A Wonderful Wedding

 Being married for 15 years we do not get the opportunity to attend a ton of weddings any longer as most of our family and friends are married.  Last night we finally got to go to another one and I was so thrilled to be a part of the occasion for this wonderful couple.  Steven met CJ through work and then I was introduced to his then fiance and we all became friends.  It was touching to watch the emotions that fill the bride and groom's hearts during this special moment.  You plan and create for months for this one 20-30 minute ceremony that you will remember for the rest of your lives.  That's a lot of pressure!  I know they are thrilled that the wedding went off without any problems (that I saw) and now they can celebrate with a wonderful honeymoon to St Croix.  I offered to come and chaperone but I don't think they will be needing one of those:)  

Congrats to the wonderful couple inside and out.  We couldn't be more happy for you all!

"Little" Man Turns 6

Last weekend Owen arrived in Norman to celebrate his pre-birthday weekend.  This boy knows how to draw out his birthday celebration's (he learns that from his mother).  His Nana and Poppa made him birthday pancakes on a special birthday plate and sang him the birthday song.  He was thrilled we were celebrating him that morning but I do believe he didn't eat one bite of the pancake.  All he wanted to do was go right back into the living room to finish his putt putt game with brother and Poppa.  Food is not that important to this child.  It's just necessary to living:)

After his pre-birthday weekend in Norman he had his birthday party on Sunday night (still wasn't his birthday yet).  We invited about 15 kids to come hang out for a couple hours in 102 heat index.  It was so nice of their parents to hang out in the heat and chill in the shade where it was still a balmy 99 degrees.  The splash pad cooled off the children but there wasn't much to cool off the adults unless you count bottled water so to the parents I give you a big THUMBS UP for enduring those few hours to honor Owen. 

Owen requested a Minecraft birthday party which I thought would be simple.  Wrong.  Minecraft is trademarked so that basically means you (as a parent) can never find anything Minecraft to throw a party.  Thanks MC.  Thanks a lot.  I brainstormed ways to make this party happen and just thought of Minecraft colors for the cake.  WalMart made that happen and then I threw on some MC party supplies to decorate:)  Mind you, they were not actually MC but rather "knock off's" that I just stuck inside a cake.  You know the cool thing?  None of the kids (even the MC enthusiasts) knew any different.  That's a success in my book!  Owen got many awesome things at this party (included a ton of new MC accessories) but one of his favorites was his new Bigfoot.  Yep, you read that right.  Bigfoot.  He is his father's son..... 

Yesterday was this sweet "little" man's actual birthday.  Yes, he finally made it to Tuesday and thanks to a massive rain storm the night before his birthday was overcast and only 82 degrees on July 21st.  Miracles do happen!  We took advantage of this rare July weather to take Owen fishing at Bass Pro after his birthday dinner at Los Cabos.  He's been asking all summer to go fishing but all summer it has been so unbearably hot.  I love how God gave him a beautiful day on HIS BIRTHDAY to enjoy something he loves so much.  Since it was cooler the fish were really out.  Both boys were able to catch 5-6 fish each.  They didn't care that the fish were tiny.  They just cared that they were catching fish and they thought it was the most amazingly awesome catch every single time. 

Happy birthday to this sweet, caring, loving, TALL, loud, crazy, and happy 6 year old.  He makes our lives complete and I am so thankful for him.  Happy birthday Owen Michael! 

Memories Are Worth It

 When we go to Norman one of my favorite things to do is to run the campus. I know I have said this before, but it really is so beautiful and I have some amazing memories on this university and in this town. I truly enjoy it every single time I get to do it.  This weekend I had to wake up super early to get this run in due to the extreme heat.  I watched the sun come up on this run and by the time I was finished it was already hitting 90 degrees.  

This weekend we went to Norman to celebrate Owen's birthday with his grandparents.  It's always great when we go to Norman to see family.  We enjoyed "Ant Man" a movie pick made by Owen.  Of course, it was super hero themed so we just KNEW that is what he was gonna pick.  Will doesn't normally do super hero movies and never tends to enjoy them.  We told him he had to take one for the team this weekend since it was little bro's birthday and that's what he wanted.  I think Will was equally shocked when the movie was over and I asked him if he liked it.  His response was, "I didn't like it.  I LOVED it!"  Wow.  That might not ever happen again when it comes to super hero movies.  It was a very good movie that I was not expecting to be very good.  It had quite a bit of humor in it because really, how can you make a movie about a man turning into the size of an ant serious?

