43 Miles

That was the odometer reading when I pulled out of the parking lot and drove my BRAND NEW CAR off the dealer's lot! Happy Anniversary!

2010 Honda CR-V EX-L, 2 WD

We hadn't planned to buy a new car yesterday, but my husband just had to turn into the car lot and "see what they had." Thirty minutes later the deal was done and we drove off financed and finished in under two hours. That was the easiest and best car buying experience I ever had. 

It helped that we went into this with months of discussion and decision behind us. We knew what we wanted, we knew how much we wanted to pay, and we knew how much our trade-in was worth. The only real choice that had to be made was the color (it came down to the black one with 4WD and the blue one). They actually gave us $400 more than we thought the Camry was worth and that was with it dirty. Imagine what we could have gotten if we had actually cleaned it up and made it look presentable. And, their finance guy got us a better interest rate that allowed us to get the extended warranty and stay within our monthly payment range.

This is my car for the next decade. So, we went for exactly what we wanted...knowing this car is in it for the long haul. I drove it off the lot, but let Damon take it on its first trip to Sonic and back to Bartlesville. Damon will take it back to the dealership in Tulsa on Saturday to get detailed. With our schedule yesterday, they didn't have time to shine it up and detail it.

It was sad to see the Camry go. It was a really good car for us and put up with a lot of abuse. I took a picture and kissed it good-bye. Then, I went and took a picture of the odometer of the Honda with 43 miles on it!

The car purchase culminated our date day in Tulsa to celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary. When I got home, I also got the original anniversary gift my husband bought for me - a Gypsy for my Cricut. I hope to get to play with it this afternoon. Now, though I am not sure how to top the anniversary gifts Damon got me!

We picked up the kids and they were so excited. Jackson is happy that there are plug-ins close enough to him to plug in his DS. Reid was happy it came with an opening "windshield" (sunroof), like Daddie's car. We didn't get much play time with the car, last night, because I was hosting Bunko. But, today, I am going to put CDs in the player and make some new iTunes playlists on my phone (I can hook my iPhone up to the radio...sweet).

It's May; It's Just Busy

This is Beethoven. Tonight, he was the subject of a very intense scientific study. Jackson decided to study of what kind of blanket Beethoven preferred to sleep on. He thoughtfully laid out various blankets, of different thicknesses, and observed Beethoven in his natural habitat (our bedroom). And, in true scientific form, Jackson removed Beethoven's favorite blanket, so as not to throw of his results. Jackson wrote out three tests and concluded that Beethoven preferred the thicker blankets and preferred fuzzy to non-fuzzy. 

In other news this week, we also had the birth of triplets...birds. A robin built a nest over our patio lights a few weeks ago and has been sitting in her abode very faithfully. This week, Reid came running in from the backyard to announce the arrival of one baby bird. Two days later, there were three little beaks peaking over the edge of the nest. Reid loves to watch them and give us running commentary on their activities - breathing, eating a worm, etc.

This past week we have run from one activity to the other. Jackson and Damon are getting ready to be in a musical at church (tomorrow), I was supposed to host Bunko (we had tornados warnings instead), and the kids at Awards Night for AWANA on Wednesday night. Jackson also had three field trips this week, including a tour, orientation and lunch at his new school.

Today, we have done nothing, but tomorrow we need to get in gear. Damon/Jackson have the musical tomorrow night, Reid is singing with the pre-school choir before the musical, and I need to clean house and cook for Bunko on Monday night.

Damon and I will celebrate our 13th wedding anniversary on Monday; 13-years that have passed in a blink.

The rest of the week will be spent wrapping up the school year and celebrating Jackson's 5th grade graduation. I guess I can start crying now.

Celebrating National Scrapbooking Day

The first Sunday in May - National Scrapbooking Day. I celebrated by hanging out with scrapbookers, watching them make their creation, and working on sewing projects. Yes, I sewed on national scrapbooking day...but I organized a crop, so I still celebrated.

