I can't believe that Brady and I have been parents for 10 years now. Our sweet Hailey Rae turned 10 last week. She came into this world with eyes wide open and the prettiest hair color. I love this girl so much!

We had a friend party the day before she turned the big 10 at a painting studio called Paint Your Art Out. She loves to paint here at home but hasn't done any canvas painting yet. I thought it was the perfect spot to have a party - no clean up involved. The only time slot left available was right after school let out for the day. She invited 7 friends and 4 were able to show up - plus good ole family. Her grandmother and father, Kelsey and Zivi and of course Brady, Hunter, Grayson and I were there too. Kelsey and Zivi were in town celebrating Fran's 60th birthday and stayed to celebrate with Hailey too. I am so happy they stayed. Meant a lot to us.

Since it was at a painting studio, I just ordered plain colored cupcakes. I had Brady arrange and serve them on a paint pallet. I think it looked so adorable. The instructor walked them through the steps. He had lightly sketched the outline of the horse she chose to have painted. It was so interesting to walk around and watch everyone paint their version of the horse. Hunter wound up loving it although he spied a lego man in the studio he thought he was going to get to do instead.

The morning of her birthday I had the breakfast room done up with a birthday banner and streamers. I like making her smile. She took the traditional Eileens number cookies to share with her classmates. They had a test later on in the day so they got to eat them before lunch. Yeah for birthdays! She got int he car with a tub of cotton candy from her teacher. So fun. We opened up presents that night, watched a new movie from her brother and ate her favorite meal - tortellini with olives  (and olive juice), green beans and cheese bread.  

Here is to a fabulous year Miss H. Glad you chose us to be your parents!

The Studio Before the Party Guests Arrived

Her Friends

The Lego Man Hunter Wanted to Paint

The H's Finished Paintings

Her Paint Cake

The Sweet Note from Big Hayley!

After school, I was washing Grayson up in the bathtub. The H's were in Hailey's room playing. I heard all sorts of ruckus. They like to roll and tackle each other lately. Drives me bonkers only because I know someone WILL get hurt. Then I see two little frantic kids in front of me in the bathroom. Hunter has blood all over his hands and is holding his mouth and they both have these really concerned looks. He tells me that Hailey knocked his tooth out with her knee. I calmed him down and told him it would be okay and told Hailey to go get him a paper towel. They went and looked for the missing tooth and washed up. I just had to involve Brady in the drama and called him on FaceTime. Come to find out they were wrestling over a pointer stick. Hailey's knee went into his face and knocked out his tooth. It was wiggly but it still was held on by the gums. Brady had tried pulling it again the day earlier. So apparently enough force was the trick :) They both hopefully learned a lesson. It wasn't exactly how Hunter envisioned his first front tooth coming out but he was happy it was out. His new smile makes me laugh.  Love the hole and his cute smile! He was a little concerned about telling his teacher. They graph lost teeth. I told him to just tell her he lost his tooth. He was afraid he would have to rat on himself that he was fighting with his sister!

Last night, we carved pumpkins. The H's look forward to this annual activity. Hunter has had his design drawn on his pumpkin ever since we went to the pumpkin patch a few days earlier. He couldn't wait to dig his tools into his pumpkin and carve away. The H's designed and cut out their pumpkins all on their own again. I love seeing what they come up with. Hailey had a big reveal. She put a towel over hers before she presented it to us. I love her enthusiasm. Hunter only wound up nicking his hand once from the force he was using to cut out a wedge. The tools are pretty blunt. I love my kid carving tools.

Last year, cute Grayson was sitting in his bouncy seat on the front porch watching us carve our pumpkins. I have some cute photos of him with the sunlight hitting his sweet face. I wasn't sure he would get into this activity as he was tired. Well, he not only liked it but enjoyed it a lot. Second wind of fun I suppose. Brady sat on the floor and showed him all about it. New experiences are fun to watch at any age.

Brady carved a design into Grayson's pumpkin that Hunter picked out for him. I didn't carve one. It is hard for me to cut into perfectly shaped pumpkins. Love them all. I also wait every year to buy them. I don't like to get them so early they rot. I purposely put them in shady spots. It is still a game to see how long my pumpkins can last every year. And I also don't like paying a lot for pumpkins so I wait till they are a reasonable price. Silly but I do. And of course, we roasted those seeds. I let Hailey salt them this year. I usually bathe them in my secret salt bath but I skipped that this year. We all love that pumpkin-e-goodness!

 

We drove to Norman to the Patch we took Hailey to when she was a baby. The last two years the pumpkin patch here has been crowded and nasty. The weather was perfect. Grayson was asleep in my arms for the first bit we were there. When he woke, he was in heaven. This kid loves the outdoors. He liked being free and exploring. He got plenty dirty too. The H's love corn mazes. The ground was a bit wet from the rain. So naturally G fell down a few times. He didn't want to leave the maze. They all loved seeing the animals, going down the slide a zillion times, going on the tractor ride and picking out a pumpkin in the patch. Grayson had more fun in the dirt I think. He would stand in the dirt alley way and step on clumps of dry dirt. So happy. And I had fun picking out Grayson's pumpkin, Brady's pumpkin and my own that I spied on the tractor ride and went and retrieved!

I took Grayson in to see Bettina for his first haircut yesterday! She is the sweet lady who cuts the H's hair. I found her long ago for Hunter initially. She knows his hair pattern and cuts it right for his curly spots and cowlicks. Grayson was horrible and even attempted to swipe her hands away from his head. He cried almost the entire time and wiggled back and forth even with him on my lap. Playing on my phone calmed him down for a few moments. She was able to trim up around his ears and cut some of the long growth. He has a lot of hair in the front middle but the sides still need to grow in so it looks like she cut it bad in some spots but she didn't. He's just bald still! It looks good when its fixed. So for now he's still sporting a shorter comb over. He was all too happy to leave the salon. A taste of a lollipop didn't even help make it better. He whacked that away. Little G does not like strangers talking to him right now. The photographer last week and the nurse for his flu shot got an earful as well. This stage will pass. Good thing he's so adorable and kissable regardless!

 

As we were finishing up dinner, we heard a knock on the door. No one ever comes to our house just about unless its a play date, something is wrong or its a birthday. It was about 8:00 pm so Brady came to peek out the peephole with me. To my delight, my Aunt Pat and Uncle Kent were standing on the porch! What a fun surprise. My Aunt Pat is my father's sister. She and Kent came through here when Hunter was little. They were on their way traveling again and stopped by to see us. I am glad they did. I miss seeing my family up close and in person. We chatted for about 45 minutes and then they were off to get some zzz's at a nearby hotel. They had been driving all day.  I did crack myself up and had Brady snap some not so good pictures of us after they walked out the door and were in their car already. Reminded me of how mom would say its for posterity! So true now for me. So even though the pictures are blurry and I wasn't all done up for a picture, I am glad I have these two pictures to remind myself of them.

That is exactly what Hailey said to me as she was getting into the truck after school. Her tooth was ready to come out and bugging her so she pulled it out at school. She asked her homeroom teacher if she could and she said yes - in PE, which was the class they were headed to next. Funny. So in PE, she got a paper towel and pulled it out. I don't remember ever willingly pulling my teeth out. She's like her daddy. Then she went to the office and they gave her the sweetest treasure box to keep her tooth in for the Tooth Fairy. She carried that treasure box around in her pocket like she had a million dollars till bedtime. She decided to keep the box and just put the tooth in the pillow pocket. I love her happy expression in the picture I took.

Labor Day weekend was hot like it normally is but it was especially HOT this year. We have had a relatively nice summer of not too many extremely hot days so go figure the weekend we actually get out it is blazing hot. Not wanting to be out in the miserable sun all day with the children we did try to make the best of it. Brady and I are not lake people. Lake water is just nasty and we don't enjoy getting all sweaty anymore. Boating is fun and we enjoy the great fishing. Brady took the H's fishing. Hunter caught his first fish all by himself! He was so cute re-telling me about his experience. Hailey made me teary eyed as she took Grayson when it was time for his nap and put him to sleep. He was all snuggled up on her shoulder fast asleep. She loves Grayson and would prefer to mommy him all the time. Grammy bought the H's new bikes to keep at the lake. They have bikes here and now they have some there. Hailey got one that has a bunch of gears she needs to figure out. She was excited to ride around the circle with Brady. Hunter's bike is a bit too big for him. He rides his bike here quite fast but still uses his training wheels. The training wheels that were purchased for the new bike didn't fit so he didn't get to test out his new bike. He was bummed but took it in stride. We are going to see if we can swap them out on his one here. Hopefully in the next few months, we can practice riding without the training wheels. Thanks Grammy for the new lake bikes! I did take the kids swimming for a bit down by the docks. Grayson hated every minute of it. That was fun. Not. We did take a trip in the new taxi boat over across the lake to eat with uncle Michael. The H's always love a boat ride and their uncle Michael. Looking forward to cooler weather to go out and enjoy being outside. My favorite season is coming up!

We did find this cool house lizard that entertained us and this curious praying mantis outside. Fun to find creatures not normally seen!

The H's went to see their nurse today to receive their flu shots. Both did well although they both were tense, got bright red and of course said "Ouch!". Last year over Christmas break, we all got the flu except for baby Grayson. It was horrible. We were too late getting the flu shot last year and they ran out of dosages. I have never been a fan of shots of any kind until we all got the flu. Hailey had it the worst. She ran a high fever for 14 days straight. Hunter and I got Tamiflu which helped us get over it faster. Hailey was too far into it for it to be effective. I felt so bad for her. Last year baby Grayson was too young for the shot anyway. I just nursed him like crazy and kept him quarantined as much as I could last year in hopes he wouldn't get it. Luckily it worked. He received his first flu shot yesterday at his 15 month well child check-up. So since getting stuck with a needle and having a sore arm isn't very much fun, I took them to get an ice cream cone and then checked them into school for the day. Here is to hoping we all don't get the flu and stay well this winter season!!!

 

Baby G is 15 Months today! Just love this little guy. 

School has been in session for a little over a week. Back to going to bed/rise times, school lunches and the dreaded homework. I miss them here at home. Its quiet with just Grayson babbling and playing. He loves to see them after school. They are off to a great start and I hope it stays that way. They both have already brought home slight bug germs and passed them to us. Luckily it has just been the sniffles. Oh the joys of germs at school. Hunter has a sweet teacher that has been teaching for 15 years. Love her. Hailey has a brand new teacher. I think she will do well. They both got new backpacks and new lunch boxes this year. Hunter wants to wear his latest pair of Nike shoes and matching socks everyday. It cracks me up.

* And YES Hailey has a bruised up eye. Just her luck she somehow woke up with it a couple days before school started. She said she dreamed her eye was hurting.

Can't forget our traditional back to school haircuts and piggy paint! She chose teal this year.

*** Brady picked the children up from school on their first day and kept Grayson all day. I went with my college roommate to a friends funeral about 2 hours away. I missed seeing their happy smiles coming out of the school building but I am glad Brady got to see it too!

 

We have been promising to take the H's to Frontier City forever. It was supposed to happen last year. Last year I had sweet baby Grayson and then got incredibly ill. I so desperately wanted to pay someone to play with my babies last summer. Someone to love them up and take them to places I just couldn't. Hailey can quote the care.com commercial. She still tries to get me to call them up when things just don't work out. I guess we need more real trustworthy friends and family closer that can love on our kiddos during the day hours and actually want to do so not because they have been asked OR we just need to move closer to them :). 

Since school was about to begin, we made it happen for Hailey. Since Hailey and Hunter are different heights, some of the rides are not okay to take both of them on and would wind up having to wait. If we went as a whole family, it would be long and boring since Baby G would be cooped up most of the time. So Brady kept Hunter and Grayson ALL day and we played. It was so fun to be with my girl. I needed it and I am glad we got to spend time together.

We went on all the rides except for 2. The rocking boat we always see from I35 was especially fun for our tummies. We rode that 3 times. We even got soaking wet on the boat and log rides. We paid to dry off in one of these large driers that helped some. And as our new fate would have it, she somehow managed to get whiplash and bonked the back of her head on her first ever roller coaster. We were not expecting how rocky it would be going. I lover roller coasters and forgot that this was a wooden one bound to do that. She wanted me to film it so I did until it got too rough. Looking back, I wish I would have ignored her request and just held her against me. She had a bump from hitting the metal bar way behind her head twice apparently. I kept praying that she would be okay and not throw up. We haven't even started paying the bill from her 3rd concussion in June! This girl scares me to pieces with every carefree move she makes. We took it easy after that. Couldn't leave with out yummy food and a special keepsake from the gift shop. She chose to have a really cute blue dolphin stuffed. We also did another smooth roller coaster that did a mini loop. We couldn't let her roller coaster drama beat us. It was fast and fun. The line was so too long and we would have gone again had it been short.  She didn't want to go on the other 2 big roller coasters. Don't blame her. Next time.  She's my brave girl but head bonks really are not fun. She did try her hand out at the games. She quickly lost $3. Those balloons are hard to pop if you don't throw a dart hard enough at them. She did win at the fishing game. Got to pick out a cute red stuffed crayon. Can't wait till next year. I hope to get passes. They have a water park area now that will be perfect to play in since we don't have a neighborhood pool. They don't get many opportunities to go swimming or splash around in clear water. So this may just be the perfect spot.

Here are a few pictures of us that day. Love you Miss Hailey!

* The evil wooden roller coaster :)

 

[video: x]

These pictures are off my cell phone camera so they are not that great but it does document his first year in monthly pictures. I had a sweet classical happy birthday song to go along with it but couldn't figure out how to change the name to work with my program. Oh well. 

 

 

 

A couple days before school let out, Hunter wound up with a tummy bug. He had the whole weekend to recover and went to school for the last 3 days. He acted fine. No fever. Appetite not quite back to normal and had an occasional loose bowel. Fast forward to last weekend. He woke up needing to throw up and he was in my bed at the time. Luckily he got out of the bed. Hunter is not the most cooperative kid when he is asleep or even half asleep or pretty much anytime after he has retired for the night. I tried getting him to quickly move towards the bathroom. But in his state he also had a massive diarrhea explosion. I wound up yelling at him to move but in his sleepy state could not get it all together. I was more upset at his non-listening ability then than the massive amounts of poop he managed to get all over the carpet IN MY ROOM! I cleaned him up, wiped the floor and put towels down all over the place and vacated the room for the night. He spend the entire night literally throwing up and having loose bowels almost every half an hour. I have no clue where it was all coming from in his little body. He continued to have loose bowels for days. I made a call to my doctor to see about some relief. I now have a stockpile for next time too. It only took a couple doses and he stopped all the vomiting and yucky bowels. Then we all took turns getting his bug. Hailey got it the least. The first loose bowel I encouraged her to take the Imodium. I have never used that on my children. Never needed to but after dealing with Hunter, I strongly encouraged her! It worked. I am also pretty sure Grayson had it from the time Hunter got ill the first time. He has had several yucky diapers daily and I was done. I also found out he is getting his back molars in as well. Explains the ear holding for about an hour one night. It will take some time coming in I am sure but they are bulging! Poor guy. I hope this is the last of it all. I am done cleaning but now we have freshly cleaned carpets in the house again so all is well :)

I made a green breakfast for the family for a bit of yearly fun. I didn't torture my children by turning their eggs green as my dad did when I was young. I miss that though. I have done it in the past. Even Grayson enjoyed some green potatoes for dinner. Hunter was a pickle and opted for cereal in a green bowl. No fun. Everyone wore a spot of green but I think baby G was absolutely adorable in his outfit.

The Whole Collection!

Brady's Masterpieces!

Hunter decided to pull out a paint brush and paint his eggs. They had a tye-dyed effect!

The H's also had fun hiding and hunting for plastic eggs in the house. I loved doing this with my brothers when I was young. I love how Hunter wanted to write on each egg and how he put them in the carton first before labeling how they looked best to him. His bunny on the outside cracks me up too. The tongue of the bunny is sticking out as he is giving out eggs! Now we have a ready to go box every year. Thanks Hunter.

I made our yearly birds nests, jello eggs and attempted to make some deviled eggs as a treat for Brady. I cooked perfect eggs and they looked beautiful. However my deviled eggs were a disaster. I used great fresh ingredients. The first batch I put the paprika in the filling and the eggs had an orange tint to them. I was so bummed. I taste tested and about did myself in too. Then later on I gave it a retry. It was perfect. Tasted yummy. Just like how I remembered. Then for some reason I added some salt but OOPS - too much salt. So the next batch was ruined. Sadness again. I was glad Brady was on his way home. I wound up taking a baby aspirin as by this time I was feeling really off. I am allergic to every ingredient in deviled eggs. Having them all at once was NOT a good idea!

Hailey's 3rd Grade class this year has book reports. The last one was over an animal and the assignment was to create a diorama to go along with it. She chose frogs. Probably because she has a really cute Whites Tree Frog of her own! She made an A+ on her report and diorama. Love my smart girl. Here is her diorama. I love that she drew a picture of it first and all the tiny rocks she glued around her pond.

The same week Hailey's frog book report was due, Hunter comes home with an assignment to research an animal. So he picked a frog too! Here is his cute report and picture.

Grayson has been eating easy to dissolve snacks for awhile. He loves his snacks and really food in general. He went from leaning forward to mouthing up his snacks out of our hands to pincer grasping them to now if they don't quite go in right away to using the back of his hand to push those yummy treats in his mouth. He's a cutie!

 

When Grayson was born, he received these two keepsake crocheted blankets. I love these kind of blankets the best because they are soft, snuggly, usuable and are the perfect blanket for car seats in the winter because they stay put.  I also love them because someone took the time to make something so beautiful and useful! Rhonda crocheted him one and Scott's grandmother crocheted the other. (Scott is an employee and friend who works for Brady.)

