The Neal Newspost

Another First

2012-02-03T18:36:00.000-08:00

Last Friday was Kamden's very first spelling test!!! And guess what? He made a 100!!! We were so happy for him and he was so proud of his 100.

(my picture didn't turn out too well but if you double-click on it you might be able to see it better)

How Many?

2012-01-19T11:04:00.000-08:00

How many tools/gadgets does it take to get a pen cap out of a cast?

The answer: A LOT plus A LOT of patience!! :)

Austin came home from school with a pen cap stuck in his cast the other day. It took an hour to get that little thing out. We tried everything in the kitchen and bathroom. Finally, the plastic tweezers from the first aid kit did the trick.

Lesson learned: If you need to scratch your arm, don't use something that will come apart in the cast. :)

As I was trying to get the pen cap out, I was wondering just what kind of things the doctors and nurses have found in casts. I'm pretty sure it has been some very interesting things, to say the least.

The Grades Are In...

2012-01-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

The first nine weeks at the boys new schools are over and the boys both brought home excellent report cards!!! Kamden had all S's and Austin had straight A's!!! We are so proud of them and how well they have adjusted to their new life. For Austin, the first part of the nine weeks started out a little rocky as far as grades go. Socially, he had NO problems but I guess just going into a new teacher's classroom and figuring out how she does things is a little difficult. At one point he had a couple of C's and even a D but he brought them all up to A's!!!!

Here is his picture with his certificate from the Honor's Assembly at school.

Kamden didn't have a Honor's Assembly so there are no pictures of him this time.

Austin turns 10!!!

2012-01-13T19:32:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Austin's birthday in Louisiana. I can't believe he's in the double digits now! Next time I blink he'll be a teenager! He had a good birthday. Nonnie made him an LSU cake and he got to put the finishing touches on it.

The party guests. :) We decided not to have a party this year so we just had pizza and cake at Nonnie's house.

Since he has turned 10, he has had lots of new experiences.

The day after his birthday he went duck hunting for the first time and killed his first duck. Now he's hooked! :)

Also, while we were in LA he wrecked a four-wheeler and fractured his arm. So, now he has his first cast. :(

Best Christmas Ever

2011-12-26T18:07:00.000-08:00

According to Austin and Kamden this was the "best Christmas ever"! I would have to agree it was pretty good! On Christmas eve, we went to church for the candle lighting service. This was our first candle lighting service to ever go to and we really enjoyed it. Afterwards, we went to eat at Chili's and drove around to look at some Christmas lights. The entire time we were gone we were tracking Santa. By the time we got home, he was in Canada so the boys were anxious to get to bed before he came to the United States. :) Before bed, Heath read them "The Cajun Night Before Christmas". They loved it.

Luckily, they made it to bed before Santa got to Arkansas because he left lots of presents.

Here they are checking out all their loot from Santa.

We went to church on Christmas morning and then came home to open more presents!!

Do you think he was just a little excited over this gift? :) This is the present he wanted the MOST. A flat billed Texas Rangers hat. At one point during the Christmas season he told me "you don't have to get me anything else if you'll just get me that hat". I believe he wanted it BAD!

And here is Kamden with his MOST wanted gift, a Bop-It.

The most UNwanted gift...SOCKS!!! I have been telling them for months not to be disappointed if they get socks for Christmas because they always wear theirs outside and tear holes in them. HA!!

WWE!!!!!!!!!!

Airsoft Guns!!!

They also got I-Pods but I don't have any pictures of those because they had to go on a 'wild goose chase' to find them so I was videoing. I wrapped all their accessories separate with a note on each one of where to find the next present which eventually led to the I-Pods. They had so much fun finding all the presents.

Tomorrow we leave for Louisiana to spend some time with our families. We can hardly wait. While we are there Austin will turn 10 years old!!

Happy New Year from the Neal's!!!

Under The Weather

2011-12-24T14:21:00.000-08:00

I guess we've kept Norman too busy this Christmas season; he's feeling a little under the weather his last few days with us.

School Parties

2011-12-24T14:16:00.000-08:00

The boys last day of school was on Wednesday. They both had parties. Surprisingly, they were at different times so I was able to attend both of them.

During Austin's party they had a present wrapping relay race. Here is Austin taking his turn wrapping the box.

Branson

2011-12-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned before, we went to Branson over the weekend and had LOADS of fun! We left Friday morning from Searcy and we went to Silver Dollar City when we got there.

Here is the traditional SDC Jail picture. Just like last year, Kamden is still not too sure about the sleeping prisoner in there. :)

The Flooded Mine. You have a laser gun that you have to shoot targets as you ride through the flooded mine. This is always a competition with all the 'big' boys to see who gets the highest score. I'm not sure who won this year but here is Austin and Kamden shooting some targets.

Heath and Austin on one of those wild rides. I am so thankful Heath likes to ride those things because I just don't think I could do it.

Me & Kamden waiting on Fire In The Hole. This is their most favorite ride in SDC. I think we rode it about 6 times while we were there.

We happened to see the fire chief from the Fire In The Hole ride so the boys got to have their picture taken with him and Jazz the dalmation.

Kamden and I think the smores are the best thing about SDC. You get to roast your own marshmallows and instead of putting them on a graham cracker they are on chocolate chip cookies. YUM!!

Saturday night, Kamden and I went to the Dixie Stampede with Dustin, LaRay and Lawton.

Baking Memories

2011-12-21T16:42:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we had our family Christmas with my family in Branson. Everyone came to our house to stay a few days before we went. While they were here we baked cookies and made LOTS of memories!

This is what happens when everybody wants to be the boss! :)

Lawton had flour from head to toe!

Nonnie had loads of help!!

Hard at work.

Lovin' some sprinkles.

Kamden showing off his decorating skills!

Kamden's 1st Field Trip

2011-12-21T14:46:00.001-08:00

On Monday, Kamden had his first field trip of kindergarten. They went caroling to some of the banks around town. He was so excited; they have been practicing all their Christmas songs for weeks. The trip went well and he even brought a little souvenir home from the bus ride. Are you ready for this........a mouthpiece from the bus floor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I nearly died when he showed me that thing! It went straight to the trash and he went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands. :) He's lucky I didnt bring out the bleach! :) Needless, to say we had a lesson that afternoon on things you pick up and things you DON'T. He said he didn't put it in his mouth. I can only hope that is the truth.

Special Award

2011-12-12T08:17:00.000-08:00

Austin received the Student Of The Week award on Friday. They present the award each Friday in the cafeteria during lunch time. Obviously they do not let the parents know about the award so I wasn't there to see him get it but here is his picture after the fact.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

2011-12-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

We woke up this morning to... SNOW!!!! The kids had to go to school and it was almost all melted when they got home but it was beautiful while it lasted.

Our house

In the backyard.

This is the view from the top of the hill/mountain by our house.

This is just an old barn I passed by taking the boys to school. I thought it was pretty.

Yum-O

2011-12-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday night, Kamden and I decided to bake some cookies while Heath & Austin watched the LSU game.

Kamden had to 'sample' the Reese's peanut butter chips.

Nobody can bake cookies without licking the beaters.

So serious!

He's Back!!!!

2011-12-05T09:51:00.000-08:00

Norman! Oh how we've missed our little scout elf, Norman. He came back from the North Pole last week and this year he has been a little mischeivious with some of his 'hiding' spots. :)

He had a little fun with the toliet paper in Austin's bathroom one night.

Thankful and Blessed

2011-12-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

We were so blessed this Thanksgiving to have some of my family come and visit. We, as always, had a great time. I didn't get too many pictures of the weekend (we were too busy shopping, I guess). Here are a few of the pics I did get from Thanksgiving day.

Nanny Sharon started the day getting her exercise on the trampoline with the boys.

Kamden spent his money Maw Maw gave him on a kaleidoscope. When Nanny looked through it she saw Santa at the North Pole but for some reason Kamden couldn't see him. :)

The Turkey Basters!

Thank you Lord for such great memories of another Thanksgiving!!