I put together a crop for our Sunday School class. We had 13 ladies, five from our class and 8 from outside our church, but die-hard scrappers. I took the day to work with my sewing machine and work on a project for my cougar friends. I would show it here, but that would take away the surprise, now wouldn't it? I did get 2 of the 6 done and need to go back to Hobby Lobby to get some more supplies for the rest. I had some issues with spelling, which require me to start over on the other four. We had a good day, everyone got some work done and we had some good fellowship time.

Friday night, Damon surprised me with a massage. It was much needed and very much enjoyed. I am still a little sore from a couple of places that she worked out, but my back, overall, feels so much better. My last massage was last in Denver. A year was way too long.

Last Tuesday, Jackson came home and said he had to go to an event at the Community Center. Every Tuesday, after school, Jackson goes to a local place called The Rock. It is a Christian non-profit organization that has built a youth center - skatepark, video games, snack bar, etc. The kids go from 3:45 until 6:45 and they can play games, skateboard and they have devotional time led by the staff. Over the last several months, they have talked about substance abuse, underage drinking and associated topics. Jackson completed the "curriculum" and as part of the ending of this program there was a town hall meeting. The Rock kids were going to be recognized for completing the program and they were serving pizza. Jackson was there, man. Damon took him and, in the car on the way, was asking Jackson why he thought they should go. Jackson said, "I just thought it was important to see what other groups in town are doing about this."

On Friday afternoon, Reid's teacher to give me the heads up on Reid's afternoon. Evidently, she had a small accident and Miss Hamilton sent Reid to the bathroom with her sack of clothes to change. Reid's bag had pants, a shirt, but no panties. So, Reid, with nothing on from the waist down, walks from the bathroom back down the hall to her classroom, opens the door and yells, "Miss Hamilton, I don't have any panties." Miss Hamilton gets Reid back down the hall, into the bathroom, and goes to the office to see if there is any extra underwear in the clothes box. There aren't any girl underwear, so Miss Hamilton brings a pair of boy underwear to Reid. At this point, Reid is in the bathroom completely in her birthday suit. Reid gets dressed, comes back to the bathroom and proceeds to tell EVERYONE that she has boy underwear on. And, when she went to afterschool care, she shared the info with everyone there too.

Just a Touch of Disney

No, I didn't step foot in the Magic Kingdom and no, I didn't talk to or hang out with any princesses'. But, I did experience a little touch of Disney magic, last week.


I was in Orlando for two days of business meetings and we were a heartbeat away from Disney properties. I have never been to any of the Disney parks - it was killing me to be so close, but yet so far away. I promised my family I wouldn't go and I promised Reid that I wouldn't visit any princesses' without her. But, I couldn't help myself...I was 1 1/2 miles from Downtown Disney and I couldn't not go. I had some free time Wednesday afternoon and a rental car all to myself. 


The shopping was fantastic and, luckily, I had the limitation of only being able to buy things that would fit in my carry-on luggage. But, holy Mickey Mouse, they HAD A SCRAPBOOK STORE. The Dallas metro area can't support a decent scrapbook store, but Disney can. It was mostly page kits and albums, but I was totally impressed. 

We are planning a Disney vacation for next year, around Thanksgiving. We have watched a DVD on Disney and several shows on the Disney parks, but the kids weren't really putting things together. But, now with pictures, Reid's very own Minnie Mouse princess doll, and my telling Jackson about the make-your-own-light saber store, they are ready to go NOW. 

I got home Friday afternoon, several hours after Damon left town for a men's retreat. We had a back-up plan in case my flights got mixed up and I didn't make it home, but we didn't have to use them. I got in on-time, had some naptime at home, and then picked the kids up. Jackson went to a friend's house for the night and Reid and I had girls' night out - dinner at Goldies, followed by some blue ice cream at Maggie Moo's. Reid was all about eating her ice cream outside, until she figured out that there were bugs. She was done quickly after.

Saturday afternoon I did a first - lead a scrapbooking birthday party for an 11-year-old. The birthday girl, Cameron, wanted to do the CD albums. The girls had a blast and came out with some pretty neat albums. 