 

I love surprising my children on Valentine's Day in the morning when they wake. I have fond memories of Valentine's Day as a child. The homemade cards, treats and class fun. I also looked forward to the special card my dad would always give me. He made a point to find and give me a letter or card. I still have every one of them. 

This morning the children woke to a few fun surprises. I hope they have a good day at school. Hunter woke at 6am telling me his ear was hurting. Darn ears. Will have to see what they can do for him now. Been through several rounds of meds :(

These are the treats I made for the kids classes this year. I signed up for pretzels for Hunter's class but that seemed kinda boring so we embellished them some! We also sent some plain. Hailey was thrilled with her pink chocolate pops. Can't wait to see all the cute Pinterest goodies the kids will receive. Cracks me up at how the old fashioned make your own cards have gone by the way side and now moms spend hours making all these cute things FOR their kids and they get destroyed in 2 seconds flat! All to out do the other moms. Silly.

This is the cute basket the kids received last night from Grammy and Smokey. So sweet. It's a whole lot of chocolate!!!

I also sent Brady off to work with this GIANT Dew. Gotta start the day off right! haha

 

 

Hunter was asked to create a box to hold his valentines that he will receive in class. I think his train turned out cute! He stashed his valentines for his classmates in the top.

Can't believe we have been together for 25 years. Love you Brady!

(12 years dating, 13 years marriage = 25 whoppers)

Recently Hailey was looking for her favorite poncho. It was one that Rhonda knitted for all the girl grandchildren a couple years ago. It had purple multicolored thread and flowers on the bottom. That was Hailey's favorite part. I told her I put it up because it was too small. It really was - Hailey keeps getting taller and taller! She was super bummed. She likes to wear her poncho in class at school when it is chilly. So I called Rhonda and asked her if she could make Hailey a new one. It arrived last week and boy was Hailey thrilled. Not only was it RED, her favorite color, but it had blue on it plus those flowers she likes. She also whipped up a scarf and hat for Hunter. He has been wearing and lugging it around everywhere. I love the colors and textures she created for Hunters too. So fun. Hopefully Rhonda will be able to teach Hailey some more knitting techniques this summer. I know she would love to learn more. Thanks Rhonda!

Snapped this pic right after H1 got out of the shower and we blow dried her hair. She wasn't feeling so well. She brought home a tummy bug that did her in for a few days - and passed it along to the rest of us :)

Hailey has been anticipating the day she could remove her initial stud earrings she got when her ears were pierced six weeks ago. She has been so diligent cleaning her ears 3x a day. She knew just the pair of earrings she was going to put in first. Her uncle Michael had given her a jewelry set for Christmas a year ago. They were dolphins. Hailey loves dolphins. He always seems to spoil her with the perfect gifts. It was fun to watch her take them out and put in a new pair. She has a couple other pairs of earrings from her uncle Michael - specifically some butterfly ones from Tiffany's - but I won't let her wear those to school yet. It is going to be fun going earring shopping with her now to get matching mom/daughter earrings!

It was a family affair watching her take her studs out :)

The H's woke up to new stuffed animal friends, chocolates, candy and the latest Treasure Buddies movie they have been wanting to see.  I love their cute smiles and bed hair looks in the morning.

Hunter and I met up with Hailey at her class party. I like how she instantly lights up once she sees family. Makes me feel good. This year her valentines from classmates rocked. So many cute homemade ones but ALL came with candy. It's the new thing. Hailey let Hunter sit in her chair and she sat off to the side in another. Next year he will get to participate in all the fun too! They came home and put in their new movie. I catnapped in the rocking chair and I heard many giggles. Animal movies are a big hit in the H's world right now. 

We met up with Brady and ate some dinner and had some ice cream for dessert. Then we came home and opened up Valentines from Grammy and Smokey. Hunter liked his new train set and Hailey enjoyed putting together some candy bracelets. I love my sweet little H's. Hope you know how much you are loved because you ARE!!!

My mother's birthday is the day after our wedding anniversary - February 13th. Even though it has been years since her passing, I still miss her. I will always miss her I suppose. Especially at times when I just wish she were here by my side and for all those times when I long for her to dote on my children and to just simply enjoy all life's moments with us. I remember how much she enjoyed being a grandmother. She was a tough woman and never acted like she was "too old" to do what she wanted. Had her body been more cooperative in the later years, I know she would still have been the same caring, trustworthy grandmother/mom. She always put other peoples needs first before her own. She would drop everything at a moments notice to help out and be there. I most love the fact that you never even had to ask - she just did it willingly. Even if she did have appointments scheduled, she would cancel them for us and the grandchildren.

Being pregnant this time around, I so wished she were alive. I wanted and needed her. I spent about 4 months not being able to do a darn thing pretty much due to so much throwing up and running a low grade fever that left me exhausted. Brady took very good care of all of us during that time but it would have been so nice to have had her come help. I felt very guilty that there were piles of laundry, dishes, grocery needs, etc. to be done that just sat for days or weeks till I could muster enough energy to do those tasks. (The house still is a wreck but it it better!) I especially missed her most of last year when my father was so critically ill. I would have loved for her to come pick up Hailey at school daily and take care of the H's so Brady could work uninterrupted. He loved doing it but it would have been so nice knowing they were at their own home with someone I didn't have to leave a note for of how to take care of and what needed to be done. She was a great mom/grandmother in that regard. I am very appreciative of all she was able to do for me growing up and the sweet memories that I have of her with Hailey. I hope that when the time comes when my children have children of their own that my body will allow me to be by their sides and relish in the joy of being a grandmother. I know I will rock that role!

So Happy Birthday dear Mother. I miss you terribly and someday we have a lot of catching up to do! Love you.

* Mother, Tessa and I on my 26th Birthday - Norman, OK

It started snowing late Sunday night February 12, 2012. We woke up to a blanket of pretty white stuff Monday morning but only about 2 inches. Unfortunately Hailey had to go to school and didn't get to enjoy the full 2 inches. Sadness. We have had such a warm winter this year. It has been cold but nothing like we have had in the past. Such a bummer too. I enjoy parking myself in front of the fireplace at night and having school cancelled so we can be all lazy and play in the snow.

By the time Hailey was out of school, the sun came out and melted off most. I let them go out back and play in what was left. Not as much fun but they enjoyed taking advantage of the snow anyway.

* Hailey insisted that I take a picture of her and the snow on the way to school and I even got a snowball thrown at me as I walked out to the truck to drive her to school. She giggled. Hunter giggled too as he planted a good one on my back when they were playing out in the backyard. Hopefully we will get some more winter weather soon!

We went to the mall on Saturday to find a BFF necklace for Hailey. She wanted the heart necklace that you and a friend wear. The store was crazy busy. She found what she wanted and we checked out. I asked the girl who checked us out if they did ear piercings and if I could look at the earrings so I could get an idea. She showed me the area and let Hailey see the earring choices. She said she could do them and I asked Hailey if she wanted to get them done then. I told her long ago that she had to wait until she was eight to get them done if she ever wanted them. She of course did. I think every little girl wants them done at some point. Since I was not feeling well due to extreme morning sickness with our baby it never happened after her birthday - nor during her Christmas break. So her earring request happened finally and we hadn't planned on even doing it that day. She picked out some really cute ones at first but they were cheaper ones and I thought her first pair needed to be of better quality since I am allergic to cheap ones. I love the sparkle flower she picked out as her choice. I remember mine were just simple gold balls. So many options now! We had the option to have them done at the same time. We waited a bit for the other girl to come help out but felt bad since they were so busy that we told her it was okay. After all, Hailey is tough. She did great! We did have to readjust the first earring put in because after a few hours it was still throbbing. It was way too pushed into her skin. I bet that felt much better. She is so good about her new cleaning and rotating routine. We made a chart to mark off the days for 6 weeks until she can remove them and put new ones in for fun. Glad her wish came true! It would have eventually :) Little slow around here lately but we sure love you Hailey. You look a little more grown up now though. We don't exactly like that. She's getting more and more beautiful to us everyday...

Here she is waiting while the girl preps for her piercing

Marking the ears

First Ear

Second Ear

Happy Hailey at the Food Court! You can't see the pretty new look from this pic though but you can see the remnants of her poor bruised eye still :(

Her Cute Earring and Ear

We all went to our ultrasound for baby #3 on January 18, 2012. The tech asked us before she began if we wanted to know the sex of the baby. We told her we didn't but if we happen to see or know that was okay. We did tell her that Hailey wanted to know and that it was okay if she just told her. When it came time to take a closer peek, the tech whispered into Hailey's ear our babies sex. Hailey was thrilled and still is to be left with such a secret. Upon checking her back into school, she told the office staff, her teacher and class. They have even voted on a name for the new baby. She was really excited to tell her horse lesson teacher too. It was really cute to hear her horse teacher say "I know a secret!" Hailey is such a good secret keeper and so far hasn't messed up even though we have harassed her a bit for fun. I love seeing how fun this is for her. Can't wait to meet the baby in June to see if she is right!

The ultrasound was amazing. It is incredible how much things have improved since we all saw Hunter. We were only given these 6 images out of the bunch she snapped. It was very cool seeing the baby open it's mouth and move all around. We all got to view the baby on a large television screen on the wall. We were told the baby looked great and from the measurements was due on June 10th (instead of our original 17th). I laughed as my birthday is June 9th. I am secretly hoping the baby comes before then so I can say that I was 39 when the baby was born since Brady won't turn 40 until August. He's gonna tease me forever about being 40 I am sure!

* And I thought it would drive me a little nuts not knowing officially the sex of the baby but it hasn't. Plus we have a girl and a boy and all newborns really need are diapers and pajamas at first!

The H's and I drove to Houston in late July to see Papa and Rhonda. It was a nice trip and they were so good on that long (sometimes boring) drive there and back.

Rhonda always has stuff that the kids are interested in looking at or doing. This time it was Papa's large beads and a whole mess of keys that Hunter was so happy to get to take home!

They were thrilled to be able to get to go to their community pool in their neighborhood a few days in a row. They didn't get their fill of summer pool play yet so it was really nice. We had the pool to ourselves for long periods of time too! I also drove them to go get snow cones one day. Something they have only had few few times so that was a big hit!

Hunter found our old Speak and Spell in the cabinet and enjoyed playing with it. Hailey discovered Black Beauty and got sucked into the story. It is a really long book and wound up finishing it on the car trip back home. It was nice to see my dad and Rhonda for a few days. The kids enjoyed hanging out and chatting with them as well. Sometimes I wished we all lived much, much closer.

We made a pit stop to eat and relax for a bit at Cracker Barrel on our journey home. Hunter likes the mac and cheese there. I enjoyed my peach pancakes too :)

Our yearly tradition in search of the perfect tree... We are not "GREEN" in our family. We love a fresh tree and supporting our local folks by buying a ridiculously expensive fresh tree :) Plus it is dang fun to watch it sizzle when we finally burn it in the summer.

This way!!!

Taking a shortcut to another field...

Hunter finds a large stick and teases me with it!

All the good ones this year were already tagged it seemed. We found this one in an area we never knew was there in the 4 years we have visited this particular farm. It was tucked over a hilly area.

Timber!

Counting the rings. Guessed it was 12 years young. A good number in our book.

Hunter finally gets a ride. We did a lot of walking and it was cold.

Hailey with her pine cone stash!

Seriously a really good cup of cider.

The kids favorite part is cutting the plastic wrap off the tree. They wanted to be bundled for fun too :)

We are "Green" however when it comes to saving animals from getting tangled in plastic pieces. They took it to an extreme level though. So many pieces were cut!

Every year we consider finding a pine cone in the tree good luck. We didn't think this one has one until I began stringing up the lights. So happy!

This is our first ornament. It was given to us on our honeymoon by the manager of the place where we stayed. It always goes on first.

Ornament time! Ignore the horrible outfits my children have on. Normally they are decked out in cute pj's! It was late and the OU game was at halftime. Hunter was lounging in his underwear so I sent him to go get dressed. This was his choice. Hailey is wearing an old OU shirt of mine for good luck.

My token fresh wreath!

The fresh scent of pine!

The perfect stem for the topper!

The star I chose for our first Christmas together.

Putting the balls into the tree that I grew up with as a child. My mother made it.

The fun large plastic ornaments I got on clearance last year.

My magnolia tree I planted when we moved into this house.

The bush that somehow wound up lacerating my eye and made we whine for days. It still needed some major help but I was DONE with it. It hurt me.

Sentimental ornaments that belong to the kids AND this year Hailey and Hunter's ornaments were the Toy Story ones. Fitting as they dressed up as them for Halloween.

Our cute children in front of the tree and right before they had their pictures taken at the studio!

This is the end of this LONG picture story...

This year we drove to Papa and Rhonda's house for Thanksgiving. The kids were good on the long, boring drive to Houston. They played on our ipads occasionally.

We had a nice visit and it was so good to see my dad in person. Wish I could just zap myself there more often.

The children had fun talking to Papa and Rhonda. On Thanksgiving morning when I was drying Hailey's hair she thought the red towel on her made her look like a queen. She decided she needed a crown so when we were done she got out her travel bag and whipped up a crown for herself. She also fitted Rhonda one and Flower her bunny.

Hunter was fascinated by the Macy's Day parade and Hailey enjoyed playing with the cool sticker sheets that Rhonda had for all the kid guests.

The food was good. Rhonda invited her dad and lots of her friends to join in on the Thanks!

Here is the placemat Hailey made for herself...

We also had the pleasure of going to TWO movies in a row with them. We saw Tangled and the latest Harry Potter movie. I thought they were both fantastic.

Of course no trip is complete without some good ole throwing up. This time it WASN'T our little miss Hailey!!! I was so proud of her for eating her meal - even a large chunk of turkey. Hunter woke up on the day we were leaving not feeling so well and food wasn't in his plans. Come to find out later that night he had double ear infections which caused him to throw up. Thankfully I snagged 2 trash bags for our trip home. They were put to good use :)

I had my dad pose for a quick picture in front of his restored truck. It sure is pretty. Hunter enjoyed getting to sit in it with Papa while Brady and him were starting it up.

I am glad I got to spend Thanksgiving with them and I really enjoyed looking through dad's old keepsakes in search of a document for him. Lots of good stuff!!!

Our Hailey Rae turned SEVEN on Monday. Brady, Hunter and I joined her at school for a little cupcake party. She was delighted to have her family there and requested rings to be on the cupcakes. They were a big hit among the rowdy, loud boys!

After school, we took a little fun drive looking for land we might want to buy to build our dream house on someday. We didn't see much we liked but Hailey spotted this piece of property with a pond on it. Low and behold it was the very place of her birthday surprise! We drove back to it just to see if they might sell it to us :) We parked and just about that time we spotted her grandparents and Kelsey arriving. We broke the news about her private horse riding lesson. It was priceless. I got the biggest hug as she got out of the vehicle. *See surprise video in the previous blog entry.

This is DUDE the horse she met and rode on for her lesson. I thought her teacher was very good. She walked Hailey through every step and told her lots of good information. She learned a lot in a half hour!

Here is my attempt at making her a pony cake. There is a reason why I buy cakes. I need some lessons in crumb coating!

We came home did presents, ate dinner and had cake! It was a sweet 7th birthday celebration with family. I am lucky to be the mother to this sweet, quirky, lovable girl!

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Last Saturday we took the children to the Pumpkin Patch. It was cloudy, cooler and a little bit windy. Probably shouldn't have had Hunter out in it but the pumpkin patch is a tradition in my book. We were on the edge of a rain storm the whole time we visited. The kids loved it and we timed it right as the rain decided to fall just as we were on our way to the truck to leave!

The hay bale maze was a hit. Hailey cracks me up at how excited she gets over mazes.

Hunter went and checked out the tractor while Hailey played on the hay bales. I didn't think Hunter needed to have anything more irritating his lungs. Miss Hailey had a blast climbing and jumping on the hay. I love to do that too!

Brady took some really cute pictures of Hunter on this tractor that I plan to print up for his wall in his room. Love this little guy and his love for machines.

Animal Feeding Time!

They liked feeding the goats and one went for Hailey's cute bracelet. She was a little cautious of feeding the horse for some reason. She did however feed the cow but once his big ole long, dry tongue came out and licked her hand she had enough of him! 

Then we were off for a tractor ride through the woods to spot numbered pumpkins and decorations. We got split up again this year on the ride and as tradition would have it didn't get a decent picture because pictures irritate Hailey and Hunter moved too much.

Then we were off to play on the slides and rope swing. Hailey would have stayed on the swing super long had it not been for needing to take turns :)

We received 4 tickets at the entrance so we could pick out a pumpkin and take home. There is a pumpkin shortage this year so I am sure that is why they handed out tickets. Anyway if you know me well you know that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE pumpkins. Hailey was with me searching for hers. I found a cute one I liked. Hunter was with Brady. Brady picked out one he liked. Hunter picked out a cute little one and then found another one over by me and went back to Brady. So his nice daddy put his own pumpkin back and let him have his ticket basically. I didn't know he did that. Hailey didn't hear all this and she found 2 she liked as well. I kept telling her well just choose one because we all only have one ticket. It didn't even dawn on me that I could have and should have given her MY ticket. The pumpkin thing in me I guess over shot that idea. So Brady hands them our tickets and we go on our merry way except that I stop dead in my tracks and tell the lady "I'm trading!" I spotted the most perfect pumpkin. Guess who's pumpkin it was originally? Brady's! So the cute pumpkin came home after all and I am really sorry Hailey that your mom didn't think to share her pumpkin ticket with you. Pumpkins make me darn happy. Too bad I can't seem to grow one! Someday....