Learning to Read

2011-11-04T18:18:00.000-07:00

Kamden can read!! One of my favorite things about watching the boys grow up is seeing them learn to read. The smiles on their faces when they 'get it' is absolutley priceless!! We have been working on sight words since the summer so this week I decided to pull out the ole "Dick and Jane" book. Kamden was SO excited that he 'could read' and now that is all he wants to do. I hope that attitude doesn't change but I'm sure it will. :)

Trick or Treat

2011-11-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a 'sugar-filled' day. Austin and Kamden both had parties at school. Austin didn't really want me to go to his party (imagine that!) so I went to Kamden's (at least he still loves me!) So they both came home with a bag full of candy and party favors. Last night, Heath took them trick or treating on the golf cart around the neighborhood. They had a blast and they got so much candy they had to come home to empty their baskets before they could go to the other side of the street. I stayed home and passed out candy. It was a little too chilly for me outside plus I enjoyed the peace and quiet. :)

Kamden at his school party.

My 2 favorite trick or treaters!!

Can you say CAVITIES?!?! (I better start looking for a new dentist NOW.)

Checkin' out their loot! :)

Halloween

2011-10-30T13:24:00.000-07:00

Last night we took the kids to Trunk or Treat at the church we've been visiting. They had a lot of fun and they can't wait until tomorrow night for trick or treating!

We didn't buy costumes this year. Austin wanted to be Babe Ruth which was his costume from the Penny Arcade in 3rd grade and Kamden just chose one of the MANY costumes he already had in his costume chest.

Decisions! Decisions! Kamden had a hard time trying to decide what he wanted to be. Finally he decided on the black Power Ranger and tomorrow he would be something different.

Babe Ruth tossing the rings around the bottles.

The black Power Ranger doing the bean bag toss.

Boxes!!

2011-10-28T19:34:00.000-07:00

I couldn't care less if I ever see another cardboard box in my life!! We are comletely unpacked and have everything put in it's proper place. Ahhh..such a good feeling! :) The boys are doing GREAT and loving their new schools. They have already made lots of new friends at school and in our new neighborhood.

The moving truck left with our stuff on Wednesday so we had a 'campout' in the Tulsa house Wednesday night. The boys loved it; but I quickly realized I am getting too old to sleep on the floor. Ha!

The first thing Austin & Kamden did was go for a swim.

Kamden was a big help with squishing all the packing paper down inside the boxes. He had a ball!

Who knew boxes could be SO much fun?!?! (By the time we finished unpacking, this stack of broken down boxes was taller than Heath's truck...and that wasn't all of them!)

My camera was too slow so I missed the cannonball but Heath decided he would go for a dip in the pool too!

This is what Zeke thought of all the unpakcing chaos. :)

So Long Red Sox :(

2011-10-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Sunday was Austin's last game on his baseball team. It was kind of sad. We have made such good friends on this team and Austin has learned so much. During this season, they only lost 1 game. Austin got some great hits and some great plays in the field. Each week during practice, Kamden would play outfield and help field the balls. So, one week he got to play for the first 2 innings of one game because they didn't have enough players. He played in right field and he thought he was just as big as the 9 & 10 year olds on the team. He was SO excited. Of course, I didn't have my camera that week. :( After the last game on Sunday, the team gave Austin a baseball that all his teammates signed and a team picture. They also gave Kamden a ball that all his friends (the teammate's siblings) signed. We are really going to miss everyone from the Red Sox. Hopefully we will find a good team in Searcy.

Making an out at 3rd base.

Pitching strikes!

Kamden showing me his grumpy face.

101 Mason Cove

2011-09-30T18:26:00.000-07:00

Heath and I closed on the house in AR today! I left at 7:30 this morning and we got home at 7:30 tonight. Thanks to our WONDERFUL neighbor, Jocelyn, for getting the boys to and from school. After closing, we went back by the house to check things out so I snapped a few pics.

Front entryway

Kitchen

Master bedroom

Kamden's closet was converted to an extra little toyroom and the back wall was painted with chalkboard paint. We did not know this until today so I left them a little surprise note.

Austin's room is burnt orange because they were Texas Longhorn fans but that will be changed next week.

Ahhhhh!!! This is the view from the back porch of the pool house and the pool.

Pool house

T-Shirt Smile

2011-09-23T13:11:00.001-07:00

Kids say the funniest things! Kamden has now lost ALL 4 front teeth and yesterday we where taking about how he has no teeth and he said "I know, I have a t-shirt smile." I finally figured out that he meant the hole in his mouth looks like a t-shirt. :)

Can you see the t-shirt smile?

1st Day of School

2011-09-23T12:47:00.000-07:00

I guess it's better late than never. The boys started school at the end of August and they are doing great. Austin is in 4th grade and Kamden started Kindergarten. Boo Hoo; my babies are growing up! Kamden was excited to start school and get to be there all day like Austin. He has been waiting for this all summer! Austin, on the other hand, didn't care if he went to school or not. He was fine either way. However, what he was NOT okay with was me walking him to school. (GASP...Can you believe?!?) He made sure to tell me the day before that he didn't need me to walk him to school. As a matter of fact, the morning of the first day, the second we got across the street he caught up with some of his other friends from our neighborhood and never looked back. I didn't even get to tell him bye or to have a good day. That little stinker! When I asked him that afternoon why he walked away from us so quickly he just grinned.

Too cool for pics!

Thankfully Kamden let us walk him to class. :)

Here he is playing with his friend, Brady, from Pre-K while waiting on class to start.

Where Did The Summer Go?

2011-09-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, we spent it in New Orleans, Mobile, Gulf Shores, Jena and Searcy, AR. I looked at the calendar the other day and we were gone 6 weeks of the summer! No wonder I'm exhausted!!! I also realized that I never blogged about our trip to Jena. The boys and I went in mid-July to spend a couple of weeks with our family. As always, we had a blast! While we were there, Heath called me with the news that he had been offered a job transfer to Searcy, AR. So, I left the boys in LA and went with him to Searcy to check out the town before we gave our 'answer'.

One day while we were there we went to my Uncle Randy and Aunt Dee Dee's house on Black River Lake. We went tubing and the boys LOVED it! (once they found out there were NO alligators in the lake) Austin did really good and kept wanting to faster so we had to ditch the party barge and get the ski boat out so he could 'show us his moves'. It was so much FUN and we can't wait to do it again. I'm afraid Uncle Randy and Aunt Dee Dee started something now. HA!

Just chillin' on the party barge.

Kamden and Uncle Randy in the 'fast boat'
Austin jumping waves!

Kamden doing some tricks on the tube.

No tricks for me, just plain tubing! :)

Nonnie tubed... Let's just say Austin was impressed! :)

And here is Aunt Dee Dee holding on for her dear life!!! HA!

Lawton tubed like the big boys!

Spending time with cousins is one of the BEST things about going to Jena! I wish they could se each other more often. :(

Swimming at Aunt Deb's with Mollie, Neal, Raelee and Aunt Mandee.

Lawton...I love this little man!

Old News...

2011-09-21T10:21:00.000-07:00

I'm sure most of you know this by now but...we're moving...AGAIN!!! This time to Searcy, AR. We are all excited to be back in a smaller town and to be closer to home! YAY!! We already found a house and we close on it next Friday so we hope to be moving around the first part of October.

Hmmm... I wonder if Kamden is going to be persuaded into becoming a Razorback fan? :) I seriously doubt it!

Hopefully, this weekend I can catch up on my blogging so be sure to check back soon.

Happy Birthday Kamden!

2011-07-09T17:22:00.000-07:00

Kamden turned 5 on July 5!!! He is growing up so fast. I measured him on his birthday and in just 2 months he has grown 1.25 inches! I can hardly believe he will be starting kindergarten next month. :( He (and Austin) got a trampoline for his birthday and they LOVE it! It was a complete surprise. I took them to the pool while Heath put it together so when we got home it was all ready to go.

Having a little fun!

This year Austin bought Kamden a birthday present with his very own money (and he paid the tax)! If you know Austin this is a HUGE improvement because he does NOT spend his money on anything and if he does he wants me to pay the tax. :)We were so proud of him for this. So, here he is giving Kamden his gift.

The whole family wants to be Captain America!

Snaggletooth!! He lost ANOTHER tooth about a week before his birthday. This time Austin accidently knocked it out with his elbow but it was already loose.

