This past weekend was spent sprucing up the yard. A dead tree fell down in the front yard during last weeks stormy weather and missed his truck barely. Once he got out the chainsaw, he took care of the other ugly trees. The front of the house looks so much cleaner now. I even got a chance to try out the pole chainsaw. Ah- what shoulder pain that was! I think he will need to soak in a tub of Theragesic after all the trees he chopped down and trimmed. Since it was such a pretty weekend, we also got to burn. YES! Those ugly piles are gone. Thanks for torturing your body so our yard will look better Brady. Next time we will have to look into seeing how much one charges to come in and do it.

 

I don't care to pick up another leaf pile for a long time or load up debris in the trailer but it is inevitable. Our next project is to finish clearing up the ivy and make a secret garden spot. I am excited about this. It will take a long time to see it happen but it is fun to envision it already!

I am also the proud new owner of my first large power tool. Brady spotted a battery charged weed-eater at Lowe's on clearance that was light. It so happened to take the same sized batteries he has for his drill. I think this might be yet another trick as now I can't complain that stuff needs to be trimmed. I can totally do it myself and it is pretty easy. It is an art though and since I have never used one before now. I tried it out for a bit and it gets kind of addicting.

 Here is a short video of one of the medium sized trees he chopped down!

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My seeds got planted a little later than I had wanted this year but I know they will be okay. I talked Brady into moving my garden from the spot where we had it last year to another location. The trees have grown so much that most of the backyard is shady except for the new garden area and the area along the fence line where my roses are located. This area needed some prepping as one spot had dead tree roots in it (which were joyful to dig and hammer out), wasn't level, full of grass and had to be weeded, and needed more dirt and manure, etc. Brady worked on prepping most of it for me - thanks! I got most of the grass removed but will still be fighting it for a long time as grass grows back fairly quickly. While I spent time prepping and planting, the kids either rode around on their Gator, playing on the swing set or were playing in the dirt. I wish I would have taken some pictures of their activities. They were always dirty and one day we had to have 3 showers! We have to wear bug spray and I have this thing about them smelling like that junk. Hailey had it in her head for me to get out her plastic pool since I started with the whole garden thing. I didn't want to stop and get it out of the barn and wash it before I deemed it okay to use for the summer. At one point, I saw the top of the turtle sandbox was being taken off and mud soup being created. She asked for some water and I did okay it. The hose wasn't attached at the time so they were taking buckets full of water back and forth. Perfect busy time activity. Then she asked if she could hook up the hose. Sure. Didn't think she really would get it that far but she did. The turtle lid wound up underneath the slide and water fun began. Hunter didn't mind until Hailey soaked him. He pretty much was done after being out there for - well forever. When I saw Hunter's skin a purplish color I called it quits for awhile and we all took a long hot shower. Anyway, it took a few days of being outside all day. Hunter wound up getting an eye infection, which needed drops by the weekend. I am positive it was due to all the dirt he played in outside. Did I mention he even drank the soup water? Yuck!

It has been rainy here for about two weeks but the seeds did get planted and we are continuing to do things in between the bouts of rain. We still have more boards to buy for the edges. I did drag all those pavers from the creek to the garden for a path, got marigolds planted and put in my solar lights. Doesn't every garden have those? I wanted some lights out there and they were a Mother's Day gift from Brady. I want to see what critters come by and try to munch on my goods. I do have plans to install an electric fence. That will fix them! 

Before planting, Brady and I made a map and it came in handy when I was out there planting it. We made allowances for how much room the plants would need and justified it a little. We will see! So what did I plant?

Main Garden:

Popcorn (This was fun when we did it in Norman!)

Pumpkins (Please grow you little boogers! I haven't been able to successfully grow them yet. Sadness since I love them so much.)

Okra

Jalepenos

Watermelon

Yellow Squash

Tomatoes (all kinds)

Lima Beans (I love eating them. Never planted them before though. Super excited to see what happens.)

Cucumbers

 Herb Garden So Far:

Parsley (Hailey loves to eat parsley)

Rosmary

Basil

More tomatoes

Strawberries (These I planted 2 years ago and have spread so much.)

I also have 2 raspberry bushes (one red and one yellow), 2 blackberry bushes, one red table grape plant (for Hunter) and a fig tree!

SEE GARDEN PROGRESS POST FOR PICTURES FROM BEGINNING TO NOW!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxhK1WiQ6pI 600x600]

There is a little dead tree right by the garden and when we began preparing the garden, we noticed that a woodpecker was in it. Today when I was out in the garden checking things out, I heard a lot of racket from the tree. I already had my camera so I turned it on the video and took some movie. I didn't know that both mommy and daddy woodpeckers feed their young! Wish I would have had my real video camera or the flip. It would have come out better and I would have been able to zoom in on them nicer. Enjoy it. I did!

 

 

 

This morning the kids and I went out and picked some strawberries in our strawberry patch so they will keep producing more delicious treats! Hunter is a strawberry monster. He could not wait for them to be washed. I think he ate more than 10 and snacked on more at lunch time! I am so happy that he loves these yummy red fruits. Now if we can only talk Miss Hailey Rae into enjoying them...

* If my flash was not on my strawberry pictures might have come out a little bit better. I was trying to get one up close on macro!

I just had to take a picture of Hailey tonight just in case as she gets older she grows out of this condition. When Hailey was around two I noticed that she had double jointed arms. It disturbs me sometimes and amuses me at other times. It is particularly hard for her to straighten her arms correctly when she is in gymnastics when they put them up in the air when they are finished a move or when she is in ballet doing different positions. On the other hand, having double jointed arms has its advantages as well. She can even pop her shoulders out of place. Gross! When she was three she was doing laps around the house and managed to run into the wall hitting her arm. She was crying about her arm. It took us a few seconds to realize it wasn't broken and that was her arm naturally. 

Tonight I watched her through the window at her dance rehearsal and got tickled about those arms. I also picked a few cute ones when they took class pictures a few weeks ago just because of her arms.  I have come to love this little quirk about Miss Hailey Rae!

 

 

I am fortunate to be the mother to my two H's. I love them very much and as they grow I do too. I have learned much in the past 5 1/2 years being a mother. I hope they will always know how much they are loved by me. I am reminded often of all the little and wonderful things my own mother taught me that have made a difference in my life. I hope to pass on some of what I have learned to my children in hope that it will brighten their life as well. I was thinking of my own mother yesterday and wondered if they had a Mother's Day in Heaven. I came to the realization that there are indeed Grand Celebrations there for these wonderful women who played an important part here on Earth and are continuing to do so in Heaven. I have much room for improvement as a mother. I falter many times it seems but I do know that if I stand tall and keep trying I will be led in the right direction. My role as a mother day in and out since my first child was born seems to have overshadowed all the other things have I accomplished and experienced thus far in my life. I am a mother and I love it.

Hailey knew Mother's Day was coming up this weekend. She kept forgetting the name Mother's Day and would call it Valentine's Day all last week. I give her empty boxes all the time. She loves to create stuff. I had given her an empty box last Tuesday and out of the blue she decided to make me something for Mother's day. She went into the laundry room (her office) and told me not to come in. Then she came out and dumped about a zillion peel and sick foam alphabet letters and numbers on the floor and then asked me how old I was. I told her 36. In a few weeks, that number will change. Ah! Then she went and hid her stuff in her room. Every time I went in her room to put up laundry or to play with her she would ask me if I had peeked in her closet or under her dresser. Apparently she hid her stuff in various locations. When we left for the lake on Friday evening, she got a plastic bag and put them in it. When we got to the lake, she put the bag behind the chair in our room. On Mother's day, she wanted to give them to me right away. I finally caved in when we had a quiet moment on the couch. She was so excited to give them to me and I was a proud mommy to receive them. It was a sweet moment. I just love how special she really is and how wonderful it feels to be a mother to my children.

* She did find one more she forgot to give me when we got home Sunday night. It was one single pink jewel wrapped in red wrapping paper with a lot of tape. 

It is not pictured for some reason but she did also give me her jump rope that was in an old decorated checkbook box. 

 

Fran and Smokey gave me this pretty yellow and orange rose bush to add to my rose bush collection that I have along my fence line. It is super pretty and different! I love roses. I also bought myself an early Mother's day gift too. I found this pretty pink carnation plant at Lowe's.  I also found a fig tree when I was picking up more red and blackberry plants. My mother loved figs and had one in Arizona and one here in Edmond in our backyard. It reminded me of her so I bought it. I am anxious to find the perfect spot for it and get it planted.

I have been outside for the past two weeks on an off getting the garden ready. I have noticed 4 of the tiniest ticks I have ever seen. Two were on me, one on Hunter and oddly enough Brady found one on the kitchen floor. Two years ago they were BAD but last year was great! I was sitting here looking outside and thinking that they are going to probably be horrible this summer. Then a news report comes on the news stating that because of our mild winter and this rainy season we have had thus far it is the perfect breeding grounds. They also stated that there have already been cases of Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. So to those that venture outside for long periods of time, be on the lookout for those nasty creatures!

One of the staple household kitchen appliances in my home growing up was a yellow Champion Juicer. My mother and father used it for making many different things but mostly I remember it being used for cutting up lots of carrots to be made into carrot salad, carrot cake and juice. It also does a great job of making soft serve ice cream from frozen bananas and strawberries. I also remember eating a lot of natural snow cones in the summer time. My mom would grind up lots of ice for us and we would put natural blackberry syrup on them. I think this is where my love of blackberries came from initially. It came in this concentrated bottle and you only needed a few drops. So yummy!

When I was in college, I spied this cream colored Champion in an antique store and I just had to get it. It was 49.99. That was a lot of money for me at the time but I knew it was a good deal and it looked brand new. I pulled it out on Sunday. I wanted to make some carrot cake and I had a fresh bag of carrots. The kids were fascinated by this appliance. I absolutely love it. It does a better job at cutting up things than my food processor. If you have never experienced one, you are missing out! Someday I would also like to own a new Bosch. That is another appliance that is fantastic. Food made from a Bosch appliance doesn't even compare in my mind to other ones. Quality in this case does matter!

The carrot cake was okay. I think next time I will tweak the recipe I used. I used one that was pineapple and raisin free. I would have loved to have added nuts but I was out of those. It needed to have more spices too. If anyone has a good pineapple free carrot cake recipe, I would love to have it!

I bought a box of Froot Loop cereal the other day. I wanted to use them for graphing and sorting with Hailey. When Hailey was a baby she would have nothing to do colored cereal. One time a lady in an airport offered her some and she turned up her nose like lady you are nuts. Those don't look like my Cheerios! I have no problem with this as they are just full of dye and sugar. Funny thing is now she will eat them now on occasion. She does not like Honeynut Cheerios. She says they are sticky. Hunter is willing to try just about anything though and was all game for these colored delights!

So after I got Hunter situated this morning as he still isn't feeling too great, I decided Hailey needed a quiet activity. I thought she might like to make a fruit loop necklace. A classic school activity I have done many times before UNTIL TODAY! I went searching for some yarn in my cabinet.  I didn't want to use her sewing supplies and I didn't feel like stringing her plastic needle onto my white string or putting masking tape on one end. I looked in her craft supplies and spied her pipe cleaners. PERFECT! I wish I would have thought about this years ago. I could have given those little Kindergartners a less stressful opportunity. Not only does the wire in it act like a needle, they don't get crushed into a million pieces as they are getting strung. I would have purchased the really long ones and would have turned this simple act into lots of learning opportunities. 

So come Fall when Hailey starts  Kindergarten, I hope she passes this tip along!

By the way, she wouldn't eat it. She said some parts had fuzz on it. O-well!

Hunter wanted to take a Kubota ride. No surprise there! So while Smokey, Hunter and I took a drive around the the lakehouse, Grammy gave Hailey the last accessory piece to Mia. I came back in to find a super cute bed/desk set for her doll. I would have absolutely loved to have had that as a child. She is definitely one loved little girl. Thank you Grammy and Smokey!

 

Hunter loves machinery. He spots "diggers" when we are out and about driving. Smokey gave Hunter two new "diggers" and he loves them. When he first started to play with it, he told me he need a man. I found one in the dollhouse to appease him. Diggers don't drive themselves now do they! Once Hailey tried to see all about it and she got an ear full from him. One of the trucks even came apart. This stressed Hunter out at first as Brady was inspecting it. He told him he broke it and wanted it fixed back like it was! Diggers are next in line to trains. He still loves those too.

Thanks for the new toys and getting him set up!

* Check out where Hunter is sizing up Smokey's hat. He finally takes it off!

 

"I see it. I am stuck here in this barn and I just want to go sit on you!" 

Funny how a piece of machinery can occupy him for so long. It doesn't even have to be on. He just loves the Kubota. They are friends.

In the middle of the wee early morning hours of Easter, Hunter came down with a fever and was delirious. He kept talking about crazy stuff. After he was given a dose of medicine, he promptly threw up. So needless to say, everyone slept in some. Hailey woke up at her usual time but I told her it was not time to get up. She slept another hour. I felt bad for her having to wait on us so at 9:30 she went into the playroom to play. I got up shortly after and joined her. I caught her looking out the front window. It had stormed throughout the night and it was wet outside. She said, "Mommy I think I see a carrot out there!" She was desperately looking to see if the Easter Bunny had come after all. Seeing that I had pulled a mean April Fool's joke, that Easter Bunny had to come - rain and all. Hunter woke up fever free. I dressed the kids, Brady disappeared and wouldn't you know it, the Easter Bunny came. He just had to hurry up and go visit lots of little children's homes hiding all those eggs since it had quit raining hard!

Hailey was absolutely sweet outside. She helped show Hunter all about it and even handed him eggs. He caught on quickly.  I had them put on their rain gear. I thought Hunter had the right sized shoes upstairs but squeezing his foot back into a size 7 just wasn't an option. The Easter Bunny left some cute bug, sports and ocean animal eggs outside. Hunter got distracted a couple of times by the Kubota in the garage and the water puddles. He managed to step in one of them leaving nice mud spots on his pants. Good thing I had a backup pair! I love this age as everything is a new first and delightful. 

This was Hunter's first egg he found!

Like the ladybug egg in the smashed up grill? I did. Silly Easter Bunny! Hunter liked finding the ones on the tires too. 

One of my favorite memories of my childhood and even when I was in college was getting a new outfit for Easter. Easter and back to school were the only times we were guaranteed to get new clothes. It was something I looked forward to - plus feeling and looking pretty at church was an extra bonus. Since Hailey was a baby, I would search for the perfect dress I thought she needed to wear. This year, Fran bought this really cute dress for Hailey. It came with a matching dress that fit her American Girl Doll - Mia. I pretty much decided when I saw it that was going to be her dress. Fran also was going to be giving Hailey the last of the Mia items she purchased for her at Christmas. It was fitting to me. I also dreaded shopping for one as I knew I would like all the ones that are crazy priced. I waited way too long to look for Hunter too. I went to a few stores here in town and all were out of his size. When I walked into Target, they had 1 size 2 outfit. Perfect. No options. No deciding on anything better. That was my choice. He looked so grown up and nerdy all at the same time. Just too cute. I chose shoes that reminded me of Brady and I when we first met. We both had Sperry Top Siders. I picked out a pair of shoes that had a similar look. I pulled out a gray dress shirt for Brady so they would look good together too. I on the other hand did not get a special outfit. Maybe next year I will be back to a normal size...

* I did fail to buy Hailey some new stockings. The ones she wound up wearing were way too white for me and they kept falling down. Apparently she has grown some since she last wore that pair. She gave everybody a nice flash on the big egg hunt after Easter lunch in the field. She pulled her dress up and was taking care of business!

 

See the Tucker blog for more egg coloring pictures and details...

 

I love peas. Most people find these little green things yucky but I do not. I have always loved peas. We had a spiral cut ham for Easter and Fran sent the ham bone with me to use. I made some pea soup with it tonight. The picture does not look appetizing but it was delicious!

Today was picture day at Hailey's dance class. They wore the costumes that they are going to wear for the performance in May. She was dressed up to look like Cruella de Vil. The music is to that song too. They took professional pictures in one of the dance studios so I could only capture a few shots through the sheers on the window. I put her hair up in a bun with pins and a hairnet. She actually liked this and didn't complain once. Putting her hair in a bun reminded me of getting ready for ballet class when I took classes. I miss that. I would love to take classes again. We even put a little purple eyeshadow on her eyes and some pink lipstick so her face would stand out more. For the performance, she has to wear more as the lights on a stage tend to fade out faces. I did find out she has great lids for eyeshadow. I hope they stay that way. Eyeshadow will look great on her someday. I don't wear much makeup anymore. It was sort of fun shopping for the perfect purple color and pink lipstick for my little girl's performance. My makeup collection is pathetic and that is fine with me. I usually just wear eyeliner, mascara and lipstick. If I go out somewhere special, I will add beige and creme eyeshadow! I keep meaning to buy some base but I still haven't. I even had to buy some hairspray for Hailey's hair. This cracks me up in a way. Hairspray, base and powder used to be such staples for me. Good ole big hair days!!!

I posted a collage on The Tucker Blog if you want to go take a peek-see! Just click on the link on the front of my webpage and it will take you to the post.

 

Saturday we spent some time outside doing a little bit of yard clean up. I raked some areas and Brady mowed the yard for the first time this year. Hailey and Hunter rode on the John Deer Gator until the battery was empty and needed to be recharged. The both enjoyed rides on the lawn mower with Brady as always. At one point, I went inside to check on Hunter napping and I came back out to find Hailey driving the lawn mover. Brady had finished mowing the yard and told her she could go for it. This delighted her to pieces. She couldn't wipe the smile off her face! Brady also got some really cute pictures of Hailey by my pretty tulips. We got a start on the yard. Now if only we had a weekend where it isn't windy so I can burn those stick piles!

 

I tried to be sneaky taking this picture. Hailey was reading books to Hunter on her bed and he was actually listening!

As of last Friday, I officially have a Pediatrician for my children HERE in EDMOND! I still love my one in Norman but after 2 years I will welcome how handy it will be to see a doctor if they need it. From our short visit, I like her so far. She knows the other pediatrician and did extensive studies with her while they were training. I am excited about this. It is a Mercy clinic so like most places these days, all paperwork is easily accessible. Hunter's name was already in the system because his pediatric testing was done at Mercy hospital. Anyway, I am excited I have a peditrician close now even though Hunter is not due to go back for a required visit until he is three years old. He has been a pretty healthy little guy so knock on wood he won't have to make an appearance any time soon or Hailey too!

 

On April 1st, I went to enroll Hailey in Kindergarten at our neighborhood school.  The school is not too far from our home. As we were driving there she said, "I don't think I am going to like my first day of Kindergarten...unless they have lot's of free time!" It went well. I filled out lots of forms, handed them my required paperwork and we left. I did skip the form that was optional where you could tell the teacher about your child. I will leave this opinion to be formed by her teacher over time! This is just a sneaky way for the teacher and staff to place children. If that was the case, I would have had the cream of the crop when I taught Kindergarten.  No 26 wild Kindergarteners with disabilities for me ... or would I have? Someone has to love them! We only got to see the front office and waiting area. It is a new school so from the tiny bit we saw it was clean and smelled good! There is an orientation day in August where we will get to meet her teacher. I think she is ready for this next stage now. I am excited in lots of ways but hesitant in many more. I am excited for her to learn much more and experience new things but I dread what she will learn from classmates. I know first hand how easily things get picked up. Children seem to be exposed to things at a much younger age these days. I know a lot of it comes from having older siblings. The mature singing, dancing and clothing attire of a lot of children shock me. I can only hope she takes it all in stride and she has a great learning experience.

This past weekend I found myself bored. Very bored. Not that I don't have things I could have done. Just none of it seemed too exciting. Brady was away at the Tackle Box and the kids and I hung out watching way too much television. I swept, mopped, did the dishes and laundry, let the kids play in the snow, took an extremely hot shower while the kids played in the tub with the play kitchenware, figured out how to print on cardstock on my new printer and cut out about 8 zillion pieces of cardstock. We ate about 8 zillion times too and enjoyed some homemade yummy snappy cookies (gingersnaps) and hot chocolate. I also found the Number of the Day on my wall on my way back from taking a load of laundry to a room. Doesn't everyone have the number of the day on their wall?  We also got out a few Easter items to decorate the house. I decided that I am not going to decorate like I used to anymore. I will just get out a few favorites to be festive for the kiddos and myself. I used to go all out because I enjoyed it. Now it is more of a pain to get it out and put it up. I am being sort of bah-hum-bug-ish I suppose but in all actuality no one ever sees it besides the kids! And now it seems like Hailey is getting sick. Yesterday morning she was stuffy but fine all day. She just woke up and her eyes look horrible and she has a yucky nose. Hopefully this is all it will measure up to be and little Hunter won't get it if he already doesn't!

