NYC--Day 1

Well, our first day in NYC was more of a day of settling in and becoming acquainted with the general directions of the city. It took us probably 30 extra minutes to find The American Girl store when it was only about 10 minutes from our hotel. We got the best advice from Taunda, a friend I grew up with and now on facebook, "Tip: Never ever ask a local how far something is. They will always say "Oh not too far, you can walk" You will then have to walk at least 3 miles to whatever it is. Take the subway when you can." You don't know how many times this happened to us. In fact, seconds before I got this comment, it happened to us...crazy! That night we decided to have a "free" meal and tag along with Nancy to one of her work functions; it was fun! Afterward, the three of us decided to walk down the street to Barnes & Noble, it was only about 8:30. By the time we got there they were telling everyone it was closing time...WHAT??? Are you kidding!! Doesn't the B&N close in OKC like around 11ish? So we walked around and stumbled into Times Square. Needless to say we were very excited. That really about sums up Day 1...more to come!!

Yay MWC Vision!!!

Parker plays on the MWC 98Boys Competitive Soccer team. This team is only in their second year together and they've already experienced several set backs. Last weekend they were in a local tournament, Southlakes Cosmos Cup, which is the league Parker played for before going to MWC. They took 1st Runner-up in the tourney!! Woohoo! This is such a HUGE accomplishment for our team and we are SO proud of them. Check out a few pics and I hope you're able to come out to a game!
GO MWC VISION!!

Parker receiving his medal.

The team rallys around their trophy!

Parker & Coach Matt Clark

Shabby Souls Blog

Yes, you read right...we now have a blog!! Woohoo! I'm excited to have all the Shabby Soul Girls blog about their reads and what-nots! So check us out!!
www.shabbysouls.blogspot.com

Shabby Souls at The Red Cup

I don't think I can express how much I enjoy my time with my Shabby Soul Sistas! We meet once a month and always look for some place different. We met this past Friday at The Red Cup on 31st and Council. It's a very eclectic little coffee house and we really enjoyed ourselves. We even had a new member, yeah Amy. She fit right in and we loved her!! We missed all our other SS though! Next month is going to be a fun month; we're planning on meeting at Nicole's and if any of you know Nicole she LOVES Halloween and knows how to do it up right! We should have some great pics! For now, I hope you enjoy the pics from the Shabby Souls and The Red Cup!!
Lavender Cake with Lemon Icing--Yummy!!

Thanks for the Bookmarks, Becky!

Always Lovin' a Good Book!!

The Red Cup

God's Sense of Humor

I was driving to work one day this week and I got to thinking about things in my life while talking to God. It occurred to me how ironically some of my prayers have been answered...I chalked it up to God's sense of humor.
Before Parker was born I prayed for a small baby. "God, I did say BABY, right!" Before Easton was born I asked for a baby I could handle. Maybe I should have clarified baby, toddler, kid, tween, and teenager...hmmmm!! I still think God is laughing about that one! Then we have Olivia. When I got pregnant with her (that's a whole other story for another day) I prayed fervently for a girl and I believed with all my heart that God would give me a girl. Well, in all my prayers for a girl I must have missed a few other prayers.

One of the things I love most about being a mommy is seeing the vast differences between all three of my children. I truly love each of them as the individuals they are. God gave me three beautiful children. Our family was not built by accident but with purpose and a plan. I'm thankful that God has made us strong and continues to watch over us...and I pray that He NEVER loses His sense of humor!!

