Birthday Party Time!

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!

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!!

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

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!

Happy 11th Birthday, Abby!!

Abigail Ann
9 pounds 2 ounces
22 inches long

I honestly can't believe that was 11 years ago! How does the time go by so fast?!

We really didn't have big plans for Abby's birthday since it was in the middle of the week. We figured we would celebrate over the weekend when Jon was home from work. The one thing that she did ask for was breakfast in bed.
And that's exactly what she got!

During the day we ended up watching old home movies. It doesn't sound very exciting, but it was so fun to look back and watch the kids grow up before our eyes! I think it was a great way to spend the day!

During the month (yes, the entire month) of her birthday, Abby is obsessed with checking the mail! Hmmm...I have no idea where that comes from... When she went to check the mail on her birthday, she came in the door, held up two packages and said, "Jackpot!" She was so excited to get birthday packages on the actual day of her birthday!
"THANK YOU, GRAMMY!"

"THANK YOU, GRANDMA & GRANDPA!"

"THANK YOU, MOM, DAD, BEN & LUKE!"

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!


Abby is such a joy to our lives! She is an easy going, roll with the punches, low-maintenance, low drama, happy-go-lucky girl! She loves to play softball, hang out with her friends, be crafty, be on the go or just hang out! Such an awesome girl! I love this girl so much!!

Due to Abby's birthday being on a Wednesday (we had small group), we opted to have her special birthday dinner on Friday night. What did she choose? Fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans and rolls. Her favorite!
It was so worth the wait!

Next weekend Abby will be having a little birthday party with a few of her friends. I'm sure it will be great fun!

Abby, I hope you had a great birthday! Dad and I are so thankful for you! You mean the world to us! We love you so much and are so proud of the young lady you are becoming!

Girl Scout Bowling & Birthday

Abby's Girl Scout leader is really good about planning activities during the summer so that the girls have something to do and so that the girls can all get together. This week we went bowling!



Abby got progressively better with each game! I was pretty impressed with her score on the third game!

Since Abby's birthday was the next day, we thought it would be fun to treat this bowling day a little bit like a birthday party. Unfortunately, only three girls from her troop made it. I made Abby's favorite cake (Well, in the cupcake form.) and brought along some ice cream.
She was a little bit embarrassed that we were singing to her in the bowling alley!
(I'm not sure if you can tell in the pictures or not, but there sure weren't very many people in the bowling alley, so she really didn't have anything to feel embarrassed about!)

This is Abby and her great friend, Sam. These girls are, pretty much, inseparable! They are in Girl Scouts together and play on the same softball team.

The girls and their leader, Miss Joy.

Silly girls!

I love Girl Scouts and that Abby is involved! It is still her desire to continue through high school! I hope she makes it!

Potty Training

This is the one thing I dreaded when I found out I was pregnant again! I didn't dread being pregnant or giving birth or even the "terrible two's! I dreaded potty training!

With Ben and Abby I had this notion that they needed to be potty trained before their third birthday. I'm not sure where it came from, but it was pretty good motivation to get it done. I remember sitting the little potty chair in the living room and just letting them sit on it and watch a movie or something. I also remember thinking that it was never going to happen. That we would be working on it forever! I really wasn't looking forward to doing that again!

With Luke, I just couldn't get motivated to get to it. It just seemed easier to change a diaper. I 'm pretty sure that the fact that our lives are so much busier now plays a part too. You have to be committed to being at home and be devoted to the process! With a 13 year old and an almost 11 year old, we tend to have a lot going on! Luke also hadn't made it to the place where he was waking up in the morning or from naps with a dry diaper. He was, actually, waking up so wet that his jammies were wet! I just figured it would be a nightmare to get started.

Well, Saturday afternoon, Luke and I were waiting in the van for Jon while he ran into the store, and Luke says, "I gotta go poopy!" WHAT?! We had talked about it a little bit, but not in the last day or two! I have NO idea what possessed him to tell me that he needed to go potty! I told him to wait (yeah, right, I know!) and he could go on the potty when we got home. Believe it or not, he waited! I put him on the potty when we got home and, of course, he didn't go. I put a diaper on him and we went outside to play. I figured we would just continue the diaper thing. A few minutes later I saw "the look" on his face... All I could say was, "WAIT!" I carried Luke into the house and sat him on the potty. Low and behold he finished his business ON THE POTTY!! I was so proud of him! I felt like if he could do a "number two" on the potty before ever doing a "number one" we might be able to get started on this whole potty training thing.

After a little while of playing outside, I told Luke we needed to come in and try to go potty. He really wasn't thrilled about coming in from outside or about sitting on the potty.
I sweetened the deal by telling him that he could watch a movie on Daddy's iPad! Whatever it takes, right?! He sat there for a little while and actually went pee pee on the potty!! YAY!! He was SO excited and so was I!! Jon and I knew that we couldn't go back now and decided that our weekend was now going to be dedicated to potty training. Later that day, Luke actually told us that he had to go potty! WOW!!
Bribes....I mean, treats are great helpers too!

We put a diaper on Luke for bedtime and, of course, he woke up wet. I fully expected that! We got up and made him sit on the potty, against his wishes, and he went! I was really getting excited about this! He did have a little accident in the morning, but I really think he just didn't have such things on his mind. We went to church (in a diaper) and he took a nap and both times he came up dry! Crazy exciting!

From that time on, my little guy has been wearing big boy undies and has been waking up dry! I feel so blessed to have had such an easy experience! I think there is a lot to be said for waiting until Luke was a bit older. He must have really been ready! To think that it only took ONE day to potty train my baby just blows my mind! Thank you, Lord!

I am glad to be through this phase of babyhood, but at the same time, it makes me sad. Luke really isn't a baby anymore! He's growing up!

WAY TO GO, LUKE!
Daddy and I are SO proud of you!!

God: The Ultimate Artist

When I see the sun's rays coming out of the sky, it makes me think about when Jesus is coming back! What a day that will be! This sky was just gorgeous! (The pictures never do justice!)
GOD IS SO AMAZING!!
Thank you so much for displaying such beauty!

Wet & Wild Summer Fun!

It has been SO hot here! I know, it's been hot everywhere! I was really excited to get a little pool for Luke so that he could cool off and play in the water. You will soon see that Luke isn't the only one who benefited from the pool!








Ben took advantage of the nice, cooler temperature in the shade to do some reading! (He's definitely my child!)

Our garden is doing really well! Jon is turning into quite the gardener! The garden is really his baby!

Now for a little Slip 'N Slide action!





I love that Jon got in on the action! He's just a big kid!

We really need a big pool!

We all had a great time playing outside! I love these happy, family days of summer!