Wild Thing

Wesley's gorgeous-ness

is his

Life Insurance policy

Happy 4th of July

"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism." ~Erma Bombeck

"Freedom is never free. " ~Author Unknown

Nathan and Wesley walking to the ward 4th of July party. I thought the sunset was so pretty.
This 4th of July was similar to last year because Sienna got to visit her great Aunt & Uncle in Texas for the holiday.
And again, like last year we spent some serious hours painting and decorating her room. She is still having a hard time letting go of Arizona and her old room. So we worked really hard to make her new room cheerful and beautiful.

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you." ~

" In war, there are no unwounded soldiers."
~José Narosky

For the 4th itself we spent the evening at a ward members' house at their annual party. They have a gorgeous house and had a perfect view of all surrounding fireworks. In Oklahoma you can buy and set off your own fireworks (I should have known.....we should have the right to blow off our own appendages shouldn't we?? tongue in cheek).
Anyway the whole neighborhood lit up the sky for a good 30-40 minutes. In every direction you could see fireworks exploding. I personally love fireworks and the 4th of July...but in the photo above you can see Wesley was scared when they first began and wanted us to hold him-but warmed up to them in the end.

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because brave men and women stand ready to fight on their behalf." George Orwell

"How often we fail to realize our good fortune in living in a country where happiness is more than a lack of tragedy." ~Paul Sweeney

Thank you to all the brave men and women in every branch of the military-thank you for your service, your sacrifices, your courage, and your love of country.
Our country as we know it today....would not exist without you.

I am so proud of my brother Nathan...who served 2 honorable tours of duty in Iraq. He is a survivor, a decorated Marine, a living miracle, a great person, and a real-life American Hero.
We love you...
Happy 4th of July

Bubba + Oklahoma = Good times

I am so, so, behind in my blogging. I am sincerely sorry to all 3 of my fans.
These pictures were taken over a month ago when my brother Matt came to visit us since we moved to OK. We loved having him! We did lots of fun things.....we took him on a nature walk, to an amazing aquarium , and a live performance of the musical "Oklahoma." I'm sure there were a few restaurants visited and movies viewed and games played that I can't remember now.

But of course what I loved most besides spending one on one time with Matt, was watching my brother interact with my kids.... some moments are hilarious, others are sweet and memorable, and some are heartbreaking.
One of my favorite moments is in the picture below....where Matt was combing Sienna's hair before bed- it was so sweet and endearing. And I loved how they were, without knowing.....crossing their legs exactly the same way.

We love you Bubba.....come back soon now- ya hear??

Dallas or Bust

A few weekends ago we had the chance to go to Dallas for a super quick weekend trip. It went by so quickly I hardly remember a thing. But what I do remember-distinctly- was the weather. It was 105 degrees with 98% humidity. Walking to a from the car was misery, I literally felt like I would drop dead. If I never experience that again, it's too soon.
We drove to Dallas (in part to drop off Sienna with relatives) and also because one of Nathan's work colleagues invited us to visit he and his family in Texas. And put us up in a swanky Hilton by a lake.
We had a such a nice time with their family and the kids couldn't have had more fun in their luxury pool. And I was in awe of their mansion. It was unbelievable. I couldn't help but feel a tintsy bit sorry for myself and we made our way back to our cheerful (?) den in Tulsa.
While we were there we visited the Dallas World Aquarium....which for all intents and purposes was supposed to be amazing....which in turn was supposed to justify the cost of getting into the joint. Unfortunately.....it was pretty lame, very stinky, and in no way merits a visit. Bummer for us! We did see a "Bird-eating Tarantula" so at least I checked that off my to-do list.

Happy Father's Day

So this is a little late...I know, but it'd be weird if I was on time, and on top of everything right?? Sigh. Anyway, so these are a few pictures of our Father's Day weekend. We celebrated Father's Day on Saturday morning. I let Nathan sleep in and made him breakfast and when he came upstairs the kitchen nook was full of dangling cut-out stars. And by his plate was a rocket ship shaped card that told Nathan we thought he was "out of this world."
And then I surprised he and the kids by taking them to the Tulsa Air & Space Museum. The museum is among other things a history of aircraft's, flights, and space exploration. And I knew that Nathan and the kids would LOVE it.
The museum is actually a huge airplane hangar filled with different kinds of planes that you can climb into, touch and take pictures in. They also had flight simulators (kind of like a mini ride) for airplanes and also for the space shuttle. We watched a movie in the Planetarium and minus a few hiccups and tantrums, we had a really great time!
Happy Father's Day Nathan....we could not love you more if we tried.
Thanks for being a kid at heart and being such a wonderful father.

Grandma's Song