Craft Club

Hehe...that makes me giggle a little. I am actually a member of an online blog craft site...A Sassy Affair. For a small fee we get 6-weeks of pre-planned, easy, fun projects and access to the blog. It's really pretty cool. I've never been a part of anything like this and so far it's pretty fun. I have, however, found a mode of stress for me...crafting which I have to make decisions about. Crazy, I know, but if I'm going to spend time on something I want it to turn out and so I worry usually taking some of the enjoyment out of it for me! I guess you could say it's a catch-22. We'll just call this little club my 'therapy'!! Hey, it's cheap therapy! Hehe!!
Here's how it works. We get our projects on Sunday and then we have until the following Saturday to complete and post our projects on the ASA Blog...too fun!! Summer, the blog host, gives weekly prizes to one person that posts their project on the blog. If you're a crafty person or would like to be, beginner to intermediate, this is something you would enjoy.
Okay, so here is my first completed project. It's a wall hanging made with fence posts. We chose a pattern for our mask and the paint colors, this is where I struggled, Ha! I like how it turned out. My friends Becky and Nicole are also in the club and I'm sure they'll post their finished projects on their blogs as well, so check'em out. Watch for more to come!! See ya!!

Labor Day Weekend-pt1

We had a busy weekend this Labor Day holiday, family, friends, vacation...I've decided to do it in two posts.
Friday Brad, Catherine & Amelia came down for the start of OSU football! We took the kids to the park and Grandma Miller went with us. We lasted as long as our allergies would let us. Ugh!! Unfortunately, Phil had to do some work on the 'Green Goblin'. I've always been impressed with Phil's ability to fix just about anything that's broke! Sexy!! Hehe!! Papa Miller and my dad stopped by to help him with the car...thanks guys!!
Saturday was OSU Cowboys day!! We always have a good time tailgating and going to the games. The weather was nice during most of the tailgate but warmed up quite a bit by game time. Nancy, Catherine, me, Amelia and Livie all came home after the tailgate and the boys were able to go to the game. OSU played Georgia and I'm sure by now you know the Cowboys won...Woohoo!!
Monkeying Around

My Little Man

Priceless

Up to No Good

Sweetheart

OSU Cheerleaders in the Making!

Thompson Tailgate

Daddy's Lil'Cowgirl

What can I say?


Look for part2 coming soon!!!

The Gargoyle

I finished reading The Gargoyle, a New York Times Bestseller, this past weekend. This is probably the most raw book I've read so far, but at the same time I was fascinated at the Christianity intertwined throughout. Part of it made me aware how much I actually am protected from a lot of the shocking realities of this world. I liked this book and am glad I read it but it is definitely different from anything I have ever read (I think I said the same thing about The Time Travelers Wife). This was the first novel written by Andrew Davidson. What I found to be most intriguing about this book is that it's narrated by the main character whose name is NEVER revealed. For some that might be troubling but I found it to fit in with the tone of the rest of the story.

The Gargoyle is the mesmerizing story of one man's descent into a personal hell and his quest for salvation. On a dark road in the middle of the night, a car plunges into a ravine. The driver survives the crash, but he is confined to the burn ward suffering horrible injuries. There, he does nothing more than plot the suicide he will commit when released. Everything changes when Marianne Engel, a possibly schizophrenic sculptress of grotesques, enters his life. She insists they were lovers in medieval Germany, when he was a mercenary and she was a scribe in the monastery of Engelthal. As she spins the story of their past lives together, the man's disbelief falters; soon, even the impossible can no longer be dismissed.

If you're looking for something different but will also keep you reading, this is it! Happy Reading!!!

"36"--The Best One Yet

Here is Phil's facebook post, copied straight from FB, "thanks for all the b-day wishes... the best birthday ever!!! 36 aint so bad!!!" From his post I think it's safe to say that we had a GREAT time celebrating this one, we were just missing a few people!
We joined John and Ellen Bebout for dinner at Musashi's, japanese cuisine. None of us had ever been there but we had a great time and the food was D-lish. It was fun to watch Chef Le with his 'weapons' cook up a great feast! Then it was on to Michael Murphy's Dueling Pianos in Bricktown. We'd never been to anything like this so we didn't really know what to expect but it was SO much fun. We laughed all night! Here is a little slide show-recap of our evening.
Happy Birthday Sweetie...I hope you're already thinking how you're gonna top this for my 36th! ;) Love you!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blogging vs Scrapbooking

I get hassled (just a little) by my fellow bloggers that I don't post enough on my blog and I tend to agree with them. I got to thinking today, "Why is that?" And then it hit me...blogging has turned into scrapbooking for me in a lot of ways.