Saturday night, we were finally all at home, much to the delight of two dogs. They don't know what to do when all of their humans aren't home.

The $64 Swim Meet

Yes, we are still the swim team parents that scream at their kid to kick their feet during a race and to go faster. Aren't those obvious goals of a race? Yes, but we still do it. And, yes we also do something that swim coaches loathe and they really recommend against - bribing! Yes, we do it and we aren't ashamed.

Jackson is NOT a naturally competitive person. In fact, it really runs contrary to his nature. He looks out for others way before himself and is concerned more about others performance than his own. Swimming has been so good for him. It is good exercise and it is keeping his health issues well under control. But, we, his swim parents, want him to achieve, to advance, to find some success in the pool. (And, we want to make ourselves feel better about spending our weekends and our $$$$ hanging out by swimming pools in towns other than our own.) But, how to motivate him.

First, we tried telling him we would buy him a Wii or DS game when he reached a B time, the lowest qualifying time. He was far enough away from a B time, the offer didn't really hold much water in terms of immediate payoff for smaller goals. So, we switched to $1 per second he took of his established best times. So far, that has cost us $10 or $20 a meet.

This weekend, we owe the little bugger $64! He had an awesome meet and we are now off to find second jobs.

We spent the weekend in Fayetteville, AR, swimming at the AquaHawg Long Course Meet at the University of Arkansas. Nice pool (unless you are a photographer - then it is a crappily lit pool). He swam eight events, total, four each day and took time off every single event he had a time established in. There were three races he had not done on the Long Course season, so he didn't have established times and our checkbook was given a reprieve.

His races and times:
100 Freestyle, Previous time of 2:10.78; new time of 2:01 ($9)
50 Backstroke, Previous time of 1:16; new time of 1:03 ($13) only 7 more seconds and he will have that B time
200 IM: new time of 5:30
100 Breaststroke: new time of 3:30
100 Backstroke: previous time of 2:38.11; new time of 2:18 ($20)
50 Freestyle: previous time of 56.20; new time of 52.00 ($4) only 8 seconds away from his B time
50 Breast: new time of 1:34
200 Freestyle: previous time of 4:46; new time of 4:28 ($18)

He is still swimming at the bottom of the pack, but he made some major strides this weekend and his coach feels like Jackson is just on the verge of putting speed and technique together. Once he makes that connection and picks up his pace on his different strokes, he will dropping time even faster. You could tell he was working really hard in the pool and pushing himself.

Jackson really wants to be on the Silver Team (he is currently one of the older and more experienced swimmers on the Bronze Team). He gets a little frustrated at Bronze Team practices because of the younger kids, less focused, more time spent on teaching stroke rather than perfecting technique and building strength, endurance and speed. We talked to him this weekend about setting an appointment with the coach, sitting down together and finding out what it is going to take to get on Silver Team. Then, setting goals (with the coach) on how to reach his ultimate goal of being on Silver Team. He is also going to ask the coach about working out with the Silver Team at least one day a week. Their practices are longer and would definitely challenge him.

The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying a really nice room at the Fairfield Inn and Suites, swimming at the hotel pool (Reid's reward for behaving so well at the meet on Saturday), and trying to decide where to eat. Fayetteville is a college town, so the number of unique restaurant options was quite high (highly recommend the Flying Burrito!). The challenge in eating was Saturday night was prom for Springdale or Fayetteville high schools. We ate at Outback Steakhouse and Reid was very mesmerized by all of the "princesses" in the restaurant.

Good weekend. Expensive, but good!

Nothing Special Kind of Week

I keep waiting for something semi-exciting to post and this week it just never came along. It was just an average week.

Easter was a quiet weekend for us - we stayed home and just hung out all weekend. EB came and actually hid eggs outside this year. For the first time in 10 years, we weren't wearing coats to church on Easter. We went to church, I cooked a big lunch, and we stayed around the house.

Thursday night we went to the Splash Club Spring Banquet. Jackson was recognized as one of the top five achievers for the Bronze Team for the Spice Program. The Spice Program is the incentive program they do for the swimmers and the kids get points for attending practice, participating in meets, reducing their times, etc.

