The Best Chips Around!

Unfortunately, just not around here...
Last week Jon was sent to Michigan for work. I was really jealous since it's been so long since I've been there! He kept calling me and telling about what he was doing, where he was eating...He even went to visit my step-mom! Jealous!! He did bring home some of my FAVORITE chips, so I guess I'll take that for now! A taste of Michigan is better than nothing at all!

Thankfully we will be making a trip up to Michigan next week! I can't wait!! 7-11 here we come!!!

Garage Sale

I don't know how we manage to collect so much stuff in one year that it seems necessary to have a garage sale every year! I know I'm a pack rat! I get that one honestly! Right, Mom? Not only do we have the stuff for a garage sale every year, but it seems like every year there is something that we need money for! More than once we have done it to be able to go to Indiana/Michigan. Last year Jon was furloughed for three weeks and we weren't sure how we were going to make it! The Lord has provided in huge ways every time!! I am not opposed to doing a lot of the hard work that it takes to have a garage sale! I almost kind of enjoy it! (Did I really just say that?!) This year was no exception! The work was hard and HOT, but again, the Lord provided big!
That's a lot of junk! Unfortunately there are still two tables full of stuff out there along with several boxes to be donated.

I just can't say how thankful I am for how well the garage sale went! God is SO good!!

Oil Change

I came home from the store the other day and this is what I found.
I guess 12 years old isn't too young to learn how to do an oil change!

"To Infinity And Beyond!"

I love it!!
(Sorry for the dark, blurry video!)

WHY?!

It never fails! Every time (well, except for one time!) Jon goes out of town I end up with a sick kid! This time it's Ben. He woke up this morning with an upset stomach.

Thankfully, as I type this, he is feeling quite a bit better and thankfully Jon will be home tomorrow! Hopefully, as I always hope for, this will be the last time this happens. We'll find out next week when Jon heads to Miami...

Happy Father's Day!

We had a pretty uneventful Father's Day here, which is exactly what Jon asked for. He does so much for our family, how could I not give him that?! I have to say, Jon is one terrific dad! When I hear about other dad's and what they do/don't do, I realize that I am one blessed woman and my kids are so blessed to have a dad that is so involved and will do anything! He changes diapers, helps with homework, gives baths, cleans bathrooms (or whatever room needs cleaned, if asked, of course!), paints nails, you name it, he'll do it! He's definitely not one of those dads that says, "I don't do that!" He does it ALL!!

He requested that we not spend any money on gifts, but it's really hard not to spend any. We spent just a little, and I think he was ok with that.

He had originally requested that we spend the day hanging out outside doing nothing, but it was SO hot that we did our 'nothing' inside. Lazy, lazy day!

His dinner request was steak with baked potatoes and corn on the cob. (I had to throw in some green beans for some color!) For dessert he wanted angel food cake with pudding and cool whip. This is what I came up with. YUM!
On Mother's Day, Jon asked the Ben and Abby some questions about me, so I thought I would take those same questions and turn them on him. Here's what they had to say about their dad...

What is your favorite thing about Dad?

Ben: "That he's a pilot"
(I find this quite comical seeing as though Ben refuses to fly with him!)

Abby: "He helped me with homework and he Rocks!"

What is your favorite memory with Dad?

Ben: "My favorite memory with Dad is when we got
Papa Murphey's chicken and sausage pizza and watched movies."

Abby: "When we went camping at Camp Wah-Sha-She. When we went fishing and boating, those were my favorite parts."

What do you wish Dad would do differently?

Ben: "I wish Dad would stay home more often."

Abby: "Nothing."

On a scale of 1-10 (1-not good, 10-great) how do you feel about your relationship with Dad?

Ben: "11 1/2"

Abby: "10!!"

See, even the kids think he's great! HE IS!!! I am so thankful that the Lord has blessed me with such a GREAT dad for my kiddos!!

Pepper, Anyone?

Luke had an ear infection last week, but Abby and I just couldn't bear to stay in the house another day! We had been in for four days!! We had to get OUT!! Jon was off on Friday so we headed down to Tulsa for the day. Luke's ears were draining like crazy, but he did great for the first part of the day. By dinner time it was one of those "whatever makes him happy and keeps him quiet" kind of times! At the time it was the pepper shaker!
Well, this is what happens when you give a 2 year old a pepper shaker to play with...
Pepper, anyone?
At the end of the meal it was all about the peanut shells! He scooped them out by the handful and put them all over Jon's plate. Good thing Jon was done!

Luke is doing MUCH better now, but we will be heading in to see the ENT next week to take a peek inside those pesky ears. (This is the second ear infection since getting the tubes put in at the end of March...)

Happy 10th Birthday, Abby!!

My baby girl has made it to the double digits!! 10 YEARS OLD!! How does this happen SO fast!! I just can't believe she's ten already!

We decided that since we were going to be in Hutchinson with Grandma and Grandpa Grief the weekend before her birthday that we would celebrate up there! She was pretty happy about celebrating in Kansas!
Abby's favorite cake is chocolate cake with chocolate frosting!
Making the first cut.
Abby is thrilled to have her favorite chocolate cake!

