family gathering

...This past weekend, I went to Friona with the boys for a family reunion. You see, my grandfather has 5 brothers and sisters. They may be getting older now, but still find the time to get together.

I am amazed at how even though we are all older and the grandkids are having kids now, I feel the same as when I was a little girl and we would go to my great-grandparents house for get-togethers. The older women still gather in the kitchen, bustling around, all trying to set food up and later, clean dishes. The older men still gather in the living room, either to watch a game or talk about their golf game and how terrible they played that day. The younger couples and their parents sit close to the youngest children, watching them play and horse around and making sure they don't get hurt. It is different now because now I am no longer one of those children playing. My kids were some of the oldest children there. But I loved it. I loved getting to see my cousins and their families again (or meet their kids for the first time).

Here is a few reflections of my weekend:

*Full Circle

Friday night, the boys and I went with my brother, his son and my parents to the homecoming football game. Casey and I hadn't been back to watch a game since we graduated so it was a little strange and it made me feel old because I hardly knew anyone anymore. But it was fun to watch the boys, especially Rhett, watch their second cousin play football. They thought he was the bomb. So on Saturday night, it was such a thrill when Brenner (the football player himself!) played football with all the little cousins. Rhett was in heaven! Brenner earned a gold star that day. What is so neat about this whole story is that when Brenner was small, he loved going to the football games to watch Casey play! He was such a fan of Casey that only years later, did he realize Casey had a twin sister. Ha! Ha! Now Brenner has 3 fans, one of which is Casey's son. Very cool indeed.

*At least we can laugh about it

After the football game, we went to my grandparents house for a few minutes to see my cousin, Michelle and her kids. Michelle has three adorable children, two girls (one Rhett's age, one Noah's age) and a boy. Michelle and I were talking about school and of course, the subject turned to the flu as often is the case nowadays. Casey walked over and asked what we were talking about. After hearing that we were talking about the swine flu, Casey looks over at her third grade daughter, Baylen, and says, "What were those pigs thinking? Giving us the flu!" And she says back, quick as a whip, "I know! And I thought pigs were smart!" Hilarious!

*Four class reunions, lots of tractors, two queens, and a marching band

Saturday morning was Friona's Maize Days parade. The kids loved it because of all the candy that was thrown to them. Trailers full of people celebrating their class reunions passed by, some older than others, but all happy to be there. Miss Friona passed by and so did the homecoming queen, but they didn't throw candy, so the kids were not interested. Little Miss Friona did throw candy so she got a better response. It is all about the candy. One guy passed by throwing what it looked like the contents of his truck. Turns out it was notepads advertising his business. Next year, throw candy!

After the parade, we walked around the park where I bought my children whips. Indiana Jones whips. I know. What was I thinking? Hey, Rhett has only whipped himself once so far. :>

*Holly, the hero

Earlier last week, I emailed my friend, Holly, because I thought she might be going to the parade. She was so I asked a favor: get my kids Texas Tech jerseys! They are impossible to find in OKC, can you imagine that? Well, she came through and already, Rhett has worn his 3 times since Saturday. So thank you Holly. We are forever grateful!

save me

...Noah and Rhett were in charge of putting a pile of things away that were in the hallway and belonged to them. It wasn't a big pile. Maybe 10 small things. One of these things was a parrot sun catcher that I had received in the mail from some "save the birds" company. (I get things like this a lot: Save the wolves. Save the birds. Save the trees. Yeah, save some trees and quit sending me mail! Anywho.) I didn't want the sun catcher and told the boys it was theirs.

My mistake.

Not a minute later, I hear yells coming from their end of the house. I hear a cry, an "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!", and a "Leave me alone!" along with the door slamming. I knew it was about the parrot sun catcher. Why? Because it was something new to them and there was only one.

After assessing the situation, (Noah punched Rhett because he thought Rhett was going to throw something at him. Rhett didn't throw something at him until he did but he missed so it doesn't count, right? After apologizing to each other, although Noah had already apologized three times but only because he didn't want to get in trouble so he reluctantly did it again), I took back the sun catcher that had caused the trouble.

When will I learn?

check this out

...If you like games and music and even more, if you like to make your own music, then you must give this a try. It is kind of addicting.

Raindrop Melody Maker

The game if from Lullatone (http://www.lullatone.com/). They like to make stuff. It says so on their blog.

a birthday list

...Today is my birthday. I have to be honest-I am not quite as excited that I am one year older as I had been in the past. But that is okay. To celebrate my day, here is a list from this past year:



Things I love that I swore that I never (which sort of makes me a hypocrite)
-Diet Coke.
-Texting. I love texting now that I have a keyboard on my phone! I can text my sister in NC! I can text Seth at work! I can text my neighbor across the street! It is so great.

