C3's Adventures

Casey's Creations- Pinterest Challenge- Key Ring Holder

2012-01-24T17:36:00.000-08:00

We saw this on Pinterest a few weeks back.

We don't have a key ring holder but it's on my list of things to eventually buy.

I showed Casey this picture and he said "I can make that for you". I said "OK!"

Casey hit up the antique/junk store the town north of us and was able to find the right letters!

He got the K - E - Y - and the S for $6. He also purchased the hooks for $3. The rest of the supplies (wood and paint) he already had on hand. So for $9 we have an awesome key holder!

I like our design better than the original!

Did I mention I have a very handy husband??

Geocaching 101

2012-01-21T17:51:00.000-08:00

C3 discovered Geocaching this weekend! We love it!!!

Up until a few days ago I really wasn't sure what Geocaching was. I thought it was people going out into the woods looking for geodes! Ummm... I was a bit off.

After Googling it and going to geocaching.com I realized this was something C3 would love.

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoor treasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigate to a specific set of GPS coordinates and then attempt to find the geocache (container) hidden at that location.

We spent a good part of the day looking for geocaches in our area. It was a lot of fun. Colton really enjoyed the treasure hunt. At a lot of the containers you could swap items.

We downloaded the free Geocaching app to our iPhones first. Visited about 4 sites with limited information from our free app, so we decided to bite the bullet and purchase the real deal... and it is totally worth it.

We are already planning our next geocaching day and thinking of fun places to hid our own for others to find. I don't know how it has taken us this long to find out about geocaching, but we are hooked!

Shamrock, OK

2012-01-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

Last weekend the weather was perfect for a drive. We headed out to the nearly abandoned town of Shamrock, OK. At one time this little town had over 10,000 people living her. Now there are less than 100 people living in Shamrock. I guess Shamrock wasn't very lucky.

Above is the Gymnasium.

No idea what this use to be?

Above is a car dealership.

The old buildings and the perfect sunny day made for some pretty neat photos.

I love to drive around and get lost on a nice sunny day.

On the way home we crossed over two one way bridges. They are called "Scaredy-Cat Bridges" 

Oklahoma really is a pretty state.

Casey's Creations- Reclaimed Window

2012-01-16T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how much I have talked about this on my blog, but I have a very talented Husband. I am going to start posting "Casey's Creations" to highlight his work. Currently he makes his creations for fun and for friends and family. One day I know he would like to be putting his skills to work and make some money at it too.

Casey recently turned these old windows into artwork for our home!

When we lived in South Carolina we had to actually take our garbage to the dump. Casey found these windows in the "free" pile at the dump. He saw the bigger picture for these bad boys.

After breaking out the glass, refinishing them, and

adding a shelf he created this for our dining room!

(notice the longboards under the windows, he makes those too!)

I love them!

He talked about selling them on Etsy....I said no way!

We have two more windows to turn into art, so he can sell those two, but I'm keeping these guys!

Ed Galloway's World's Largest Totem Pole!

2012-01-15T09:04:00.000-08:00

While Casey was helping the neighbor with a project Colton and I decided to go on an adventure. We headed to the WORLDS LARGEST TOTEM POLE!

Who knew we lived so close to this! Only a 35 min drive northwest of our house.

We were the only people there, good thing for the self timer on my camera!

This totem pole is just a few miles off of Route 66, northeast of Tulsa OK.

Ed Galloway finished the World's Largest Totem Pole in 1948. It was built as a monument to local Native American tribes, and also something for him to do after he retired.

He thought it would be a good place for youngsters to visit.

Sixty feet tall, six stories, 30 feet in circumference, the pole rests on the back of a turtle. Sculpted and brightly painted renditions of spirit lizards, owls, and headressed Indian chiefs climb to the pinnacle.

The totem pole is constructed of concrete over a scrap metal and sandstone rock skeleton

Ed built other sculptures on his property, though none as big as the Totem Pole. An Indian arrowhead sticks up out of the ground; stylized birds and smaller totem poles are spread across Totem Pole Park.

Ed Galloway was a wood worker. In the fiddle house that the built you can still see the 100's of fiddles that he hand made.

In the decades following Galloway's death,all the sculptures began to

deterioratefrom weather and neglect. The bulk of the pieces in the

Fiddle House were stolen in 1970 and never recovered.

In the 1990s, a large restoration effort was undertaken by the Rogers County Historical Society, in concert with the Kansas Grass Roots Art Association and the Foyil Heritage Association. The outdoor sculptures were restored and repainted, and the Fiddle House was brought back from the brink of collapse.

Colton and I had a great time exploring the grounds, looking at the animals on the totem poles, and seeing a bit of Oklahoma history.

Feeling Inspired!

2012-01-14T08:31:00.000-08:00

This last week I was in Dallas/Ft. Worth for a work meeting. I typically don't talk about work on my blog, and I wont be going into details; but I left the meetings feeling inspired and excited for my future in 2012 and beyond.

Our meeting was in the ballroom of The Texas Motor Speedway. What a great view. I have never been to a Nascar event, so i was a bit surprised on how BIG the track actually was.

We had a lot of great speakers and I feel motivated to do more within my position.

We were taught lots of great tips for selling, relationship building, and growth.

We talked about setting goals, writing them down and telling someone.

I have never actually had a new years resolution but for 2012

I would like to set some personal professional goals:

1. Understand better what is going on globally and locally.

2. Enhance my "language" skills.

- Public Speaking

- Professional appearance

- take a language course

3. Self Education

- Included non-fiction work related books in my 26 book goal for 2012

- Take Supply Chain Management course/courses

The Healing Stone, Skiatook Ok

2012-01-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Today on my birthday I wanted to get out of the house and explore something new in Oklahoma. We headed out to Skiatook (about 30 mins away) to pick up a chair at an antique shop. I googled the area before and found a few links talking about the Healing Rock. Perfect! I'm fighting a cold, its no fun to be sick on your birthday, so hopefully this will work!

This natural monument was once called Teepee Rock and considered a healing site by the Osage and Quapaw Indians in the late 19th century. It is said to have mystical healing powers.

Hugging the Healing Stone hoping the mystical powers will work!

The rock stands 12 feet high, has a 17-foot base, and is 14 to 16 inches thick.

The Healing Stone is located on Lake Road on Skiatook Lake. A 1/8 mile access trail is located behind the Corps Of Engineers project office.

Back in the early 1980's when plans to build Lake Skiatook were being made, it was clear that The Healing Rock would end up underwater.

Locals campaigned to save the rock, and in 1985, the Corps of Engineers

moved the rock to its current location today.

Colton took this picture above. He loves taking pictures, and he's pretty good at it.

I'm feeling better already :)

I had a wonderful birthday outing and could not think of a better way to spend it!

2012 Polar Bear Plunge!

2012-01-06T19:34:00.000-08:00

I ran/swam Tulsa's Polar Bear Plunge on Jan 1st, 2012! My co-worker above has done it the last 4 years and talked me into it! I'm glad I did it, but it was SOOO cold!

The race was 2 miles, and 3 pools!

We were given a little liquid courage before the run, I'm not sure it worked!

As you can see the pool temps were COLD!! In the 30's!!!

No pictures were taken of me jumping into the pools :(

Actually I'm sure that is a good thing, who knows what kind of funny face I was making.

Colton was excited to wear my metal after the race.

Getting ready to cross the finish line! At this point my body was numb! I was ready to change into warm dry clothes.

My little Polar Bear!

My cheerleaders!

I have not decided if I want to do this again next year. The water was colder than I expected. I mean I expected it to be cold, but I didn't expect my body to freak out. Other people seemed to be fine in the cold water, where I felt like I could hardly move. Right now I don't think I will be running it, but who knows how I'll feel in a year from now.

I'm official!!

2012-01-05T17:05:00.000-08:00

I got my American Red Cross Donor Card today!

2011 Book Goal Accomplished!!

2012-01-04T16:33:00.000-08:00

My goal for 2011 was to read more. I really enjoy reading, but have not had the time in recent years to read. Life kind of got in the way. I made it a goal to read 26 books in 2011. That's around 1 book every two weeks.

I'm happy to say that not only did i meet my goal, but i read 38 books in 2011!!

