Loving the Spring Time Weather {2013}

This Spring has been a little cooler and rainier than normal.  It's been a big blessing, because Oklahoma has really needed the rain.  Yesterday, the weather was gorgeous!  After church and naps, we decided to head outside to play for a little while.  Payton loves to jump rope.

Payton

Evan showed us a few jump rope tricks that he learned at Jump Rope For Heart.  Then, Evan and Payton decided to have a jump roping contest. Contests have a way of ending up in arguments, so Mama may or may not have ended the contest. =)

Evan

We opened up a package of new sidewalk chalk.  Addi loves to color!  When we walked outside today, she looked at all of their drawings and said, "Oh, how beautiful!"

Addisyn

It was Karsyn's first time to use sidewalk chalk, but she knew just what to do with it.  She worked very hard to make our driveway pretty.

Karsyn

Payton is always very creative.  She drew all kinds of pretty pictures and wrote her name all over the driveway.

Evan's getting kind of big and didn't seem to enjoy the sidewalk chalk as much as the girls did.  He did enjoy playing a few games of Tic Tac Toe with Payton and me.

Evan

Today, we were blessed again with another beautiful day.  After the little ladies and I took Evan and Payton to school, we made our way outside for a little bike riding time.  It amazes me at how well Addi can ride her bike.  She is so coordinated - a trait that she did not get from her mama. ha!

Addi

Karsyn loved riding her 'bike' too.  She really wanted to ride Addi's bike, but her little legs just aren't quite long enough to reach the pedals.  I want to get her a tricycle for her birthday, but I might not be able to wait that long. =) She was so funny today!  She'd ride for a little bit and then stand up and reach her arms up in the air to say, "Ya-hoo!"

Karsyn

The girls would ride down the driveway and down the sidewalk a little way.  I think Addi has been watching Dora a little too much.  As she was riding her bike, she would say, "Pedal. Pedal. Peddalll!"  The girls would make their way back up the drive way and Karsyn would say, "Addi, (w)ait for me!!"  When they made it to the garage door, Karsyn would say, "I did it! I did it! I did it!"  Hmmmm...maybe Karsyn is watching too much Dora too!  =)

Biking Beauties

It was a fun way to spend our morning.  It sure wore Karsyn out - she's still napping away.  Has Spring sprung where you are?  How do you enjoy Spring?

Random Ramblin's

Are you ready for some random ramblin's?  To make it even more random, I'll throw in some old pictures. =)  The next two week are going to be busy, busy!  Evan, Payton, and Addi only have two weeks of school left!  Addi's going to graduate on Thursday and Evan and Payton have their last soccer games of the season on Saturday.  Toss in a field trip, field day, and a few other fun things, and this mama will be running....in a good way.

Addi & Payton - 2009

This week, we reserved our hotel for the night that we are going to stay in Louisiana on our way to Florida.  It's a huge sigh of relief, since it's very hard to find a hotel for a little family of six, make that two little families of six.  We secured our reservations to visit an alligator ranch in Louisiana too - who talked me into that?????

Our little family of 4 in 2006

Little Miss Karsyn Faith is a talk baby!  But, she won't talk in front of anyone but family. =)  She surprised me the other night.  I pulled a spoon out of the drawer and she asked, "Can I stir?"  I've been kind of sad that her baby stage is over, but I LOVE this stage too.

Evan & Addi - July 2012

I thought we were going to have a sports free summer, but we are signing Evan and Payton up for basketball.  Payton will still have art lessons all through the summer and she might be going to a painting day camp at the studio.  I'm also looking into dance classes for all 3 girls this fall.

Karsyn - July 2012

On Tuesday night, my sister, Ashley, and I are hosting our first ever toddler shower.  We have a friend who has stepped up to become a foster mother.  Our friend will be fostering a sweet little two year old girl for as long as she needs a home.  We can't wait to show them both some love.  And could you do me a favor?  Would you please pray for all the children in foster care now?  It overwhelms my heart to think of the things that some children have to live through. 

Our little family of 6 - December 2012

One last random, I've decided to buckle down on our little family's eating out habit.  For the most part, I just want our little family to eat better, but I do like the idea of saving money while we're at it. I've done some menu planning and am going to see how well we can stick to it. Oh, and as part of this process, I'm going to try to limit myself to just one trip to Wal-Mart during the week.  It's easy to spend a little extra if I go multiple times during the week. How do you meal plan for your family?  How often does your family eat out?  I'd love to hear your tips and tricks.