*They are both things I really enjoy.
*I have SO much to tell but don't seem to have the time for it all.
*The further behind I get the less pertinent things seem to become.
*Sometimes I feel like, "Who really reads this anyway?"
*I'm not very good at journaling in scrapbooking or writing posts on my blog.
*Some posts take me so long to prepare I get lost in them and never finish them.
*I read other peoples blog and become discouraged because I'm not as creative...I sometimes feel the same looking at others scrapbooks.

So there you have it...the secret truth to two of my favorite hobby's and why I struggle with them so much! But I promise I will trudge on and not give up!! Thanks to all of you who do read my blog...it is VERY encouraging when I've heard you have! Love you!!

Cubs take 2nd!!

In their first tournament of the season, the Kirby Cubs took 2nd place after being defeated twice by the same team. It was a fight to the finish!! We had such fun last weekend at the ballpark...two games Saturday and four Sunday. Momma was hoarse from yellin' for the team!! Woohoo!! A shout out to all our family and friends that came out to support our little E!!

Watermelon Feast

The First Graders at Briarwood had their annual Watermelon Feast last Friday. I say annual because I remember going to Parker's several years ago...memories. It's cute to see who the kids have made friends with at school in such a short amount of time. Of course, they usually already have a couple neighborhood friends or friends from Kindergarten. Here are some pics from Liv's Watermelon Feast. We went to WM the night before to pick out a watermelon she could take to school. She wanted to carry it through the store, quite funny!
Livie carrying her watermelon at the store.

Liv loves watermelon.

The sign of something DELICIOUS!
Friends - Bethany, Olivia, Fayleen, Karli

"Watermelon makes me smile!"

Birthdays at Pops!

Our family has three birthdays in August and they're pretty close together, Erin, my sister's is the 17th, Joe's, my b-i-l, is the 21st, and Phil's is the 28th. We try to have dinner one night during the month to celebrate all the birthdays. This year someone made the decision to go to POPS out in Arcadia. If you're up for a little drive this is a pretty fun place. We went last Tuesday, it wasn't busy and we had no trouble getting a place to sit. The kids were amazed by all the different kinds of sodas. Unfortunately for me, I'm taking some meds that make anything carbonated taste nasty so I wasn't able to enjoy that part, but the rest was fun!
Happy Birthday Phil, Erin & Joe!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

My Little Ball Player

Easton is what we like to call our "strong-willed" child! Ha! I say that with a chuckle!! He is the kid who is really good at almost everything HE decides to do. It's actually very wearisome for the rest of us. He has played baseball in the past but at the prodding of his parents and grandparents, so as you can imagine he wasn't "all in". At the beginning of this year he decided to play tackle football but as sign-ups neared his desire lessened. Out of the clear blue one day he announced that he would be playing baseball again, so we jumped on it. We got him into some hitting lessons with Eric Walker, which I think he thought was very cool, and a new, lighter bat and he has soared ever since. Like I said, once HE decides to do something it's a go!

Here are a few pics I took of him at his game last night. He was 3 for 3 with 2 run scored and he brought the winning run in on his last up to bat. For all you baseball buffs, I'm sure I didn't write that out correctly but you get the point!!

WAY TO GO, EASTON!!!!!!!!!

Always, Sometimes, Never

My great friends and fellow bloggers, Nicole & Becky, tagged me in 'Always, Sometimes, Never'. I'm gonna admit, I've had a day to think about this and it's not an easy task for me. Probably for one, I'm not a creative writer and two, it's hard for me to come up with things about myself. But in the spirit of the game and blogging...here goes.

I Always...
-floss my teeth every night.
-hit snooze for at least 15 minutes every morning...drives Phil crazy.
-shower and shampoo every day...the whole nine-yards, and yes I get tired of it.
-love being goofy.
-wipe every dish spotless before putting them in the dishwasher.

