Great wolf lodge

Last weekend we went to great wolf lodge in Dallas with three of my brothers and Hana. Nathan stayed home bc he had to work. We were so impressed. It really exceeded our expectations in activities and in customer service. There were slides for all ages and because we went in January it was cheap and empty. We we definently be going back.

2015

Here are some highlights from 2015

-we took a family trip to Utah in April with friends. Watched conference and celebrated Molly's birthday. 

- in April I ran my first half marathon. Finished with just under 10 minute miles.

- went on a couples cruise to Cozumel, Belize and Honduras.

- in May I drive with the kids to Corpus Christi for a long weekend and to run beach to bay.

- in June Nathan's parents came to visit and we took a 3 day trip to Branson and then west plains to visit his grandparents.

-in July we moved into our new house and fixed up my dads to sell.

- in August Caleb and Ethan were both potty trained.

- in July we paid off Nathan's truck! Hooray this was a good day. 

- Gwen and James lived with us for 7 weeks in August/September. 

- in August Caleb started preschool

- in September we took a family trip to Corpus Christi to visit friends. On the way we stopped in Waco to see magnolia market and harp design co.

- in November I took a girls trip to New York City. It was my first time there and a wonderful trip.

-in November our ward split and we got put in a much smaller ward. Nathan is currently the 2nd counselor in young men's and I am the compassionate service Cordinator. 

-celebrated Christmas with my dad, Gwen, her friend, Stephen and James.

Happy birthday

Happy birthday Nathan! Nathan turned 30 this year. I can't believe he is 30 this year. It seems so old. We celebrated his birthday with a custard cake from Freddie's and then a nice, kidless dinner and bowling with friends. 

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas season this year. We watched several miracles unfold with those around us and we were able to participate in a number of service activities. It's always fun to see and participate in Christ centered activities. This year we were able to take the kids with us Christmas shopping for our angel tree names. They each had a name. We told them about the kids and then they picked out some clothes and toys for that child. We thought it went really well and were feeling a little too proud. The next day we woke up to Caleb and Ethan playing with one of the toys. They told us they were still planning on giving it away, they just wanted to test it out first. That was a little bit of a set back. Better luck next year.

I was able to participate in both boys Christmas parties. Calebs at his school and Ethan's at our house with the joy school kids. We made cookies, gingerbread houses and snowmen. They were both fun.

For Christmas all three kids got power wheels. We decided this year to just do one big gift and a few stocking stuffers instead of lots of gifts. It was a great idea. The boys are having such a great time with the power wheels and we love having them play outside so much. 

We also continued our tradition of new pajamas and a movie on Christmas Eve.

We had several people visiting for Christmas so I decided to put on a nice Christmas dinner. 

We tried to fill the evenings before Christmas with fun things like going to rhema to see the lights, picking out Christmas ornaments and participating in local Christmas activities.

A few weeks before Christmas the wards split leaving us with 4 wards in one building and no time for a traditional party. We got out of church at 5 at the time so our ward decided to have a longer longer potluck the Sunday before Christmas. Caleb was lucky enough to be the Shepard in the nativity.

We also added a few new Christmas decorations to our collection. Including this awesome nativity created by our good friend.

Christmas was wonderful. We love the season and all the friends, family and joy it brings with it.

Table

Between our house and everyone else's in the area there is no shortage of projects. A few months ago we decided to build a table for a family we know who has 7 kids. They needed a big family table and I found this simple design on a popular blog. Nathan took a look and decided with a little tweaking it was doable and with some donated wood we got to work. I mostly just helped with cutting, planing and staining the wood. In the end the table was beautiful, pictures don't even begin to show how good the top looked. We (along with the family who got it) were completely happy with the results. We are still hoping to make some benches but we need to get some more scrap wood. It's so fun to watch Nathan work and create. He certainly is talented.

Molly's first hair cut

This girl had her first hair cut and she rocked it. She sat still the entire time.

Surgey

 Last Thursday I had surgery to remove my tonsils, fix my deviated septum, reduce my turbinates and balloon pump an airway through some cells. It was pretty extensive and I was warned several times by the doctor and past patients that it would be a hard recovery. And it has been. I have struggled with my throat and sinuses for a long time but it just never seemed like a good time. Finally a couple months ago Nathan pushed me to do it and although I'm still so miserable I can't say I'm happy yet, I'm sure I will be in a few months. Everything went really well, except the post op bc the try to push you out the door before you can even walk. I hear that's typical though so I guess I was getting the normal treatment. Anyways here is to many wonderful years of being able to breathe and enjoy the outdoors and hopefully no more years stuck at urgent care trying to get steroids for strep.

photography class

A few weeks ago I finally took a photography class. I have had a DSLR camera for awhile now but have had no idea how to use it other then shooting on auto. So I finally enrolled in a class with a friend and learned how to shoot on manual. Now I have a LONG way to go before I am any sort of pro but it has been really fun. I am finally not afraid of my camera, and well that is a pretty good feeling. Here are a few of the pictures I took for my class assignments. 

portrait

 musical instrument

the color purple

moving water

 reflection

an animal

moving people 

sports equipment

New York City

A few weekends ago I met up with some friends in New York City. This was my first time to the city and although I loved and enjoyed it, it reminded me of why I love living in Oklahoma so much.

I flew out of OK with Ginger and Mary and then met up with 3 friends from Corpus Christi and one from Virginia. It was so fun to see our Texas friends, oh how I have missed them so much. 

We had a great time together. We stayed in radio city apartments right by Times Square and then packed all 4 days in with activities. We bought purses in the back rooms in china town, ate street food, took tours of the city, rode bikes in Central Park, visited the Statue of Liberty and Ellis island, ate at famous restaurants, went shopping, navigated our way on the subway, went to a Broadway and toured the 9/11 museum and memorial. 

I didn't take a ton of pictures because I was so busy soaking in the wonders of the city. It's a crazy place and full of unexpected experiences around every corner. 

It was an awesome trip and I can't wait until we have another girls "reunion" trip. 

Corpus Christi

The first week in September we took a last minute trip to Corpus Christi. We were really excited to see some friends we had missed and to get in some beach time. On the way down we stopped at Magnolia Market and Harp design co in Waco. If you watch fixer upper on HGTV you know why this stop was a must. While in corpus we went to the beach, hurricane alley and of course our favorite restaurant Vietnam. All in all we had a great time and can't wait for our next visit.