 

Hunter enjoys talking to his daddy on the phone. He does not like giving the phone back so all conversations need to be finished before you hand a phone to Hunter!

I used to have a little white tree for all these cute little wooden eggs I have for Easter. It went in the trash last year after getting broken in too many places. Hailey went and made me one out of her pipe cleaners and hung it on the Atrium glass wall!

Can you guess what the Number of the Day was yesterday? For those who have forgotten, the Number of the Day is famous on Sesame Street! I had given her all my scraps of paper and this beautiful number zero and some fans were some of her creations. Oh and just in case you were wondering the number of the day today is 2!

 

This is the snowman Hailey created when we went out after it had snowed, melted off, snowed again and melted some more. I love her weed decorations. Hunter didn't care too much to play in the snow this time. He was bundled up and warm but his hands were freezing so he went and stood on the porch trying to coax Hailey to come back inside. It worked.

I took this one with my phone camera. Worked nicely!

big fat juicy ones

little tiny sqirmy ones

ooey googey worms

 

I have read books to Hailey at bedtime since she was very young. Over the past year, the night time book has now been replaced with stories. I make them up in my head. She always remembers to tell me "Tell me a story in your head". The last two months or so I told her a story about some jelly beans. Now when it is time for her story she will say "Tell me a jelly bean story!" The stories are always about jelly beans and their adventures. I never know what I am going to say until I lay down with her and begin. I have come up with some pretty funny and creative ones to very boring and dull ones. She usually requests two stories. Then it is off to bed!  I love that she likes to hear them. It is our special tradition together. 

Besides roses, I love tulips and magnolia flowers. I have loved tulips since I was very young. They were the only flower I could draw! I have always wanted to plant a whole mess of them in my yard but I never managed to buy them in time or got around to doing it. So this year, I bought a few bags. Not enough to make a whole mess like I want, but a few. They started growing this week and two days ago the first flowers appeared. I had to go take a picture of them just in case the cold weather expected to come our way ruins them!

I did manage to plant a magnolia tree in the front yard when we first moved into this place. It hasn't flowered yet. Maybe this summer!

* One year when I was teaching school, I planted a whole bunch of tulips outside our portable building. It was such a yucky building that anything was an improvement. I wonder how those tulips are doing now... 

*I also requested tulips to be in my wedding bouquet when I got married. My dear friend saw my bouquet before I did and sent it back to the florist! There were absolutely no tulips in the arrangement. Tulips were hard to find at the time for some reason and they came up with a few "pretend" tulips -not what I had ordered but the bouquet was still beautiful. 

Here are my beauties! 

P.S. Notice the ugly ground, dead leaves and sticks? I really need to get out, mulch and do some spring sprucing up! Anyone want to help? 

 

We spent the remainder of Spring Break riding on the Kubota, playing, having picnics in various locations, playing in sand, being at The Tackle Box store, swimming briefly in the hot tub, shopping and spending time with family. It was a nice break and they are already ready to go back! This summer Hailey will not be enrolled in dance, music or gymnastics so she just may get another wish. Thanks for letting us come and play at the lake house. We enjoyed it!

 

Brady's father purchased a bait shop near the lake called "The Tackle Box". They are in the process of getting it into shape and it is already looking spiffy! Hailey is in love with the 4 minnow holding tanks in the back. She could stand and watch them being scooped up and bagged all day or stir them up if someone would let her do it constantly! Brady let her hold one and she didn't even budge. They found a super large tadpole mixed in and that fascinated her too. She kept asking me if we could go back and try to find it again several times when we visited. They opened up the store officially on Friday. I put the children's swim suit cover ups on them and let them stand outside for a bit to "lure" in customers. They plan to have a grand opening in a few weeks. Maybe by then I will have a cute fish costume or a bobber costume created for them to wear! Anyway, I am excited for Smokey and I think it will be a profitable little store.

On Wednesday, we drove into Denison and visited the Children's Museum. It was nestled in one of the old store fronts in the downtown part of town. It wasn't too terribly big but they had a lot of things to do inside. Hailey enjoyed the grocery store section and the arts and crafts room the most. Hunter enjoyed looking at the animals, the large wooden train and the giant pirate ship. He was such a busy little boy on that ship! He wants to do everything he sees other children doing. There was an area up top that had a fireman's pole you could slide down on and go inside the ship. He kept saying "I try it too?" Scared me because I know he would try it if I wasn't close. I was proud of Hailey because she tried it on her second pass up top. She has wanted to do it for a long time but nerves have gotten the best of her. She was so tickled at herself when she did it. There was a really cute dinosaur that moved and you could sit on that Hunter wouldn't have anything to do with up close. He ran the shopping cart into it a few times though! It was a good little place to visit. If I lived in that town, it would be the perfect rainy day activity!

Hunter had a few paint colors to choose from but he chose blue and a lot of it! I have let him paint before at the table when Hailey paints but not with the big brushes and so much paint. He looks so cute to me sitting in that chair painting away! We will definitely have to have another painting session at home soon.

Last Monday, the children and I drove to the lakehouse with Gram Gram to spend Spring Break. Hailey always wants to spend more than just the weekend there so this was the perfect opportunity. We stopped and ate at a little restaurant- well Fran and I ate some food. Hailey and Hunter didn't exactly eat lunch. Little stinkers! Then we stopped off at the outdoor mall in Gainsville just to let the H's play in the playground for fun before we went to Wally World to pick up some groceries for the week.

The next day was GREEN DAY aka St. Patrick's Day. I have a few fond memories of this day growing up but for some reason I haven't passed them along to the H's yet. I dress them in green and that is about all I have done so far. I might get into it next year when Hailey is in Kindergarten. They looked cute in their green shirts though!

 

I drove them into town to visit Pottsboro's Friendship Park. We always pass it up on all the trips we have been going to the lake. I decided it was time we visited it and did something a little different. We picnicked first and had lovely peanut butter sandwiches before we played. Hailey wrote all our  names on our sandwich bags. They had a good time playing in the rocks and on the equipment. The sun came out and warmed us all up and I eventually had to pull out the sunblock for my fair skinned children!

 

Then after a quick trip into the dollar store, we were off to visit our local favorite establishment - The Resale Barn! We found a red storage cabinet for the kids to use upstairs at the lake, some VHS tapes, and a real light saber to name a few fun items. Hunter was fascinated with it even before he knew it made noise. He wanted to swing it in all directions in the store and even tried to pull a lady's purse off the checkout countertop with it! 

 

Brady keeps a stash of his cd's/dvd's/dvr's or whatever they are called underneath his desk. Since Hunter has been able to crawl, he has loved to play with these containers. This week I was busy at the computer (probably doing absolutely nothing) and I looked over and found him stacking them up in tower form. He was so proud of himself!

 

Every day Hailey makes something. Ideas come to her and then she is off in a flash to her desk to create her masterpiece. She would be in heaven if an entire craft store was availble to her here at home. I do my best and give her fresh supplies every now and then. She loves pipe cleaners, scissors, paper, tape and glue to name just a few. Tape is high on the list. She has her own dispenser. Crayons are optional. She really isn't into coloring. She likes creating stuff more. Coloring bores her. This week she picked dandilions outside and taped them to a paper and put it on the refrigerator for me to enjoy. For her music class, she had to bring a statue that she made. She wanted to make a pretzel out of straws but when that didn't quit work out, she cut out stars from clay and put them on straws. I also picked up a soap paper card kit which was fun for her. There were all these sheets of soap you could cut out and make designs. She made one for her daddy, Kimber and one for herself. I love how she can entertain herself in this area. She is fun to watch!

 

I like how she made the googly eyes poke through her paper hole punches! She usually writes more on her cards she makes but she was in a hurry to put it in her play mailbox for me to receive this morning. Mailing letters to us is another favorite activity.

 

Friday I drove to the lake house with Hailey and Hunter and to meet up with Brady and his parents. They went to San Antonio for the funeral of Uncle Charles. I wanted to go but I knew it would be a whirlwind of a trip in the car with two little ones. It would have been a much longer trip after all the stops we would have had to make. I am glad they were able to go though. 

On our way out of town, Hailey and I noticed the Red Bud and Bradford Pear trees blooming. Everytime we saw one, it would get pointed out. Hailey was excited about this sign of spring because she knows Easter is right around the corner - another magical time of the year for her. We took it easy and stopped at Big Lots for fun in Gainsville. I found myself a $12 dollar Bissel sweeper! It will be a good backup and everyone can use it.  I also picked up my Kirby vaccum again on the way out of town. I scared the kids and myself when the power cord got a short in it and shot fireworks in all directions and then left a trail of smoke. I hope this is the last of the vaccum problems.

Shortly after we left Big Lots, I looked back at Hailey and saw a strange mark on her upper lip. I thought she had put the tattoos in her mouth we just got at the vending machine but she didn't and it didn't come off with a wet wipe. So I pulled over and took a closer look. Come to find out she got her Gatorade bottle stuck on her mouth and pulled it off. I told her "Oh now you have a hickie!" Then I had to explain what a hickie was in kid terms!  

This picture was taken a few hours after and she looks all crazy because I was so close up and she was trying to be still! She looked like she had a mustache all weekend.

Hailey and Hunter were anxious to see Brady. They played upstairs for a long time. I got served some delicious alphabet soup and Hailey played nicely with Hunter. She even read him some books in the crib. 

 

We had a pretty good time playing together. She asked to go to the beach about a zillion times and I finally gave in to her request. She would spend every minute that we are at the lake down there exploring. She likes to find treasures. We went on a long walk and she showed me where she hangs out with her daddy fishing. Hunter walked with a stick he found and poked it in the water the whole time. Every now and then he would throw a rock into the lake. Boys really are different and I love it!

I told Hailey I wanted to take a picture of her and Hunter together and she told me she had the perfect spot. She took me to this concrete slab and told me "This is the perfect place to sit and enjoy the weather. You can even lay down on it!" Her language sometimes makes me laugh. 

We also went and toured the Tackle Box store. It is going to be a good little store for all those fisher folks out there. We are going back over Spring Break for a few days. I told Hailey we would stay at the lake longer sometime. I want to go help clean. I actually like cleaning other people's stuff - not my own!

I also liked looking at the pretty blossoms on the fruit trees. They were so beautiful!

 

I wound up driving back home with Hunter minus Hailey and Brady. I had a meeting I needed to be at for church. Brady wanted to finish installing some stuff at the new store and Hailey stayed and played with Gram Gram. Grammy has been renamed Gram Gram by Hailey. I was told she was good and she was beyond excited to tell me all about it when she got home. Time away seems to help rejuvinate everyone!

 

Last week as I was trying to vacuum my Subaru, my Kirby vacuum blew up and quit working all in an instant. I was so shocked and sad. I immediately told Hailey I was sad and that I thought the vacuum died. She told me that maybe it went to vacuum Heaven! I had Brady look at it and he noticed the fan was missing a chunk out of it. I called the local vacuum shop and took it in immediately after he told me he could replace the fan for $55 dollars. Yipee!!!

I picked up my Kirby friend last night (from Vacuum Heaven) and took it for a test drive on the living room carpet. Worked just like it has been - great! I am so happy to have it back working. The dustbuster just doesn't cut it when it comes to large areas!

So I was wondering - what kind of vacuum cleaner do you own? Right before or shortly after I got married (can't remember exactly), one of those lovely door to door salesmen came to the door trying to get me to buy a brand new Kirby. The G4 at the time. He went throught the whole demonstration and by the time he was done, I was the proud, POOR owner of an expensive Kirby vacuum cleaner. This was my first experience with salespeople at the door and apparently I caved. I knew they were good because we had one in our home growing up and my mother gave me her old one when she moved on to her beloved Oreck. So now Brady and I had to make payments on this $1000 dollar vacuum. I got better telling the magazine salespeople NO! I loved my Kirby though and still do. It really is a good vacuum. I have never had any trouble with it in the 10 years I have had it nor has it even been serviced for maintenence (which probably should have been) until last week.  

Since then I have often wanted the Oreck my mother owned because of how lightweight it was but wondered if it really cleaned any better. My sister has a Dyson and seeing those commercials of the latest Dyson with the ball make me want that one BUT I still wonder about the performance and dropping $549 on a brand new Dyson when my Kirby works just fine seems silly and wasteful right now. So if you have a vacuum you absolutely like, I would love to hear why for future reference. 

* The Kirby did get paid off (Brady paid most of it) a year after we were married. We went to Las Vegas to go see the Star Trek  area they just put in place in one of the hotels. Brady is a huge Star Trek fan. We went with a group of friends. They all knew how to gamble. I of course did not (still don't) and can't even play card games. I don't think Free Cell and Solataire count! So after a day of watching everyone gamble and not win anything major, Brady handed me a $20 dollar bill and told me to go have some fun. I had been watching the dollar slots for awhile and noticed certain machines would pay out every so many turns. So when a lady gave up her spot, I sat down for a my chance. These machines would pay out $80 or $90 at a time. So when my first money dropped my frame of thinking was "Hey this isn't my money so I can now use this money and keep trying for more!" I had to go find Brady because I was too nervous to go cash in my buckets of coins. I wound up winning over $500 dollars. Brady says it was more but I can't remember now. Anyway that was my first and only time to Las Vegas and my gambling experience. I bring this up because that money went to pay off the remaining balance on that KIRBY vacuum and I didn't feel bad about it at ALL. After all I did get talked into buying something way out of my price range back then and come to think of it even NOW!

The last two weeks have been pretty boring. Just the usual weekly activities of taking Hailey to her activites, household chores, church, etc. I wasn't feeling too well for about a week which is not typical for me. I even talked Hailey into taking a nap with Hunter and I TWICE so I could get some rest. We did pull out the John Deer Gator out of the messy garage when the weather turned warmer last week for a few days. I lounged in my hammock trying to soak up some warm sun rays. Hunter even got his first driving lessons. We definitely will have to work on the stearing! Brady moved the seat back for Hailey and moved it to the second speed which thrilled her to pieces. They cracked me up as they squealed about how much faster it was going!

Hailey did watch a commercial on one of the kids channels about how to make popsicles. She repeated the steps to me and I told her we could make some. I used to make popsicles this way when I was little. I actually don't own any of those popsicle forms. My one and only ancient blue ice cube tray worked just fine. She liked them the first day but wasn't thrilled about them the next day when the orange juice left a film layer on the top and she proclaimed they were greasy. So we rinsed it off and they were just fine. Picky, Picky!!! 

 

Last night Brady volunteered to help me re-do my website. I have wanted it changed for some time. The green and yellow were getting old. He spent a few hours helping me out and I really appreciate it. It will be fun tweaking it over the next few weeks. I love it so far. Thanks for doing this for me Brady!!!

I am starting to want warmer weather to arrive - not hot weather - just warm. I am also wishing for a few days when the wind will die down some so we can burn the stick piles out back. I want to clean the back yard up from the winter and get our garden ready. If it works out, we are going to put in a bigger garden in a different location. I am excited about this. 

The only other news that bummed me out was that my vacuum cleaner blew up last week as I was attempting to clean out my car. I told Hailey it died and I was sad. She said "Maybe it went to vacuum cleaner Heaven!" It is in the shop right now and should be back on Tuesday.  Can't wait. Crumbs on the carpet in the living room annoy me!

Our picnic on the porch got interrupted this afternoon. We have a tricyle that was in the house and should not have been. Hailey was riding on it and it was decided that it needed to go outside so no one would get hurt. So I put it out on the front porch. Our porch has a about a 1 1/2 foot drop off on one side. There are lava rocks on the ground below. We set up our picnic and were about to enjoy it. Hailey had to go back inside for her cup. I turned my back to put the plates on the blanket and Hunter had gotten up, sat on the tricyle and moved his legs backwards and tumbled right off the edge onto the lava rocks. I saw him miss the round cement stone on the ground so I didn't think his head hit. He cried briefly and wanted to be held. After coming inside, Brady saw that his head was bleeding. Hunter told me a few times to kiss it. I am sure it was hurting. So off we went to the minor emergency clinic where he received one staple to close the deep gash most likely caused from one of the lava rocks. They cleaned and numbed the area, then placed in the metal staple. He was so brave and shed a few quiet tears. He impressed the doctor and nursing staff. He really is a good boy. Hailey was a little concerned about the whole business and took me aside and told me she did not want to be in the room when they put the staple in his head. She was okay with the rest of it but when she knew it was time to put it in, she quickly reminded me she wanted to leave. Her eyes started to whell up in tears. So I let her stand right outside the doorway with another nurse who was observing from the hall. The doctor found some valentine suckers and he cracked a smile for her. Hunter missed his afternoon nap so he was super tired. He had already been kept up for over an hour after hitting his head. As we were leaving, he glanced out the window and looked at the buildning and told it "Thank-you". He fell asleep after a few licks on his sucker. Now we just need to keep a good eye on him and look for all those signs. Love you little baby. Sorry this happened. It could have been prevented had I not put the tricyle on the porch. I should have just put it back in the dang garage. Lesson learned unfortunately.

* I am not supersticious at all, but does writing a post about the 13th being a lucky day for some people CAUSE it to become an un-lucky day?  I am beginning to think I set myself up and caused some bad Karma!

I did show Hailey the picture below so she could see what they did. She could barely look at it and told me that was enough of the blood pictures. She has had a lot done to her so I guess she is going to be one of those who just can't handle other people's boo-boos!

 

Today is my mother's birthday. Happy Birthday Mother! Do you think they celebrate earthly birthdays in Heaven? She was born on the 13th of February and this year it happens to be on a Friday as well. If you are supersticious, etc. 13 isn't a good number AND if the day Friday is attached to it! She always considered 13 to be a lucky number and she was right. Brady was born on the 13th too - just not in February. I am lucky to have had her as my mother. So Happy Birthday Mommy. I still love you very much...

 

Yesterday, Brady and I celebrated our 9th Wedding Anniversary!  

FEBRUARY 12th, 2000 to be exact. After 12 years of dating, we got married. So we have been with each other now for 21 years! Crazy numbers hugh?

The first couple of years (prior to children), we would spend our anniversary in a different cabin that we would rent out in SE Oklahoma. There are some wonderful cabins there and it is so beautiful there too by the way.  Since having children, we have always gone to dinner at a really nice restaurant and enjoyed yummy food. This year, we went to the Warren Theatre in Moore. I haven't seen a movie in a theatre, with my husband, in forever. The one at Thanksgiving doesn't count. It was a kids movie! We paid extra and sat in balcony seats where we were able to enjoy dinner and a movie all at once. The seats were very comfortable and they even had seat heaters in them- always a plus for me! Our appetizer was good and my salad was great but our main entrees were just okay. We got so wrapped up in the movie that we forgot to order dessert! We saw the movie "Taken". It is action packed the entire time. Even though it was pretty intense, I really enjoyed watching this movie. I just had to find out how that girl was going to be saved by her daddy! After the movie, we exchanged presents in the car. We even entertained some people in the parking lot as I was showing Brady his unwrapped gifts that were in the back of the Yukon. He on the other hand did some very creative wrapping at the office. He made some wrapping paper and printed the words "The Power of Persuasion" and "This IS Real Wrapping Paper" over and over on yellow paper and wrapped my gift in it. I loved his added touch of the bow at the top. Loved it Brady! 

Brady's parents kept Hailey and Hunter at their home. Hailey got to go to her favorite restaurant she calls "The Pretzel Store" - better known as The Brewery. The symbol on top of 50 Penn Place looks like a pretzel to her. They told me they were excellent at dinner. Good to hear Hunter wasn't a monster as he was a super pickle for most of the day for me. They both gave us loud, cheerful goodbye waves from the front porch as we departed. Our arrival wasn't so cheery. Hailey immediately told me she wasn't leaving and was going to stay with her Grammy forever. She just loves hanging out with them! Thanks for watching them last night. We had a really enjoyable night out together.

 ......................................................................................................................

Brady,

The year we met, you gave me a card that said "I may not always understand you, but I will always love you." I think this still holds true on my part!  I hope I am becoming more "understandable" and thanks for loving me through all our time together. I do love you and am looking forward to many more years together. 

