we heard a few rumbles of thunder.  We may have even seen a flash of lightning or two.  It was off in the east, so I figured we were good.  These things, generally, move from west to east, so it had to be moving in the other direction.  Well...that wasn't the case.  

We found a good spot to sit and got all situated.  Luke was itching to play at the playground, so Jon took him while hung out with Ben and Abby.  It wasn't long before the biggest raindrops (they were huge!) I have ever felt started pelting our heads.  

The field was quickly covered with a tarp and we just sat around and waited it out.  Some of the team members chose to make the best of the torrential rain to have a little bit of fun.  It was really fun to watch them run and slide.

Thankfully I had packed a few towels in case Luke ended up playing at the splash pad at the ball park, because I was able to stay fairly dry by holding one of them over my head.  Abby used one to protect her white shirt that could have made things slightly embarrassing.  (:

The rain didn't show any signs of letting up any time soon.  I just knew the game was going to be cancelled and our 4th of July plans would be ruined.

 

 The rain probably lasted a good 20-30 minutes before it finally passed by.

Once the rain clouds were gone for good, the tarp came off and we were able to watch the baseball game!  YAY!!!

I took an over-abundance of pictures at the game, but there are so many that I love that I decided to share all of them!  :)

 

 

 

Luke was REALLY not a fan of the fireworks after the game! I cried through the whole thing with his hands covering his ears.  Poor little guy!  I, however, thought the fireworks were awesome!  We were so close!  It was so cool!

I can't even express how much fun we had at the game!  It was SO MUCH FUN!!  I think we may just have a new 4th of July tradition!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AMERICA!!

Kiddie Park Fun

Kiddie Park is one of the gems in Bartlesville.  Luke loves it.  I love it.  Our pocketbook loves it.

Since Jon was off work for the week and the weather was amazing, we thought we would take advantage of being able to go to Kiddie Park in the middle of the week.

I was surprised, when we got there, to see how many people were there in the middle of the week.  Thankfully it wasn't as bad as it looked.  Luke never really had to wait in line for any of the rides.

Abby brought Anna along.  This is what happens when I ask to take a picture of these girls.  Lovely!  (Yes, there are a few rides they can still ride.)

Ben wasn't thrilled to spend his evening at Kiddie Park, but I don't think it was quite as bad as he anticipated.

My boys (:

Ben was my hero.  I'm not sure what happened, but a year or two ago Luke became terrified of the train.  I think it was the whistle more than anything.  He absolutely refused to ride the train.  As soon as he heard the whistle start to blow he would cover his ears.  Ben must have bribed Luke just right, because he managed to get Luke back on there this summer.  I'll take it!

I am so thankful to have this fun place in our little town!  As long as Luke doesn't know about Disney World, Kiddie Park is the happiest place on earth!

Spontaneity Is The Spice Of Life, Right?

Sooo...the previous day was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.  We all just want to forget how miserable it was.  It's time to move on!  So here we go!

Jon wasn't supposed to be in town.  His trip got cancelled, which meant he got to be home.  (Which also meant this was the start of his week+ off of work!)  We decided that since we had the bonus of having him home and the added bonus of the gorgeous weather we have been having, we better take advantage of the time. 

The weather was perfect for a little drive out to Osage Hills State Park.  We love Osage Hills, we just don't get out the very often.  It is so pretty there.  There are trails, a river, great picnic areas, waterfalls (small, but waterfalls just the same), a great playground...it's just great.

 

 For some reason, none of the kids had ever been to this area at Osage Hills.  They had no idea what they would find at the end of the path.

They were pleasantly surprised!  

As usual, there had to be a little bit of drama.  Ben found a trail and wanted to take it down to the river.  It was taking a long time for him to catch up to us, so Jon went to look for him.  My mom senses went into overdrive and immediately started thinking bad thoughts.  I can't help it.  You hear stories all the time about how a kid wanders off and is lost for a good long time.  Just about a week prior there were reports of a mountain lion in our area.  I hate having such terrible thoughts, but, as a mom, I don't know how you avoid them.  I tried not to freak out as I kept Abby and Luke while Jon went looking for Ben.  I didn't want them to worry, but was saying quick little prayers as they admired the waterfalls, the beautiful sky and a dragonfly.  Thankfully, I heard familiar voices and knew that everything/everyone was ok.  Ben, somehow, made it to the opposite side of the river, but he was good.  Just being a typical teenage boy.  Grrr!!!

It took a little while for the anger and frustration to subside, but we were all able to move on.

We didn't intend to get wet, but that's what happened.  And it wasn't a bad thing.  The boys all had so much fun!  Spontaneity is the spice of life, right?

Since Ben was already wet, he wanted to do a little bit more exploring.  We saw some guys swinging on a rope swing and jumping into the water, so we knew that it had to get deep at some point.  He found it!  He loved it!  When Luke saw that Ben was swimming, he wanted in on some of the action too.  (:

 After spending quite a bit of time down at the river, we decided to move on and go play for a little while at the park.  Luke was not happy to leave the water...

But he was happy to play at the playground.

Jon and Abby did a little bit of batting practice and played a little bit of catch.

Ben thought swinging might help dry his jeans.  Ha Ha!!

Swinging didn't help much, so he opted to try covering himself in the hot rubber mulch.  Surely that would do the trick!  Not so much...

Look at these cuties!  They weren't thrilled to sit for a few pictures, but I couldn't resist!

Abby asked to borrow the camera while we were driving home.  I had no idea what was going on in the back seat, but there was a lot of laughing going on.  I can see why!  I love these silly kids!

After being home for a while, I discovered that there were fireworks happening in Tulsa later that night.  We had been to these particular fireworks before and they were great!  I was a little disappointed that we didn't know that they were happening and that we weren't able to be there.  When I mentioned it to Jon, he said, "Well, why can't we go?"  Ummm...it was the usual excuse that it's all the way in Tulsa.  It's a long drive, which means gas money.  Apparently Jon didn't care.  So... we ate dinner, packed up and headed to Tulsa.  There's that spontaneity again.

I don't think we would have been so gung ho to go if the weather hadn't been so perfect.  It was unseasonably cool for the beginning of July, so we had to take advantage of the opportunity to go watch good fireworks and not sweat our tails off!

My firecrackers (:

Me and my man! (:

Crazy kids!

Believe it or not, we were all chilly while waiting for the fireworks to start!  When has that ever happened?!  Never!!  I refuse to complain!!

I love fireworks!  They were great!

This was one of my favorite days that we have spent together as a family in a very long time!  The weather was amazing!  The togetherness was fun!  The laughter was abundant!  Need I say more?  This was the best way to start off a week of "vacation"!  (Maybe I should call it a 'staycation'.)

I love my family!!