One Thing I have heard from my son which I had hoped I would never
-Mom, M_____ (a 3 year old neighbor) took her shirt off which is okay because at least she doesn't have her, you know, yet. Funny, I didn't know you had to grow those. I thought they just appeared. -Noah, yesterday, after spending time at a friend's house

Places I have gone and would go to again
-New York
-Washington D.C.

Places I have gone and swore that I would never again but did
-Oklahoma State Fair (Picture this, three heavy-set boys with Mohawks, wearing OU sleeveless jerseys with matching athletic shorts walking around with two women, one pregnant, one older, both of which are wearing tie-dyed dresses. Awesome)

Favorite thing to do with my kids
-Play the Wii. Now, we have Beatles Rockband which is so much fun! Thanks sweetie!

Favorite thing to do when my kids are asleep
-Play the Wii. What? Beatles Rockband!!

Books I read that I didn't think I liked but ended up loving
-The Twilight Saga

Books I read again because I still love
-Harry Potter

Book I recently read that made me a little less naive about the world
-Brothers: The Hidden History of the Kennedy Years by David Talbot

Favorite Musician
-Joshua Radin

Song that my sons like but I wish they didn't
-Poker Face by Lady Gaga

Current Events that my sons were interested in and wanted to know more about
-Obama becoming President
-Micheal Jackson's death
-40th Anniversary of NASA landing on the moon

Something Cool that happened this year
-Meeting Astronaut Alan Bean and having my kids shake his hand. He also told Rhett he liked his shirt. Sweet.

An I was there when it all went down moment (actually this happened a week before my birthday last year, but it still counts bc I didn't do this list last birthday)
-Walking by Lehman Brothers after attending a broadway show in NYC and seeing all the tv cameras pointed at the building. I had no clue on what happened but we all knew it wasn't good. And we were right.

Still the best thing I am doing with my life
-Being a mom to Rhett and Noah and Seth's wife (of 11 years!!!)

our Wednesday

...Wednesdays are our free day, meaning we don't have any activities that we have to do. I like that it is in the middle of the week. It gives the boys a nice break. The last post I mentioned something about building a lego ship. I actually have been building all of the boys' lego sets again. Mainly because Rhett wanted me too but also because it was bugging me that they weren't built.

Anyway, the boys have been building things with me. I told them that we could check out the new Lego Store that is at one of the malls on our free day. So yesterday, we picked up Seth after work and went.

It is a very cool store and the boys each picked a small set for themselves. Last night, they got to work:

It was a great day.

birthday girl

...So, my oldest sister has a birthday today. I really wanted to write something clever, but I knew thatKrista would do it. And she did. And also because I am trying to build a lego ship. Don't ask.

Anyway, Jana, if you are reading this, I wish you the best of best birthdays. I really wish the boys had a big sister because I know she would have built lego ships for them. Why do I know this? Because that is what big sisters do. So the moms don't have to.

:)

Happy Birthday!

can un-heart be a word? edited with a clarification and again with a note

...One things I heart about the approaching of Fall:

1. The weather is actually cool in the morning. Today, it hasn't gotten over 68 degrees yet. That is because it rained all day yesterday and is cloudy today, but still. 68 degrees. That is close to Ugg weather, I tell you. To clarify: I mean close to when I can wear my Ugg boots again. :)

One thing I un-heart:

1. Flies. For some reason, they are so...sticky at the end of summer. You know, they fly around so close to you in the house, they are everywhere you are, they don't ever land...Can you tell there is one near me right now?

Note: Ha. I wondered where I came up with a great word like "clarification" so quickly and then I remembered (and noticed) Krista's blog post for today: Clarification. Ah, yes. Thanks sis for helping build my blog vocabulary. This stay-at-home mom really needs it! :)

9-11

...I have been thinking a lot about my trip to New York with my sisters and mom that we took one year ago. I really wish we were back there this year as well. New York City was a fantastic place to visit. I think what made the trip so special, though, was the chance to really visit with Mom, Jana and Krista.

We flew out on September 11. Many people looked at us like we were crazy to fly out that day. But really, won't September 11 be the safest day to fly, I asked myself, probably trying to convince myself that it really would be okay.

And it was.

A few days later, we went Downtown to look at the World Trade Center site. It was a sombering reminder of how we should not take life or loved ones for granted. That we really should live each day to the fullest. Looking at the emptiness of where the buildings once stood only made that more true to me.