Last night was First Friday at church, so the kids had activities from 6-9:45 and we went out with another couple. We hit the new Bville restaurant, Buffalo Wild Wings, and came to our house for dessert. I made some awesome cupcakes Martha Stewart's cupcake cookbook. The WW points were completely out the window, but we had a fun evening.

We are on the downhill slide for school. The kids get out of school May 21, so they have six weeks left. Jackson's school schedule is full of middle school visits (they get to go on a school day, have lunch at Madison and hang out with sixth graders), field trips (he has three between now and May 21) and finally 5th Grade Graduation.

I am working on putting together several activities for our Sunday School ladies ministry group. We are having a scrapbooking day on May 1 (National Scrapbooking Day, in case you are keeping track). And, we are going to have an overnight retreat in August at www.urbancampout.com. It is the coolest place. All the fun of camping without the annoyance of bugs, variable temperature, critters, and with the conveniences of indoor plumbing, electricity, temperature control, and cooking devices.

The Past Box

Last week, I was pulling up to Ranch Heights Elementary to drop Jackson off and I said, "Reid, this will be your school in August." I hear from Jackson in the back, "And, I'll put this place in my past box." Ouch, little man, that hurt.

Jackson is ready for middle school. His parents are not. On Tuesday evening, we headed to Madison Middle School for orientation and Jackson walked down those halls like he owned the place. We listened to the band, orchestra and choir's perform, had the opportunity to talk to all of the elective teachers, checked out the lunch room, and walked through the six grade hallway. He also checked out the list of clubs.

Jackson picked his electives - band (trumpet or percussion), tech ed (computers), keyboarding, and PE. His requirements are math, earth science, English, and world history.

The general feeling among the parents seemed to be, "how did we get here," "do we really have to do this," and "wow, slow down, this is happening too fast."

22 Things I Have Learned About Motherhood

On one of the scrapbooking blogs I read, the writer gave a challenge - write 22 things you have learned about motherhood and make a page. Here goes mine:

1. This is going by way, way too fast.
2. There is nothing better than snuggling in bed and watching Scooby Doo.
3. I love watching and listening to my children sleep.
4. Laughter fixes just about everything.
5. Happy Meal toys multiply in toy boxes.
6. Sticky can always be cleaned up, somehow.
7. You can avoid battles, most of the time, by offering kids choices you are already okay with.
8. Dip makes kids happy.
9. Pick your battles, not everything is life and death.
10. Kids watch your every move and will copy your actions and words.
11. Kids never tire of hearing, "I love you."
12. Teaching your kids a healthy fear of the world is very hard.
13. Christmas is meant to be incredible, excessive, and magical. It is the ultimate celebration.
14. It is worth the price of a cheap toy in a souvenir shop to bring the smile my kids' face.
15. Routine is your friend, even though it is, sometimes, a lot of work.
16. Whenever possible, stay in a hotel with an indoor pool.
17. Restaurants with playgrounds can make road trips that much more enjoyable.
18. Sometimes TV and video games are necessary if you want to get anything done.
19. The best entertainment on a snow day is card tables and blankets for fort building.
20. Ice cream makes summer more fun.
21. Band-aids are cheap. If they "fix" the problem, go for it.
22. Expose your kids to a lot of different situations. It helps them understand, life isn't just about them.

Spring, Really?

Since when did Spring start with six inches of snow?

The kids and are in Winfield, enjoying night #2 in a hotel. We came up yesterday to spend the afternoon with Grandma and had planned to go to Heather Allen's mom's birthday party today, and head back to Bartlesville this afternoon. But, with the snow and iffy road conditions, we opted to spend today with Grandma and stay a second night. Damon was going to come up for the day, but stayed in Bartlesville and enjoyed a little solo weekend at home. (Well, not completely solo...he has the dogs! :-))

We took Grandma to Derby yesterday to Sunflower Quilts. There was no hesitation when we asked if she wanted to go. She was looking for her shoes, her checkbook and the door. She spent an hour and a half in the store and Grandma covered every inch. The kids did great, considering how long we were in there and they found a few things they couldn't live without. Grandma found "a few things" and I carried her $310/two bags out to the car.