I Sometimes...
-read before I go to bed.
-do absolutely nothing on Sundays...love lazy Sundays.
-am too honest (in a bad way).
-get a pedicure...probably my only luxury.
-talk on the telephone...haha!!
-don't take constructive criticism well, especially depending on the source.

I Never...
-play with our dog (sorry to all you dog lovers).
-find clothes when I have the money to buy them.
-watch scary movies.
-dust...ssshhhh!
-say never!!!!!!

Another First Day of School

Phil and I walked the kids to yet another first day of school. It's always a bittersweet day for us, sad that summer is over and that our 'babies' have moved up another year on the education ladder, Olivia 1st grade, Easton 2nd grade and Parker 6th grade, but at the same time relieved to have them 'entertained' for the entire day.
We started our first day in our traditional way, breakfast at Ihop. The kids really look forward to this and I love that we have started this tradition. Phil wanted to eat somewhere different but the kids wanted to stick with good'ole Ihop, and it did not disappoint. We had a few minutes before school started so we came home and relaxed (I could've fallen asleep) and the kids let me take a few pics. Then it was off to school.
Enjoying our breakfast!

The kids walking to school.

Olivia with Mrs. Dorran.

Easton & Mrs. Glasgow.

Parker! Yep, I had to sneak this pic!!

The Time Traveler's Wife

I just finished reading The Time Traveler's Wife...WOW!!! This is honestly an amazing book! Ironically, as I sit here typing this post, I'm struggling with accurate words of description. I cannot go into too much detail as it could give too much away. I'll do the best I can...
It is about a young girl, Clare, who meets a 'time traveler', Henry. Henry reveals to her that they will are married in the future. Growing up Clare is constantly waiting on Henry to appear until they meet in present time when Clare is 20-years-old and Henry is 28-years-old. The rest is the story of their life together and Henry's time travels in and out.
I love so many things about this book: the mystery of where Henry is coming from or going to (which is all answered by the end of the book), the obvious love Clare and Henry have for each other, just to name a couple. I am so excited to see Audrey Niffenegger's next book, Her Fearful Symmetry, due out this fall. It sounds like it'll be another amazing book!
If you haven't read The Time Traveler's Wife I HIGHLY recommend this book! It is one of my top favs.

July 4th on August 4th

So I thought since it's been exactly one month I should go ahead and post 4th of July pics. The past two years we've gone to the Minor's to celebrate the 4th and we've had such a great time. This year we went on Sunday; they live in Newcastle so we stock up on the fireworks and the kids love it. We also spend the actual 4th with family, mine and Phil's parents and Erin and Joe, with fireworks a-plenty. 4th of July is probably one of my favorite holidays. I enjoy the summer atmosphere, time with family and friends, cooking out, the childish feeling I get watching fireworks and enjoying the thrill my kids (and the adult men...teehee) get from them as well, and the great blessing of freedom God has given this great country.
If you can remember this far back it rained pretty good on the 4th so I didn't get any pics that night but I have a few from the 5th at the Minors...ENJOY!!!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Blog Re-Design

WARNING: RANDOM POST

I finally got my blog redesigned to my summer theme, now that summer is half way over. I think I've mentioned in past posts...that's the way I roll, and I wasn't kidding. Notice still no 4th of July pics posted. BUT...I am planning on it! Ha! Just be patient with me! At least you never know what to expect when ya check out our blog!! Anyway, Phil likes a "clean" blog so I went with white down the middle. I think it looks neat, as in clean, and his comment was, "What about this stuff on the sides?" Well, I compromised!

Really a lot has been going on with our family. Parker has just started his 2nd season of competitive soccer. I guess I am officially a soccer mom. In all honestly, that title should really be given to Phil. I'm sure he would appreciate that! Easton has finally decided to play baseball again. We're all excited about that decision. He beats to the rhythm of his own drum (did I say that right? Oh well!!) and no amount of coercing is going to talk him into doing anything until he's good and ready. Easton seems to be a good ball player, but once again its got to be in his own time...it's quite exhausting. Livie is still in gymnastics. She's the perfect size for it and has picked it up quickly. I love to watch her. Of course for her, she decides everyday she wants to do something different. No way sister!! She's tried other things like dance, cried every class, and soccer, played with her hair the entire time. She's a pretty fast little booger so at some point track may be in her future.

