The Family Dog

Two weeks ago we adopted a dog. She is a 9 mo. old Jack Russell Terrier mix named Roxy. Charlie found her at petfinder.com and beside her name it said "very loving dog." We drove to Cushing, OK to check her out and she was as sweet as they said. We really liked the idea that she was house broken, fixed and all ready to go.

This is so nice because we never have to take her out during the night. She’s just used to sleeping all night long.

In the morning Scott get up about an hour before I do, and he let’s Roxy out of her crate and she jumps so high it’s like she has springs on her feet! He actually read that a Jack Russell that is 12 in. tall when standing, can jump 5ft high. This is definitely true with our Roxy!

Charlie is having a great time with Roxy. She carries her everywhere and she’s not that small of a dog. It’s really funny because she seems to like it. When she goes to sleep Charlie covers her up like a baby. I told her to really enjoy the dog and treat her like a baby if she wants because that’s the closest she will get to having a baby in our family! Lol

The first few days we had her, we let her on all the furniture and after we noticed the white hair on the brown couch we (I), decided it wasn’t such a good idea. We put a blanket on the ottoman and that is her special place to lay and take naps. Works for me!

Roxy really likes rides in the car. We say bye-bye to her and like a flash of lightning, she’s in the car. This is funny to me since she wasn’t in a car much before we got her.

Some funny things about her is that she spends most of her time outside chasing crickets or spiders. She likes to eat them, yuck! It took her a while to figure out the pool is round and once she did she just runs circles around it. It is so nice to see the kids outside playing with her. It is true, a dog really adds something to a family. It’s hard to explain and I have never experienced it before now, but we sure enjoy having Roxy.

The Riverwalk

There's a beautiful place in Jenks, OK that's called the Riverwalk. When when we have time available we like to go there and walk along the river. It's especially nice when we have enough time to get ice cream and then go the the movie theater that's there.

There's small shops, restaurants, an amphitheater with live music and a walking trail close to the river. When we go we will usually find a bench and talk and watch people walk by

with their cute dogs.

I'm really happy that our kids like going there because most of the time we just go there and hang out and talk.

I can't really explain why we like it there so much other than by saying there's a great atmosphere there and it's very relaxing and quaint.

A few weeks ago when we had a week off we went down there with the kids. Charlie really wanted to go because it was a chance to heely! She never misses an opportunity for that.

It was also Charlie's turn to pick the movie so we saw Kit Kitterage an American Girl. That was a cute movie, not sure that Jared & Scott thought so, but me & Charlie liked it!

That was a very nice day for us! Thank you for taking the time to enjoy it! We hope that everyone takes time out of their busy lives to spend with loved ones. I try to remind myself that when the end of my life draws near I will not be concerned of how much more money I would of liked to make or places I would have liked to visit but rather how much of my life I invested in the ones I love the most!

Charlie's 10th Birthday Surprise

Hello! Well I thought I would include something special about our very beautiful, super, fantastic daughter Charlie and her 10th birthday celebration. After reading the article about Jared I wrote, Charlie thought it would be nice to have some pictures of her 10th birthday and the story about how special it was for her Grandparents and Great-Grandma to visit us for her birthday. I agreed with her, so here you go!!

Charlie's 10th Birthday last year was very special to her because she was moving from one digit to two! She was a little sad the day's leading to her birthday since she realized that the family was just too far away to attend her party.

Scott's parents Dick and Sue along with his Grammie called ahead and told us that they were planning on making a visit on her birthday weekend but they wanted to surprise her. When she woke up the day of her party she said that she was sad that she couldn't see any of her family and you could tell she was really trying not to cry:) Just then her grandparents called to wish her a happy birthday and then the doorbell rang... I asked her to answer it and on the other side of the door were Dick, Sue and Grammie all the way from Clinton, IA to celebrate with us and make it a birthday she would not forget! She was so shocked that she was speechless and after all the hugs and kisses were over she really did cry but these were tears of joy not sadness!

Well we went to the Roller Rink where her party was and had cake, lots of friends came and to her delight she got LOTS if Webkinzs! After her party Grandma & Grandpa asked Charlie where she wanted to go for dinner and of course it was Texas Roadhouse! At the restaurant Grandpa told the waiter it was Charlie's big day and she got to sit on the bull and make a Birthday wish! We all got a good laugh out of that:)

So thank you Mom & Dad and Grammie for making Charlie's 10th Birthday so special! We love you and appreciate all the wonderful things you have done for our family! Words cannot express our love for you...

