Summer Round-Up

Tid-bits of fun I don't want to dedicate a whole blog post about.  You are thrilled, I'm sure. 

1. Jace is now helping himself to his own breakfast - yogurt covered raisins paired with an ankle cross.  He sure is cute. 

2. We got our firepit 85% done!  We ended up getting some "no dig" landscaping thingys (yes, that is the technical term), put it in a octagon circle, filled it with 24,000 bags of pea gravel and put our furniture out there.  We might need to finish the actual fire pit area, but I'll take what I can get. One day we WILL relax out there by a fire and roast "smarshmallows."

3. The best cake around. Justin had a birthday!  We had our small group over, ordered a massive amount of Chinese food, picked up this delightfulness and devoured it all.  Yes, it may be girly but trust me, every guy who made a comment about the look of the cake was literally eating their words when they tried it.

4. Frozen is still very much alive in our house - there are some days where you just need to be a reindeer.

5. Oklahoma weather doesn't cease to amaze me!  It's hot, it's cold, there are tons of earthquakes and tornadoes.  These two pictures were taken in June in Oklahoma.  Yep, both wearing fleece because they were "soooo cold."

Fire Safety Camp

The same week that we started swim, I also enrolled H in the Edmond Fire Safety Village that our local fire station puts on.  They have built this amazing complex that allows kids to learn the basics of what to do in an emergency! Thankfully we had a few buddies that were enrolled with us so H was PUMPED!!!

Since weren't allowed to stay and watch (and I had a tired little guy to put down for a nap), I really don't know WHAT they did.  When I asked her about it, all I got was "popcorn, movies and juice."  Well worth the $20!  Not prompted, I got a little more out of H of what she learned and that she truly had a blast.

She even got this really cool t-shirt that she can grow into!

We were supposed to go back that Friday of the same week of her two days of classes, but the June Oklahoma weather rained us out.

Today was the day we got to go back so she could show us what she learned for the Safety Challenge.  Can you see her expression as she is looking up at the fireman?  Ha!

They laid down on the mats until they heard the alarm...

got up to run through the bounce house...

ran to put on helmets and bike to the stop sign...

run around the corner to shoot water through the hose at the cones to knock it down...

then used the tool (not toy) to knock the block from one side to the other...

to crawl through the tunnel...

to go help Rescue Randy and pull him to safety. 

I was exhausted trying to keep up with them! Probably because I had this cutie on my hip since he couldn't participate in the challenge.  We found a school bus for him to pose in front of.

but he was more interested in rescuing Randy. 

H completed her challenge and was able to put on firemen's gear! 

Of course, we had to have a few more turns on the bounce house.

One of the firemen was really nice to get out a truck for the kids.  We were on our way out when he told us he was getting the truck so we got a private viewing.  They were pretty excited!!

A Fish and A Mule

I bet you can't figure out which one is the fish and which one is the mule (AKA stubborn!)...

This year we enrolled both kids in the City of Edmond swim lessons.  I was pretty excited since both like to be in the water (bath times are now a breeze) and was pumped to get them in at the same time during lessons.  The tricky part is that J had to be in a "parent taught" class..and well, I knew that could cause some issues.

We were pretty excited to find out our BFF's were there at the same time!!  It made getting to the pool each day that much more exciting for the kiddos.

I put H into P3, which was two levels up from last year, but she really enjoyed it and her instructor said she "improved tremendously".  Awesome.  I just want her to be comfortable and confident when it comes to water...and know how to avoid drowning.

Swimming on her own!

J wanted to just be on his own for every swim lesson.  He didn't want to do what the instructor asked him and he wouldn't ever show her that he CAN blow bubbles, float, etc.  I know he can, because we do it in the bathtub and other pools.  It's just never on command.  J is just a stubborn little guy and it has to be HIS idea...which apparently swim lessons were not.

The hubs came to rescue me  enjoy swim with J one day.  The next day when I was back in the water, the instructor told me that J did so good with his daddy the day before.  Yay and UGH at the same time!!  At least J had ONE good day of swim. ;)

We are going to keep trying with him this summer to get him comfortable with the pool.  He likes to be in the water - it's not a fear for him - he just wants to do it on his own accord.

Summer swim lessons, in the books!

A Quick Trip to Missouri

Taking advantage of the long weekend, we loaded up again and went to see Justin's parents in Missouri.  It was a really fun weekend!  We rolled in to town around 11pm and while my eyes were rolling back in my head, Justin was a trooper and drove the whole way.

We relaxed the next morning and really just had some down time at the house.  We attempted a trip into town for shoe shopping, but came home with none.  Haylie wasn't too happy with that.  She really needed these silver Cinderella high-heeled princess looking shoes.  And Jace probably would have come with the same pair, had I let either one.  He loves trying on shoes!

Later that night, reading with Papa and Daddy

 On Sunday, we went to church and I pulled a cool trick - I locked the keys in the van.  Pretty much the only time I do this is with my in-laws, so they are probably wondering why I haven't had a hidden key made!  I just like to keep them on their toes.  Thankfully we had the rest of church service to go so we could patiently wait on Tiger Tow to get there.

