Ponies, Pigs, and Kids!

Last Friday we went to the Orr Family Farm. It's only 1 mile north of our home and a no brainer to go there for fall activities. It's got everything! Including the BEST kettle Corn EVER! We bought 2 large bags and it was all gone in less than 2 days. YUM!

Aside from being so unbelievably close to our house (if there were sidewalks we would have walked!), it's also owned by our Bishop's father. The Bishop's daughters work there (they're also our babysitters). It was fun running into so many ward members since that doesn't happen very often here living in the "Bible Belt".

Luke's first pony ride.

Don't worry, I held onto him the whole time (except when I took the photo).

We love little piglets!

Luke loved all the animals so much!

My personal favorite, the milking cow.

Howie loved this.

He played on one in Wisconsin too. I love the view behind him.

Howie is the BEST big brother!

Everyone enjoyed the jumping pillows!

I think Erin enjoyed it the most.

I didn't have any quarters, so Howie and Erin decided to take turns pulling it around for each other. Luke didn't even know the difference and the ride lasted a lot longer than a quarter would!

Howie is not dripping sweat, he poured water on his head to cool himself off.

A special phone call from Daddy while we were there. :)

Some Great Pictures!

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Whatcha lookin' at?

He gets his nose from his father's side.

Could you imagine a belch coming out of that mouth?

When I went in for my leg surgery I also asked for a nose job...you like?

Third Time's the Charm!

In between General Conference sessions (and my nap) Erin was playing on the couch and rolled off onto her elbow. She hit it really hard! She woke me up in tears and after 30 minutes of Motrin and ice she was still bawling. I decided to end our pajama day and take her to the E.R. She thought it was broken and since we've been through this before (#1 & #2), I trusted her. The x-ray didn't show a fracture, but because of her symptoms and pain level the doc said that we need to treat it as such. Especially since small fractures don't always show up right away in small children, it may take a few days for it to show up on the x-ray. We have to go in for a follow up on base in a few days to see if it's really broken or not.

(I just noticed when I was looking at last year's picture of her broken arm,

she is wearing the EXACT same pajamas! How funny!)

On a positive note, today was the first time I left the house since my surgery. I feel remarkably better than even yesterday and today was also the first day that I didn't take my Tylenol-3, which meant that I could drive. Also, the E.R. was EMPTY! We were the only one's there, so that meant we were in and out fast! What a good day.

On a sad note, my sister's good friend lost her 2 day old baby, Eli, today.

Please pray for Eli's family!

He was born with some medical problems that were not diagnosed during pregnancy, so this comes as a complete shock to their little family.

General Conference

It's General Conference weekend, and with Howard gone and myself still recovering from surgery we're staying home and camping out in front of the computer. For those of you who don't know what it is, you can click here to find out more info.

Yes, I drug my children to get through Conference...

I drug them with candy. It keeps them really quiet!

We also enjoyed a pajama day (until we had to take the trip to to E.R.).

I was very impressed with Howie. He wasn't just quiet, he actually listened to most of the talks. We even talked about some of them! It's finally sinking in, yeah!

Where Luke Belongs...

I swear the dog kennel is used more by Luke thank Dash. No, really!!!

He LOVES playing in it! When we first got it the other kids would lock each other up in it, but when I found out, I put a stop to that practice quickly.

Now we just play, but no one gets locked in.

Dash on the other hand HATES his kennel. He's such a cuddle bug and so darn cute it's hard to resist him in my bed. Lately though he's been sleeping with Erin more, which is a good thing since Howard will be home before I know it. And Howard has told me he does NOT want Dash snuggled up in our bed. We'll just see about that!

Erin was posing of course!

Pain Pain Go Away...

My outpatient surgery turned into a 2 day hospital stay. Thank goodness for great friends and wonderful caregivers! I am blessed! I finally got my leg taken care of, and some other trouble spots I've had with varicose veins. I'm full of pain right now, but I'm also full of Tylenol 3. My head is a little fuzzy, but I'm just so grateful to everyone who has taken the time to help me out. It is very much appreciated! Overall I'd have to say this has been the most painful surgery I've ever experienced and even more painful than having 4 babies. Yes, it is that bad. I would have never imagined the pain that I have, but knowing I can rest in bed and that things are getting taken care of is the peace of mind that is getting me through this.

Hopefully things will heal up nicely and I'll look as good as new when Howard returns. On a positive note, I'm fortunate to only have to wear knee high support hose on my left leg...so glad I don't have to wear thigh highs! I had an ace bandage from my foot up to my thigh for the past 72 hours, but I just couldn't stand it any more. I removed it a day early, but I put my support hose on right after this picture. I feel so much better now.

Just Wondering...

Earlier today I learned that there is a "Stats" section on my blog and I can see who visits (such as family and friends) and I can also see how many page views I have. It is the coolest thing ever! It makes me feel special knowing that someone other than a handful of family and friends read it. I knew I had readers from America and Japan, but I would have never guessed people have been reading my blog from other countries. New Zealand, Canada, France, U.K., Romania, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and the Ukraine! Crazy! To all my blog readers out there, let me know who you are, I'd love to say hi!

I Believe...

The Cutest Kids in the World!

Yes, that's Erin's hair this morning. It took a while to get it out, I'm just so thankful that her hair was short and not long, otherwise we would have had to cut it out. Sorry Mom, when I was a young girl I did the same thing, except that I had long hair when I did it. What goes around comes around!

Erin wasn't too happy that I was going to put this on the blog, but I just had to for my Mom.

The ultimate fruit snacks...grapes. Luke couldn't shovel them in his mouth fast enough!

Pucker up!

The eating turned into playing...

and dropping...

and random poses for the camera?

I don't know why he was doing this, but he wanted me to take his picture.