A Day At The Tulsa Zoo

On the 4th of July we decided a trip to the zoo sounded like a nice change of scenery. It was a good reason to discover why the Tulsa Zoo was voted America's Favorite Zoo. Who doesn't like animal watching anyway? Although we have lived here for 3 1/2 years we have only been there twice and the second time was only for a few minutes (very long story). In the back of my mind I was wondering if Jared and Charlie are too old, maybe they will think this is really boring once we get there.

Charlie was excited since this was the perfect opportunity for a full day of heelying (the shoes with the wheels in the heel.) I'll be the first to admit that those shoes can be annoying, but I decided to be a trooper and let her wear them all day knowing it could be a day of falls, scrapes, bruises, being cut off while walking repeatedly, her ahead of us, her behind us, pull me dad, wait - did I mention I was being a trooper:) Really it came down to the fact that their a special new toy that she had saved all her money to get and Grandma Gail even pitched in some! I knew she would be content and there would be less chance of her getting bored so I thought it would work out great for the whole family... until we made it through the first gate after paying to get in and the guard promptly told us "no heelys." Bummer for Charlie! But I had some flip flops in the back pack and she had a great attitude about it so it all worked out! WHEW!

Right inside the gate is the monkey house and we were surprised to see some little baby monkeys. They were so cute. I was thinking about all the shows you see where people keep them as pets. Cute idea, although when I saw the adult monkey that changed my mind fast!

Lots of the animals were missing, no Polar Bear, no Tiger, no Jaguar, no Kangaroo Rat, no sloth, Scott mentioned that this was probably why it's $2 off admissions in July! Funny thought! We were happy to be there and it was a nice change of pace. We took our time and strolled around enjoying the beautiful weather. Then we were just in time for the Meerkat feeding and that was really neat. They zookeepers gave them 35mm film containers that had small holes to get food out of. They had to shake or roll it and the food pellets would drop out. Those little guys are fun to watch, I can understand how there could be a whole show on Animal Planet devoted solely to them. The kids asked us if you can have them as pets and my mind wondered back to the monkeys... probably not a good idea:)

All in all it was a great day. Different from a few years back when they had the excitement of younger kids, I caught myself feeling sad for just a moment or two thinking about when they were younger with all the excitement and questions. I was trying to remember if I truly appreciated that time spent with them? Then I decided to just let it go and appreciate the moment we were in and how much older they seemed from the last time. Not as many question es nor excitement but still a great time just the same. So we rode the train back to the front and decided to leave and go buy some fireworks after all it is the 4th of July and you can let off fireworks in Oklahoma! Now I see excitement in their eyes! Here come the questions - can we light some, can we get the big ones, how many are we gonna get? Whoa! Well, we got their attention and went and got some fireworks, but that's another story...

Jared's 15th Birthday

WOW! I kinda still cannot believe it! Our son turned 15 on the first day of summer - the 21st of June. Maybe it's hard to believe since I'm only 31? Yes... when you do the math, I was a mother at 16. I smile when I try to count the number of times people have asked how old our kids are then the blank stare and the same statement "you don't look old enough to have children that age." In which I usually clear up all questions by saying "i was a teenage mom." I don't bother with trying to pull off 45, figure I'll be there soon enough. The way i see it Jared is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received and I'm proud to have him as my son. He was such a sweet baby, so easy going and good natured. He's still the same way. He is the peaceful quiet one in our family. Spending time with him is calming. Jared has a great sense of humor, very dry and timely although he doesn't show it to very many people. If you have seen this side of Jared you know what I mean and you should count yourself lucky! Most of the funny pictures I have of Jared were his idea and I have shared a few in this post.

For his 15th Birthday he wanted a drum set. I gave in and actually started looking for one and that's when Dad stepped in with reality and said let's wait and see if this passes (fingers crossed). Well it did and boy were we glad! Jared has been in guitar lessons every Monday evening since October and he is really making progress. Almost every day you hear him in his room, electric guitar plugged into the amp singing and making music. I was really surprised at my reaction the first time I heard him play a melody on his guitar, tears were welling up as I was so happy for him because he found something that fits him! SO this birthday he gathered up all the birthday money that he got from friends and family and we headed off to Guitar Center so he could purchase his first "real" guitar as he calls it. It's an Epiphone SG and it's black and best of all he can play metal music with it and that's what he likes. Another year of guitar lessons and who knows maybe he'll be in a band, I'd rather school band than rock band but we'll see... in the mean time go for it Jared you deserve it.