On Sunday morning before leaving town we visited the new Top Golf in Edmond.  This was another thing that I wasn't sure if I would like or enjoy.  I knew with 100% certainty that everyone else in our group would love it.  I wasn't sure about me.  Again, something that I didn't think I would like and I really did.  This place has it all and is even enjoyable to a person who has never picked up a golf club unless it was mini golf.  I sort of surprised myself and hit my first ball (I thought I would completely swing and miss) 91 yards. Steven got it on video if you don't believe me:)  

If you have boys, or even if you don't, I would recommend trying out Top Golf.  I would also suggest not going on a Friday or Saturday night as the prices are double and you can expect to have a wait of 4-5 hours.  No lie.  We went on the "dead" Sunday morning and still waited 45 minutes for a spot.  It was worth it though.  3 hours later we left with full bellies, sweaty bodies, and a lot less money.  It was worth it.  Memories are worth it.  

Drive In Puke

 Maybe Steven and I are just the bad strange parents that thought the "Minions" was terrible?  Maybe we really just are because I can tell from things I hear from social media and from friends I talk to that most parents enjoy the movie.  Our kids loved it.  That's usually a given though.  I can't think of any kid movie that we have gone to over the last year where the boys didn't think it was "the best movie ever!"  Those words were not uttered from Steven and I about this movie.  I can think of far many kid movies that I laughed at and enjoyed more than this one.  Oh well, it's not about us.  It's about these kids (and their 3 friends) and making memories for them.  

Saturday night after church we loaded up our two trucks, stuffed coolers full of junk food, candy, drinks, and waters and headed out to the drive in.  We arrived a full 1 hr 40 minutes BEFORE the movie started and the place was already getting filled up.  I guess the Admiral Twin is the place to be on the weekends.  The kids had a blast playing together, eating, drinking, and getting all the trucks and chairs set up.  I honestly didn't even feel almost 2 hours go by and then it was time for the movie to begin.  

Let's just say that one child had a little TOO much fun.....Can anyone guess out of the 5 kids who ate so much, drank so much, and wouldn't stop that he made himself sick before the movie even began?  Yep, that would be Owen.  I told him many times to slow down on the snacks and the drinks (mind you, we had already eaten dinner before coming to the movie).  Did he listen to me?  Nope.  He paid the price for it with a nice hefty dose of pre-movie puking in the road on the way to the bathroom.  A few good pukes and he was good to go again.  I told him not to eat (since clearly he had had enough) and not 5 minutes later Steven and I hear him laughing and munching on popcorn in the next truck over.  That boy will be the death of me.  

Even though the movie wasn't good (in our opinion) the kids all loved it and that's all that matters.  Hopefully we can make one more drive in movie before school hits.  It's fun, cheap, and great entertainment.  Next time you go, I will loan you our puker.  He makes for good entertainment too:)

There's A First Time for Everything

 This last Saturday I attended a family baby shower for Steven's cousin.  Alicia already has one adorable and precious little girl named Avery and now very soon she will be adding another little bundle of girl joy named Sadie.  I am so excited to meet her.  Alicia and her husband Nate create some beautiful babies.  For sure!

I love spending time with Steven's family because I just don't get to see them enough.  I realize they live only 2 hours away and that shouldn't really be a reason to not see each other but it is more that we just all have a lot of kids, we commit ourselves to other things, and we have calendar's with weekends booked weeks out.  I hope that I am not the only one that has a calendar that looks like that!  Surely not right?!

For this special occasion of honoring Alicia and baby Sadie I decided I should do it up!  I had recently purchased this new floral fun spring dress to wear to some upcoming showers and weddings.  I normally always wear flats.  I am a flip flop, tennis shoe, flat sandle type of girl.  When I say always, I want you to understand ALWAYS.  As in, I've never owned a pair of heels in 36 years.  Until last weekend.....

I finally broke down and bought some on clearance at Target.   I didn't want to break the bank for something I didn't know if I could stay fully committed to!  Amazingly, I really liked them.  I have gotten compliments on them every time I put them on, my hubby loves me in them (that should be enough right there), and I feel uber tall which I normally never feel that feeling since I am only 5'4.  Anyways, I believe they were a great $25 purchase and I will be keeping them!  

And now just for a random picture of our Owen.  I can't believe next week he will be turning 6.  Too old Owen.  Too old.....

What Does Schlitterbahn Even Mean?

Schlitter-slippery Bahn-Road (or slide).  So, I guess Schlitterbahn technically translates to Slippery Slide.  I guess I can see that but in our family it translates to "fun".  Yes, there are lots of slides at this park but both times we have visited this park the lines are so long for some of them that we don't even waste our time.  Why stand in line for so long when there are a million other things that are so entertaining?  Lazy river and a wave pool combo?  Yes, that's pretty much exactly what it is.  There are countless opportunities to hop on the river, or float down the roaring rapids on your tube.  I personally like watching Steven and Will in the boogie board pool.  That's pretty funny and I was proud of Will for hopping out there this year and trying it even thought the water is so powerful it knocks him over the moment he steps in it.  He tried though, and I give him props for that.