I like this one of Hailey. She is in her natural state and content.

The Family with their pumpkins!

My sister came to visit last week!!! In Arizona they have a week off for Fall Break so she brought her sweet little boy Landon and her boys stayed home. They went camping with their grandparents and had fun with their dad. It was fun having them here. I wish I lived closer to my family. I don't like missing out on all the kids growing up and getting to know them better. My turn is next and I can't wait to go visit them!

Someone "Boo-ed" us and left a big bag of candy corn on the doorstep for the kids. We continued the fun and did two of her friends from school. It was fun seeing Hailey and Tessa ring the doorbells of her classmates and run! I love making memories like this. Reminds me of all the times we played with my dad all in good fun!

Tessa brought along some sweet birthday cards from Nathan and Michael for Hailey's upcoming birthday. Since Tessa is not here on her birthday's, we had a little surprise party for her after school on Monday. She was thrilled. Blingy belts, real makeup and nail polish, slumber bag and cake!

I wanted Tessa to take some good pictures of my children but it didn't quite work out for an extended session. Hunter wound up running a fever and getting sick. Somewhere he picked up a virus that eventually led to a good case of bronchitis/upper respiratory infection. He is still currently taking meds.

I did get one thing checked off my list. I had Tessa help me go through Hunter's room on Saturday. I should have taken a before pic. His room looks so bare now. It will be finished when I finally get some photos on the wall and more train signs.  I think we own one of everything too. I am tired of looking at stuff. I could have kept Tessa here longer. I have more rooms to go through with a fresh perspective! If I had known Hunter was going to get sick, we could have done it on Sunday and played more on Saturday too. Tessa and Hailey baked Lofthouse cookies which were yummy.

Many more things I could write and bore you all with but just know I LOVED having my sister come to visit. Next time we shall play more though. Thanks for coming. Loves.

Thanks for letting me get to know you better too Landon. Your skin is so soft and I loved touching (and squeezing you) when your mommy wasn't looking. You are one cute baby!

Oh and I also need my sister to live much closer so my daughter has someone willing to let her play with real makeup and get her hair did like this! I came back from getting Hunter's hair trimmed to this adorable cat!

Bye Bye till next play session!

P.S. I stole some of her pics she posted on FB :)

Check out Hailey's second school family project on her blog!

http://hrtucker.blogspot.com/2010/10/october-family-project.html

*Copy and paste the above link if you don't already have her site bookmarked. I don't know where that option is on my website yet!

Today Hailey had her first ever school project due. They have these family projects that are due once a month and count towards part of her grade. The assignment was to create a star and involve the whole family. Hailey wanted to make the entire star out of metal but we opted for a wooden one. It's easier to cut :). We went to Lowes this week and picked up some supplies and got to work the next evening. Hailey really liked helping her daddy learn to use the tools and work on the project. She did a great job decorating it and we think it turned out pretty cute!

And here she is taking her project to school today! We put it in a big ole box so it wouldn't get messed up in transport. I followed her out just to make sure one of her classmates wouldn't be sitting next to her in line. One particular little girl bugs Hailey and messes with her backpack, etc. Hailey told her she only had one more chance to stop bugging her before she told the teacher on her!

My dad and Rhonda were able to come for a weekend visit last Friday through Sunday. It was nice to have them in our home and be able to see and talk to them in person. It was a good visit and the kids and I enjoyed having them here. Hailey left a note on their bed and made some chocolate rice krispy treats for dessert on Friday night. We chatted, watched Avatar, ate 3 meals (this delighted Brady because he just usually gets dinner) and went to Hafer park for a bit on Saturday. We made homemade vanilla ice cream for dessert. I have been enjoying making ice cream this summer. Sunday we went to church, came home and waited for the roast to be done and made our way to the hotel which was right by the airport. Thanks for coming to see us Papa and Rhonda. Sorry about this mishap in Idaho and that darn door!

"Welcome. We love you. Hailey, Hunter, Brady, Camey. You will be staying here while you are here."

Hailey enjoyed showing Papa the iPad and playing a game of checkers.

At the park, Papa tried out the zip line. I didn't get my camera out quick enough to capture it but he did go a bit. His upper body is strong but he was too tall and unable to keep his knees bent for long. I was shocked to see him try and grateful he didn't hit the floor. He had fun throwing the handle back and forth and seeing how far it would go!

The ducks were eating the bread pieces right out of their fingers. They really enjoyed that!

Brady blow torching marshmallows for our smores!

Before they left, I requested a quick picture to be taken. Brady told them I was just a little bit like my mom. This used to bug me a lot but over the past few years I have come to like this and I didn't care one bit that I asked for a photo. I wanted one for memory sake. Just like my mom did :)

* Just noticed that Hailey is holding her arms in a ballet pose and Hunter is doing... well....

We spent the 4th of July at the lake with the Tucker family. The weather wasn't overwhelmingly hot like in past years so we didn't completely sweat buckets but a few sticky hot moments were still enjoyed. I made sure I slathered the kids with sunscreen and we spent most of our weekend outside everyday.

Hailey has been in a cooking mood lately so I packed our cooler and brought a few things for her to prepare. She made pancakes. She likes to flip them. I decided to try to make homemade salsa for Brady but it was too dang hot I thought. Next time I make it I will scrape the seeds out of the jalapeno and cut down on the liquid so it isn't so soupy. I am determined to use up all my tomatoes this year from my garden!

Kelsey, her cat and her boyfriend have recently moved to the lake house too. We are excited to be able to see Kelsey more often. She has the cutest cat that the kids had fun getting to know. I had 2 cats when Hailey was young but she doesn't remember them. I vowed when our dog and cats left that we wouldn't have another pet inside that was big for a long time. It is too painful when they die and they come with so much mess I don't want to deal with anymore. So I just wind up feeding all the critters outside. They had fun getting to know Kelsey's lovable animal and he tolerated them. They have petted other peoples animals in passing but the whole nice animal thing is still a new experience. I had a cat with an attitude that was nutty and a slobbery, sweet cat. No one should own mean animals. I should have let my crazy cat go long before he became a nuisance. Anyway, maybe Kelsey's cat will help them learn all about how to treat and have fun with a nice animal and their wishes will come true for an indoor pet someday. Not soon but someday :)

We had a good time hanging out with family and playing in the water. Hailey loves to jump in the lake with her life jacket on now and was thrilled to be able to spend so much time in the water. I filmed about 10 minutes on my cell phone of her trying to teach Hunter how to swim down in the water by the dock. She was saying everything her swim teacher has told her. It was really cute. I will spare you all the video due to the length but it was fun to hear.  I wish I would have been able to spend more time in the water but I had a blazing headache the entire weekend and didn't feel up to it. I also did myself in after taste testing a few things I was allergic too. That was not fun at all. I know better.

We drove over to Sundance Camp where we hung out at sunset before Brady did the kids fireworks with them. Hailey loves to set up and light fireworks with her daddy. We had a mighty stash already of big people fireworks but we stopped at the local stand because it is tradition and Hailey loves picking stuff out. We didn't get to all ours so we still have more to enjoy. Hunter picked out a helicopter but wasn't too thrilled about it getting burned up. We kept it after it did it's thing and he is a happy camper. He liked looking at the fireworks but the noise of it all wasn't his thing (he has amazing hearing and it was loud) and he was too chicken to light them with Brady this year. I bet this time next year he will be in the mix too!

* I need to capture a better picture of this camp area. It really is a cool spot!

Looking forward to more fun weekends at the lake before school starts up again.

The other day I went out into the dreaded, stinky garage to put some stuff up and I came across a small box of Brady's old Legos. This is not the mother load of Legos he had but a small box. Since Hunter is well past the baby stage and both of my children love manipulative play, I brought the box inside. They were all dusty so I gave them a soaking and set them out to dry. They came across them late in the evening just about the time Brady arrived home from work. Hunter found all the wheels and put together a little vehicle. They all were  thoroughly entertained for a long time. There was even a boat the you could actually put in the water and play with. I am told that it has friends in another box somewhere in the attic I am sure. Hailey was all too thrilled to take a bubble bath with the Lego boat the next day. Even though I am dreading the zillion pieces getting lost in the carpet, they both are having a good time playing together with the "new" old Legos.

I turned 38 this month. That is a crazy number and I don't feel one bit of it!!!  The day started off when sweet Hailey gave me one of her largest rocks from her rock collection. She wrapped and taped it up in a piece of paper for me with my name on it. I keep it in the medicine cabinet now so every time I open it I will see it.

Brady headed off to work for the day so I decided to take them to their annual trip to the zoo. I like to go in the spring/fall but never seem to remember to take them. I do not like going when it is hot but today's weather was on the cooler side so off we went. We had a good time. The zoo here has a new kids area which is fantastic. It is worth going just for that.

The zoo to Hailey means Dippin Dots ice cream and the carousel. The rest is just a bonus. Hunter loved riding on the train and the carousel a lot this time. I did learn first hand that he has no problems taking the initiative when he likes something. We visited the water area before leaving the zoo. They have a mini splash pad and he claimed one spout. Don't be fooled of his little size. He was more than willing to push aside those big kids. He does not like water in his face but somehow this was so different! Some of the bigger kids tried to push him aside but he would wiggle back in and take over. He would start his tactics by inching his big toe on the spout and then move on in!

Here he is pushing Hailey out of the way while some look on...

By the time we left, it was HOT. We stopped by Sonic for a bite to eat and a refreshing drink. They were soaking wet but it felt great. Then we went home, bathed and chilled.

I was surprised by the door ringing. A delicious looking cake and a bouquet of flowers were delivered by a friend. My sister had messaged her so I could have a cake on my birthday. A birthday isn't a birthday to me unless you have cake. I love cake with butter cream icing. Yummy! Thanks Tessa for thinking of me. You know me too well! It was very sweet. It cheered me up and made my day. Thanks to my friend for helping out and delivering it too and for the flowers. Purty-ness! I enjoyed trimming them after a few days and putting the flowers in my mini vases I got from my wedding.

We met up with Brady and his parents at the Olive Garden for dinner. My meal was yummy. Then we met up at Brady's office to hang out for a bit. Brady's mother was so sweet and had packed a cooler in her car all day long. She bought cupcakes that were delicious and kept them fresh in the cooler. The kids and I enjoyed all the extra touches like the cute candles, balloon, matching party ware and party favors. I was sung Happy Birthday and we opened up presents. Thank-you everybody for the party. Loves. 

Since we were full on dinner and delicious cupcakes, we enjoyed that birthday cake the next day for breakfast! It is tradition to cut your name out and so I did and enjoyed every bit of it :)

 

I signed Hailey up to attend a one week summer camp at her Kindermusik class. It ended today and she really enjoyed the entire week. I took a few not so good quality pictures with my cell phone this week. I missed getting one on Monday. It was camping day and she brought her flashlight.  Everyday the door and room were transformed into fun!

Tuesday was Water Day. She wore her swim suit. They went outside her side door and splashed in a pool for a few minutes. Her teacher's house is right next door to the building so it's her own backyard!

Wednesday was Farm Day (and also Smokey's birthday!) She wore a cute dress that had flip flops on it and after putting it on she commented on how people probably don't wear that kind of stuff to the farm. Funny thing to me is that I usually do get her all themed up and matchy for fun.

Thursday was Bubble Day. The night before she wondered if her room was going to be in a giant bubble. It delighted her that it was!

Friday was Jungle Day and her last day. I also set up a slot for Hunter to go in the Fall. His eyes lit up when I asked him if he wanted to do something. He is so patient when we take her places. It's time for him to do something special too!

After class we drove here:

For almost 3 years, Hailey has thought that the cute little building we pass by on the corner was a Dippin Dot place. She loves that ice cream. It is always closed during the school year. So we made our first trip there. Snow cone stands are not places we frequent. We make them in the summer time but it just isn't some place we go to often. In fact, she was about 2 or 3 since she had one from a stand! I made them wear yucky clothes. Hailey isn't the cleanest eater in world. I put their hats on but it was just too sunny and HOT to sit there for a super long time enjoying the treat and come to find out, they weren't all that messy like I had expected.  We still have a no food/drink rule in the new truck so I carefully put them in the cup holders in the door and drove back around the corner and parked under the big tree outside her music class. We got in the back of the pickup truck and enjoyed our treat. Since they haven't had too many yet, they both wanted root beer ones. I got an orange cream one. Yum. They all came with 2 gummy candy worms. I have odd kids who don't like candy that much so they immediately pulled them out and handed them to me and then I wound up eating them! So as luck would have it, Hailey also needed to use the bathroom. The door was locked so we waited for the next session to start. Her teacher happened to come out and ask me if I had left a black bag. Umm YES and I didn't know it yet! I put it down to take a picture in her room. I almost lost my ipad. That would have stunk because I really love that thing. So in conclusion (hee, hee), Kindermusik camp was a success and her first official summer camp of any kind!

So school is out and we are all enjoying the freedom of summer break. We have been staying up LATE and sleeping IN even longer. We have been spending more time together as a family here at home and going more places. I am loving it.  Each day we seem to find something fun and sometimes not so fun things to do - like chores.

Family outing to Pops where I guzzled an Orange Cream...

- The sprinkler is in full swing as I am trying to get some grass to grow. I might just need to buy some sod at the rate it has been raining lately though. The H's have enjoyed their sprinkler sessions.

- The John Deer gator is still a huge hit and entertains them for long periods of time. They love to be in the backyard riding it, playing on the swing set, sandbox and make-shift fort/house area.

- I have been tending to my garden and yard work and have begun yet another purging of too many things phase. I love those drop off boxes where you can leave all your stuffs for other people to enjoy.

- We are enjoying having more play dates now that more time allows.

- Hunter talks Brady into taking him to the office and to go look for trains more often now. They now use the scanner to hear when one is coming. It is quite common for them to go sit by the train track with a beverage and some popcorn chicken from Sonic and then explore until the train comes. At night, it is cool to see the man turn on his light inside so we can see him. I think they like to see people frantically waving at them too!

- I have been cooking more. Summer isn't exactly the season to heat up your oven but I seem to like to cook more in the summer.

- We started going to the library on Tuesdays to checkout books. Hunter loves getting his own stash of books to read. I signed them up for the summer reading program. I can tell Hailey has improved her reading skills and has learned many more words. 

- Brady and I both have iPads now and I have become super nerdy. I take it to church and have the scriptures on it for classes. I love to take it to bed and play with it before I nod off. Hailey begs to use it too. I bought her a few fun and educational apps with my gift card. This type of technology is so handy and amazing to me still. It is funny to me to see my children correctly know how to swipe their fingers on the iphone or iPad to play an app or the fact they know terms like app and download, etc. Hunter is especially taking after his father. He has some serious knowledge already about real tools and enjoys taking apart things like Brady. The other day they took apart a laptop for fun and the screen has now become Hunter's iPad. He carries it around so proudly. I drew him an apple on the back to make it more official.

- Music camp starts next week and Hailey is really looking forward to going each day. This will be her first camp of any sort. 

- Private swim lessons started today for Miss H. I hope she obtains more skills than I have at swimming. She worked on learning to relax in the water and float today. I thought she did well.

- Hailey is losing teeth fast it seems. She came to us this afternoon with a paper towel and told us she was going to pull out her 5th wiggly tooth. She did and didn't even flinch. I never would have done that. Yuck. She likes them out but LOVES the Tooth Fairy to come more!

- We pulled out the ice cream maker and made homemade ice cream and I introduced them to Magic Shell. Hailey is in love with the stuff. Hunter opted for none.

- Hunter is still happy go lucky and fun to be around. He seems to have gained a few inches in the past few months height wise. He hasn't wanted to eat much in the last two weeks and that was disturbing me a little. He normally eats all meals and snacks a bunch believe it or not with his small frame. His appetite is returning back to normal.

- I am trying to get skinny again and rock a pair of jeans like I used too :) My food allergies have become worse.

- A brand new white Toyota Tundra appeared in our driveway 2 weeks ago. I am happy we all have a safe new ride now.  Thanks Smokey and sorry your employee didn't like it. We do!

- Hunter is into Toy Story and is fascinated with robots lately. Buzz Lightyear is his favorite character right now.  I spied some $9 character pajamas and had to get them for him because he needed pj's and they were just too darn cute. He insists on wearing them each night.  Can't wait to take them to the latest movie! Daddy took him to the store and browsed the gigantic selection of Toy Story toys. He now owns a Buzz Lightyear. I might just start calling Brady a Sugar Daddy! Hailey got in on the mix and wanted 3 of the smaller character toys.

- Rented movies from redbox for the 2nd time ever. I was pretty tickled with myself. Should do that more.

- I painted a wood nick knack shelf for Hailey and had Brady stick it on the wall for me. She had all these cute little "treasures" piling up on her dresser driving me nuts. Now they have a home and it is now a fun place for her to put all her important little things. I would have liked this as a child.

- The no toys in the living room rule gets broken more often now that school is out and I am mostly okay with that :) They have had some pretty good play sessions. For a couple of days the kitchen chairs were transformed into a train complete with stuffed animal passengers.

- Somewhere in all this mix - I turned 38.

HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE!