A few blocks away, there stood a flag memorial near the damaged sphere sculpture that survived the attack. It was beautiful and touching. I remember wishing, and it is still a wish today, that Americans still felt as much pride and unity as we did just after 9-11. How easily those feelings vanish and the discord and unhappiness returns.

I hope, today, we remember not only those who lost their lives, who gave their lives, those who survived and those who lost their loved ones but also that feeling of "we are all in this together."

be prepared and loyal and all of that

...Both boys are Cub Scouts this year. Noah, a tiger, looks darling in his orange and blue doesn't he? Hee Hee! Rhett looks so grown up and handsome. They really take Cub Scouts seriously.

....

Except when they don't. :)

some bunny

...This past weekend with the bunny wasn't too bad. Holly Spots is a beautiful bunny who still scared me silly. If she hopped past me when I tried to catch her (we let her out so she could exercise), I would squeal because I was afraid of bunny wrath. She did bite Rhett. Not hard, but it still happened.

In this photo, she is enjoying a couple of grapes. Noah is petting her softly (but not on her belly because as Rhett said many, many times, "She does not like that!") and she seems calm. But this was Saturday. By Monday she was almost manic-like in her behavior. Chewing her cage, hopping very fast toward someone, sniffing your feet and legs, grabbing food aggressively from your hands...I am very glad she is back at school.

let's talk about

...Noah: I was up at the school yesterday morning before school started. I said bye to the boys then I went to do something. Afterward, I was walking down the hall and spied my sweet son holding hands with a very cute girl that is in his class. I had to bite my tongue, literally, to keep from squealing, "That is so cute! You are holding hands with a girl!" I played it cool and just walked on by, saying hi to both. Noah looked surprised to see me but he played it cool as well. His hand stayed firmly planted in hers.

Rhett: Last night we were working on some Cub Scout requirements and we got to one that was about Faith. I asked him to name two famous individuals who had faith. He named George Washington and Abraham Lincoln, obviously. After I asked why he said, "George Washington had faith that his soldiers would win the war. And Lincoln had faith that his soldiers would win the war against slavery."

I told him what faith means to me. (That at the end of every day, it is so comforting to know that there is a power bigger than me, than this life, and that He will take care of things. He will take care of me). Rhett said, "Yeah. Sure. I get it."

I keep going. I ask him how he could have faith in his life. He looks at me blankly. I ask him if he could talk to God about his problems and believe that He would take care of them. Believe that God knows what He is doing. Rhett asks, "You can do that? I thought God was much too busy for my problems." I assured him that God wants to hear his problems. He answered, "Ok. I'll remember that for next time."

Who knew what we could both learn from Cub Scouts.

This Weekend: Seth's parents are coming which will be fun. We also will have another guest in our house. Her name is Holly Spots and she is a pregnant bunny. From Rhett's class. I am praying that the bunny does not decide to have little baby bunnies while she is here. I am a little nervous about that and other things.

My Mistrust of Rabbits: When I was younger, we had a pet rabbit. I won't call this rabbit a bunny because he was much too mean for that cute name. He scratched and bit and ran away all the time. I remember one time, the rabbit got out of the fenced in area that my dad had built for it and Casey thought we needed to go after it. We were in the fenced-in area and Casey knew if he helped me over the sharp, metal fence it would be so much quicker than us going in the house and out another door. Of course it would. So he tries to lift me up and gets me over half-way and then lets go of me. I end up falling over to the other side but not before the fence leaves huge scratches down my back. I know I cried. I don't know who ended up catching the rabbit but it wasn't me. That rabbit eventually ran away for good and no one missed it. Every since, I don't trust bunny rabbits. Sure they look cute. That is where they fool you.

My use of pesticides: I tried so hard. I had such dreams for my butterfly garden. Big, beautiful flowers and lots of color with many butterflies all over the place.

The reality is that the only insect who has really being enjoying my garden is the ant. So I finally broke down yesterday and put some insect killer down. I know I won't kill the butterflies because they haven't been around. Sigh. Maybe next year.

a short note

...Rhett and Noah are in Cub Scouts this year. I just spent an hour sewing patches and replacing buttons and I am wondering if they can get patches taken away because of their mother's lack of sewing skills. Maybe no one will look close enough.

a short break already

...After a week and a half of school, the boys already have 2 days off. Today, we are hanging out. We slept late, I made French toast for the boys, I rearranged Rhett's room (his room confounds me--when will look exactly right? I just don't know) and now I am listening to them screaming (in a good way?) at each other.

Tomorrow, we get up early so they can get the FluMist.

Because the flu's going around, you know.

