Zoo pictures

The picture above is from our trip to the Gentry Safari Zoo. We went with three other families and this is my favorite shot of the day. Below is a picture from a recent trip to the Tulsa Zoo. This was the favorite spot of the day, the polar bear exhibit. He was in there just swimming back and forth in front of the window enjoying the cool water. All four boys were mesmerized.

We are home and I will update about the trip later.

Big boy hair cut!

I'm back sooner than expected. I just had to post this picture of Harper with his big boy hair cut. I took it in Sam's right before I printed the pics off my card. He looks like such a big boy now! I have never been very sentimental about my boys hair but this one hit me a little harder than the rest. I guess I am just sad that he is not a baby anymore.

Illinois here we come.

Well folks, tomorrow we leave on our annual family trip. I refrain from calling it a vacation because there are a few key elements that set this trip apart from a traditional vacation. For one a vacation should involve a body of water, be it a lake, ocean or river, any one would suffice. The next is you should actually be involved in the festivities on a vacation, not sitting at husbands relatives house taking care of the children while said husband is at the Nascar race drinking beer! My third reason is that my idea of a vacation does not include in-laws. Brent's mom takes this trip with us every year and that is fine but I think I would like it to just be Brent and the boys along for an real vacation. Last is that unless you are going to the coast, a vacation should never involve a 12 hour car ride especially with a 4 and 1 year old. Wish us luck.

Our eight year anniversary is next month and I have given my husband the challenge of planning a small trip for the four of us. I will let you know how he does or if he does.

I will check back in when we get home. We are coming back late on Mon. so it will probably be Tue. before I post. Love to all!!!

Can a mom catch a break?

Sometimes I feel like I am on a merry-go-round. Harper has been less fussy the last couple of days but now Mason is sick. He started complaining about feeling bad yesterday about 7p.m. We gave him some Motrin and a bath and then put him to bed. I went in to check on him about midnight and he was on fire! I took his temperature and was a little freaked out because it was 104.3 degrees. We had him take another dose of Motrin and continued to check his temperature for the next hour to make sure it was coming down. He came to our room and woke Brent up about 3a.m. and told him that his bed was wet and he wanted to sleep on our floor. He must have been sweating profusely when his fever broke. When he woke up this morning he drank a little sprite (the sick persons drink of choice) and then proceeded to throw it up on my bedroom floor. Yes, the bedroom that has brand spanking new carpet. On the bright side, at least red punch is not the sick persons drink of choice, it would have been much harder to clean up. On a typical day Mason eats quite a bit if through grazing alone but today he has had almost nothing until about 9p.m. He seems to have his appetite back now and is more energetic too. I am praying it was just a 24 hour bug and that Harper does not pick it up.

Thanks for the memories!

Today is my paternal grandmother's birthday. Mamaw passed away a few years ago and was by far the hardest loss I have ever experienced. My Papaw and Mamaw were the perfect grandparents. I know that after people pass we tend to only remember the good stuff but they really were amazing. During my childhood they stepped in and took over my dad's weekend visitations when my dad was unable to be there for me and my brother. That is a story in its self. My Papaw would come pick us up every other Friday after he got off work and take us to their house for the weekend. We would always giggle to ourselves on the ride because most of it was made with the blinker on, we thought that was the funniest thing in the world. I think my greatest childhood memories are of being with them and I bet my brother feels the same. In a world of dysfunction, they were a rock. Always stable and reliable.

My Papaw passed in my later teenage years of bone cancer. It was hard to see him at the final visit in the hospital. His lung continually filled up with fluid and prohibited his breathing until the nurses came and suctioned him. They never seemed to come as fast as I expected and I remember feeling so angry at them. The funeral was a beautiful celebration of his life. Most of the eulogy was stories we grand kids told the pastor at a meeting before the service. We laughed, we cried and we were thankful to have had such a loving and caring grandfather.

My beloved Mamaw also died of cancer. Honestly, it was in so many places in her body that I am not exactly sure where it started, lungs maybe. A few months before she died I took a week of vacation and went to Louisiana to care for her. That was pre-Mason and I was still working. We went back and forth to her chemo and radiation appointments all week. It was so hard to see her like that but I treasure that week as much as any in my life. We spent a lot of time talking about the past and about the future. I knew then that Brent and I were within a year of trying to get pregnant and she was so excited for me. She always loved having babies around. I think my cousin Hope's daughter Kayla was her favorite great-grandchild, although she would have denied having a favorite. Hope now has twin boys only a month or two older than Harper, Mamaw would have been tickled about that because she was an identical twin. She adored Tyler and I know my little guys would have been just as precious to her.

In closing I just want to say with a heavy heart, Happy Birthday Mamaw. I love you and miss you. Thank you for all the memories.

More teeth!

We have had a bit of a reprieve from the teething until the last few days. I realized today that Harper has had very good reason to be fussy. He had his first one year molar break through. If I hadn't been tickling him with his head thrown back in a full out laugh, I may not have figured it out for a long time. I can't believe we have to do more of this teething... ugh!

Otherwise Harper is just the light of my world. I just melt when he smiles at me. He is growing so fast and seems to have a new skill to show off almost daily. He is getting quite good at saying mama and dada. Mama comes out a lot when he is distressed and wants me because I am his comforter. He knows that Brent is dada and calls to him when he sees or wants to go see his daddy. He said bye-bye a few days ago when I prompted him. Yesterday he picked the phone up off the floor put it to his ear and said hello. That was a proud moment because those of you who know me well know that he has obviously been paying close attention to me, I live on the phone. I think he picks up on things quick because he watches Mason too.

Mason told me today that "this baby is wearing me out", because he was helping me watch him and Harper was not happy and kept fussing. Mason is still totally in love with his little brother. They play together a lot. For the most part Mason is patient and understanding with Harper. There are times when he just wants him to go away too. I think they are destined to be best friends for life. That just makes my heart sing!

Have a safe and happy 4th of July.

I'm back!

I know, I totally stink at the frequent updating. I do happen to have a really good excuse. I have been without internet for weeks now because of the move to the new house. Since we had not sold the old house, Brent was still working over there. He finally moved his office to the new house this weekend because we close on the old one in the morning. Yea to having the computer back in the house with me!

So much has happened since I last posted that there is no way I can get caught up in one post. With that in mind I will give you a few tidbits and fill in details later.

Harper had his first birthday and is walking now. He has changed so much in the last few weeks. More later about that.

Mason is still a maniac! We just took a wonderful trip to the Tulsa Zoo on Wed. He was mesmerized by the polar bears.

We are of course in the new house now and we LOVE it. The first night was very weird and I got a little teary-eyed walking through the old house today for the last time but it's all good. Big thanks to Mike, Lori and Brendan for all the help, we couldn't have moved all of our stuff without you.

On the note of moving, my friend Reagan is now on her way to a new home in Florida. I am excited for her but sad for myself. We have had an awkward year and I think things were starting to get back to normal and then she up and moves on me. Oh well, at least she is moving to a cool place so maybe we can visit, how bout it Reags?

I hope to be more consistent with my posts. Love to all!