As for me, I really enjoy reading which is humorous to me because I hated it growing up. I'm in a little book club, Shabby Souls, but we don't all read the same book. It's takes the stress out of it for us. We all read different things, or the same if we are inclined, and then get together once a month for dessert and book reviews. We swap out books which also helps cut down on the cost but there are always those books you just have to own for yourself! I still like to scrapbook but I haven't been in a few months...I guess it's good to take a break from the things we love every now and then so we'll continue to enjoy them, huh?!

Phil's business is really taking off. I'm so proud of him. I always knew he would do well. We actually sat in our first business meeting together a couple of weeks ago. It was a little strange. The company I work for is moving into a new office space, TBIP, which is the same company that Buzz Consulting has been competing for their business. I hope that made sense. I think that's going to go well for them but more business is always welcome...(plug for Phil & Ellen and Buzz Consulting Company). Phil really enjoys spending time with his friends and I try to let him as much as possible ;).

The kids start school two weeks from today. Most of you know what kind of rat race that is...ugh. I love summer but I like the schedule that school puts the kids back on. It really takes away some of the choas around the house. So we'll be gathering supplies, for Livie anyway, and getting school clothes bought in the next few weeks! Speaking of summer, we were so blessed with our own "Super Nanny", Taryn Kindrick!! She's been great at entertaining the kids and keeping them in line! I think she even figured out how to call their bluff early on! That's not always easy either. But don't any of you think about stealing her for next summer...we get first dibs!! Ha!!

Weekend Recap!!

Friday evening I enjoyed time with some of my closest friends, the Shabby Souls, at our monthly book club meeting! We met at Hawaiian Mikes for the best snow cones in SOKC and then off to Earlywine Park. Great weather, great conversation, great friends...what could be better. I missed all my sista's that couldn't make it, hope to see you next month (if not before).
Afterward, I went to the Deans where Phil and the kids were hanging. We had a good time visiting.

Me, Kelsie, Natalie, Becky, Sarah, & Pam. Nicole took the pic, but she was there!


Saturday, Phil, me and the kids spent ALL day cleaning the house. That is such a huge beat down!! The day we get to hire a maid will be an amazing day for our family, or for me anyway. One day it will happen!! The funny thing about us is we take advantage of our clean house by inviting friends over, and all their kids. I know, crazy huh?!?! Phil cooked out and I think for the first time in his life he burned the wieners...hehe!! You know me, I'm always trying to take pics for proof! Too funny!

We had a great time with the Deans and the Baldwins. A rematch IS in the future! You 'boys' got lucky!

Sunday, we went to lunch with my parent's and met my Granddaddy at Cattlemen's. We had a good time. My b-i-l, Joe, is a manager there. He brought out Lamb Fries as a joke for me and I couldn't stomach them...couldn't even look at'em! I feel a little guilty cause I'm always trying to get my kids to try new things and I wouldn't try them, Parker did! Oh well...movin' on! Ha!
Took a wonderful nap later that afternoon. Definitely one of my favorite things to do. Later that evening we went to eat with Phil's parents and watched Lakeview Terrace. It's a pretty good movie, one that kinda makes you mad though!

Super Sleuth

If any of you are friends with me on Facebook (see left column) then you know I've been on a mission over the last 2-3 days for Coconut M&M's. Here's how this all started...