Texas!!!

2011-07-09T12:31:00.000-07:00

Two days after we returned from Alabama and New Orleans we left for a weekend in Dallas and Arlington. We toured the Dallas Cowboys Stadium and then we met up with some friends from Tyler and went to the Texas Ranger's game. We all had such a great time visiting and catching up with everyone. This was the first time we had seen anyone from Tyler since we moved two years ago.

During the Cowboy's Stadium tour we got to go onto the field. Here is Heath and Austin standing on the star at the 50 yard line.

Austin is trying his luck at kicking a field goal.
Heath is hiking the ball to Kamden.

This place is HUGE!!!!!
Heath in front of a 'home-grown from Jena, LA' Dallas Cowboys player, Jason Hatcher's locker. This is the actual locker room the players use during games.

Let's Go Rangers!
Best Buds!

George W. Bush was at the game! The picture is burry because I had to zoom in so much but he is in the green shirt.
All the kiddos!

Saturday we went to Six Flags.

Kamden with the Batmobile.

Saturday night we went to the Stockyards in Fort Worth. The boys got to ride the mechanical bull. Let's just say I don't think they will be taking up bull riding any time soon. :)

Last Minute Trip

2011-07-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

There just nothing like a last minute trip! Father's day weekend, Heath had to go to Mobile, AL for work so we decided to go with him and take a quick trip to the beach. We left on Friday morning and flew to New Orleans rented a car and drove to Gulf Shores. We spent 2 nights in Gulf Shores and then went to Mobile on Sunday for Heath's meetings. Tuesday we drove back to New Orleans and spent the day touring the city before flying home Tuesday night.

Playing ping-pong at The Hangout in Gulf Shores.

Monkey see-Monkey do!
Having some fun jumping waves at the beach.
My little poser!

Time for an ice cream break.

While we were in Mobile we toured the USS ALABAMA. It was really neat and interesting but it was SO HOT!!!

We also got to tour the submarine.

One night in Mobile, we ate at the Blue Gill Restaurant and we sat at a table where Elvis supposedly sat in 1959. We thought that was cool!

New Orleans!!!

On the way home Kamden thought he should read the safety manual incase something happened. :)

We are the Champions!

2011-06-10T18:46:00.000-07:00

We won the tournament! Austin pitched and he did a great job striking the batters out! He even made a double play during the game.

Celebrating the victory! Poor coach!

Austin with his trophy.

Wooooo Hooooo!!!

Family Tradition

2011-06-09T11:33:00.000-07:00

Last night was the semi-finals game for Austin's baseball tournament. We have been playing all week in the near 100 degree temps and the boys (our team) have been struggling. So, on the way to the game Heath promised Austin a $100 if he hit it to the fence or got a homerun. My first thought was 'he's crazy' but then as I thought about it I figured Austin probably wouldn't get it to the fence. First of all because the fields we are playing the tournament on are for the bigger boys therefore the fence it further back. Second of all, he hasn't hit the ball to the fence any this season. Anyway, we were down by 6 runs at the bottom of the 3rd inning so we had to get all 6 runs to tie the game. (They have a mercy-rule so each team can only get 6 runs an inning.) Austin got up to bat and slams the ball out to left field and it HIT the fence!!!!! He didn't make a homerun off of it but he did hit 2 runners in and he got a triple PLUS earned $100!!! So we got our 6 runs and tied the game. The other team scored 1 run at their bat. Going in to the bottom of the 4th inning we needed 2 runs to win the game. Our 1st batter got out at 1st base and our second batter got out stealing 2nd. We have 2 outs and NOBODY on base. Our third batter walked and the fourth batter ran to 1st base on a dropped third strike. The catcher overthrew 1st base and our runner made it all the way to third base eventually stealing home!! And we WON by 1 point! Man, it was the most exciting game of the season!

Okay, so maybe I didn't lose you on all those details but once I started typing I just couldn't stop! :) Now on to the famiy tradition: When Dustin (my brother) was playing baseball, my dad promised him a go-cart if he made a homerun. Guess What?!? He made a homerun...off a bunt!! But, he still got his go-cart! you would think after hearing this story all those years Heath would have learned from it. NOT!! As my Paw Paw Teet would always say "Bought lessons are the best!" Ha! I personally think it was money well spent!!

Tonight is the championship game and Austin is pitching. Hopefully we will bring home the trophy!

More Baseball

2011-06-08T14:18:00.001-07:00

I know, by now you are probably thinking "Does it ever end?" The answer is clearly NO! All we do around here is go to baseball practice, baseball games and now that summer is here baseball camps!!!! But I wouldn't have it any other way. I would much rather them be playing baseball than sitting in front of the TV playing video games.

Kamden had his last game a few weeks ago so here are some pictures from it.

He's about to catch a ball. Once again, look closely and you can see it coming!

Here comes a grounder!

Here's a little sliding action:

The TROPHY!!!

Austin's Baseball

2011-06-08T13:50:00.000-07:00

Austin had a really good season of baseball this spring. He played for the Red Sox again. His positions are pitcher, 3rd base and shortstop.

I believe that pitch was a BALL. Look closely and you can see the ball right above his head!

Strike!

Here are a few action shots of his pitching:

Memorial Day

2011-06-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

On Memorial Day we took the kids bowling at Broken Arrow Lanes. If you haven't ever heard of www.kidsbowlfree.com you should check it out. Bowling alleys all around the country are participating in this program and once you sign up your kids get 2 free games of bowling each day throughout the summer. All you have to pay is for the shoe rental. It is a good deal! Anyway, we had a blast and just for the record I tied Heath. He claimed he was just getting warmed up and if we had played again he could have beat me. HA!

The Pro! :)
like father like son...

It's Kamden's turn. I love these ball ramps! He got a spare one time and he kept telling us he got a 'sparrow'.

Watching and waiting!

Last day of school

2011-06-02T18:41:00.000-07:00

Friday was the boys last day of school which was also Super Kids Day (SKD). SKD is pretty much a play day. The parents volunteer and man games for the classes to come around to play. They had everything from water games to hula-hoop contests to watermelon rolling contest. They even had a dunk tank! I was in charge of the water noodle relay. Mama stayed home with Kamden for the morning and then when he went to school at 1:00 she came to help me.

Austin with his teacher, Mrs. Archer. Such a great picture...NOT! I will be so glad when he grows out of the 'pictures aren't cool' stage.

Austin trying to dunk Mrs. Archer.

Time for popsicles.

Kamden with his teacher, Mrs. Gifford.
Kamden with Mrs. Moriera, the teacher's aide.

It is SO hard to believe that we will have a 4th grader and a kindergardener next year. It really makes me want to CRY! Where has time gone?!

After school we went with some friends to Cherry Berry for frozen yogurt. The kids LOVE Cherry Berry; it is a frozen yogurt bar with every imaginable topping you could think of.

This pretty much sums up our week with Nonnie. We were sad to see her go home on Sunday and we can't wait for her to come back!!

A Visit From Nonnie

2011-06-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

Last week my mom came to visit us. She was here a whole week! We had so much fun--the days flew by!!! It was also the last week of school so we had tons of things going on around here. Tuesday we went to the school and served banana splits to Austin's class. They earned banana splits by learning their multiplication facts. For instance, if they learned the 2's they got a bowl; 3's = 1 scoop of ice cream and so on. Austin learned all of his so he got everything but he thought since he didn't want the whipped cream and cherry that he shouldn't have to learn the 8's & 9's. Umm, sorry Austin but it doesn't work like that! :)

Tuesday night was when the big tornado scare came through Tulsa. And, yes, it was quite scary for a little bit. I figured I had better take some pictures of everybody just in case we got blown away.

Here are the boys in the closet under the stairs waiting for the storm to pass. Kamden kept asking "When's the tornado gonna get here?" as though it was something he was looking forward too.

She was watching the weather on the TV and Heath was watching the weather from the garage.

Thursday we took the boys to Krispy Kreme AND Incredible Pizza for a fun day since they did so well in school this year. Austin only had 2 B's on his report card for the entire year! We played skee ball, Putt-Putt golf, rode bumper cars, rode go carts and played tons of games!

