Mud Pie

Who needs swimming pools, waterparks, and Disneyland? We finally got a fence in our backyard. We literally have NOTHING else. No toys, no swingset, not even a ball currently, nothing. While I was packing up for our trip, I sent the kids outside to play for a while. They played for hours with the water spicket, and a flower pot full of mud. Seriously, hours. In a 2 square feet area, stirring potting soil in a flower pot. Whatever floats your boat.... Lincoln got to spend the whole afternoon in the nude which he fully enjoyed.

The girls have come full circle when it comes to picture taking. I was trying to take pictures of Lincoln, and they wanted in. Always with the ridiculous posing.

JFK

About spring break time this last school year, Skylar's teacher read a book to the class about John F. Kennedy. Apparently Skylar was quite intriqued by his assassination, and has not received adequate answers to her questions. I'm sure she was driving her teacher crazy as the rest of the class had quickly moved on to another subject. Her teacher checked out every JFK book from the school library, but most books written for children, even the chapter books didn't really go into much depth about the assassination. (I can't imagine why) Anyway, I thought her slight obsession would settle. I think I was wrong. When we got back from Washington, I asked her what she thought I brought for her, and she quickly replied " A book about John F. Kennedy!" I was shocked that she really remembered, but that was exactly what I brought her. However, after reading the book I brought, she promptly replied "That book didn't tell me anything I didn't already know. I know about Oswald and Ruby! I need to know what REALLY happened and why it happened!" Well, good luck with that one. She WAS impressed that I saw his grave and the burning flame next to it that she knew more about than I did. I don't know what I'm going to do with this girl. She is such a nerd, and I mean that in the most loving, motherly way possible! It was nice though that she was so interested in everything I had to tell her about my trip. When we returned, we sat for a few hours at my parents house, looking at all the books I brought back about Washington and all the sites there. I kept asking if she wanted to do something else, but she said no, she wanted to learn about all of the places. It worked out well for both of us. No one else in their right mind would want to sit and listen to me ramble on about my trip and my excitement about getting to see all the things I'd only read about. Londyn, bless her heart tried so hard to be interested. I think she is the only child that may have missed us even a little, so she wanted to sit by me and try to listen, but you could tell the poor girl was bored out of her mind, and I couldn't blame her a bit.

Washington DC

Up until last week, our summer has been a bit ho-hum. Not at all in a bad way, but we were pretty much doing the typical summer things like swimming, playing outside, reading, etc. We are slightly limited on the number of things we can do because Lincoln, although precious, requires a little more rest time throughout the day. I still think we were all enjoying our time of just hanging out doing what we want when we wanted. However, last week was our first of many mini vacations we'll be taking throughout the summer. We hadn't planned any big vacations this summer since I quit my job, but Kevin had a few travel dates planned for work, so things worked out that we could turn a couple of those trips into little getaways without spending a fortune. So, our first was a trip to Washington D.C. Kevin had a training there last week, and we had previously won a free airline ticket, so I used that and we went the weekend ahead to enjoy the city. Washington has always been a place I've wanted to visit for obvious reasons, so I was thrilled to get to go. The kids stayed with my family in Missouri, and couldn't have been happier to be left there for week without us. I'm sure I've said it a million times, but I LOVE taking trips just Kevin and I. It's so nice to just be able to spend time together and not be distracted by all of the daily duties at home. We had a great time taking in all the sites, and just being together. The only down side of just the two of us going is that there are very few pictures with us in them. I hate asking people to stop and take a photo of us, so I ended up with lots of pictures of just the stuff. I may as well have copied them from the internet. It was a bit overwhelming with so many things to do, but I would definitely say we made the most of our time. We are, however, planning a trip back in about three years with the kids so they can see everything as they are learning it in school. I may try to post more pics in the coming days, but we are home only long enough to do laundry and then we are headed to San Antonio with the kids. (another work training for Kevin that we are all taking advantage of) Shortly after that, we will be headed to spend a few days in Missouri. It will be a busy, but fun July!

