Sunday

I love coming into town on Sunday's when I am here in Las Vegas.  It is so peaceful.  Almost everyone is with their family enjoying the day.  For some reason it just doesn't feel this way in OKC.  The hustle and bustle never ends.  Sundays are one of the busiest days of the week for us.  I love sitting here at the Spic and Span, drinking my coffee, and listening to the unforgettable voices of all the people.  Life seems simple.  

I am sure this says more about me and my crazy life than it does the locals.

Loving Las Vegas

We are finally here. Our annual family vacation in the mountains outside of Las Vegas, New Mexico. That is not to say it was easy, but we are here. The little guy was sick last week with some kind of stomach bug and surprise, surprise.....it followed us here via the big boy. This was only discovered after we spent one day in the car and the next in Santa Fe (our usualy OU/Texas venue). He was acting a little fussy on the way back to the cabin, but it was storming and hailing and he had limited sleep. On I-35 almost halfway back, we hear a noise followed by projectile YUCK...really it hit the windshield and everything and everyone in between. Lovely.

We made it back to the cabin, gave the boys a bath, fed them dinner and put them down. Just as I was about to sit down and pull out my knitting....the lights flickered.....then I hear the boys wail. The power was out. Did I mention that the highlight of our Santa Fe trip was not the yarn shop but Whole Foods where I spent quite a chunk of change on meat and produce. Now we have no power. The boys joined us in the portel and fell asleep while we ate in front of the fire place. We finally went to bed....all of us in the master bedroom......stomach flu and all. We slept in the dark until one of the children would wake up scared of the dark and then we would rush to turn on the one remaining flashlight we could find. Adam would get sick. We would clean everything up and then back to sleep for a couple of hours. Luckily, the power did come on along with every light in the cabin sometime in the middle of the night.

I will never have to worry if the boys will remember our family vacations. Stomach ailments and bad wiring tend to follow us wherever we go. It is just a matter of keeping them all straight.

The up side is that it is BEAUTIFUL here. Last year our lives brought us here in September. It was still warm, but we got to see the Ladybugs up on Johnson's Mesa. This year is the latest we have been here as a family. The aspen are beautiful. It is a little warm for me and a little overcast, but generally it is awesome. Here are a few teasers:

FALLing for Oklahoma

What a great weekend! Friday afternoon we went out to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch in Arcadia. It was beautiful. It reminded me of time I spent out at the Frantz ranch growing up. It was open and flat and vast.....well, vast for a 8 year old. The weather in Oklahoma has been absolutely beautiful. It has been sunny and cool. Some years we don't get much more than one or two cool days before the blustering winter takes over. This year is a treasure. It looks like we may have a few more good weeks. Oklahoma is known for going from 100's to 50's in a matter of days. The boys got to run around and play on the hay bales.


We got lost in the corn maze....there should really be a warning sign for mothers with young children who decide to do the maze alone.
As evening approached....a little early I might add, we headed down the road to meet up with some friends at Pops. It was perfect. We sat outside so the kids could run around and we enjoyed our burgers. Of course, I had a diet coke....I know, 300 to choose from and I get the Diet
Coke, but it was good. Adam had his first pop....Grape Soda.
The next morning we woke up bright and early do do the Race for a Cure. More awesome weather and it was so much fun to see the entire city come out for such a great cause. Our family raised over $150.

We had brunch at the Skirvin Hotel. Also great and the boys did so well.

Finally, we headed out to the Head of the Oklahoma, the OCU Regatta.

What a great weekend!

It's Hard to Believe

Last night I went to my oldest son's first school Open House. The whole family attended.....mom, dad, grandma, grandpa, and even little brother. We walked in to a lot of overwhelmed three year olds, but my son held his head high and took us to the "pool," an area where he had been telling me he napped. When I looked around, I realized why he was drawn to this spot.....it was the reading area. He has always loved books.

