First Grade Field Trip

Easton had his first field trip of the year last Friday. He really wanted either Phil or me to go, which we both thought was really sweet. Well, Thursday before the field trip came around and we hadn't yet really decided who would go with him. After school Easton came home and told me that we would be in charge of him and two other boys. Then Easton said, "I told Aaron to be good." What?? That did it, Phil was going. I told Phil he was more equipped to be in charge of a bunch of boys like Easton. Ugh! I could feel my blood pressure going up just thinking about it. Phil, being the awesome dad that he is, went without hesitation.

The entire first grade went to the Martin Nature Center in NOKC, a haven for 1st graders. I think Phil had a good time but Easton made it all worth it when he said, "Thank you dad for going on the field trip." Ahh, now that has to warm your cockles. Phil also did a fabulous job with the camera. Enjoy...

Here's the group Phil was in charge of. Don't you see trouble all over?!?!


Bird watching...


Nature walk...


A little further down, Easton fell into this creek. Yep, you read right!! Crazy boy!


Look-out below, serioulsy!!

In Honor of Earth Day...

You guys are going to get used to me being late on things...it's just how I roll. Usually things just sneak up on me and by the time I get an idea the day has passed.

Even though Earth Day 2009 has officially passed it's never too late to take care of the world God has blessed us with. I want to honor the person in my life that demonstrates that the most...my mom!!

We tease her a lot because she is constantly getting after us to recycle things, picking up behind us, and at times getting things out of the trash that we've thrown away...sometimes we do that on purpose!! Hehe!! It's all in good fun but she truly is going above and beyond most people to keep God's earth beautiful.

I took some pictures of her and my dad in action...
I thought this was so pretty. This is what you'll find as you walk up to their porch. It's only one of many things they've planted. My parents are always out in the yard and really do enjoy gardening...even though my dad would say he didn't!! Ha!!


I laugh at my mom because she has a fetish with dishes...I tell her she has "dish-ues". Here is one more bowl she has added to her collection. It is actually called the Rachael Ray Garbage Bowl. She uses this to put her recyclable food. I remember when she bought it, she was so excited. We're a lot alike in that way, we get excited over simple things.


Every couple days they take the bowl to the backyard where they have a compost. The kids like to help with this and it's a great thing for them to learn. As you can see from Livie's expression it doesn't have the greatest smell!


Here's a closer look inside...


Then my dad has to get in there every few days and "stir" it up.


And over time, out from the bottom...


...you get soil! Pretty cool. I'm needin some of that in my flower bed so I'm hoping dad will wheel barrow some on over to my house


Okay, so I couldn't do a post like this without adding a pic of moms famous oak tree in her back yard. Dad and Phil are always threatening to cut the branches but as you can see it really is a beautiful tree. You stand your ground mom!! Love you!

Happy 6th Birthday to Our Sweet Girl

Today at 4:11pm, Olivia will officially turn 6 years old. I've teased her over the last few days that we weren't going to celebrate her birthday because I didn't want her to get any older...if only that could happen. Needless to say she DID NOT like that idea. She's been planning here birthday since her 5th birthday party ended. I'm not sure where she gets that from!

Livie is definitely a gift from God. If you know the story surrounding the year before she was born you'd know that to be entirely true. It was God's plan for her to be in our lives and she is our bright sparkle.

Happy Birthday Sweet Olivia! We love you!!

She wanted me to put a candle in her crescent roll this morning and then we sang Happy Birthday to her...so silly!!


Sassy Six...these are her "fashion" glasses!!