Here are some of my favorites from the year:

1. Gone With The Wind by Margaret Mitchel
2. The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
3. Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
4. Once Upon a River by Bobbie Jo Campbell
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
6. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
7. The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
8. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough

If you want to see the rest of the books I read in

2011 you can check out my Shelfari profile here.

I have decided to keep the same goal of 26 books for 2012. I think that is a reasonable goal.

I never felt that reading was taking my time away from my family or work life. I would like to keep it that way for 2012.

I'm always open for book recommendations!!!

Tulsa Zoo Trip

2012-01-03T19:22:00.001-08:00

This past New Years weekend was the prefect weather for a trip to the zoo. We were not the only ones to think this, it was busy! Despite the crowds we had a good time. I forgot my camera, so I took a few pictures with my iPhone, then I edited the in camera+ , and I'm now posting this blog post from my phone on my blogger app. This post is 100% coming from my phone. Oh the technology! What did we do before the iPhone?? I hope you enjoy these pictures!

My 2011 Recap!!

2011-12-29T17:39:00.000-08:00

Overall 2011 has been a great year. I look back on the year and are thankful for MANY things: My family, friends, job, and my health. 2011 started out with many unknowns- We were moving from South Carolina to Oklahoma!! We did not know a single person already living here so it was a bit scary, but we made the move and are really enjoying Oklahoma. 2011 had a lot of unknowns like; will we like Oklahoma, will Casey find a job, will we make friends, will I like my new job, will we find a house, will we get a lot of tornadoes. The answer to all of the unknowns was YES! Well except for the tornadoes; thankfully we didn't get any this year. However we did get an earthquake!!! Oklahoma is feeling more and more like home to us every day and we are looking forward to what 2012 will have in store.

January:

We moved from South Carolina to Oklahoma for my job. It was a bit scary but we knew we would be just fine, and we have been! Both locations have their ups and downs and we are just making the best of everything. Oh and did i mention i turned 30 in January!!!

February:

SNOW SNOW and more SNOW!!! My second day on the job we were hit with 24 inches of snow and stranded in our new home for a week. It was fun for the first few days, however towards the end we were all starting to get stir crazy! Oklahoma does not normally get this much snow. We hit a record for the most amount of snow this February!

March:

We took a few day trips to explore Oklahoma and surrounding states. We visited Tallgrass Prairie Preserve to see the Bison. We saw 100's of bison on this clear weekend day. We also got not one, but two flat tires on this trip :(

We have not made the 2 hour drive since then, in fear of another flat tire.

We also took a weekend trip to Springfield, MO. We visited the Springfield Zoo where Colton had his first train ride. We took a ride through Fantastic Caverns and we visited the Granddaddy of all Bass Pro Shop! We had a nice family vacation in MO!

April:

We were under our first Tornado watch in Oklahoma. The locals say it's nothing to worry about; however I was a mess and getting ready to drive to a storm shelter!!

I got a new car!! A 2011 Kia Forte!! I love her!

Colton got a turtle. When we asked what he wanted to name his turtle he said "Duck". So we are now the proud owner of a turtle named Duck!

May:

We went to our first Tulsa Driller's Game to watch our neighbor sing the National Anthem! Shayna did such a great job! The driller stadium is very nice, new, and overlooks downtown Tulsa. Looking forward to taking Colton back once he is a bit older and can enjoy the game!

I went on a road trip to Dallas to visit my College friends! I had such a blast visiting Ashley and Jen! I wish the miles were closer for all of us.

We met up with my parents for our first camping trip of the year. We met "half way" between Tulsa and Memphis at Village Creek State Park- Arkansas.

June:

I attended Tulsa's Chef for the Cure. It was for a great cause with great co-workers!

We took a day trip to see the sights on Route 66 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. We stopped at the Round Barn, Blue Whale and Pops!

Little buddy Colton had his first trip to the ER. He stepped on blender blade; 9 stitches later the only thing that could make him happy was a red popsicle!!!

July:

We went on a day trip to National Falls State Park on the boarder of Oklahoma and Arkansas. Parts of "Where the Red Fern Grows" was filled at this waterfall. It was very pretty, and very HOT that day. After visiting the falls I read "Where the Red Fern Grows" for the first time. It was so sad!

I spent 2 weeks away from my family in Louisville KY. It was a great work experience and I learned a lot, but I was happy to come home and see my family again! I also got to cross an item off of my Bucket List. I got my first pair of Birkenstocks!

August:

We stayed local this month. We had a picnic at the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa, Visited the RiverWalk in Jenks, OK. I also made my first batch of Hummus and submitted my first recpie to recipe.com ( it has not been published yet :( )

September:

We spent a week in Colorado. We visited my friend's Shanna and Tyler. We had a blast and had perfect weather. We saw the sites in Colorado Springs, Denver, Boulder, Estes Park, and Rocky Mountain National State Park. I can wait to go back September 2012 for their wedding!

We took a day trip to Oklahoma City. Our plan was to visit the Botanical Garden; it was under construction. We also planned to visit the Oklahoma City Zoo; it was WAY too busy. So instead we spent the entire day at the Childern's Science Museum! We had a blast and had the place to our self, since everyone was at the zoo.

October:

We were invited to our first OU Football Party! I volunteered for a breast cancer awareness event; Treasure your Chest! We saw the famous Luchadoors in Downtown Tulsa!

Casey's parents came to visit! They were here for Halloween and Colton's 4th birthday! So great to see them. It had been almost a year since we saw them last!!

November:

Colton Turns 4 Years Old! Time sure does fly!

I ran my first race! 4 miles and 3 pints of Guinness for Tulsa's Pub Run!

We spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Olive Branch, MS. It was so good to spend the holiday with my parents and my sister's family! The boys had a blast playing together. It makes me wish the miles were closer :(

December:

We took Colton ice skating for the first time, visited the center of the universe, I GAVE BLOOD, and my parents came to visit for Christmas!!!!

2011 was a great year with lots of adventures!

We are looking forward to what comes our way in 2012!! Happy New Year to all!

Who Knew?

2011-12-29T15:40:00.001-08:00

Who knew Oklahoma had such pretty sunsets?
I took this picture on my way home from work today. My new phone takes great pictures!!
Today was a beautiful day with a beautiful and colorful sunset to end the day.

No Pictures this Christmas :(

2011-12-28T18:44:00.000-08:00

C3 had a wonderful Christmas. We must have all been on Santa's nice list. Let me just say that Siri is my new best friend and I'm loving reading books on my Kindle Fire!

My parents came into to town Friday afternoon, however because of my work schedule I really didn't get to spend time with them until Saturday afternoon.

One of the joys of working for a shipping company during the holidays!

So after working LATE nights all week, and working Saturday all I wanted to do was relax Sunday and Monday. Because of the relaxed atmosphere here, we didn't take ANY pictures on Christmas :( I did not feel very photogenic.

On Monday night we finally left the house (and showered) and went to PF Changs for dinner.

We took a few pictures after dinner.

Tulsa's Utica Square was still decked out in Christmas lights. It was pretty.

It's always great to see my parents! We had such a nice weekend with them.

Mom: thank you for bringing the Ham and planning the meals while I was a work! I'm pretty sure if you guys were not here, we would have had Chinese food for dinner on Christmas :) Honey Baked Ham was much better, and the left overs were just as good!

Dad and Casey: I'm very sorry about the domino's slaughtering (3 nights in a row) by mom and me. I hope this does not scare you away from playing domino's with us again.

Overall we had such a great Christmas here in Tulsa.

Santa, family, and friends were very generous this year! Thank you!

Less than a week away!

2011-12-26T11:37:00.001-08:00

In less than one week I will be running in Tulsa's Polar Bear Plunge! Currently the weather is expected to be in the 50's-60's. My fingers are crossed that it stays that warm!!
I feel ready for the run and think I will be able to run the entire time. I'm just not sure how my body will react jumping into 3 pools!!!
I picked up my running packet today and got my shirt and number!! I'm committed now! Gulp!

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-24T19:34:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas to all!!

Santa will be getting milk and candy canes from our home tonight (since i didn't have time to make cookies this week). Colton was so excited to set these by our back door by the tree.

Earlier today Colton said to me (with sad face)

"mommy we don't have a fire place, how does Santa get in"

Quickly I responded "Oh, well i called the North Pole earlier today and told Santa to just come to our back door by the tree, i wanted to make it easy for him"

That seemed to calm Colton down and ease his worries.