HAPPY MARRIAGE BRADY!

222,

Camey

 

P.S. For those of you who don't know us very well, 222 means "I Love You" in our language. It started from the very beginning of our relationship. We would and still do hold up two fingers (which to strangers looks like the peace sign) when we are departing for the day, in a room where we can't talk, etc. The children have learned it too. One time in church during Hailey's first primary program, she spotted me and held up her fingers with a big smile. Of course everyone else thought it was something different! When we were dating, I would turn the porch light on and off 3 times as he was driving away and he would flash his lights back at me or step on his brake 3 times. If we are driving together, we still do this. Very silly, but I love it!

Yesterday afternoon my weather radio went off alerting me of possible weather headed my way and at the very same time Hailey came running to me telling me that the TV said to turn it to channel 7.  I turned the television to see the weather reports and sure enough - bad weather that eventually turned into a tornado. So I began going down my mental checklist and we headed for the back bathroom complete with pillows, mattress, flashlights, cell phone and the radio. Finding out that the tornado passed by only a mile to two miles from here scared me but I must say I was relieved. I do not enjoy storms of any nature.

One of the things on my checklist was to check to see if the flashlights I keep out in various places throughout the house were still there and working and get out the emergency candles because it was going to be dark soon.  Hunter has a knack for removing the one in the living room and walking off with it!  Another item was to go get my emergency bags I keep for us out and placed by the door. You never know if you need to leave or not. Brady thinks I am nuts sometimes! I immediately took them out and thought okay it is FEBRUARY - not typically the time of year we have to think about tornado weather. That kind of weather usually starts in late March/April. So these bags have been sitting for awhile now. Hunter isn't a baby anymore and it was so odd to find a bottle, formula and even smaller clothes for him. My car has a set of current clothes for them but this bag was more comprehensive. Anyway needless to say, I need to change them out. My 72 hour food kit is out of date too. So I will be doing a re-stocking soon for those items. 

I absolutely love my weather radio though. It can run off batteries as well so when our power was out for 2 1/2 hours it came in handy. Brady came home shortly after the tornado passed through. We had a test run using our generator.  He hooked up our refrigerator, the television and a light. About 15 minutes later, the power came back on for good. Hailey and Brady had big plans to play Kung Fu Panda on the XBOX during the power outage! 

*Side note #1: Goldfish in the bathtub = Big Ole' Mess! We stayed in the back for awhile until I knew it was  save to venture back out. I took goldfish and drinks for them to pass the time. They were everywhere in the tub after I removed the blankets! I also think it is a good idea to pack an activity bag for the home and the car with items they haven't seen. I grabbed a few things from Hailey's room that kept them busy. 

*Side note #2: The wild animals had some good eats today from the food that came out of my out of date 72 hour kit. I am sure the night animals will enjoy the leftovers too! We also found out that we need to refill our 3 large gas cans with more fuel so that generator will be ready to run for a long time if needed. That is somthing we don't think about doing until mowing season! I also wish I had an endless supply of batteries of all sizes. No matter how many I buy, we seem to go through them like candy. I would say butter but candy goes faster here!

*Side note#3: If you had to leave your home quickly and knew you could not return, what would you grab? How handy are those items you want to take and how long would it take you to grab them along with your children and still think straight? I have often thought about these questions. Most of the stuff in my home is just plain sentimental and material stuff. I would however like to take a few items. I would like the DVD's of saved documents/pictures, important documents, my journals I haven't finished importing onto the computer, possibly my laptop and camera, jewlry and whatever else I could load up in the time I was given that is sentimental to my children, Brady and I. 

Aside from hitting a deer, we planned to take some equipment to the lakehouse for Brady's father, take a tour of the new properties, relax and let Hailey sleep on the big boat for a night. Smokey purchased a bait shop called the Tackle Box and a larger store in a great location near one of the marinas. I liked them both and I hope they do well when they get up and running. The area can benefit from these two places being open.

 

This is Hailey's lucky ladybug that she let go Saturday morning. 

 

We went with Smokey Saturday morning and toured "Hailey's Hideaway"- one of the cabins in a wooded area. Hunter had fun walking along and poking sticks into the ground. Hailey played "Adventure Hailey" with me and we also played Hansel and Gretel (one of her favorite games to pretend). This time we found sticks, a faded out turtle shell and one bone.

A dead tree I liked...

That night we packed a few things and headed to the marina to spend the night on the big boat. Hailey had it in her head that she wanted to do this. She loves that boat but she absolutely drives me nuts on it. She was better this time. From birth, she has been in a state of constant motion. I only had to remind her a few dozen times not to do this and that and then she settled down. I would have loved it as a kid for sure. She wanted to sleep in the room with two beds down below- which we did.  In the morning, we ate and went out and fed the ducks some old bread Grammy gave us. Then we packed up and headed back to play some more at the lakehouse. Brady let the kids ride in the back of the Yukon- which I didn't necessarily approve of but he reminded me we did it a thousand times as kids and were just fine. He told Hailey to make sure Hunter wasn't standing and if she saw a cop to lay down. So the entire ride she was looking out the back window enjoying herself and looking for cops. Once she saw a vehicle she thought was a cop and quickly made Hunter lay down with her. It was sort of funny!

 

This was taken right after Hunter told me he was cranky and sleepy!

We spent most of the weekend enjoying being outside. The weather was nice. It rained briefly. Hailey was so excited about the few drops that fell. She went and put on her raingear we keep in the car. 

I found this great deal I couldn't pass up at our favorite place called the Resale Barn. It was a brand new Tonka and was $6.99. Wish Santa would have known that at Christmas. Hunter now has one for the lakehouse!

Hailey and Hunter also enjoyed being able to play in the sand. Hunter was even more fascinated by it this year. He normally can't stand to be dirty but sand is an exception. He was laying in it and filling up his shirt pocket with sand. He is going to love it this spring when I pull out the sand toys there. Hailey even managed to talk Grammy into climbing up on top of the playhouse with her and go down the slide. I have it on film too! They also spent some quality time doing her favorite activity- exploring down near the water.  They also took a few Kubota and golf cart rides and practiced driving. 

 

As we were preparing to leave, Smokey took Hailey on the bicycle built for two. She was all smiles. I didn't get a really good picture but she loved it! Thanks for the good weekend Smokey and Grammy. See you soon!

* I know a lot of mothers say this often about their children, but Hunter really is talking a lot more and speaking in sentence form now. He also loves to repeat the last word everyone says in a conversation. This trip he picked up the word "sure". He adds it to everything now. "Do you want to go outside?" "Yeah- sure." "Find your shoes please." "Yeah-sure."

Friday we got on the road about 7:00 and headed for the lakehouse. About 20 minutes away from the lakehouse, we struck a large deer crossing the road. Brady was driving. We were in a two lane construction area where they are working on widening the road. If you moved over too much you would wind up dropping off the edge onto the dirt. I now know how to properly hit a deer if it is going to commit suicide on your vehicle. Brady hit those brakes hard but he still managed to keep the car going straight. I saw that dang deer come in from the left and bounce off the vehicle and flip and slide on the road in front of us. My immediate reaction was a horrible feeling as I watched that deer flying around the road in front of us. Then I let out a concerned mommy voice that scared Hunter when I asked if the children were okay. He was trembling. Brady pulled over a bit to check out the car and when Hunter saw Brady get out, he trembled even more. Hailey could have cared less even though she knew we stopped pretty hard. She didn't get the lovely picture view of us smashing a deer. She was more concerned about her ladybug she found a few minutes prior and wanted to go put it in a jar at the lakehouse. Then a young boy who was behind us pulled up and checked on us. He was hyper and wanted to know what to do in that situation. Guess he has never seen that happen before! The Yukon will need some damage repair to the turning signal and plastic grill. Smokey and Brady pulled the bumper away from tire so it wouldn't rub and zip tied all the loose parts together. But other than that, the Yukon did what it should have done and we are fortunate to be safe and drive it away. If we had been in my car, that deer would have wound up in the window and I know the outcome would have been totally different.

Brady and I briefly talked about the movie the Curious Life of Benjamin Button and went through our whole night and a series of events:

- If only we hadn't stopped in Edmond for gas and let Hailey go in with Brady to pick out snacks for us all.

- If only I didn't want to stop at Walmart and buy a pair of cheap $11 dollar white tennis shoes because I forgot to pack my Tretorns and was wearing black crocs (which are so comfortable but I think look funny on adults in public. Kids don't count. They always look cute in them.) 

- If only I didn't want to buy film at Walmart for the digital camcorder and batteries for the flashlight or heard my phone ringing to find out that Brady had bring in the children so Hailey could use the restroom.

- If only we hadn't stopped off at McDonalds for late night munchies and drinks.

THEN that deer probably wouldn't have been there at that particular time crossing the road and we would not have smashed into her with the car. 

OR if I would have been driving. Then we obviously would have been there later and the deer would have had plenty of time to cross the road as I drive like a turtle sometimes!

But then Hailey would not have found a lucky lady bug who probably flew into our car when the windows were down at McDonalds and she would not have had the chance to hand the lady the debit card and receive our items all on our own - which made her beam in delight!

.........................................................................................................................

Here are a few pictures but you really can't tell much. The Yukon is a pretty tough vehicle apparently! I am thankful we were all okay and I know some angels were watching over us. 

* In the morning, Smokey did find a dead bird behind the grill and I think 2 butterflies that had been there for some time too. In the dark, we thought it was a chunk of deer. Funny!

 

 

For Christmas, Hailey received a bike from Santa. She rode on it at the lakehouse in the driveway and here at our house once but she hasn't had the chance to take it out and really test her bike skills. So yesterday I took her to Mitch park.  We have been on the first section a few times before when we took her scooter out for a test run but we never crossed the road and took the paved trail beyond that point. When we began our journey, a nice older couple was starting their walk as well and passed us up pretty quickly. She needed a push start but after that cruised along really well - until the path went down hill and she started going faster and faster! I kept telling her to use her hand brakes but come to find out they were not working. She avoided going into a deep ditch and made a graceful fall in the grass. So after I checked her and the bike out, we had a lesson on how to use the brakes "old school" style! She got pretty tickled that she could control her bike in this manner. So we were off again and another downhill section was coming up. She was a little hesitant this time and used her brakes. You could see her beaming each time she did it. It was pretty cute. At this point, I noticed that we were not curving back around like I thought the trail would take us. Instead it was venturing way out and farther than I had intended to go for her first trip out. I had Hunter in the double stroller and was walking in my Tretorn shoes. I currently do not own any walking shoes and I wished I had some on at that point! The trail was very nice and we kept seeing lots of runners and walkers. Then Hailey told me she needed to rest which we did until she told me she had to use the bathroom. So off we went again. I spied a portapotty and we made it there but she didn't exactly. It was 50 degrees outside and guess what? She still had her gymnastics suit on underneath her outfit. Makes it hard to get undressed when you really, really need to go. Needless to say she had a little accident. We kept going along the trail. I could see off in the distance that eventually it would curve back around but it would be some time. At the 1 and 1/2 mile marker, I saw a cut across to the kids playground. I had to help her walk her bike up the grassy hill and push Hunter, but we did it. We still had a long way to go to get back to the car at the very beginning of the trail but I knew that the trail we were on was still curving out and I didn't want to get stuck with a way beyond tired little girl and have to manuve a bike and a stroller. Now were were trekking along in the parking lots. It was uphill a good portion but she kept trudging along. I would give her boosts every now and then. When we got back to the car, the couple that was just in front of us was arriving. They talked to Hailey for a bit and I asked them how long the whole trail was and they said it was 3 miles. I told them it was Hailey's first time and they gave her congratulations on going so far. So I figured that by the time we got back to the car, we probably did a solid 2 miles. So much for a quick bike ride. She wanted to stay and play and keep riding but I was pooped and wanted to get her home and changed out of that outfit. We all had showers and hot chocolate later. It was a good, long afternoon and we plan to go back again!

Yesterday Hailey told me she didn't want all the snow to melt away so she went out back and collected some to keep in the freezer. Hunter followed her everywhere and did everything she did. He loves hanging out with his big sister.

* I was a little house crazy today since the last time I left the house was Sunday. Going to pick up Brady's dry cleaning was worth it. The sun was shining and the roads were clear so we moved on, picked up some food and had a picnic in the Target parking lot.  Hunter wasn't feeling well for some reason last night and this morning so we just went home after that. He threw up a few times but seems back to normal this afternoon.  Not like we have been anwhere this week to pick up a bug! Teeth, ears, bad food, possible playdough ingestion? Who knows!!! Hailey did try to cheer him up this morning and drew him a picture and put it by him on the couch. He admired it about 10 minutes later. Thanks Hailey!

Okay do the news stations really have to put titles like this for the ice that has been blowing over our state the last two days? Lots of states get snow and large amounts of it. We usually get snow but the last two years we have had ICE- which just isn't as much fun.  Last year the ice was so bad that it ruined a lot of trees, did damage to properties and power was lost in many homes. (We lost quite a few trees that made spring/summer clean up lots of fun.)  So when Brady and I turned on the televison this moring to get the traffic and weather reports, we had a good chuckle at the titles. I think calling it a state of emergency at this point is a little rediculous. Ice falling from the sky has happened before and does not need to be called an emergency, YET!

Thankfully,  I have no place to be and the kids and I can be perfectly content enjoying being inside watching the pretty stuff fall from the sky. Brady has had the lucky pleasure of venturing out in the slick stuff which makes us worry - especially when we happen to watch the traffic reports. He drives better on this stuff than I do. I would rather just stay at home than have white nuckles and a stiff neck from concentrating too hard on not sliding all over the place with two little ones in the car!

Last year, I took  Hunter out but he was too little to really enjoy it. So I  bundled the children up and out the front door we went - right before it started to come down steadily. Hailey was more interested in eating the ice. Hunter liked walking on it because it made crunching noises. He found lots of sticks which are good for poking and destroying piles of ice that his sister so neatly made. We stayed out for a bit but after the gloves got too wet, we came inside. We will have to venture out again this afternoon and locate some waterproof gloves!

* Hunter is wearing Hailey's coat from last year. I left his in the car and it is sealed shut with ice!

Hailey has been telling Brady for the past two days that she can run faster than he can and has let him know this several times apparently. So yesterday, they went out in the backyard and had a race. They started out doing some exercises to warm up their muscles.  I put up a crepe paper finish line between two trees for the finish line. Brady asked me if he should really win and I said, "Yes, but not too bad." She finally agreed that yes indeed her dad could run faster. Hunter even joined in but he didn't get too far before they were finished. They had a second race though which she won and Brady ran carrying Hunter. She was pretty happy about her win and they both agreed that probably someday she really could run faster that he could!

I tried to take two videos at the same time of the event. I got it successfully taped onto our digital camcorder but forgot to push the record button on my  little digital camera. Would have been a funny video to post! Here are the pre-event stretching pictures. I don't think I ever said that to my dad. Hailey is beginning to challenge us now with stuff "she can do better" -  Guess I will need to be on my toes for a long time. I did prove to her I could do a somersault. My head was spinning afterward but I did do one! Kids are funny.

* I happened to catch them in between stretching. It looks like they both are struggling but that wasn't the case. 

 

My mother gave me these moving reindeer when I was first married. You know those ones that you put out in the yard. I have enjoyed them each Christmas holiday season but for some reason getting them out is fun and quick. Getting those dang deer put up after Christmas is another story. When we lived in Norman, I had them out back because I was afraid someone would steal them if I put them out front. I also couldn't enjoy them as much if they were out front because we didn't have a front window other than our bedroom one. After Christmas they would sit and sit and sit until I finally realized that it was spring and maybe I should get them back into their box. This year I moved them from the front yard but they have been sitting on the front porch for 2 weeks. This was around the same time Brady asked me if I was going to take the red bows off the trees. I did that pretty promptly! (Visitors are very rare here so I didn't mind so much and the UPS man and wildlife don't care.)  So last night I glanced out the front window and tackled the job right at that moment.  Those cute moving deer are now back in their box home and I am pretty proud of myself. See you again this Christmas and maybe I will hire someone to do that horrible job for me  - Just kidding!

For Christmas, Brady's parents gave me this turkey decoy. You are supposed to put it in the ground and it is supposed to draw in the turkey's. Well a few days ago, we all saw the most turkey's we have ever seen all at once. I counted at least 29! Turkey's pass through our front yard everyday. This morning I went to put out the trash cans and I apparently spooked 4 because they went flying across the street and a driver had to put on his brakes for them. It was kinda funny! So when I saw them come back through the yard this afternoon, I went and grabbed my turkey decoy and placed it out front. It worked! One got interested in it and started making a calling noise. Slowly more and more arrived. Then 4 large ones banded together and walked close enough to check it out. I wish they would have pecked it or something. They were still a little nervous. I posted a video of it on the Tucker blog. Funny how a decoy really does work. Too bad I can't actually harvest those dang turkey's now. They have grown so much over the past few months. Some would make a fine meal!

 

On Wednesday of this week, Hailey started her first class on the big girl side at gymnastics. She was anxious about this move because she thought that it would consist of "big people" and not little girls like herself. After meeting her teacher, she warmed up real quick. Just a few weeks ago her cartwheel wasn't quite there. Now she can almost do one! She loves going to gymnastics and actually prefers it  over her ballet/tap classes. Ballet/tap require a controlled discipline that Hailey doesn't enjoy. What cracks me up about the whole thing is that she tells me that ballet/tap makes her tired but jumping up and down practicing skills over and over for 55 minutes of gymnastics doesn't tire her a bit! Once her ballet/tap class is over in May, I will ask her if she wants to continue it or not. She and another little girl are the only ones still in her class and her teacher has bascially been giving her private lessons. There is going to be a recital in May where they are going to wear costumes. Not sure how Hailey will react but I hope for her teacher's sake that she does what she has learned since it will be just the two of them. All eyes will sure be upon them!  I am glad she has had this chance to do these activities this year. Next year will be a big year for her as she will finally start Kindergarten. Welcome to the BIG SIDE Hailey!

 

There are 5 other girls in her class. Here she is meeting her teacher.

When I went to college, my mother gave me a clipping of the Christmas cactus that was in our house. Her cactus was from a clipping of her mother's. So I have kept this cactus plant alive for years now. It has only bloomed twice that I can think of though and it is in desperate need of a new pot as it has grown so much. They are supposed to bloom every year - around Christmas time.

Fran gave me a clipping of her Christmas cactus awhile back. Her cactus was from her daughter when she was in grade school. I remember visiting their house over the years and watching this little plant grow into a monster of a plant. It always had the biggest leaves and the prettiest flowers. Well this week, my little plant flowered. I can see 2 other buds that will flower soon too. I hope to keep this one alive as well. I love these plants but especially because they are originally from other people!

 

 This is my Christmas cactus that needs a new pot!

Hailey asked to have a fish for her birthday back in November and we promised her one. Her little fishies finally arrived last night. I finally got around to washing the rocks we had from our previous fish tanks last week. When I went to get the tank, it appeared to be in good shape. But when I lifted it up, the bottom was cracked really good. So the tank that I have had for years had to be thrown out. We had to purchase a new one. We liked this one and the cute little rustic aquarium stand that goes with our rustic decor. It is a nice addition to the living room. Thanks for getting the tank set up Brady and Happy Late Birthday- Hailey! She now has 11 new friends to look at everyday and feed. (We got the boring kind for her - not the aggressive cichlids that we normally get!)

 * When I told Hailey last night that we were going to go get her fish, she said, "This is the most wonderful day I have waited for!" 

 

On Friday or was it Saturday? They boiled up a nice big pot full of crab, potatoes, corn and shrimp. The other night we had pizza's on the grill. It smelled so good. I am allergic to crab so I didn't partake and was perfectly content with delicious leftovers. I can eat leftovers for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hunter was game to try the shrimp and liked the bites he was given. Hailey missed out on the entire thing because she fell asleep and took a really long nap. Good job guys!

 

Every year at my inlaws home, their traditional Christmas meal is served. Since I have been added in the mix, peas are now a part of the meal. I love peas! Anyway, I took pictures of it this year to document what we eat for our Christmas dinner. The condiments are always different as half of the Tucker refrigerator is just condiments. (In fact, they have more condiments than I have actual food in my own refrigerator!) So back to the actual food... Turkey, ham, cornbread stuffing, fresh sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, peas, jello salad, fruit salad and rolls are served. Hope I didn't miss anything!