After, we found an airshow!  I was commenting the day before about how there was one here in OKC and was bummed that we missed it.  I knew J would like it so much.  So, little did I know, there was one in Missouri!  It was bright, we didn't bring our sunglasses, and it was kind of hot.  But we enjoyed the kid ride, the parachutes and the jet show at the end.

And someone might not have been able to contain his excitement to stay awake the entire time.  He actually slept the entire bus ride back to the car and then the car ride back to the house!  Hooray for a great nap!

Memorial Day was relaxing as we had just a few hours before we needed to pack up and drive home.  We spent the late morning over at the cousins house where J caught his first fish!  Justin threw out the line but Jace reeled it in!! 

I wish I could say we had a relaxing trip home, but after the first 3.5 hours, Jace had.enough.  Screaming, whining, talking, oh boy!  It was a long end to the day, but needless to say, we survived.  All in all, a great family weekend.

Now, I'm ready to stay home for a little bit! :)

Digging for Crystals

A few weekends ago, my family took a quick trip to Jet, Oklahoma.  This is a State Park in Oklahoma and has a place for you to dig for salt crystals.  I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, but ended up having a really good time!

View from our cabin of the Great Salt Plains Lake

 We took our time getting out to the dig site, which is completely free!  It was a bit chilly, so we did wear layers of clothing, but if you go in the summer, it might be a good idea to bring some type of shade.  We unloaded our shovels, sifters, water and buckets and got to work.  We found lots of crystals that day!

Just a sample of the many we found!

The dig site where lots have left their mark

 J was done in about 20 minutes - or as soon as he realized he was getting dirty.  H on the other hand, loved running around with her cousins, helping dig and then finally jumping into puddles!  We wrapped up in a few hours, left with loads of crystals, and headed back to eat some lunch.

While relaxing at the cabin, J was in the van when he all of a sudden started saying, "uh oh!!" he was pointing to this thing flying around in our van and of course I thought it was a huge, nasty bug and was about to call for Justin.  Turns out, it was a hummingbird!  It got in our van and was trying to find it's way out.  It actually let Justin cup it carefully in his hand and then flew away.  Pretty neat for the kids to see a bird up close.

And a horse up close.  Without the intention of being a wildlife kind of weekend, this kid was riding by on a horse and stopped to let the kids touch!  H was in heaven.

Kids showing off their crystals that they found

Church service in a nature chapel - songs led by Eli.  Yes, Princesses Anna and Elsa were in attendance

More wildlife!  A sweet bird just hanging out on the pavement.  We didn't let J touch, but he was so happy to see him up close!

 I love rural Oklahoma a lot.  I didn't realize it until this trip, but the fields that stretch for miles and run-down cabins have a soft spot in my heart.

On the way home, we decided to stop in Enid to sample Leonardo's.  It is SUPER fun and worth a drive from the city.  It is like Jasmine Moran's children museum on a smaller scale, but one thing they have that Jasmine doesn't is a huge tree house fort that you can get so lost in!  Very neat and the kids had a great time.

If you are looking for a fun weekend getaway, I highly encourage going to Jet to dig for salt crystals!  It's loads of fun.

A Little This, A Little That

Why, hello.  It's been awhile and while I do have some good excuses, I will acknowledge that even if no one out there still reads this, then I guess it's my own fault. Which is okay, because I want it for me and my own memories.

But I do have some good excuses...one is being that I am running a blog.  Yes, I understand the irony in that I can't keep up with my own, but a lot has been on my plate with that.  Instead of the boring details, I just want to leave you with a picture of some of my absolute favorite people that I get to write alongside with.

Katie, Kristi, Jenna, me, Anna & Carrie

I hope you follow along each day as these women bring you ideas, tips, parenting struggles and the like each day.  I love hearing any and all feedback, so hit me with it! :)

I've also inspired my husband to do a few updates around the house.  We found this light on clearance at Lowe's!!  I fell in love with it and I think J is finally coming around.  It brightens up the whole porch and I could not be happier.  Also happening, new granite countertops!!  I'll {try} to post a picture when those come in.  I can not wait.  Next up, backyard overhaul!

I've also been able to watch this beauty just get more gorgeous each and every day.  Sassy doesn't even begin to describe her at some moments of the day, but most of the time she is a sweet, sweet girl.

J and I are also wrapping up teaching the one of the 4 year old classes at church.  Lemmetellya, that is a complicated task!  We have really enjoyed the time we have spent with these kids and getting to know the kids who my daughter will hopefully spend her youth group years with.

Mother's Day also came!  I loved my note from H.

I love that she thinks I'm 54, that I love to go to Wal-Mart (gag) and that my favorite thing to do is clean-up.  But I mostly love that she knows how much I love HER!

Me and my sweet kids at the park on Mother's Day!  Jace is being a ham like usual.

Jace is absolutely adorable.  He is starting to piece sentences together and his personality is really shining through!  He loves to laugh and be silly/ornery.  He really likes to tell you NO!  Which, of course, doesn't get him very far.  He loves H so much and for the most part they get along really well.  Hoping that lasts forever...right???

Sonshine School has ended for the year...forever for H. *tear* I may have teared up during the final pickup...man, I have a pre-K-er now.

Yeah!!  Summer time has begun!!