Earlier this week I was at my favorite grocery store, GFF (12th St & Santa Fe in Moore - plug for Charlie ;)) and noticed by the registers a white M&M display box. Ok, I need to back up one sec...I worked at a candy store for 3 years after high school so I am always intrigued my any new candy. Now back to GFF, I excitedly walked over to the display anticipating what this would be. I looked in and only saw the same'ole plain and peanut M&M's. I looked at the display and it said Coconut M&M's...I LOVE coconut anything. I immediately texted Charlie, owner of GFF, to ask him what's up. He shares in my love for coconut and I was a little surprised he hadn't already let me know about them. His response, which I found humorous, was, "Where'd ya see that at?" Hehe!!! I told him to let me know if he got anymore in. As you can imagine this became my new mission...TO FIND THE COCONUT M&M'S.

I thought, Hey, I'll post on FB and maybe someone will give me heads up on where I can get some. My post has turned out to be pretty funny!! When Phil got home that evening I told him what I posted and he gave me the "are-you-kidding" thing and then I proceeded to tell him I had over 20 comments. Granted some were me responding to comments from other people. Let me tell you all the places I've looked myself - and drug a few friends along too - GFF, Target, several Walgreens, CVS, Dollar Tree, two Walmarts, and a Gas Station--I think that's it, but that's a lot for a stinkin' bag of M&M's.

Okay, so today is Wednesday and still NO M&Ms...HELLO!! This is craziness. My sister tells me she has a partially eaten bag for me but that hasn't surfaced yet!!! We'll see!! Ha!!

For all you guys that have doubted their even existence here's proof...


I promise I'll letcha know when I find'em!! And I can't wait!!! Yum!! Yum!!

He Works Hard for the Money...

Parker has been mowing this summer for money which he has been saving for things that he's been wanting. I've been so proud of him, he's been so serious and dedicated to his mission. He calls his grandparents asking if they need their yard mowed. It's been quite humorous at times.
He finally met one of his goals...Yeah, Parker!!!! His dad took him to Sam's last week and he bought an XBOX360. Parker has wanted one of these ever since they came out. Phil and I both hope this will be a good life lesson for him. We already see his ability to make common sense decisions when it comes to money. Before he made his final purchase he put in many hours of research to find the best deal on the XBOX. I'm sure his dad would say he got that from him. Ha!! However he learned it, I just hope the motivation and drive he's had this summer will stay with him throughout his whole life.
Parker, we are SO proud of you!!

Scrapaholic

For most of you that know me you know that I am a scrapbooker. I enjoy a night out with my girlfriends, chatting away, glittering, adhering, and matching colors to pictures of my family for them to enjoy for years to come. Okay, okay so that's the Snow White version. I do enjoy the satisfaction and occasional praise I get from scrapbooking but a night out with my girlfriends with no kids is FABULOUS. We try to get together at least once a month and the girls that end up going always varies...which makes it interesting. One of these days I'll take some pics of all of us scrapbooking.
The store we really like to crop at is called Whole Lotta Scrap in Norman. They send out a news letter and I loved a piece from it so I wanted to include it on my blog. We are always teasing each other about these things so I found it especially funny!!

You Know You're Addicted to Scrapbooking When...
1. You reach into your purse and your family scatters--they think you're grabbing for your camera!
2. You see something metal lying in a parking lot and go back to pick it up. It turns out to be some kind of pop top from soda can, so you stick it in your pocket, you think, "Yeah, I can run a ribbon through that."
3. You dream in layouts.
4. You know what a Crop-a-dile is.
5. You give your children PJs as a "special" Christmas Eve gift so they will look extra cute for pictures in the morning.
6. You plan your vacations around your favorite background colors.
7. You discover an awesome printed paper and actually dress your children up for pictures in clothes to match the paper.
8. You have ever forgotten to pay the bills because you were so focused on finishing a project.
And my personal favorite...
9. Your husband runs into the kitchen yelling, "I need water...my truck's on fire!" And your first response is, "WAIT! I'll get the camera!"

I must say I am guilty of more of these than I care to admit. I've come to the realization that I will probably NEVER be caught up with the kids albums. But I've also learned that for myself, if I try to keep up with all of it it takes all the joy out of it for me. So, for all you fellow scrapbookers, don't be so serious about your hobby. It truly is a gift from GOD...enjoy it!!
Love you