Our new pet, Hook. Jack named him. We found him (or her) on the way home from our bike ride this morning. A caterpillar is way better entertainment than a TV (at least for us this morning!) I told the boys we could only keep him for a day, then we'd have to return him to the yard.

My Angel

My poor baby was throwing up all day yesterday. He was miserable! I was so happy when he finally fell asleep last night. Fortunately it was a quick illness and he was happy, healthy, and full of energy today.

Missing Howard

Missing Howard and can't wait for him to return. Only 7-8 more weeks.

Who is Trevor Romain?

This is Trevor Romain, our speaker at Oakridge. He's wonderful!

Oakridge Camp

The Tinker Youth Center put together a family retreat for families of recent pre/current/post deployed families. It was a weekend getaway to Oakridge Camp & Retreat Center in Anadarko, OK. I picked the kids up from school and we went straight there. We had a lot of fun, but I wasn't able to take a lot of photos because we were having too much fun. It was so nice to get away, unwind, and relax. No cooking, cleaning, or laundry! Just family fun!

We still managed to have our Friday family movie night on our little 7" portable DVD player. The kids were happy.

Saturday morning the kids really got creative before the scheduled activities started.

Ready...Set...

go!

Go ahead and judge my parenting skills...we had a wonderful time, no one got hurt, and we have excellent health insurance! I wanted to do it, but I would have probably broken the bed.

You're probably wondering why I'm taking pictures of the shower in our room. Here's the story... When Howard and I were newlyweds, Howard was we were too cheap to get a hotel room whenever we traveled. We slept in the car (very uncomfortable). I begged We finally decided to get a room during one of our travels and it was a very cheap (scary) motel. The thing we remember the most about it was the "dungeon" shower. It was scary! After 9 years, I've finally found a shower to top that experience. It was a tall tin box and very small. I honestly don't know how a heavy set person would be able to use the shower. I put Howie and Jack in at the same time and it was a tight squeeze for both of them!

We only took one shower all weekend. I just made sure I wore extra deodorant.

On Sunday during lunch time, Jack fell asleep on the couch. He was exhausted from a busy weekend. Too bad he was Howie's unsuspecting victim of a cookie crime. If you know Jack well, you would know that he HATES being dirty. Especially food on his face/mouth area.

Erin finishing up her lunch right before we left for church. Thank goodness we have afternoon church!

Here's a general view of our eating/common area. We had a lot of fun playing games, ping pong, and other various activities this weekend.

The main event of the weekend was our guest speaker, Trevor Romain. Saturday morning, childcare was provided so the adults could listen to him speak. There was a lot of laughter and tears, he's such a wonderful person! Sunday morning was the children's session. Jack and Luke went to the babysitting area while Howie, Erin and I listened about how to express our feelings while Dad is away. He also touched on the topic of bullying. He's written many books and I plan on adding him to our home library!

Labor Day Weekend

Last weekend I had the privilege of watching my sister's girls, Jackie and Nadia. We had so much fun and I can't wait for them to come back for some more fun.

This was Jackie and Nadia's first time ever on a trampoline. They did more walking than bouncing. It's okay, they still had a lot of fun. The weather was great, so that was wonderful!

Luke...just because.

We also had an amazing sunset on Labor day. The picture really doesn't do it justice.

I Lurve Autumn!

I know, it's only September 5th, BUT I love Autumn and for me it doesn't come on September 23rd this year. It comes Labor Day weekend!

A kind lady from church asked me one day when she could take my kids for me so I could have a break. Of course I accepted her offer, because I'm not crazy. And so she watched the kids for several hours on Thursday night for me. I just ran a bunch of errands that are not fun with kids. Grocery shopping was a biggy, but I also was able to enjoy a little time at Hobby Lobby. Walking through the isles of Autumn decor just brings so much happiness to me, I don't quite know why, but it does.

Howard and I love looking at model homes and how nicely they are decorated. Several months ago we were in one and I noticed that there was art work over the fridge. It looked so nice and it never crossed my mind to put something there. Ever since then I've been looking for just the right touch for the space over our fridge and I FINALLY found it on Thursday.

"As for me & my house, we will serve the Lord."

I know Autumn is coming soon to Oklahoma because the wind has been blowing in cooler temperatures. And by cooler I mean that it's only 85F and not 105F

Things I love about Autumn...

back to school

sweaters and pants

NOT sweating

sound of leaves rustling

breathtaking fall foliage

(I know I'm not in the right part of the country, but I at least have 4 season now compared to Okinawa)

planning Halloween costumes

Thanksgiving dinner

(my favorite holiday)

Howard returns home

(this will be his third time returning in the autumn)

a crisp cool breeze

sleeping with the windows open

the sun rising and setting at a reasonable hour

pumpkin anything

(carving, roasted seeds, candles, ghetto trifle, roll, pie, pancakes, potpourri, etc.)

My New Project

At our garage sale I sold my very first rocking chair. It was old, ugly, and very comfortable. I've spent many nights rocking and nursing babies to sleep in it, but from a decorating stand point, it was time to go! I made a deal with Howard, I would get rid of the chair and replace it with one of equal or lesser monetary value, using my garage sale funds. Last Tuesday morning I went to the Salvation Army to see what I could find. Oh, I found some wing back chairs alright, but they were horribly overpriced for a thrift store. Like - $89 overpriced!!!! I was disappointed to say the least. That same afternoon I was picking the kids up from the bus stop (which I normally do not do) and found this lovely treasure on the side of the road. FOR FREE!!!! I asked the owners if I could have it (just to make sure) and within a couple minutes Howie and I had it loaded up in the van. Happy day! I will be reupholstering is as soon as I have some time (maybe between 10pm-6am?). I'll post pictures as soon as I'm done, I'm super excited to do something crafty with a practical purpose and not a waste of money.