Tomorrow is going to a fun and exciting day. I'm so happy to spend the Holidays with my parents here in Oklahoma. Wish we could be with all family members, you will all be in our thoughts tomorrow .

Merry Christmas to all !

Salvation Army Children's Christmas Concert!

2011-12-20T19:14:00.000-08:00

So when I think of The Salvation Army, I think of bell ringers at Christmas time.

My parents actually volunteered to ring a bell in Mississippi this year. See picture above.

The Salvation Army is much more than bell ringers, it is a Church.
I had no idea of this until meeting my neighbors Shayna and Tarey.

I was invited to Tulsa's Salvation Army Children's Christmas Concert. It was wonderful.
My neighbor Shayna organized the entire thing.
Not only was it a concert, but they transformed the entire church to a market;
complete with beggars, and vendors.

I even got to see the manger!

The kids were great!!

And I got to hang out with Baby Lane!! Such a sweet baby!!

The History of The Salvation Army is quite interesting.
If you would like more information on the history of The Salvation Army, please click here.

Shayna you did a great job putting on this production!

Our perfect Christmas Tree!

2011-12-18T19:18:00.000-08:00

This last weekend we got our Christmas Tree. We headed to Owasso Tree & Berry Farm. This last season was not a good year for berries, so i was a bit worried about what the tree selection was going to be like. We had plenty to choose from at many different price points.

I'm not sure if ALL of the trees that were for sale were actually grown here, but I felt better about buying them here, instead of going to Wal-Mart or Home Depot. The prices were not bad at all, we got our tree for $35.00! I'm happy with that price!

We had so many trees to choose from!!

While Casey looked for the perfect tree; Colton and I took a hay ride around the tree farm and I had some free Hot Apple Cider!!

When we got back Casey got our final approval on the perfect tree. Colton liked it, however it was a bit cold by this point. So I guess this is what cold/happy Colton looks like!

However the highlight of Colton's trip was the free Candy Canes!!

I LOVE the smell of pine trees. It is one of my favorite things about Christmas. I actually light pine scented candles around the house all year long. However they can't compete to the smell of a real tree. I asked Casey if we could keep a tree up all year long. He said we could, if we wanted to be the crazy people in the neighborhood. If i can have the smell of pine trees all year long, I don't care if people think I'm crazy ;)

Here is our perfect Christmas tree!! It is perfect!! I have always had a very colorful tree growing up, so C3 has continued that tradition.

We each have our favorite ornament.

Casey and I's first Christmas together he told me about an ice skating owl he loved growing up and how he always wanted to hang the owl. Well I found one on EBay and surprised him with it that year! This ice skating owl is Casey's favorite ornament.

I don't have one favorite ornament. I have 4! My grandmommy makes an ornament each year for Colton. So all 4 years are my favorite. Not only does she make these ornaments for each of the great grand kids, she made ME an ornament each year until I was 18. If you were to see my parents tree, they would have 18 ornaments with my picture and 18 ornaments with my sisters picture. We loved opening them up each year and looking back on all the years. There are a few ornaments from my awkward years (braces) that would be intentionally placed in the back of the tree :) I'm so happy grandmommy has continued to keep the tradition with the great grand kids!

The Center of the Universe and the Artificial Cloud: Downtown Tulsa

2011-12-11T18:52:00.001-08:00

This last weekend C3 also checked out The Center of the Universe and the Artificial Cloud in Downtown Tulsa. They were both so neat. I drive by this streed every week and I had no idea this was here! Thanks to Casey's high school friend (Krista) for showing us were it was!

The Center of the Universe is this brick spot in Downtown Tulsa that is an acoustic anomaly. When you stand in the center and make a noise, the noise is echoed back louder than it was made. I was a bit skeptical, however when you stand in the center the sound and feeling is so strange. It really does echo!! I tried to get it on video, however the sound does not sound like it does in person :(

This is the spot where the acoustic magic happens!

This spot is directly above train tracks.

While we were there a train drove right under us. It made Colton's day!!

"Mommy I really love trains"

We spent the day with Casey's high school friend (Krista) and her family. Her and her husband moved to Tulsa 12 years ago.

The Artificial Cloud is a sculpture that was made in 1991 by Native American artist Robert Haozous. The sculpture is seventy-two and one-half feet tall, the work was created on the premise that more people would look at a naturally rusting steel cloud than at a real cloud.

The Center of the Universe and Artificial Cloud were both very neat. This is just one other reason why all of our friends and family should come visit us in Tulsa,OK.

We promise to take you to these sights too :)

Winterfest 2011- Downtown Tulsa

2011-12-11T18:08:00.001-08:00

Today C3 went to Downtown Tulsa's Winterfest!

Colton was excited to bring his snow globe to Winterfest and to try out Ice Skating!

Winterfest was right outside the BOK Center in the heart of Downtown Tulsa!

The weather was perfect; cold, clear and sunny!

Getting ready to hit the rink!

Colton was such a trooper; however we only made it around the rink once.

Happy to be getting our shoes back on!

Santa on a segway!

Colton was so happy to see Santa, however Santa never stopped and got off this thing. :(

We met up with Casey's high school fried Krista and her family.

I had a nice time meeting new friends and spending the day outside.

Do something nice...

2011-12-08T17:07:00.001-08:00

Today as i was driving I saw a car trying to back out of its street parking space. I slowed down to let this car out of its parking spot. As it was backing up I was able to read his bumper sticker. It said "Do something nice for someone everyday". I'm not normally a fan of bumper stickers, but I really liked this one.

I am going to try and remember this more often, if not everyday!!

On my lunch break today I saw this sign:

So I decided that that would be my nice thing of the day. I don't actually know the person my blood will help, but it will one day help someone.

This was my fist time giving blood. I did OK, I felt a bit faint when the nurses starting talking about how hard my vein was to find and how you had to push deeper and ..... well I stopped listening at this point. I am not good with blood or any medical things really, so I'm very proud of myself for going through with this.

I hope the American Red Cross appreciates my blood.

I gave blood today and all i got was this shirt! (and a bunch of snacks, water, and juice)

So that was my good act of the day!!

As long as my blood does not go to one of the Salvatore Brothers (Vampire Diaries) I'll be happy!

Dear Santa....

2011-12-05T16:43:00.001-08:00

This is the first year that Colton has really understood Christmas and he is super excited.

Today he "wrote" a letter to Santa. According to Colton it says:

"Dear Santa, I love you. Do you love me? Will you bring me presents, tonight? I love you."

Everyday Coltn's teacher at school writes a personal note on something cute or creative Colton does.

This was his note today. He told me that the PS (UPS) man will help Santa. Too cute!

I know that Colton is excited about Christmas.

Here are just a few of the reasons why I love the holiday season:

Christmas Tree Cakes!!! I only buy them this time of year. I like that these ones have sugar crystal's on top. Zebra cakes have nothing on Christmas Tree Cakes!!

CLEMENTINES!!!! We buy boxes and boxes of these every winter!! Can't get enough!!

This year i have found two new favorites!

Peppermint Mocha Latte from Starbucks where have you been all my life?

I think I may like this tasty treat better than the Pumpkin Spice Latte!

And White Chocolate & Peppermint Pretzel Crisps!!! These are the perfect combination of salty and sweet it could get dangerous!!

What are your favorite treats at Christmas time??

Happy Thanksgiving: Olive Branch MS

2011-12-03T09:14:00.001-08:00

C3 spent Thanksgiving in Olive Branch; MS. We had such a wonderful time at Nene and Papa's house! It was sad to say goodbye on Sunday :(

Here are just a few of the pictures that were taken over the holiday weekend. Between myself, my mom and sister we took A LOT of pictures.

The boys had such a fun time playing together!

Jayce, Emry, and Colton- The three musketeers!!

Us girls also had a great time hanging out together!!

The B. Elliott's came for the Holiday weekend too! It was great to see them.

I would like to take a second for an announcement:

PLEASE CHECK THE EXPIRATION DATES ON YOUR SPICES

We happened to find this antique in my mom's spice cabinet!! It is close to 30 years expired!!

As I was taking the pictures my mom says "This isn't going on the blog is it?"

Well yes it is, sorry mom. This is a very important message for all.

We took Colton to his first Japanese Steak House!