 

After dinner, Hailey got to make cupcakes with her new cupcake maker from her Aunt Kelsey. She also got some cool decorating tips and tools that will be perfect to use when we get around to making those sugar cookies! Hailey had a good time making cupcakes with Kelsey. The actual cupcake flavor wasn't so tasty but that is what happens when you cook one in a microwave. The froster is cool though. We can just make cupcakes and use the machine to frost. It bloops frosting out! They didn't just make one cupcake either. They made several. Thanks for playing with Hailey Kelsey. She loves to bake. I wish I would have remembered to have her wear her new apron Grammy made for Hailey and I. We got matching aprons!

 

Hailey's fever broke about 5:30 Christmas morning so she was able to really enjoy seeing what Santa left. I usually dress the kids in pretty Christmas clothes since we are away from home and we wait upstairs until everyone has gathered before we come down. This year they came down in their matching pajamas and stayed in them all day! I always had on my new pajamas Christmas morning so even though they were under the weather and weren't wearing pretty clothes, it was nice to see them comfortable and real. Kelsey helped out by taking over my video camera while I took pictures with my little digital camera of them experiencing Christmas morning. Brady had his new flip video going. Can't wait to see the videos. Michael helped the kids explore too which is fun for me to see. Hunter absolutley loved his new choo-choo train but was a wee bit cranky at first. He needs fuel first thing in the morning and hadn't had a cup yet. After we got him situated, he perked up. He sat in Brady's lap while they looked through his stocking. I think he liked the chocolate the most. He ate most of his peanut m&m's and practically all of Hailey's chocolate kisses. He keeps finding her hiding places. Earlier today he took the stool out of the bathroom but I didn't follow him. I found it just a bit ago. He used it to go behind the bar and reach for Hailey's stash of remaining kisses. Sneaky!

Hailey was most excited about her new two-wheeler bike. She rode on it a bit in the house and took a ride outside later on in the day. Mia even magically appeared on her new plastic horse! Santa even left her the RED Christmas tree she asked for as well as a new pink fishing pole. 

After eating a yummy Christmas breakfast with Smokey's famous gravy, we relaxed inside and watched the kids play. The weather was beautiful and since Hailey had been couped up for days, she went outside with Brady and went fishing for awhile. She didn't want to come back in even though they had been gone for forever it seemed. 

Santa also left me a beautiful new watch which I really love and Brady got an xbox 360 which he loves too. Thanks SANTA'S! 

Love to all,

Camey

 

 

I could tell Hailey was slowly drifting off to sleep in her chair. I knew she would be upset if she didn't leave cookies for Santa and make the reindeer food. Luckily Grammy and Smokey were given some cookies that Hailey could leave for Santa. We didn't get to make our annual sugar cookies for him but he had a some delicious other ones. Hailey and I still plan to make those cookies!

I brought the items to her and she made the reindeer food in her new rice bowl. We left the cookies and her new milk mug for Santa under the tree. I asked her where she wanted me to leave the reindeer food since she didn't really want to get up. She said in the house. We usually leave it by the back door or spread it in the yard. I told her reindeer don't come in the house - silly! She said - well the roof then! So Brady scooped her up and took her upstairs to the landing and hopped onto the roof. I thought he would just leave the bowl there but they dumped it everywhere. It was windy the next day and you could still see traces of reindeer food! Next year, Hunter will hopefully enjoy making cookies with me and making reindeer food with his big sister. I love silly traditions.

 

 

Grammy gave Hailey a Bitty Baby a few years ago from American Girl. She loves dressing and playing with dolls. Now that Hailey is getting older,  Grammy bought her Mia. She is supposedly intended for girls 8 and up but you can get the older girl dolls that look just like you. Mia has red hair and is being retired by the end of 2008. So Hailey is ONE VERY LUCKY GIRL because I think Grammy ordered every last Mia accessories that belonged to her series. She plans to spread out the items over the years. I told Fran earlier that since Mia was a special doll, I thought she should give it to her in private. So she took Hailey aside on Christmas Eve and gave it to her. The next day she gave her a change of clothes and the very cool skating rink that goes with Mia. I already know Hailey loves it and will love it for years. You never outgrow a love for dolls! Thanks for the special gift to my daughter Grammy!

 

In Brady's family, it is a tradition to open up the presents from each other on Christmas Eve and eat delicious snacks throughout the night. Santa comes on Christmas day. Growing up, we opened everything up on Christmas day. On Christmas Eve, we would eat dinner and then dad would read the Christmas story in Luke. Mom would give us our annual pajamas and we would open up a small present. Hot carob was usually served and a few sweet treats. Candles and Christmas lights were usually on too. If we hadn't delivered the white chocolate nativity or breads to friends, we would take the time to do so as well. My stocking always had an orange in it and pieces of my grandmother's delicious homemade candy that grandmother sent to dad or some carob covered treat from the health food store. Mom always put some pretty jewelry in it for us girls too. My annual Christmas ornament was an angel of some sort. Some years depending on our location, we got other ones too. The year we moved to Louisiana, I got a cute little gator holding a candy cane! Fun memories... Last year I put oranges in the kids stockings but they didn't go over well. So this year, I put one in mine. It was a chocolate orange! Santa also brought me my favorite candy as of the last few years. SKOR BARS!!!

Hailey was in and out of the lakehoue Christmas Eve fun since she was still running a fever. She didn't get to wear her cute outfit I had picked out either but Hunter wore his and got to be festive looking! When she was tired, she sat back in her chair and rested. Hunter liked helping Kelsey put presents under the tree and opening them until it was around his bedtime and then he called it quits and fell asleep. He opened up his remaining gifts the next day. 

 

 * Brady and Smokey both got the very same fishing pole. Smokey gave Brady his and Kelsey or Michael gave him his pole. What was even funnier (that isn't a word but I use it) was that both "wrappers" turned them into "Flugel Horns" or some funny name like that to disquise what it could be. 

* Fran and Smokey also made these neat stepping stones for their kids too. You know how children always give their kids gifts with handprints on them? Well they decided to return the favor and put their handprints on them. They gave me a pretty stepping stone that had a dragonfly on it - another one of the things I like. I put the stepping stone in the atrium until we find the perfect spot for it. Can't ruin a treasure like that!

 

We left to go to the lakehouse, with a jam packed car, to spend Christmas with Brady's family last Tuesday. We were going to go much earlier but Hailey still wasn't feeling well and Hunter was just plain cranky because of his ear infection. We have spent Christmas with them every year since we have been married. This is Hailey's 4th time to be at the lakehouse for Christmas. Her first Christmas we all spent at the OKC house. Brady's brother Michael and his sister Kelsey come home to visit so it is a real treat to see them at Christmas time. They usually come for the Fourth of July but something about Christmas makes seeing family even better!

Tuesday and Wednesday Hailey pretty much wasn't herself and was still running a fever. The 3 day antibiotic I got on Monday helped. The prescription cough syrup didn't. It made her sick to her tummy. I have wiped a lot of noses through the years.  I have never seen this much come out of one person for days like it did with Hailey. I am glad it was coming out but to be completely honsest I was tired of dealing with it and being coughed on every minute! I think I can vouch for Brady too. Fran had a touch of something already so Hailey didn't infect her (that we know of yet) but I heard Smokey coughing and now I hear Michael is sick. Brady has a touch of a cold now too. Hope it doesn't get you Kelsey. Sorry everybody. I hope you recover fast. I decided to try out the pink grapefruit airborne daily. So far I haven't gotten the bug. Maybe we should have stayed home but I know they would have missed out on you all. So thanks for putting up with us!

Despite the cold stuff, we did have a good time. As usual, even though they say they aren't going to get much, the trees had way too many presents under them.  I loved spending time with you. Thank-you for all the wonderful things and for loving on my kiddos anyway. They love seeing each of you and making memories!

 

Last Sunday, I was laying on the couch and Brady drew a mustache on me with his pen. Hailey thought it would be great fun to decorate herself too! Instead of using the pen, I gave her a makeup pencil. Here is her beard and a lovely picture I took of myself with my moustache and the beard she drew!

 

 

So this week was EVENTFUL with the kids. As usual, things seem to like to happen at the close of the day or the beginning of the weekend. Late Tuesday afternoon, Hailey freaked herself as well as me after she used the restroom. After a failed attempt at going to an urgent clinic to get her checked out, we wound up driving to the ER in Norman. Hailey was in the hospital for 5 days back in April for just about the same situation. (Side note: Hailey whelled up in tears when we told her we had to take her to the doctor. She asked about shots and went and got the colored bear they gave her last time she was there. She had a mini panic attack and I got teary too seeing her sad.) They tested her urine and were able successfully draw a vial of blood. She was a super big girl even though she had big, sad tears streaming down her face. She was terrified but wouldn't look away. She wanted to watch! Stickers made up for it though. Hunter even got some Thomas ones. The last hospital visit pretty much did her in on the shot/needle thing. We saw her pediatrician the next day and went back to the hospital so she could have an ultrasound and x-rays. It was a long two days and we still haven't heard any results. Our doctor said she hopes to know by Monday. She most likely will be referred to an urologist and we will go from there. Hopefully we will find out what is causing her to get in this situation. Other than these mystery illnesses, Hailey has been a pretty healthy little girl. 

Wednesday evening, I noticed Hunter keeps coughing a lot. Thursday he develops a fever, is still coughing and is uncomfortable. He had some throwing up episodes of drainage junk in the middle of the night too. So early this morning after more late night throwing up, I took him in to see the on-call weekend doctor in Norman. He has an ear infection in his right ear. No wonder why he didn't want his head to be touched and kept saying ouch! This is Hunter's first time to be on an antibiotic. Hope it kicks in soon and clears it up so he can be back to normal. 

It has been a long week. Love you little ones!!!

 

 

My cute little car moved last Saturday. Before we went to go get our tree, Brady stopped and got me a new battery. So after the tree was put up, he went outside and worked on my car. It started right up! It has been sitting in our driveway all sad and lonely for almost 2 years now. He test drove it to make sure before I would even drive it. We went and got some new windshield wipers, some stuff to add to the full tank of gas that was still in it and he washed all the yuckies off of it. We did have a good laugh after we turned on the air and got splattered with dirt! I then drove it to Sonic. I was so nervous about driving it at first. I felt like I was sitting on the ground after driving the Yukon for so long. It has been fun reuniting with my car again though. It is fast and something about my sunroof makes me feel good. The car is in really good shape still. It is going to need an oil change and the timing belt changed if I drive it much more and maybe some new tires. They got flat from sitting in one spot for so long. Brady did order me 2 new sunvisors that were looking yucky due to the sun and a new cupholder that broke off years ago. I appreciate it and thanks so much for working on my car Brady! Maybe we can trade cars next week and I can go get yours clean. From the sounds your truck is making maybe it is a good thing. I don't think driving it until it dies is a good idea!

Besides my love of pumpkins, I love snowmen. They are so fun and make me smile. Who can resist a smiling snowman? I also like ornaments and making them. This year I learned how to fold paper into one inch strips to make a paper star/snowflake. They turned out cute. Hailey decorated them and gave them to her extended family recently.

Today I shocked Hailey. She had a friend over and I told her that we were going to make ornaments. She didn't know I could mix flour, salt and water to make ornaments. Too funny! They had a good time rolling out the salt dough and using the Christmas cookie cutters. We will paint them another day this week. 

 

I made these last year. The hand is Hunter's and the foot is Hailey's!

This is the ornament Brady and I got on our Honeymoon. We always think it is doves. You would think by now that we would have remembered it is a hummingbird!

This is the lightup tree we had in our house growing up. My mom gave it to me a few years ago.

I also like these cute snowmen and of course my pumpkin. He needs a Santa hat soon though!

Last year, Brady spoiled me and I got a fresh wreath for the door. I have always wanted one but never got one. This is the one I picked out this year.  

The first snow of this winter season. It started off as ice pellets before it actually snowed snow this afternoon/evening! 

 

Brady helped show Hunter his few ornaments in his box. Hunter wasn't too crazy at first to put them on the tree. After all they are so pretty! He did finally understand that we were putting them on the tree and keeping them there. Later on he did wind up breaking a glass ball on the stool and it shattered into a million pieces. Earlier he was banging the ball against other balls on the tree just for fun but I encouraged him to stop.  Interesting thing is that Hailey broke a glass ball last year in the same manner.

These are my cute moving reindeer my mother gave me years ago. I think everyone in the family got deer one year! The lights on the tree are my attempt to satisfy Hailey. She told me she wished we had lights on our house. Next year Hailey I will find some lights I like on clearance. I will start early and try my best. I did put a string of lights in the atrium and decorate the house. Does that count? We have never had lights on our house since we have been married. So I will do my best and shoot for it next year for the kids.

   

 

Hailey got tangled up in the netting briefly. Hunter thought it was funny! 

Saturday we went to the tree farm to find our Christmas tree. Ever since we have been married, we have had a live tree. When I was young, I remember having a few live trees. Some got planted and grew so tall. Finding a tree is one of the few traditions we have for Christmas. I like to bake sugar cookies and gingerbread men with Hailey too. I also like finding that perfect ornament for each of them. This year Hailey's was a gymnastics girl, Hunter's was a John Deer tractor, mine was a snowflake on a piece of wood, and Brady's was a large rustic bell. It reminded me of going to the Polar Express and the fact that Brady paid for our trip. I don't think he liked his much though! Every year, I looked forward to seeing what ornament my mother picked out for us and watching my box of ornaments grow over the years. I still have them! A few years ago, Hailey and I made food to leave for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. I am excited to do this again as she is another year older and Hunter can help this year. I also received an Advent calendar from Fran for the kids. I have wanted one for a long time but have never found one I liked or the ones I liked were just too expensive. So this year, I got a few items and am having fun putting little treats in the pockets for the children. We told Hailey the elves must have done it!

After finding our tree, Brady has another tradition where he becomes VERY ANGRY at putting the tree in the tree holder. Despite getting a nice one years ago, it still frustrates him that the base can be such a pain. He did put on a happy face and put on some Christmas music just for us though. It did get up and Hailey enjoyed cutting the plastic wrap off the tree as well as separating the needles off the fallen branches onto the floor. After it is up, we put our lights on it, then the star, then we both put the ornament we recevied on our honeymoon from a sweet lady that checked us into the Sugar Shack at Beaver's Bend. 

 

Hunter was asleep when we arrived but woke soon to noise and the sight of a giant saw!

Which tree will be ours?

Oh, Here it is!

 Hunter was a little confused about what we just did. Seconds after it fell, an employee came and whisked it off to be prepped to take home.

Our tree is about 10 years old.

 Yummy apple cider and hot chocolate!
 

On Friday, we drove to Scottsdale to visit Nana's grave. Hailey put the flower we bought at Ikea on the marble slab. She had some pretty fall colored flowers in her vase and the one we bought matched! We sat for awhile, collected treasures and took a few pictures. My mother's grave is by this beautiful tree in the cemetery. My grandmother and father Brewer is also by this tree as well as my aunt Judy. As we were leaving, I noticed a faint rainbow in the distance. It made me smile. My brother Ryan and I talked about that incredibly sad song called I'll Build You a Rainbow that the church put out in the 70's. I often think of that song and sing it in my head whenever I see a rainbow. We took family pictures on Wednesday afternoon. There were storms in the surrounding area and it had already rained at our location. When we were finished and leaving, a big beautiful rainbow was up in the sky. Ryan said that was from Nana and I agree...

 

 

I am so excited to be able to go visit my family in Arizona for Thanksgiving. I am going to spend some time with my brother's and sister and their families as well as my dad and Rhonda. We are also taking a trip to Williams to ride on the Polar Express. I hope my little ones enjoy the trip and all the sights.                                       

I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE! I BELIEVE!

 

I am looking forward to reading this book Brady and I just purchased. Heard it was a good one!

 

Last Wednesday when I took Hailey in to get her hair cut, I had them trim up Hunter's hair as well. His curls were getting super long. I have trimmed his bangs and the back twice before but it has never been all evened up. I love his curls but he was getting too many "pretty boy" compliments.  Now his hair has some wave to it and lays better when I brush it out and doesn't look like an old man comb-over!

 

On Saturday, Hailey turned 5 years old. Hailey told Grammy and I weeks ago that she wanted a surprise party. She told me she really didn't know much about them except that you are supposed to stay in your room and someone comes and gets you and yells SURPRISE! So with a little help from Grammy/Smokey, Gigi/Chris and Billie, we held the surprise party in the barn. Brady took Hailey and Hunter on a Kubota ride to check out the new dock while we made our way to the barn. Brady told Hailey he needed to go get some computer stuff for Smokey and they checked out the barn for fun. I pretty much knew what her reaction would be. She would get all shy and cling to Brady. I think she liked her surprise because we hadn't mentioned doing anything and all we had told her was Happy Birthday prior to her party. Grammy and Smokey helped me out and already decorated the barn with red crepe paper and picked up a super cute balloon bouquet and the cookie cake. Since she already had a friend party last week, I wanted to keep it simple. Her favorite colors are RED and SILVER and she loves horses. So this was the mini theme. Upon entering the barn, she fell in the sliding door slot and got embarrased but she quickly warmed up. She spied the princess scooter Brady put together for her earlier that morning. She has wanted one for a long time and I am a little late on delivering it but o-well. She will have fun learning how to use it. We sang Happy Birthday and Brady sliced up the horse cookie cake. After that we opened up presents. She was delighted with each one. Thank-you everyone for coming and helping surprise Hailey on her birthday. We LOVE and THANK YOU!

* The brown and orange outfit is what Hailey picked out early in the week and told me not to forget it when we packed for the lake. She said it was going to be her party outfit on her birthday! 

 

* BIRTHDAY LOOT: (I think she is good for a long time!)

- Scooter/Head protection gear from mommy/daddy

- Play make-up from mommy. I am tired of having chapstick on my face and eyes when we play!

- Barbie Horse/Girl from mommy/daddy

- Barbie card with 5 dollars from Papa/Rhonda

-  Fishing Tackle Box, supplies and fishing clothes from Smokey. She has a new love of fishing with her daddy!

- Bitty Baby sailor outfit from Grammy

- Craft supplies from Kelsey and Michael

- Girly stuff from Gigi/Chris! Bracelets, lotion, feather boa, hat/gloves and a poofer wand!

- Carosel card from Billie (Hailey loves carosels!) and a beautiful bell. Hailey said she was going to use it at night to tell us she is going to bed and then use it in the morning to wake us all up!

Friend Party Gifts:

-Giant box of beads to make necklaces, etc.

- Tinkerbell doll

- The new Tinkerbell DVD movie/Lightbright from mommy & daddy

- A Barbie that came with a dog that eats and poops! 

- Barbie doll Mini Set

Oh Miss Hailey Rae! Yesterday I took Hailey in to get her hair cut. She has wanted it shorter for sometime. Her hair needed to be trimmed but I was holding out for after Halloween. I wanted her hair to be longer for those Dorothy ponytails! She had about 3 inches cut off. When I took her in for her first hair cut, I kept some of her hair. Ever since then she has become obsessed with scooping up her hair off the ground and keeping it. Before I had a chance to try to talk her into not picking all of it up, she had it rolled up into a large hairball. I couldn't find a paper towel or something to put it in so I dug in my purse. The only option was a diaper. So in went Hailey's hairball. Have a peek!

 

 

 

Every year since Hailey has been born, we have gone to Brady's parents home for Halloween. We eat GOUL-ash and then go trick-or-treating. They live in one of the historical districts in downtown OKC. We only go a couple of blocks. The last 2 years, Hailey has had a lot of fun handing out candy. Last  year she called them her customers. This year she and Smokey had their candy passing out routine down. She even managed somehow to scare some older girls who thought she was trying to trick them. Hunter liked it for the most part. Almost every house we went to had a dog. I think he was beginning to think that trick-or-treating was all about doggies. He even helped himself to the candy people were handing out! He didn't want anyone to hold his hand or his pumpkin bucket but after a bit, he opted for Brady to hold him. They both had a good night and looked super cute if I do say so myself!

Hailey was "the girl who walks on the yellow road"AKA Dorothy and Hunter was a cow. Hailey wanted him to be Toto but I couldn't find a cute dog costume so he wound up wearing Hailey's old cow costume.

 

 

 

I was sitting at my computer desk and looked out in the back and these two caught my eye. I got excited at first because I thought the whole group would be joining them but it wound up being just them. When I see the turkey's they are usually in the front yard only. I need to put out more feed!

