Finding this in the crunchy leaves makes me happy.

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!

Autumn is my favorite season by far. I love the jacket weather and mix of sun shiny days with cloudy ones. I love seeing the leaves change colors, the zillion pumpkins all over, the cups of cocoa and fireplace weather. Cooking is also much more fun at this time of year. Such yummy foods and smells. I also like living in a place where you can visibly see the seasons change - don't exactly like picking up after the oak trees but they sure are pretty!

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!

Hailey took the old strawberry plot this year and planted some items. Her flowers are absolutely beautiful in the morning and evening light. Hunter is growing watermelons. He has several and I hope they continue to do well. They are so cute!

If you know me, you know that I absolutely love four leaf clovers AND pumpkins. You can never have enough pumpkins in the Fall around your home. In our many years of gardening, I have not been able to get one to thrive to become a glorious beauty. This year was the first in many that our vines looked fabulous. I was pretty thrilled to see all the runners and flowers. A few grew but popped off. Then this one grew. I wouldn't look at it every single day because I was afraid. Yesterday Brady broke the news to me that it died. So sad. Long live you cute pumpkin. May you rest in pieces!

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 :)

I love to see flowers popping up in the spring. Wish they would stay longer but its fun to look and enjoy while they last! Tulips are my favorite flower. I wish I had a zillion planted. The sweet lady who used to live next door to the Tucker's at the lakehouse had beautiful flowers all along her fence line. She loved her plants. I couldn't help but admire the beauty of her flowers still even though the yard has gone to pot.

The last two years have been so disappointing as far as winter weather. Last year it was hardly worth buying a coat and we didn't even have one single fire in our fireplace. This year we have had the fire on a few times to my delight and it snowed. There was more but at one point the snow turned back to this rainy slushy mix and melted it off. The kids could hardly contain themselves once they got out of school. Such a bummer to be trapped at school on probably one of the only days it will actually snow this winter season here. Nonetheless it was fun. Hailey made a snowman. It fell and became a snow train. Hunter whined about his hands being cold till I gave him his snow gloves. He also enjoyed smacking Hailey with snowballs but didn't like being hit by them when the snow managed to get into his clothes:) Hailey got him good. She's a better shot apparently. Although he said he wasn't very good at throwing them at her the ones he did get were powerful. That kid has some punch behind his! Glad they got to enjoy the weather some. I was sad to see the sun come out and make it all melt away. I love cloudy winter days!

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 were thick in the middle of renovating the lovely Norman house when we learned that Brady's grandmother, Whynama passed away. Such sad news to us. The day before we were supposed to travel, I made a quick trip to the store and picked up Hunter some new dress clothes and shoes as his were too little - plus I thought he needed a tie. We were all packed and ready to head out early the next morning as a family when Hunter had other plans. He threw up in the middle of the night a few times. Taking a throwing up child on a car trip just didn't seem like a good idea for his and our sake. Brady called his parents and luckily was able to catch a ride with his family before they left town. As Hunter was telling Brady goodbye, he threw up on him. Nice. He needed to head out the door right then so he got the lucky pleasure I am sure of smelling not so pleasant for the rest of the day. I was sad because I really wanted to attend her funeral. She was a very sweet lady to me and I liked talking to her.

Later that evening, well almost midnight, I was catching up with Brady on the phone. I remember hearing the wind pick up and the whole house creaked. I remember telling him I was getting kinda freaked out. We lost signal with each other. His area was not very cell friendly and we were in the middle of a storm. The kids were asleep in our bedroom. Then air started moving through the atrium door pushing it open. The sound of the wind was incredible. I secured that door and went back to our room and shut ourselves up in the back room. I could hear the wind banging on our bedroom door. The power went out and then it got hot. I tried texting Brady and looking up the weather on my phone but no luck. So after a very long time, I finally fell asleep. In the morning, I woke up and went to the living room as usual when I noticed all the damage outside. Opening up the back and front doors to check it all out was crazy. One of the atrium sky lights had blown off and was in the back yard. That explains the wind coming through the house! Lots of trees were down but luckily no major house damage occurred. The power was still not on and after waiting several hours more in the sticky heat, I decided to head out to get some breakfast at IHOP and to charge up my cell phone.