Beach Towels & Flags

About a week ago, I was reading an old work friend's blog.  She had posted pictures of two super cute beach towels that she had bought for her little girls for their upcoming beach trip.  As soon as I saw them, I knew Addi and Karsyn needed would like one too.  I got in contact with my friend and found out that she bought them from Bed Bath and Beyond and they were only $8!  Last Friday, I let Addi and Karsyn pick out one for themselves while we were out shopping. Karsyn picked out a mermaid beach towel!  So cute!

Karsyn

Addi picked out a dolphin beach towel!  I just love that they are hooded!  I think they'll come in so handy this summer, especially when we are in Florida.  The other two designs include a pirate and a fairy! 

Addi

Tonight, Evan, Payton, and I went to watch my niece, Natalie, preform in her Spring Color Guard Show.  Payton was so excited to see her friend, Lindsey, from soccer.  She was even more excited when I told her that Lindsey could sit by us.  And of course, Payton loved sitting by her cousin, Emily too!

Lindsey, Payton, & Emily

I was a little surprised when Evan said that he wanted to go.  It didn't take me too long to figure out Evan's motivation for going...he wanted to hang out with Stephen!

Evan & Stephen

When I was in high school, the girls who were in Color Guard were called "Flag Girls."  They danced and twirled their flags along with the marching band during football games and the Christmas Parade.  Now, they do that and so much more! It was a lot of fun to watch them perform tonight.  Payton literally sat at the edge of her seat the entire show.  It was kind of an emotional night for some, as it was the last performance for the senior girls and boys.

Their routine was awesome!  It was called "Poisoned!" I loved watching Payton eyes as they would throw the flags way up in the air and then catch them!

Natalie did an AWESOME job! I had always associated Color Guard with the marching band, so I was blown away by such a dramatic performance. Payton has decided that she wants to try out for the Color Guard when she old enough. I see dance classes in her near future. =)  My niece, Emily, wants to follow in her big sister's foot steps too.  She'll be able to try out next school year!  Here's a picture of the team after the show.  I borrowed it from my brother's facebook page. =)

I feel like such a proud aunt tonight and I am so glad that we were able to be there!

Saturday Soccer

With just two more weekends left, Spring Soccer is quickly winding down.  This morning, Evan and Payton had games that overlapped. Fortunately, both games were here in town.  We aren't going to be so lucky next weekend. =( From the time it took the girls and I to walk from Field 1 to Field 6, Evan scored a goal.  And from I was told, it was AWESOME!  The ball got passed to Evan.  He gave the ball a hard kick and it went sailing through the air and into the net!  Even though I didn't get to see it, Papa F and Aunt Kary got to see it all!  Here's Evan going into the game.  He's been playing Left Wing a lot this season.

Evan's #15

Sometimes, the best way to keep the littlest ladies of the family happy while watching almost 2 hours of soccer is to have a snack picnic.  The girls also love it when Papa lets them play Angry Birds on his cell phone. Crayons and coloring books usually do the trick too.  I've learned to bring a few extra, just in case we meet new friends.  BTW, this is about the best picture I can get of Karsyn lately.  My baby who used to love to smile at the camera is now a toddler who doesn't like to sit still long enough for her picture to be taken.

Payton, Addisyn, & Karsyn

Most games, we don't sit this close to the boys while they are playing. When Addi realized how close they were, she thought they needed a little pep talk. 

Evan, Stephen, & Addisyn

This girl is so funny!!!

Addisyn

My niece, Emily, had a game that overlapped Payton's game too.  I didn't get to watch her play, but I did get a super cute picture of our family's soccer girls.

Payton & Emily

I love that these 4 kiddos will grow up having great memories of spending their Saturday mornings at the soccer fields together!!!

Payton, Emily, Stephen, & Evan

Evan's Birth Story {April 19, 2004}

Tomorrow, Evan turns the big number 9!  In honor of his special day, I thought I'd share the story about how he made his grand entrance into the world.  After a little over two years of hoping and praying for a baby, Jason and I found out that we were expecting on August 17, 2003.  When I saw the plus sign, I laughed and cried at the same time.  Jason had a big smile on his face and then carefully watched my crazy display of emotions. =) After I was able to talk again, we sat down on our bed and decided to wait until I went to the doctor before we shared our good news.  That decision lasted almost 5 minutes before we gleefully called all of our family and friends.  We were beyond excited!!!!  During the first four months of my pregnancy, I didn't have morning sickness, I had all day long sickness.  It was awful!  I would get sick between 5 to 10 times a day.  In December of 2003, we found out that we were going to have a son.  By then, the morning sickness had eased up and the rest of my pregnancy was great, aside from the normal aches and pains of pregnancy.  At my 39 week appointment, my OB was a little concerned that Evan hadn't dropped.  He thought Evan might be too big and said that a C-Section was a high possibility.  On the evening of April 18th, I started having regular contractions.  By the early morning hours of April 19th, Evan's due date, we were pretty sure that I was in labor.  We went and picked up my mom and then we we sped off to the hospital.  Here I am mid contraction.