My grandmother is 95-years-old and these times with her are priceless to me. At 95, she is still passionate about her hobby, she can talk about it for hours, she makes project after project, and always has a list of things she wants to try next. She figured out she made 13 quilts last year, not counting wallhangings, tablerunners and other small projects. She has made three quilts this year.

Today, I watched her relish every minute with her great-grandchildren. She can't hear them very well, but she tried to be involved with them in every possible moment. She played tea with Reid, played along when Reid was "talking" on the phone to the Easter Bunny, and enjoyed fresh baked cookies with Jackson (he baked them). And, she let each of the kids help her feed the birds and put out food for the cats and the raccoon.

She doesn't mind that they trash her apartment with toys in just about every square foot (I will post pictures when I get home). And, she doesn't mind what they play with - Reid was digging through her sewing stuff and drawing pictures with her quilting pens, playing tea with an antique pitcher, and cutting paper with her sewing scissors.

Amazing woman. I hope I can be like her some day! :-)

The 10-Year Journey

Ten years ago this spring, Jackson was just beginning to give us a taste of what was ahead. He was breaking out in rash, ear infections were a constant battle, and things just weren't right. Over the next two years, we went from doctor to doctor, made multiple trips to the Emergency Room, and were told over and over, "he just has a rash, here's a prescription." But, something deep inside told us there was more to it than that.

Fast forward to 10 years later, to yesterday, sitting in his allergist's office and she said, "I don't believe I am saying this, knowing who I am talking about, but, he is doing so well, why don't we drop back to seeing me every nine months?" Huh? What did you just say?

At one time, Jackson was described as Dr. Purser's sickest patient. We were there weekly, at different points, and monthly for many years. We've made emergency trips to Tulsa and gotten so acquainted with the office staff that all we have to say when we call is, "This is Jackson's mom/dad" and things would get done. Dr. Purser sent us  to the nation's leading facility for allergies/asthma/ezcema, National Jewish Medical Center in Denver, twice. He has gone through thousands of dollars in prescriptions; at one time, taking 12 meds at the same time. He has scratched himself to the point of bleeding, he has stopped walking at times because his feet were so badly cracked, and he has endured skin infections that made us cry. But, he has always handled it with grace, superhuman understanding, and patience beyond his years.

But, today, his skin is healthy, his lungs are strong, and while he is the only kid I know that can sneeze in his sleep, he has come so far. He takes three medications each day, just to keep things under control. We know that his health is still an issue, but it is manageable because of one thing - swimming. Swimming has been his saving grace. The chlorine for his skin and the workouts for his lung health are keeping the delicate balance of health in check for Jackson.

We have never asked God "why" in this journey. I am not sure that is a question that has ever really entered our minds. Maybe because Jackson was our first born and we didn't know any different or if it is just Damon and I's personalities to just take it as it comes and deal with what we have in front of us. We have simply taken this journey with Jackson day by day.

But, yesterday, that journey had a new milestone, a new fork in the road - "See you in nine months!"

Finished!

My Cougar Weekend Album is finished! The pictures have been laid out and cropped for months. But, for some reason, I couldn't find 30 minutes to finish up a little journaling.

This album makes me laugh every time I look at it! I can't wait to see my Cougars again in May!!

Who Not to Call When You Have a Flat

These are Cougars in Distress, can you tell? We are all smiling in this photo because Jeff, Tricia's husband, was under the van changing the tire as we took this photo. 

This was our bonding time after making a Scrapbook Garden run during our Wellington Crop Weekend. Heather was superb in keeping the van in control, after the tire blew, and got us safely to the side of the road. Then, between the three of us - Heather on the ground under the van, Tricia reading the manual and me talking to Damon to find out how to get the jack under the van, we didn't have much success. Luckily, Jeff came to our rescue. The Kansas Highway Patrol showed up just as Jeff finished changing the tire.