 

This is Hunter's second time to have a sucker. Brady took the kids to the office and two banks this morning and they got balloons and suckers. Brady sent this picture to me of Hunter after he thoroughly enjoyed his treat. Apparently blue goo was all over his face and hands and he loved it!

 

 

Hailey woke up cheery this morning but it quickly turned the other way. She was  bugging her brother, being sassy and just down right cranky. I asked her not to swing her beaded necklace around 3 times and she still kept on doing it. So off she went and I put her in her room for time-out. The normal time-out spot is in the hallway where there is absolutely nothing but walls and carpet. She was wearing pajamas. When I went to check on her, I found her in this state...

"I'm pretending to be a poodle!"

 

Hunter was so sleepy early yesterday afternoon that he curled up on the floor and fell asleep. He looked so sweet yet hot and uncomfortable to me!

In the meantime, Hailey and Brady were looking through the American Girl magazine that came in the mail. She loves when magazines come in the mail. She gets her pen out and marks stuff she likes. They spent a long time looking at this magazine. She showed me all her  "x" marks of the stuff she wanted! It is fun to see what she prefers.

 

Hunter found one of Hailey's hats in her dress up box and was excited to show Hailey his find. She went and got a hat out to wear as well. She really wanted her white hat back but Hunter didn't want to switch!

 

Papa, Rhonda and her father came to visit us at our home yesterday afternoon. They were on their way back from visiting family and friends in Kansas. It was nice to spend the day with them. Hailey enjoyed seeing her Papa. She got 1,2,3's on the bed, a piggyback ride, The Polar Express story read to her and even managed to remove his socks/shoes and talk him into doing hopscotch with her! She especially enjoyed what Rhonda brought her. Rhonda put together a cute little bag full of sewing supplies. Hailey loves this type of stuff and worked on her projects until about 9:30 and then fell asleep on the couch! Rhonda also made her a really cute poncho. The first thing Hailey did this morning was work on a sewing project and then she went and got dressed and put her poncho on! She gave the kids some savings banks, cups with their names on it and made Hunter an adorable pirate doll. Last night, Hailey told me that she wanted me to try to make a doll like that. Hmmm.... that might take lots of years Hailey! We spent time chatting, watched their DVD of their trip to Mackinac Island and ate a quick dinner together. Thanks for coming and visiting us you guys. Sure love you! Thanks for all the cute things too. They love them!!!

Papa giving Hailey a piggyback ride!

Boys really are different in their own unique ways. My sweet little boy has had some moments lately that remind me of Dennis the Menace. Yesterday I caught him trying to open up the back door and go outside. He pushed up his caterpillar toy and was balancing on its head. He easily opened the top latch but the bottom twist button is still a little bit tricky for him. I guess before long I am going to have to install a latch at the top just for him!

At this age, Hailey was using crayons, playdough and Fiskars scissors. She loved it and was able to handle them well. He likes to sit by her when she is creating projects and of course he likes to be using her materials. So I let him. The only problem is that he wanders off with the materials! So far I have been lucky to only have crayon marks on the table, cabinets and the windows. I think the scissor lessons will come much later too! 

I know much of this is a learning stage but I don't remember this at all with Hailey. She never banged objects into each other repeatedly as to cause damage to surfaces or used the broom as an extension of her arm to knock off objects on tabletops or walls. Most of the time his "exploration" is done with a cute little smile and kisses are blown my way!

 

Brady took Hailey out fishing while we were at the lake over the weekend. They were gone an extremely long time. I think it was at least 3 plus hours! I didn't think she would fish for that long but I knew she would be happy just searching for "treasures"- you know the fun stuff that washes up on the beach and hanging out with her daddy. Well she was happy doing both and she wound up catching her first fish all on her own with her own pole and finding lots of treasures! Brady even let her use his NICE camera and take pictures. I am shocked about that but she took some really good ones. Brady and Hailey had a great late afternoon/evening. She didn't want to come back. He had to tell her it was time!

Smokey bought them some really fat worms to use. I wish I would have caught it on film when Hailey was showing Hunter the worms. He said "Ewweh!" He wouldn't hold them. Hailey will have to teach her brother all about worms. I am sure he will be picking them up just like her soon.

 

My sister-in-law Jennifer tagged me to go to my pictures folder on my computer and find the 6th folder and the 6th picture. This is what I found! Most everyone knows I love clovers- especially four leaf ones. This picture is one Brady and I added color to a long time ago. My mother loved looking at the "funnies". She was always cutting out ones that made her laugh or reminded her of something. This one was for me.

  This is the original newspaper clipping.

  

 

This just cracks me up. Smokey and Fran's friend had an old propane tank and they decided to have it painted to look like a bobber! It sits outside one of their gate entrances. They told me people have been stopping and taking a double take at it and one even stopped for a picture. So I just had to do the same!

 

 

 

A couple of definitions for escapade: Any carefree episode or a mischeivious act or adventure. (How fitting for Castle Cutie!)

We got home this afternoon from a weekend at the lake house only to discover that Castle Cutie has escaped- again! She escaped a few days ago. We purchased an attachment for her cage to give her a wee bit more room a few weeks ago. Petco didn't have much of a selection of supplies but we bought a cute little school bus. Well somehow the bottom of her attachment came apart and she escaped that way the first time. This time around my rigging wasn't so great. I don't have the proper fittings to close off the tubes and make them secure. We looked for her a bit with no luck. I was just about to set out some food and a device to lure her back in when I went into our master bathroom to check it out. I turned on the light and first noticed a really disqusting smear of stuff on the bottom of the tub. What is that I said? Did the kids empty the shampoo? Then I noticed her near the drain trying to open her eyes in the bright light. Apparently the bathtub makes a good hampster cage as well. She couldn't climb back out. I went and got her cage and put it in the tub and let her recover. I am too grossed out to clean the tub or her cage yet!

 

The past few days, the oak trees in our yard have really started dropping acorns. We hear them hitting the roof and the sky lights but most of all I have noticed how bumpy the side walk is becoming as I crunch, crunch, crunch them when walking to the mailbox or the car. Hunter has even braved them without shoes and goes "Ow, Ow!". It is a lovely time of year for me. I love the way Autumn feels and smells. But this year it seems like those oak trees have produced more acorns than they did last year. So I went out back and did a quick survey because I had nothing better to do than count trees. I counted at least 52 plus oak trees in the immediate area and 62 plus trees in the front yard! That is not even counting all the trees beyond the fenced off area that is still on the property or the ones in the creek! The trees are in various states. Most of them are good size, some are still small and a few are dead (I didn't count those!) We do also have one half dead cedar tree, one magnolia tree and one mimosa in not very good shape. SO MY POINT IS... THAT IS A WHOLE LOT OF ACORNS AND LEAVES BEING DROPPED!

I am not even going to think about sweeping off the driveway until they quit. I found out last year real quick that I was losing ground. I would sweep and it would look good. Then more acorns and leaves would drop! I don't worry about the ones in the yard. Eventually they decompose!

Yesterday Hunter kept saying "Fry Fries. Fry Fries." Hailey even noticed she thought he was asking for them. I had forgotten that I had purchased a bag of them about 3 weeks ago. The package caught my eye when browsing the frozen food section. I normally don't buy them and I remembered I had them this morning. So after Hunter asked for them again this moring, I baked up a tray. He has been eating small amounts since he got this fever thing. He enjoyed his fry fries for breakfast and lunch! I think this is his first official request of asking for something to eat. He usually sees food and then asks for it. This time he came up with his own idea!

 

  

Hunter loves this stuffed raccoon. It is Hailey's and he has adopted it. Here is another shot of him sleeping off this sickness. He also woke up today with a rash on his tummy and back. The nurse at the doctor's office said it is not uncommon for a rash to develop after a viral infection. Haven't seen it with Hailey ever. Always somthing new to experince. Love you little buddy!

 

Right after Hailey woke up today, she got herself dressed and decided she was going out back to rake up the leaves that are beginning to collect on the porch. She was pretty proud of herself. Before long we are going to have a nice big pile of them to jump in!

 

Hailey and Hunter have not been feeling well the past week. Hailey got better faster but has developed a barky cough. Hunter has had a fever for 4 days. He has just wanted to sleep, sleep, sleep! This is his first actual sickness. He has had the runny nose thing a few times but got over them quickly. He is feeling better today and even ate and drank more. As you can tell from the above pictue, Hailey is all smiles but Hunter isn't too happy. His phrase has been "Go away". "Hunter would you like a sip of juice?" "No. Go away!" "Want a cracker?" "No. Go away!" Usually his arm is held out too. You can say about 10 things and the answer is the same. It is actually funny to hear how he says it. He learned "Go away" from Hailey. He likes to be involved with her play and that is usually her response. So we are working on reminding her of a different approach and to share if it is warranted. Anyway, I hope these little guys don't get sick again for a long time. It isn't even flu season!

 

This is Hunter imitating Brady when he came home from work and was trying to fix a customer's business server. They were extremely heavy! Whenever I concentrate, I tend to chew my tongue- yeah weird but I do. Brady bites down on his tongue.

 

This is the turtle Hailey found while I was out back mowing the lawn. She put it in this bucket but it escaped after it enjoyed her snacks.

 

Wednesday night, Hailey's nose started to run. She most likely picked up a little bug from gymnastics class. This is what I found in the kitchen at one point. I asked her why she didn't throw them away and she said she was making a line of them first and then she would throw them away. Yucky! Hunter now isn't feeling too well and is running his second fever ever. Sorry Hunter!

 

Hunter woke up from his nap with his curls all crazy. I couldn't help but run my fingers through his hair which tends to make them all fluffy. His hair is getting longer again and now thicker. I am going to have to take him in to the barber so they can cut it right. I can trim but the rest of it just isn't one of my talents. Just ask Brady!  * Oh - An older lady at gymnastics always tells me Hunter should have been a girl. She say's he's too pretty! I do agree. He is a "pretty" boy but at least he acts all boy. Which is totally fine in my book!

 

Just had to document this in a photo. This is Hailey's Bitty Baby high chair. Hunter loves to sit in it and it won't be long before he won't be able to do that.

 

Since I was taking pictures of Hunter, Hailey decided she needed a few taken of herself. She is in the swimsuit I bought her for next year that was on clearance. She had it in her mind she wanted to go swimming in the plastic pool. The one I put up last week. After some convincing, she opted to take a bubble shower in her swimsuit. 

We have been just hanging out at the house this week for the most part. Cleaning and making messes!

 

My beloved Oreck Air Cleaner passed away this morning and I am sad. It was a good machine. It spun around making noise almost day and night for over 5 years drowning out all unwanted noise. You were a gift from my mother and were serviced only once. I should have cleaned you more but I didn't -yet you contiued to make that lovely sound and let us all sleep in restful peace. Meanwhile, may you rest in peace until I take you to the Oreck dealer to see if he can revive your spirit...

I'll have to sleep with the back up air cleaner tonight but it just isn't the same!

I did however find you a friend. Not a replacement because you were just too good. I hope it lives up to your quality. Here is what I ordered today. It is called a White Noise Machine- SleepMate 980A from Sleepwellbaby.com. Can't wait to meet you!

 

 

 

 

Today I took the children to the pet store to get some more pet food and bedding. Food and bedding for a hampster lasts a long time. Hailey has been wanting a ball for her pet for awhile now so I finally gave in and got one. She picked out red. Red and silver are her favorite colors. We also picked out another area for her to hang out in. The selection was poor but we did get a school bus. Since Castle Cutie bit me a few days after getting her, I do not have any desire to pet her. My finger still remembers! Occasionally we (Brady and I) call her "The Rat". I get the pleasure of cleaning out the stinky cage but Hailey loves her regardless of if she bites or not. She was so excited to put her in that red ball finally. Hunter was freaking out and all he wanted to do was hold the ball with the animal in it. Castle Cutie was exhausted after awhile so back in her cage she went. On another note, we did find out that they are having ball races with your pet at Petco soon. Hope I remember to take Hailey and Castle Cutie there on October 4th @2:00. She thinks that will be fun!

 

 

 

 

 

My cousin has tagged me! Here it goes...

Joys:

Watching my children experience new things

Being able to relax inside or outside on a perfect day

Eating desserts!

 

Fears:

Losing my children or someone kidnapping them

Breaking a bone or becoming critically ill

Not being able to provide for my family's needs

 

Goals:

Lose 30 pounds!

Throw away most of the stuff in the messy garage

Go visit my Grandmother and take the H's to the ocean

 

Current Obsessions/Collections:

Blogging/Journaling

Trying to ride my bike with the kids over the entire neighborhood

Making lists for everything (Honey-do's, Christmas, etc.)

 

Facts:

I love to sit and find 4-leaf clovers in the grass

I am missing the tip of my right index finger

My hair used to be red and I don't plan on coloring it (yet)!

 

Hailey and Brady

 

Sunday Kelsey and Zivi began their car drive adventure back to Boston and Brady's friend Kevin and his two twin boys came to visit. Hailey had fun playing with the boys. We played in the lake, pool, went to Gigi's annual Labor Day party, made smores in a fire (for the kid's sake), and took the kids for rides on Big Bertha. After Hailey rode around with Brady and the boys had their turns, she declared it was her turn to go by herself. Shocked both Brady and I. She had no fear and was excited about it so the nervous mommy let her go. When she came back on the boat she declared that the new plan was for everyone to go by themselves from now on. Brady did ask if he could join her for fun sometimes and she agreed. After the boys went by themselves and they teamed up with Hailey for rides, Hailey went again by herself. She still had a smile plastered to her face and pretty much kept the thumbs up sign on the whole ride. I declared it good enough when I saw her jump out of the tube a little too far for my comfort! She now says she wants to learn how to knee and wakeboard. She heard us talking about those sports. Next summer after a few more swimming lessons, I am sure she will take it on! (If I don't pass out from being a nervous mommy.)

 

Hailey, Luke and Wyatt enjoyed finding long sticks to play with in the water!

 

Pool Play! The boys know how to swim well. Hailey really got involved in their play when they all decided to "fight". You can see how animated she got!

 

Here Hailey is trying to keep the wind from blowing her hair in her face!

 

Good-Morning Smiles from Hunter and Hailey!

 

One tired Hunter! He fell asleep on Brady's leg face down, legs dangling.

 

We spent Labor Day at the Tucker lake house again this year. On Saturday, we  took a tour of Smokey's new boat and spent the afternoon on it with Brady's parents, his sister, Zivi and Gary. It was a fun trip on the water. It is a boat that Brady and I could probably spend all day on just relaxing the day away. I think it would be a lot of fun in the fall/winter looking for Eagles and birds on the islands. Here are a few photos of the boat with no name yet. Lots of options are up in the air. Fran happened to finish fracturing her toe on it the other day when stepping onto it. Brady said they should call it the "Digitizer"! Smokey is working on getting his Captain's license. Apparently you have to have one of those when your boat extends beyond a certain length and want to carry around passengers other than family. Fun times ahead!

 

Captain Smokey

 

Smokey & Fran

 

           

 

Hailey started another 15 week semester of Kindermusik today. She looks forward to going to her class each week- especially when she has some type of homework project to take back and share with her classmates. When we started, Hunter was in a carseat. He has enjoyed listening to the music outside the door and watching his big sister. Today when we went in for parent time, he lit up. He listened to everything that was going on and when class was over, he quickly went over and got her backpack off the hooks and handed it to her. Hailey was so surprised that he did it and even picked out the right one! I was too.

So... Monday's are Ballet/Tap, Tuesday's are Music, and Wednesday's are Gymnastics.

Hope you have a great year Hailey. I Love you!

Two of the five caterpillars Hailey has been watching, turned into butterflies this morning! The others are not far behind. Apparently the painted lady butterfly is one of the most common butterflies in the world. It is also known as the cosmopolitan because of its wide range. So far she has witnessed 3 of the four stages of the life cycle. The larva (caterpillar), chrysalis, and adult. Our sheet says that from 5-7 days after emergence, female butterflies should begin to deposit eggs on the host plants which will begin to hatch in 3 to 5 days after that. Amazing how fast this process was to watch. Maybe we will get to see the eggs! This butterfly only lives for approximately 2 weeks so I am sure we will let them be free in the wild after a few days.

* Hope to get some better pictures of them when Brady gets home. I had a hard time getting a good shot of them through the mesh cage.

 

Hailey tried out a ballet and tap combo class yesterday afternoon. She and another girl were the only ones that came to this first class session. She was eager to give it a try and had a huge smile on her face. They did ballet first and then tap. I did ballet for many years but never did tap. I figured Hailey would love tap because it requires the moves she likes to make! She was like a fish out of water and lost her balance a few times.  I know learning how to properly hold her arms will be an issue since she is double jointed but it will come. I asked her if she liked it, did she have fun and also if she would like to keep going. She said "Yes I really liked doing it. My teacher taught me how to move like a butterfly. But sometimes it made my arms and legs hurt." I am excited to see her progress and learn something new if she wants to keep this up!

 Achoo! Before Class Photo

 

 

Hailey went to her first gymnastics class yesterday. She loved it! I was able to observe her the entire time. She listened well and was eager to try out the equipment. Her teacher came up to me afterwards and told me that she did in fact listen very well and did good! When I initially enrolled her, I didn't think about the after school crowd. The place got pretty crowded by the time her class was over. Next session I think I will try to get her into another time slot. She is looking forward to her next class and loves her 2 new leotards!

 

They had everyone do the Hokey Pokey as a warm up before they separated into groups.

 

Her teacher had them line up like this when they moved from area to area.

 

These pictures are not great as I think I was the only one in the place with a camera. I quickly tried to snap a few but I think I still looked like a dork!

 

This was her favorite part. You can barely see her but she is on the swing. Below it is a pit of foam cubes. She was fun to listen to as she described this area. She had to scale the wall first, then swing across the pit, climb up the rope ladder and go down the slide.

Public school started today here in Edmond. Since Hailey has a fall birthday, she misses the cut off date to start Kindergarten. But that is okay. I get to enjoy her for another year and she is scared to go anyway. So I told her we would start "Pretend School" today and play school in her "Office". Her office happens to be in the laundry room.  She seemed to go for this idea. In the past, she has pretty much not been interested in anything I try to teach her when it comes to paper/pencil stuff. I pulled out my old lesson plans and we had our first class this morning in our pajamas! She loved it and has had fun all morning calling me "Teacher, Teacher, Teacher" over and over again. We will see how this goes!

 

Hailey did tell me that real school is big and has lots of people in it and kids could get lost. She went on to ask me how the kids find their teacher. Hopefully this year at home will prepare her for Kindergarten next year. Growing up is fun but sad in a way for me. I would love to be able to keep her little forever!

*On another note, while she was at "recess" I told her I was going to fold some laundry. Guess I should get up in the morning and get dressed because Brady's work partner showed up at the front door. People really should have clothes on by noon!

Has anyone noticed all the mushrooms exploding all over town in the last few days? I guess we have had the perfect conditions lately for them to grow. I do not like to eat them and am actually allergic to them but they sure are pretty to see growing wildly. Lovely spores!

 

Yesterday and today we have had the front and side windows open letting in fresh air. Listening to the rain is quite soothing. Makes me want to curl up and take a nap. The weather this week is getting me excited about fall weather!

Today I took Hunter in for his 18 month well child checkup with his pediatrician in Norman. I know the post title says 19 months. I failed to schedule his 18 month appointment last time we were in for a routine visit. They fill up fast so he had to wait a whole month more.  Anyway... I am excited to announce that he is on the growth chart for his weight! (Albeit in the 6th percentile). Last time he was on the weight chart and not under was when he was 6 months old. Way to go Hunter! Hunter was chattering away in the office and the doctor picked up on it. She said he had the speech of a 2 year old. And right after the nurse gave him his immunizations, he told her thank-you through his short lived tears.

 

I gave him a dose of Tylenol and we went to do some grocery shopping before coming home. He slept all of 20 minutes and then was wildly silly in the store. He has learned how to scream. He kept laughing and doing this really loud scream with a huge smile on his face. I had a very hard time making him stop!

Love you Hunter Lewis!

 

For Christmas last year, we received a gift certificate from Fran/Smokey to use towards the purchase of new bedroom furniture. We finally went in and checked them out. We ordered a king bed, mattresses and 2 nightstands. They fit perfectly in Brady's work truck. This new bed is HUGE compared to our queen. We all had fun checking it out and lounging in it. I even found myself in it this afternoon watching the Olympics! I am so excited to go to sleep even more now!