Jason was such a good little daddy to be during labor!  It took about 12 hours of labor, before our OB finally told us that he didn't think we'd need a C-Section.  I was so relieved!


After about 16 hours of labor, Evan made his grand appearance into the world!  He was absolutely, positively perfect!  He was born at 5:17 p.m.  He weighed 7 lbs 11 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long!

Jason cried and I laughed!  We counted his fingers and his toes.  I was amazed at how big his eyes were!  You know, I started loving Evan the second that I saw the positive on the pregnancy test.  I loved him even more in the months to come as I felt him move and kick me.  But, when I saw him for the first time, I felt love like I have never felt it before. It came rushing in like a flood. I couldn't even close my eyes without seeing his sweet little face.  It's such an amazing feeling!

Here's Jason holding Evan for the very first time!  Such a sweet moment!

Our family and friends couldn't get enough of our little guy!  Here's Papa Gene snuggling up Evan!

I love how you can see the love on Nana's face here!  She was head over heels!

We were a little family of 3!  I honestly couldn't have been more happy!  I had the two most amazing guys in my life!  For a very (and I mean VERY) short time, we had more boys than girls in our family. =)  I still feel so overwhelmingly blessed that God chose me to be Evan's mom! 

Evan's 9th Birthday Bowling Bash

Evan's 9th birthday is next week.  We decided to celebrate his last year in the single digits today with a bowling party.  Here's the big birthday boy with his friend Cayden.

The birthday boy with his birthday bud

Some of my most favorite girls were there to help celebrate Evan's big day.  These girls had way too much fun.  They were all singing and dancing!  There were a few times that Payton would bowl and then dance her way back to get her bowling ball!

Emily, Jessi, Katelyn, & Payton

Earlier in the week, I was kind of afraid that not many of our guests would be able to come.  That was not the case!  Evan had 15 kids at his party!!  I'm not sure how many adults came, but there were quite a few.  We had a party first, in that 3 of the boys that came were dropped off by their parents.  That made me just a little nervous, but they were all really good!



Bowling Time!!!

We bowled for a little while, and then, it was pizza time!  Bowling ally pizza - Yummy! =)

Pizza Time

Our party package included bowling, shoes, pizza, pop, decorations, and goodie bags - which the kids loved! 

Good Bag Time

While the kiddos were chowing down and checking out their goodie bags, I took a few photos of the party guests.

Evan & Cayden

Levi & Jesse



Jman & Stephen

Jett & Ike



Katelyn, Payton, & Jessi

Then it was cake time!  I ordered Evan's cake from a local bakery and it was delicious!!!!  Despite Addi's best efforts, I didn't order Evan the Minnie Mouse cake that she was just sure he would love.

Evan's cake

We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Evan and then he made a wish!  I can't believe that's a number 9 candle on his cake!

Evan's making a wish.

Addi was so funny.  After we sang 'Happy Birthday' she started applauding!  She was also super excited to wear bowling shoes for the first time.


Addi

Then, it was present time!  Evan wasn't short on helpers. (And, I didn't notice until I was looking at my pictures that Uncle Billy and Stephen were wearing matching shirts.  How cute!)

Present Time

After present time, it was time for some more bowling fun!!!

Addi & Emily

Silly Boys

Levi & Karsyn

Karsyn seemed like such a big girl!  She would take her turn bowling and then give Papa a high five!

Papa Floyd & Karsyn

Kim & Katelyn

I tried to get a snap shot of all the adult guests too.  Some turned out great and some didn't. So, here's a few of the 'bigs', as my kiddos like to call them. 

Papa & Nana




Jon & Kim - And yes, Jon was being just being goofy!

Rhonda & John

Despite having a few gutter balls..uhh...even with bumpers, Evan's party was great!  I can't believe my little man is going to be turning 9!!!  Thank you to everyone who made his day so special!!!