 

Monday was Princess and Pirate dress up day at school. Hailey dressed up as Snow White. We happened to have her aunt Kelsey's costume hanging up in the dress up closet. It was a perfect fit and the perfect opportunity to wear it. I think she looked so stinkin' cute but I am just the mom and all moms say that about their own! She told me they had a really good time at school. The librarian read a themed book and they did fun activities in her class. She came home with a paper crown, a pirate mask, a necklace from her friend, gold chocolate coins (which Hunter wanted really really bad), tattoos, bracelets, etc. She did tell me that they were even offering to paint nails. She skipped over this one. I asked her why. She said she wasn't sure if I would have liked her to do that or not. So sweet she at least thought about it first but then again I hope she doesn't take it the other way. She had a great day. The last week of school is fun!

* Hunter did get one of those chocolate coins the next morning right when he woke up. He was so happy and came up to me telling me how nice it was of Hailey. He begged several times Monday afternoon and even cried to me about it but he wound up being a pickle on and off to her so she denied him. Oh was he ever so sad.

The bunny had to have a cap and gown, a cute new outfit and flowers too! Build-A-Bear isn't a good place to go. Too many cute things for girls...

Her garden flower

The bunny all dressed up!

This is where Princess Bunny and Flower officially met each other!

The happy new bunny mommy!

Last Friday the 21st of May to be specific, Hailey graduated from Kindergarten. She has been anticipating this day. They have been practicing for it in class. She even asked me earlier in the week if we could get her a present since she would be graduating soon. Normally she doesn't ask for gifts. We had just come back from her aunt Kelsey's college graduation. I think she picked up on the present thing. I even asked her what she might want. She said that she knew she was too young but that she would really like a phone. That cracked me up. She wants an iphone like her daddy!

We went to her school classroom for the big ceremony. I even got teary eyed a few times. She was beaming as she made eye contact with us throughout the program. It was a cute program. After it was over, I gave her a cut flower from one of my rose bushes. Special occasion warrant flowers!

When we got in the truck, she found a special surprise in her car seat. It was a Build-A-Bear box. She waited until she got home to open it up. She found a colorful bunny which she named "Flower". Flower was introduced to Princess Bunny her first Build-A-Bear animal. She had fun playing with them for a long time.

We also decided to go see our first 3D movie ever and saw Shrek. It was cute. It was a sweet ending to a really good day.

(Other than the fact that my father called to tell me some not so pleasant news about his health right before we went to her graduation.)

Hailey and her teacher Mrs. Crouch

The cute graduate with her flower

Hailey's self portrait. There is another red head little girl in her class and I guessed Hailey's portrait was hers. I totally guessed wrong but Brady got it right. I have never seen her make these kind of eyes and nose. The crazy eyes crack me up!

This was taken right after her program was over. Love her smirky smile! Hunter's favorite part was getting to eat the celebratory cookie.

The proud parents - the one with lipstick on is still sporting a left over fever blister!

FRIENDS!

Hailey brought home the gift they had been working on in class the Wednesday before Mother's Day. Just in time too. We had planned to leave on Thursday for our Boston trip. She would have been so sad if she didn't get to give me her gift. She was beaming with excitement that she had it so I snapped a picture with my cell phone. She was so giddy.

Here is us on Mother's Day when she gave it to me...

Then yesterday, she made me the breakfast in bed that she wanted to do on Mother's Day. The pullout bed on the couch had been pulled out from the night before when we watched a movie together (well Hailey watched it and I fell asleep). Apparently she made me a get better card after the movie. So when she saw that I was up the next day she had me go sit on the pullout bed while she prepared me breakfast. She was so cute when she came and asked me if we had jelly. She doesn't touch the stuff so when she found it she offered me the choice between grape and strawberry. I chose strawberry. She came back and presented me with it all on a tray. She read me her card and presented me my meal. A delicious peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwich, a box of raisins and a rice crispy treat! This is my first breakfast in bed meal and I loved it.

And one more picture for the heck of it... I just love my little girl that is growing up!

We got up early and headed to find the rental car return spot. That was a funny adventure. The roads were blocked off due to construction and was crazy adventuring around. We wound up getting into a toll road at one point and the lady asked us where we were going and she was so funny when she told the taxi driver behind us to just back up and we did! The road we needed to be on was in sight and she didn't want us going the wrong way for a long time and we didn't either. So we backed up as lots of cars were entering the toll area. So funny to hear her Boston accent say "Just back up! Just back up!"  

I was relieved to get on the plane with the kids as I felt the first wave of Hailey's virus getting to me. Usually I can wipe their noses, lick their faces, you get the picture without getting sick. This bug was a little bit more mean and it meant business.  I tried to make doctors appointments from the airport in Dallas for Hailey. I couldn't get into the Norman clinic luckily and the appointment time that was available would have been at the same time as that tornado that decided to pass by that area. I declined and made an appointment for Hailey for the clinic here the next day. We had another round of good flights. 

Once we got here, we were famished and stopped at Coits for some food. Then I was startled by Brady's LOUD CB weather alert for potential storms and severe weather. We decided to eat as we drove and headed home after a quick stop for some gas. We got home after it had been raining for a short bit.

Brady headed to turn on the television and Hailey headed immediately to find Penguino and introduce her to her new penguin friend! (The smallest penguin is from Brady. He brought it back to Hailey when he went to DC last year.) We sat and watched tornado after tornado report come in on the television. I was a little panicked at first and relieved when we were in the clear. I crashed on the couch for the night and Brady wound up putting the kids in bed.

TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY: Feeling Horrible and Doctors Visits

I woke up feeling like not nice words and wound up canceling Hailey's morning appointment after talking to Brady. She looked okay but still had a fever which meant I couldn't let her go to school. She was actually ready and wanting to go to school which is oh so rare! So I called yet again and got her another appointment. Her doctor was full but the other pediatric doctor saw her. She is also the same doctor who Hunter saw a few months ago when he was diagnosed with the flu. I really like her. She is this cute tiny pregnant lady who took good care of us. I am glad Hailey's appointment was for the clinic here. I didn't know but they have a whole inner section where they can do x-rays and lab work. It is out sourced in Norman and that would have been driving time  and more waiting time. After listening to her and evaluating her, strep and both flu types were ruled out. An x-ray was ordered and she even let me view it right after she did. Her antibiotic that she was on in Boston was supposed to cover pneumonia but I don't think it was strong enough for this virus PLUS being in the cold/wind for so long in that weakened state made for not so good of a situation. She was diagnosed with pneumonia by the doctor herself and the radiologist. She was put on a stronger 10 day antibiotic with strict instructions that if her fever didn't go away by Thursday or if she got worse to come back in. I was impressed that the clinic called twice to check on Hailey. Love that.  I think I said lots of prayers. Her fever broke and her antibiotics seem to be working. She still has a cough but she looks so much better to me. She has always been a tough cookie and can tolerate quite a bit. When she cried twice, was sleeping way too much, ran a fever for so long and wasn't as spunky I knew something was up. Anyway, I am glad she is okay and we don't have another illness for a very long time!!! (She also missed a lot of school days which really bugs the teacher in me but I know she really didn't miss a darn thing.)

*** I wound up going to the doctor myself on Wednesday. The nurse drew blood, told me my blood pressure was high for the first time ever, my white blood cell count was off, that I was negative for the flu and strep and that I just had a nasty virus and that I looked horrible. She offered me a z-pack to treat my symptoms which I gladly accepted and took. I ran a fever for forever like Hailey, coughed and am still coughing and probably had the beginnings of pneumonia too. I didn't begin to feel somewhat like myself until Sunday afternoon. It was a long week. I was so happy that 2 church friends stopped by and dropped off food on Tuesday and Wednesday. I wasn't exactly feeling well enough on Wednesday to ask for help and lunch got overlooked for the kids. They got snacks but I totally missed lunch!  I am finally on the mend. It has been since college that I have felt this bad for so long. Being pregnant does not count either. You know the reason why then! 

I think this ends my whirlwind update of our trip and sicknesses!!! And if you are still reading this please ignore the many run-on sentences I have written in the past few blog posts.

On Mother's Day we woke up to sunshine, wind and frigid temps! We headed out to the coast so my children could see the ocean and the beach for the first time ever. I wish we would have gone the day before even though it was overcast and rainy. The wind and the cold were too much. We enjoyed ourselves and did have a good time but I so wish the weather would have been a bit nicer for their first trip. I had big plans to sit in the sand and dig with Hailey. It didn't seem to affect Hunter much but I tried to keep Hailey bundled up as much as I could. When I looked at the weather before our trip I didn't think they would need winter coats. She was on her 5th day of running a fever. Her antibiotics didn't seem to be helping and I was still giving her tylenol to reduce her fever.  We plugged along and took in the sites anyway.  Grammy offered to stay in the car with her at times so Brady, Hunter and I could soak in the views. 

Our first stop was Plymouth Rock. Let me just say that I had a totally different image in my head and had not expected what I saw. I think somebody made this stuff up. I like the picture better in my head. The one where the rock is gigantic and had jagged edges.  It was so not impressive that the pictures Brady and I both tried to take of our children to prove we were there didn't really matter. A few people kept getting in our shots and we didn't bother to get a "good" one. I know this sounds negative but I was really excited to see this site!

NEXT STOP: THE BEACH/OCEAN!

Even though it was super windy, both Hailey and Hunter liked trudging through the sand to see the ocean. Kelsey found us the perfect spot to adventure. Hunter enjoyed throwing rocks into the water and exploring with his daddy. Hailey roamed around, collected some rocks and plopped herself smack onto the sand and made a sand angel. She loves to play in sand!

NEXT STOP: Cape Cod

Cape Cod was a really scenic area. So pretty. We stopped and got donuts and hot chocolate at Dunkin' Donuts for the kids first. You know like here where there is a Walgreens on every corner? Well Dunkin' Donuts shops are everywhere. We drove around and visited a few sites where they had some lighthouses. Brady and I wanted to see some of those in person.

Hunter liked this pathway in the above picture where he said he was "chooching". He was pretending to be a train and dragging his feet in the dirt path!

Before driving back to Boston to our hotel, we stopped at a local restaurant and ate dinner. It was here that we exchanged Mother's day gifts and Hailey gave me the gift she made at school for me. I had specific instructions to pack it. She had wanted to give it to me in the hotel but we didn't have time and I wanted pictures. She was also so sweet when she woke up on Mother's day too in the hotel. She immediately began to worry and asked me if we had any peanut butter. She wanted to make me breakfast in bed. So sweet. It was also touching when I asked her before falling asleep in the hotel for the night what her favorite part of the day was and she replied "Giving you your gift." I believe her too. She loves to make others happy.

On our way back Hailey slept in the car, Hunter looked cute and they decided to change shoes. We even stopped at a super nice Target for potty breaks!

Before entering the hotel, we drove out behind the hotel to humor Hunter. He had to have his train fix. He got it too. The train that was parked was making spooky noises to me but was cool all at the same time. We went up to Grammy and Smokey's room where Kelsey recorded some of Hunter's "stories". He can talk nonstop sometimes and it is funny to me because he gets all into it and means every word. He even gets his eyes rolling and hands moving when he tells his stories. He tried to talk Smokey several times into going back down and going to check out that train again. It is hard to distract him when he has something on his mind and he is determined about something.

We ended the night. I put the kids to bed and packed our bags for our morning flight back to Oklahoma. It was a good Mother's Day. Thanks everyone!

We ventured to Boston, MA to see Brady's sister Kelsey graduate from college May 6-10th. Yeah Kelsey!

**** This is a VERY LONG JOURNAL ENTRY ****

The morning of our Thursday depart I wound up taking Hailey in to see a doctor. She wasn't feeling well on Wednesday and was running a fever by the night. Her doctor and other pediatric doctors were super full so the family doctor on the other wing saw her after I insisted she be seen. He diagnosed her with it being viral, some bronchitis and a secondary ear infection. He put her on a quick round of medication which oddly enough he told me would cover pneumonia. So with antibiotics and an off brand Tylenol in hand, we rushed to the airport. (This is also the first time I have used a store brand for my children. I have always gone for those bigger names. Funny thing is that they keep getting recalled. My mind has been changed.)

The children were good on the two airplanes we took to get to Boston.  I packed several things to do just in case but they wound up sleeping and looking around for most of the trip. We arrived in Boston, got our rental car and headed to find the hotel. We met up with the rest of the Tucker family in the front of the hotel. They even gave us the better room for Hunter's sake. So sweet. Out of one window you could see where the trains would load and depart right by the hotel. Hailey told me she didn't think our hotel would look that way. She liked how homey it was!

FRIDAY:

We woke up early, ate a quick breakfast at the hotel and headed out for the Graduation Ceremony. I am not a fan of going on subways, trams or whatever they are called anywhere, anyplace, period. In all actuality, they terrify me. I don't like purposely putting myself into a box crammed with lots of other people and not being able to get out if I needed too. Not to mention that I had 2 children which made me extra nervous. I LIVED and everything went smoothly. Hunter loved it and Hailey took every opportunity to stand when she could. I don't blame her. She doesn't care to be strapped into her car seat and this was something totally different.

We sat and watched Kelsey who looked super cute in her new haircut and black shoes which I loved. The kids did great listening through the whole ceremony. I think I handed out an entire pack of tissues for Hailey.  Hunter got so used to clapping that he clapped once in his sleep. It was funny to me.  Kelsey and Zivi also made some cute shirts that said on the back that they Graduated. I loved the precise even lines guys!

We met up with the GRADUATE afterward and then met up with Kelsey's boyfriend and their family at a mexican restaurant for lunch. After that we went and toured Kelsey's apartment and the kids terrorized their lovable cat Raj. He is a super fluffy soft cat who tolerated the children petting and playing with him. They have really never been around any nice animal for long periods of time so this was fun for them.

We then headed out on a walk and went to this huge mall area where I picked up a couple gifts at Franklin Covey. We pretty much called it quits after that because it had been a long day and Hailey wasn't looking so well and needed to go to bed. This is also where we are pretty sure we lost a $400 pair of prescription sunglasses for Brady. We called a cab to take us back to our hotel instead of traveling by the subway. At the time, it t was so worth the $13 to get back to our hotel. Loved it.

SATURDAY:

We woke up to a rainy drizzly day so we headed out to the Aquarium. I thought the kids might enjoy it and it looked like fun too. We drove the rental car and met up with the family. We hadn't eaten so made a detour to this fabulous mall type area that had every kind of food in it that Kelsey suggested. I thought it would be like our mall food but oh no. Just about everything smelled and looked yummy.  Hailey spied a pretzel right off so that is what she wound up eating along with some juice. Hunter didn't want to be left out so he had pretzel bites with cheese sauce. I wasn't that hungry yet so I just had a raspberry turnover. I did sample Brady's delicious meal. Don't remember what it was but it was good. He also got a piece of lemon pie which Hailey and I ate half of too!

Views from our hotel windows

The aquarium was a good one. I could have done without the gazillion tourists every square inch but I liked it. Hailey and I agree that the penguins were the highlight. It was also the perfect spot to get that tourist travel token trip gift. Grammy let the kids pick out something in the gift shop. Hailey immediately wanted a penguin but she searched for a bit until she found one that looked like "Penquino", her penguin she got in Santa Fe at good ole Ross. Hunter also picked out a penguin but his was a super soft one. I think he goes for feel.

Across the street from the Aquarium was an interesting talkative man who was hoping we wanted a horse ride. He kept going on about how the Tooth Fairy owed Hailey some money. Apparently $2 isn't enough. Anyway Hailey rarely talks to other people she doesn't know very well. She had no problems talking to this guy. Why? He had a horse. It is still one of Hailey's dreams to ride on a horse in the open by herself. 

Since it was about to rain some more we stopped and ate at one of the Cheers restaurants. I still wasn't that hungry and the Boston creme pie looked yummy and it didn't disappoint! 

From there we toured the dock areas and then headed back to the hotel so the kids could swim. Hailey was looking forward to this even before the trip started. I had to pack her floaties for fun! The kids had fun with Grammy, Kelsey, Michael and Brady swimming but I think us adults were quite shocked at the group of unsupervised children/teenagers who were swimming in their underwear. Lovely site. Hailey had already warned me that I was to film her swimming across the pool and back. She was so proud of herself even though she did it in her swim floatie!

I bathed the kids and tried to put Hunter to bed but he was still mad from being denied by me of going back out with Brady and his family to the  hotel restaurant to hang out. When Brady came back, we wound up getting room service. I am pretty sure that even though we were hungry, the steak and potatoes were delicious as well as that 2 person chocolate cake. Hunter dug right in and helped himself to the entire outer edge of the cake before he called it quits!

I went and picked up a pizza and salad last night and when I returned home I saw and heard the kids through the open front windows and saw a card on the doormat with an apple on it. I picked up the apple and read the very awesome homemade card with Hailey and Hunter. I love those kind of cards. Then we went inside and I found the picnic blanket set up all cute ready for our dinner.  Hailey made some place cards. So cute. Then Brady asked if I wanted my Mother's Day gift now or after dinner. I said something like "Sure. Now." Thinking why not.  I was then escorted into the computer room and told to open my eyes. I found the ipad with some extra goodies on my laptop! I never guessed from the cute apple on my card clue or thought I would have one of those BEFORE BRADY! I never wanted an iphone but the ipad looked like something I would want. I am still shocked that I have one and feel very lucky and loved. We then went and ate dinner but I told them to wait because I wanted a picture first. Brady shocked me again and had already taken pictures. Awesome. So we ate and then played with the ipad. The kids got super tired of waiting on us and fell asleep in the chairs.

Thanks so much for my Mother's Day present Brady, Hailey and  Hunter. I really love you all!

On Sunday, Hailey asked Brady to yank out her other very loose tooth at his office. It was out in a matter of seconds. She was thrilled. The Tooth Fairy left her $$ and she was yet again happy. Here is her TOOTHLESS SMILE!