The power eventually came back on and I tended to Hunter the rest of the day. We all just lounged around. I looked out in the yard often and all I could think of was when in the world was this giant mess ever going to get cleaned up as the Norman house was consuming our every waking moment. Both Brady and I were physically and mentally exhausted. I was thankful for a day off from the Norman house but I couldn't stop thinking of all the work that still needed to be done now at two places. The next day some really sweet people from church stopped by and cleaned up most of the debris from the yard and cut up the really large trees and placed them by the street for a hopeful city pickup.

Brady tidied up the piles and drug around some more debris to the front when he returned. In order for the city to pick up storm damage, the tree limbs have to be a certain length. About a month later, the CLAW came by and picked up our limbs. Hunter, Brady and I had a good time watching the claw pick up large loads and place them in his vehicle!

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...

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!

I drove the kids to Norman this week. They have a splash pad in one of the parks. I took Hailey to it when she was a wee thing but she doesn't remember. I wouldn't tell them what we were going to do but when Hailey asked for some hints I told her we were going to Norman, to a park and that there was a rainbow there. When we pulled up they spied the cool playground and then the splash pad. I asked them if there was anything they might want to try out. They said the playground but then said they really wished they could go to the water. I pulled out my pool bag and let them in on my secret. They changed and were off for some splish splashing! They had fun going from one area to the next. We took a break at one point and had a snack on the freshly mowed lawn under the big trees. It was so cool and shady. (I think it affected Miss Hailey though. Her nose was running a little bit by the end of the day). I would have loved to have been able to take a nap. They played for a bit on the playground and then were back at the splash pad. I am glad I took them. It is fun to change things up a bit!

They both spent most of their time walking back and forth on the water holes in a line in the picture below and standing underneath the buckets that fill up and dump.

Since we were already in Norman, we made our way over to the Sam Noble Dinosaur Museum. At the beginning of the summer, they received some free passes from their library summer reading packet. It has been over a year since Hailey has been and Hunter doesn't remember since he was a baby. He will remember now. They had a good time touching all the displays and looking at the exhibits. Feeling the fur pelts was cool and Hailey guessed them all correctly after given a hint. So proud. I now want a beaver pelt. I was shocked at how soft and deep their fur went. The sweet older lady said "Now do you understand why people wanted to trap these?" Very luxurious indeed! We popped in the discovery room at one point but opted to keep exploring. There were too many people in it at the time. Wise decision because when we were ready they had the whole room to themselves. Hailey spent most of her time in the dig area and loved it. She would have stayed there all day I am sure. After watching them play, I have a few good ideas of some great gifts for them for Christmas that they explored and played with in the room. Before leaving, we made our way through the Chocolate exhibit. It was cool but it was more for adults. I would have liked to read more of all the text. We rushed through and I briefly tried to explain the text. We then went to the gift shop. I was hoping they had some chocolate for sale that was like the sign but they had all this expensive wacky flavor combos that I knew they wouldn't enjoy. Plus since my day had been free I wasn't willing to blow it in the gift shop - even though I wanted several items! Hailey picked out a moonstone dolphin necklace and Hunter wanted a button. Awesome inexpensive treasures. Hailey has come to like dolphins lately too. I can't wait to take her to see one some day. I loaded them up in the truck and make a quick pass by our home. It needs some help and the bushes need some TLC. Makes me sad. They were so exhausted and hungry but sleep came first. They slept all the way home. It was a fun - mostly free day!

This is my favorite dinosaur. Its name is Archaeopteryx. It is the smallest dinosaur - about the size of a chicken. So cute. Hailey really liked it too. 

LOOK TWO BEAVERS!

Hunter's button is a picture of Humpty Dumpty and has the word Good above it. Get it? (GOOD EGG if ya don't). He's a keeper and so is H1.