He was so good and enjoyed the show and food!

T-Dog was as good as ever!!

We put together the strangest puzzle, however there were 3 missing pieces in the end :(

You may recognize this picture on our Christmas Cards that will be sent out in a week or so.

C3 is Thankful for the time we got to spend with my family on Thanksgiving!!

We wish the miles were closer and we had more vacation time.

ooops I did it again.....

2011-12-02T15:59:00.001-08:00

Yep I signed up for another STUPID race!!! On January 1st I will be running in the 2012 Tulsa Polar Bear Plunge. 3 COLD Pools, 2 Miles, and 1 Large Metal (that you have to get at the bottom of the last pool!!). Again I will be entering with some co-workers.

I thought I was going to die after running the 4 mile McNellie's Pub Run, and to be honest, it wasn't that bad. So I'm hoping that after running the Polar Bear Plunge I will say the same thing.

This race encourages you to dress up. I haven't thought out of the box too much. I will be going as a Polar Bear!! My co-worker will be dressing up as bacon. Yes, she has a bacon costume. She asked me if I wanted to go as eggs.... ummm... no thanks...

Maybe my 3rd race will be a normal 5k, we'll see.

I'm excited about running this race. I'm also a bit nervous. Today it was really cold and no sun! I hope Jan 1st breaks records for the warmest day in history and the sun is shinning brightly. Looking forward to sharing with all of you my results from the Polar Bear Plunge!

Olive Branch, MS!!

2011-11-22T12:31:00.001-08:00

C3 made it to Olive Branch, MS last night! It was an easy 7 hour drive. (I'm not looking to driving home the Sunday after Thanksgiving). We are Thankful to spend Thanksgiving with Nene and Papa! Over the next few days the Castlemans and B. Elliott's will be coming into town too!!

Due to the amount of people visiting, C3 gets to stay in the camper. It reminds me of the Uncle that comes to stay in Christmas Vacation.

I guess ours is a bit nicer than Uncle Eddies. Here's hoping for Jelly of the Month!!

Today I spent the day with my Mom!!

We hit up Dunkin Donuts! We don't have them in Tulsa :(

We also hit up Charming Charlie- my fist time!!!

I got this head scarf thing, and the deer necklace! I actually have been looking for a deer necklace after I saw a girl at Old Navy wearing one. Score!

I'm loving spending time in Memphis/Olive Branch. Wish it was closer!

The only downside is that these guys are everywhere!!!

Pomegranate season is here!!

2011-11-19T14:24:00.001-08:00

I look forward to the holidays for many reasons and Pomegranates fall top on my list!

Pomegranates always remind me of my mom. She would pack the seeds in our lunches growing up. I remember my friends looking at me strange and wondering what I was about to eat.
Now it seems everyone knows about pomegranates and I can find them everywhere!!!

I have been opening and eating them since a child, so I wanted to share the best way I get the seeds out.

Step 1: Cut the top off.

Step 2: Score the pomegranate 5 times

Step 3: Score the top to connect the 5 cuts you did on the side of the pomegranate

Step 4: Pull the pomegranate apart into 5 sections and pull the seeds out

Enjoy!!!!

I like to put the seeds in the fridge for a few hours and eat cold! So yummy.
This was my first pomegranate of the season. I will be enjoying many more this season!!!!

McNellies's Pub Run, Tulsa 2011

2011-11-14T13:21:00.001-08:00

Well it's official; I ran my first race!! I ran with a few co-workers so it not so scary!!

McNellie's 2011 Pub Run!

4 Miles and 3 Pints of Guinness later I finished the race!!!

There were tons of people there!

My Cheerleaders!!!

The race took place in the Tulsa's Blue Dome District. (see the blue dome in the background)

I'm not a fan of beer, let alone warm Guinness that is sitting out waiting for us.

Me and Autumn (in the pink shorts) running!

My co-worker Vince running!

Silly Boy!!!

I had a blast. Next time I will do a few things differently;

like not sign up for a 4 mile run while drinking beer.

Autumn, Josie, and myself at the finish line!!

Happy 3 Year Anniversary!!!

2011-11-08T00:00:00.000-08:00

Happy 3 Year Anniversary Casey/Caseface/Caseadilla/Caseman!

I love you so much and am so happy to be spending my life with you!

A lot has happened in the last 3 years and I can't wait to see what the future holds!!

Dust Bowl, Tulsa OK

2011-11-06T08:22:00.000-08:00

While Grandma and Grandpa/Pepaw were in town Casey and I had a date night! We went to the Blue Dome district of Downtown Tulsa and went Bowling at the Dust Bowl!

We had a blast at this retro bowling ally.

Casey won one game!

And I won one game!

We had to keep track of our own scores! I don't think I have ever bowled without computers. Since neither of us really knew the correct way to keep score, we made up our own rules for strikes and spares.

Thank you Bob and Sue for watching Colton and giving us a night out on the town!

When you Google Dust Bowl, images like this come up. Yikes. I guess in the 1930's this area had horrible dust storms that lasted for 8 years. Severe drought and strong winds created these dust storms. If you have read "Grapes of Wrath" by John Steinbeck, it took place during this time period. Just a little American History for you all.

Run Run Run....

2011-11-03T14:51:00.000-07:00

Apparently I have been going about running all wrong. Who knew you shouldn't wear Cotton socks or pants!?? Not this girl...

And who knew there were so many different types of shoes for running?? Not this girl...

With my first run coming up in less than two weeks (yikes) I decided to get some real running shoes!!! And non-cotton socks (that look and feel just like cotton, strange). I headed to Tulsa Runner and after trying on 15 different pairs, running on a treadmill while my run was video taped from 3 different angles; I walked away with these bad boys!

Brooks PureFlow shoes!! I'll be going for my first run in them tonight. Fingers crossed I can run farther and faster in these bad boys ;)

Oh I was also told not to stretch before a run..WHAT??? I guess just a warm up walk is all that is needed. Stretch after the run. I have so much to learn.

9 Days till my first race!!! GULP!!!

Oh Happy Day!!

2011-11-03T06:14:00.000-07:00

Great news this weekend!!

Tulsa County Library now supports Kindle!!!

I have been waiting for this day since I got my Kindle!

I am a fan of the Library and take out books/books on CD on a weekly basis.

Now I can download them directly to my Kindle too!

Oh Happy Day!!

My first download is "Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang" by Chelsea Handler.

I'm not sure I will be finishing this book, it is a BIT harsh to say the least.

I had to crop out the rest of my Kindle page, because it was not blog appropriate!

Good thing about the free download from the Library is that I got to try out this book.

I'm glad I did not purchase it!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-02T16:01:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had our first visitors!!! Grandma and Pepaw came to visit for the long busy weekend! We celebrated Halloween, Colton's 4th Birthday, and Casey and I went out for an early Anniversary Date! We had such a blast with Sue and Bob and we were so happy to have them visit. Sad to see them leave!!!

Here are some pictures from Halloween. Colton was Thomas and he could not have been happier with his costume!

Casey had fun carving the pumpkins. His puking pumpkin was a hit!!!

We got lots of treats!

And a few tricks!

Sue and Bob gave out candy while we took Colton Trick-or-Treating!

We gave out a lot of candy!

C3 all dressed up!

Colton loved Halloween and all the CANDY!!

Colton and baby Lane!!!

I hope everyone else had a wonderful Halloween. Ours was very Happy!

3- 2- 1 Action!

2011-10-17T16:49:00.001-07:00

Above is a video of pilot Colton at the Children's Museum in Oklahoma City from a few months ago.

We didn't do anything fun/exciting/blog worthy this last weekend.

So I wanted to share this cute video of Colton.

Call me crazy...

2011-10-12T19:33:00.000-07:00

I signed up for my first run! I have exactly one month to get ready for my 4 mile run!

I signed up for Tulsa's McNellie's Pub Run!! I must be crazy!!

I will be running with a few co-workers so it should be a fun event.

The fact that this race is 4 miles, not 5K (3.1 miles) and that you drink Guinness throughout the run is a scary!

Today was my second day of training. I ran/walked 2 miles. I have a long way to go.

I'm hoping that signing up for this event, paying for this event,

and running with co-workers will keep me motivated.

I'm a bit scared and also a bit excited! Wish me luck! I need all the motivation I can get.

