Remember the baby?

The one I had five years ago today? The one who use to sit in high chairs and eat vegetables?



Well, today she is five. 5. Cinco. Half-way to 10!!??!!



She likes cupcakes more than veggies...especially her birthday cupcakes!



Do you think she likes her present? I couldn't really tell since she didn't smile.



We spent the afternoon at the mall with her friend. I let the girls bring their build-a-bear "babies" in their strollers. We shopped for them, had lunch, had ice cream sundaes, visited the candy store, rode the carousel, and skinned a lot of innocent heals and ankles. And boy, did we have fun!

Father's Day

We had a great Father's Day hanging out by the pool at our friends house after church. DJ loved his gifts and the girls loved giving them. It was just fun to spend time together. On Saturday, I had gone to visit my own dad. That's him pictured above with his newly re-done classic Impala. He loves that car! In the background is the chicken farm that he recently sold and moved from. He did not love that farm, so being done with that was definitely a good thing!

We found out a couple days before Father's Day, that his cancer has returned. What we thought were repercussions from his recent heart attack and pneumonia were actually signs of the cancer in his lungs. What a crapper, ya know? I wanted to feel sorry for myself and cry about the news that had come so close to the day we celebrate fathers. I wanted to dwell on the evil irony of it all. But I didn't. We visited like nothing was wrong with him. We talked light heartedly about the garage he's having built (for the car!) and the other projects around his new house. I thought of DJ, who lost his own dad to cancer when he was just 12. I decided to focus on the fact that I do still have my dad. His name is Verlin and he's the greatest. I am believing for a miracle. Cancer is certainly not bigger than God! Thank you for agreeing with me and lifting him up in prayer as he begins this battle.

Slip-n-Slide

Bless her heart, she saved her own money and bought a slip and slide and didn't even get to use it for five days! Can you imagine? Anyway, when the blessed event finally happened she was so excited and took off running and did this...




But it was at least further than little sister. This was as far as she managed to go.



so she tried again...



and again...



and again...



And even though I was too tired to keep taking pictures, she did eventually make it to the end of the slip-n-slide. After some intense coaching from Dad, that is.

Ya know who I miss?

Teachers. Those wonderful people who care for and teach your children when you're not around. And don't just think I miss them because I have had two weeks of non-stop kid activities with nary a moment for myself.



Don't think I miss them just because I have answered 4 million random questions in those two weeks.



Don't think I miss them because I have yet to use the restroom without someone knocking on my door to tell me something that couldn't wait two minutes



or because even though we have gone to the water park, basketball camp, the library several times, grandma's house, taco bueno, the park, and two different friend's houses they've said they are bored.



No. I miss them because...well, because...I'll get back with you on that.

Jordan River or YMCA

As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Matthew 3:16-17"

DJ and Big Sister were baptized last weekend! The indoor YMCA pool was lined with people around the edges, cheering and clapping - it was so cool! When it was her turn, instead of wading out to the pastor, she took off swimming underwater...as her head came up out of the water, he said "hey, that's my job!" It was so funny.

Field Day

Do you remember Field Days? A great rite of passage into summertime for elementary aged kids. Or a muddy mess of laundry for a parent - it depends on the weather.



Big Sister got a little sunshine toward the end of the day. Perfect to harden and dry the mud splatters that a cloudy morning following two days of rain will create. There were relay races, team competitions and classmates to spend one last grand day with!



Little sister got the indoor gym version - but it was okay because there was an inflatable slide, face painting, snow cones and friends!

Pomp & Circumstance

Does this photo not capture everything that is wonderful about a pre-school graduation? It's like they hired child actors to portray a pre-school class at graduation and they got it totally spot-on! My little graduate got the Character Trait award for "Love & Friendship". Here's what the teachers wrote about her.

She is a well-rounded student who gets along well with everyone. She is kind and caring and will readily put her arm around someone having a difficult time or hold their hand to make them feel better. She is respectful and well-mannered. Her favorite learning center is the art area, but she also enjoys the dramatic play area. She wants to be a teacher when she grows up "because you get to teach and it's fun".