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.

Last year I planted 2 blackberry bushes and 2 red raspberry bushes. The raspberries produced but the blackberries didn't. This year the raspberries are so sweet and yummy and the blackberries grew. They are huge. I can't get over how large they have grown. Hunter and I love to go pick and eat them right off the vine sometimes.

So wish me luck as I try YET ANOTHER YEAR to grow pumpkins to full term. I get them all happy and as the summer rolls on by the wither away. If you know me, pumpkins are right up there in the love category as 4-leaf clovers. I hope by actually mounding them this year they respond and do well. I roped Brady into planting them for me this time. I am sure it will be the magic touch!

Pumpkin Seeds:

Watermelon Seeds:

Some Corn Mixed with Grass :)

Almost Red Ripe Strawberries!

I love seeing my plants that have been in a dormant state start springing back to life. I began weeding a little bit over the weekend and preparing the herb bed and garden spot. The strawberry patch is happy and my teeny tiny rose bushes are getting bigger finally. The berry bushes are much larger and spreading. They may overtake the grapes. I hope to plant a few things in the upcoming week or so. Gardening at this time of year makes me happy. Everything is so green and fresh - unlike the middle of summer which is hot, sticky and full of mosquitoes. So I thought I would snap a few pictures of a few of the things that are springing back to life that I have already planted.

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.

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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[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8GS5kgU1vw 500x500]

These pictures don't do it justice of the sight I found this morning on the deck. Wild cat spray marks on snow are so colorful on the melting snow. Yuck. Yuck and double yuck! I used to be an indoor male cat owner. I loved my cat dearly and we were buds for a long time BUT when he began his marking spree, things changed a little. I never ever wish to have an indoor cat AGAIN. But then there is this side of me that can't stand any wild thing to go hungry or be too cold. It is mating season right now and all the toms are visiting my house marking territory, etc. The famous female cat hasn't even showed up to hang around in a couple of months too. They must be waiting for her or all the leftover scraps I throw out the back door. I guess I need to stop. That visual was just gross. 

This morning Brady wanted to take the children out to make a giant snowman in all the untouched snow in the front yard. They got all bundled up and went outside to find out that the snow was just too powdery and not "roll-able"! Hailey immediately plopped herself smack in the snow in the 5 seconds it took her to go from the front door to the yard. We made do and enjoyed ourselves anyway. Hailey decided to make a snowball fort for all her snowballs. It turned into a snowball castle when Brady added a few icicle touches from the front porch. Hunter played more today and he likes being hit with snow (in the back of course). He giggles. We need Mr. Sun to come out and melt the powdery stuff just a wee bit so we can make that snowman!

Here is Hunter facing backwards as Brady throws snow at him!

Turkey  Snow Track!

This morning the snow that had fallen all day yesterday looked absolutely beautiful covering the many trees in our backyard. It was a sea of white and an overnight transformation! The birds are still happy with their pot of birdseed gold. I think I have stared out the window all morning!

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

The ice has stopped and snow is falling at a steady rate. I saw that the birds were searching for food so I went out and sprinkled some bird seed on the ground and filled one feeder. They were so happy. I already need to go sprinkle more out as the snow fall has covered it all up. The wild cats are happy too. They are hoping to get yet another snack! The cardinals are especially beautiful to see in the snow covered white trees.

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.

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.

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jq016MGd2os 600x600]

Hailey had another round of private swimming lessons last week. Her teacher had an unexpected engagement on her Friday lesson and she wound up canceling her lesson on Wednesday due to the brief rain shower. I was bummed a little because she only had 3 lessons this year. But she did really good in those three lessons. She learned how to do "windows". That is where she was supposed to swim from one side of the pool with her hands clasped together in front of her and her face in the water. Did she like it? Not one bit but she did it. I found out she can swim better than I thought. She just needs a "kick start" as her teacher said. Now we just need to get ourselves to the pool so she can practice!

