Meramec Springs

After we picked berries, we headed to Meramec Springs for the afternoon. This is one of my favorite places to visit when we go to Missouri. I just think it is so pretty and peaceful. The girls always enjoy it as well. Kevin and the girls feeding the fish.

Mom and the girls, Londyn starting to look a little tired.

Skylar a little shocked by the ice cold spring water.

Mom and Londyn getting their feet wet

Just a swingin'.

Berry Pickin'

One of our Missouri mornings was spent blueberry pickin' . Londyn LOVES blueberries, and would have stayed all day to pick. Skylar liked it, but saw a few bugs, got a little hot, and was ready to go pretty quickly. She wanted to fill her bucket, she just wanted someone else to do it for her. One time she even switched buckets with my mom so she could have the one that was more full, the sneaky little thing. It was a fun experience for all of us, and best of all, we got to leave with lots of blueberries to snack on for the rest of the summer.

"Dye"-ing to Create

Skylar is always begging me to let her do a "craft". My response is generally something along the lines of maybe tomorrow, next week, next year, when your Grammy Tammy comes, etc. It's not that I don't enjoy that sort of thing, it's just that it requires a lot of planning, purchasing, etc. Not to mention, a nap sounds so much more satisfying most of the time. (yes, if you're wondering, I am a little on the lazy side, especially currently.)We've been spending some time at my parent's house lately, and my mom always likes coming up with fun activities for the girls to do. So, the activity for today was tye-dyeing. They had a blast! We started out with t-shirts, but they had so much fun, we didn't stop there. My mom cut up some old sheets and a blanket and let them make scarves as well. Skylar has actually decided to open up her own store of tye-dyed goods. If you're in the market for some groovy t-shirts are scarves, I know a five year old girl that can hook you up:). Skylar getting started with the dye. She refused to band her shirt the way I suggested and insisted on creating her own design. I must say, it turned out really cute.

Londyn proud of her red and yellow, getting ready to wring it out and see her design.

Londyn's finished product. Not too bad if I may say so.

Skylar's colorful striped design that she created all on her own.

The girls modeling their new t-shirts!

The Lil' Firecracker

We helped Anastyn celebrate her 1st Birthday this weekend. The girls had a great time "babysitting" and helping her at her party. She had a 4th of July party with lots of friends and family. She is quite the firecracker, and little miss independent. She is walking around everywhere, and does not want help. She is definitely growing into her own personality. Happy 1st Birthday Anastyn, we love you!

Happy 4th of July!

Cardinals vs. Giants

Last night, my brother, sister, their spouses and Kevin and I got to enjoy a Cardinals game. My grandma bought us all tickets for our anniversaries this year. We had a great time, and it's quite a rarety that we actaully all get to do something fun together. I was a little upset that I wasn't decked out in Cardinals gear, but it just wasn't going to happen this year.

5th and Final

Yes, this is my 5th, but I promise the final post for tonight. I just thought it was cute this afternoon watching the girls work away in my mom's kitchen. There are many reasons they love coming to my parent's house to visit, but I think the things they love the most are the simple things that their mother won't let them do very often at home. They got to spray down and mop the kitchen floor and chop up fruits and vegetables, and they were having the time of their lives. They created a delightful fruit salad as well as a vegetable medley to serve following dinner. I'm so glad they have someone in their lives patient enough to let them "help" out in the kitchen whenever they want.

Don't worry, those are butter knives their using. We don't let them loose with the real thing of course!

Don't forget to scroll down and check out the other 4 posts from this evening, I'm sure it's information you can't live without!

"Annie" at the Muny

All the girls in the family ventured to Forest Park in St. Louis to see Annie at the Muny which is an outdoor theatre. We couldn't have asked for better weather, and I was highly impressed with the show. What a great night out, and the girls LOVED seeing one of their favorite musicals on stage. Thanks mom for the tickets, what a wonderful way to spend the evening together. We had so much fun!

The clan, minus me. Londyn did pretty well, but was pretty worn out by the end of the show.