Lincoln-20 months

It is becoming almost comical to believe that I may begin to update regularly. I must be kidding myself. I contemplated quitting, but when I start looking back at posts from the last few years, I'm so glad I have used this as a way to keep track of things we are doing and documenting things about the kids. I don't have baby books for any of them, so this is the closest thing I have to remind of their milestones and their little antics that never cease to make me smile. Speaking of making me smile....
I haven't made monthly posts about Lincoln since he officially turned a year old, but he is growing up so much and doing so many new things, I thought he deserved a little blog time. First of all, he's the cutest little boy in the world! I may be biased, but really, don't you think so? I LOVE his current age as he is beginning to develop a true personality, and able to communicate beyond cries and grunts. He rarely ever cries, and is a lot of fun to be around. He can repeat pretty much anything that you say, and can express himself quite well. I can understand most of what he says in context to what we are doing. He still adores his sisters, and the feeling is mutual. They play together for hours when we are at home, which makes me a very happy mother. He likes to help out around the house, and wear everyone's shoes. He likes to "go" and likes clothes and shoes, which makes getting him dressed for the day a smooth process. He likes to make people laugh, and is full of hugs and kisses for everyone. He is also a big fan of babies. (as if he's not one) But, he is so sweet and gentle with them. Well, I could go on and on, but I think you get the idea, and don't need to hear any more motherly doting. I'm looking forward to the rest of the summer, and then getting to spend even more time with him when the girls head back to school.

Discoveryland

I really had good intentions of updating more regularly, but time seems to get away from me, and I end up failing to do so. And, we really haven't been doing too many exciting things. We've enjoyed the time off, but we've pretty much just been hanging out at the house, an occasional trip to the pool, etc. It's been nice to take it easy. Kevin's parents did come for a visit the first week of summer vacation. We all enjoyed having them here in Oklahoma. One of our evenings out was a trip to Discoveryland. I had heard about it before, but we had never been before. I highly recommend it. It was a great night out! If you don't know, it's a performance of the musical Oklahoma at an outdoor theatre. There is a BBQ dinner served prior to the show, free pony rides for the kids, and delicious ice cream for purchase during the show. All of the kids enjoyed it. Even Lincoln did great, and we didn't leave until around 11:00PM. He loved the live horses in the performance and was always eagerly anticipating their next appearance. Mike and Raynette (Kevin's parents) and the kids.

The kids...I had asked the girls to crouch down so they could be closer to Lincoln, but he always does what they do, so the end result is this awkwardly cute pose of them all scrunching down.

Pony rides

Lincoln saying "I wanna ride, I wanna ride" He however wouldn't get on when I tried. He must have just liked the idea of riding. He is deserving of his own blog post soon about all the new and adorable things he is doing. I am really trying to take advantage the time I have with him at his age now, as it is so fun to see him learn and experience so many new things every day. You can just see him take everything in.

Having ice cream with Grandmommy and Grandaddy waiting for the show to start.

My not so little girls hanging out before the show.

Thanks Mike and Raynette for taking us to our first visit to Discoveryland! We had a great time!

End of School

Well, school has been out for about a week now, and summer is in full swing which makes me very happy! School, of course, ended with awards, assemblies and performances. I missed a few things, but did manage to sneak in as they got some of their awards. I'm so proud of both of them! Skylar heading back to class to perform their poems.

Londyn receiving her award, and looking to see if I got her picture:)

Both girls posing with the principal after receiving their limited edition Arrowhead Rocks tshirt for meeting and exceeding their reading goals for the year!

So, another year gone, and next year a lot of change will be taking place. The girls will be going to a new school, and I will be staying home! I think it will be a good change for all of us, but it is sure to be an adjustment. Both girls seemed to be ok with the transition, but when they got in the car after school last Friday, Londyn started bawling hysterically! I totally didn't expect that, but I think it's out of her system now and she's ready for a new beginning!

1st Grade Luau

Skylar gets pretty excited about anything that has to do with school, but she has been talking about this Luau for weeks. They've been studying the ocean, and worked hard over the last week or so to make homeade grass skirts and leis. They enjoyed a smorgasboard of fruit, cheese, crackers, and other luau style snack foods. I only had time to sneak out of my classroom for a minute to snap a couple of pictures, but they all looked like they were having a super time!

Gymnastics Awards

The girls had their gymnastics show and awards last night just before the storm scare. They both love gymnastics and are trying to decide if they want to continue next year! They're always more excited to think about practicing when they've received their medals and awards.

Cousins

Despite recital day being rather busy, the kids found a little time in the morning to play together. They absolutely love being together, and could entertain the adults for hours with their playful antics.

What's a lone boy to do among all the girl cousins? Be the daddy, of course! That's the story we're going with anyway!

Grandma Del brought her new dog, Cotton, and the girls couldn't get enough of him.

Sweet little Natalie taking in all the action around her.

Lincoln is a real lover. He LOVES babies, and all the girls. He's quite the ladies man.

