Kansas City

 Will is a FIRST GRADER!  To celebrate we went to Kansas City for the weekend.  Will attended his very first professional baseball game on Friday night.  Oh man...he was thrilled!  He took his glove in the game in hopes on catching a foul ball.  No such luck but that just made him want to try all the harder the next time we go.  He wanted to go again the very next night.  Oh, if money were no object!  Will went to the game with his cousin Ava, uncle Joe, me, daddy, and pappy.  There were other family members there as well that live in Kansas City that we got to sit with too.

 The weekend was filled with baseball, shopping, eating, swimming, staying up late, sleeping in, and playing whenever he wanted.  Daddy and Will even went to a Cold Stone Cremery to get ice cream at 9:00 at night.  Not a usual thing around this household so the boy was pumped!

On Sunday everyone was packing up to leave and head back home.  We decided we had a little more steam left in us so we drove our family to The Legends shopping center.  There we ate more bad food (at 5 Guys) "bad" as in good.  We walked around and shopped for a bit.  Will got to see the water fountains dance around and he loved that.  Last but not least...him and Daddy ONCE AGAIN got an ice cream treat.  Those boys and their ice cream.  They love it! 

 We all had a great time and it helps that Will is such an awesome car traveler.  4 hours each way and we never had to turn on the TV ONE time.  He was quiet, never complained, did his games I had prepared for him, napped, and sang all by himself in the back seat.  I love my little O Man but that just would not have occured had he been with us!  I am thankful to Bob and Denise who watched Owen all weekend so we could spend some quality time with our first born.  Way to go Will on completing Kindergarten.  We are very proud of you and blessed to call you our child!

My Super Hero

This is Will.  He's 6 1/2 and ALMOST a first grader.  He loves blue.  Loves balls.  Love sports with balls.  Loves his Momma.  He has a very sweet and loving heart and spirit.  He cries easily.  Apparently Super Hero's fill all those requirements because Will thinks he is a Super Hero.  A Super Hero with rainbow shoes.  I love my Hero!!!!!

First Kiddie Park of the Season

 We will go many times over the course of the summer.  Last summer I think we went four times.  Last night was our first trip to the Kiddie Park for our summer of 2013.  The kids were so excited about running around, choosing rides, riding rides, eating junk, and being together for several hours of entertainment.  All the kids were awesome and never fought (which helps the night tremendously).  They waited in line and rode things even if they didn't want to just so they could be with each other.  Owen rode the roller "toaster" for the first time in his nearly 4 year life.  It was the last ride of the night, no more tickets left, and he finally decided he wasn't scared anymore.  It was so cute to watch him experience his first coaster ride of all time.  His face lit up, his smile beamed, and I couldn't help but envy being a child again:)

One of the coolest things about going last night was that it was busy but not SUPER busy as the park had only been open 3 weekends.  The weather was perfect.  Warm, but not hot.  Humid, but not soak your shirt sticky.  No bugs yet.  No misters everywhere to wet you on every corner just so you won't die of heat on the Kiddie Park premises.  

On another note, we were thrilled that Joe was able to attend the Kiddie Park with us!  It is great being able to see his family complete again.  I love seeing his girls happy and just to be near him.  I love watching Angela be able to talk and touch and listen to her husband just feet from her rather than thousands of miles away.  

I love this picture of them for several reasons.  The biggest reason is because I think Joe looks so incredibly happy in this shot.  Joe is not the biggest fan of pictures and isn't always considered photogenic (Sorry Joe, but you know it's true).  In this picture you can tell...his smile is genuine.  He is happy.  He is home.  He is safe.  He is with this wife again.  That should make everyone's heart happy. And Angela looks super hot and SKINNY.  Awesome! 

 

 

My Monster

My dad sent me this picture yesterday as he was spending a few hours with O Mike (as he likes to call him).  He said, and I quote, "He's being perfect but ALL THE TIME talk about monsters.  This was his face right before Daddy shoot him with a gun to protect us."  

Oh man.  This boy is crazy.  Crazy in a good way.  Likes to keep me (or in this case my dad) on our toes kind of crazy.  He can charm anyone but prefers the much older girls:)  

He followed this face up with another T Rex impersonation.  This time T Rex used the potty INSIDE though.  Good thing.  I don't think my dad would take this "monster" anymore!  Love that boy! 

My Mom's Day Present

When Steven asked me what I wanted this year for Mother's Day I responded very quickly.  Lucky for him (enter scarcasm here) I picked something very labor intensive.  We have talked about doing this for years but have never actually done it.  He spends most of his time making OTHER people's landscaping dreams come true and rarely has time to work on ours.  It was never actually horrible to begin with but we had no borders to speak of and a very skinny bed.  I was only able to plant two rows of plants and flowers and the grass would continually grow into our beds. 