Fall List

2011-10-11T11:01:00.000-07:00

My friend over at Ashley to Ashes has posted a fall to do list.

I will be joining her in trying to complete all items on the list.

You can check out my progress here or by clicking on the lists tab above.

I'm SO excited that fall is here. I love everything about it!!

Colton and I made our first pumpkin with shaved crayon bits, parchment paper, and an iron.

Happy Halloween!!

Happy Sunday!

2011-10-08T21:17:00.000-07:00

The Ice Cream truck came by this weekend! Look how happy it made Colton!

When the truck drove away playing its music Colton looked at us and said

"that's a cool song, its my favorite".

He is so cute...when he wants to be...

Green Leaf State Park; Oklahoma

2011-10-08T20:52:00.000-07:00

Casey went camping at Green Leaf State Park a few weekends ago with a few guy friends. I asked that he bring the camera and take some pictures. This is ALL I got...

A seasoning salt picture...

The campground...

A deadly snake that they caught, killed...

AND ATE!!!! So gross!!

I don't think that C3 will be visiting this state park. You had to pay to take a shower!

Boomer Sooner!! ( what does that even mean?)

2011-10-08T17:41:00.000-07:00

C3 was invited to a Football party!! OU vs Texas!!

Since we now live in Oklahoma we decided to root for OU!!

We had such a blast at the party. Great Company, good food, a BOUNCE HOUSE, jenga and baggo!!!

My Co-worker Regan threw the party. Regan is the biggest OU fan I know and she should be; she was OU's 1991 Rufnek Queen. Meaning that she rode to every game in this!!!

That is not Regan above, but that is what she rode in EVERY game!!! So cool!!!

Largest Jenga game I have ever played!

It got pretty tense, look at that concentration!

This bad boy was Colton's favorite part about the party!!!

Jump! Jump! Jump!

I don't want to brag, but we won 15-1!!

Yummy Food!

Check out this plate/cup holder!

"The laces were out"

We had a blast at the party. Oh yeah and OU won!! Looking forward to next years party already!

Thrift Day Thursday

2011-10-06T18:20:00.000-07:00

I wanted to share some of my latest thrifty finds.

One- 3 little birds that will be shipped to Colorado soon to my friend Shanna.

Two- My first OU shirt. I will be wearing it to a football party this weekend. In OK you need to decide if you are an OU or OSU fan... looks like C3 are now OU fans.

Three- A hoodie for Colton. He is getting so big. Doesn't it look huge on the hanger??

Four- A fall scarf! I have been watching YouTube learning how to tie a scarf all night.

Best part about thrifty shopping is that I got all four items for just under $10!!!

DIY T-Shirt Necklace

2011-10-02T21:11:00.000-07:00

My friend and neighbor showed me a new and easy jewelry technique!

Check out Shayna's blog, she makes great jewelry!

I have been making t-shirt necklaces! They are fun to make and are perfect for fall.

A necklace that keeps your neck warm; and in any color you want! What more could you ask for.

Below are the steps on how to make one.

Now wasn't that easy?

Oh, another great thing about fall is the fresh apples! Too bad there are not any apple orchards in the area. There is NOTHING better than a fresh apple off the tree.

I will be sporting these necklaces this fall. It's like a scarf and necklace in one, perfect!

Treasure Your Chest, Tulsa OK

2011-10-01T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today I volunteered for "Treasure your Chest"; a fund raiser for the Susan G. Komen foundation. We had a blast! This was the first year of TYC and I think it was a great turn out.

The event took place in Downtown Tulsa's Blue Dome District. There are so many nice bars and restaurants. Looking forward to a date night with Casey to explore the Blue Dome District.

On our way to decorate!

Autumn and Josie!

Regan and me! ( you like my t-shirt necklace? more to come later on that!)

There were 80ish people show up for the ~~pub crawl~~ TYC. Some of the groups were pretty decked out in pink!

"For the girls"

"Imagine life without breast cancer."

We were stationed at Back Alley Blues BBQ, they had THE BEST fried pickles I have EVER had!

It was a great day and a great cause. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and I couldn't think of a better way to kick it off!

Luchapalooza; Downtown Tulsa

2011-10-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

United Way brought Luchapalooza to Downtown Tulsa!

It was a blast! My money is on the Luchadores on the right!

It makes me happy to see events take place downtown.

"Hey little boy, do you love America?"

In training for his big fight!

"I won, I won, I won"

Nacho "Colton" Libre is ready.

I just wish I knew who the man behind the mask was??

Grand Lake; Colorado

2011-10-01T19:51:00.000-07:00

Grand Lake, Colorado was so beautiful! We spent the weekend in Grand Lake with Shanna and Tyler. They will be getting married here next year. We can't wait to come back next year!

"I'm a polar bear!"

The happy couple!

Got some great Harvest Longboard shots in!

So sweet! This may be my favorite picture from our trip!

Cliff Dwellings; Colorado Springs

2011-09-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

While in Colorado we also visited some Cliff Dwellings outside of Colorado Springs. They were pretty cool and Colton loved exploring them with his flash light.

This may be one of the only photo's that he actually held a smile on our entire trip!

The Cliff Dwellings were cool, however I do not think they were "real". All of the signs would say things like "Native Americans would cook in something like this" or "they would sleep in a shelter like this". I guess original cliff dwellings date back to something like 500 A.D and i'm pretty sure they wouldn't let the public play around in those.

Again, we could not have asked for better weather while on vacation. We will be going back to Colorado next September for my friends wedding. We can't wait, we are already planning to spend a few extra days and make another vacation out of it!

Colton's Dump Truck

2011-09-26T15:46:00.000-07:00

Colton's masterpiece!

Colton's drawing are typically squiggly lines the he says is a "map" or a cyclops "happy face". He brought this to me the other day and said "look mommy, i drew a dump truck". His dump truck is so precious and he was so proud of it.

Rocky Mountain National Park; Colorado

2011-09-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

We drove through Rocky Mountain National Park two different days.
Below are some of my favorite pictures from this beautiful park.

On our second trip to the park we took "Old Falls River Road". It was a one way dirt road that went all the way to the top of the mountains. 9 miles with no guard rails!! It was beautiful, but I was on edge the entire drive!

We also saw Elk on our second drive.

Lots of Elk!

Oh yeah, and these little guys too.

They enjoyed the apple we gave them.

On day one of visiting the park we entered from Grand Lake, on our second day of visiting the park we entered from Estes Park. A very cute little town.

This picture was taken at the top of the mountain. When we entered the park it was 58 degrees, at the top of the mountain it was 41 degrees, burrrrr.

Our tour guides for day one!

So pretty!

Rocky Mountain National Park was just so beautiful and large. We would like to go back in the warmer months to camp here. We talked about camping here this visit, however it gets below freezing at night. We enjoy camping, but not that much.

Seven Falls; Colorado Springs.

2011-09-25T07:48:00.000-07:00

We visited Seven Falls in Colorado Springs. It was beautiful!

Next to the Falls, 224 steps lead you to the top.

Colton was a bit scared of the steps, so Casey got his workout for the day!

The steps were SOOO steep. We actually made it only half way up. It was too scary to carry Colton to the top. I was getting nervous we wouldn't be able to get down.

So instead we took the in-mountain elevator up 14 stores to the "Eagles Nest" that overlooked the falls. So pretty!

We were happy to have Colton in our pictures, however he thought it was funny to stick his tongue out in almost all of them! Silly boy! Seven Falls was fun and very pretty.

Royal Gorge;Canon City, Colorado

2011-09-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

While in Colorado we visited Royal Gorge Bridge! The view was so pretty but it was so scary. I'm not a fan of heights, especially when on one of the largest suspension bridges in the world, were you can see through the cracks to the BOTTOM and the bridge SWAYS!

The Royal Gorge bridge hangs 955 feet above the Arkansas River. To put that into perspective, a football field is 360 feet long. Se we were standing almost 2 football fields long! Its hard to see in this picture, but there is actually a car driving across this bridge, directly in the middle of the bridge. That's how big and massive this gorge is!

It was pretty scary!

Colton had no fear on the bridge. Crazy kid!

We thought this was a pretty funny sign. I guess people have actually tried this? Oh do you see the sky coaster in the back ground? You can actually swing over the gorge on this sky coaster. Umm... no thank you!

