We did it! We finally did it and the summer is now upon us. I am so excited, I can barely contain my joy. Now, if only the weather would begin to cooperate. I am currently sitting in jeans and a fleece jacket while my feet freeze in flip flops because it's SUMMER and I refuse to wear any other type of footwear.
We finally came to a close for all the last few weeks of school activities. We did the parties, the teas, the awards ceremonies, the movie days, the field days, the trip to Dry Gulch, the division breakfast celebration, and the Kindergarten graduation (that one pulled on my heart strings). My sister sat right beside me and laughed as I gently wept into a Kleenex. Okay, I wasn't weeping but I wasn't dry eyed either:)
Will never got a Kindergarten graduation because BA doesn't offer one. He did get a little Pre-K send off but nothing like the pomp and circumstance that Lincoln puts on to send off their new 1st graders. It was special and something I will remember forever. It will rank right up there with his real graduation from High School in not too many years.
Our days will now be filled with the wonderful freedom of summer. We will now be able to go visit our new home under construction every day. We will now be able to stay up later, sleep in later (hopefully Owen gets that memo), and take little trips and do fun things on a whim instead of planning it around if it's a "school day" or not. This girl loves summer almost as much as her children. I know this for a fact! The hotter the better and the more crammed with things the even MORE better!
Here's to a wonderful summer for you and your family as well!
If you've been reading my blog for any amount of time, or have known me throughout my life, you know that I am a SUMMER gal. I love everything about summer: freedom, late nights, crickets chirping, fireflies lighting up the night sky, weekend trips, no bedtimes, pools, beaches, SUN, watermelon. My list could extend for paragraphs!
When Steven told me he needed to go to Phoenix for a training/learning course on pools and equipment, my first thought was not about the course. It was the sun:) Phoenix? Okay, let me organize childcare and see if I can make that happen! Childcare isn't quite as easy as you might think when I needed someone at my house by 4:30am on a Friday. Thankfully, I had my mom and a sitter step up to the plate and help me out and off I went on Friday (Steven was gone 2 days longer than me but I couldn't pull that off with the kids).
Tanya and I arrived on Friday and it was 105 that day. Everyone else was sweaty, uncomfortable, and not really enjoying the "Africa heat" as Olen called it. Tanya liked it too but I don't know if anyone was soaking it up like me. I just turned my face to the sun and inhaled:) I was in a desert heaven.
Our trip consisted of work things (for sure) but even those were fun because I was able to learn more things about pools and design and install that I never knew before. More than that, I took some great pictures of some spectacular pools that I would love for Chris and Steven to design and build in our new backyard that will actually be large enough to house a pool. Come one, come all next summer to our pool!!
Our trip was great and I enjoyed spending a quick 48 hours kid free with my hubby, cousin, and friends who are like family.
Kasey made the 2 hour drive up from Tucson and spent most all day with us on Saturday. I always love to see her and spend time together with my cousin whom I don't get to see nearly as often anymore thanks to her moving to desert land. She was a trooper and arose at 4am yesterday to take Tanya and I back to the airport. That's love, right?!
Let me just tell you that two different 4am wake up calls in 48 hours, with super full days and really late nights do not mix well AT ALLLLL for this old woman. I am still not caught up on sleep and feel like I'm dragging but wouldn't change it for the world. Thankful!
The day had finally come! Owen had been awaiting Thursday for over a week now. He was counting the days. He was so extremely excited to have Mother's Day Tea with me at his school. He's NOT very good with keeping secrets (he's terrible at it actually) so he was dyyiinnnggg to tell someone about it. I noticed the other night at Will's baseball game that he was blabbing away to his Nini (my mom). He was telling her every single detail about Mother's Day Tea. I guess he told her step by step what was going to occur from the time he pulled my chair out for me to sit in, from the food, songs, and picture opportunities. He was stoked!
The room was set up so cute with fun little backdrops and props for the kids to use while taking photos. Of course, Owen and I snapped some pictures but he also wanted some with his two best buddies, Jack and Kirsten. Owen wanted to take a picture more so for the hats, flowers, glasses, and mustaches that were part of the props.
They all sang a cute little song, served us our food, and got dressed up in their "Sunday Best" for the tea. They all stood up and introduced their moms to the class and told them why their mom was special. Owen said, "This is my mom, Jackie. She is special because she's so pretty." Yep, I teared up. We all did for every mom. It was very special and something I will always remember.
On this day, I also received Owen's graduation gown (the longest in the whole class) so this day was touching all my hidden Momma places that just make you want to sit down and have a good bawl fest.
They just grow up soooo quickly. It's tough on these Momma hearts but so worth it. I enjoyed Thursday very much and it's something I will always remember.
Last weekend we made the drive to OKC for a chance to have some date nights and shopping days. I know our house is not near completion but this girl is a planner and I've known the style and design of our personal house for years now. Once I heard about a few certain stores that OKC has and Tulsa doesn't, I knew a weekend trip was in order.
We lined out child care with the great Nana, my mother in law, Denise. The boys love when she watches them and enjoy all the extra play time they get with their cousin Nathan. It's really a win-win for them and for us:)
We didn't even arrive in OKC until 6:30pm on Friday because the majority of the day we actually spent in Tulsa picking things like windows, carpet, tile, grout, backsplash, shower tile and design, etc. We spent 3 hours just at one store!
