Owen's Big Boy Room

He used to be so little. I guess he still is. I remember him as a baby though and that seems like just a month ago sometimes. In the life of a busy mom, sometimes it feels like a lifetime ago too:) He was just a baby here when Steven surprised me with an awesome gift a few months after I had out last child.


I loved that picture because it was so different than the normal picture. It captured him pretty well but seeing as how he was still so little he didn't have too much personality yet to capture. The photographer did well with what she was given:)

Now, he is all "grown up". Not really. He is only 2 next month:( My last one is getting old and big. So big, that it was time to get him ready for his new big boy room. Momma decided on construction/transportation and I have been purchasing things here and there for about a year. This long weekend we decided to go ahead and bite the bullet and get our big man out of his crib. He is doing pretty well in his new room. All I can say though is now his door is SHUT when it comes time for bed. No one in their right mind wants a 2 year old roaming the house at 2am. What to do when he figures out how to open the door? I am open to suggestions from anyone!!! Here are a few snaps of his new room. I am still on the lookout for an orange construction barrel if anyone knows where I can snag one of those. Other than that, I think the room is pretty complete. Hope you enjoy it Big Man!

Block Par-Tay

Today was the day for the neighborhood block party. Tons of people showed up, lots of food, and a firetruck (more on that later). The morning was spent with our friends, Amanda and Steven, filling water balloons. 500 balloons to be exact. We filled, broke, and tied balloons till our fingers bled (literally). The kids had fun, or I should say Will, had fun playing the water balloon games. His side one the relay which made me proud but I don't think he had any clue they were victorious! He found "other" things to do with the water balloons. Don't even ask. Steven took this picture and I really don't know what was going on. Maybe some measuring???


Next up on the list of activities was the pie eating contest. Since my hubby is 180 pounds soaking wet and he was up agains't some pretty tough, built, Puerto Rican's; I was a little nervous for him. I didn't even bet that he would win! I know, I am a horrible non-supportive wife. I just wanted the best possible chance of winning that Texas Roadhouse gift card and I knew my hubby wasn't the best choice:) I was right. He didn't win, but he sure tried hard. Here is a before picture:

And the after picture:
Notice that his bestie, Steven, also took part but did not win. He tried very hard too and I think might have done even better than my Steven:)

The night was still not over. Will, and about 150 other kids, loved the last activity. The Broken Arrow Fire Department came to our neighborhood and parked one of the firetrucks in the street. They turned on the powerful hoses and just went to town on all the kids in the road. At first it was just a huge, light mist. It eventually became more powerful with the bravest kids running to the front to get knocked over by the water! Will was not one of those kids:) He enjoyed just running in the back of the pack, getting slightly soaked, and running through the water cascading down the sides of the street. I enjoyed standing there, off to the sides safely out of the waters way, just watching him play. Or so I thought I was safe...All of a sudden the firemen changed the direction of the hose and decided to get all the parents watching in the wings. NOT a good thing when you are holding someone who doesn't like hoses, sprinklers, or anything to get him wet when he is not expecting it. I calmed him down after this with a good snuggling and a warm towel, but he did look pretty miserable here. Poor, poor O man!

Steven (in the background) obviously thought this was funny too! Owen was so ticked, he was not the same the rest of the night and we had to eventually pack it in and call it a night. Oh well, at least Will enjoyed himself!

Lincoln Graduation

It has been 7 years since I first taught my very first class at Lincoln Christian School. 7 years is a long time to still keep in touch with your students that you only knew as pre-teen 5th graders. I have kept in touch with many of these students though. This was a very special class to me. A first for me in so many areas in my life. I am just thankful that they endured a very new teacher for a year:) Most of these students I had again the following year but only for one subject a day. These kids touched a place in my heart. I have many memories of this class (as I do with all my classes) but this class, for some reason, sticks out over all others.

Believe it or not, time has passed with flying speed. Fast forward 7 years and it is now time for this class to graduate high school. Don't I feel old now?? I am so proud of these students and all they have accomplished so far. All of them prove that you don't have to be "weird" or "lame" to be called a Christian. All of the work hard, love their families, strive to be the best person they can be, all while maintaining their character and dignity as they age. My heart swelled with love for them as I watched them obtain just one more goal in their life and achieve their high school diploma!

First up: Calleigh. I knew she "might" be trouble the first week I had her in my class! Super funny girl, the joke of everyone and every thing. I knew I would have to rein her in:) She grew on me though and I began to have to hold back my laughter with her in class (I had to maintain some sense of control, right?) She is still so funny and beautiful and everything I remember about her. Calleigh is heading to the University of Arkansas in the fall. Go Razorbacks!!

Next up: Kaitlyn. Kaitlyn was such a hard worker and I could tell that from day one! She reminded me a lot (and still does) of myself at her age. She somehow found a way to study hard, work hard, and excel without being classified as a nerd! She was an excellent cheerleader also (just like me if I do say so myself!). Kaitlyn achieved a high honor on Friday night as well being listed as only one of a handful of students with a 4.0 GPA or higher! I am so proud of her! Kaitlyn is heading to Oral Roberts University in the fall to begin a degree in Elementary Education (another thing like me!) Go Eagles!