On top of doing all this we also scrapbooked, made a purse, recovered my kitchen chairs, started a wreath and, of course, SHOPPED! We were BUSY, BUSY!!!

Penny Arcade

2011-05-20T19:02:00.000-07:00

The third grade at Austin's school had a penny arcade. It is actually nothing like it sounds. Each student had to 'become' a historical figure. They had to dress like the person they chose and when a penny was dropped into their cup they 'came to life' and gave a speech about their character. Austin was Babe Ruth. He did a really good job and he learned a lot about him.

...just waiting for a penny to be dropped in...

Giving his speech

Austin and his friend, Brayden. He was Yogi Berra another NY Yankees player. Their costumes were authentic OLD flannel ball suits worn in the early 1950s. A lady sold them to us for $10 a set and we had them monogrammed for the NY Yankees. They were some of the best-dressed guys at the penny arcade!

Oh Happy Day!!

2011-05-20T18:52:00.000-07:00

Graduation!!!!! Heath graduated a few weeks ago and as usual, I am behind on my blog. We had a busy weekend but we had fun. Nonnie, Paw Paw, Maw Maw Rat, Grammy and Paw Paw James came for the graduation. I didn't take many pictures (we were too busy shopping!) but here are a few from graduation.

Grammy is about to put Kamden to sleep by rubbing his head. :)

Woo Hoo!!!!!!!

Home Improvements

2011-05-03T11:29:00.000-07:00

Many months ago Austin decided he wanted to change his room and it was due time for a change. He has had the same bedding set for 6 years. So he decided he wanted a New Orleans Saints room. He loves it! It looks a little bare because of the way I took the picture but he does actually have more than a bed in his room. :) Here is the new look:

After many hours of manual labor, over a thousand pounds of soil, manure & mulch plus a wanna-be pet frog we are finally finished with our landscaping project. I wish now that I had taken a before picture but I didn't. So here is the after shot:

Up close & personal

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T15:30:00.000-07:00

Our Easter weekend was really quiet. The kids had school on Friday and Heath was off work so we worked in the yard putting stone around our flower beds. It has been raining off and on here for days so we haven't got a chance to plant our flowers but I'll post pictures soon. However, Saturday morning we had a little visitor (well, actually he was quite BIG) try to make a new home on our stone.

Heath put him in a bucket and he and Kamden took him to the creek to set him free. Heath put the bucket on the console of his truck between him and Kamden and on the way to the creek the frog raised up and peeked over the side at Kamden. Heath said Kamden went CRAZY and nearly jumped out of the truck. LOL! I'm surprised he didn't have nightmares about that thing!

Friday night we dyed our eggs. The boys did a really good job this year.

Austin even had a LSU egg (Go figure!)

Kamden had a camouflage egg. He wanted most of his written on but when I asked him what he wanted me to write he gave me a story to write. Next year I'll have to buy emu eggs, I guess! :)

The Easter bunny came for a visit!

Batter Up!!!

2011-04-15T12:36:00.000-07:00

Baseball season has begun!!! Austin and Kamden are both playing ball this spring and it is keeping me hopping! Last week we had 6 games within 5 days. Kamden had his first game last week. He, of course, loved it! He told me after he got dressed that he "looks like a 9 year old like Austin." He is so funny because he wants so badly to be as big as Austin. This year Austin is playing kid-pitch and the majority of the time he gets walked to 1st base. So, Kamden told me before one of his games that "this time he was just going to walk to 1st base like Austin does". I had to try and explain to him that he doesn't get to walk to base in T-Ball. He plays really good. He has hit the ball almost to the fence several times (it was about 5 feet from it). One game he played catcher and 2nd base and he got 4 people out.

Batter, Batter, Swing!!!

Running to 1st base
Sliding into home is a MUST!!!
Showin' out a little bit while waiting on the ball! :)
My lil' catcher--He loves this position!

I haven't taken my camera to one of Austin's games yet so his pictures will come later. I did snap a quick one of the two of them one afternoon before their games.

Happy 50th Birthday Mom!!!!

2011-04-02T09:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday is my mom's 50th birthday!!!While we were in Jena for spring break we had a surprise party for her. Since it was three weeks before her actual birthday she was not at all expecting it. She loves the Wizard of Oz so that was our theme for the party. We all had a great time!

"Follow the yellow brick road to 50!"

More decorations! The tree on the left has ruby red lip gloss slippers hanging on it.

...waiting on the guest of honor.

She's here!!!! (look at that finger, HA!)

'Dorothy' getting her bow, slippers and basket with ToTo.

Follow the yellow brick road!

I think Lawton wanted Nonnie's ruby red slippers.

Ella Grace slept through the party. :)

Time for gifts!

It's PEEPS...

...and a KINDLE!!! Can it get any better?

Spring Break in Louisiana-Part 2

2011-03-30T19:03:00.000-07:00

I had soooo many pictures I decided to do 2 posts.

On Thursday, we spent the day at Paw Paw and Maw Maw's camp at Little Creek. Austin and Kamden spent the whole day playing with 8 of their cousins. They even got to play in the creek like we used to do when we were kids! However, it was kind of sad being down there without Paw Paw Teet. He always loved spending the day down there and letting all the grandkids run around playing. I sure miss that man!!

Playing in the creek!

Thursday evening we went to Paw Paw James and Grammy's house. The boys always love to go out there and play. Here is Paw Paw James pushing Kamden on the swing.

Friday was our last day. That evening we went to Beau's birthday party. Here is a picture of the cool birthday dude!
This was Kamden's first time on skates and he actually did pretty good! On the way to the party he told me 'he could do it all by myself. I don't need any help' but he quickly changed his mind after he put the skates on and tried to stand up.

As you can see, we had a very busy week but we wouldn't have it any other way. The boys really look forward to our trips to Louisiana and Heath & I enjoy them too especially seeing our kids doing all the things we used to do as kids growing up in a small town and close to all your family.

Spring Break in Louisiana-Part 1

2011-03-30T17:00:00.000-07:00

We had a great spring break in Louisiana! We did SO much--I think I'll just let the pictures tell the story. :)

When we got there Friday nght we had a crawfish boil!!! YUM!!!

Since we were going to miss Lawton's birthday party, we gave him his present early. He LOVES Mickey Mouse!

Kamden playing with Nonnie's new puppies. By the way, they are for sale if you want one. :)

On Saturday, we went to Jonesville and watched Malcolm & Zac rope. The boys found a 'lucky' rusted horseshoe that Kamden insisted on bringing home with us.

We went camping at Caney Lake for a few days. Austin fished the whole time. He caught 10 fish.

Here's how Kamden spent his time camping...eating and playing.

One afternoon, Kamden fell asleep on the fishing pier while we were watching Austin fish.

Basketball

2011-03-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

Austin had his last basketball game this week. He played Upwards at the church with several of his teammates from baseball. They played really hard and good. Austin scored points at each game and at one game he scored 10 points!! Some games I wondered if we were playing football or basketball because they were so aggressive!

Austin is on the right in the maroon jersey. He's going for a shot...
...and he makes it!!!

Time for a little one-on-one!

Honesty

2011-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

On one Friday of each month they have a Rise & Shine Assembly at school where they present an award to 1 or 2 students of each class. This award is a character award depending on which character they are working on that particular month. Austin won the award this month for honesty! Their teachers don't tell them when they are receiving the awards so it is a surprise for them. However, if you know Austin, he doesn't show excitement over much and he definitely doesn't like to be in front of people so he didn't look too thrilled when he was presented with his award but deep down I think he was really happy. Oh well, even if he was too thrilled about it his momma was! :)

Accepting his certificate from his teacher

You would think it would kill him to smile for the camera!

The Belated Birthday Party

2011-02-13T11:09:00.000-08:00

Friday night we had Austin's belated birthday party. He wanted to have a sleepover. We began the night with 9 boys but somehow during the scavenger hunt, Heath's team came back with an extra kid! (That was not on his scavenger hunt list!) But, it didn't matter so we called and invited 2 more to join us. All but 2 spent the night. So, at one time during the night we had 13 boys here. It was wild!! They played air hockey, cops and robbers, rock band on the wii and every thing else they could think of. They went to bed at 2:00 and was up by 7:00 Saturday morning. Yes, we were TIRED but we had fun!!!