(Ha! Ha! I laugh at that last line because Rhett said that to me when we were at a neighbor's house for dinner. I had a plate of chips and dip and he asked if he could have some and I offered my plate for him to use. I was done. He looked at me, then shook his head and said no thank you. "The flu is going around, you know." The rest of the night we said that after everything. It was funny.)

Too bad it's true.

{happy sigh}

...I would say that I have been fantastically busy, with all the things I now have time for when my sons are away all day at school. It is true, I have big ideas on what to do with my time.

However, none of that has happened this week.

This week, I have been consumed with love and vampires.

After reading each book exactly twice and then re-reading some of my favorite parts again (and losing countless hours of sleep because of the reading and re-reading) I can cautiously say that I think I am ready to return to my normal life again.

But before I begin to see everything I have neglected (laundry, dishes, house), I do want to say this:

If you want a really good love story, one that makes you remember all the butterflies you felt when you first fell in love, then read these books. They are totally sweet, romantic and squeal-worthy. There is also plenty of life-threatening action involved if you would rather have that. Purely fun.

That being said, I now have to go do some housework.

Oh, and thank you for all your well wishes about our anniversary. We had a great time that day and it was Seth who gave me the Twilight books, so thank you to him especially. I enjoyed the few days off. ;)

the greatest ride of my life

...11 years ago this past summer, I got on a roller coaster with my soon-to-be husband. We were at Six Flags in Houston with his family. To be honest, I hated roller coasters. But I loved Seth. So I rode this terrifying ride with him, wishing it would be over as fast as possible, but secretly having fun at the same time. I wondered how could that be?

When we got off, we passed this tv screen. I stopped and stared. It was showing a slide show of pictures of people that had just been on the roller coaster. "Oh no. This cannot be good," I thought. And I was right. A picture came up of us: Seth with his hands in the air and wide smile and me--with my eyes shut tight and my hands holding on to the handlebar as tight as possible. I could hear the laughter of people who saw this picture. I was horrified.

11 years later, I am no longer horrified. I actually have a very fond memory of that day (although, I still don't like me in the picture. Yes, Seth bought it. No, I will not show it to anyone, so don't ask). Because here's the thing:

Marriage is like a roller coaster. My favorite part of the movie, "Parenthood" is when Gil's grandmother starts talking to Gil after he is complaining about his life.

Grandma: You know, when I was nineteen, Grandpa took me on a roller coaster...Up, down, up, down. Oh, what a ride!...I always wanted to go again. You know, it was just so interesting to me that a ride could make me so frightened, so scared, so sick, so excited, and so thrilled all together! Some didn't like it. They went on the merry-go-round. That just goes around. Nothing. I like the roller coaster. You get more out of it.

You get more out of it. So true.

Seth, thank you for getting me on the roller coaster. And thank you for riding with me for 11 years. I love you so much.

Happy Anniversary.

let's imagine its the first

...There are my boys. Rhett is in 3rd grade. Noah is in 1st. The rain and my general feeling of malaise yesterday made first day pictures on the front porch impossible, so here they are today. Noah was less excited today (It's too long! I want to stay with you!) but Rhett was still ready to go.

They ride the bus to school which means from 8:30 am to 4 pm, I am without children. This is a strange feeling to me. The house is quiet and I don't hear "Hey, Mom?" forty times an hour. That I won't miss. I will miss their faces though. And the hugs.

Don't worry, I won't be bored. I have plenty to keep me busy. And when four o'clock rolls around, I probably will think, "Where did the time go?" :)

***
Happy Birthday Pop! We all love you!

school is here

...The boys are at school and hopefully the sun will be shining tomorrow so I can get the yearly picture by the bricks. And I don't feel all that great right now so I am going to keep this short. Talk to you tomorrow and I'll have some back to school shots to show you.

i am not superstitious, but

...Isn't it funny how people always start out that way? "I am not really superstitious, but I have to wear the same pair of socks to every game." Or "I don't believe in superstitions but every time a black cat crosses my path I think I am cursed."

Anyway, I want to be totally honest with you. I am superstitious--a little. I totally get scared when I break a mirror and I won't walk under a ladder or open an umbrella in my house. I throw salt over my shoulder when it is spilled (but only when I am cooking). I "knock on wood" to keep bad things from happening and I definitely believe things (good or bad) happen in threes.

Which leads me to this:

Ever since I have been married (11 years coming up this Saturday!), I have had a bit of bad luck concerning glass. If I break a piece of glass (whether it is a bowl or a cup), you better believe I will break 2 more things within the coming days or couple of weeks. It happens every time. I didn't notice it at first. No, I first thought I was just being unbelievable clumsy that month. But then it happened again. And again. Three things would always be broken. No matter how careful I was.

