A Very Special Mile

I had another one of those "proud Mommy" moments today.  Tyson ran his first mile run today.  It was the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon and he ran the kid's race.  Over the last two months we have been tracking Tyson's running.  Each child was supposed to log a total of 25 miles on their own and run the last mile on race day and then receive their medal.  At first Tyson was all ready for the run but as it grew closer he got nervous and was afraid he wouldn't be able to run the whole thing.  Paul and I knew  hecould.  This morning we were a team and I assured him he could do it. 

He looks so old.  He wanted to wear a short sleeved CT tee and his was long sleeve, so he wore mine.

It was an early morning!  We were downtown by 7 am.

 

Group shot of some of the Cross Timber kiddos, about another 30 showed up after we took this picture.

Yay Buddy!  His first running medal.  He was so proud of himself and already wants to do another run.  I totally enjoyed running with my Buddy, next up a 5K together.

It's been a good fall, bring on winter!

Our first Fall in Oklahoma has been wonderful.  For that matter I am about 9 days away form calling it a year in Oklahoma.  We moved here on November 15th.  Can't believe we've been here a whole year already!   We have enjoyed lots of new experiences, made lots of wonderful friends, and we have definitely enjoyed the cooler weather.  Here are just a few good pics from Fall 2011!

 This was on Halloween, the kids and I had made treats for their teachers.

 

 

Tyson took Paul to their first OU game last month.

We were able to take a trip to Mom and Dad's house.  We always enjoy a pit stop at DQ.

One of our first chilly mornings.  Time to get the coats out.  And apparently it was bright.

Tyson had his class field trip to the zoo and Paul was able to go as a chaperone.

  

And sometimes it's just fun for me and Em to dress alike.

Paul and I even got to go to a game.  We had a blast and our kids had a wonderful time spending the afternoon with the Henson family.  (Jenn, this pic is for you!)

WOW!!!  As I type this I am overwhelmed with joy as to how lucky my family is and how blessed we are to be able to experience these things together.  One year ago we were living in a one bedroom hotel suite awaiting the closing on our new house.  We had no idea what life had in store for us in Edmond, Oklahoma and we definitely had no idea they had earthquakes.  That is a whole different post.

Happy Halloween........a week late

Halloween is always a big day around here and this year was no exception.  We even hosted a little
"pre trick-or-treat" party at the house.  We invited our friends and neighbors to come over for some spOOky fun food and treats.

Check out the spOOky spread: we had mummy dogs, bloody finger cookies, pumpkin rice krispies

 

even black punch with a bloody floating hand and some creepy apple mouths.

And I present to you, my little OU cheerleader and my blood sucking vampire.......

The whole crew about to head out!

These two were so cute and sweet at each house.  They took their time slowly walking to up each sidewalk, politely saying "trick-or-treat" then carefully examining each piece that was given to them.  It's a wonder we even made it around the cul de sac at that pace. 

 This one was a whole different story.  Him and Anna trick-or-treated at record breaking speed.  It was impossible to catch up to them to get a picture.  I was lucky to get this one.

The little ones at the neighborhood entrance.

 Now that's a lot of loot!

They are both already planning next year's costumes.

Go Eagles!

My kids have never been to a high school football game.....in fact I'm sure I hadn't been to a high school game since I was in high school 4, 5 or 16 years ago.  But who's counting?  Anyway, when my friend Tyler asked if we wanted to go to her sister Madison's game the kids couldn't wait.  My kids LOVE Madison.  She's the coolest 17 year old they know......possibly the only one they know.

The kids really enjoyed the whole experience.  It's a small private school so the game was on a small field and we were able to sit really close. 

Em even caught her first spirit stick!

Madison took the kids out onto the field at halftime. 

 

She told Em to wear her cheerleading uniform and of course she got use the "real cheerleader pom poms."  

Not bad for a first Friday Night Football experience!

Family Rivalry

I think I like football.  I used to enjoy the Dallas Cowboy years ago.  But in the last seven or eight years I have not been a fan.  And I am fortunate to have a husband that does not spend his entire weekend on the couch watching football games.  However living in Oklahoma I have started watching the OU games and have found myself really enjoying college games.

Am I an OU fan like my son?  The truth is I'm not real sure. It's hard to live in this state and not be consumed by the Boomer Sooner craze.  It's a little contagious.  Thus my shirt. 

Obviously these two had no issues jumping on the Sooner bandwagon.

 

Something Special

As soon as school ended in May, Cathy (our neighbor across the street) asked my if she could teach Tyson to sew. She was thinking she could do weekly lessons with him in the afternoons. I mentioned it to Tyson and he was thrilled. He enjoys playing outside, running, looking for bugs and "exploring." But since he was little Tyson has always enjoyed sitting down with me or my mom and doing a "hands on" craft. I had no doubt he would enjoy sewing.

Well Cathy definitely went above and beyond when it came to the lessons. She ordered a couple of books on sewing for kids, she put together his own sewing box filled with supplies including his very own tomato pin cushion. But before he could sew Dave(Cathy's husband) had to get the machine outfitted for Tyson, which meant attaching a wooden block to the pedal so he could reach it while sitting at the table. He spent the first two lessons learning the parts of the machine and practicing sewing on paper. By the time his third lesson was finished he was working on a pillow case. She even sent him home with homework to do like word searches and crossword puzzles involving sewing terms.

When summer came to an end Tyson had sewn one Dr. Seuss pillow case, one pair of pajama pants, one super cute cat complete with button eyes(which he sewed himself), a throw pillow with a silly face and even one Strawberry Shortcake pillowcase for Emmy's birthday. Cathy was impressed with what a good student Tyson was. She made his summer special and he can't wait to sew some more with her. We are so lucky to have such caring neighbors.

Em is already asking for some one-on-one craft time with Cathy.

Does everything in Oklahoma have to be so eXtreme?!?

When we decided to leave South Texas and move to Oklahoma I mentally prepared myself for some cooler temperatures and tornadoes in the spring. NO ONE mentioned the other weather issues I should be concerned about.

Let's start with winter. It's not just "cooler," it's bone chilling cold with blizzards and five feet snow drifts. And then we hit spring. One word, WINDY. Absolutely WINDY.....for a good 2 months straight I have to hold on to Em because I'm constantly afraid she's going to blow away. Of course we have tornadoes; we had a shelter put in our garage and we're not afraid to get in. So summer hits, and OH.... MY.... WORD! We were breaking all sorts of records for temperatures over 100 degrees in June, 30 days, 40 days...who knows? I lost count of how many days it has actually been over 100. We're talking getting into my car and the temp reading 117! It was actually cooler in Del Rio, Texas than it was here. And Del Rio is most often the hottest place on the map. Next up is drought. Now, I'm no stranger to drought, coming from San Antonio I can hang with a little drought. But this "heat dome" is ridiculous! And most recently making the weather top ten are STORMS. We can't just get a little rain here, we get rain combined with 96 MPH. Rain and wind that are so powerful trees are being split in two, fences down and trampolines (mainly ours) are getting relocated to other peoples fences.

Don't get me wrong, I think I still like it here. But enough with the extreme weather already!

These trees are near the entrance and pond in our neighborhood.

What else you got in store for these new "Okies" Mother Nature?

Of course, what's a trip to the pond without scaring the geese?!?