Eating pizza

Scavenger hunt fun!

Searching for a 2001 penny

Did you really expect any other kind of cake? :)

Our first attempt at bedtime. We looked like an orphange with all the kids lined in a row.

Unbelievable

2011-02-05T17:06:00.000-08:00

Today we ventured out but only because Heath insisted that we needed to get out of the house since we had been in all week. I don't think he realized what he was getting into. Since we are expecting more snow tomorrow and again next week everybody was out and about today. We went to Wal-mart to try and stock back up but that was a hopeless case. Here is a look at the meat dept. and the freezer section:

They were out of milk, eggs, meat and bread just to name a few. Once we did find the few things we needed that they did have the checkout lines were horrible. They had almost all the registers open and each line had about 5 or 6 people in it. I have never seen anything like this in my life. It is NUTS around here! Needless to say, I WON'T be leaving again.

Snowed In...Day 4!

2011-02-04T09:39:00.000-08:00

Today we are going on day 4 of being snowed in and it is snowing again!!! It has been snowing big flakes for about 2 hours. Heath went back to work yesterday. And boy was he glad! :)It looks like I'll be shoveling the driveway again just so he can get back home this evening. But, the boys and I are having fun. I have potato soup in the crockpot and we've played with play-doh, made perler bead creations, done valentine cards and played the wii and it's not even 1:00 yet! Snow days are good memory making days!

It's snowing...AGAIN!

The case of play-doh Santa brought is being put to good use...

...even if it is rainbow colored now!

Making Valentine bead creations

Yesterday this was a nicely shoveled path to our garage... not anymore!! And yes, it is taken from the upstairs window because it is 17 degrees but that is warm compared to the single digits we've been having.

Snow, Snow and More Snow

2011-02-02T18:34:00.000-08:00

Monday night and Tuesday we had a blizzard that brought record amounts of snow to Tulsa. It started with rain/sleet and quickly turned to a blizzard. We ended up with 15 inches of snow!!! However, the wind was blowing SO badly on Tuesday as it was snowing and we have some drifts in our backyard that are waist high. School has been canceled for the rest of the week and even our basketball game on Saturday has been canceled.

This is taken from our front door.

One of the snow drifts in our backyard. It was taller than Kamden!

Here is Austin attempting to shovel with his redneck snow shovel (aka garden shovel). Thankfully one of our neighbors let us borrow a real one.

And here is Heath beginning the LONG process of shoveling part of our driveway. Here the snow was up to his knees. It took him hours to get a path for his truck to get out. He is hoping he gets to go back to work tomorrow. He doesn't do too well being confined to the house for days. Now me, on the other hand, I could stay here for a month and it wouldn't bother me a bit.
Look at all the piles of snow we've been shoveling!

Cowboy Kamden riding Max the snow bull!

'Max' doubles as a snow slide also. :)

I have NEVER seen this much snow in my life!!! I have to say, it has been fun! I'm sure I'll have more pictures since it will probably be months before these massive piles of snow melt.

Smart Boys

2011-01-27T11:25:00.001-08:00

With all the excitement of our snow days, I forgot all about the boys report cards. Austin made all A's and Kamden had all S's. They both had a lot of good comments written on them from their teachers. We are SO proud of them!

Snow Days

2011-01-21T17:53:00.000-08:00

This week was a short week at school. Between MLK day, stomach virus and 2 snow days the boys weren't at school much this week. But, I have to say we didn't mind at all! Wednesday night we got a couple of inches of snow with some ice so they closed school. Thursday afternoon we did a little 'redneck sledding'. I tied the snow tube to the back of the golf cart and pulled the boys and some neighbors kids around the block. The kids had so much fun they were hoping for another snow day on Friday so we could do it some more. And they got it! So Friday, we sledded some more until our tube got a small hole in it and now it is flat. :( After sledding we built our snowman and I put some diluted food coloring in spray bottles and let them paint the snow. As you can tell, snow days are hard work but they sure are FUN!!

Kamden
Austin
Our snowman (He's a Saint's fan-Imagine that!)
Tasting the snow

Painting the snow

Here is Austin's blue snow angel. If you look to the left you'll see Kamden's green volcano.

Louisiana

2011-01-20T09:34:00.000-08:00

Since the kids were out of school on MLK day we decided to go to Jena for the long weekend. My family was having a hog roast so we thought we would make a surprise visit. The only people that knew we were coming was my dad and my brothers. We left Tulsa at noon on Friday and got to Jena about 9:30. It was a short stay since we had to leave on Monday morning but as usual we had a great time. I have a ton of pictures but I couldn't decide which ones to leave out. Sorry!

Kamden taking Uncle Marty, Aunt Carol & Somer on a ride in the Razor.

Lawton & Kamden had a blast hiding in Nonnie's closet.

My favorite picture of Avery.

The football game. Hmmm... I wonder how Uncle Marty felt the next day!

Lawton
Madelyn
Scottlyn
Waiting on time to eat.

It's supper time! YUM!!!

Sunday dinner at Maw Maw Rat's
Lawton was watching TV with Austin.
The boys were showing Paw Paw James how to work to I-pod.

Having a lil' snack before the Amtrak game.
Lawton's favorite place.
Mr. Carter came to visit us.

Snow Fun!

2011-01-19T09:11:00.000-08:00

Last week we got our first snow. We were a little disappointed because it was NOTHING compared to last year's blizzard but we took what we could get. However tonight and tomorrow we are forecasted to get up to 4 inches. We are keeping our fingers crossed! The boys had fun and this year we are better prepared for snow. Last year, the boys didn't have snow boots or rubber boots that fit so we wrapped Wal-mart bags around their tennis shoes so they would be water-proof. Talk about red-neck snow boots! So this year they both have snow boots and snow pants that fit!

Kamden waited for hours for the slide to get covered in snow.

Zeke liked the snow too!

Snow Angels!

Catching snowflakes

A Surprise in the Mail

2011-01-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

Austin got a nice surprise in the mail on Saturday. In November I mailed a letter to Drew Brees telling him how much Austin liked him and I sent a copy of his Halloween picture in his Drew Brees 'costume' and a copy of the biography Austin wrote on him last year in 2nd grade. He had no idea I had done this. On Saturday I checked the mail and Austin had a package from the Saints. He was watching the Saint's playoff game against the Seahawks so I waited until half-time to give it to him. They sent him an 8x10 picture of Drew Brees with a gold imprinted autograph and a Drew Brees football card with and imprinted autograph on it. Needless to say, he was SO excited!!

He is showing off his picture. Sorry about the crazy face. He does not take good pictures; he blinks EVERY time. Sometimes I have to take 5 or 6 pictures before I get one with his eyes open.

Kamden's Feet

2011-01-10T17:55:00.000-08:00

Last night Kamden came downstairs after watching a movie and told me his 'feet were fizzing'. I thought for a second and then I figured out that his feet were asleep. So I told him his feet were asleep and he would have to wake them up so then he started yelling at them. HA!HA! Isn't it funny the way kids describe things? :)

Austin turns NINE!!!!!

2011-01-07T18:48:00.000-08:00

I know this is a little late but Austin's birthday was December 28th. We haven't had his party yet but we took him on his actual birthday to Academy to buy a new bike and then we went to Red Robin for lunch. He opened some of his gifts before we left and 'saved' some for after we got back.

He woke to a room full of balloons!

Kamden helping him read his card.

Opening some presents.

Make a wish and BLOW!!!

"I'm NINE!"

Christmas

2010-12-30T20:12:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of our Christmas pictures. Hope you enjoy.

YIKES! What was Santa thinking?!?!
This is what Zeke thought about all the excitement!
SNUGGIES!!!!!
Austin with his new football card binder I made.
Kamden sportin' his new pj's, shirt & hat from Maw Maw Sue!
"Wonder what's in this box from Grammy?"
We woke up Christmas Eve and found Norman eating our gingerbread house! Ha!
Here the boys are playing with their new remote control 4-wheelers that Paw-Paw Rusty bought them.
Uncle Dustin bought the boys this deer so they would have a target for their new high-powered Nerf guns that Uncle Malcolm bought them. So... this is where I found the deer one morning!
Getting ready to rip some paper!

