The Dish on Thanksgiving

This was the first year our family has travelled for Thanksgiving. We drove to Dallas - such an easy 4 hour drive. We didn't get out of the car one time!!!! The key is to leave early in the morning and a strict "no drinks policy" until 10:30.

We had a great feast at my parents house and visited until the late afternoon. Then we went to stay at The Great Wolf Lodge. It's basically a resort for kids. The hotel has a huge indoor waterpark, kids spa, arcade, adventure game, and storytime. The kids had a great time.

Parker's favorite was the humongo hot tub.

That's the dish on our Thanksgiving! Hope yours was equally delicious!!!!

Fall is Leaving

Nothing says "fall" like bouncing on a trampoline covered in mounds of fallen leaves. For maximum enjoyment you have to exclaim "WEEEEEEEE!" It's the Ultimate Fall Activity; maybe even a step above the pumpkin patch.

Luscious Lips

Grant loves, loves, loves tomatoes. He's known to sneak grape tomatoes off the counter by the handful. We're pretty certain he won't have prostate problems in his future. Last night it ate the top off a tomato, sucked out all the juice, and made a set of juicy lips. Goofy and kinda wierd but entertaining at the same time : )

Okie Dokie

We've been living in Tulsa for about 6 weeks now! The kids have been in school and seem to have settled into a nice groove there. We've been to the zoo and the aquarium and many parks in the area. We are getting settled and doing well.

Last weekend Parker was invited to a birthday party at the Safari Sanctuary. Brad took Parker and Grant really not knowing anything about the place. Well, they were in for quite a treat! This place has a lot of exotic animals that you are really close to and they have a lot of encounters with the animals. Look at the picture below and you'll know why I'm glad I wasn't there.

Seriously, that tiger looks like it could attack Grant at any given moment! Keep in mind this picture was taken right after Grant fed the tiger a turkey leg. Seriously! They stuck a turkey leg on the end of the stick and Grant poked it through the fence to feed the tiger. They would put it up high on the fence to make the tiger jump. Crazy. I don't think it was this tiger but one of the tigers used to belong to Mike Tyson.

They also saw a 1200 lb liger and pet a lemur. And some snakes and an iguana. They also fed a camel a 2 liter bottle of soda and then the camel spewed soda all over everyone. What is this place? Just part of our new experience here in Oklahoma!!! Anybody want to come visit?

Roadtrip!

I think I unintentionally began a tradition of taking the kids on a roadtrip each summer without Brad. Not because we don't want Brad with us, of course, but because he's not available! He's always a good sport about being left behind and this year build a desk for me in our absence (maybe I should take more trips.... )

We drove up to Utah and began our stay with Brad's family - Todd and Andrea. Andrea is expecting her 3rd baby in less than 3 years so they were very gracious in opening their ho

me to us. We began our activities with a trip to Thanksgiving Point. Here's the boys on a carriage ride.

Later in the week, we met up with Kristi and her family. We took the kids to the This Is the Place Monument in Salt Lake and the Aquarium.

Here are the kids all hanging out in Kristi's backyard! Enjoying a popsicle!

We stopped at Chick-fil-A for National Cow Appreciation Day and dressed up for free meals. I warned the kids that went we travel with Aunt Kristi, there's a good chance you might end up in a costume at some point. As you can see below, Parker was more than thrilled about this idea. What a kid will do for processed chicken and chocolate milk.

We went to Temple Square (which has changed a lot) and went to see the Christus Statue. Anna and I had a moment talking about His "ouchies" but the boys mostly ran all over the place.

Aunt Sarah and her kids drove down from Driggs. We were so happy to see them and they were so happy to see the sun and feel some heat.

The Next Generation of Roomies???

Chuck-E-Cheese, Gotta Love it!

It still puzzles me that kids work so hard to earn those tickets and then they buy something like green fang teeth. It is a notch above the plastic spider though.

I'm kicking myself now for not snapping some pics but we also stopped at our good friends home - the Liljenquist's. It was so darling to see Kate and Parker once again find refuge together- finding shade beneath the large trampoline and hovered over their own bowl of appleasauce. Grant and Luke only wished they could spend more time together - or watch some more Star Wars together anyway : ) So fun to see them too! By the way, if you are looking for a good laugh about motherhood and all it's adventures, check out her blog - it a fun read - http://jamsandpickles.wordpress.com/

Thanks for a great trip everyone. Perhaps next summer we can break tradition and have Brad come along!

The 4th of July celebrations came a day early this year. Our cul-de-sac rented out a bounce house, snowcone, and cotton candy machine. My kids had a LOT of sugar but I seriously think they ran all of it off with all the time they spent running around with the kids.

Two Sparklers!

When Grant discovered the neighbors had chips and dip he pulled up his chair and got cozy!

Purple snowcone!

Good times!

The Sandias

On Memorial Day, we headed out east of the mountains for a little hike. It's nice to be where it's green and forget that we live in the desert. It's only a 30 min drive and we love it out there.

Cute Anna giving me one of her looks!

We were surprised to still find snow along the trail! There wasn't a ton but enough for the kids to play in and, yes, eventually cry because it was "SOOOO cold".....