It was such a pretty day and thankfully not to windy!

It's a loooong way down!

C3 had to represent the 3 states we have lived in. Oklahoma!

South Carolina!

and Florida!

Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs.

2011-09-20T07:26:00.000-07:00

Today C3 went to Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, CO. It was beautiful and the weather was perfect!

Garden of the Gods is a free park. We spent a few hours just walking around exploring the park.

We all has a blast exploring the grounds!

See the man at the top of the rocks! Crazy! There were rock climbers all over the place!

Garden of the Gods was so cool. We do not see views like this in Oklahoma. We are loving our vacation in Colorado and spending time with Shanna and Tyler. Many more pictures to follow. We don't want to go home.

The Week

2011-09-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

So I have a confession to make.... I don't watch the news... or read the news paper... or go to news websites. But if you want to know what is going on with Thomas the Train, or the Wonder Pets; then I'm your girl!

A few months back someone asked me "So what are your thoughts on the debt ceiling?" In my head I was like "ummm i'm not really sure, i kind of know what you are talking about, but I don't have an opinion".

My answer was "well I just have to put my trust in the elected officials to make the right decision".

That ended the conversation, because I'm pretty sure the person asking the question realized that I didn't have an opinion.

I decided that I need to learn more about more about what is going on in the world.

I don't have time to watch the news in the morning, I won't listen to news radio ( I enjoy my books on CD too much), and I know I won't read the newspaper everyday.

So I decided on The Week magazine. This magazine comes every week (imagine that).

According to Wikipedia:
It provides a digest of the week's news and editorial commentary from global media to provide readers with multiple political viewpoints. In addition to news and opinion, the magazine also covers science, business and the arts.

I have been receiving The Week for about 2 months now and look forward to reading it each week.

C3's Trip to Florida! (last year?)

2011-09-12T17:20:00.000-07:00

So I just noticed that I had this Post in my "drafts". These pictures are from 2 visits ago to Naples, Florida and visiting Grandma and Pepaw. To be honest I can't remember when this is from. I know its not from our last time, because that was at Christmas time and we didn't make it to the beach. Colton looks so little here! My guess is that he is 2 1/2 here, and now he is almost 4! It seems like yesterday we were moving from Naples, FL to Greenville, SC. Now we are in Tulsa, OK. C3 has moved a lot over the last 3 years. Anyway, enjoy the older pictures. Can't wait to go back and visit everyone in Florida. We will have to plan a trip for 2012. In the mean time, we are looking forward to showing Grandma and Pewpa a good time in Tulsa, OK next month!

All you need is Love...

2011-09-10T23:31:00.000-07:00

... and Polymer Clay!

My friend Shayna and I got together tonight for polymer clay jewelry making.

I'm having so much fun. I made a "earth day" necklace and earring set.

The earrings!

Copper, Freshwater Pearl, and Gold beads.

The necklace!

Green and blue polymer clay with letter stamps. Copper, Freshwater Pearl, and Gold beads.

The set!

I have not decided if I am keeping or gifting these.

My goal is to make all of my Christmas gifts for family and friends.

Speak up if you like these :)

26 books and the Joy of Less

2011-09-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

At the start of 2011 I set a goal of reading 26 books in the 52 weeks of 2011.

I met my goal yesterday when I finished my 26th book!!!

If you want to see the otehr 25 books that I have read this year, check out my Shelfair profile here.

My 26th book was "The Joy of Less" by Francine Jay. It got me motivated to declutter my stuff. I have not finished our house, however am getting there.

Currently I'm happy with our bathroom, closet, kitchen, and pantry.

I wouldn't say that I'm over attached to items, however I think often think "what if I may need this in the future".

This is half of the stuff that I donated from my closet. I finally got rid of the clothes that do not fit me. Why am I holding on to a pair of pants that I wore on my 21st birthday. Chances are if I can get back to that size, i will not want to wear pants that are 9 years old! I also donated my wedding dress to a local charity. It was just taking up space in my closet. I do not have any daughters, and If I did, would they really want to wear a dress that has just been sitting in my closet for 30 years? No.

I got rid of all the shoes I no longer wear. A majority of those shoes were ones that I have worn once or twice and they killed my feet. So those went off to the Goodwill. The ones that were falling apart went to the trash. Yes, I got rid of my Rainbow flip flops from college :(

(but that's ok, I now have Birkenstocks!)

Look at all the counter space! My stuff was over taking our bathroom. Why was I holding on to makeup, lotion, and those tiny hotel samples of junk? I kept what I actually use. The rest has just been taking up space! It went to the trash! (plus I'm sure most of it was out of date and past the use by date, nasty)

Look at all that cooking space! I hated that we had 100 things on our counter top and I would have to move stuff to get dinner ready. The coffee pot that we only use on the weekends went under the counter. The empty container that completed my flour and sugar set of 3 is off the counter! The junk mail is gone! I also took out all of the stuff out of my cabinets and got rid of stuff. I don't need 4 muffin tins and 700 Tervis Tumblers. Goodwill was happy when I showed up this week.

As far as our pantry goes, I has spices that expired in 2006 that were still following us around. I also filled a large bag to donated to a food bank. Aww it feels so good to see our house some what decluttered. Next is the bedroom, Colton's room, and the ~~storage room~~ Guest Bedroom!

2011 Day of Caring- Tulsa, OK

2011-09-09T18:17:00.000-07:00

Today was Tulsa's Day of Caring. Over 600 volunteers in Tulsa got together to volunteer our time to make Tulsa a better place. I helped a woman's shelter organize their warehouse space. People throughout the community donate clothing (new and used) to the shelter. They get so many donations that bags and bags and bags were just sitting in a storage space. We worked through all of the bags and organized the clothes.

I have a new appreciation for volunteers and people that work at consignment stores. People will donate the nastiest of clothing. No one wants to wear a stained, ripped shirt. Also please wash the clothing you are donating.

A few of my coworkers were assigned to warehouse organization. There were 13 of us total volunteers, plus a few woman from the shelter.
When I think of a woman's shelter I think of woman that leave abusive situations. These woman are actually getting help from substance abuse problems that were jail bound. The woman that helped with the warehouse organization were very open about the program and felt like they were given a second chance to make something of their lives. It's good to know that Tulsa is doing something to help these woman, instead of just kicking them back onto the streets after they finish their prison sentence.

Overall it was great day and I felt that we helped Tulsa today. If you have a Day of Caring (or something similar) in your town I highly recommend volunteering.
It's always to give back, especially in the community that you live in!

Fall is here!

2011-09-07T16:50:00.000-07:00

When Starbucks starts selling their Pumpkin Spice you know fall is here! It could not be a more perfect week to bring it back. We have had 100 (ok maybe not that many) days over 100 degrees, it has been HOT HOT HOT and today our high was only 81 degrees. Ok, that still sounds warm, however it is a cool front for us in Oklahoma!

I'm excited for all the pumpkin flavored stuff, sweaters and jeans weather. I'm looking forward to the holiday, our upcoming trip to Colorado, and Casey's parents coming to visit soon. I am defiantly ready for the summer to be over!

Oh, and check out my shellac nail polish. This stuff lasts up to two weeks with no chipping! I don't get manicures often (only a few times year), but from now on out I'm paying $5 extra for the shellac polish.

Oklahoma City- Science Museum

2011-09-06T12:43:00.000-07:00

Part 2 of our trip to Oklahoma City was going to be a visit to the Zoo. However this being the first nice/cool weather day we have had in months, I think the rest of Oklahoma decided to visit the Zoo too. So instead we went the Science Museum, and could not have been more pleased with it. Colton had a blast (and he was free, under 4!) We didn't
spend the day outside like we planned, however we had a great time exploring the museum.

The playground first caught Colton's eye, since he still had that in his mind from the Botanical Gardens. Once he got it out of his system we got to explore the rest of the place!

Colton's first time playing with Legos! He loved them!

Very hard at work making the perfect racecar!

On your mark. Get set. Go!

We got lost in the house of mirrors! Colton loved looking for daddy or mommy.
I'm pretty sure he will have a mark on his head due to running into the mirror a few times.

Someone is getting sleepy here!
Colton got to fly a plane.
"3-2-1 Blast Off!"

Colton watched the trains for a long time.

He got to "drive" a Segway!
I think our camera is on its last life. A good majority of your pictures from the day looked like this :( .