Chloe: Sweet Chloe. She is always laughing, always smiling, always there to be friendly with. She never made fun of anyone. Always loved everyone. She too is a very hard worker. I remember one time she grew her hair out forever!!! It was so beautiful. She cut it all off and donated all of it to Locks of Love for cancer patients. That's just how Chloe is. She is also a girl after my heart since she is going to my favorite school ever...University of Oklahoma in the fall! Go Sooners!

Maddie: Maddie is a star on the court. She loved and and still loves to play volleyball. She is so great at it too, as she should be since she is one of the tallest students I have ever taught. She towered over me then and still does today:) She is a hard worker who loves her family tremendously. I watched her hug Mom and Dad after she walked to get her diploma. Tears were flowing from her eyes and she looked so happy! She is heading to where I went my freshman year of college too, Oklahoma Baptist University. Go Bison!

Makenzie: She's a doll. Such a cutie. I am sure she has been called that her whole life and she gets sick of it. There are worse things you can be called, Makenzie, so just deal with it:) She is a hoot. She got good grades too, always tried her hardest in math and NEVER gave up even when it was hard for her. She excelled in cheerleading. I believe this past year she even made the team for National Cheerleading Association (NCA). That's a big deal! She is heading to Northeastern State University this fall. Go Redmen!

The only guy in the bunch: Latta. Latta made me laugh and still does. Latta always told me, even on my worst days, that I looked pretty or that I was his favorite teacher. I am sure this is still not true, but I like to believe it might be! He tried hard at math as well. I remember many days of after school tutoring with me when he would be willing to do ANYTHING I asked of him around the classroom just to help me out. He is such a sweet, caring, strong young man. Now, when I see him at Rocket Brothers I just smile because I am proud of the hardworking man he is becoming! I believe Latta is going to Tulsa Community College in the fall with hopes of transferring somewhere else after that ( I could be wrong on that bit of information) sorry Latta if I am!



I have taught many more students over the years. I taught many more kids just in this class alone but these are the ones that gave me permission to use their pictures and tell their stories. I am so proud of these kids and thank God that I was able to be a part of their lives even if it was just a small part!

Bass Pro Fishing Day

Boys. Boys will be boys. The best part about the whole day for Will was looking/touching/playing with the worms. The best part of the whole day for Owen was looking/touching/playing/eating the worms. Slimy, gross, gooey worms. I picked up the worms for Steven, handed them to him to put on as bait...that was my limit. That's where I draw the line. I WILL NOT bait the poor worms and watch them die. Too gross!

The boys had a great time though. I should say, Owen, had a great time with his new "Cars" fishing pole. I thought Will would enjoy it more but I think he smelled all the free popcorn and hotdogs being given away and all of a sudden his belly was hungry and he had to grab his Nini for her to take him away for some grub. Here is a shot of us all getting ready to go before Will left us:

I didn't actually get any shots of Will in action because he hardly ever was:) I got a super cute side view/profile view of my little one attempting to snag a fish. He tried hard. He really did. At times I had to hold back him throwing the whole pole in. Maybe that would have caught one faster??

Overall, the morning was a success. The only thing missing was catching a fish:) We were just about to call it a day and go finally feed our food starved kids when Daddy proudly shouted that he had one! These stinkin' little fish were eating our worms all morning but never staying on the line. Last try before we packed up and Daddy snagged one! The boys were super pumped (all three of them!).

A Very Full Weekend

Like most families to young kids, or any families really, the weekends are a busy time spent doing things in and out of the house, spending time with your loved ones, and catching up on some zzz's. What? That last one does NOT apply at this household, but I digress.....Here is a breakdown of our crazy fun weekend:

FRIDAY:
Not too much to do around the house so the boys decided to play a little Hide and Seek. Only problem? I didn't know we were playing! Oops. It was quiet. Too quiet. I had to go searching for them. It's never good when one, let alone, two of your boys are missing and quiet! I went looking in all the normal "Will Areas" (those are the places that Will always hides when I am looking for him). He found a new one this time! I couldn't find them anywhere. Then I heard little giggles. This is where I found them, curled up together, in a drawer of Owen's dresser. Yes, you heard me right. They were BOTH in one little cubby of his dresser!

Too much excitement for me for one day. Let's move on to the next day.

SATURDAY:
This day was spent doing yardwork, laying some new sod in the front yard, doing laundry, running errands, and spending time with Daddy. Daddy is so brilliant in building/doing things that I never think of. Yet another reason I am so very thankful to have a man around the house that remembers what it was like to be a little boy. Steven goes into the garage and comes in with cardboard boxes. "What are you doing?" I ask. "Don't worry about it" he says. That's never comforting. I leave the boys to their thing and come back to hear joyous shouts from Will's room. Welcome to "Fort Kueny" Steven says:

The "fort" is now a "castle" to Will. Way less manly, I think, but he is 4 1/2 and he decided that it was a castle and it is also now totally drawn on and decorated with Curious George stickers in and out. It's the special memories he is making with his Daddy that I care about the most, not the fact that his "fort" is now a "castle"!

