Ping pong, baseball, what more could you want?

We started off our weekend with a little table tennis at the OC Student Center! Brought back some great memories for Josh and me, although, the new student center is MUCH nicer now than it was back in 95! The kids absolutely loved playing ping pong--they were so funny! Dustin also got some pool in--I know he's making his great grandpa proud!
Jodee--wondering what to do:

Concentration:
And more concentration:

We also had a baseball tournament this weekend for Dustin's team, the Rangers. On Saturday, we were playing really well, then it started raining! They had to cancel the rest of the games that day, unfortunately, and then we had to play again on Sunday.

Dylan catching raindrops:

My baby boy and me during the rain delay:On Sunday, Dustin was the pitcher for a while:
We had a great weekend. Busy, but fun! Looking forward to another crazy week!

Back to school (again!)

For those of you out there in blogland that don't already know, Josh is going back to school at OC! He is going to get his degree in Bible, and hopefully eventually become a pulpit minister, or young families minister. He is loving school, well, I say that, but I know he's enjoying learning. We are still trying to figure out part time jobs and how to make more money while he's in school, but as of right now, we feel like we're doing well. God is amazing! We have seen so many times how He is working in our lives right now, there's no denying that it's all God!


Here is Josh in his home away from home, the Bible building at OC:

Rollin' down the river

We planned a fun float trip for this Saturday, floating down the Illinois River in Tahlequah, OK! Josh and I have been a couple of times, but the kids have never had the pleasure of riding in a raft, until today!
Here they are on the bus on the way to our drop-off point:Enjoying the b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l weather--couldn't have asked for better weather! At one point, we stopped to let the kids play in the shallow water, and they loved finding minnows and tadpoles---they even caught one!The captain: A few funnies of the day....Dustin and Jodee decided to get in and float in their life jackets--totally fine with us--they are good swimmers, we were right there, it was fine! Well, we came up to a quick moving current (still no problem!), and they were loving it, UNTIL Jodee started screaming crying because she thought our raft was going to leave her! Dustin pulled her along, and Josh finally got her in the raft, and we had to reassure her that she would have been fine, we were right there, NOT going without her! Poor girl! Later on, we found a perfect place to jump in deeper water and swim around, and we all enjoyed that. I was glad she wasn't scarred for life!
Then, at the very end, we let the kids play in the water where we turn the raft and oars in, where it was shallow, a little bit of current moving it along, but once again, no big deal. Well, Dylan got in the current and freaked! It was so sad--but he never went under, he just floated down, and Dustin came to the rescue! It made Dustin feel so big--what a good brother! All in all, it was a blast! I told Josh we need to make this a yearly tradition--I love it!!!
Here is a fun little pic I enhanced on Picnik:


Then, on our way home, we stopped at Lake Ft. Gibson at the Pizza Port to eat. This was hilarious! We loved the small town atmosphere until these two 'hillbillies' (or as my kids would say, "hillybills") walked in. The guy had NO shirt on, the girl was drunk, and they went and sat outside and made out!! Seriously! It was funny-but a really good restaurant! We made it! What a fun little vacation!

I needed this:

A long bike ride, picnic and playing at the park, and another long (and little bit scary!) bike ride home.
I was at a gymnastics judging meeting ALL day....and I'm really not used to being away from the house/kids/Josh all day, much less sitting and listening in meetings....needless to say, I needed a break when I arrived home tonight! This was the perfect getaway--we had great weather, just enough time before bedtime, and I didn't have to cook!
Here we are on our way: This is after eating dinner....and you can't tell, but they are spinning SO fast!

Even better when Daddy pushes them! (Look at his face--he might be having more fun than the kids!)On our way home:And, to clarify what I said earlier, Josh decided to take us a different way home, which was great, until we are riding on a sidewalk right next to 33rd streeet in Edmond, and Dylan likes to look around while he's riding, so he doesn't always stay ON the sidewalk, and there is a dog park on one side of us, and cars FLYING by on the other side of us. What is Dylan doing? No, not watching the sidewalk, looking at the dogs!!! I was trying not to freak out, but I made it certain we would never go that way again!! Way to scary for me to watch my baby right on the edge of the sidewalk/street with cars coming at us!