Silver Dollar City

2010-12-24T11:12:00.000-08:00

After pictures on Friday we went to Silver Dollar City. The boys were so excited- This was the most anticipated part of the trip for them!! They couldn't wait to get there and ride the rides. The Fire In The Hole is their all-time favorite ride. I have some really great memories of my Paw Paw Teet at SDC. Branson was his favorite place to go so every year our whole family would load up in the big brown van and take off to Branson for a vacation. Of course, while we were there we would go to SDC and spent at least 1 or 2 days. His favorite things were going to the SDC Jail, to Grandfather's Mansion and riding Fire In The Hole. Oh, how I miss those days. Anyway, we had a really good time and we stayed until the lighting of the Christmas tree and the parade that night.

This is our picture they took when we first got to SDC.

My lil' family.

The infamous jail. (Kamden was scared to go in.)

Kamden getting a foot massage.
Tell me again; Does this bridge have a weight limit? :)
Lawton likes to rub his Paw Paw's bald head.
Now that is one BIG cookie!!!
Nonnie, Austin, LaRay and Kamden rode the swings.

Awww...Dustin wanted to ride the frog ride with Lawton and Kamden. :)
So...Heath and Malcolm had to ride the butterflies. We weren't sure if they were going to fit but they made it. (I guess you're only as young as you feel!)
Waiting on the parade

It's parade time!

The SDC Christmas Tree

Family Pictures

2010-12-23T13:07:00.000-08:00

On Friday morning we had a family photo shoot with a photographer at College of the Ozarks. Let me tell you, the men were SO excited about this...NOT!!!! But, they cooperated and our pictures turned out great. Of course they are on a protected website so I can't post any on here. :( The campus at C of O is a very neat place. The students pay little or no tuition but they work for it by farming and doing other things like that. After our pictures we went to the museum on the campus. It was huge and it was a really neat place.

They are looking at the circus.

Checking out the old car.

"You can take a ride on my old, red tractor." :)

Following in Uncle Malcolm's footsteps...YIKES!

Austin wanted to see if he would bite!
Posing with the bears
Isn't he cute?!?!

Hollywood Wax Museum

2010-12-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

On Thursday night, we went to the wax museum while we were waiting on Heath and Daddy to get to Branson. It was so much fun posing with the different movie stars. We had a ball except for Kamden- he was scared of them!

OH NO! King Kong has caught Austin!!!!

"Life is like a box of chocolates."

Austin Powers AND Austin Neal
Mom with her all-time favorite movie characters!

Watch out Penguin, he's one tough kid!
Austin with Batman
Charlie's Angels
Malcolm with his buddy Willie
I'll bet she's thinking she's gonna need a lot of this to make it through the weekend! :)

LaRay got remarried while we were there!

Christmas at Branson

2010-12-21T12:14:00.001-08:00

For Christmas this year Momma & Daddy wanted to take our whole family to Branson rather than buying gifts. So everybody came to Tulsa on Wednesday night and we left on Thursday for Branson. We had loads of fun and made tons of great memories! We went to the Hollywood Wax Museum, Silver Dollar City, Dixie Stampede, Titanic and of course shopping! Here are some of our pictures. I'll post more later since I have so many.

We stayed in Thousand Hills Cabins. They were very nice!

It's time for breakfast!

Something good must have been on TV
FUN TIMES!!!

More cabin pictures
Malcolm being.....Malcolm!
Austin being... Malcolm!

"Here Kamden you can play with Mickey."
Lawton & Austin playing with the noise putty.
Reading the Magic 8 ball.
Lawton eating his Shrek donuts.
Austin got to pet Molly and Carter, the Titanic Mascots.
Kamden wanted his picture taken by the cars at the Uptown Cafe.
YUM! YUM! There's not much better than a chocolate milkshake!!

Our Gingerbread House

2010-12-15T21:02:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we decorated our gingerbread house. I let the boys each decorate a side and it turned out that Austin got the front of the house and Kamden got the back. If I had only known that Austin would get bored and quit I would have given Kamden the front SO the back of our house looks better than the front. But, we had fun I guess that's all that really matters.

Working together.

This is right before Austin quit.

Kamden showing off his side!

This is Austin's side minus the tree and the santa.

And now for the best part...eating the leftover candy!!!

He's Back!!!!

2010-12-12T15:07:00.000-08:00

Norman, our elf on the shelf, or in this case our elf on the chandelier has made his debut again this Christmas. He has been moving all around the house watching VERY closely to see if we have any good little boys. I guess we will know on Christmas morning if the reports he gave to Santa each night were good or bad!

Call Me

2010-12-11T07:06:00.000-08:00

We finally (after 2 years) have a new message on our answering machine. Austin has been wanting his deleted so Kamden did one this time. It is cute! We are going to Branson next weekend so you need to call while we're gone and hear our new message!

Christmas Party at the Aquarium

2010-12-10T18:42:00.000-08:00

Last week, we went to the Oklahoma Aquarium here in Tulsa for H&P's Christmas Party. Every year it is so much fun for the kids (and adults). They had tables set up all throughout the aquarium so you could choose which tank you wanted to eat by. Austin & Kamden choose for us to eat by the starfish. After eating, we toured the aquarium and got to visit with Santa.

Kamden touching the starfish

Checking out the stingrays
Austin touching a stingray!

The nurse shark is about to attack Austin!!!!

The nurse shark...up close and personal

Watching Nemo...Can you find him?

the beaver
Kamden posing with the turtles
Isn't this the UGLIEST thing you've ever seen?!?! I don't remember what he is but he can get up to 5 feet long!
Austin touching the shrimp
I just thought these turned out pretty good so I had to share!

"Yes Santa, we've been good."

Crazy Boys!

Give Thanks!

2010-12-04T13:07:00.000-08:00

For Thanksgiving this year Mom, Dad, Maw Maw and Aunt Glenda came to visit. As always, we had a good time. On Wednesday night, me, Mom and Aunt Glenda went to see WICKED. It was great! Heath & I saw it several years ago in NYC and I believe it was just as good here in Tulsa.

Aunt Glenda sportin' her Emerald glasses she bought.

Thursday was a good day. After we ate lunch, the women (plus Kamden) went shopping while the men watched the Saints beat the Cowboys! We shopped a while, came home to eat leftovers and left again at 9:30 and shopped ALL NIGHT!!! We got home at 4:30 a.m. and left again Friday morning about 11:00 for more SHOPPING! And yes; my 77 year old grandma made every step (or more) that we made. :) That woman LOVES to shop! :)

Heath basting the turkey. YUM!!

"She's making her list..and checking it twice."

"Is it time to eat yet?"

Austin and Kamden pulling the wishbone-I don't think they ever broke it.

Posing for some pictures.

My mom, the caroler! HA! She and Kamden were playing around with camera and he took this one of her. He LOVES it; we got him a copy of it and he moves it somewhere different in the house each day. She is going to die when she sees it on here. :)

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-11-02T12:05:00.000-07:00

The boys had a blast trick or treating. We walked around in our neighborhood and they got loads of candy!

Drew Brees with his game face on!

Buzz Lightyear on his way "To infinity and beyond"!

I rarely get a smile from him! Actually I'm just happy to get a picture. :)

Kamden showing his 'grumpy' face.

I was informed that this was probably his last year to dress up because next year he would be too old!!!

"Is anybody home?"

Shopping, Hunting & Food

2010-10-25T07:57:00.000-07:00

Our weekend consisted of eating, shopping, hunting and more eating. Paw Paw, Nonnie, Malcolm, Uncle John and Aunt Deb came to visit this weekend. Everyone came on Thursday and Heath smoked ribs for dinner Thursday night. Friday morning we had breakfast at the Broken Egg and then Heath gave everyone a tour of Tulsa. Saturday, while all the men hunted, the women went shopping (in the rain). Nonnie brought candy apples so after shopping we came home and made those. YUM!!!

I think they are going to apply for a job at the fair next time it comes to town!

Aunt Deb and Kamden playing Toy Story dominoes.