The weather was very pleasant so we stayed for 7 hours and didn't feel completely worn down like we would have if it were 100 or hotter.  In fact, when we arrived at 9:30am it was only 74 degrees.  Let's just say for the first 3 hours every time I stepped foot into the water again there was some shrieking involved.  That water was ICE!

For anyone reading this that has never been to Schlitterbahn before let me tell you 2 very good things about this park.  1.  They don't charge for parking.  That's becoming uncommon as we are finding out as parents.  I like when parks don't charge for something just because they can.  I mean, come on, we all HAVE to park so why charge for it? That's just dumb.
2.  They allow coolers, food, and drinks to be brought in.  That's another huge bonus in my book.  If you are willing to take the time and pack ice and food and bring it in it will save you TONS of money.  It makes it easier to say "yes" for fun things like Dippin Dots and slushies and things you know your kids will ask for.  Hey, you just saved like $50 in food costs so give those kids the Dippin Dots!!

Our weekend was finished off with a dinner on the Plaza at Buca Di Peppo.  This place is awesome sauce but we don't get to eat there very often because the wait is so long. Another traveler tip...go on the 4th of July.  The whole Plaza shuts down at 8pm so we just got there at normal dinner time and there wasn't a wait anywhere.  We ate lunch today at the new Slim Chickens and we all voted Cain's and CFA are better (another tip if you haven't tried the new one in Broken Arrow yet).  It wasn't bad, I'm not knocking it but I just think the value wasn't as good as Cain's and the food wasn't as tasty.  Just my opinion.  Hope you all had a great weekend with your family and friends!

An Extra Inning Win

 This holiday weekend we loaded up the car, dropped the dog off at the boarding vet clinic, and headed up to Kansas City. This weekend was special to me because it was Owen's first professional game to attend in any sport. This stadium means a lot to my dad (this is where he was raised for some of this life) and I was happy to have him there to watch the game and to see Owen experience it all for the first time.  Truthfully, I didn't think Owen would do that well.  Owen doesn't sit for very long (anyone that knows him knows I am being truthful).  We were actually all so proud of him.  He did amazing and loved every part of the game.  He was free to yell and scream and hop up and down whenever he pleased.  He was free to eat junk, drink pop, and signal whatever passing concession stand guy for food (he learned that trick by the bottom of the 1st inning). 


He picked a great game to see for his first Royals experience.  We were down most of the game and came back to tie it 3-3 in the 9th inning.  Yes, I was ready for the game to be over but I really wanted a win for the home team on this sell out baseball night (complete with fireworks at the end).  So...to make that happen the game went into extra innings. By the bottom of the 10th the Royals had won with a 4-3 victory and the crowd went wild.  Again, just another opportunity for Owen to scream bloody murder if he so decided to. And he did.  He screamed so loud off and on over the 4 hours that I truly thought he would be hoarse the next day.  Nope, no such luck. That boy has got a good voice box for sure!

We enjoyed our time together at the ball park and loved the fireworks show at the end and the victory the Royals pulled off over the Twins.  It was a great night and an awesome weekend spent with family and celebrating the holiday.  Hope everyone had an awesome time with their loved ones as well.  

The Fireworks Go BOOM

 Last night we all headed over to my Aunt Jan's house (my mom's youngest sister) and we shot off some fireworks.  Due to the fact that my sister and dad wake up before the sun we had to do "early fireworks" because they had to get home to go to sleep.  Lame.  I wish they knew what sleeping in means. The boys and I took full advantage of that this morning and didn't crawl out of bed until 8:22.  Sooooo nice. Just another reason I love summer:)

Anyways, I took my two homemade blackberry cobblers I made (from the berries we picked at the farm) and we loaded up the car with fireworks, family, chairs, bug spray, and cobblers and drove to her house.  Nothing says the 4th like bugspray, cobbler, and blowing up buckets right?  Yes, you heard that right.  We are a part redneck family and Steven loves to create sparkler bombs wrapped in electrical tape, place them under a 10 gallon plastic bucket and watch the bucket either A.  explode into a million pieces or B.  Fly 50 feet in the air. What fun times!

We had a great 4th together as a family and I was glad we were all able to hang out since we will all be going different directions over this holiday weekend.  Jan and her family are staying here (I do believe), Angela and her fam are heading down to San Antonio, and the rest of us are heading up to Kansas City for a Royals/Twins game, more fireworks, and shopping.  Steven and I will be taking the boys all day Saturday to Schlitterbahn.  Everyone enjoy your weekend and the 4th.  Stay safe!