Ahhhh, we made it home in one piece. It was so nice to get some exercise, fresh air, have fun with the kids, then this: Yep, Dylan is passed out in bed. This is after emptying 2 cans of shaving cream in the bathtub. Yes, they were bought for the kids to have fun with--I never imagined they would use up both cans in one tub of water! Boy, do they smell good tonight!

What a difference

Since Josh has been home a lot this summer, he decided to finish a project we've been thinking about doing for the past 2 years. Our kitchen!! We had the floor tile bought and setting in our garage--yes, for 2 years--but I knew it would be worth it once it was in my kitchen! He also replaced my countertops and sink, because they were from the 70's and VERY YELLOW. I forgot to take a 'good' before picture, but I think you'll get the idea!
BEFORE: (as a work in progress....the backsplash was also yellow before he tore it down)AFTER: (the new backsplash)




WOOHOO!!

Empty Nest?

Dylan's first lunch at school:

Jodee's first lunch at school:
I would've had a picture of Dustin eating lunch, but Josh protested, and told me not to embarass him!! haha--Dustin said he didn't really care, but I figured Josh had a point. Dustin is a 4th grader,now!!

Here they are before school---inside because it was POURING rain outside!

Success!! The first day of school is over--we all made it! I do have to admit, it was VERY strange to have no children with me at all today. But, Josh and I helped out at the school at lunchtime, so I still got to see them, we just didn't have to take them to run errands with us! They all LOVED school today--what a blessing! I think they all got very nice teachers, thankfully, and will really enjoy this school year. The biggest change is for Dylan--they have never had all-day kindergarten here before, and our school is one of the first to do it! He was wiped out after school today--grumpy and tired! That was to be expected! But overall, he had a really good day. Jodee had fun because 2 of her best friends are in her class this year--yay! Her teacher is a nationally certified teacher, so that's always a good sign. Dustin's teacher is young and happy to be teaching. He also has some of his really good friends in class, so we are happy for him, too!

Well, Josh and I are going to enjoy our week together--he will be starting school on the 31st, and I am going to be doing some kind of work eventually. More on that to come later!

Jodee's bad luck today

I have no pictures for this post, so you'll just have to trust me on this one! My poor daughter had a VERY bad hour this afternoon. Her first problem happened like this: She had just gotten out of the swimming pool, and was on the trampoline with some friends, drying off. I am outside watching the kids, talking to Josh, my mom, and my brother. All of a sudden, the girls are yelling that there is a BIG BUG on Jodee's head!!! I am in the middle of something, so I sent Josh to investigate (he's much better with bugs than I am!). On his way out to the trampoline, Jodee starts crying, saying it hurts! I immediately get up and go to her, he gets her down and we look at where the 'bug' was, and her head is BLEEDING!!!! WHAT IN THE WORLD???? So, now I'm trying to stay calm and stop the bleeding, and inside I'm totally freaking out! The bug came back, and Josh trapped it in the water with the net, and it was a humongous horsefly---like the size of a locust. HUGE! I looked it up, and sure enough, they are known to bite humans on the head for a quick feeding....talk about gross!! Poor Jodee....she is fine now, but it was a good scare!

So, on to the second part of her bad luck.....we came inside for the kids to get out of their swimsuits, and she and her friends went into the bathroom to change. I (still talking with my mom), thought nothing of it.....it was all very normal. Until I hear kids yelling, "Jodee's stuck in the bathroom!" What? Really? Come on....then I hear the frantic crying. Yep, it's Jodee. Again. I go to the bathroom and figure out that she had opened the hamper door, that usually stops on TOP of the door knob, but she somehow 'accidentally' pushed it below the door knob, and cannot get it closed in order to open the bathroom door. Are you following this? She's officially stuck. Josh has to calm her down so he can give her directions....I'm already to the thought process of how to take the doorknob off, or how to bust down a bathroom door, because there is no window to our bathroom. He had her and her friend use all their might (grunting and all) and push the hamper door up as hard as they could---even if it breaks--it's okay! Lo and behold, they did it!! The hamper door was hanging by it's hinges, but they made it out of the bathroom.

That poor child.

She is pretty resilient. She was fine tonight, thankfully. We'll see how she does around the flies tomorrow!!