Birthday Breakdown

The older you get the less important you seem to feel your birthdays are but this year ended up being a nice birthday. If it were up to me I'd have a birthday "week", that's how I tend to celebrate others birthdays ;). I received calls, emails, texts, and even blog posts from family and friends wishing me Happy Birthday, that was fun. Nancy, my m-i-l, called to take me to lunch; just minutes after I hung up with her Phil called to see if he could take me to lunch--two-for-one, that doesn't happen very often. We went downtown to eat at La Luna...yummy! It's been years since I've been there and it did not disappoint. Later that evening Phil decided (notice that Phil decided--that was the best part) to take me and the kids to Red Lobster for dinner...another yummy! Needless to say I don't think I can eat the rest of the week. While we were there Elvis sang Happy Birthday to me. If you have never experienced a serenade from Elvis at Red Lobster you are missing out; it's worth eating there just for that. After we got home my parents came over with strawberry shortcake...should I say it...yummy!! Someone sent me a VERY SPECIAL message and I am so proud of it I want all of you to see it...check out my s-i-l's blog The Princess and Her Peons and see my gift. I LOVE IT...or should I say HER!!

Thank you again to all my family and friends!! Love you!!

Newest Creation

I made Catherine a canvas for her birthday with the help of Phil and Becky. Since Cat said she was going to hang it in her living room I'm going to assume she likes it!! I put Jeremiah 29:11 on it, it's one of the verses she has posted on her blog. Sorry to all of you that have been waiting to see the finished product...here it is.

Happy Birthday, again, Catherine!!!

Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. Our Oklahoma weather was not the greatest Easter weather; it was rainy and cold all day. The egg hunt at church was moved indoors which made for an interesting hunt! The Easter Bunny still managed to visit the kids inspite of the yucky weather.

Sit back, have a nibble on some Easter candy, and enjoy the slide show!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Yard Work

We FINALLY got out and worked in the yard Saturday. The weather was Be-U-tiful so we took full advantage of it. Phil and Parker took care of the yard while me and Easton and Olivia cleaned out the flower bed. We haven't planted any new flowers yet but everything looks SO much better.
I'm embarrassed to say this is a before pic of our yard. I don't have an after pic yet, I'm waiting until I get some things planted. Watch for that to come.

The kids showed me EVERY root of EVERY weed they pulled. They were so proud of their accomplishments.

Easter Egg Hunt

Olivia's class had their Easter egg hunt Friday and Phil and I were able to volunteer to hide eggs for her class. I was excited because I haven't been able to do many of the kids school activities. We were able to meet a few of her friends as well. Coincidentally, her teacher had her baby the night before so she wasn't there but Liv has been looking forward to the arrival of that little baby boy for a long time. Congratulations Mrs.W.
Here are some pics of Liv with her friends at the egg hunt.


I was so proud of Olivia. Her friend fell as they were running after the eggs and Olivia stopped to help her and make sure she was ok.

Produce Pointers

I get emails from Oprahs fitness guru, Bob Greene. Earlier this week I got an email that talks about picking out produce and since it's spring and fresh fruits and veggies are always yummy I thought it would be a great thing to share.

Use the following tips to help you get the most of your produce purchases.

Before you pick a watermelon, slap its side. Hear a hollow thump? It's ripe and ready to go.

When shopping for a grapefruit, it's not necessary to avoid fruits with green on the skin, as the color does not indicate ripeness.

Small bright green Brussels sprouts with compact heads are your best bet; the smaller the sprout, the better the taste.

For raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries, avoid containers with juice stains; they may be a sign of crushed, moldy, or overripe berries.

Skip scallions that are a translucent green. The lack of opaqueness means they have been sitting in ice for too long.

Always store tomatoes at room temperature. Putting them in the fridge can make them mealy and flavorless. Ditto for bananas.

Potatoes need to be stored in a cool, dark place, but don't refrigerate or they will develop a hard core and an undesirable taste.

To make your herbs last, snip off the ends and submerge them in a glass of water. Cover with a plastic bag and store in the refrigerator.

Mangoes, plums, peaches, pears and apricots ripen faster at room temperature in a paper bag.

Keep your bell peppers dry. They rot faster when exposed to moisture.

Happy "Healthy" Eating!!