When Hailey was around 3 she learned how to open and shut her mouth. It made this noise that she thought was funny. She would happily walk around snapping away at us and other people. She was quite the character. Well those miniature teeth over time wore down and super flat. She has since learned that isn't such a good idea. She has lost her bottom 2 middle teeth already. One of her top middle teeth has been loose for about 2 1/2 weeks. I took her into the dentist today because it just wasn't coming out and it appeared to be cracked. It wasn't but he took care of it for her. Hopefully the loose one next to it will come out much easier. She was a trooper and actually likes going to the dentist. She didn't even flinch when they were doing the initial checkout and the tool made her bleed some. They just numbed her up and took care of that darn little tooth.  I am excited to see a pretty little new tooth. Hopefully this one won't get ground down to nothing too!

* I couldn't help but take a picture of her x-ray from January. Cell phones are so handy.

Hunter was sad in the car a few weeks ago. I tried to cheer him up with the simple peek-a-boo game. It worked. Here is proof.

We spent Easter weekend at the lake house. Grammy and I took the children to an egg hunt sponsored by the local volunteer fire department. It was held in a field that was sectioned off with yellow caution tape. They hunted by age groups. Hunter needed a little coaxing at first but enjoyed it. When Hailey's bucket was full she simply stopped and returned. I think I might have tried to stash some in my shirt or even try to over fill it! The goat walking around with purple painted horns cracked me up too. Funny people.

I usually make my lamb cake every Easter. I didn't this year. Hailey made cupcakes instead and served them to us after dinner on Sunday.

COLORED BEAUTIES!

Easter isn't complete unless you color eggs in my book. Brady made a special one for me - a green clover one and Hunter got a chugga! Hailey even decorated one for me.

Easter Morning

Hailey and Hunter enjoyed looking through their baskets. Their excitement is precious. Hunter lined up his candies and Hailey eventually sorted hers too. It runs in the family!

Grammy gave them Easter surprises too. I love Hailey's face as she is looking at one of them in the picture below. She's got crazy eyes. Hunter loves his new train too!

OUTSIDE EGG HUNTING TIME!

A note was left to look for two special eggs - a gold and a silver one by the door. Once it was open, Hunter sprinted for the ball he spied. He was one happy boy. He also found the first egg. The gold one. Hailey quickly gathered eggs and only one crash occurred over an egg. Hunter at one point even handed her a pink egg.  We found them all - and even one from the year before. It was a good morning. I loved hearing the belly laughs from Hunter as he played ball with his daddy and watching Hailey play with her new mermaid.

We came inside and relaxed while they went through the eggs and goody stash. It was nice having Michael there too.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out with family, feeding ducks, touring boats and watching the kids play. It was a nice weekend.

When I came home from church Sunday, the house smelled yummy. I found Hailey and Brady in the kitchen making pancakes - except Hailey was doing it all. I have let her help me cook before but it is hard for me to let her do EVERY ENTIRE STEP. She did a great job and her pancakes turned out great. She poured perfect round ones and flipped them over carefully. She asked me if I could sign her up for cooking classes. It was really cute. She also wanted to make dinner by herself. She made spaghetti for us. I love that she wants to learn more. I will have to take the time to cook more with her so she will want to do it when she is older!

Brady has pictures of her pancakes. Will post those later.

* I did catch her thinking out loud and she said "What am I? Adventure Hailey or Cooking Hailey?"

A storm came through and dumped some pretty white stuff on Saturday and Sunday. I didn't mind much because I am dreading the heat of summer. Mr. Sun came out late Sunday afternoon and warmed up things a bit. Hailey noticed the snow starting to melt some. So we all went out to play in the most likely last snow of the season. We rolled some balls for snow people. I was impressed that Hunter got his ball rolling for a long time. Determination! He also really wanted to leave his ball in the street and smash everything up but he was denied our objects and had to resort to kicking and stomping on his own. Hailey rolled several and made a cute little snow dog - complete with a wood stick collar. She loves the snow so much. I am glad she noticed and we all went out when we did. It for sure is going to melt away today!

* Hailey's hat cracks me up. It kept moving and falling off when she was rolling snow. She however can't stand for hats to cover her ears. It really bugs her. Something about not being able to hear.

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HAPPY 10 YEARS of MARRIAGE BRADY & 22 TOGETHER! I LOVE YOU.

VERY YOUNG PHOTOS OF US!

Hailey brought home a tea set that was in the toy bin at Brady's office. She wanted to fill it up with water and play but I wouldn't let her do it at his office. Today we had yet another snow day so we had a tea party in the Atrium. It was a welcome change even for just a bit. I voted for this area as I had just mopped the floor and I told her that pink lemonade would be much better for a tea party. We made some sugar cookies together and I surprised her with the pink icing and sprinkles. She loves that stuff. Hunter woke up from his nap and asked me if the cookies were for Santa because he saw me icing them. I rarely ice the cookies we make! Hailey put the picnic blanket down that my mother-in-law made for me and set up the area. That blanket gets used several times a week. We practiced using our manners and sipping from our tea cups with our pinkie finger in the air. Hopefully tomorrow Mr. Sunshine will come out and we can go window shopping or something else!

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School was canceled for a second day in a row. Once the ice stopped and snow began to fall at a steady rate, I told the children they could bundle up and go play out in the snow for awhile. It was the perfect time as baths were planned right after our snow adventure.

Hailey had plans to eat an icicle. Whenever she sees snow, she immediately sits, lays and eats it. It is extremely difficult for her not to eat it especially. Funny girl. She made several beautiful snow angels too.

Hunter walked right out but soaked it all in more or less. He walked around exploring and watching his energetic big sister. He did have fun on the swing set and checking to see if the John Deer Gator was okay in the little shed. He was worried about it.

Since the snow was falling I attached an umbrella to my coat so I could take my camera outside. When you walked you could hear the ice underneath crunch. So much more snow has fallen since we went out just awhile ago. I love how peaceful and pretty snow looks on the trees and yard. It was a nice little snow outing!

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Our sweet little boy turned THREE years old on Saturday. We thought we would make his day extra fun and bought tickets to ride on the Amtrak from here to Gainsville, Texas. He is just a wee bit obsessed with REAL trains.

Birthday Invitation

The train departed at 8:25 so we had to wake the children up much earlier than they rise in the morning. It was bitter cold outside but we were all excited. The temperature in the car at one point said 5 degrees so I took a picture of it with my phone camera. Then it read zero degrees. That is crazy cold!

The plan was for them to ride on the train and I would drive southward and pick them up at the train station in Gainsville so we could have a vehicle to come back on Sunday night.

Brady said Hunter was thrilled and enjoyed looking out the window taking in all the sights. Hailey enjoyed the experience but doesn't quite have the love Hunter does for trains. They both fell asleep for about 30 minutes but Brady woke them up so they could soak it all in while they could. They went and visited the snack car when it was open and had some breakfast. Hunter had a strawberry cream cheese bagel and Hailey of course had a plain cream cheese one. I love the fact Brady took a picture of the meal for me. For some reason, I like to take pictures of my meals on planes if I ever get served one!

They stopped at a few train stations briefly, saw lots of wildlife and were even treated to an eagle who flew in to hunt for a meal at the river. Brady kept me informed so I wouldn't feel left out and texted me the entire trip. I felt like I was chasing a train several times. I pulled over in Davis, OK and found the perfect spot to watch them come by on the train. There was this neat little museum right off the tracks. I toured it briefly but was too anxious to actually enjoy it more. (I did see a 100 year old casket, a large geode and a perm machine that were fascinating.) I didn't want to miss them passing through that town. The lady said I would know when it did come and that it would come by fast. She unlocked the back door for me so I could stand closer to the building. She was right. It zipped through super fast! I stood out there waving at the train like a nut all bundled up. Brady saw me but it went by too quick to capture me on camera. It was fun seeing them though!

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I greeted the birthday boy with his balloon when it reached Gainsville. I went to use the restroom and they thought it would be funny to move the car and trick leaving me! We then headed to get me a bite to eat because I was starving and then headed to the lake. We made a quick trip to see Smokey at the Tackle Box before going to the lakehouse.

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THE TRAIN CAKES!

I made Hunter two cakes actually. One with a windup train on the top and one in the shape of a train. Hunter loved them and Hailey enjoyed eating the m&m car the next day! I gave Hunter first dibs and he said "Uh - the caboose!" like I was crazy for asking him in the first place. He ate off the engine for breakfast one day too. Birthday's are special. I declare you can do that. 

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PRESENT TIME!

SILLY PICTURES!

We braved the bitter cold and walked down the dock so Brady could take pictures of the cool ice formations for his mother.

Pizza on the grill was for dinner and Hailey enjoyed making smores with Grammy.

Hunter fell asleep for the night right after 7:00. He wound up sleeping 14 hours!

Enjoying birthday cake the next day and the following morning for breakfast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HUNTER LEWIS! Hope you had a great day. I know we all did.

 

We spent New Year's Eve in the comforts of our home all decked out in our pajamas! I was tired but got a second wind the closer it came to midnight. We passed the time watching tv and playing games on Brady's new Wii system. Brady entertained the kids more than I did. I played a few games but really enjoyed relaxing under the warm blanket on the couch. He went as far as getting out scraps of wood and nails out of the garage so Hunter could use his new real tools he got for Christmas.

We rang in the new year by blowing our horns, yelling Happy New Year, sipping bubbly and shooting off a few fireworks from the front porch. I saved our blowers from last year and the one good hat that was left. I made another one for Hunter so he wouldn't feel left out. He was happy with it. Aunt Tessa called at exactly midnight so she got to hear some of our ruckus. We then called Grammy to wish her Happy New Year.

About 12:30 my night owl of a little girl said she was bored. She has Brady's night owl genes. I had already tried to suggest she go to bed but knew that wouldn't please her again so I told her something random. I told her to go play out in the snow.  She looked at me like "Are you serious?" I told her I meant it so she put on her snow boots and quickly went out the back door. Hunter followed her. It was funny to see them in just their pajamas and boots in the dark playing in the snow. They only lasted about 5-7 minutes before they were back inside. Too cold!

Hunter lasted until 1:00 before sleep overcame him. Hailey played a zhu zhu pet game on Brady's phone for a long time. We moved the party to the bedroom. Hailey told Brady she was going to stay up longer than him. She lasted until 1:53. Brady teased her and told her he won. She smiled at him and went back to dreamland. I was already mostly in that zone.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ALL MY PEEPS AND FRIENDS!

The kids and I spent New Years Day cleaning and organizing stuff from Christmas. Brady went to work. I also got dressed for the first time in street clothes since Sunday night. I had been sporting pajamas all week. We then made a quick run to Target. The highlight was when Aunt Kelsey and Zivi came for a visit. Hailey told me earlier in the day that she wanted a visitor to come. I asked her who she wanted to come. She said someone from the lake house like Kelsey. She was happy to have them here and we were too. Thanks for letting them jump and hang all over you guys. Love you!

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Brady moved the couch out of the way for fun when we returned from the lake. The kids spread out their Christmas toys and played away for a few days. I love seeing the white snow outside. Somehow the color white makes everything less dreary. I also love not having to drive anywhere and staying in our pajamas. I might get dressed tomorrow. We keep bathing and putting clean pj's on ourselves!

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I decided I was going to make some super hero capes for my children because they are fun and who doesn't like to pretend? I always pretended to be Wonder Woman and made lots of wrist bracelets! I remember my mother sewing many things for us children. She had some skills. I have just about close to zero skills in the sewing department but did manage to sew these capes for my children late one night at our home!

On Christmas Day, we took the children to our room at the lake. Hunter was cranky at the time but when he saw that his cape came with a plastic sword, he cheered up. They are reversible. Hailey's is yellow and pink. Hunter's is green and blue. I even found some vintage buttons in my button collection that worked perfectly. I hope they enjoy playing with their capes!

Hailey's came with a cheap wand (still looking for a real one) and a small wrapped box from James Avery. I was crying in the pictures as I told her about her new jewelry piece. She is now the proud owner of a charm bracelet. I never had one when I was younger and always wanted one. I received one a few years ago and I love it. (I have however been gifted many loved pieces from James Avery from Brady over the years!)

This charm bracelet is special because it is from three people. My mother gave the bracelet to my sister Tessa when she was eight years old. Tessa passed it along to me along with the ballet charms that were never soldiered onto the bracelet. I had those placed in the middle and then picked out two more charms for Hailey. One charm is a cupcake because this was the year I actually broke down and made her a birthday cake for the first time. The other charm is of a horse because she loves horses. I love you Hailey. Hope you enjoy adding to your charm bracelet. We love you!

UGLY SWEATER WARNING!
(I sported this red thing on Christmas morning. It belonged to my mother.)

I also received a butter box in my stocking. Thanks Santa! (It has monies in it.)

Hunter liked getting to play with the large train set that Smokey bought a few years ago. He saw it last year in the box but it never got out. He was thrilled to get to use the controls!

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Hunter was very hungry for dinner and apparently climbed up into the highchair but lack of an afternoon nap won!

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I think I am going to enjoy learning how to play SOME games on the Wii. I like bowling so far and smashing these plates!

This is the quilt Grammy made for Hunter's bed. Thanks Grammy. It is wonderful as usual!

The children woke up and found the note from "Hermes" the Elf. Then they went to check the rooftop to see if those reindeer made a visit. They did! Hailey remembered that last year Rudolf bit the food bowl. Silly deer! 

Then Daddy went downstairs to tell the people's we were coming down. We waited in the hallway with Michael, Kelsey and Zivi. Over the past few weeks, we have been retelling stories of our childhood Christmas memories to Hailey. She liked the waiting in the hallway stories and me telling her about when I woke up early one Christmas morning, took a peek and then went back to bed. I was about 8 years or so!

Taking a Peek!

CHRISTMAS SNOW!

HERE THEY COME!

Santa left Hailey a cardboard house you can color on with a Wow Wee Alive White Tiger inside, Zhu Zhu Pets, the Tag Reading Pen with Books, a doorbell for her room in a purse, a stroller and bed for her pets, a cute shirt and fun stuff in her stocking!

Santa left Hunter a cardboard castle, the Geo Trax airport and barn to add on to his train set, a Yoda pillow, an emergency vehicle play set and fun stuff in his stocking!

Santa has always left our children an orange in the toe of the stocking (memories of my own childhood), a new fun tooth brush and their favorite candy at time.

We had a very enjoyable time at the lake this Christmas. Brady's parents, grandmother, brother, sister and her boyfriend Zivi were all there. I had a great visit and I know my children loved spending bunches of time with their family. (The day before, we all went and did a little shopping. I took Hunter and Brady took Hailey. They went with the kids and were gone the whole day. Hailey loved it and I am glad she was able to tag along. She loves them all so much!).

Brady surprised me by making delicious fudge. I had been wanting some and he got a recipe from a lady he recently was helping. It was yummy but then again just about anything that uses sweetened condensed milk has to be!

I made him take a picture of it before he could cut it!

The house was all festive when we arrived. Smokey took the kids out back and showed them the new decorations on the hill. I think Hunter liked the tractor display the best. I wish I would have pictured it! This year Santa was sporting some sunglasses. Hunter liked watching Santa sing and dance. This is only his second Christmas even though he will be 3 shortly. He was soaking it all in and it was just as fun for me to watch my children enjoy.

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Hailey and I got busy and made our traditional sugar cookies for Santa on Christmas Eve. She liked removing them from the pan this year. Next year I bet she will be able to do the whole process and I will be watching!

Reindeer food was made and set aside and it began to snow! I was super excited about this as I knew we would have snow in Edmond.  Hailey enjoyed going out and playing in the first snow falling.

Check out Hailey's new coat from Grammy. She went into a store looking for gloves for the kiddos and came out with new coats for the kids. This one was supposed to be for Hunter but it was a little large. It is so 1980's and we love it!

Snacks were made and then we set out to unwrap the 8 zillion presents under the trees! Hailey was most excited about handing out her gifts she picked out at the school store. She asked me several times since we arrived at the lake as to when she could do it. I loved watching her hand out her gifts. She told me that was the best part of the evening. I love that about her. I think she picked out pretty good gifts for each of us too!

Hunter finally got to open his gift from Hailey. It was his only gift under our tree at home and he knew it was HIS present. She gave him a gas pump for his ride on vehicles. Hunter cracked me up as he opened up his gifts. He had to completely unwrap and take care of the paper trash before he would actually look at his gift. He didn't even seem to notice what it was until it was all taken care of properly. He would even say "Don't tell me." We would ask him stuff like "What is it Hunter?" and he would reply "A present."

Brady does not like to wrap presents and neither do I but for someone who doesn't like it, he does it very creatively every year. He turned Hunter's tool box into an animal and my new well-needed broom got wrapped in a fun way!

Hunter's tools were a big hit. He cracked us all up as he even took them to the restroom with him. I think he thought we were going to take them or something. The presents got measured too!

Cookies for Santa were set out and Reindeer food was placed on a rail near the roof top.

The children were nestled, all snug in their beds...

And Santa came to the lake to the GOOD little BOY and GIRL...

The Advent Calendar was of course brought along and "Hermes" (Elf No. 4276) left a note saying "Merry Christmas Hailey and Hunter! I have enjoyed visiting you. Keep being good children."

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I ordered tickets the first week of December to ride on the Christmas Train in Oklahoma City. The year before we rode on the Polar Express in the Grand Canyon and it was so enjoyable. I knew Hunter would really enjoy getting to ride on another train and HE DID!

We arrived just as the previous train was returning. Hunter was thrilled. It was bitter cold outside and the wind was blowing a little bit. We took cover as best as we could until we were allowed to board the train. We boarded a train car but after sitting on it for a bit switched because the caboose was open. We had to sit on that one! When we went on the Thomas train, we were in the same one and I think those are the best seats. 

