Underwater Fun

What do you get when you add swimming, one iPhone with a waterproof cover, and an Uncle?  Well, if your eight, it equals an evening of fun.  The kids enjoyed having their picture and video taken.  Thanks, Uncle Patrick!

Cousin Sleepover

At eight, there's just not much that compares to sleep overs.

a friendly game of Monopoly

followed by a crazy fight with light sabers

Camping

Just so we set the record completely straight, we are a little crazy for attempting camping in Oklahoma, in July, during a major heat wave.  So, it goes without saying that it was HOT, but we still managed to have a good time.  Setting up camp in the heat of the day was pretty much a meltdown-literally-for everyone.  Lucky for us, some friends with a wave runner arrived just in time to get us out on the water for a while and cool off. 

The kids, especially Jax was most excited to go fishing.  I really didn't have a lot of confidence in fishing of the bank, but to my surprise Baylor and Delaney both caught tiny fish within minutes.  Poor Jax was the only one not to catch a fish, mostly due to the fact that his pole wasn't working properly.  By the time, we had him borrow another pole, the fish just weren't biting as much. 

All in all, we had a great time making some camping memories but we are looking forward to fall camping.

You have to LOOK really close to see the fish!



Saturday Road Trip

It's not often that we have a free Saturday with zero obligations and no pressing chores, but we found ourselves in this very position this Saturday and Rick suggested we take a road trip, to Soda Steve's, a hamburger place near Ten Killer Lake.

To make our road trip even a little more memorable for the kids, Rick decided to let them take their first stab at driving the car.  Don't worry, their driving was contained to the neighborhood.  I can remember getting to drive on my Dad's lap almost every Sunday on the way home from school, so I know this was something special and something they really enjoyed.   

No road trip would be complete without a stop for ice cream.

We found ourselves not far from Burnt Cabin so we made a stop there to show the kids where they may go to church camp next year.  We then took the long route home, stopping in Tahlequah to show kids the NSU campus and where we attended school.  I'm not sure they were all that impressed; they have big dreams of attending OSU, which is fine by me.

Morning at the Zoo

The weatherman said that a cool front would drop us into the 90's so I figured it was the perfect chance to use our free coupons from the library and visit the Zoo.  Not to mention the reality that it probably wasn't going to get any cooler in July and our summer days are numbered. Shocking but the weathermen were a tad off on their forecast and it was well over 90 in the morning hours.  Despite the heat, we managed to enjoy a few good hours at the zoo before melting down.

Speaking of meltdowns, this girl had one almost as we entered the park.  She had brought along her camera to take pictures and discovered that her batteries didn't work.  Apparently, this happened on our last visit and she was deeply disappointed.  Therefore, my 'free' trip to the zoo ended up costing me $9 for package of batteries.  Yes..double the price but her joy was priceless.  At least that's what I told myself.

We were most interested in seeing the new Sea Lion exhibit & show.  It didn't disappoint.

Sometimes getting the kids around in the summer can be a challenge.  However on this morning, much to my surprise, Baylor was dressed and ready to go.  When I commented to this fact, he replied, "really, mom...what kid doesn't want to go to the zoo?"

Look close.  That is a lion in the background!  Jax was happy that on this trip to the zoo the lion was out in full view.

We've been to the Tulsa Zoo so many times but to my surprise it never seems to get old to the kids.

July 4th

I've been slacking on picture taking so I don't have any pictures of our celebration with the Taylors on the third but I did bust out the camera for a few shots at our annual celebration at the Gillions.  I think I need to learn to take pictures before swimming and end of the day heat exhaustion set in.

They are thrilled to have their picture taken.  Can you tell? 

Where did our babies go?