 

 

Aunt Tessa gave Hailey a hanging butterfly container in June when she came here to visit. We finally got around to ordering the caterpillars for it a few weeks ago. Hailey and I have been checking the mail almost everyday. She will ask me "Are they here yet?" "I wonder if my caterpillars came." So seeing the box in the mailbox today delighted her. I can't wait to see them go through the different stages with her!

    

This is the cake we made for Brady this year. It wound up getting sprinkles on the top because the crumbs kept getting into the icing. The 3 was french vanilla and the 6 was red velvet. Something different... 

 

We had the pleasure of eating at the Petroleum Club here in Edmond for Brady's birthday. Smokey made reservations for us and we had a good time. The fake pump out front cracked me up. Brady worked in this establishment for a few years in High School and made some good money!  It was known as the Greystone then and we even had our Junior Prom dinner there. When we first walked in, he said it even smelled the same! There were only 3 other tables of people so by the end of the night we basically had the place to ourselves.

*Thanks to all those who called to wish Brady a happy birthday. His phone was on silent/buzz and he couldn't answer it in the restaurant!

When we returned home, we loved on the kids and chatted. Brady found a brand new computer chair in his office- compliments of his mom/dad. Hooray! We sang and ate cake, kissed the grandparents goodnight and after a bit all fell asleep watching the Olympics in the living room.

Hope you had a great birthday Brady. We love you!

 

Friday the children and I went to Jasmine Moran with the Confer Family. My children have never been there before and I have wanted to take them there for some time. The kids had a great time exploring each center and we even got to see the Bubble Man. He did some pretty neat bubble tricks. Hunter didn't exactly care to watch him at that point though. He was getting cranky and tired. We took a break and went to Braums to eat. Then we returned and played some more. Hailey is already asking to go back! It is definetly worth the few dollars AND you can spend the entire day playing inside. It looks like they are constructing a new area- more fun! Thanks for letting us tag along in your car.  Hope we got all those cheerios picked up!

          

     

 I like a silly nut captured the moment on the atomic clock. Even got those 8 seconds! (Brady said too bad it wasn't 88 degrees!)

 

 

This was when Grammy, Hailey and I went to see the play Aladdin. It was Hailey's first time to see a play. As you can tell, we got an up close view of the characters. Hailey was bug-eyed most of the time but seemed to really enjoy the end mushy part!

 

Hailey watched this PBS show where they do experiments and explore things. She has learned that every plan must be tested first to see if it might work. So... she got a balloon from the bank and it drifted up too high and we could not reach it. Even with our handy tools. She went and got out a piece of paper and this is what she came up with. The large yellow paper with the slits in it is a ladder. The white and yellow paper above it represents her balloon. She wanted to get a ladder out and climb up there and get it. Brady came home shortly thereafter and they came up with another plan. See other drawing... It is of Brady holding Hailey up and grabbing the balloon. Good Thinking!

                                                                                                                                                        For some reason, Hailey has not been able to sit through and enjoy the movie The Lion King. She finally watched it and this is her re-telling the story with her plastic animals.

 

Happy Hunter!

 

Hanging out by the water cooler - enjoying ice pops!

We have named one raccoon "Auti". He is a young raccoon and something is wrong with him. He sometimes visits during the day looking for food. His back legs do not work so well and occasionally they give out on him and he falls down. He is alert but not like the other raccoons. They scamper faster. He will let me put food out right by him and doesn't mind me taking a closer peek. Not sure what is wrong with him but I can't help but feed him and give him water when I see him.   

"AUTI" the Raccoon 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More Raccoon Friends...

I was watering the front yard this afternoon and went to go check on it when I found a mommy turkey and her 8 babies with her pecking in the tall grass. (More technical terms: A Hen and 8 Poults!) They were loving it and stayed a long time. Maybe my sprinkler lured them in on this extremely hot day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The other day Hailey was watching television and they were talking about bubble baths. She asked me what a bubble bath was! I actually gave her a bubble bath when she was a toddler. Unfortunately, she has sensitive skin like I do. She gets itchy and rashy and it is worse in the winter months. After her first bubble bath, she got rashy and then got a minor infection. So bubble baths have basically been off limits. What child wouldn't love to experince a bubble bath? They are tons of fun! So I let her pick one out at the store the other day. She picked the pink princess one. She wanted to try it out when we got home but I denied it after reading the bottle cautions. After her recent hospital stay, I am not up for any more "mysterious" illnesses! She was disappointed so I came up with another solution. Let's take a bubble shower! We plugged up the drain with a washcloth and added capfuls of bubble bath. I had another restriction. She could not sit! She enjoyed it anyway. Scratching "itchies" I can deal with. Just nothing else... She had a great time scooping up bubbles and spinning in circles in the shower. Maybe in a few years she can enjoy this relaxing experience in an actual bathtub.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Lately we have all been enjoying feeding and watching the 3 sets of raccoons in our backyard. The mommy with her 4 babies, the OKC mommy and her 2 babies and the single male. The other day we put Hailey's stuffed animal raccoon in the window to see what they might do. They gave it some looks but kept on eating. Brady decided to put it outside. We missed the action, but apparently they did not like it and drug it off by the ear!  Hailey got this raccoon for Christmas and it was in really good condition. That stuffed animal in the brief time it was on the porch STUNK of animal. It went in the wash. Would have loved to see that interaction though!

Then I told Brady, now all we have to see is some deer. So last night, Brady calls me and tells me to come out front. He had just come home from work. Two young male bucks were in the neighbors yard. It looked like they were going to come across to our yard but the kiddos were too noisy. It was funny to see them walking down the road. Two bucks at that. Usually I only see females around here. Now I want to fill the corn feeder out front and back and lure them in!

Other than the regular creepy crawly bug life that exsists here we have seen:

- Cats and dogs, squirrels, lots of birds including hawks and woodpeckers, turkey's, raccoons, rabbits,moles, snakes, turtles, opossums and even smelled a skunk last night. It is bound to show up sometime! I am sure I missed some other forest animal. I enjoy feeding these critters. Leftover food is great. I can just throw it off the deck or leave in on the porch. Cheap cat food works too!

Last night, Brady upgraded my webpage program and now I have a COMMENT section! I am excited about this feature. The upgraded program is great so far. It will take me a bit to learn more about what I can do and how to arrange stuff but I am excited he helped me out last night. Thanks hubby man!

These are the ones that were in our backyard. Couldn't capture them all at once but I counted 5 in all!

 

 A few days ago, Brady, Hailey and I got to see a mommy raccoon and her 4 babies coming down the tree on our back porch. They hung out long enough for us to admire them and then they were off.

This morning, Smokey brought over a mommy raccoon and her 2 babies. Somehow they managed to get in his attic downtown. It was fun to let the kids see and hear them up close. They were so cute!

 

 My computer has been shutting down for over a month now. I will be in the middle of something and it will just turn off. The other night it turned off twice while Brady was home. He asked me if that was the noise it always makes. I said "Yes". He said "Well that is just the fan." So he opens up my case and Lo and Behold the fan is covered in dust. Not just typical dust bunnies. This was a dust rabbit! The poor fan couldn't keep my computer cool. He took it outside along with my case and sprayed it out wtih a can of air. All clean now only problem was that the fan got so hot it fried my computer. So yesterday Brady purchased me a new computer. I am now the proud owner of a red laptop! (It looks more crimson and reminds me of OU. So I picked out a cream colored laptop bag. GO OU!) I have never had a laptop nor a brand spanking new computer. So this is my Christmas in July. I am so excited to use it and play around with using two monitors like he does and multi task! I absolutely love my new toy. Thank-you so much!!!

P.S. I am lucky to have a computer guy as my husband. I already managed to get a memory card stuck in the computer. Luckily he fished it out. I now know how to properly use a memory stick extender!

      

I have been meaning to take a picture of Hunter for some time now. If he is asleep before I begin shopping, I make him a little bed in the top of the shopping cart - complete with a pillow. It works out great because I can shop for a long time and when he is ready to wake up we just switch it around. I get some stares and some smiles but he is one happy napping baby. I don't like waking up sleeping babies. Not sure how long I can do this but it works for now!

 

When we went to Arbuckle Wilderness with my sister and her family, we bought food to feed the animals. After our trip, Hailey helped me clean the car. Food pellets were everywhere- mostly in my seat! She was having a good time collecting them and I made some comment like "Oh you should keep those and put them in your scrapbook." So yesterday she hands me her "scrapbook" and asks me if I can fix it. One of the screws had come off. Then I noticed a weird chunk of stuff on the floor and I asked her what it was. She says "You know the food. I put it in my scrapbook!" She turned and showed me the two other pieces. Apparently it has been in there ever since we cleaned the car! Hailey has a scrapbook but not one I have given her to keep on her shelf. Her "scrapbook" is a photo album I gave her. It was given to me as a baby gift and she keeps her photos in it on her bookshelf. Guess I need to make her a more appropriate scrapbook for all her collectables!

   

 

A long time ago Hailey saw an episode on Sesame Street where they were painting the number of the day on a sheet outside between two trees. She has wanted to do that ever since she saw that done. She reminded me of it this week so we went to my favorite store - Lakeshore and picked up a few painting supplies. She was thrilled to paint her masterpiece. She even told me that sometimes artists speak Chinese when they paint. I didn't know that! Her painting was about a racoon in the night by his home, underneath the stars and fireworks. Good job Hailey!

 

I love blackberries and raspberries so I bought one of each plant this year. I wish I would have purchased more. Hailey went berry picking in our backyard to collect our first ripe ones. Hunter tried to get in on the action too. Next year I will have to add to our collection. Hailey told me she was going to make 2 pies. One berry pie for me and a jalepeno pie for Brady. Sounds tasty!

 

 

This is the place where we camped - courtesy of Smokey who owns the area now. We had a great time camping out undearneath the stars!

This is one of the camp cabins on the property.

Inside view complete with air conditioning!

Lately it has been fun listening to Hailey translate Hunter's language for us. He will rattle off something and she will say "He says he wants this he says". "He says" is usually at the beginning and the end of her translation. It cracks us up.

Today on our drive in the car she asked me if it was raining cats and dogs today. She noticed it had rained overnight. I asked her where she heard that and she said TV. I had to explain what that really meant. I get to be translator mommy a lot. Daddy usually does a better job at explaining the deep questions she asks!

This is the musical wind instrument she made yesterday for the animals. She came up with it on her own. She loves watching older PBS tv shows and I am actually amazed by how much it fascinates and sparks her imagination. 

Today Hunter turned 18 months. He is a sweet, happy little guy with a smile that makes me smile back at him. Happy day sweet boy!

 

Like my paint job mommy? Hailey was painting at the lake house earlier in the day and the paint plate did not make it to the trash. Hunter found it. He was swabbing his hair with it when I found him. Normally the kids wear old clothes at the lake and I don't care what happens. I got a wee bit upset for a minute till Brady started making fun of my fit. I could have cared less about the paint on him. It was the cute shirt he had on that I didn't want ruined! 

Yummy Sonic Corndog! We stopped by Sonic on our way home from the lake to get drinks. Brady got a corndog but Hunter wanted it and poor Brady only got the last section of it! Hunter liked the yummy treat on a stick. 

Warning: This is a long entry!

For over a year now Hailey has wanted to go camping. Outside in a real tent. When she was 2 I got her this very cute castle tent. She loves it. It comes out every now and then and she always asks us if we can take it outside. She got her first sleeping bag for her birthday when she turned four because she wanted to go camping so bad. IT FINALLY HAPPENED. WE TOOK HER CAMPING!

I knew we would have a few extra days at the lake over the 4th of July. Smokey purchased some land about 20 minutes from the lake house. It is a beautiful piece of property with pretty lake access and views. One part of it even has some little cabins on it that I would have loved to stay in for Girl's Camp. They even have air conditioning! We haven't seen it yet but a fox and her babies are there too. She likes to hide in the outdoor chapel roof.

I packed some stuff to camp and Brady packed his gigantic telescope. Since we would have the whole property basically to ourselves, I knew the night sky would probably be fabulous and it was. I didn't pack our tent because the cats I had a few years back sprayed it and ruined it. Dang ole cats! We were going to borrow Smokey's tent that was in his trailer but time got away and we got to the campsite a wee bit too late. He wound up buying a new tent and began putting it up in the dark for us basically. I enjoyed the night hanging out with the kids and talking while Brady began getting familiar with his telescope again. We looked at the stars and had fun looking at Jupiter (my favorite planet). At about 11:00 I noticed that Hunter felt warm on his tummy and head. Something out of the ordinary for him. I knew something was up because he was extra clingy. At about 11:45, Hailey and I needed to use the restroom so I drove up to the bathrooms. When I returned, I took Hunter's temperature and he did indeed have a fever. I gave him Tylenol. I stayed up for a bit with Brady but went to bed to keep a better eye on Hunter (and I don't do well without sleep). Brady came to bed about 5:30 or so. At 5:45 Hunter threw up and had a bowel movement. Not a pleasant one either. One that I got the pleasure of getting on me! We decided it would be best to abandon camp and go back to the lake house. So we packed up sleepy Hailey and drove back to the lake house and crashed. I gave Hunter some more Tylenol at 9:00. From then on out he got better. Clingy but better other than the bowels so we decided to try camping out again. It worked out a wee bit better this time because we got there early enough to enjoy the sunset and the campsite before dark. We cooked a meal and shot off the rest of Hailey's kid fireworks. The wind felt great but once we got into the tent it was too stuffy. Once Brady removed the rain cover, it was beautiful! The only thing about camping out is that morning time comes WAY TO EARLY! About 6:00 a few crows started gathering and squawking. Hunter shot up out of bed with a huge smile on his face and wanted to know what that was. He bounced on the air beds as Brady and I tried our best to arise. Didn't take long. Hailey woke up shortly thereafter. After getting dressed, she began asking us about a zillion times to take her to the swings. Her favorite spot on the property. Brady took some pictures of the sunrise and we headed off to the swings. I had planned for Brady to cook us breakfast but we opted for donuts instead. The kids explored and we took down camp. It was a good campout for their first time. Now that we have the perfect spot, I hope to camp more with them- in the FALL. I don't mind camping at all then. I just don't like hanging out in the summer time during the heat of the day. So thank you Smokey for helping us out with the tent and the the little extras. We had a great time and plan to go back!

P.S. This was Hunter's fist time to run a fever. Maybe he got too hot and played hard outside. His upset tummy could have been from the half of black beetle that he munched down before telling me it was yucky or the peanut butter cracker that I found him eating (probably from digging in the trash can), or the bubble solution from trying to learn how to blow bubbles. Who knows!

ThT

Taking down camp! It was windy still so Hailey was helping hold down the corner so Brady could put up the tent.

Brady and I took the children to the lake house for the 4th of July. We had a great time with his family and friends. His brother and sister came to visit for a few days so it was an extra treat! I know Hailey loved spending time with them. Every time I turned around she was giggling, loving on someone, showing off her moves, dragging/pulling or asking to be held. She gets heavy after awhile. So to everyone -thanks for amusing and entertaining her! Hunter had a good time playing outside, taking rides on the Kubota and Golf Cart, exploring and spreading his cute smile. We even played "Capture the Hunter"! Since he is with us most of the time, other people still make him uneasy. He will get better. We ate great food and watched another fantastic firework show from the deck put on by our very own Tucker kids and friends! Hunter liked the quiet ones but would turn his head into my body and pat me on the loud ones. He lasted about half way and fell asleep.

Hailey and Hunter playing in the water dripping from the flower pots above while waiting on Kelsey and Michael to arrive at the lake house.

Note: Hunter is starting to look a lot like Hailey now. His skin and hair were darker and I thought he would have Brady's coloring. Now both skin and hair are lighter and it even has a tint of red!

I have kept a personal journal for a long time now and one began for Hailey when I was pregnant with her. Likewise Hunter has his own. I have this handy little computer journal that Brady created for me. Whenever I remember something the children have done or a milestone, I can just quickly go enter it in the computer. Of course I wanted the children to have their own websites. It started out because I thought it would be a good way for my family to see my babies and have a place to keep track of the thousands of photos we take to just simply becaue it was fun. Then about January of this year I became a BLOG STALKER. Everybody seemed to have a blog (which I really had of sorts with the kids websites). I would go check out people's blogs. Some of which I know. Click on a link here- there and before you know it you are on some tangent reading about the lives of other people. Something about this is fascinating. Yes it is a wee bit nosey but I am amazed by how often I have read comments on blogs that have uplifted and encouraged other people- usually it is from people that do not even have the slightlest connection with the writer or family of the blog.

With all the above being said, I have been reading my friends blogs and other's I don't know over the past few days. Most of them have said something about this family who has just recently lost their young daughter. She fell into a hot tub and drowned. As I read the journal entries of the mother she expresses many beautiful things and I feel their pain. This mother to me seems to have it. She is a stable, healthy woman and is grieving. People that have come across her blog have commented on how this tradegy has changed their life in some way. Why is it that tradegy can bring out something good or bad in someone? I have found that they are often a great wake up call and a reminder to listen up to the more important things.

So what is HARD? Is it dealing with your children over summer break, being sick or in pain for a few days, not having something, etc.? That word HARD has been stuck in my head all morning as I have gone about my chores. I am completely aware that what is hard for someone may be easy for another. The things that I normally consider "hard" are in fact merely un-enjoyable for me. Hard would be those little ones I think about in this world that have no food or a home and are abused, dealing with a disability every day, coping with a life-threatning illness or that lady I saw on Oprah the other day that had 3 blind and deaf children. The list could go on of things that I think would be hard.

I have a good life. I have shelter over my head and food to eat. Two children that I love and a husband who loves us and provides for us. It can be challenging at times but over time you learn how to make things better. The things I have complained about pass. I have learned that if I am patient and take a step back I am more effective. The normal everyday things that can bug one don't even compare to the HARDER things we may all experince in this life. My goal is to fine tune those challenges in my life and learn as I go.

 Brady spent the weekend removing old tree stumps that were in the yard. He cut and dug them out so they are even with the grass now. No more driving or walking around them! He also tackled the tree that fell down a couple of weeks ago. His long time chainsaw decided to quit working. So sad. He has had that one forever and it has done a lot of work. He purchased a new one to finish up the job. At one point we were both sitting on the tree and I said something like "This would make a good bench." So he began the initial process of making a fun bench for us all to sit on. Thanks! Cutting up trees is tiring and not exactly much fun. He was at the point of needing to put the cut up logs on the wood pile. All of a sudden he asked me if I wanted to learn how to drive the lawn mower. I said "Yes!". Lawn work growing up was my brothers job and my father never let us do it. I always got the lovely task of raking up leaves. Somehow that always felt like a bigger project. I think I am in the category of being an expert leaf raker now (except for those times I get so sick of it and I leave piles of leaves on the grass and kill the remaining grass!). So a driving lesson was given and I quickly was hauling off the logs to the woodpile. I told him it was a trick. He was tired of working! I am excited I now can drive a riding lawn mover. It is a lot more fun than pushing one for sure. I do need a few more lessons on how to back up the trailer. That was funny. I finally did it though with his help. Now I can assist him in the yard. Oh and now that the tree is gone we have plans to turn that back area into a giant garden next year. I am excited. We want a HUGE one. This area is sunny and our plants will flourish better.

* He did pick me up some more rock border for the front of the house. Only 36 or so more to buy before it is finished. I have got some cleaning and trimming of the bushes to do first- yucky.  Thanks for the border Brady!

My deal with Hailey was that if she completed her swimming classes she could get a pet. She has been earning points for good behavior and she chose to use them towards a pet. We have been in the pet store a few times before just browsing. She had it in her mind she wanted a hampster. So meet Miss Castle Cutie. Hailey named her last night all on her own. Funny how she picked out a castle cage- fitting! Hunter is amuzed by the new pet. Hailey says she will take care of her new pet. We will see how cleaning the cage goes. Nothing like cleaning up little pellets. I had two gerbils when I taught school. They lived forever which was an oddity. I think every child should have a pet of some sort. I am not ready for a dog again but someday again maybe. Anyway, I am excited for Hailey and she is beyond excited. She wants to feed it a million treats already. She is supposed to leave it alone for a few days to get used to its new home before she handles it. I hope she enjoys her experience!