BEFORE SWITCHING TO THE CABOOSE...

We were given some hot cocoa to enjoy (it was very lukewarm) and some cookies compliments of McDonalds!

The Polar Express Story was read, Christmas Carols sung and Santa boarded the train. Hunter loved all of it. I liked watching him look out the windows, hearing him sing along to the songs and being curious about everything. He also liked waving to people out of his window and watching the engine car move from one end of the train to the other so we could turn around. The little guy even told Brady he did not want to get off the train. He would have stayed there all day I bet. It was a good morning!

Here are a couple videos I took. Try to ignore the horrible singing in the background from the other folks!

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When I was little, I loved this little wooden house that was put out on top of the television stand or somewhere high. It had tiny Christmas things in it. I wonder where that thing is now. It was fun to look at and admire. I don't recall ever having an Advent calendar in our home but I do remember my mother doing fun stuff with us. When Hailey was old enough to understand things more, I wanted an Advent calendar to mark down the days until Christmas. I saw these beautiful wooden ones that had doors you could open but I never could bring myself to buying one. Then my mother-in-law gave me this sweet hanging calendar. Hailey remembers how fun it was to do it last year. I gave mine a little twist and simple notes or items are left each night from the elves. The elves watch over them during the day to make sure they have been good for Santa. One day, they weren't so good and the elf didn't come! Hailey has blocked this from her memory apparently because she remembers all too well the ONE night the elves couldn't come because mommy stayed up too late and the pocket was empty - but actually the elf just forgot! It is fun for me watching how excited Hailey gets and seeing her head straight for the calendar when she is barley awake in the morning and Hunter saying "The elf gave this to me!".

Hunter observes everything and will repeat or try to perform what he saw. Brady keeps a certain screwdriver on his desk in his pencil holder. For over a year now whenever a toy isn't working, he heads straight for the battery drawer (which gets raided often and I would love an endless supply of them) and for that special screwdriver. Hunter loves to try to fix whatever he says is broken and it reminds me of Brady. He's a handy fellow.

Hailey brought home a gift for Brady and I yesterday from school. When Brady came home, she had us open it up together. It was an ornament that looked like a bunch of snowmen but after further inspecting it, her hand print was turned into super cute snowmen. It came with a cute little poem. I love this gift and the fact her teacher had the children do something special for their parents. (I also love the fact that it was done on a plastic ball and not a glass one. It will last longer!)

The bag the ornament was in... She accidentally spilled sanitizer on her name in the car on our trip from school to home. She edited it when she was home. Then she told me she messed up the reindeer antlers at school. She said they were not supposed to be sticking out of it's body!

This month Hailey saw the Macy's commercial where the little girl comes in to mail her letter to Santa and is lifted up to mail her letter. She loves this commercial and of course wanted to do the very same thing. Last Saturday, we went to the mall so Brady could see his eye doctor for new glasses and I had to pick up something at James Avery. I brought along her letter to Santa. There was actually two letters. One was her wish list and the other was a picture for him. When Brady told her there was a Macy's, she immediately asked about her letters and was super happy when I told her I had them. The mailbox had two slots at different heights which was fun. There was even a desk nearby to write a letter right then and there if you wanted too. Here is a quick picture we snapped of her fun moment!

Here is what her letter to Santa said and the translation for me. She is working on sounding out words and writing them if she doesn't know how to spell them. They are all run together but if you separate them out, you can tell what she was trying to spell. Love it!!!

She did leave off an item off her list because she told Santa that one in person. She wants a blow up pool. (A super large one where you can climb the stairs and slide down. You know the kind that are like 600+ dollars!!!).

On Saturday December 5th, we drove to the Christmas tree farm here in town. It was about 25 degrees outside and it felt like it! The trees we usually get are at the very back of the property - lot 4 to be exact. We walked around for a bit when I found one I liked. I didn't want a super large one this year and Brady refuses to go for one that is shorter than he is tall. This is the smallest tree we have had in years and I love it - just like all the ones in the past. They are like pumpkins to me. All are unique and fun in their own special way!

We were offered a ride back on a golf cart. Hailey and I took him up on it but Hunter was a little nervous to go with the strange man. After you cut it down, a cart seems to instantly be there to haul off your tree to the front. We have never been offered a ride but we think the man just liked little Hunter because he was carrying the saw and a big ole stick. So Brady walked back to the front with Hunter in the freezing cold. In the meantime, I picked out a wreath for my front door. I just love a fresh wreath on my door at Christmastime. We paid for our items and then sat on a bench for a bit. The kids sipped hot chocolate and Brady had some cider. They make yummy cider. 

When we got home, Brady set up the tree in the stand and Hailey cut the plastic wrapping off of it. She really enjoys this part and watching the bundled up tree spring back out again.

After the tree was set up, I made some salt dough.  (An elf left a note for the kids to make some the night before.)  Brady, Hailey and Hunter sat at the kitchen table rolling out ornaments. Hailey did a great job on hers this year, Brady got super creative and Hunter had fun squishing the dough and being temperamental. He made a few with help but formed a tall tree on his own.

Hailey's finished masterpieces!

Hunter's masterpieces!

Brady's masterpieces!

We then set off to decorate the tree. I strung the lights and then Brady and I officially declared the tree could be decorated after we placed our first ornament we received on our honeymoon on the tree. Hailey enjoyed looking in her ornament box and placing all the mostly non-breakable ones on the tree. I have followed suite and purchased a special ornament for my children every year like my mother did. The one I chose for her this year was a cute ball ornament with Tinkerbell on it. Hailey and I found Hunter's in Santa Fe. His was a little train. Mine was a glittery dragonfly and I haven't found the perfect one for Brady yet. Still searching...

At one point Brady asked me if I had any popcorn. I purchased some for him for Christmas and broke it out early. It looked like fun because the kernels were blue, red and white. So then a popcorn stringing session began and Brady taught Hailey how to string popcorn. Popcorn pieces were everywhere but they clean up easily and were delicious too I heard. The house smelled of pine, popcorn and fire as we also had a roaring fire going on as well. I tend to camp myself by the fire in the winter time. I love to get super warm and fall asleep. All in all, it was a good day.

Our tree this year turned out to be a fun - kid festive one. I didn't feel like un-wrapping and putting on my special ornaments either.  I even broke out the tiny glass balls I purchased on sale last year for Hailey's small red tree and used those instead of my usual ones. I put out the few things that make me happy and it is perfect this year. I love that Hunter wants to turn on the Christmas (lights) every day too. I hope they remember this magical time as I have very fond memories of my own.

We drove to Santa Fe, New Mexico to spend Thanksgiving with Brady's family. They rented a house there for fun. It was a beautiful house in a nice spot. Our children loved climbing the hill across the street and playing with family the most. We took many walks, visited the square, went sight-seeing, ate a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, played in the snow and drove to Bandelier National Park to see some caves. This was a major highlight for Hailey. She loves exploring.

I took some photos. Brady took a lot of photos and I am sure Kelsey and Michael took many as well. I am going to spare everyone the mass picture posts this go around. Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your friends and family.

On Thanksgiving morning, Kelsey speared up some drawing with Hailey. Everyone joined in on the action at some point - even Penquino sitting on the table. She is the newest $3 stuffed animal compliments of Ross. 

Placemat Hailey made at school for Thanksgiving

Bandelier National Park was a lot of walking and climbing but it was worth it. It was a beautiful park. I stayed behind on the last cave climb because it was too risky to take Hunter. Brady told me Hailey was awesome and climbed up all the stairs. It was a one way up thing about 4 flights of stairs if I remember correctly. Scary but she did it!

I liked looking at this guy!

Hailey also collected a bunch of rocks while we were in Santa Fe. One night, she set up a pretend store by the fireplace. Grammy, Michael, Kelsey and Brady were her customers. They gave her real cash for her rocks. When it was over she went to go return their money and was shocked that they didn't want it back!

When we went to tour the caves, she brought her purse along. She refused to leave it in the car and said she needed it just in case. Smokey did take her into a store in the square and let her browse a dollar type store with her money prior to her "rock store". I think she needed to borrow some cash as I was sure she only had about 2 or 3 dollars in it - counting change. Thanks Smokey and everyone for playing with Hailey. She loved every minute of it.

* Side note: A few days ago, Hailey went to her room to go get Hunter a wallet he could borrow and pulled out a $20 bill. I knew it wasn't mine. At some point Brady must have given her the money to play with and forgot all about it being in there!

Hailey did use some of her earned money to buy Christmas presents for her family at the Christmas store at school. She was tickled to get to use it. I am so excited to see what she picked out for everyone!

 

Here is the cute birthday girl at her party. We sang Happy Birthday to her and she blew out the candles on her cake. My mother in law helped pass out drinks, cupcakes and even cleaned up the crumby mess after. Thanks!

After cake, we moved into the living room for presents. I had the girls sit in a circle. Hailey was sweet to thank each one and give out hugs. Thanks to all for the super cute gifts. Hunter spied one he really liked and even got up to go check it out. He wanted to snag it right then but he was denied. I love his expression. It was a disk launcher with a catch net!

When parents started arriving, Hailey handed out her favor bags and the balloons she decorated with a sharpie yesterday. Something else that was super sweet was when she was helping me the day before set up for the party was that she went and got my party name list. She wrote all their names on a scrap of paper towel. She was making sure all were accounted for. She also saw that we did not have enough chairs and she went around the house finding stuff they could sit on. She used 2 beanbags, the cat food can and Hunter's stool to make do. She also decided she was going to give away some clothes pins and small colored sticks. She was so excited to hand out her balloons but forgot about her pins and sticks. I love that she is so thoughtful. It was a good party!

On Sunday, we sang Happy Birthday to her and enjoyed her giant cake. Love you H1! Hope you had a wonderful party and 6th birthday.

* Scroll back or go to my main page for all the birthday entries if you are interested!

This year I decided I was going to make Hailey's birthday cake. I felt a little guilty about not having made any of her birthday cakes thus far. Can I make a cake? Yes. In the past I just wanted them to look great, match her theme and I didn't want to mess with the time it would take. So I can officially check this off my list. I haven't decorated a cake in years. Hailey loves cupcakes and sprinkles. I saw this giant cupcake and thought it was so cute. I spent half the day baking cupcakes, the main cake, then icing and decorating them. It was super simple but I stressed about it. There was definitely a "better side" to the giant cake! I don't think that side got captured in the photos but here is proof that I made her a birthday cake. The stop and start marks in the icing bother me but o-well. I will just have to try my hand at it another time. My sister was on the webcam watching me decorate it at the time. I felt like I was on a cooking show. In the end, Hailey loved it and that is what mattered. I was happy because it tasted good too!

Here is a picture of the giant one and the small ones in the background prior to decorating them. I also had more cupcakes. These are just the ones Brady helped put on the cake plate for me. The pink ones and blue ones were in high demand but it helped when one little girl said "You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." Made me laugh because I say that too sometimes.

Hailey's 6th birthday party was on Saturday, the day before her actual birthday. We made some invitations last week and sent some to school and church. She loves the idea of a party because she loves having friends over to her house. Every year that we have had a party, I have centered it around what she is interested in or loves at the time. This year she knew she was having a party but I had something else up my sleeve. I saw an advertisement in a magazine for the OK Tumblebus. She loves going to gymnastics weekly and I loved the idea of a self contained party in a bus. So it was a complete surprise to her when it showed up at our house. She had been invited to a party prior to hers and still didn't catch on to the surprise even though it was mentioned. A sweet little girl in her class at church was also born on the 8th. This year I failed to call and plan ahead but in the end it worked out having our parties back to back!

Here she is peeking out the front window...

Nine girls showed up to her party. The two coaches did a great job working with them and rotating through the activities. Three of her classmates from school also came. She wanted to invite the whole class but I limited it to just girls since there are only 5 in her Kindergarten class! It looked like they all had a really good time for the hour long session. At the end, they gave them awards and a goody bag. The birthday girl got a heavier medal and a t-shirt to remember her day.

Here is the whole gang before going inside for a well needed drink and then birthday cake!

GOODBYE TUMBLEBUS!

Today our little girl turned SIX years old. It seems like every year she turns over another year I say, "I can't believe it!" Well today I believe that she is older now. She looks the part. I told her she just has to be our little girl and love us forever though! We love her very much.

She had a great morning hanging out with her brother going through the goody bags from yesterday's parties and then took a balloon bath! She asked if she could blow up the left over balloons and I said yes. When it was time for her bath, she asked if she could take a few "babies" (2 small balloons). She loves to pretend and play in the bath. I told her yes. Hunter decided to add to her collection and went and got all the rest of the balloons!

After church, we lounged around for a bit and the she opened up her gifts from us. Brady gave her a DVD player with pink headphones for the car. We haven't had one since she was 3 when she got sick on it and ruined it. She is good on our trips and hasn't needed one but she will enjoy it when we take longer ones in the future. (Hunter will enjoy it too. Daddy got him one too!) Hunter gave her some Tinkerbell shoes and I gave her the Swim To Me Puppy she has been desiring. She is excited for her next bath!

Hailey's initials are HRT. Whenever I think about them I think of a HEART and how much my life has changed since she was born. I have a lot of love for her. I could name a lot of things I love about my spunky, beautiful girl but I will just name a few that start with her name for fun. I am glad she is still youthful and loves to talk and do things with me.

H- Happy Go Lucky! I love this about her. She is content and easy to please.

A- Accepting! She finds the good in most people.

I- Imaginative! She thinks out of the box usually and can make situations work for her.

L- Loving and Loud! (The loud part is missing at school. She's quiet there.)

E- Energetic! This is apparent from the constant bruises on her shins and forearms.

Y- A Yapper! She talks and sings nonsense when she is working or extremely happy. Sometimes it can drive me nuts but I love that it genuinely makes her happy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MISS HAILEY RAE TUCKER!

I wanted to compile a post for myself so I would remember quickly what my children have been for Halloween every year. Pics coming soon of this year's costume fun!

We spent Hailey's Fall Break at the lake house. I managed to not take a single picture. That is okay though because it was well documented. Brady's brother and his two friends flew in from California to document a fishing tournament because my father in law was the main sponsor for the event this year. They are putting some stuff together and asked Brady, the kids and I to pose for the camera. The even took video. I am not camera friendly so I am not sure what they were thinking. I now know how it might feel like to have a camera crew follow you around and record your daily moves. I am sure you would get used to it over time but I felt like a dork! I hope they actually got a few good pictures and takes for whatever they are working on. I am glad I got to see Michael. Hailey loved seeing her uncle but didn't care too much that he had work to do. She told me that his friends kept taking us and Michael away from her. She gets super excited to see her extended family and all she wants to do when they are around is hang on them and make them play with her constantly! I told her that this was a special occasion and next time it would be a little different. A young child has a different perception of things!

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This past weekend we went back to the lake house because one of Brady's friends wanted to take his two boys camping on the property. After waking up Saturday morning, we found out that it was off because of one of his kids got sick. I was okay with that since shortly after we arrived the night before, Hunter turned to me and told me he was going to get sick and he did. I think he must have had too much food and drink at dinner. Who knows. He was fine the next day and continued eating like he has never eaten food before. This kid really can pack it in sometimes!

Brady's grandmother was also there so it was nice to see her too. We had to make a run to Wally World to pick up some tennis shoes for Brady since I failed to pack his and all he had was dress shoes. When I was there I picked up a $2.88 cent pumpkin for Hailey to have a go at carving on her own. She liked this idea. Every year I love to pick out pumpkins but this year hers is the only one we have. Weird. We haven't even taken them to the pumpkin patch yet either. This month has gone quickly for me.

* She wanted her pumpkin to look scary. This is her creation. She insisted it be filled with some chunky rocks too. Worked out as a nice base for the tea candle too!

I did go to the Boot Scootin' Ball with Brady and his father last minute Saturday night. Brady's mother kept the children while we went. She was even gracious enough to lend me a nicer shirt since all I packed was camping type clothes. The Ball is an auction to support and benefit the volunteer fire department in that area. This was the first time I have been to this one but they have been several times before. We walked around and browsed the items. I put a bid on a few and was tickled that I won this rock necklace that I loved. I like auctions and love my new necklace. My winning bid was $40. Not too bad and supporting the fire department at the same time. The food was good too! Thanks Grammy for watching the children for us so we could go for a bit. They had a good time with her as always.

Here is a little snip-it of the auction:

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Can't leave out my little Hunter guy. Here he is fast asleep after munching down most of his hamburger in the car on the way back to the lake house.

And lastly since we never made our camping adventure, Brady made me a Smore. Hailey and Hunter enjoyed theirs with Grammy while we were at the ball.

 

Hailey started Kindergarten today! She has an afternoon Kindergarten class so sleeping in is still an option for her and us. After she ate her breakfast, I painted her piggies pink and then sent her to the bath to make sure she was nice and clean. She watched some morning television and then we got dressed. Then we took a few photos on the porch and headed out for her big day. I had butterflies. She did not. Yesterday she made me a special necklace to wear so I would remember her while she was gone. This morning I wrote her a little message on a paper heart and she put it in her pocket. Sometimes she is extra sweet.

It rained almost all night and was still raining when we left so she got to wear her raincoat!

I wanted to add a tag to her backpack in case it got lost or heaven forbid she did. She wanted a bunny so I found some cute clip art and colored it in the paint program like she wanted. Then she laminated it for me. You like? We only put her initials because I am against names on the outside of backpacks in school settings.