Playing with paper cups in a wind tunnel.

And playing with water !
We will for sure be going back again. Colton had a blast. We did so much and there is still a lot more for us to explore.
As Colton get older, there are more advanced things for him to do and see.

On the way home we drove Route 66 and stopped at POPS! I got Cream Soda and Casey got Root Beer. Colton was fast asleep at this point. He was wiped out from a day of fun!

A nice family took our picture since our little photographer was sleeping in the car!

Oklahoma City- Botanical Gardens- CLOSED :(

2011-09-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

C3 headed to Oklahoma City for a day trip this Labor Day weekend. The weather was perfect for outdoor activities. We decided to spend the day at the Botanical Gardens and the Oklahoma City Zoo. I researched the Botanical Gardens and saw that it had a childerns outdoor activity area. Colton was looking forward to playing on the playground after being cooped up in a car for the 2 hour drive.

The playground was closed :( Colton was pretty bummed. We decided to walk the grounds to see what else there was to do. The bridge behind us in the picture above is the indoor section of the Botanical Gardens. That was also closed and under consturction. Even if it was open, i'm not sure how interested Colton would have been when he had high hopes for a playground!

We walked the ground for about 10 more minutes.

The Botanical Gardens were nice. Walking distance from Oklahoma City Brick Town. We will have to go back once the gardens are open and in full bloom. We will also need to explore Brick Town. I hear there are many resturants, Hotels, and the baseball stadium withing walking distance.

We decided to leave the Botanical Gardens and head to the Zoo ( about a 10 minute car ride) in hopes of some better outdoor activites for C3!

Polymer Clay- Take 2!

2011-09-03T22:35:00.000-07:00

Tonight I got together with my friend Shayna for take two of playing with Polymer Clay. I had such a fun time making the braided clay bracelets that I decided to step it up a notch. Shayna and I headed out to Hobby Lobby for the supplies. Shayna has been making jewelry for years and was able to point out what I needed to pull my vision together. I still have so much to learn about jewelry making, but I'm having fun while doing it!

The earrings! So easy! Thanks to Shanya for the use of your wire benders/cutters!

The Bracelet! I used small leather rope, copper beads, and turquoise polymer clay.

I hope you all have enjoyed my new creations. I am enjoying playing with Polymer Clay and making jewelry!

One man's trash....

2011-09-02T17:12:00.000-07:00

....is another man's treasure!

My mother-in-law is the queen of finding deals at thrift stores and garage sales.

I decided to check out our local thrift store. I don't think my findings will score me anything on "Antique's Road Show", However i'm happy with my first purchase.

- J Crew Belt

- "The Little Prince" book

For months I have been checking out this bracelet at Target. When I saw the J Crew Belt at the thrift store, I knew I was going to try and recreate this bracelet.

So I found a Handy Man to drill a hole in the middle of this belt, so that it will now be a good size for a bracelet.

I then had my handy man cut to the perfect length.

Ok, so its not exactly like the one from Target. However this bracelet only cost $2.00

And my little prince got a cute book for $0.50! Can't wait to read it to him when he is a bit older.

Chia Seeds!

2011-08-30T19:34:00.000-07:00

I recently learned about Chia Seeds. There are many different benefits of eating Chia Seeds.

Top 5 Reason Why I Tried Them Today:
1. Chia seeds contain more antioxidants than blueberries.
2. They add healthy omega-3 oil into your diet.
3. Feel more energized all day long.
4. Chia seeds reduce food cravings.

5. By just asking 2 tables spooks of Chia Seeds to your daily diet you will get 7 grams of fiber, 4 grams of fiber, 205 milligrams of calcium, and 5 grams of omega-3!

My new favorite blog today had a post about Chia Seed Pudding. I decided to try it. So easy, very tasty, and good for you!

3/4 Chia Seeds

2 Cups Vanilla Almond Milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1/2 cup finly chopped coconut

Mix all together, let sit for 5 minutes. The Chia Seeds will thicken up/gel into a pudding consistency. It had a similar consistency of tapioca pudding.
It was actually very good! Casey was not a fan. He said he liked the flavor, however could not get past the texture. Lets hope Colton likes them. However I'm not sure he needs any extra energy throughout the day.

DIY- Painting with Colton

2011-08-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

C3 can not wait till the weather cools down. We have had over 36 days in a row over 100 degrees. During the heat of the weekend we had a paint project inside to keep cool. Colton was very happy to paint Dinosaur Dan!
The finished product!

Colton is very proud of his dinosaur!

Gilcrease Museum- Tulsa, OK

2011-08-28T13:23:00.000-07:00

C3 went to the Gilcrease Museum today. OK we didn't actually go into the museum, we just explored the grounds outside. When Colton is a bit older we will have to visit the inside of the museum. Today we had a picnic, walked the gardens, and walked the nature trails.

We used the self timer to take our family picture. I figured it was time to update my blog picture with a current picture with all 3 of us.
Entrance to the museum and grounds.

Colton throwing rocks into the pond.

Colton and Daddy posing for a picture.

Colton picked me a flower, so i put it in my hair. He then asked me to put his flower in his hair!

Exploring the grounds was a lot of fun. It was nice to be in the shade and the temp was only in the high 90's. We have had so many days over 100 degrees, so anything under 100 degrees feels like a cool front.

Tahini Honey Oatmeal Cookies

2011-08-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

With the left over Tahini (ground up sesame seeds) I decided to make Tahini Cookies. I looked on allrecipes.com and could not find one that I liked. I looked in my pantry and came up with my own recipe. They passed the husband test. So I decided to share with all! Enjoy! Preheat Oven to 375 Degrees

Ingredients:

2 1/4 C Flour

1 t Baking Soda

1 t Salt

1 C (2 sticks) softened Butter

3/4 C Granulated Sugar

3/4 C Brown Sugar

2 Large Eggs

1/2 C Tahini

1/4 C Honey

1 C Coconut

3/4 C Sliced Almonds

1 T Cinnamon

Makes 30 cookies.

1. Mix together Flour, Baking Soda, & Salt.

2. In a separate bowl mix together softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, tahini, honey, & cinnamon.
3. Once creamy add the eggs and mix well.
4. Now add the dry mixture a bit at a time to the dry mixture and mix well.

5. Add oatmeal, coconut & almonds. Mix well.

6. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. (don't mind my beat up cookie sheet)

7. Bake at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

8. Enjoy!

I actually submitted my recipe to Allrecipie.com. My first time submitting a recipe! Very exciting. You can check it out here. I hope you like them!

Tahini is not a spice!

2011-08-26T16:43:00.000-07:00

We have become a Hummus family. We like it for a snack with carrots, pita chips, or celery. We even use as a spread on deli sandwiches, instead of Mayo and Mustard.

Hummus can be expensive so I decided I was going to make it. I picked this recipe for my first try. One of the ingredients is Tahini. I could not find this any were. I went to store after store looking in the spice row. A few weeks went by and I revisited the grocery stores in case they were just out before. No luck.

Well today I finally asked. Tahini is not a spice! Its ground sesame seeds in a paste/liquid form.

So I was finally able to make Hummus!

This was a good recipe, however next time I will use less salt, drain all of the liquid from the garbanzo beans and use 1/2 of the olive oil. Or I may try a different recipe all together.
Either way Hummus is super easy to make, as long as you can find the correct ingredients.

Even Colton loves it !

Tahini!

DIY Clay Bracelets

2011-08-22T19:21:00.000-07:00

I found a new blog that I am in love with! Check out Delighted Momma! She has some of the coolest DIY projects. My favorite was her polymer clay braided bracelets! You can check out her post here. I have never used polymer clay before, but it was so easy! Don't be surprised if everyone gets one of these for Christmas! I'm taking orders now. What colors does everyone want? I have included directions on how to make these bad boys. Roll three pieces of polymer clay. Mash one of the ends together. Braid them together.
Once you have braided it, cut the ends off.

Using your own wrist as a guide, or a bracelet that fits you. Mash the two cut ends together at a length that works for you.

Bake in the oven according to your polymer's clay directions. They are all times a bit differently depending on what brand you buy.

The finished product!
I made a few for the girls at work. I had to represent the yellow and brown!

Aren't they cool?

Delighted Momma is also giving away Jamberry Nail Shields. They look very cool. I'm mentioning it on my blog to try and win a set!