Present time! (Round 1, anyway...She has more presents at home to open on her birthday!)
This was one of Abby's FAVORITE gifts! Bling, bling!!

On her birthday Abby wanted to go shopping and eat at Red Robin! So that's what we did!
Slightly embarrassed to be sung to at Red Robin! (Barely anyone was there!)
My sweet birthday girl!

Apparently we wore Luke out! He fell asleep at Target, slept all the way home (about 45 minutes) and then slept about another hour on the couch once we got home!

Time for more presents!
Abby always thinks that if a box looks like it has clothes in it, it's probably boring clothes. Hence her thoughts about the two that she is holding up here.
She was pleasantly surprised when the first one did not contain clothes, but the MUCH desired Taylor Swift cd!
And yes, the second one was clothes...
Since we had cake and ice cream in Hutch and Abby was supposed to have a softball game the evening of her birthday, I didn't plan a special meal or make another cake. Well, the game got canceled so we ended up eating at our favorite restaurant (Frank & Lola's) and then came home and polished off the rest of the cake!

When I asked Abby how her birthday was, she said, "GREAT!" I'm so happy she enjoyed it! I sure did!
HAPPY 10th BIRTHDAY, ABIGAIL!!! I LOVE YOU, BABY GIRL!!!

No words necessary......

A Day At The Lake

I grew up at the beach, but living in Landlocked, USA there aren't a ton of beaches to go to. There are a few, however, and it is still just as fun to go now as it was when I was a kid! This past weekend we headed out to the lake with some friends and had a great time!

Our friend, Matt, has a boat which we all enjoyed! He let the boys jump off and swim to shore. They LOVED it!!
Luke is very fond of Mr. Matt!!
Luke even got to drive the boat! (Not here, but he really did get to drive when we went out for a ride.)
Like Jon's floaties? :)
I love that Ben found it fun to dig in the sand! There are so many things he thinks he's too big for these days...
Big Luke and Little Luke enjoyed it too!
For a long time Luke preferred to play in the sand than to get in the water.
The kids did some shore fishing before heading out on the boat for more fishing.
Luke and I ate lunch while the big kids were out on the boat fishing. YUM! (I don't think little boys get much cuter than this one! Look at him chillin'!)
Abby was the only one that caught a fish and she was quite proud! But she still wouldn't touch it! No way!!
Luke finally decided that the water was the place to be!
And that it was fun to throw the wet sand...
Best buds!
The kiddos! They had such a great time at the beach!
While at the lake, Ben jumped off of the boat into about 2 feet of water. His foot hurt so bad that he couldn't walk. Jon ended up having to carry him to the van. Once we got home we iced Ben's foot and gave him some meds.
I really wanted to take Ben to the doctor just to make sure everything was ok, but Jon thought everything was fine and that with some time Ben would feel better. In the meantime, Ben couldn't put any weight on his foot and would crawl through the house! I decided that since he was to go back up to Hutch with Luke on Sunday that I would take him to the doctor for some peace of mind. (He would be gone for 10 days!!) The doctor didn't think there was a fracture, but sent us for x-rays just to be safe. For some reason it took two days to get the results of the x-rays! (Don't get me started on Bartlesville medical crap!) The results showed a fracture in Ben's foot. GREAT! Ben's in Hutch and there's really nothing I could do! After several phone calls with the doctor here, phone calls with Luke's mom and speaking to our previous pediatrician's nurse, Ben was able to get put into a protective shoe. (Kind of like a boot, just shorter.) It was totally crazy and chaotic!! Hopefully Ben is on the road to recovery now! I feel like a horrible mother that I sent my son away with a broken foot and that I there was nothing I could do! Mother of the Year, I know!! So...my advice to you: Don't jump out of boats in shallow water! And if you suspect something might be wrong, act on it! Don't wait! There's something to be said for 'mother's intuition'!

I still say it was a great day at the lake!!

A Day At The Pool

There is a new pool here in Bartlesville, but I'm not brave enough to go there yet! I've heard it is insanely busy and they have had to turn people away because they were at maximum capacity! If it's that full, I really don't want to be there! We have heard lots of great things about the pool in Coffeyville, KS so we thought we would give that one a try.

Abby had to give the kiddie slide a try! She really liked the big slide, but I didn't catch a picture of her on that one.
Luke wanted to try the kiddie slide, but wasn't so fond of it... (You might have to click on this picture to make it larger to see the look on his face to see what he really thought of it!)
Me and the little man!
Best buds!!
Little Luke wanted to be with the big boys at all times! They are so sweet with him!
These little fountains were Luke's favorite thing! We spent much time in this area!
The big kids really enjoyed going off the diving board over and over again!
Luke wanted nothing more than to shoot the giant water blaster!
We told Luke we had to leave. How sad is that?!
We REALLY liked the Coffeyville water park! It wasn't crazy busy and no matter where you are you can easily spot your kiddos! No giant play things in the middle of the pool! Definitely worth the drive! We will be there again soon, I'm sure!!