I walked her to the front of the school with Hunter where her teacher was waiting for her students to arrive. Hailey was asked to sit in a line until they were ready to leave. I noticed that her class has more boys than girls. Hailey was one of 3 that I counted. Wow! She waved goodbye to me and off they went into the school. Once all the classes went inside, the parents followed so I did too. They were sitting on the carpet listening to instructions. I snapped a few quick blurry photos and off we went.

IGNORE the lady talking about the little girls hair that is last in line. She apparently cut it and FOCUS on the cute little girl waving goodbye to us!

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Once we got in the car Hunter told me "Let's not leave Hailey." He was a little confused and said it again. Then he said, "Be back in little while Hailey."  He loves playing with her. We came home and I messed around. It is strange not having her here but the time went by very quick. I fed Hunter some lunch and shortly after that he tells me "I need to go back to Hailey." I said, "You do?" He said, "I need to kiss Hailey. Class. I need to go back." I told him we would pick her up in a little while and then he walked off. He loves his sister can you tell?

Dismissal is at 3:30 and we live about a mile away so I left at 3:20 not wanting to seem like a crazy first time parent that can't wait to pick up her child again. I was shocked to see that the parent pickup line extended out into the main part of the street and I was in it. It took me a few minutes to calm down about being worried about my child's safety after school. By the time I got through the line, it was 3:50. That is a crazy long time to wait not knowing how they dismiss them. I did spy her teacher and fortunately for me Hailey has red hair and I spotted her in the distance. In the car, Hunter was holding Hailey's snack I promised her - cookies with the holes. Then he said, "I miss Hailey." Isn't that so sweet? I turned on the camera but he was being quiet then so I had to ask him what he said. He told me he missed Hailey bad. I love that little guy. Hailey spied me finally and just about bolted up but she was prevented until the lady with the speaker phone called out Hailey's name (it was on a sentence strip on my car window) and then she was told to go to the yellow square and wait for me to pull up. She was happy to see us and we were likewise. Hunter handed her the cookies and off we went. The first thing she told me was "I like Kindergarten!"

It was hard to get her to tell me everything they did but I know she listened to a story on the carpet, she made a raccoon puppet that was perfectly cut out, ate a snack and played a game where a ball was thrown and if it landed on an animal or something else you said stuff. Hers was a pet and she told the class about Castle Cutie and that her dad calls it a Rat but it really is a Hamster. Thus begins the telling the whole world your families business! She told me they got to choose where to put their backpacks and where they sat at the table. I am anxious to go to back to school night now so I can get a better feel. I am not sure she is going to fill me in. I did see that there was another little girl with red hair too so that makes 4 girls total I counted so far in her class. I am excited for all the new things she will learn this year. Happy First Day of Kindergarten Hailey. I Love You!!!

Oh - and it looks like her teacher has an assistant. She is one lucky teacher if she does!

Waiting in the parent pickup line...

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rZWpxb-V-g 500x500]

On the 8th, Hailey noticed that another tooth was loose on the bottom. Tonight it was super wiggly and bugging her so she asked her dad to pull it out. They seem to go from solid to slightly wiggly to BAM very loose! Tomorrow she won't have to eat so cautiously. She has already placed her tooth in the pillow and anticipating the Tooth Fairy. She'll be going to bed pretty quick. She's enjoying some dry cereal right now. I think she is going through another growth spurt. I can always tell because her little chin gets fatter. So cute!

THE NEXT MORNING:

Hailey woke me up at 7:40 and had already looked in her pillow. She was excited to show me that the Tooth Fairy left her a piece of bubble gum and money! Last time she waited for me to look inside. I told her it was too early to wake up and we went back to sleep until after 9:00. Then we both got up and went into the living room. She admired her money and gum and we talked. She wondered if the fairy might have left pixie dust again and went to check the window in our bedroom by her bed. Nothing there. Brady told her she must have come in a different way. This sparked some interest. Hailey and I went to double check the windows in our bedroom. Then she went to check her window sill in her bedroom. Sure enough she found pixie dust. She had a smile that said she was satisfied. She then went and got her ziplock bag of previously collected pixie dust and collected this round. She was one happy girl.

Hailey told me this morning she wanted her own blog so she could publish her own pictures from her computer. So I set her up this morning. Her blog is called H1 and will be bookmarked on my frontpage for easy access. She drew a picture using the paint program on her computer. I am looking forward to seeing what she wants to post and having her learn how to do it!

I will also be fixing the broken link called Hailey's Journal as soon as I figure out how to do it! Brady made me this handy journal spot and I have used it for years now. I hope to link their journals pages from their websites to this one.

I don't have a zoo pass for the kids and don't take them regularly. So when I heard that the zoo was offering free admission as a thanks for passing a sales tax to benefit them, I packed up the kids on Friday morning and headed to the zoo. It was actually cooler which was a nice bonus. I took them to see the sea lion show. They loved every minute of it. Hunter especially liked it when the sea lion made noises. I need to take them to Sea World someday. That would really impress them! We rode on the train and got off at various stops to see the animals. I love the chimpanzee and gorilla areas. Hailey and I thought one of them was having fun just standing there blinking at us and not moving at all. We arrived just in time to watch them eat their afternoon snacks. We rode on the carousel of course and visited a few water mist stations. I even caught a lady with a big, nice camera taking photos of children who came to play in the mist. The water droplets on the children's hair looked cool. Before we left the zoo, I got Hailey some Dippin Dots ice cream while Hunter enjoyed his brief nap. She loves that stuff! It was a good day at the zoo.

After the zoo, we went home and changed into our bathing suits and went swimming at a friends home. Hailey had a blast and Hunter was nuts in the water.  He just jumps in and tries to swim. He doesn't want anything on him and kept saying "I'm swimming!" It wasn't so relaxing for me because I had to make sure he wasn't gulping down the water but they loved it. After such a long day, they went to bed an hour earlier. We need to have more days like this!

* I brought my camera but didn't have the memory stick in it so I just took a few with my phone camera. Silly me.

 

Hailey and I went school supply shopping today! The stores have started to put out the back to school supplies on their shelves. I wanted to make sure I had them before all the craziness begins of gathering them near the start of school. As a teacher, supply shopping was always fun. I wanted to do it with Hailey minus all the shoppers. She wasn't too excited when I told her what we were doing because she didn't really know what it meant. So when I started piling lots of fun stuff into the shopping cart, she got really into it. On Saturday, I let her pick out a backpack at the office supply store. I was surprised she picked out a pink one out of all the color choices. I liked it because it was free from a character and labeling and she liked it because of what was in the zippered pockets - a pencil case, lunch bag and a wallet! The reality that she will be entering Kindergarten is setting in now.

* This is what was on her school supply list to pick up!

9 large glue sticks, 10 #2 pencils sharpened, 5 boxes 8 count crayons, 1 box 24 count crayons, 1 set of water color paints, 1 bottle of hand sanitizer, 1 pkg non toxic dry erase markers, 1 quart size Ziploc bags, 1 large backpack, 1 red folder, 1 green folder, 1 yellow folder, 1 blue folder (all with brads), 1 ream of white copy paper, 1 box tissues, 1 box of baby wipes, 1 bottle of white glue, 1 box washable markers, 1 small student markers

All for a grand total of $50.65 plus tax at Wally World

The $20 school supply fee where I taught sure seems like a better deal! The most annoying thing about it all is that the backpack is the only item that completely belongs to her. All other items are not to be labeled and has been the case in public schools for many years. I sure hope she gets her fair share of the supplies. From my experience as a Kindergarten teacher, children do not like not having their own scissors and having to wait to complete an assignment because someone else was busy with the few scissors in the classroom. But I did teach in low income schools so I picked up the slack many times if needs were not met. I just hope all the parents in her class actually bring the required school supplies! It was fun shopping with Hailey for these supplies anyway regardless. Yeah for new supplies!

We went with Brady on Saturday to a warehouse so he could do some work on their computer for them. They have this huge area full of computer stuff. No one was there. For fun, he turned on their fork lift and took the kids for a spin. Big machine = happy kids! I told him he was a rule breaker or something like that because I would be too afraid of getting caught, etc. They loved every minute of it. I actually enjoyed my "encouraged" rise in the air on one of the forks too!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzkkBaoTWUk 500x500]

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovnke5iwWYc 500x500]

 

Hailey's great grandmother came to visit the lake for the Fourth of July. I found Hailey talking to her a lot. I am glad she had the chance to visit with her again.

Hailey enjoyed going to the firework stand with Brady and Michael to pick out fireworks. She was super sad that I did not let her take home a free cat though. She really wants an indoor pet like a cat or a dog. Brady and I do not want another cat - EVER! We told her someday we might get a dog. I am not crazy about having a larger pet inside again though. They make messes and I get too attached. I can live with a fish dying. Sad but being honest!

Lighting fireworks with Brady is so much fun for Hailey. She loves it. We never wound up lighting the sparklers oddly enough. Will have to save those for the New Year!

Hunter liked this tank!

My favorite firework selection - SNAKES! These have always made me smile.

Firework Watching!

Hunter enjoyed spending time with his Uncle Michael and Aunt Kelsey!

Brady, Hailey, Hunter and I took a boat ride over to see the bridge we always cross when coming to the lake. It rained for a bit but not for long. I like riding in a boat on cloudy days!

We met up with the rest of the family at the marina and got on the big boat for awhile.

Boat Talk!

Hailey needed to "relax" a bit. She was too hyper for me. So I told her to make some faces. These are shots of her happy, sad, excited, etc. looks. She has a million more too!

Pretty evening sunset!

It was a very nice, relaxing (and hot) Fourth of July. I am glad I got to see everyone again!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Er4197pVcfU 600x600][video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJtAF5ljI6A 600x600]

Yes, she is not wearing any clothes. Typical for Hailey! I also like how you can hear Hunter saying "nasty" in the video and talk about blood. Funny kid.

 

 

 

Hailey has had a loose tooth since last Tuesday. This is her first tooth to come out. She was so excited when she woke up on the 23rd. She couldn't wait to spread the news. We made a call to her daddy but it went to his voice mail. So we made other calls. Smokey was the first to hear all about it and it was his birthday too! We eventually caught up with Brady but he had already heard. We ran errands and went out to dinner. Everyone got to hear about her loose tooth. I loved seeing how excited she was about this. She has dreamed about losing her first tooth since seeing episodes on Little Bear and Arthur. Brady asked her last week if he could pull it out and she was willing - pliers and all. It needed more time though. Tonight it was loose. Not hanging by a thread loose but loose. She showed us and Brady asked her again and she wanted him to yank it out. I always disliked that feeling. She knows the next step is the Tooth Fairy! Brady told her what he was going to do and she was good about the whole deal. It didn't seem to phase her a bit. A paper towel was put in and she went and checked out her new smile in the mirror. After taking pictures, the tooth was placed in a little ziplock bag and placed in a pillow. Brady and Hailey found this pillow in the attic months ago so I washed it and set it aside. I think it was Kelsey's. We will have to pass it along now!

Before going to bed, we talked a lot about what the Tooth Fairy is like, where she keeps the teeth, how she gets the tooth out without you knowing, etc. It was fun to hear her ideas and Brady's. She wanted to make a wish on the brightest star but she couldn't see one from the window. So we all trekked out to the street at 11:30 pm and found the brightest star. She made her wish. I wish I knew what she wished for. She keeps a mean secret. She knows if you tell they won't come true. She does tell me once in awhile they haven't come true yet. I wish I knew what goes through her head. After our nightly routine, she fell asleep fast. After all, it was pretty late. Time passed by really quickly tonight! 

BEFORE PICTURES!

 She really didn't need the paper towel. It didn't bleed that much.

Tooth all safe and under the pillow! She is actually asleep in the last picture.

The Tooth Fairy Pillow! I put her tooth in a tiny zip lock bag that buttons come in when you buy clothes. Glad I saved these!

 The Tooth Fairy Came! She brought 5 quarters (because she is 5) and 1 dollar bill (because it is her first tooth). That is what we all deducted!

After talking with her daddy, Hailey went to the bedroom to look for evidence of if she came through the roof or the window. Hailey found PIXIE DUST! She loved the sparkles and tiny foot prints.  Love you Hailey Rae!

As we pulled away from a drive thru tonight, Hailey told me she hasn't seen very many dark people around. Anyone with a different colored skin she calls dark. She knows there are different types of people on this Earth and has never made a big deal about it. She said she has seen like about 180 of people like her but not so many dark people. Then she asked me what color we were called. I told her we were white. I didn't want to throw in the word Caucasian just yet. She didn't like that and she told me she wasn't white. I told her again and she told me "Why do I have to yell at you. I am not white!" Then she tells me, "When you're tan you're hot and when you're not, you're not".  This then makes me laugh because Hailey has seen way too many commercials. This little slogan is for Tan and Tone America. She asks me how you get tan. I tell her the sun can do it but for people with skin tones like ours the sun can burn instead. She tells me she just wants to be a little tan then. I agree Hailey. Me too! The whole what color thing is so confusing for little children. When I taught school, it bothered so many children when they pulled out those crayons to color their bodies. I don't blame them. The white crayon isn't acceptable. We are not bright and brilliant colored. The flesh tone colored crayons just don't cut it either in my opinion. They seem too yellow or pinkish. So tomorrow I am going to tell her she is a Caucasian American!

Yesterday I posted a little about Hailey's messy room and that getting new stuff is off limits. Today we straightened up the room and mostly everything got put back where we keep it. Then she reminded me yet again that I made her a promise. I always strive to keep my promises. They may not always be immediate but I do try to keep them. Saturday I took the kids to Norman to see the Mormon Tabernacle Choir perform. I received some free tickets and I really wanted to go. Normally people don't take little ones to events like this but I knew they would be good plus Brady was out of town. I am going to have to try to find a good babysitter. They are used to me packing them up and hauling them everywhere though. Hailey really enjoyed them perform and I am glad she got to experience it with me. I had to remind them a few times to try to keep those folding type chairs meant for heavier people down but on the whole they were pretty dang good. Bribes and sandwich bags full of lots of little food items work well to keep my kids quiet! I did leave our seats and moved to the top and out of the way when the announcer was doing a final little talk 3 songs before the end. Hunter thought it was over because he was talking so long and announced loudly "Let's go home!" We stayed until the bitter end and they enjoyed being at the tip top anyway.

So my whole point to this was that I told Hailey that if she was good I would let her get something from the store as a reward. So we went to Build-A-Bear Workshop this evening. Princess Bunny now has a cute outfit to wear for the Fourth of July and some silky panties. They let you take free bows at the counter. Hailey chose two she wanted but they helped her grab more because she was too shy and polite about getting more. Now her bunny will look extra cool! Now I am probably have to buy Hailey her first pair of silky underwear. She really liked the bunny's pair plus it had a cute rose flower attached to the elastic in the front. She didn't get cute underwear until she was over 3 1/2. I always had her in those thick toddler training ones. Pajamas are another thing too. Decent- age appropriate ones are hard to find. Last month I finally purchased her some new ones for the season. I like the dress kind because they can last more than a year! So now that I have made good on my promise, I will (try) to stick to the no new things rule! I can overlook boy stuff quite easily. Boys are much easier to take care of, simple and so loving. Girls require more stuff!!!

 

Me to Hailey: "Hailey why is there string across your doorway?"

Hailey's response: "It means no boys allowed."

She has closed the door, put the cradle in front of the door, mentioned no boys allowed to Hunter in the past month or so but today she decided to just put up string. Personally I think she should just say NO ONE ALLOWED due to how messy it is!!! She loves to play by me but I seriously can't handle toys in the living room anymore. We often go through her toys and donate them but they have multiplied again. I need my sister to come and de-clutter her stuff. I can only think of a few items Hailey does not play with often. The kitchen and baby stuff are still hot items and boy do they multiply when out. You have to have this item and then this item. She has a great time playing which I love but until we donate again, new stuff is off limits. I often look at how much has been collected between the two and think that it looks like a toy store threw up in the house!

* I am partly to blame as I love finding girly discounted stuff! Like the new dress up rack I found at Sportsmans Warehouse. Pictures coming soon. I am going to spray paint it tomorrow!

 

 

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIZWBx2QxjU 600x600]

Look how tiny Hunter is dancing and check out that pacifier. Strange to see that in his mouth!

The video and these pictures were found on the internal memory of our camera. Fun finds. The pictures are from Hunter's birth. Brady and Hailey slept in the hospital and they had fun playing on the pull out bed. The picture of Nathan is when Tessa came to see me after Hunter's birth. 

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lv_YjP0QBXE 600x600]

I have misplaced the little Sony camera charger I like to use. My little Sony fits in my purse nicely and takes a larger battery. Without a charger, the camera is now dead. So this afternoon, I pulled out the larger Sony camera that we have. I have taken many pictures with it and it works great. It is just that I seem to have to charge those Double AA's way too often. I think this is because I just need to buy a new set. I think the batteries have lost most of their charge even though they are rechargable. I wish it took the newer square batteries like Brady's nice Canon and that one I can't seem to find! So as I was getting re-aquainted with my camera, I snapped a few photos of my cute little boy. He was willing, posing and smiling with his eyes open. Lately he closes them with a cute little smirk. Then he announced, "That's enough. No more pictures!". I kept snapping but he meant business. So I turned on the camera. He no longer says "Pic-ers" for pictures. It is now just plain ole pictures. Sad. I liked hearing him say "Pic-ers"! He also got another haircut the other day. She cut it too short. He looks like an older boy. Since he has naturally curly hair, I like it somewhere in between long and short. That way I can still play with his tiny curls and pretend he really isn't two and a half!