Hailey attended her last swimming class this morning. She did really well even though she was scared of the "deepy" and all the new things her teacher threw at her! Up until two weeks ago, if you got Hailey's eyes wet in the bath she would make this horrible gasping sound and ask for her eyes to be wipes dry. Her new favorite game is the number game where she has to go underwater and tell her teacher how many fingers she is holding up or just go under and pick up the sticks. She has a strong kick as she swims but still gets a little nervous without her teacher by her side. She seems to swim more underwater to me. Anyway, I am extremely proud of her for being brave and completing her classes. I am not a strong swimmer and I did not enjoy my swimming classes. I remember vividly hiding in my closet and crying. Hailey did her fair share of crying but it was short lived. I am sure next summer we will do more. For now she gets to show off her new moves at the lake!

 

 

Tonight while I was making dinner, Hunter opened up one the storage cabinets underneath the stove. It happenes to be right across from the refrigerator. He has this thing where he likes to take items out of the refrigerator when it is open. Usually it is the parmesean cheese container. A few days ago, he discovered the package of stick butter I use for cooking. I didn't notice it got put into the cabinet. If he had not opened it up, it would have been for a long time since I don't open that one up very often! Does butter stink after awhile?

 

 

Remember this old nursery rhyme?

What are little boys made of?
Snips and snails, and puppy dogs tails
That's what little boys are made of !"
What are little girls made of?
"Sugar and spice and all things nice
That's what little girls are made of!"

Not exactly a true rhyme but I DO KNOW what my little boy is made of at the moment. He is one part monkey, one part mountain climber, one part acrobat... you get the picture. Every time I turn around lately he thinks he belongs up on top of everything and will do so with a cheeky smile. His favorite spot is the kitchen table where he will do a little happy dance. Hailey often yells "Hunter is on the table again!" I have even found him walking on the arm of the couch. He loves to bounce up and down as he finds whatever object to climb. I have been told that they do outgrow this stage but I am not sure yet. I think I tell him a million times a day to get down and to sit down. It doesn't seem to phase him either if I use a stern voice or am nice about it. His tiny frame can fool people too. He may not look capable of such tasks and yet he still seems to accomplish his goal. I have seen him move from pushing objects over to whatever he wants to climb to just trying to scale it alone using his toes and holding on to anthing he can grab. He even understands a lot and will even smile at you or give you a kiss before he attempts to do something he probably shouldn't!

Other characteristics of my almost 18 month old little boy:

- Loves balls and sticks. The broom is often found in random places in the house. It is a giant stick. It is also very effective in attempting to knock pictures off the walls.

- Uses any object to bang loudly on tables and walls.

- Loves vehicles especially cars, trucks and planes and imitates their noises as he plays

- Very investigative and likes to use his daddy's tools

- Can throw a big tantrum and has a hard time letting it go

- Loves hair. He will either stroke it gently or pull it wildly.

- Likes to throw stuff away in the trash can. It doesn't matter if it is trash or not.

- Cabinets and buttons are fair game. He likes to open them up, try to scale them or push any button he sees. The doorbell gets rung a lot. The hall light is often a fun game.

- He loves treats and will drag you to the candy bowl for them!

- He likes water but prefers it to be running water. He enjoys sprinklers, hoses and the bathtub water running while he bathes.

- I can feed him a ton of food but he has an amazing ability to maintain his weight for months.

- Does not and I mean DOES NOT enjoy his diaper being changed at the moment. He could care less if he is soiled but he does like to run around all natural!

- He loves his sister and likes playing with her.

 

 

Friday I took the H's to Arbuckle Wilderness and Turner Falls for the first time. Tessa and her family joined me. It was a very fun day! We saw lots of animals up close and very personal, Hailey rode on a go cart with her aunt and we splashed in the cool water at Turner Falls.

The camels were hilarious. This camel stuck his whole head into the car for the cup of food that was in my lap. It scared Tessa and I at first to have a whole camel head in the car. Since we couldn't push him out or roll the window up on him, I snapped a picture while Tessa got the pleasure of being extra close to him. Glad I got Hunter's window rolled up in time!

The "Pokers" as Hailey called them later.

 

 

Today was a day to honor our father's and our husbands. If I could have visited my father today, I would have given him the biggest hug, tell him how lucky I am to be his daughter and give him something yummy to eat! Instead a phone call had to do and even then that just doesn't seem to do it justice.

Brady's Father's Day could have been better but I hope he knows how much he is loved and appreciated- especially over the last 3 weeks. Hailey made a treasure map for him to follow for his gifts and then he spent the day working and mowing the lawn. Hailey and Hunter enjoyed that part. Riding on the lawn mower is a big highlight for them! We spent some time in the evening together which was nice. Hopefully next year will be a more relaxing day or better yet tomorrow. His main project is complete. Hip-Hip-Hooray!!!

Wish we could have spent the day with Smokey too at the lake house. We will have to all get together in the next week and really celebrate. My father in law is a very happy, gracious, hardworking man who tells jokes that I mostly get now that I am older!

So Happy Father's Day to all. We love you!!!

 

I thought I would write a brief note to explain the pictures. Tessa and her family were invited to attend a wedding in Texas and Michael went to visit Jason for a few days. Since we are just a few hours away, Tessa, Rob and Nathan stayed with us from Sunday night until Friday. I had a really good time hanging out, shopping, going to Pelican Bay for the first time, getting pedicures on my birthday with Hailey and Tessa, playing at the parks and going to Arbuckle Wilderness and Turner Falls. I could go on but I will spare everyone. I am sure in the next couple of days if you go to our individual websites you will find more details and pictures!

 

 

Tessa & Hailey catching fireflies in a jar - something I have never done!

 

 

 

 

Sleepy Cousins

 

 

Hunter's favorite spot at the park

 

Monday was my 36th birthday! I can hardly believe that I am that age already. I feel 16 on the inside still. It was a fantastic day. Usually birthday's come and go but this was one I will remember. My sister and her family arrived the night before. I woke up and saw Brady off to work and stayed in my room while the kids slept. Finally I ventured out of the room hoping not to disturb my sister and her children sleeping. I received a phone call from my daddy singing Happy Birthday which just makes me feel good every year. Then Tana came over and surprised me with a book and card. Then my sister and Michael, who I thought were sleeping rang the door bell. I was surprised with 36 BEAUTIFUL red, pink and yellow roses, a balloon and a delicious carrot cake. No birthday is complete without a cake and according to Hailey you just have to have balloons. So then Karen came over with a bouquet of flowers. Wow! My sister and I left to go run errands with the children. While I was gone, two more flower arrangements arrived from MaryAnn and Michael. How lucky am I? I have never had so many flowers at once and so many people be so sweet. My sister said it looked like a funeral in my home! Brady came home and cooked us delicious steaks on the grill and we ate cake and ice cream. I have wanted a bike trailer for some time to get some exercise and have fun with the kids. Brady was so sweet to get one for me and a little extra present. He has had a Zune since Christmas and I was eyeing it. It is a handy little device for playing music, movies, etc. that is right up my alley for taking on trips, etc. I knew eventually he would want to upgrade his and I could use his old one. But now I have my own and he doesn't want to switch. Maybe now I will learn the actual words to songs and not make up my own crazy lyrics! I am very grateful for all the attention and the very fun day I had. Thank-you everyone for the phone calls, emails and for making my day special!

 

We took the children to see the circus last Saturday. It was the first time for both of them to see a circus. I think every child should have the experience of going to a circus at some point in their life. I can remember going to them with my family and it always was a fun event for me. I am not particularly fond of clowns but I love watching the performers, seeing the animals especially the elephants!

Yesterday I was in the restroom and I was bombarded with two little ones. Hailey decided to climb into the bath tub and hang out. Hunter decided to join her. A few short moments later I noticed Hunter was all red. I knew immediately what happened. He picked up my shaver. I know better and it should be put up each time I use it but I never would have thought he would have climbed in there with Hailey. I know why Hailey did. We have been reading books in random places. A few days ago, we read two books in the bathtub before bed. Hunter was more upset about me holding his two fingers to try to stop the bleeding than anything. After a long time, the bleeding stopped. I think they are a little sore now. He doesn't quite know what to do with his hand that had band-aids on it so he just didn't use it last night. Poor little guy!

Got to love that Oklahoma wind! Yesterday was a super windy day and last night another tree fell victim to the windy weather and fell down. It was one near the back fence that was still alive. There are two huge trees still standing that are dead. On the other hand, it does open up a nice sunny spot for maybe a Gazebo or a bigger garden next year! The tree was doomed anyway unfortunately. This morning I went around the front and back yard and picked up the big sticks and green branches that fell last night. I think I am going to be a permanent stick pick-er-uper. Hailey and I just swept the deck and made it all pretty this week too.  Oh-well. Good excercise and mother nature does as she pleases!

 

 

 

After lots of delayed flights and missed connections, Brady is home! He brought Hailey a cute Ty Beanie Baby Penguin and Hunter a little Ty Beanie Baby Puppy. They love them and have had them everywhere. I got lots of hotel bathroom samples! Brady knows I like Aveda products and the hotel he stayed in was super nice. So he didn't use them and took them away each day so the hotel staff would replace them and he could give them to me. Isn't that sweet? I didn't know they made a bath bar or a facial bar. It smells so good. Thanks-you! Brady hasn't had time to do much since he has been home as he has been gone constantly trying to finish up  a big project for a client. So when you read this, we LOVE you and thank you for thinking of us and working so hard.

This is me trying to tell Hailey what a shower cap is and what it does.  It didn't stay on very long!

Hailey asked for an ice-cream cone as I was running errands late this afternoon. I remembered McDonald's had ice-cream cones. I saw they had chocolate dipped ones so I ordered her one and a chocolate chip cookie for Hunter since he most likely would be upset seeing her with something. I knew handing him an ice-cream cone would be a mess. Well... the ice-cream immediately started dripping from underneath the hard chocolate shell and dripping all over Hailey, down her arms, onto her clothes and recently washed car seat. She tried to remedy the situation by soaking up the drippy mess with napkins. Hunter ate about 1/2 of his cookie before he started to make the sounds he makes when something is yucky or stinky. He was playing with the melted chocolate chips and smearing it. Chocolate was everywhere! This is what they looked like after getting cleaned up a bit. Hunter's car seat was recently washed too. This is why it really isn't a good idea to eat in cars!

 

A brick layer knows his stuff! I tackled putting the pavers back down in the atruim yesterday. I started to do it last week but got totally frustrated because they seemed to have to go back in so precise. Brady offered to do the job but since he works such long hours, I wanted to help out plus the fact that it was bugging me I failed at my first attempt. This time I started on the opposite end where it looked a little easier. I got the hang of it after a few atttempts and even developed my own techniques. All I have to say is that they are down now and I only smashed my finger once good between two pavers and sliced my finger in a silly way after I was completely done! I decided to use a glass pictcher to water the new plants I purchased. The hose wasn't hooked up properly and was squirting water everywhere. The pitcher got knocked over and broke. I picked up the glass piece and put it into the pitcher and sliced it good on the same piece of glass! Anyway, here are the before and after pictures. I plan to do more but it is a start... I am pretty proud of myself. It took me a major part of the day and I perspired so much that it was running down my face and making spots on the pavers. Gross, Gross, Gross!!!

Brady taking up the pavers to have the area treated for termites...Most of the pavers are down. I am taking a break at this point.The pavers are down! I have some clean-up left to do and the plants need to be put in pots. I also have to find a home with the left-over pavers I did not use. I wanted to plant some of those heavy rocks in between the pavers. 1.Because I thought it might look better and 2.Because I couldn't fit some back in. My solution was to use red lava rock to fill in the gaps! Will post more pictures next week of the finished look.

Hailey helping some girls who needed to go put their shoes back on...Hailey showing Hunter that the tubes make noise...Hunter wanted to go down the slide. I was having a hard time holding him back until we were ready. He would have gone with out someone catching him at the bottom. Thanks Hailey for catching him!

Hunter loves the slide and climbing up the tube. Something you are not supposed to do but no one was around so I let him enjoy. He did make it to the top and it tickled him to pieces as he let go and slid all the way back down.Shoes yet again on the wrong feet! Didn't notice until posting this picture.

Brady left to go to Washington D.C. early Thursday morning. He is re-networking an office for one of his clients. Hailey was terribly upset that he was leaving. I told her we would go do some fun things so I took the children to the zoo. It was an okay trip for me. I was hot and my legs were tired from pushing the double stroller around. My highlight was seeing the Galapagos turtles and hearing Hunter said "turtle" a few times. Hailey enjoyed the Carosel ride, the flamingos, the elephants and having chocolate Dippin Dots ice-cream for the first time. Hunter enjoyed seeing the gigantic lion cat, the elephants and riding on the train. He loved hearing the whistle especially! Hailey wanted to play on the really neat playground but it was just too sunny and I wasn't too game on sitting there for a long time. I opted to take her to the park instead. After putting them in the car with some cool air, they both crashed for about an hour.

These 2 elephants will be here for a few more weeks and then are going to the Tulsa zoo for a few years. The man on the train ride said they are hoping they come back with baby elephants!

Hunter staying in the stroller for most of the zoo trip. I got him upclose to most everything and he didn't seem to mind. He was happing looking around.

Hunter's first time in the big pool this year! He loved it and is not even the least bit scared of the water. He would walk or jump right into it with no problem. He loves to splash wildly in the bath so this was just a big tub to him I am sure!

 

Shark Boy!

Hunter's Hot Boat Ride Pictures

Cooling off in the sink after the short boat ride...

Sit Down Hunter Lewis!

Riding Hailey's Resale Barn Tricycle

Exploring the new property - Glen Eden

Just Hanging Out...

Hunter's Turn on Big Bertha with Daddy!

Hunter's second boat trip was much cooler and he could actually look around this time. He liked being on the water with Brady and would smile when Bertha hit a bump.

Playing in the lake after riding Bertha...

 

 

 

 

We drove to the lake house for the Memorial weekend. It was hot during the day (but not as hot as it will be in a couple of weeks) and beautiful at night. Hailey and Hunter had a great time enjoying just being outside for long periods of time, playing with the resale barn toys, making pizza, cake, swimming in the pool, taking walks and Kubota rides, being on the boat and riding in Big Bertha (who now is little Bertha - she sprung a leak!). Thanks Smokey and Grammy for the long weekend. We can't wait to come back and play some more. I know Hailey would just love for us to just stay there forever!

 

Hailey enjoyed topping everyone's pizza for dinner. The dough was put on the grill and she finished them off. She was really into it and would ask everyone what they wanted on their pizza. Hope you all didn't mind her fingers!

This is the cake Hailey and Grammy baked in the Easy Bake Oven (another great find at the Resale Barn). Grammy always has a fun project for Hailey to do at the lake. This time Hailey learned how to crack open an egg by herself and what a layered cake was. She even wound up using almost the entire can of lemon frosting. She decided that it was her pretend birthday and hid it in the pantry until after dinner. She even tried to talk Grammy into presents and balloons since it was her birthday but Grammy had to remind her that it was her pretend birthday. Silly Hailey. I saw her lick the knife many times as she decorated her cake. She enjoyed every bit of it. She wanted everyone to have some so she just decided to pull off pieces with her hand and gave it to us that way. I told Sarah and her friend that it would be okay not to eat it as she used her hands and how many times that knife got licked! Apparently Grammy didn't get the word. She ate hers. I am the mom so I did lick my icing! Hope no one got sick :)

Hailey playing with her daddy in the water by the dock with her new shark water toy after a boat ride. Apparently there is a law that if you lose something on the lake water it becomes fair game for anyone. Hailey learned about finder's keepers on a kid's show. When we were in the boat she told me maybe a little boy lost it and she reminded me about "Finder's Keeper's". She did say that we could put up signs for it- in Edmond!

Indoor Picnic with her new picnic dishes Grammy gave her.

This is what the rock borders look like now. I planted some Hostas, shade ferns and impatiens. Hopefully they will bloom and spread over time and look pretty. Yesterday evening while we were all outside finishing up, two neighbors stopped by and gave us compliments. It was the first time I have met one of the neighbors and Hunter was busy eating dirt at the time! I was hoping it looked okay out front and the comments were welcome...

   

 

  

 

We spent the entire weekend outside. The tree limbs and debris from the ice storm are gone! The H's helped a little but were mostly curious spectators. They had more fun playing with the water hose, eating popsicles and enjoying being outside. Hunter holds out his hand to tell us that the fire is hot!

Then we were off to buy a new lawn mower. The one we had sucked up a lot of gas and despite pitching in about $400 to repair parts, had to be pushed to Brady's pickup truck to get it started. We purchased a new one at Lowe's along with a pallet (plus some) of new brick borders for landscaping the front yard trees and bedding. While I worked on putting in the bricks under the tree out front, Brady tried out the new tractor. So exciting when you get a new object that works so well! Hunter thinks he is the King of the tractor now though and can't stand it if Brady leaves on it without him or that big sister of his gets a turn.

Brady also purchased a tree saw to cut down the remaining dead fall that needs to be trimmed out. We added some more limbs to the fire, cleaned up and called it a weekend. My feet are sore but not as sore as Brady's entire body I am sure. Those rock borders get heavy after lifting about a zillion in and out of the pickup truck to the little trailer and into place - not to mention the new bags of soil and mulch that I hope to get into place today! Thanks Brady the yard is starting to look really good.

BYE- BYE CHRISTMAS TREE!

 

This year I spent Mother's day with my two little ones and my husband at our home. It was a really good day- better yet a great weekend. Saturday I worked in the yard some and then did the dreaded grocery shopping with Hunter while Hailey stayed with her daddy. She likes it when she gets to stay home with him. When I got home, they were not here (off doing a little something for mommy shhh!). Then I talked Brady into driving me to the cannery to pick up my order. I hadn't been there in years and thought it would only take a little bit. I wanted to go to the furniture store on the way back but that didn't happen. Instead I wound up staying a long time canning the items while the children had a great time with their dad. Hunter got to see airplanes! He was so fun to watch as he chased the airplanes and made noises. They even went shopping and came back with toys. Hailey always tries to get me to buy her Polly Pockets but I never do. They found some at Big Lots. She loves those itty bitty items! Hunter was happy with his battery operated car.

Sunday we went to church and Hailey was so excited to sing for me. She kept telling me it was a surprise! She didn't quite know where to stand so she hung off the step railing just about. I was so proud of her because she actually sang a few words. She usually becomes so shy in situations like this. She proudly gave me her picture she drew me and the cute finger print card for mother's day. The women received beautiful fans with a cloth case that the bishop's wife made for us. So pretty!

After church, we took a family photo outside and guess what? Everybody smiled and we were off to other things. I started the dinner while Brady and the kids swept off the deck, got the grill ready and set up my surprise. Hailey led me out to the deck with my eyes closed so I could see. I have 3 new rose bushes now, a new hummingbird feeder, some new seed and woodpecker feeders. The raccoons or somebody keeps taking my cages away! I can't wait to plant the roses and see them bloom. I like planting stuff and feeding wildlife so this was the perfect thing for me. Then Brady cooked the steaks and we all ate outside. The steaks were so yummy. Hailey enjoyed her after dinner ice cream sandwich and she is already back to driving me crazy with them. I thought I would buy them again since it was a special occasion. She loves them so much and would eat the entire package all day if I let her. We watched a few good movies on TV and had a great evening.

Thank you Brady and Hailey for making my Mother's Day fun to remember. I especially liked the card you made me together. I know cards are not your thing but this one was extra special. Loves to you all!

The Mommy

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY EVERYONE!!!

Hailey likes to do make-overs on me and sometimes I even get to do her. She drags out all her "make-up" (which she calls her flavored chapsticks), the hairbrush and lots of "pretties" (which is what we call her hair clips). I get several layers of chapstick on me and sometimes my eyelids. I guess I should invest in some kid make-up. That plastic stuff just isn't that fun and getting chapstick off your eyelids isn't so pleasant at times. Today after we all got showered and clean, Hailey wanted to give herself a make-over. I put the tangle spray in her wet hair and she combed away and started to get herself pretty. Then she got out her sparkle nail polish. I am not a fan of nail polish on little children unless it is light colored. She was given some for her birthday that is really great. It has sparkles in it and washes off with water. Great stuff! She did all her nails except for 3 she just couldn't get to. Then we were off to get her hair cut. She has been wanting me to cut her hair more. She thinks that if you get a hair cut it needs to be "way up high" meaning very short! So I let the stylist cut another 3 inches off to satisfy her some. I love her long hair but it was indeed in need of a trim again. Both of our children have good hair genes in the fact that it grows fast. So here is Hailey's shorter pre-summer hair cut and pictures of her self mini make-over...