My girls and Anastyn eager to take photos in our pajamas. It's a fight to get them to be in pictures when we're all dressed up, but when we're in our pj's and I'm not wearing make-up, they're all about a photo shoot! Go figure:)

Recital 2011

The girls had their dance recital last weekend, and it was so much fun to get to dress them up in their costumes and watch them perform. Their ballet dance was to Owl City's song "Fireflies", and their jazz dance was to "Stayin' Alive" which was definitely their favorite.

Londyn Skylar and her very proud toothless grin!

Thank you to Grammy Tammy, Grandma Del, Nathan, Erin, Anastyn and Natalie for making the trip to come watch what will probably be our last recital!

I'm Back!

So, it's been a while. There are a plethora of reasons for the blogging hiatus, but as school is about to come to an end, I am anxious to get back into the blogging groove for the two of you that check the blog for updates! A lot has happened in the last couple of months, and I'm not even going to begin trying to play catch up right now, but I'm going to leave you with a couple of recent random pics of my three favorite kids. This is a picture of the kids playing in the safe room waiting for a tornado. I swear, this is their favorite time of year! I've never seen anyone so excited about storms coming.

Enjoying a popsicle on a sunny Saturday after playing in the sprinklers. A summer tease....hopefully many swimsuit wearing, patio sitting, popsicle eating days to come!

Over the last couple of months that I've neglected to blog, the girls had a fantastic time in Missouri for Spring Break, we've participated in the Tulsa Heart Walk, sought shelter from crazy OK storms, enjoyed a mother/daughter sleepover, spent sunny days at the park, dyed eggs, baked Easter cookies, had a visit from the Easter Bunny, celebrated the Royal Wedding, helped my mom celebrate her birthday, had a great Mother's Day, finished the soccer season, and I managed to get away for a work trip to Florida. It's been the usual whirlwind of life, and I'm looking forward to a refreshing summer break! We do have the girls' dance recital this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some good pictures to post, and all of my technological devices will be working properly.

Lincoln as an Only

As I said in the previous post, Lincoln got to experience a few days of being an only child. I really thought he would miss his sisters. I'm sure he did, but he also thoroughly enjoyed the attention he received. I was shocked that I hadn't realized how much of my attention was diverted to the girls even when I thought I was giving him my attention. We had a great time hanging out. He insisted on sitting in his chair to eat and insisted on an extended dinner time each evening. He became very fond of syrup...on everything.

But really, is he te cutest thing ever, or what?

Spring Break

Well, yet again, I'm severely behind on this blog. I'm not sure if it's a lack of time, energy, material, or motvation, or maybe all of the above. Oh, and I've had some computer and camera card issues. Nonetheless, for the two people that consistently check this blog hoping for an updated picture of their grandchildren, I am attempting to make a few updates. Spring Break flew by, but we managed to enjoy it. The girls went to my parent's house for the week, Lincoln stayed here with us. He went to school part of the time while I attempted to catch up on a few things around the house and Kevin and I managed to squeeze in a few lunch dates which is always pleasant. For the conclusion of spring break, we headed to MO to pick up the girls and spent a little time with family. The below picture is rather random, but it was of the kids waiting for my mom and grandma to arrive at the designated meeting place. The girls had a soccer game that morning and didn't have time to change, and Lincoln was antsy from the ride. They were eager to get to Grammy Tammy's, and Lincoln had no idea what was to come. I thought he would be lonely, but I think he enjoyed his week alone!

Skylar in Teacher Mode

It's Been A While

So, I'll play a little catch up. The last few weeks have completely kicked my butt. Getting back into the swing of things after two blissful weeks off has been a challenge. But I think we are almost back to normal, whatever that is! I've just posted a few pics of our recent in order and they start at the bottom and go up. Last Saturday the girls both had their first soccer game. I'd love to say it was fun, but it as 30 degrees outside, and I was alone because Kevin was sick. I don't have many pictures to post because I was trying to keep myself cuddled up in my blanket to stay warm. The girls both had a great time, and didn't seem to be bothered at all by the ice cold temperatures.

We went to Missouri for a quick trip a couple of weekends ago to celebrate my nephew Malachi's birthday. I can't believe he is already one! So cute, and he had a fabulous Mickey Mouse birthday party!

While in Missouri, Grammy Tammy was kind enough to let the girls deck her out in make-up, new hairstyles and nail polish. What a good sport.

They also did a little finger painting. Lincoln tried it too, but he wasn't fond of getting his hands dirty.

Lincoln got a new backpack, which he loves, and new shoes. It was like he instantly grew out of all his shoes. He went from several pair to wear to churh and school to none! He is growing like a week, but cuter than ever. I'm totally loving every minute of this stage. He has developed quite the personality, and loves to make everyone around him smile.