Brady likes Snickerdoodle cookies if he is going to eat them. So I made him a batch for Father's Day on Saturday. I also got to test out my new Bosch machine. The cookies turned out yummy if I do say so myself! We wound up leaving for the lake and in my gathering of items I accidentally left the second half of the batter on the counter. Bummer - but another great excuse to make more cookies!

We stopped off at Dairy Queen in Texas to eat before we made it to the Tackle Box. We needed to leave so I just let them eat their treats in the car and was expecting the consequences. I had to take a picture of the kids. Hailey is notorious for making a mess when she eats. Shockingly the entire ice-cream sandwich made it into her mouth. She only left a small trace of chocolate on her cheek. She absolutely loves ice-cream sandwiches! Hunter did pretty well himself and only ate about a third of his Dilly Bar.

Hailey was super excited to give Brady his card. She saw a Hallmark commercial on TV and wanted to get him one of those cards that sings and you can leave a message. She was so excited to speak into it that we wound up doing it in the parking lot and her first attempt was perfect. She said "I love you daddy and I always will." Brady does not like cards and thinks they are a waste of money when purchased. I know he'll keep this one!

We gifted our daddy and then headed out to get some eats on Sunday. I tried out the Hot N Creamy finally. This donut shop has absolutely they worst name and we have avoided it for 5 years. It wound up being delicous and I would go there again! 

Happy Father's Day Brady. We love You and are very grateful for you!!!

Ever since we moved into the Edmond house, Brady has told me he smelled gas. He would even have me come out and smell for it.  On occasion I would smell it. But not strong or like he was describing. When Brady's father came on my birthday, he immediately smelled it. When you are in the oil business for so long I suppose you develop your senses much better or that I really am almost over the hill and my sense of smell is gone already! Last month our gas bill was $300. Fun bill.

Thursday morning, Brady's dad showed up early to fix the leak. Brady removed the wood planks from the deck and they set out to fix it. After some digging, the problem was found. The pipe had rusted out and a good sized hole was found. They went to several stores to find the right pieces. It didn't take too long but Smokey had to get all dirty doing it. Sorry Smokey! We appreciate you fixing the leak - especially because at this point any spark would have caused some damage. Love you Smokey. I can't wait to see our next bill!

 

I purchased a ticket late Wednesday night and flew to Arizona Thursday afternoon to go visit my sister Tessa. She was scheduled to be induced to have her baby on Friday morning at 9 am. The kids stayed with Brady and Jessica part of the day on Saturday. I have never left my children before so I was quite anxious and happy all at the same time. I absolutely love my sister and being there was pretty amazing. I am glad my sweet husband let me go and get away. I know the children had a good time as well. They love their daddy and I am glad they got to spend more time with him. I think it did me some good to be away as well. 

WAITING TO GO

Tessa was scheduled to be at the hospital at 9 am for her induction. We all got up and got ready when she received a call at 8:30 telling her to wait until they called her back. Her neighbor arrived promptly to take care of her boys but we sent her home to rest until it was time. The hospital had patients coming in like crazy. So we took before pictures and then went to Fry's grocery store. That was a pretty cool store. It has everything in it! We were getting anxious so she called to check. She was told to go ahead and eat lunch. Her neighbor brought lunch over. Just when Tessa decided to go lay down and talked me into taking a nap with her, the call came. We should have done that earlier. Stuff like that always happens to me! 

OFF WE GO

Tessa, Rob and I left around 3 for the hospital.  Her new car seat is so fun. I love the colors. She has a matching stroller too. Baby stuff is fun to play with!

ENTRANCE

Here are the parents to be arriving at the hospital. An attendant escorted us to the right area and we skipped over registration. Yeah! From my experience, I despise registration. It takes so dang long and what is even more annoying is that you are already in the system and they still ask you to fill out paperwork.  

PREPARATION 

They quickly got her into a room and went and pulled paperwork. It was quick and easy because they can! Then she got into her lovely hospital gown and left one more sample for the nurses. I left that picture out Tessa!

LABOR AND DELIVERY ROOM NUMBER FIVE

They brought along their laptop, which was good as it helped pass the time for them. It cracked me up at first seeing her all nestled in her bed typing away.

SILLY PICTURES

Her feet were not as swollen in this picture as they got by the time she had so much fluid pumped into her from the IV's and medication. 

THINGS I LOOKED AT A LOT

The nurses prepped the table quite soon and covered it up. Her labor was 20 hours. I found myself looking at this table a lot. It was kind of disturbing as it reminded me of not equipment but someone under it! Directly across the hall was surgery where they did c-sections. The sign on the wall for the stretchers cracked me up as it was all smushed together. I also looked at her vitals and contractions records on the monitors about a zillion times and of course Rob. Her liquid food tray (which was denied) the cafeteria brought even looked inviting at one point!

STADOL, ICE CHIPS AND THE EPIDURAL MAN

Since the hospital was crazy busy, getting her epidural when she was ready for it took just a bit of time. The stuff was on the cart and ready to go since she asked for it earlier which was a bonus. Some women didn't get theirs! In the meantime, Tessa got to enjoy Stadol for the first time. She totally cracked me up as she went from laughter to immediate sleep. It did it's job and she got some relief though. I called her ice chips "Distractant Chips" in my head. I have never seen anyone consume as much ice as she did. They helped keep her mind off things. She received her epidural at 11 pm. The man who did it let me watch and even gave me a step by step tutorial of the whole process. It was pretty cool to see as I have always been on the other side! He was a fun man. 

A NINE!

Tessa was put on pitocin when she arrived but after being on it all night her body became saturated. It helped but they had to take her off of it after so long. Once it was back on, she progressed again. Then when she was a nine, they came in and turned it off. A lady had to have a c-section and lucky Tessa got bumped again. She would have had her baby sooner at this point but she had to wait for over an hour. The anethesiologist came and gave her 2 injections in her line because at this point her epidural wasn't as effective anymore. When she was in the clear to push, baby Landon was born! This was her first baby that didn't have to go to IC. She was so relieved and happy about this. I also got to witness the event in between filming and pictures. Thanks for letting me come Tessa. 

MEASUREMENTS

Landon was absolutely perfect. Born at 12:45 on June 13th, 8 pounds 10 ounces and 21 3/4 inches long. When the nurse was measuring him and doing those first few tests, he lifted his head up like he was going to crawl away!

FIRST BATH IN HOSPITAL

After hanging out with his mommy and daddy, Landon went and got all clean in the nursery. He came back wearing a cute yellow hat. 

IT IS A BOY!

BROTHERS - BIG & MIDDLE!

Landon's brother's arrived to see him. They were wearing cute t-shirts. Michael gave his mommy loves and Nathan wanted to do flips with his daddy. They missed their parents. Nathan did everything Michael did and even went as far as crossing his arms like Michael was doing at one point. 

 MEETING LANDON

Michael was so anxious to hold the baby and ever so sweet about it. He has always been a great big brother. Nathan crawled up to look at Landon but didn't want to hold him just yet. He quietly observed. I wish I would have been able to stay longer because Nathan is so fun to play with!

MICHAEL

Michael loves being a big brother. He is very helpful and loving. His younger brothers are lucky.

CECILIA

This is the sweet neighbor friend that helped take care of the children. She has children of her own and 10 grandchildren I think. I want to adopt her too. Her mother was in town visiting and they hung out together. Nathan and Michael love her too. The minute they stepped through the door, she had them washing their hands. She even brought snacks and clothing items to the hospital just in case. I am sure she was tired (she wakes up mid morning normally due to her work schedule) but she was so willing and volunteered to keep the children another night. They didn't use her again but she is one sweet lady. I am glad Tessa has such a great adopted grandmother!

PROUD GRANDPARENTS

I  didn't capture a picture of Rob's mother holding the baby but Tessa has one. Here is Rob's dad. He looked so sweet holding the new baby.

ROOM 12

Tessa was moved to another room for the night. I got to hang out with her again. Rob went home to relieve Cecilia and get some rest. I raided the late night vending machine and we had a sandwich, banana pudding and cake. It was actually good!

PACKING UP

After enjoying a nice shower, Tessa ate and then the family came back and helped pack up to go home. Landon had his last test run and Tessa was in the clear to be dismissed. Normally they like you to stay another day but since both were doing so well, they went home after the 24 hour mark. Rob needed to report to work the next day and it worked out for the best. The baby has to report back for a follow up check-up just to make sure all is A-Okay. I know he will be just fine. He is a great eater already!

GOING HOME

Congratulations Tessa, Rob, Michael and Nathan! Loves to all.

My Birthday Journal Post

My birthday began about 4am when Brady kissed me and woke me up telling me Happy Birthday and that he was finally home from an install at a clients. Then I awoke around 9 to Hailey. The first thing she told me was "Happy Birthday mommy. It's your birthday!" Then she rubbed my arms and kissed me and told me I won't believe how much she loves me. So sweet. Made me feel good because the day before wasn't such a great day with the kids. Went and checked my email and made drinks for the kids. Tessa left me an instant message that cracked me up.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...
Tessa said:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU...
Tessa said:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR CAMELITA...
Tessa said:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!
Tessa said:
(you live in a zoo)
Tessa said:
(and smell like poo)
Tessa said:
and look like a monkey
Tessa said:
that was the age of two
Tessa said:
JUST KIDDING

Brady left for work (tired) with plans to come home early. Told me I was one step closer to 40. Yeah. We joked about how when you go over the hill you can just let off the brakes and just coast. Hope that is true!

Then my younger brother Ryan called to wish me Happy Birthday and we chatted for a bit. I love it when I get to talk to my siblings!

I chatted with my sister as she was driving to her final doctor appointment. Baby Landon will be here soon!

Then my daddy called and sang me Happy Birthday - a yearly thing I love.

Then my older brother Daenon texted me and said Happy Birthday Old Lady! All in 3 separate text lines.  Too funny.

I chatted with my sister more and found out baby time could come between now and Friday at 9 am. That is when she is being induced. I am excited for her and am torn because I want to be there! 

Then a sweet lady friend of mine dropped by a plate full of chocolate chip cookies and card. Hailey loves this lady and I do too. She reminds me of my mom. After she left, Hailey went and climbed the cabinets and pulled out an old baby bottle and filled it up with water. Hailey's brain was firing away apparently because the last time this lady came to my house was the day Hailey came home from the hospital and she brought a box of popcicles to cheer Hailey up. Hailey happened to be drinking from a bottle at the time. We were trying to get Hailey to down fluids like crazy and she asked to drink out of the bottle and was surprised when I said yes. I didn't care as long as she was drinking. I asked Hailey why she went and got the bottle down and she said that lady reminded her of something. Strange to see a then 4 and now 5 year old drinking from a bottle but o-well. It didn't last long. 

Then Brady came home and took the kids shopping. I chatted with a few people from church wishing me Happy Birthday which was so sweet and made me feel good. I took the time to blog and get ready for the evening. Brady adn the kids arrived back home at the same time his parents did.

Then we were off to Pops. The restaurant/pop place on Route 66. I have wanted to go there for some time and check it out. Plus I have been to a zillion nice resturants and it is fun to do something different. I also found out that they carry Brady's new favorite rootbeer brand called Abita. It is yummy. They were crowded but we waited our turn for a booth. I liked our experience of getting to pick out a soda. Hailey didn't know the term soda or pop but knew what we were talking about when she saw the bottles and when we told her names like Mt. Dew, Sprite and Rootbeer. 

After dinner, we enjoyed some yummy cake. Brady also purchased a cheesecake. He said he must have been hungry when he went shopping. After cake we opened up presents. They picked me out a very cool balloon bouqet with a present weight, which I will be saving because it is so cute. I have some new pj's (mine are in sad condition), a pretty rose bush to fill in the last spot along the fence and a gardenia bush. I love gardenias. Brady has purchased me 2 a long time ago but they wound up dying after some time. I hope to keep this one alive. Gardenias are so delicate and smell wonderful. I didn't expect to have one again. I am too cheap to buy one for myself. It was a sweet surprise! Thanks Brady.

Then Fran and Smokey surprised me with a brand new Bosch Kitchen Mixer. I told Fran about this machine months ago and how a friend of mine makes the best bread and cinnamon rolls. Anyway, I gave her a link the other day of where to buy one. I was under the impression that she was going to buy one and try it out for the Fourth of July when company comes. I was very shocked to see that it was for me. I am soooo excited to try to learn how to make bread using this machine but feel so un-worthy of it. Those machines are expensive! They also gave me some new baking items to go try out. 

Thanks for making my day special everyone. I love you all and thank-you for the great birthday!

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Hailey and Hunter came to see me dressed like this yesterday afternoon. Hailey wanted to put on her swimsuit. Hunter loves to do whatever Hailey does so he dug in her dance drawer and pulled out a gymnastics outfit! I remember playing dress up with my brother who is 5 years younger than me. I am sure he hates those pictures my mother took of him but it was fun for me. He didn't get to wear this very long. I couldn't stand looking at him in it. It is just not right!

As we were taking a Kubota ride with Hunter and Grammy, Hailey mentions something to me about her teeth. I brush it off and tell her I will look at it when we get back to the lakehouse - mostly because I know her fingers were dirty! She keeps sticking her finger in her mouth so I stop the Kubota and take a peek after she says "I think I am growing a new teeths!" Sure enough, HAILEY'S 6 YEAR MOLARS have begun erupting! She is excited about the new teeth that will be coming in soon. I keep telling her I wish I could spray her to make her stay my little girl forever. It is exciting and sad all at the same time for me.

 After Hailey's recital on Saturday, May 23rd, we headed for the lakehouse.  We had a great time hanging out at the lakehouse, the Tackle Boxes and spending time with family - especially Aunt Kelsey who came for a visit. Hailey loves her aunt and couldn't wait to play with her. On the day we went to go pick her up at the airport, Hailey told me that this was the Great, Big Day! Hunter even got to get to know Kelsey a little bit better too. We are going to see her and Uncle Michael again for the Fourth of July so I am sure he will be tickled - more people to play with! 

Some of the highlights of our trip:

-  Picking up Aunt Kelsey and watching Hailey follow her every footstep.

- Hailey playing with Hayley (Kelsey's friend who has known Hailey since birth. Hailey can get kinda quirky and Hayley plays right into it and Hailey loves it.)

- Tadpole fishing (The pool is being cleaned for the summer. The H's loved scooping up the tadpoles.)

- Princess Bunny Party (Hailey's bunny turned one week and she decided it needed a party. I  got her a little cake to celebrate the event after dinner. Hailey sent out invitations and put up decorations including handmade napkins. I got made fun of because the cake was so dang small. My frugal self was thinking it was a stuffed bunny and forgot that her party guests might like more than a bite sized portion! Hearing Hailey asking me if she could have the bunny's cake because she wasn't eating it was also funny.

- Getting a new ride on vehicle for the H's. Now that Hunter is bigger the red/yellow resale barn one was in high demand. I put it together at the Tacklebox Too and Hunter enjoyed riding it all around in peace. 

- Seeing the giant centipede dead by the pool and discovering one in the garage underneath the lawn mower and watching it try to sting Chris's shoes. Scary! Glad it is dead now.

- Chatting with everyone!

Thanks for letting us hang out with you all and for taking care of us!

Most pictures taken by Kelsey Tucker

Hailey participated in her first ballet recital on Saturday night. I was very proud of her for doing her routine on stage and not getting "stage fright" as she thought she might get since she has never been on stage before. She was excited to start taking ballet/tap last fall and thoroughly enjoyed it until about January. Then she decided it just wasn't her cup of tea so to speak! I wasn't willing to let her quit because she and another little girl were the only ones in the class and Hailey's problem was that she just didn't like practicing. Ballet/Tap as well as most other activities require discipline and hard work. I feel these are good qualities that need to be developed in everyone.  Giving up just didn't seem like a good route to take. After a few talks,  we talked about this performance goal and her reward was set. She decided she wanted to go to BuildaBear Workshop. She has wanted to go there for a very long time. She danced a little routine to Cruella DeVille on stage. She knows the first part of her dance well but the second half is quite toublesome for her. This didn't bother me as much as I know that ballet will never be her thing. She is my spunky, bouncy girl and that is fine. She pretty much froze during those parts and looked at her friend or off stage at her teacher. I took ballet for many years and absolutley loved it. I still remember my first performance when I was about Hailey's age and the pretty green dress I wore. I wanted to go hide and be invisible. I didn't want to do it at all and even cried to my mom but I survived. Hailey however wanted to go up on that big stage. She had a pretty smile on stage and even spotted us in the audience. She also enjoyed free dancing on stage at the end. During the first practice dress rehearsal on stage earlier in the day, she and her friend danced with an older girl. It was super cute to see as she had no idea that they were going to get to do this. When the night performance came, Hailey and her friend took the opportunity to dance on large blocks at the back. They were the only ones doing that. I know this delighted her but I was imagining her falling or jumping off and breaking herself several times! She gave her teacher some flowers and a cute dance clipboard. I also gave her and her friend some flowers. I remember getting flowers after every performance growing up and I loved it and felt special. I am so proud of my little girl. She even announced to Brady and I that she wanted to do it again and wanted to keep taking classes. That shocked me. I will let her decide in the fall when classes resume again. Since she had to sit and watch the other routines she became a big fan of a few songs but the one that caught her attention the most was the girls that did a routine to the Double Dutch Bus song. I think Hailey would like jazz or hip/hop better. I downloaded the song for her and was quite surprised to hear that she knew a lot of the words!

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. 

 

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!

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. 

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."

 

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. 

 

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!

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...

 

 

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.

 

 

 

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!

 

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!

 

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!

 

 

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!

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!

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!

 

Hunter fell asleep this afternoon while playing with Hailey and watching tv!