My hubby was quite the trooper, never complained, and drove me around to a million and one stores that I wanted to go through. We even went back to one store twice in one day because we both loved it. Shout out to Urban Farmhouse Designs in downtown OKC. If you've never been, I urge you to visit. There aren't many words to describe this place other than awesome, fabulous, tremendous, amazingly cool, and many others I can think of.
We ate our dinners at 2 places that I had never been. We went to Mickey Mantle's the first night and KD's the second night. Both totally different atmospheres but both totally cool. We enjoyed our time together so much.
While we were gone, these guys had a scheduled Field Day at school. They are growing so fast and they can't wait for SUMMER, which for them starts in 9 1/2 days. Yes, they are counting down!
Time sure does fly, doesn't it? You blink your eyes and months, even years, have gone by. I remember when I was a child and hearing my parents (or really any adult) saying this and I just shook my head because I had no concept what it really meant. Time DID NOT fly by. Science and History class drugggggg on and time was NOT quick.
Fast forward many years (I won't say how many because that ages me) and I fully live and know how time really does go by too quickly.
Today would have been my grandma's 81st birthday. Just last year we celebrated 80 years of her life knowing that it would more than likely be her last birthday with us on this earth. We were correct and now she celebrates with Jesus on streets of gold this day.
Time doesn't slow down. We shouldn't either. We should live every day as it's our last day on this earth. We need to cherish the moments and ponder how quickly life and the people in it change and grow.
I was doing just that when looking at our Easter pictures this year. Then, I looked at our Easter pictures just a scant 5 years prior. 5 years! That's nothing in the scheme of life and man oh man, how times have changed. I'm fairly certain in 5 more years my boys will be taller than me and I will be the shortest one in this family.
Please remember to give your love ones some kisses and hugs today and hold onto them tight. They are worth it.
On a completely random note...I really want this mixer for our new house. Anyone want to buy it for me? Steven says it's not, "In our construction budget." Psst...what does he know?!
Monday was my birthday and here it is Friday and I still have ONE MORE friend taking me out next week. What can I say? I am blessed with amazing family and friends who love me and want to spend time with me to celebrate. A week long birthday palooza sounds right up my alley!
My first stop was Cheesecake Factory with my parents on Sunday night. Delicious. They have the best eggplant there. So yummy! Did I mention the massive cheesecake I consumed? Yep, that's pretty much why I pushed myself in cycle the next morning and rode 17 miles in 50 minutes. My quads screamed at me for 2 days due to that fiasco.
After my legs stopped shaking it was time to head to another celebration on Monday at PF Changs for my birthday lunch. I had planned on shopping the stores of Utica Square afterwards but thanks to my birthday being filled with rain the entire 24 hours, that didn't happen. I had grand plans to walk off some Changs calories but instead I just drank more when I made my birthday stop to Starbucks. I was livin' in up!
Wednesday was filled with friends. One took me to breakfast at Panera and gave me one of my favorite gifts (a Starbucks GC). Wednesday afternoon my besties took me to sushi at Sushi House in BA. Of course, they let me pick the restaurant and I unknowingly picked one of Melinda and I's favorite but not Kristi's. Oops. The girl does NOT like sushi. I will give it to her though. She attempted two different rolls and pretty much spit them both promptly out. Again, remind me to not pick sushi the next time they take me out. I kinda felt bad about that...BUT, not too bad that Melinda and I (mostly I) couldn't throw down some major Japanese yumminess.
The rest of my week was filled with family memories. I attended a Land Run on Friday with Will. He was so cute decked out in his pioneer gear. We ate a picnic lunch under the shade of the football bleachers. Isn't that how all the early Oklahoma pioneers did it?!
Friday the boys were out of school so I had planned some fun things (like a movie) and some necessary things (like haircuts and a Walmart trip). For those wondering, "The Jungle Book" is worth a visit to your local theater. So so good. Many times in kid movies I am bored. Pretty good and bored. Not this time. I was enthralled from beginning to end but mostly enjoyed Owen's joy and squeals at seeing so many different animals in one movie. That boy loves animals like Will loves food.
Again, I am so blessed by all of you who wished me a happy birthday, sent me a message or a text, called me, or took me out. Thank you all so much:)
We did it! We finally did it and the summer is now upon us. I am so excited, I can barely contain my joy. Now, if only the weather would begin to cooperate. I am currently sitting in jeans and a fleece jacket while my feet freeze in flip flops because it's SUMMER and I refuse to wear any other type of footwear. 
We finally came to a close for all the last few weeks of school activities. We did the parties, the teas, the awards ceremonies, the movie days, the field days, the trip to Dry Gulch, the division breakfast celebration, and the Kindergarten graduation (that one pulled on my heart strings). My sister sat right beside me and laughed as I gently wept into a Kleenex. Okay, I wasn't weeping but I wasn't dry eyed either:) 
Our days will now be filled with the wonderful freedom of summer. We will now be able to go visit our new home under construction every day. We will now be able to stay up later, sleep in later (hopefully Owen gets that memo), and take little trips and do fun things on a whim instead of planning it around if it's a "school day" or not. This girl loves summer almost as much as her children. I know this for a fact! The hotter the better and the more crammed with things the even MORE better!