Next, we did a scavenger hunt that led us through all of the things he has been learning. I was very impressed. He showed me the life cycle of a catepillar, some yoga poses, sign language, and how he could find specific letters and count. I was most impressed when he took me over to a book and read it to me...with a little help. I almost cried. The idea that he can read at all and some day will be able to enjoy the written word as much as I do. It was amazing.

Pretty in Pink

In just a few short weeks I will have two sweet boys, two nephews and a brand new NEICE.  Can you tell I am excited?  I can't wait.  I am not really a "girly girl", but let's face it...I grew up in a house of girls and it is just what I know.  My sweet sister in law is due November 5th, but I think she will be here on the first.  Last weekend we had a baby shower.  These are a couple of the gifts I was so excited to give the little sweetie.  The dress was my great grandmother Mary's.  We found several as we were going through my parent's house in preparation to sell.  This was one of my favorites.  I love the lace and ruffles and, of course, the eyelet flowers.  I think it is precious.  I framed it with Pink Polka Dots to match the nursery.  

I also made a few little knitted items.  The coordinating hat and booties are made from baby alpaca.  They turned out so sweet.  I also mad the little pink hat as one of many for her tiny little head.  
The only thing that even comes close to as wonderful as having two precious boys is having a NEICE.  

Let the Countdown Begin

I am excited to announce that my inconsistent blogging is not in vain.  I have been spending every available minute working on a new project.  Yes, there is another one.  I was a crazy work-a-holic before kids....so, I figure why not do that as a SAHM.  I have had this dream since I had the boys that someday I would contribute to the wonderful handmade art and craft that I have found so refreshing.  I have spent hours looking at blogs and Etsy looking for handmade items to surround my children in with the idea that the less commercial the better.  

I was first inspired by a friend that threw the most wonderful birthday parties for her boys.  From the invitation to the thank you notes and everything in between, you could see the personality of the individual child and the family that loved him.  I began this tradition with my boys and......well...the rest is history.  The more I created, the more inspired I became.  One thing led to another and now we are collaborating to open an Etsy Shop.  Playdates Without Pigtails will be open in one month, November 1st.  We plan to use this venue as a way to share our little inspirations (4 boys between us) and encourage others to think creative and unique when mailing out cards, invitations, announcements, gifts, and much more.  

I look forward to sharing this shop with all of my readers.   

Oklahoma Live

I have a confession to make. I am a little ashamed to say this, but I went to the State Fair. I have to say I have watched Martha Stewart enough to say that I fantasize about going to the Fair. People gathered from all over the state to celebrate each others craft, livestock, produce, and even eccentricities. But, for some reason when I go to the fair all I see are the machine made stuffed animals. You too can win these commercial goodies if you spend upwards of $100 on a pop the balloon game. Then you get to the fried everything booths.....yuck! Finally, still looking for the City Arts Building I pass the vendors that sell the T-Shirts and car decals that I always wondered where one would buy such a thing. By now I feel like a total elitist and my interest in all things handmade and home grown is slipping away with the smell of the stale beer at 10:00 in the morning. Not to mention as sure as the sun comes up each morning when the Fair moves into Oklahoma, so does the rain and this day the weather did not disappoint.
Nevertheless, I finally found what I was looking for and stayed long enough to forget the adventure getting there. First I checked out the children and hobby artists exhibition in the City Arts Building. It was really wonderful. I was inspired not just by the wonderful art, but the teachers who inspired many of these young artists. I loved the variety of mediums and the simplicity of many of the pieces.


Next, I headed over to find the fiber goods. I was a little disappointed to find them behind glass, but there were some wonderful pieces. My favorite was this little girl set. There were many pieces that reminded me of pieces my grandmother had around her house growing up. I loved it. Then I found some hand dyed yarn....also lovely. I never found any hand spun although I think some of the hand dyed was also hand spun. Finally, I checked out the canned goods. I did not know you could can such a variety of food. All in all a pretty good day to the trip. Unfortunately as I walked out among the "eccentricities" I quickly forgot the beauty of the handmade. Luckily I took pictures.