Rewards work really well for Hailey. I asked her what she might like after completing her lessons. She told me she wanted little colored chocolates with sprinkles on them, a breakable picture of Heavenly Father (glass framed one), and a large cardboard box that she can turn into a hotel (with a promise that I won't put it outside for it to get rained on and then I smash it up and put in in the trash. Cardboard boxes in the the house annoy me after awhile and that is usually where they end up!) We have the chocolates covered and she has really enjoyed them. Her aunt Jennifer had some in a candy dish at Thanksgiving last year and apparently she has wanted them ever since. She saw them in the candy aisle last week at Walmart and that triggered her memory of the delicious little treats! Still working on gathering the other two items!

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!

When I got home late Sunday night from Arizona, I toured the garden and plants with a flashlight. I was so shocked to see a big fig on my 1 foot tall new fig tree. I thought it would take much longer for it to fruit. It must have been the Miracle Grow I put on it! I also was delighted to see that the lima bean plants have begun forming baby lima beans. Things are taking shape in the garden! I missed seeing my first magnolia flower out though. It was ready but the winds must have torn it to shreds. It is very happy this year and has put on a lot of growth. Gardening has been fun this year. More pics to come...

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!

My garden plants are finally growing! After a late start planting, I see some large and tiny vegetables growing. It has been fun watching the lima bean plants develop as I have never planted those before in my garden. I can even see baby cucumbers - yum! I thinned out the popcorn this morning. I over seeded and they are way too close so I hope they live anyway. Yesterday, we also picked our first crop of raspberries. Hunter enjoyed them just like the strawberries. I am so happy he loves fruits. I purchased some cherries yesterday and he loved those as well. Hopefully in a few weeks, I will have pictures to show of my cucumbers and squash!

Popcorn! This was before I thinned them out!

 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

I purchased some plants for the fence line and they needed to get planted. Brady tilled the ground up for me and I got busy digging and planting. I am not finished with the area yet. I still need to add some mulch and make a border. I love the plants I chose so far. I planted them closer than they say but I don't care. I can tend to them and I am excited to see them bloom and grow. It is going to be a nice spot of color! 

Brady's parents bought him this cool playhouse when he was a little boy. He and his little brother spent many hours in it I am sure. They had it moved here years ago and it is in the perfect location for such adventures and dreaming. I would have loved to have Hailey and Hunter play on it but it was way beyond repair and not safe at all. The support beams and planks were all rotten and every last one would have needed to come out - except for the staircase. That part is still in good condition. So off to the burn pile it went and new memories will be made with a replacement for our children. We are looking into finding a new structure. The barn out back needs some repair. We are hoping to find something that might serve two purposes. One part could be to house the lawn equipment and the other a play fort!  We will see.  It is fun to look things up and dream. I loved playing in the one my grandfather built. It was a two story one. The top was a two bedroom play area and the bottom was for grandfather.  He housed his stuff below and kept pretty birds. We had a jungle gym growing up that was pretty cool too. Hailey has an awesome one at the lake house and a simple swing set here so the future one needs to be a fort/playhouse! I had to post these pictures of his old playhouse for posterity and to use as a potential new building guide.

Hailey loves to drive the lawn mower by herself and get driving lessons. Here is a short clip of her driving Hunter around. Before long we just might have to actually let her mow the yard - just kidding! Enjoy the part where she rolls right over a tool that fell over and ignore the part where she drives too close to the fire even though she forgot not to drive that close to it! She does pretty well for a 5 year old!

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5JsEAm91tY 600x600] 

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

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

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

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

[video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mwDD_73v0w 600x600]

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

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

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

Main Garden:

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

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

Okra

Jalepenos

Watermelon

Yellow Squash

Tomatoes (all kinds)

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

Cucumbers

 Herb Garden So Far:

Parsley (Hailey loves to eat parsley)

Rosmary

Basil

More tomatoes

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

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

SEE GARDEN PROGRESS POST FOR PICTURES FROM BEGINNING TO NOW!

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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. 

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

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

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

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

Here are my beauties! 

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

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!

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

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

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

A dead tree I liked...

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!
 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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