This is why I am down to one set of glasses (we have had 3). This is why I have had to replace a coffee maker and why I have no microwave plate in my microwave. Some things broken hurt more than others.

This one hurt a lot.

I have had this glass bottle with a sun on it for about as long as Rhett has been alive. In his first year, Seth and I took him to Ruidoso to visit my grandparents. He was about 6 months I believe. This was the last time we went to Ruidoso for a vacation. This is huge because growing up, my family and I would go every year. This is where my grandparents lived during the summer months and where Seth and I took our honeymoon. I know I would complain about going there but the truth is, it was really fun. We rode horses, played putt-putt, hiked and went to the horse races. We hung out with my cousins and ate at Casa Blanca.

When Seth and I came it was during July 4th holiday. Grandma would take care of Rhett while we went to a movie or to play miniature golf. We took Rhett to see the most amazing fire work show ever. (Rhett slept through it). We went shopping in a few shops and that is where I found the cutest glass bottle with a cork in the top. It didn't cost much but I loved the sun smiling at me. I had no idea what it was going to be used for but I knew I had to have it. Seth bought it for me and ever since, it had been in our kitchen, first for decoration, then later for holding dish washing soap. I would buy whatever color soap that would match our kitchen decor. Really.

I always knew it was dangerous to have that beside me while washing dishes. I am a klutz. I knock things over constantly. This bottle has been knocked over several times.

The last time must have been its final straw.

It was the 2nd thing broken in a week. The first was a bowl that came in a set of 8. They are lovely glass bowls that Seth's mother gave me when we went to visit. I dropped it trying to get all of them out of the car. I was a little frustrated. Now a set of 8 is a set of 7 and that just isn't right.

When I broke the sun bottle, I could do nothing but stare at it for a moment. I was actually really sad. Not for the glass bottle. But for what it represented.

When I threw it away, I placed it in a bag of recyclables. There were glass jars in there. When I threw the bag down on the floor out of disgust, I broke one of those glass salsa jars.

There was my 3rd.

three cheers for Rhett and Noah

...The All-City Swim Meet was an experience for us. The venue was amazing and huge and the boys (one boy in particular, we won't name names but he is the one in glasses) were overwhelmed. Noah passed his time waiting (and a lot of waiting there was) by swimming in the nearby pools and Rhett clutched the bag with his towels until he raced for the first time. Different kids indeed.

Noah's first race was the backstroke. He had never swam this stroke in a meet before, so I wasn't sure how it would go but he did amazingly well!

He stayed pretty straight the whole time and was the second swimmer to reach the wall. Which means he got a Silver Medal!

He also swam the free-style, breast-stroke and relay. He did great in all of those too. I think he really enjoyed himself.

***

Rhett's first race was the butterfly. He was so nervous, we could tell. He was also pretty nervous swimming the free-style. But his nerves were gone when he swam the breast-stroke. He dove in perfectly and ended up 4th overall (there were 4 heats). He was a little disappointed he didn't get a medal but he did receive a 4th place ribbon and we had to keep reminding him how many swimmers he edged out. We were really happy for him.

Yes, it looks like that man in the picture is cleaning his ear. The seats weren't great for getting pictures.

I have said it before: We are so proud of the boys.

running out of summer

...When I titled the last post, "Last one, I promise," I didn't mean the last blog post ever. I am sure some of you were thinking that by now. It has been awhile. This month is going to be crazy I fear. Here is a little update, sans pictures, but I will post them tomorrow.

Friday was the first PTA meeting of the year. I am the chair for the Green Team committee and I wanted to start out with a bang, so I proposed we start saving paper by emailing our newsletters and notes to families instead of sending it home with the kids in paper form. The president of the PTA is excited about this and is going to talk to the principal. I can't say I came up with the idea on my own, but if we do this, it will be so exciting. Last year, I received two copies of every single note that the school sent home. Wouldn't it be great if I can just open my email and read things online? Love it!

Saturday, Rhett and Noah had their all-city swim meet. They did great. It was an all day affair and it wasn't very comfortable sitting on benches in stifling humidity for 6 hours, but Seth and I were so proud of the boys for sticking with swim team all summer and doing a great job at the meets. I hope they do it next year. Tomorrow, I will have pictures.

Sunday, Seth and I braved the crowds and took advantage of the tax-free weekend in Oklahoma. The boys were on a playdate and we went to Old Navy for $10 jeans. Awesome.

This week is the official last week and a half of summer vacation. We have to go to Information Day at the school, go on another playdate to meet a new friend that will be going to the school, we have 4 parties to go to and then it will be over and the first day of school before we know it.

So have a great week. I know we are going to enjoy every minute.