Check those out too!

Colton's Kodak Moments!

2011-08-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Every chance Colton gets he uses our camera! He loves taking pictures! I think for his 4th birthday we will need to get him his own "fisher price" camera. He has actually taken some pretty good pictures. Please see below. I don't think Casey actually reads my blog, so he will not know i posted the picture above ;)

He has taken hundreds of pictures of Thomas, good think for digital cameras!

He asked for the camera specifically to take a picture of the cookies that he "helped" me make.

So artistic!

Jenks, OK

2011-08-21T10:53:00.001-07:00

This weekend C3 took a drive to Jenks, OK (Just south of Tulsa). We were there a few months ago to see a movie and saw this great fountain. We had our fingers crossed that the water was running. Not only was the water running, we had the place to our self! Colton had a blast playing in the water.

View of the Arkansas River!

Colton had the camera for a bit. He is quite the photographer!

After playing in the fountain and singing and dancing on the stage we had to check out the waterfall and tunnel.

We had a nice time at Jenks Riverwalk Crossing!

10 minutes into the car ride home and he was out! So sweet!

Like Father Like Son

2011-07-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Colton has been big into building houses lately. They normally always have a kitchen, bedroom, bathroom and living room.

His house this weekend also had a garage.

Look at what is stacked up in Coltons garage!

Longboards! This is a picture of our messy garage! Colton wanted to make sure the Harvest Longboards were in his garage too. So cute!

Bucket List

2011-07-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

If I had a bucket list, owning a pair of Birkenstock sandals would be on that list. I'm sure I would have more interesting items on my Bucket List like going to the Great Wall Of China; but I have wanted a pair of Birkenstocks since middle school. However I could not bring myself to pay over $100 for a pair of sandals. That was just not going to happen.... until my trip to Louisville KY!

Zappos.com has their website fulfilment house in Louisville. If you buy a pair of shoes online and they don't fit correctly or you do not like them, you can return them. Zappos opened a retail store to sell all of the returned shoes. I went twice over the two weeks to look for work shoes. On the second trip I found my BIRKENSTOCKS!!! They were originally $108 and I got them for $25!!!

Aren't they pretty! (the shoes, not my toes. I need a pedicure bad!)

I also found a pair of work shoes for super cheap (well under $30).

A girl could get herself in trouble in the store. So many good deals.

I now have one question. How long does it take to break in a pair of Birkenstock shoes? My feet are killing me :(

I have looked on a few websites. Some say the automatically fit, some say it takes a few weeks, and other say they never fit just right. I will let you know that I'm not giving up on breaking in my Birks.

Home Sweet Home!

2011-07-23T15:05:00.001-07:00

Its good to be home after spending 2 weeks in Louisville, KY for work training. The training part was great, I learned lots and met a lot of great people "networking".

One of my favorite parts of the training and Louisville was visiting UPS WorldPort. This is the hub that almost all UPS Air shipments go through.

1 million packages go through WorldPort a night. We got to see it action.

It was very impressive.

I'm pretty sure Colton thought I was on an airplane the entire two weeks. Casey and Colton dropped me off at the airport two weeks ago. I spoke to Colton every night and each night he was ask "Mommy are you still on an airplane? Just get off and walk around."

Meeting Casey and Colton at the airport brought tears to my eyes. Colton saw me down the hallway and ran as fast as he could yelling "Mommy!!". It just melted my heart. He was holding a toy airplane. Casey said he played with it all week and would point to it and say "Mommy is in there, mommy is at the airplane port".

It's good to be home!

Natural Falls State Park

2011-07-09T14:40:00.000-07:00

Today C3 took a small road trip to Natural Falls State Park. We wanted to check out an Oklahoma State park and see the waterfall.
We enjoyed the falls; Dripping Springs.

You could view the falls from above,

and below.

Both view points were pretty easy to walk to.

Colton had fun, however he was a bit worried about the

bears and tigers that may be in the jungle! We had to reassure him that there are no tigers in the forest and the bears were sleeping. Colton then talked in a whisper the rest of the hike, worried we would wake up the bears!

Parts of "Where the Red Fern Grows" were filmed at this waterfall. I have not seen the movie or read the book. On our drive back home I downloaded the book to my Kindle. It is now on my list of books to read!

Daddy was pointing out Ceder and Pine trees to Colton in this picture. Too Cute!

We are glad me made the road trip to see the falls and glad that we did not decide to camp there. The camp area seemed more like an RV park, not a campground. We will have to research Oklahoma Parks and plan a camping trip soon. However Natural Falls State park will not be on the list of places to camp.

Oklahoma Aquarium

2011-06-26T07:00:00.000-07:00

Last weekend C3 went to the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks, OK. We went the day after Colton's ER visit. Thinking he would not want to walk on his foot we packed the stroller and headed to see the fishies in the AC on this HOT day. Outside temps were close to 100 degrees.

Colton stayed in his stroller for about 10 minutes! He had fishies to see and a gift store to check out. We enjoyed the aquarium and spending the day inside.

My pictures did not turn out that good. I'm not sure if it was due to the lighting or if my point and click camera is on its last leg. Every other picture I took was white and the ones that did take were grainy :(

He's a trooper!!!

2011-06-25T15:33:00.000-07:00

I knew this day would come eventual with a VERY active 3 year old boy; we had our first visit to the ER last week.

Colton stepped on the blade to my food processor :(

While doing the dishes Colton must have taken the blade out while I was not looking. Next thing I hear is him crying in the living room. It was a "hurt cry", not an "I'm upset cry". When I rushed into the living room there was blood everywhere! I grabbed a towel, my shoes, and my purse and rushed to the ER not knowing what to expect. All I saw was a lot of blood and knew this was going to take more than a band aid and a kiss.

9 stitches and 2 hours later we left the hospital. Colton did really well, well as well as a 3 year old can with being pinned down and having shots and needles poked and prodded into his foot.

After the stitches the nurse gave him a Popsicle. It was all he needed to he happy again!

Wouldn't that be nice if a Popsicle was all I needed to make a bad day better :)

Checking out his "band-age".

THE CULPRIT!!

Happy Fathers Day!

2011-06-19T10:51:00.000-07:00

Happy Fathers Day to the 3 of the greatest; Daddy, Papa, and Pepaw!!!

Chefs For the Cure- Tulsa OK

2011-06-18T15:48:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to Chef for the cure with the girls from work. We had a great time. It was a good girls night out for a good cause; breast cancer awareness.

The food and drinks were so good, and unlimited! I think this will be a even I will be going to year after year.

Route 66!

2011-06-12T16:10:00.000-07:00

C3 went for a car ride today. We decided to see the sights on Route 66 between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. It was a perfect sunny day for our trip. First Stop- Round Barn in Arcadia, Oklahoma.

Build in 1898 it was originally used to house livestock, and also as a place where

dances were held for local townspeople.

Today a small band was playing music on the second floor of the barn. You can rent out his space for events. It was actually pretty neat up there. Colton and Daddy looking through the window.

Second Stop- POPS

Arcadia, Oklahoma

500 Different types of Pop (yes they call it POP in Oklahoma!!) to choose from!

We got a 6 pack.

We asked Colton what he wanted. Out of all the pop options,

he picked Apple Jacks cereal!

For a place with 500 different kinds of Pop, they did not have many options for milk. So Colton ate his cereal with STRAWBERRY MILK! Nasty! He loved it!

3rd Stop- Blue Whale

Catossa, Oklahoma

Mr. Davis built the Blue Whale early 1970's as a wedding anniversary gift for his Wife. She collected whale figures. The Blue Whale quickly became a local favorite swimming hole. Due to lack of funds, the Davis family closed the swimming hole in 1988.

It is now a Roadside Attraction on Route 66.

Thankfully, swimming is no longer allowed. The water was NASTY!

We have a great day seeing the sights of Route 66.

"Very Special Train"

2011-06-12T07:26:00.000-07:00

We have been telling Colton for months that if he goes poopie in the potty he will get a "very special train". Last week he finally did it!!! I took him to Target to pick out any train (under $12) he wanted. He was so proud and told everyone in the store that would listen about his train and why he got it. I'm looking forward to the day of no more Pull-ups!

Colton asked that I take a picture of the potty.... I will not be posting this picture.