The 3 Stooges

Uncle John trying out Guitar Hero

The Hunters plus Kamden! Heath took some pictures during the hunt but they were all of their backs so I didn't post those.

TIme For Pumpkin Carving!

2010-10-19T07:27:00.000-07:00

This weekend we carved our pumpkins. This year Heath decided to let Austin and Kamden each have their own pumpkin. So on Saturday the boys and I picked out the pumpkins while we were at Wal-mart. After much searching, we finally found the 'perfect' patterns. Kamden picked a spider and Austin picked Frankenstein. Here are some (actually a lot) of pictures:

Austin's giving Kamden some help.

Eeeewwwww!!!

"How much more is left?!?"

Just goofing off! Kamden said "Did you REALLY eat that?"

Talkin' it over

Diligently working

The finished products!!!

You Can Take A Ride...

2010-10-15T11:33:00.001-07:00

...On My Big Green Tractor!

The boys(mostly Kamden) love that song and Saturday night Heath and I took them to the Tulsa Corn Maize and this tractor was sitting by the ticket booth. So, of course, I couldn't pass up the the photo opportunity. Here are some more that could have been really cute if I could have gotten a few smiles and some cooperation!

Anyway, once we got in the boys had a good time. We went through the corn maize twice. The first time we stuck to the 'beaten' path and found our way out quickly but the second time we ventured out a little more and we walked in circles for a while. I found out that corn maizes aren't good for claustrophobic people! Heath talked Austin into going on the haunted one with him. Needless to say, he (Austin) slept in our bedroom Saturday night! The boys also rode the 'Cow Train' and had rubber ducky races. This was a really neat place and we can't wait to back next year.

Hmmmm...Which way do we go?
The Cow Train
Rubber Ducky Races

Pumpkin Town

2010-10-12T10:07:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning Kamden and I met some of his classmates and their moms at Pumpkin Town. It is here in Tulsa and they had lots of things for the little ones to do. They had inflatable slides, pony rides (which I couldn't get him to do) and many other play areas for the kids. Kamden and his friends had so much fun running around.

Kamden & his buddies

Standing on the pumpkin!

The Hay Jump (It doesn't take much to entertain kids)

Me and my little man!

Another Fun Weekend

2010-10-05T11:11:00.000-07:00

Heath planned a hunting trip for last weekend so we had some of his family come for a visit. We had a great time and it was good to get to visit with everyone. They got here on Friday evening shortly after the boys got home from school. While the men were gone to buy their shells for the hunt, the boys played outside with Grammy and Emmalee.

Grammy got to entertain Kamden!

Austin talked Emmalee into playing football with him.

Emmalee and Will are such great cousins; they did everything the boys asked them to.

Here is Will throwing the football with Austin.

Saturday, the men went went on a guided pheasant and chucker hunt. I've never even heard of a chucker so I'm not sure I spelled it right but it is some kind of bird. They had a blast and they killed 27!

Ready for the hunt!

The Mighty Hunters with half their kill!

Here they are with all of them!

Saturday night we ate burgers at Red Robin and then went to Marble Slab for ice cream. YUM!

Heath insisted on taking our picture in front of Red Robin!

Think Pink

2010-10-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ran the Susan G. Komen 5K with some friends from our neighborhood. We had a great time even though there were over 10,000 runners! it was a little crowded but it was fun. My time was 31:10. We are looking forward to our next race at the end of October.

Jocelyn, Me & Arica

We Speak Letters

2010-09-27T17:44:00.000-07:00

Last week we had a worker come by to repair something at the house. Of course, the guy could barely speak English and I had to have him repeat everything at least twice. When he left Kamden said "Momma, he was speaking English." I tried to explain to him that he spoke Spanish and we speak English but he said "No, we speak letters not English!" :)

Future MLB Pitcher?!

2010-09-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Austin has started fall baseball and he is doing so good! Fall ball only last 4 weeks with the boys playing double headers each week. We changed teams this season and all the boys are from our neighborhood or the one next to us so Austin knew almost all of them. And best of all, they practice in the baseball field in our subdivision! Yay, no more driving for 30 minutes for practice!!! Anyway, this season he moved up to kid-pitch and all I had heard was how he wanted to be a pitcher so at the first practice the coach asked him to be one of the teams pitchers! He was EXCITED! At their first game a couple of weeks ago he got to start the game pitching. He pitched for 2 innings and he pitched 4 strikeouts! We were so glad Nonnie and Maw Maw Rat were here to see the games. It made his day to have them come watch him play. Last Sunday, he got to start the game pitching again and this time he pitched a no-hitter the first inning and he pitched 2 strikeouts in the second inning! He did such an awesome job that after the game the other team's coach came over to congratulate him! We are SO proud of him!! We only have 2 more weeks of games but the good thing is that he will get to stay with this team for the spring season. GO RED SOX!

Tagging a runner out at home

STRIKE!
Waiting to steal 2nd

Baking Cookies

2010-09-21T12:09:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago, momma and maw maw came to visit us. While they were here, one night we baked cookies. We all had so much fun; it kind of turned into a contest to see whose cookie looked the best!

The best part about baking cookies is licking the spoon!

Kamden is getting a little help from Nonnie

Just look at those sweet little hands!

She looks like she's done this a time or 2; don't you think? :)

Showing off their creations!

The finished products!

We took this picture on Sunday before church.

No Training Wheels...Already!

2010-08-30T12:37:00.000-07:00

Last week we had some days of nice, cool weather and I got motivated to do some cleaning out. In the process, I pulled Austin's old bike out of the attic for Kamden because he is getting too big for his little Spiderman one. The only problem was that this bike didn't have training wheels on it so over the weekend we planned to buy some for it. Kamden had other plans~ he DID NOT want training wheels! So we decided to see what he could do without them. Much to our surprise, he didn't have a bit of trouble. It took about 20 minutes and he was riding around the block WITHOUT training wheels at 4 years old!!! We couldn't believe it!

He was so excited! I had to keep reminding him 'don't look at the camera'.

(You see who did all the work and who got to take pictures.)

School days

2010-08-20T11:25:00.000-07:00

School started last week. Both boys have good teachers and they are enjoying school. Austin is in 3rd grade, which is hard to believe. This will be his last year at this school. I only have 1 picture because you know 3rd graders are too cool to have their moms take pictures of them in their class! I asked him if I could give him a hug and kiss when I dropped him off. Of course, his answer was "NO!!!" :)

This has nothing to do with school but he is playing fall baseball and he got on an already established team with some boys in our neighborhood. He moves up to kid-pitch this year and all I have heard is that he wants to be a pitcher. Well, he had his first practice with the team on Friday night and he made a homerun and played really good. So after practice the coach asked him to be one of the teams pitchers. He was SO excited! Now we have pitching practice on Monday nights and regular practice on Friday nights plus church on Wednesdays. Everything has started up again and life is crazy! Not to mention Heath is at school every night so I am doing it all alone. But, he's supposed to finish in May so it's almost over!

Kamden is in half day Pre-K at the same school as Austin. They split the Pre-K into morning and afternoon classes. He goes in the afternoon from 1:00-3:40. He loves it. The only time he cried was the morning of the first day because he couldn't stay when we dropped Austin off. All this week he has asked in the mornings "What o'clock is it?" or he'll tell me "it's 1:00, we're going to be late!"

He's trying out his new shoes to see how fast he can run.

Going to class

In his classroom

The school is across the street from our subdivision so we can walk to school. We have a crossing guard that stops the traffic for us to cross the street. But this year the district gave us a bus just for our subdivision. Only the kids in the elementary school that live in our neighborhood get to ride it which is a good thing because I know how much kids 'learn' on the bus with older kids. So, the boys have been riding the bus and they like it. This is the 1st time Austin has ever rode the bus. He's a good big brother and takes care of Kamden. The 1st time they rode it he sat with Kamden and his friend, Logan. The next day Kamden told me he didn't want Austin to sit with him and Logan. I guess he's too big for his brother to sit by him.

Walt Disney World - Part 6

2010-08-13T12:02:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we went to another resort, the Grand Floridian, to have breakfast with Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Mad Hatter, Pooh & Tigger.

After breakfast we rode the monorail to Epcot.