Thank you, Jeff, for coming to rescue the Cougars! And, thank you for following us back to Wellington and stopping by Sonic to get us fresh drinks to help us recover from our afternoon!!

We had a great weekend in Wellington, got a lot of quality scrapbooking time, and enjoyed great food. Of course, now, brownies will never be the same. All future brownies will have to have a layer of Symphony candy bars in the middle - thank you Chris! And, we had Crack....Corn Pops cereal covered in a coating of butter, brown sugar and Karo Syrup. That stuff just makes you want to stick your head in the bowl. Thank you, Heather A. for organizing our weekend and for letting the expanding Bartlesville contingency to join in the fun.

Sledding

The one benefit of a good six inch snowstorm - sledding at Wal-Mart. We headed out to the Wal-Mart hill today about noon. I was surprised that there weren't a lot of people out there and the snow was still pretty much untouched. We did a few runs - maybe out there a total of 15 minutes - but the kids were having a great time. Reid declared it "totally awesome."

This isn't the greatest snowball snow, but Reid found a couple of clumps of snow to throw.

We came home and went out the backyard to let Lucy enjoy the snow. She ate snowballs we threw at her, ate mouthfuls of snow, and ran and ran and ran. She just losses her doggy mind when it snows - that is her element. She absolutely loves it.

Class Assignment

Okay, Heather and JoLynne....here is my week #1 assignment. I also posted it out to the Big Picture Scrapbooking gallery.

After getting online, last night, and reading through all of the assignments, I realized I am now taking three Big Picture classes at the same time. Ugh..how did that happen? I am taking the Point of View, Library of Memories Alumni, and Going Manual. Damon signed me up for Going Manual and just told me last night. Luckily, that one won't start until Point of View is almost over.

Okay, girls, where are your pages?

Laid Back Weekend

I don't remember the last time we had a weekend like this - we had no where to go, no place anyone had to be, no commitments, nothing that had to be accomplished. It was heavenly. Reid was a bit confused. She kept asking, "Where are we going?" "Where are we going?" Absolutely nowhere.

Friday, the garage repair continued. The interior wall is now done and we are waiting on the mason to come and put the brick back on the outside. The part of the wall I hit used to be a washer/dryer closet and we chose not to put that wall back. Just by taking out that wall, we have opened up so much space in the garage. We will need to paint this summer, but the garage needed a fresh coat anyway.

Saturday we slept in. The kids had a movie day and watched a Pixar marathon of Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Bugs Life. Damon worked on his Design Your Life scrapbooking class and I worked on some old pages that I started years ago, threw in an album and never finished. I finished up pages on Our First House, Damon's 30th Birthday, Welcoming Jackson to the Family, and our first two pets. It felt good to get those pages finally finished - they drained me every time I looked at that album - and it gave me a chance to play/learn my new Cricut Expression. I needed to get it figured out since my tech support won't be coming with me to the Crop in a two weeks. I also figured out how to make some gift boxes with my Cricut. They turned out really cute and I think Reid took off with all of them. But, I now have some ideas/projects for class Valentine parties.

Friday night I cooked a porkloin with parsley/shallot sauce....oh my, it turned out good. I found the recipe in Ellie Kreiger's The Food You Crave. The last year, I have tried to cook better meals and actually learn to cook outside the box (yes, pun intended). I think I am making progress. More of my meals turn out decent, rather than nasty, and I have learned yeast is my friend and I can make to-die-for cinnamon rolls. The one exception this week - I made a four cheese penne and Jackson said, "Mom, could you put real meat in this next time?" Can't win them all.

Today, we went to church, stopped for Chinese food after church, and came home for a lazy afternoon. Jackson and I cleaned his room - my word - why did it take us an hour-and-a-half to clean his room? It is like 12x12 feet, but it took over an hour and produced one full trash bag. I took a mid-cleaning nap and then headed for Reid's room. Her room wasn't as bad, since it was the Allen Family guestroom last weekend, but it still was wall to wall toys.

Now, on to the week - work tomorrow, funeral on Tuesday, and then Damon has the rest of the week off. He can babysit the dogs while I work!