So when I was 16 years old or so, BIG HAIR was popular. I thought I did my hair tastefully. I did the pretty fluffed out sides by spraying it with hairspray and using the blow dryer to perfect the look. My bangs started out in a wet, weenie roll over the brush. I would then spray on hairspray and make them high with the blow dryer. The look was finished off with yet more hairspray. They did not move usually. I never did them as high as other people in school but yet my mom usually commented. She would always say something along the lines of the fact I had rooster bangs- which annoyed me. Hey, I was trying to be hip. I would usually go take a look and calm them down though!

Hunter has inherited some curly hair. On his first birthday, I snipped the very tip of his bangs because they had grown out and he was starting to look funny to me. So in almost 4 months, his hair has really filled in underneath and his curls have become oh so long on top. The sides and back have been okay. When we are at home, he runs around all curly locked and wild. Before we leave to go out, I wet his hair, comb it over and spray it. The non-curly wild look usually lasts a bit unless he touches it and more curls appear. This morning he just looked like a lost, unkempt little baby to me. I took him to the bathroom sink and wet the top section and snipped off just enough so his comb over would still look okay. I did not touch the back. I am no hairstylist. Brady can attest to this. I felt like I did okay (except for that one part on the side where he moved and you can see where I used the scissors). Now those curls are a little more tamer and he looks even cuter to me!

Early Morning Picture

Side View

The look most of the time!

New cut and wet comb over

Side View (and the little oops part )

Other Side View

Pretty little curls

My cute little boy!

The dishwasher that was in our home when we moved in over a year and half ago just didn't perform its job like a good little dishwasher is supposed to do. Even when my dishes were washed off and then put into the dishwasher they would still come out dirty and stinky. This foul smell would arise from the washer and up into the disposal. It would also leave lovely hard water deposits on my new glasses. So I have been hand washing my dishes in extremely hot water. Over the past year my techniques have improved. I would usually do them every day but when I was just plain sick of doing them they would sit for another day until I felt like doing them. It usually worked best for me to do them in the morning after the children got breakfast. I even learned the art of pre-rinsing (for the most part). Brady has pointed that one out to me when we were first married and I had a working dishwasher then. I didn't seem to care much then until I had to do them without this luxurious machine. Now if I can only remember to put up the food from dinner that is still hot and I am letting cool off before it goes into the refrigerator. At this point, I am tired and just want to go sit on the couch and relax. Typically I wind up falling asleep and the food does not get put up resulting in yet another meal wasted! So now I have a new dishwasher and I quite don't know what to do yet. It has been fun rinsing them off and making a load. I get to buy detergent now! We purchased it on Saturday and Brady installed it Saturday night to my surprise. THANK-YOU BRADY!!! Sunday to my surprise he came home with a new In-Sink-Erator. I just love saying that word. It actually says that on the metal ring in all the sinks I have seen and now on the box it came in. The garbage disposal quit working awhile back for good too. So those little scraps of food would get scooped up and put into the trash. The rusty old one is gone and now I won't have to worry about it possibly stinking from little bits of food that got washed down on accident. So here is a loud THANK-YOU to my husband for these devices that really do make things easier and less time consuming. I and my hands appreciate it. I love my expensive new toys!

 

 

We were invited to attend the Fairy Tale Ball by one of Brady's clients. It was a great night. We all dressed up. Hunter stayed behind with Grammy and Smokey. He had a good night too from what we heard. He even begged for treats! When we arrived, we got our packet, assigned table and Hailey received her card which she was supposed to wear around her neck. Her card matched the apron of her Fairy Godmother. The back said what table we were sitting at in case we were needed.

Us before we left! I undressed Hailey and made her wear her slip in the car so her dress wouldn't get all wrinkled.

Shooting arrows with some character I can't think of at the moment...

Bean Bag Toss Game

Waiting in line...

 

The table of boys she sat at for the night. We arrived just in time before the room became super crowded with parents and children! It was hard to get out of the room after we dropped her off with her Fairy Godmother!

Peeking in on Hailey near the end of the night. She is at the front looking pretty and listening to the play.

 

The Porker Sisters- They sang and acted dorky!

 

 

One of Hailey's famous looks!

The games were rather dull for Hailey at the beginning but she did get a lollipop at one game which she quickly wanted to have but her daddy said NO! The whole walking around and seeing so many characters had her big eyed, smiley and shy. She got stopped by Alice who asked her if she knew where the white rabbit was and the Queen of Hearts said this while shaking her head at Hailey... "I am your Queen and do not forget it but I like your hair!" Hailey didn't know what to think so she nodded back at her. Mean- Mean- Queen!!! We stopped and talked to Cinderella. Hailey enjoyed drinking her Shirley Temple and grabbing handfuls of pretzels that were out for the kids. She loves pretzels. Hailey told us she ate pizza, drank, played games, dances, saw a play and had a great time. I went to check on her near the end. She was sweetly sitting on her knees soaking in the play. I took her to the bathroom before we went to meet up with Brady. She told me she wanted to go back to her Fairy Godmother! As I walked her down the stairs, she heard the music playing and said "What is this?" I told her "A Party!". We met up with Brady and danced some. Her Fairy Godmother met up with Brady and handed him her favors. She graciously took a picture with Hailey and said she was a very sweet, polite girl. I am so proud Hailey kept her Princess manners on and was a delight at the ball. She told me in the car she didn't do anything mean and was a good girl! We had a great conversation on the way home and I am glad we got to spend some time alone with Hailey.

After I raked the leaves and un-wanted debris from the beds, Brady tilled the ground for me. It makes planting much easier.

Hunter had a great time digging in the dirt and scooping up leaves. He found out rather quickly that dirt doesn't taste very good but kept trying it!

We planted 14 tomato plants, okra, radishes and jalepeno. We already have some strawberry plants from last year. This coming up week I plan to plant the peas, yellow squash, pumpkin and black and raspberry bushes. I also have 2 new rose bushes to add to my collection along the fence. I got a few new flowers for the beds but I will need more as Brady tells me I never get enough of anything! I am excited to see my little plants grow. I want to try to actually can the tomatoes this year instead of throwing them away because they wound up rotting due to the large supply.

My "Angel Face" rose bush I planted last year has bloomed it's first flower for this year. This rose bush smells so pretty. The purple/blueish looking plant is called chocolate and it just plain makes me happy. I bought 6 of them last year at Lowe's. They are supposed to spread. I like the splash of color.

On another note, the termite people came this morning at 9:00 and left at 2:00. They drilled, trenched and even sprayed the horrible wasps. Hopefully they will stay gone for awhile. They even came across a 6 foot snake around the back of the house when pulling back the bushes. I heard a yell so now I know what it was all about! They whacked it with a pipe but it still slithered off. They did a really good job on our home.

 

Tessa Tagged me with this one...

My favorite thing in the kitchen...
That has to be the my water cooler. It puts out room temperature, chilled and hot water. I absolutely love it!

My favorite thing in the bedroom...
I am going to have to say my children! I am not attached to too much in there besides them. Everything else is a mix-matched combination of dusty nick-nacky stuff and donated items. I use that room to sleep. I hope to transform it someday into something I love.

My favorite thing in the living room...
This one is easier. It is our new Vizio television. It fits into our TV cabinet and the picture is so much nicer than that old beast we had!

My favorite thing in the pantry...
Ummm... the food? I pretty much like all the foods and none are exactly my favorite- except for the occasional bags of chocolate chips and sweet stuff!

My favorite thing in the office...
That definitely is my computer and this blogger program that automatically saves your drafts!
As I was typing the last entry, Hunter was playing under my desk and pushed the button on my backup-surge protector which in turn shut down my computer! I let out an "AHHHH" which scared him and made him cry. My material would have been lost in any other program I would have been using right now. Losing work is a terrible feeling!

My favorite thing in the baby's room...
Now this room I love. I love the boy colors and his wooden name that I painted for him after he was born. The stars and seeing Hailey's old baby toys make me happy too!

Fran- Here is the dress I found this dress at the Resale Barn Monday. It doesn't fit me but I couldn't pass it up for $12. Someone will look good in it!

Hunter has been sitting on the wooden ledge above the air vents for some time now. I think he likes the feel of the warm air on his body. This morning he sat there with his cheerios and came up with a new plan. He decided to feed the vent his cheerios! As I am typing this he is now cleaning the windows with a baby wipe. We spot clean them a lot so he knows this is what we do but baby wipes leave a smear. I am going to have to remember to put the baby wipe container up after I use it. He loves pulling them out!

"Just feeding the vent my cheerios mommy!"

   

The crawfish in the plastic pool about to be boilied...

Curious spectators

Big pool of crawfish

Un-cooked crawfish...

Cooked crawfish!

 

Gary and Brady enjoying crawfish

 

"I am not touching or eating that!"

 

An example of Hunter pulling Hailey's hair...

 

 

Hunter's first ice pop!

 

 

 

"Uh-Oh! Some of your's dropped Hailey!"

"See it!"

"Get it!"

 

Silly Hailey

I took Mr. Chubbers in for his 15 month check-up and immunizations today. He has grown, gained weight and looks great! Still not above the 3rd percentile in weight but is in the 60th for height and 25th for head size. He didn't like the nurse taking his vitals, the doctor checking him out or the shots but he sure enjoyed the cup full of smarties she gave him! He cried briefly and then went back to eating his smarties. CANDY! YUM. YUM!

Last night we went to eat at the Melting Pot with Brady's parents. It was a fun night. It started out a little rough when all Hunter wanted to do was to touch the table, climb up on top of it, make noise and be free. After he threw a fit and whacked his head into the table top, I took him to the restroom to calm him down. I managed to get him to sleep since I couldn't seem to find a red bump or spot on his head. He stayed asleep for the rest of the dinner for the most part which was so yummy. At first when someone brings you out raw meat it doesn't seem okay but after that first bite - oh yummy fun! It was fun to do something a little different. Hailey was pretty good for being cooped up in a booth for 3 hours when according to her "I don't eat that stuff!" When the main meal was half way over I informed her that chocolate was coming. She has my love for chocolate. When the time came she got a funny look on her face as her chocolate pot was lit on fire. I wish we had remembered our camera. She was eager to dip away when it was finished and she finally got to use her "sticks"! She didn't eat as much as I thought she would but hearing her say CHOCOLATE as she is licking her plate was worth it. She did drink an entire glass of sprite and some water and only had to go to the bathroom 5 times during the meal (3 of which Grammy took her and Smokey had to move over each time). At least she told us she needed to go as the other option wouldn't have been fun! It was a great night. So... back to why I brought up going to the Melting Pot. I was trying to entertain Hunter after he woke up at one point. I remembered I had one roll of smarties in my purse. I pulled them out and gave him these treats. Brady gave him one at Hailey's follow up visit a few weeks ago for the first time. So when he got more than one o-boy! I remember when our doctor gave Hailey a cup full of them for the first time. I just about came un-glued but figured the doctor was right there to assist any choking possibilities. But... smarties do dissolve and now Hunter is a SMARTIE eating little boy. My purse will now be stocked full of them again as back up life-savers for me!

 

 

GOT MY PLUG IN AND TEARS IN MY EYES

 

 

HELLO?

 

 

DRAW. DRAW. DRAW.

SHE GAVE ME A CUP FULL OF SMARTIES...

 

Hunter turned 15 Months on the 9th of April. I can hardly believe that number. I can still swaddle him! He is a happy little boy who loves sticks, cars, balls , food, being outside, climbling and pulling his sister's and his mother's hair!

We found the treasure...

Get back. I was here first!

 

These little opossums are what Hailey and I found in the backyard this morning about 9:00. Aren't they supposed to be asleep? I think they were hungry!

Tonight we were sitting down as a family watching a Harry Potter movie that came on TV. Hailey was on the couch with Brady at the time. She has an extremely difficult time sitting still for longer than 1 minute. She had been tossing and rolling every which way on him and over him. It can be annoying at times. I looked over at her and her cheeks were flushed. I asked her if she was okay because she did not look very well. Brady said it was because she had been moving around for the past ten minutes! She kept feeling her cheeks. Then she came over to me and said "Whiskers". I didn't quite understand. Then she left and came back with a colored pencil. Now I understood. She wanted whiskers on her face. I explained to her that using a colored pencil wasn't a good idea. So after a few commercial breaks, I came back with my eyebrow pencil and quietly handed it to Brady. She happened to be laying flat at the time so he began his handiwork. I thought she meant she wanted whiskers like her daddy so that is what I told him to draw but she quickly told us she wanted cat ones and 3 of them. She enjoyed being drawn on with the makeup pencil. Brady took her to the mirror to show her. She just laughed. Then she went and got her vanity so she could see herself easier. While she was gone, Brady quickly transformed himself into a cat without a mirror. She took one look at him and screamed a silly laugh. He then let her draw on him after carefully explaining the eye area. At one point she was having trouble on his cheek area and told him his "thorns" (his whiskers) were in the way! I snapped a few pictures of them. She told me that there was a cat on Harry Potter and somehow that made her want to be a cat right then! And Brady did happen to mention that this was a special pencil and that using other things wouldn't be a good idea. We can only imagine what might happen!

 

 

 

My Favorite Recent Face  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Hailey asked me if she could play in the rain water and I told her yes. It developed into mud play. Once she got a little mud on her clothes she wanted them off. She was then standing in her underwear smearing mud all over herself! Then she had to go to the bathroom. Let's see -- faucet outside not hooked up. One muddy child. Dirty carpet if muddy child comes in. Wait Hailey I will go get  your shoes. Bathroom break too late. But with shoes on muddy child got sprayed and bathed clean and about 8 pounds of dirt are down my bathtub drain!

Yesterday I was sitting in my rocking chair rocking Hunter and I glanced into the "garden" (our atrium) and I saw a bunch of flying things. Could it be beautiful butterflies or moths that have emerged? No. It was mature flying termites. How lovely. We have seen a few in there before and have some visible damage but nothing like this. So today I have 2 inspectors coming to give me their estimates and one tomorrow. The guy that came just a little bit ago said this was the first time this year he has seen active swarmers and said that means it has cycled around long enough that they most likely have been there for at least 5 years. After all the estimates are in, someone is going to tackle the problem before our home gets eaten away by these hungry creatures!

 

 

 

"Daddy - My tummy hurts. Will you rub it?"

When Brady came home from work last night, she pulled this one on him.

When we were in the car going to music class, she told me this:

"There is a mouse outside mommy!"

When we were walking to the mailbox, she said "A car is coming!"

On our way back to the house, she said "Your Yukon is rolling!"

I think she enjoyed this day of jokes but she did say "Why do we do this?" Crazy stuff but I just don't know why we have a day called April Fool's. Maybe I should Google it!

I TRIED to pull a joke on Brady as well but he is too logical. I got this funny idea from my sister. She told me to put a sticker on the bottom of the mouse for the computer so the laser won't work. The children and I were in Hunter's room when he arrived home. By the time we made it out of his room, he had already moved his mouse, checked the keyboard and quickly turned over the mouse and saw my little yellow sticker that said April Fool's! He said, "That was a good one!" I figured I would at least get a little rise out of him, some comment. No nothing. He is too smart for his own pants. I will have to come up with something really good next year! My sister had other really good safe computer tricks you could play but I opted for just one. I figured the rest would set him free since - no one messes with his computer. Thanks for playing Brady. It was fun while it lasted 2 seconds!

Don't know if you see the map clearly or not. Today's music class assignment was to go on a pretend train ride and then make a map of the places you went. She wanted to first go to the beach, then a toy store, then the desert (to pick up a camel), then to dig up dinosaur bones. At the toy store, she purchased a dog and I got a doll. I printed off some pictures this morning and we taped them to the doors and walls before we went on our trip.

"Hailey their is a mouse in your bathroom cabinet. Go check it out. Let's go!"

 

 

Searching... "I don't see one!"

"April Fool's!"

"Oh Mommy!"

I knew this joke might work. Saturday night I left Hailey to finish up brushing her teeth before bed. She has started this silly thing where she lifts the drain plug while she is washing her hands. I have told her not to do this. Apparently she did it after I left. The sinks in our house do not have that little drain hole for overspills. So early Sunday morning, Brady tells me what happened and to stay in bed. He had the shopvac out and was cleaning up the mess. Water had spilled onto the carpet and underneath the cabinet. It had been leaking all night long. As you can tell from the picture, at some point over the years, water has ruined a spot on the cabinet base. As for the mouse, when we first moved in I was pregnant with Hunter. I wanted all the cabinets cleaned. She was helping me clean up her bathroom and I told her I thought I found some mouse poop. She was really funny about it. Ewweh. No mouse poop now. We must have scared them away!

I want a battery powered air cleaner! I told this to Brady about 2 am or so when we were in our bedroom listening to the weather on our radios. Then Brady pointed out to me that would be a battery powered fan. Okay so I guess that would work. Not as noisy as my air cleaner but I can always add stuff to it to make it noisier! Since before Hailey was born, we have had an air cleaner running when we sleep. It has blocked out so much noise and I can't hear all the "goings on" outside. I even believe it helped Hailey sleep longer. So when the power went out, Brady also pointed out that Hunter has not EVER slept at night without the air cleaner running. He was in and out of sleep forever it seemed. He heard every little comment we made or sound outside. The candles and flashy light up things we had out were so fascinating to him. He even tried to wake up Hailey. Hailey on the other hand fell asleep on the bean bag chair. We (mainly Brady) are night owls so we were watching the weather early on in the night. We moved her to the hall at one point and then finally when it was too close for my comfort, moved her to the master bathroom. Brady pulled the twin mattress in as well. We sat in there listening to the radio till it passed. I was so tired and beyond ready to go to bed! Good thing I had the candles and radios handy. I absolutely do not like tornadoes. I guess you could say I am a little freaky about storms. I have been known in the past to be "ready" to protect myself. I sometimes will even go and put my socks and tennis shoes on so if I have to leave I won't get too hurt! Last night I stopped at the socks. I did insist Hailey's toys be moved out of the way. I don't want to find out what stepping on toys in the dark feels like. Especially the tiny doll house toys she had out. I am glad the storm passed on by and no one was hurt that the storm affected. Sad to see some damage to people's homes but like they always say - that can always be replaced. I don't actually know and don't want to find out, but I think I would be terribly sad if my journals, pictures, home videos, computer and a few keepsake items were lost. I would like to pass those along. The rest of my material possessions I can part with. I also couldn't part with my family. I love them and need them.

 

 

These are the four-leaf clovers we found over the weekend during our clean up. I would bring them in and quickly press them between a paper towel and a book. I didn't have time to do them properly but I couldn't let a good four-leaf clover go to wilting!

   

   

This weekend we (mostly Brady) began the task of cleaning up the yard. The yard has numerous trees which produce a lot of leaves. Those needed to be cleaned up as well as the remaining tree limbs and sticks from the ice storm a couple months ago. Since I was young, the task of raking up leaves was left to me. The boys got to mow the yard which to me sounded easier. I do not enjoy cleaning up leaves. Brady worked so hard and cleaned up a ton of them. I barely put a dent into what he picked up. He put several loads into the trailer to put in our dump pile. In the next couple of weeks, we (Brady) plan to burn the huge pile of sticks. Hailey and Hunter enjoyed being outside riding on the lawn mower, playing and getting dirty. Hailey likes to play in her "beach". It is an area of sandy soil beneath the gates out back. Hunter was not even afraid of the lawn mower and chain saw despite how loud they can be at times. He was very interested in our outside activity and wanted to be a apart of it. This was his first time to ride on the lawn mower with Brady. He had the biggest grin and would bounce up and down on the seat and try to move/push the buttons. When Hailey is riding with her daddy, she instantly assumes the riding position and nestles her head on his shoulder. She looks like she is going to fall asleep - which she has done at times before. I couldn't help but get side tracked when I would happen to glance down in the lawn and see clover patches. Finding four-leaf clovers is an obsession for me. I can even be walking by a patch and have to stop because I have spotted a four leaf clover and just have to pick the silly thing up. I talked with Hailey all about it and we even made some wishes! It was a good start to getting our yard back in shape. I would like to do some more planting this year. Stay tuned to see what we do!

See my worm?

Ah-Choo!

The H's riding in the trailer