Saturday continued with a birthday party at BounceU for a little friend of Will's here in the neighborhood. Will loves to bounce. LOVES IT! Owen doesn't care too much about it yet. All Owen was interested in were the sporting activities that BounceU had. Basketball and Air Tee Ball. I got a shot of the basketball player with his Daddy and a few of Will in action.


Please remember...you are never too little to eat some cake! Just look at those little feet dangling:) So sweet. He was all about the birthday cake. Shocker!

SUNDAY:
No weekend would be complete without some poker, right? My Dad has poker at his house about every 3 months or so. This Sunday was time for the big game. We all loaded up and heading to Nini and Pappy's house. The boys, of course, played in the dirt pile. The boys sat at the table and played some betting game with cards, Nini was outside the whole time tending to the boys, and I was inside cooking/cleaning/baking for the all the boys. Another shocker, I know! Most of the time Will was outside playing or in the dirt. There were times though that he just wanted to sit on his Daddy's lap and play/observe some poker (don't worry I dusted him off first). I snapped a shot of him with "Aunt Kasey" wearing Pappy's poker hat.

I don't know about you, but this picture makes me want to say "All in!" Hope everyone had a great weekend with their families too!

Dirt Happiness

Okay, to set the stage...my parents live in the country, my boys love dirt, Nini ordered a load of dirt for the boys to play in, Nini gets laughed at by the delivery company for above reason, dirt gets dumped in their backyard, my boys are over the very next morning and DO NOT leave from the dirt for about 4 hours.

Oh, how you gotta love boys! Dirt in the eyes, grinding in your teeth, in ears, in diapers, up noses, in underwear, between toes. Dirt in Oklahoma means red. Red dirt. Sooo much more fun to get out of your skin than just plain ole' normal dirt. Will's legs are still dyed. Bath time tonight should be fun and require me to finally get in there and clean out the tub.

Will loved the dirt to no end. Owen was nervous and not sure about it at first. He liked to stay at the bottom of the pile and not venture to the top. He did eventually make it up there but never on his own and never did he want to stay. Will, on the other hand, rolled off the top, jumped off the top, somersaulted off the top. I think you are getting the picture. He thought he was King of the World. See what I mean!
Thank you Nini for enduring getting laughed at. Thank you Pappy for allowing a huge pile of dirt to be delivered smack dab in the middle of the backyard. The boys couldn't love it more!

Happy Mother's Day to Me

Mother's Day with my two favorite boys! Well, really three favorite boys since Steven was there also:) My cousin Kasey treated us to breakfast at her restaurant in downtown Tulsa. It is called Daily Grill in the Hyatt and if you have never been, you must try it. French toast for breakfast, that you DID NOT have to cook, totally worth the calories. See below:
Note: not all of that food was mine. The potatoes, pancakes, and bacon were for the boys. I just thought I would show all of you the food that I consumed this morning. Yes, I devoured all of the french toast, ate most of the potatoes, and even sampled Will and Owen's blueberry pancakes. Yumm-O!

After breakfast my wonderful husband watched the boys for me so I could go hang out with Kasey for a bit. We went to Barnes and Noble, snagged a Starbucks, and caught up on all of our gossip mags, breakup's, hookup's, Royal Weddings, and babies. Kasey had never done this! I couldn't believe it. A chance to sit down, uninterrupted, and read and sip coffee? Oh, that's right...SHE DOESN'T HAVE KIDS YET! Thank you again, Steven, for helping make this possible today!
After Barnes and Noble we headed over to the mall to get some fancy pedicures! Kasey had not had her feet done in two years. Yikes:) Mine was only two weeks but still needed it! So relaxing and fun and who can't get a kick out of all the ladies gibbering away in Chinese (probably about you)! I always think that's funny:) Thank you everyone for making my Mother's Day a great one!
Tomorrow is another whole evening of celebrations as Angela and I are going to take our Mom out for the big day. Another post to follow....Happy Mother's Day to all those mommies out there who help make every family run more smoothly!

Happy Birthday Sophia Coco!

Sophia Coco (a.k.a. Sophie Hatch) finally turned 4 this past month! Will was so excited to go to her party and share with her in the birthday excitement. He loves parties. He loves birthdays. He loves to watch his friends opening their gifts. He loves the cake. He loves everything about parties....can you tell? Jennifer (Sophie's momma) forwarded me some pictures of the party. Her Dad caught some cute shots of Will in action at the party. Above is the shot of Will watching Sophie open the gift he brought for her. He was so thrilled that I was trying to hold him back to allow just Sophie to open it:) Will's present for Sophie was an Easy Bake Oven for all those that were wondering. Here is another shot of Will at the happy event. Happy Birthday sweet Sophie! We sure do love you:)