Let's just say, this mama is so proud!

Ice Cream Man = Summer

Our neighborhood is fairly small and there has only been ONE ice cream man roll through here ONE time since we've moved in! It was such an event that we all vividly remember the day.
...and then it happened again today!

We may have one more week of school left, but Summer just officially started!

Things I Saw Today

A real life tarantula in my driveway. Now, we shall never speak of this again because if I think too much about it I may have to move. Or throw up or something.

A black snake in the road (all flipping and flopping around on the way to school this afternoon.) What is this?!?! A Mutual of Omaha nature special or something?!

This box turtle. They look harmless but my nephew says they bite.


My Navy enlisted nephew who is home on leave from Seattle (he caught the turtle after my dog gave it good "barking")


His cute little wife


I like my nephew and his wife...
not the others.

Happy Mother's Day

I had every intention of letting my girls do the official Mother's Day post...I thought it would be so sweet. But then they went upstairs and started an all-day long play-a-thon, which equalled an all afternoon nap-a-thon for me so I did not dare interrupt them.

I know that's lame. Seriously, I know.

But we had an awesome Mother's Day Church Service and then a huge and delicious Mother's Day Brunch - so the Mother's Day Nap was a perfect addition to a perfect day.

Happy Mother's Day! Here's us with my mom at brunch this morning...

First, I have to ask don't you hate when the whole group doesn't play along with the "crazy face picture" and it just ends up being you and your mini-me looking ridiculous?

And here is my Mother-in-Law at dinner earlier this week celebrating her birthday...

For the record, my girls have the best grandmas on the planet!

Teachers

This is teacher appreciation week. I sit here tired to the bone from the whirlwind of gifts I purchased or produced all week long. My little one has three teachers (that's how they roll in pre-k). Each day this week had a theme and we were encouraged to bring a little something on each one. My big girl only has one teacher, but this teacher's birthday also happened to fall this week. I tried to have each gift mean something, come from the heart, be creative and economical. It was quite a challenge. But then I started thinking. Isn't that what these precious teachers do every day? They have to make each day mean something, give from their hearts, be creative and keep within a modest budget. I did it for a week, for four teachers. They do it five days a week, nine months a year and for many, many children. My kid's teachers are quick to write thank you notes and I know immediately the impact my gift had. Teachers sometimes wait for years to find out the impact their gifts had. Sometimes they never know.

My third grade teacher was Mary Ellen Imbo and I loved her with all my heart. She had a cool New York accent and one day she had authentic New York pizza delivered to our class! I learned the importance of MYOB (mind your own business) before acronyms were hip. I'll never forget the story she told us to impress how important speaking positively is (and it was a baseball analogy, of all things!?). She had the cutest Olive Green Sassoon skirt with pockets that she wore a lot and on 'meet the parents night' she looked beautiful in this fancy off-white suit. She was so caring to me when I cried in class the morning I couldn't find my dog.

Someone once said, "A teacher affects eternity, they can never tell where their influence stops". I believe that.

Rocket Race and Air Show

DJ took the girls to an actual Rocket Race - like, the kind with 15-20ft flames shooting out the back! He said it was a little disappointing because they only had two minutes of power in each rocket. But still, they were real rockets! I think the girls would enjoy watching grass grow if it meant going with Daddy. They also knew there'd be concessions stands with kettle corn.




See the rocket? And the flames? Flames are so cool.

They saw Stealth Bombers, WWII fighter planes, wing walkers and even this guy...

Danny Cahill from Biggest Loser! Ya know, last season's winner? It was so funny when Aubry announced that she saw the biggest loser...I thought she was being rude, I wasn't thinking NBC's Biggest Loser.

And what do you think the highlight of the entire day was?
The kettle corn...see?

oh deer.

Advice To Wives of Hunters:

If after years of refusing to cooperate, you finally allow your man to hang a deer head above your mantle...

don't accessorize it.

It makes them mad. (The man I mean, not the deer...I think the deer rather liked it.)