A Little Surprise

So the girls woke up to a little, maybe a big, surprise when they got to my parents house. Someone was giving away a horse, so my Dad and brother decided to take it. Before they were out of their pajamas or had shoes on, they were out riding the horse around the yard. Londyn loved it and didn't want to get off, but Skylar was quite hesitant. However, after their first ride, they couldn't get enough!

27 Weeks...

Which means I have ......
3 months or 13 weeks or 90 days left. Any way you look at it, that's way too long. On a positive note, I did purchase my first baby boy items on the shopping trip which consisted of three zip up sleepers and two little sweatsuits. You'll also be happy to know that I have purchased a crib, dresser, and some bedding. Things are moving right along, and I can't wait for this little guy to get here. Hopefully the next few months will be busy enough that they will fly by and he will be here before I know it.
Excuse the random picture with my head cut off. There's a reason for that you know:)

Long Time No Blog

So, it's been a while since I've blogged. I don't know that I have a lot of blogworthy material, but I'm going to give you an update anyway. Following the girls' library festivities, we spent last Thursday at the pool with friends. The girls had a great time splashing around with their friends! With the heat last week, that was definitely the best place to be. Friday, I headed to Dallas with some friends for my semi-annual shopping trip. Therefore, the girls got to spend the weekend with their Daddy. I have no pictures of course, but they spent Saturday at the zoo and the rest of the time slip-n-sliding in the backyard. I missed them while I was gone, but felt very rejuvenated and found lots of good stuff. We are now in Missouri for a week or so hanging out with my family and will be celebrating Anastyn's birthday and the Fourth of July holiday here. We're looking forward to a great week!

Bookworms

Today was the day, the girls finished the summer reading program and were awarded their prizes for reading 20 books and making 4 visits to the library! You would have thought they won the lottery. I swear these girls will do anything for a prize. We attempted this program last year, but were gone so much, and I'm slightly lazy when it comes to this sort of thing, so we never finished. For being a teacher, I'm pretty pathetic at encouraging the library. We have TONS of books at home because I started buying books in college for my classroom. Therefore, the thought of going to check out books and having to keep up with them for a week or two didn't appeal to me. (How lazy is that?) Anyway, I'm trying to be better, so we actually made regular visits to the library this year, returning all borrowed books, filling out the appropriate forms and officially completing the summer reading program! Who wouldn't be elated by a blow up crayon (which Skylar blew up herself) , medal and coupon book?

Free Entertainment

If you haven't noticed, we enjoy taking advantage of the cheap and free things to do in the area. I'm so glad we live in a community that offers such a variety of affordable things for us to do as a family. Last night we went the Broken Arrow Music on the Park. They have this every Tuesday in June, but this was the first time we made it there this year. We made the usual QT stop for snacks and drinks and then headed to the park to savor the evening.

The best part of the night was that we actually won a $30 gift certificate to Santa Fe Cattle Co. How lucky is that? Not only was the entertainment free, but we actually walked away with something!

Twister and Josh's Sno Shack

What better after dinner entertainment than a game of Twister and a Sno Cone Outing.

I've been craving a really good sno cone for a while now, but didn't know where to get one. We have been in Tulsa for 6 years now, and last night was the first time I've ever been to Josh's Sno Shack which provided me with the perfect shaved ice type sno cone. Why didn't anyone ever tell me?

Summer's 5th Night

Last night we joined our friends Faith, Adam and Gavin to enjoy a picnic and the Summer Concert Series at Utica Square. We had a great time hanging out visiting and watching Gavin bust a move. The girls were a little too shy to show off their moves ( I hope they stay that way), but still enjoyed their time outside.

There is something fascinating about running around a pole. This picture reminds me of when we were little and used to eat at this little place in our small town (The Tastee Treat if you are a reader from Belle). They had poles that we would swing around forever while we were waiting for our food.

Apparently Skylar also decided to take up pole climbing, and was quite proud of herself.