NOT ANYMORE!  I now have room to plant three layers of plants and flowers and a beautiful stone mortared flower border and tree border.  It took about 12 hours from start to finish with 10 bags of dirt, 2 bags of concrete, TONS of rock, and 8 bags of mulch.  The finished product is something I can brag about and not be ashamed to say that we "own a landscaping company"!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day just like I did.  I hope everyone was treated like the Queen that they are and got to enjoy their families and be together as the Momma as the family was praised.  

Happy Mother's Day to all my Momma's and Momma friends.  I love you all!

Welcome Home Joe Franco

 After 8 months, 7 flights home, 27 hours in a plane, and countless days and nights away from his family and friends, my brother in law, Joe, is finally back from Afghanistan.  I am so thankful for his service to our country, for my sister's sacrifice, Ava and Emma's sacrifice and even more thankful to God for protecting Joe and keeping him safe so he COULD arrive today to be reunited with all those that love him so dearly.  

Here are just a few pictures of the time we spent this morning with Joe and my family.  I loved hearing all the cheers going up once everyone saw their loved ones walking down the hall and again into their arms.  It was very emotional and I enjoyed being a part of it!

Go USA!  Thank you Joe. Thank you Angela. Thank you God.   

Rooster Days 2013

 I was very proud of Will tonight who ran his 2nd One Mile run with me.  His first one was last year when he ran the Zoo Run with me.  I love that he is interested in running just because I am. I love that he tries, even when he is tired, and never gives up.  There were a few times when he had to stop and walk to catch his breath.  He never stopped moving though.  He never gave up.  He kept pushing on to get to that finish line. I love that about him!  

Some of his motivation came from the fact that his best buddy Mason was in front of him.  They started out together but Mason was a little faster and never quit running.  Will knew he was in front of him and he didn't like it.  He started to run quicker and quicker as we got closer to the finish line.  

He finished with a time of 11:05.  I think he actually could have finished around 10 minutes if not for the few stops.  11 minutes for a 6 year old is pretty darn good though and I let him know it.  He was one proud boy! 

All Owen cared about the whole day today was meeting Adam Cash.  He is the TTCU mascot.  He is always on the radio and TV and Owen was pumped to see him.  He waited at the finish line (not for Will and I) but for Adam Cash.  He literally talked about him ALL day.  I was so thankful Adam was actually there at Rooster Days otherwise there would have been one very sad 3 year old in the Kueny household tonight.  

Hope everyone has an excellent weekend with their families!  

Zoo Field Trip

 Today Steven and I were able to take off work and go with Will on his field trip to the Zoo.  He had another field trip to the fire station earlier in the year that I wasn't able to go to with him, so I was extra happy that I got to go with him (and 25 other classmates) on their last field trip as Kindergartener's.  Along with about 2,000 other students there around the Tulsa area.  No joke, I heard a Zoo employee say there were about 2,000 kids on a field trip today.  Geez!

Will had a great time with his little group of 5.  They hung out all day, rode with each other on the bus, fell asleep by each other on the bus on the way back to school, and wore each other out all morning and afternoon!

My favorite shot of the day (I didn't get too many because my phone died) was one I snapped while the kids were looking at the sea lions.  Maybe they were seals.  I can't remember.  The dumb thing wouldn't ever swim by the class at the same time as all 5 kids were standing there so I just took the best shot I could once all the kids were still enough to take a picture.  I thought it turned out way cool.  I love it! The funny thing is is that they are all standing on a ledge near the glass but all of the ledge was the same amount tall.  You can see where Will fits in with his tallness.  Super tall.  I just crack up because Steven is 6'1 (not short but not super tall) and I am only 5'4.  Both my boys tower over ALMOST everyone in their classes. 

We had such a good day today and now Will is passed smooth out on the couch even with Owen running around being a T Rex.  Not waking him up one bit.  Hope everyone had a fantastic Thursday!  

Muffins with Mom

 This morning I had the opportunity to go to Will's class for a Muffins with Mom/Happy Mother's Day celebration.  I love times like this and it is in these moments that I am so very thankful I don't have a full time job away from home so that I don't have to stress over missing work, getting to his school on time, or sending someone in my place.  I needed to be there.  He needed me there.  I was and am so blessed to be able to attend such a special event with him.  

He has been working on (for weeks) a book and a picture to give to me this morning.  I laughed out loud when I read the first adjective he used to describe his Momma.  Oh yes Will...you got that one right.  I am CLUMSY!  Hilarious:)

I also really liked that the first thing he thought about me when asked what I liked to do was "run".  It is not actually my favorite thing to do but when I realize that I am making an impact on him and his thinking and he sees me exercising and being active that means something to me.  I am glad he can see me "try" to be a role model in his life for fitness.  Apparently, I am also (at only 5'4) as tall as a car.  So funny!

Thank you Jesus for this days with my boys.  I will cherish them forever!