This was our 2nd day at Epcot so we rode some of our favorite rides again and then we visited the different countries at the World Showcase.

Canada
Japan

Austin's picture of the duck

Look closely at this picture - The sword is in Austin's ear. :)

On Sunday, our last day, we went back to Magic Kingdom. We spent the day watching some shows and riding rides.

Kamden with the Sword in the Stone
Austin with the Sword in the Stone

This is one of the shows we watched called "Dream Along with Mickey"

Kamden had the best seat for the show.

Austin with his new Pluto hat waiting on the day parade.

We left early to go swim but as soon as we got to the pool it came a thunderstorm. It lasted for about 3 hours but thankfully it stopped just in time for us to go back to Magic Kingdom for the night time electrical parade and fireworks.

Tinkerbell

Alice in Wonderland

Cinderella

Well. that was the end of our vacation. School started this week so check back after the weekend and I'll have the boys 1st day of school pictures posted.

Walt Disney World - Part 5

2010-08-10T19:54:00.000-07:00

Friday was our first day at Magic Kingdom. I love Magic kingdom; it is my favorite!

Waiting on the park to open

Before the park opens, the characters ride up on the train and do a little pre-show.

Each morning a jet wrote JESUS in the sky. It was really neat.

Kamden & I got to see Chip & Dale while Heath & Austin were riding a roller coaster.

Then we rode Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. On this ride you shoot targets with a laser gun. Kamden's score was higher than Austin's. Of course, Austin did NOT like that one bit so he claimed he didn't like that ride. :)

Cinderella's Castle

We visited Mickey & Minnie's houses in Toontown Fair.

Minnie's back porch
Pluto's doghouse in Mickey's backyard

For lunch, we ate at the Crystal Palace with Pooh, Piglet, Tigger & Eeyore.

Tigger is stealing Kamden's kisses
Tigger was hungry

Austin giving Pooh a hug. How sweet!
I love this picture!

We left the park early so the boys could take a break and swim.

Walt Disney World - Part 4

2010-08-09T20:39:00.000-07:00

We went to Epcot on Thursday; it was one of our favorites. The kids enjoyed so many things in this park.

This is not the best picture but it's the only one I have of us in front of the 'big golf ball' as the kids called it.

Austin got to make and play his own video game. That was really neat.

Creating the game

Look closely...it's Austin!

We watched a comedy show called "What's Your Problem?" It was about how velcro can fix anything. Heath, Austin and Kamden got to star in the show. The kids in the audience were divided into teams to see who could stack the most velcro blocks up. Kamden's team won!

The race is on!

The funniest thing was that Heath got chosen for a "bringing up babies" game. The object was to get as many babies off the conveyor belt, diaper them, put a bottle in their mouth and stick them to his purple apron.

"Hmmm, I'm not too sure about this."

The host was asking him if he had ever changed a diaper before; obviously he was struggling :)

But he won with 5 babies!

Here the boys were playing a video game of the future.

Thursday evening we ate dinner at the Garden Grill with Pluto, Farmer Mickey and Chip and Dale. This restaurant spins very slowly while you eat. You get to see many different scenes including some where they grow their own food for the park.

Kamden wasn't too sure of Pluto at first.

Farmer Mickey
Dale (FYI, he has a red nose; Chip has a black nose)Chip
I think Chip was saying 'OOPS' because he was writing with the wrong end of the pen.

Of course, Kamden got a birthday dessert and a card here too. He just wanted to blow out the candle and then he gave it to Austin. We told him once we got home his birthday was over because we had been celebrating for a month. He didn't like that idea too much! :)

Kamden sporting his new pirate bandana

That night we watched the laser light/firework show over the World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot. It was really pretty.

Cool dudes waiting on the show to begin.

Walt Disney World - Part 3

2010-08-07T19:38:00.000-07:00

We spent Wednesday at Animal Kingdom.

Wednesday morning we had our 1st character breakfast. This one was Donald's Safari Breakfast. Donald, Daisy, Mickey and Goofy were there.

Kamden was wearing his birthday button and he got a cupcake with a candle and a birthday card signed by the characters at that breakfast.

After breakfast we took a safari ride in a jeep. We saw rhinos, lions, giraffes, hippos, elephants and many more animals.

While Heath and Austin rode some roller coasters Kamden and I went to some rides that he could ride. BUT...he was NOT happy about riding the "baby rides". Many of the rides had a 44" height requirement and he missed it by 1"! At one place he even tried standing on his tip-toes but they caught him. :)

We finished our day at Animal Kingdom early so we went back to our resort to let the boys swim, play at the arcade and the playground.

Kamden is coming down the tongue of the serpent and Austin is behind him.

Here comes Kamden
Here comes Austin

Our resort

The arcade.

playing tag on the playground

This picture was taken from our room.

They were TIRED!!!

Walt Disney World - Part 2

2010-08-06T11:17:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday we rode the bus to Hollywood Studios. It was a very long but fun day. We stayed there from 8:00 am until midnight.

Riding the busWhile we were there we watched Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular Show. It was was really good but after seeing how dangerous performing stunts really is, Austin told us he didn't want to be in show business anymore. :) We also watched the Extreme Stunt Show. This show was with cars and I think it was one of our favorites. It showed how they do all the car stunts in Hollywood. They had cars racing backwards and doing jumps, men on fire, and even cars splitting in half!

Extreme Stunt Show- (If you look on the right you'll see the man on fire.)

Another highlight of the boys day was getting to see Buzz & Woody. As you can imagine, they are very popular right now so the line was fairly long but to pass the time waiting they had many photo ops along the way.

Throughout the day we got pictures and autographs from many different characters.

Lighting McQueen & Tow Mater

Green Army Man from Toy Story 3

Green Power Ranger

Red Power Ranger

Kamden even danced with Pluto at the Dance Party!

They kids enjoyed playing on the Honey I Shrunk The Kids movie playset. Everything here is HUGE to make the kids look like they shrunk.

We were lucky and got the best spot to watch the parade. The Toy Story 3 float stopped and performed right in front of us. The boys loved it!

That night before the night time show, Fantasmic, we ate at the Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater. In this restaurant you sit in old cars and watch a movie while you eat.

As you can imagine, we were exhausted after this day!

I know these pictures are small but in case you didn't know, you can click on them to enlarge them.

Walt Disney World

2010-08-04T07:00:00.000-07:00

We had a fabulous time in Disney World! I've always been told a picture is worth a thousand words so I guess 550 pictures are worth 550,000 words! Yes, we took 550 pictures last week on vacation. We were there 8 days and we were busy, busy the entire time. Since we took so many pictures, I will blog individually about each day so check back during the week for more entries and pictures.

On Monday morning, we flew from Tulsa to St. Louis to Orlando. All our flights were on time so, thankfully, all went well.
We didn't tell the boys but we had a limo reserved to take us from the airport to our Disney resort. So, when the driver escorted us outside to our 'ride', Austin and Kamden were SO excited. They didn't quit smiling the whole ride. Austin told us people were going to think we were famous and they were going to ask him for his autograph.

Surprise!

Austin practicing his autograph
We stayed at Port Orleans French Quarter resort.
Our maid had us a Mickey Mouse face made of towels waiting on our bed for us. The boys really liked all the towel creations we had each day. When we checked in, Kamden got a button to celebrate his birthday and both boys got a 1st visit button. We were told to wear the buttons all the time because the park employees would see them and acknowledge you. Kamden had so many people tell him happy birthday and one day he got a pirate bandana from a worker. Monday evening we rode the boat to Downtown Disney. The boys loved all the life-size Lego creations. Outside the Lego store they had a play area where you can make and race a Lego car. Kamden's car won his race but Austin lost his.

We also rode the Mary Poppin's air balloon. It took us up about 400 feet in the air.

This was the end of our first day at Disney.

The Tooth Fairy

2010-07-18T18:20:00.001-07:00

Kamden is keeping the tooth fairy really busy! He lost his 2nd tooth today! This time we were at Joe's Crab Shack. It was pretty loose; he had a pen cap in his mouth and when he pulled it out the tooth came with it and landed on the floor. He didn't cry, he just told me now he needed "to get another loose tooth". I hope that is all the loose teeth for a long while!