Misc. Updates

It has been a busy month...just haven't gotten around to blogging about it.

Damon and I were able to have a night away on January 2. The kids spent the night with their Nana, so Damon and I went to see The Blind Side (best movie I have seen in a long time), went to a very nice dinner, and spent the night at the Doubletree in Tulsa. It was so nice to have some time away and a night to ourselves.

The kids are FINALLY back to school. They were supposed to go back January 4, but a snow day was called after we had 1-2 inches on January 2 and 3. They went to school two days and then school was cancelled because of aburdly cold weather (-2 degrees in the a.m., without the wind chill). They finally went back on January 11, went for a week, and then were out for Martin Luther King Jr. day on January 18. I hope they are back in school for a while, as do the dogs. Reid keeps the dogs from taking their daily 6-7 hour naps.

January 9 and 10, we were back in Tulsa for Jackson to swim in the Swim Tulsa Meet. He took 20 seconds off of his 100 IM, but got disqualified for using the wrong kick on his Breast stroke. Bummer! On his other races, we couldn't figure out why he was swimming so slow - he was adding 15-20 seconds to all of his races. We didn't really say anything to him, but we were thinking, "Dude, what is the deal?" On Sunday, he did the same thing on his first race of the day. One of the other parents then pointed out that the Tulsa pool was a 25 meter pool, not a 25 yard pool. Oh! He was swimming further, that's why his times were longer. Sorry, dude! We spent the rest of the morning converting his times and he was swimming his usual times.

At the Tulsa meet, there were 4, 5 and 6 year-olds swimming. Reid wanted to be them and she wants to swim like her Bubba. We decided to take her out of gymnastics and put her back in swimming lessons. She was more than fine with it. When I told her it was time to get ready for her swimming lesson, she went in the laundry room and got Jackson's smaller SplashClub bag (we bought him a larger one). She packed it with a towel, her swimsuit, and a bottle of water. She also found his swim cap and was wearing that around. She loves her lessons and seems to be listening and following directions much better this time. We have told her, she has to pass Lionfish (what she is in now) and Dolphin (the next class), and then she can take Splashers, the intro group to SplashClub. I am guessing she will be swimming in SplashClub in a year or year and a half.

This past weekend, the Allen family came for a visit. We love the Allen family! We headed down to Kalediscope, the children's museum, went to church, and hung around the house the rest of the weekend. I think everyone had a good time. My kids were tired...sign of a good weekend!

Happy 5th Reid!

Happy Birthday, Sweet Baby Girl! 

You are now officially 5, after a couple of false starts (1. You thought you turned 5 in October when we took you to American Girl and 2. You thought you were 5 when you received your birthday pencil at school before the Christmas break.)

Who you are at 5...

• You are in Pre-K at Will Rogers Early Childhood Center. Your teacher is Miss Hamilton and she is assisted by Ms. Albritton and Ms. Quinn. You love all three. At the beginning of the school year, you only knew one or two letters. Now, you know most of your letters and can write your first name.
• Your favorite show is SpongeBob, followed closely by iCarly, Hannah Tanna (Hannah Montana), and Scooby Doo.
• You are taking gymnastics lessons and LOVE IT!
• You also like swimming and watching Bubba at swim meets. You try to "practice" your swimming in the bath tub, complete with backstroke starts off of the facets.
• Your favorite playmate is your Bubba and you get concerned when he isn't home.
• You are very LOUD! Silence isn't loss on you, Sissy Bear. When in doubt, you must sing, talk, anything to make noise.
• When you are tired, you start to rub one of your ears. We know you are just about to fall asleep at night when you start to rub your ear. And, when you are tired, upset or overwhelmed, you rub your ear.
• Your laugh is contagious.
• You still love to paper, pens, markers (especially sharpies), scissors, stampler (stapler), and stickers. Most of the time you color on things appropriate; sometimes you do not.
• You still have to have your chocolate milk before bed. Dr. Bumpus told us to limit you to one and you remind us of that almost nightly.
• You are growing up entirely too fast.