Washing Dishes

Whenever I hand wash dishes, it always makes me feel like my Grandma. She had a dishwasher, but never used it. I never even realized it was there because I never saw it open. Somehow, the way I stand when I'm at the sink, makes me feel like her. Recently, our dishwasher died. I thought it was no big deal to be without one. It's not like the panic I would have if it had been the clothes washer. I knew we'd replace it eventually, but I was all set to be without one for a while. Caroline Ingalls hand washed all her dishes and she didn't even have running water. At least the chore didn't begin with me going to a creek, right?

And then something wonderful happened on Saturday.

My brother-in-law showed up at my house with a brand spankin' new one!!! He wheeled it in and INSTALLED IT immediately. It hums like the purr of a baby kitten. It doesn't show fingerprints. The flatware goes in the door, not the bottom rack, so there's TONS of room. I still have to hand wash a few pieces each evening, and I still enjoy feeling like my sweet Grandma. BUT I LOVE HAVING A DISHWASHER AND I'M NOT ASHAMED TO SCREAM IT TO THE WORLD!!!! I think Caroline would have done it that way too, if her brother-in-law had given her the option.

God bless brother-in-laws!

The Oklahoma Landrun

The Oklahoma land run started at high noon on April 22, 1889. An estimated 50,000 people lined up for their piece of the available two million acres. The Lincoln Christian School second graders reenacted it at high noon today. It was a very realistic reenactment. Well, maybe realistic isn't the word I should use. The brightly colored towels and blankets they picnicked on might have been a little different. The McDonald's Happy meals and Taco Bueno Burritos they ate and popsicles they celebrated with at the end might have been a little different too. I'm not sure the settlers parents came to watch from lawn chairs in the nearby shade. Three legged or potato sack races may not have been involved either. Now that I think of it, it was nothing like the real one...but we encouraged Native American involvement and had a lot more fun!

Philbrook Museum

We spent a lovely day at Philbrook Museum. They had great art projects for the kids and a volunteer said grown-ups could make stuff too. She overheard us talking about how fun it looked to make puppets from paper bags! I had heard about a weird face I make when I'm concentrating on things. Now I have proof. What in the world am I doing with my mouth? If I'm not a poster child for Botox, then I've never seen one.

Here are the cute puppets the girls made! For the record they did not inherit my facial distortion disorder (FDD).




This museum use to be a home - can you imagine drinking coffee in the morning looking out at this garden. That's dj and I frolicking in front of the gazebo - like two young love birds! (just kidding! They just happened to be there.)





I wish I could quote lines from Gone With the Wind...wouldn't that fit great here. The only one I know starts with "frankly..." and it really doesn't fit in with this.

Starting Point

Three things occurred to me today. Actually, I've always known these things, but today they came together in a way that made me decide to blog.

1-I love reading blogs
2-I have cute kids
3-I have out-of-state family
Duh. Doesn't that clearly equal I need to blog!! Not to mention the fact that I like to make lists (see above) and blogs allow for a lot of that.
So there you have it. I hope you enjoy!

Here's the quick rundown to catch you up to speed.


Big sister is exactly that. She has made it her personal mission to keep the world in order. Making sure everyone follows the rules, stays in the lines and minds their manners. Her last report card consisted of straight A+'s (not just A's) and I haven't even helped her study for months. It's all her. She is well spoken and beautiful, inside and out.



Little sister is the lover of all puppies and babies and anything cute and cuddly. She's pretty cute and cuddly herself. She will go upstairs and play for hours on end...just her and her babies or stuffed animals. She is very excited about starting kindergarten next year and finally being at school with Sissy. Her lip gloss is always on thick and her accessories are many!


Ruby is our canine daughter, and newest member of the family. Frankly, she was my rebound puppy after we had to say good-bye to our sweet Heidi Girl in November. Dj says she's still in her "puppy stage" - I say she's crazy! (If you suddenly notice an absence of pictures or mentions of her, do me a favor and don't bring it up in front of the girls, my jury's still out on this one.)

This would normally be where I type a smiley face, but I have vowed to myself to leave them off this blog. I have issues with over-using them and I'm trying to work through it. See. These blogs are therapeutic.