Riding Out The Storm

I couldn't resist borrowing this incredibly cute picture from Cindy's blog.  Nicholas has been getting a little nervous lately when storms are around so Papa offered to lend a little support during the storms this weekend.  They both look pretty worried about it...

Happy Easter!

It's the morning after Easter and I'm sitting here with a permanent smile on my face as I remember all the fun we had this weekend.  We started the basket giving a little early because Papa had to head off to work in Tulsa for the week and was going to miss Easter Sunday.  Their basket was made to look like a sock monkey and it was adorable!  On top of all the candy, Grammy and Papa also got him a collection of Beatrix Potter DVD's, including the stories of Peter Rabbit.  He's been watching the videos at their house for ages and has really enjoyed them, so they got him a set for home too.  Thank you Grammy & Papa for the very sweet gift!

On Friday, we all ventured to the lake to meet up with Ryan, Cindy, and Jillian.  We had high hopes of a beautiful weekend playing outside and hunting Easter eggs, but mother nature had another plan in mind - rain.  It rained, and it rained, and it rained.  All day Saturday and all day Sunday.  But of course we didn't let that spoil our good time, and the rain was beyond needed so we weren't about to complain.  We improvised the Easter egg hunt and hid them inside the house, which turned out to be a very suitable alternative.  The kids had to stop and open each and every egg to uncover the bounty hidden inside before they could move on to the next one.  They were hilarious and true to what you'd expect from a couple of 2 year olds.  Afterwards, we all said good-bye and headed back to Edmond to find out what the Easter Bunny had left for Nicholas at home.  He walked in his bedroom, saw his basket sitting on his bed, and his little jaw hit the floor.  Priceless!!!  After playing with his new toys for a bit, we loaded up and headed to the movie theater to see Rio.  Greg didn't get to go with us for Nicholas' first movie a few months ago so it was really nice to have us all together for some family time.  This entire holiday was such a lovely time and I'm just so happy to have had our family to celebrate it with.

 Peeps - an Easter staple.

 Marching in the rain...

Jillian and I had quite the game of peek-a-boo going!

 Ultimate scene of relaxtion.  I'm tucking this one away 

for those moments when I feel like pulling my hair out...

 Nicholas had to check out Jillian's new sunglasses and it

produced my favorite picture from the entire weekend!



Sleepover

On Saturday night, Nicholas had a sleepover at Mimi and Papa's house so Mommy and Daddy could have a date night. It practically goes without saying how much fun he had, but I'll say it anyway.........TONS!! Papa had just gotten his newly restored motorcycle back, so of course that was a hot item. I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think it actually beat out the boat. Well, for that one night at least. 

This picture makes me smile because both boys are

in the midst of licking their lips.  Such cuties!

Mimi had bought a new basket for all the toys she's been

accumulating but it served another purpose much better....

Eggs & Animals

Thursday was Nicholas' Easter egg hunt and party at school. Unfortunately, I was stuck at work and not able to get there in time but I sent reinforcements in the form of Daddy, Grammy, and Papa. It looks like he had a ton of fun finding Easter eggs (looks more like all he had to do was pick them up) and eating snacks with his school pals.

I got to school just in time to see him finish up his last cookie, and then it was time to head off for an afternoon at the zoo with the gang.  The park was fairly empty by the time we got there so it was much more enjoyable than it has been the last few times we've gone.  I've been really excited to go because the new elephant exhibit just opened and the elephants are finally back from their 2 year stay at the Tulsa Zoo.  Unfortunately for us, they were just taken off exhibit that morning because one of them is about to become a new mama.  Great news for the zoo but I was really disappointed to miss them once again.  But we still got to check out their new home, which is simply amazing.  They have acres and acres to roam free and a huge swim pool to cool off in on those hot Oklahoma afternoons.  Hands down the best exhibit they've built to date.  Nicholas had a great time with his friends and they were all pretty good about humoring me with some picture posing.  By the time we left, they had become way more interested in taking pictures at the bronze animal statues than they were in looking at the actual animals.  Oops, that's probably my fault. 

Nicholas was really excited about making a souvenir zoo penny and kept it safely tucked away

in his pocket the entire time.  All that effort, then he lost it the second he got in the car.

One section of the new elephant exhibit.......minus the elephants. 

Weekend's a comin', folks!  Make it a great one!

NTW 2011

National Telecommunicator Week is celebrated each year during the month of April.  It's a time that all of us in the public safety communications profession take to honor each other for the challenging work we do each day.  It's always a really exciting time for all of us, filled with several days of festivities and friendly meals together.  For me personally, my chosen path has given me a great deal of satisfaction, and at times much heartache.  There have been countless days that I've come home from my shift either revved up from an intense incident, or at times, totally exhausted, both mentally and physically.  There have been times I have cried my eyes out and times I have laughed with joy until my sides hurt.  You never live the same day twice and you never know what life will be like from mere second to second, but I don't think I'd change it for the world.  I'm where I'm supposed to be, doing what I'm supposed to be doing.  I love that we have this time to sit back and really remind ourselves why we do what we do. 

And on a lighter note, Jessica brought Nicholas to see me today and I decided it was time to put him to work.  I'd definitely work with this guy any day of the week but I think his cuteness might get a bit distracting.  Just sayin'....

Yep, he's a natural.

All the Right Moves

No denying it, he's got skills.

Summer Preview

We hit the lake this weekend and man oh man, was it a beautiful couple of days.  It honestly felt more like June outside than the beginning of April and I even came home with a bit of a sunburn.  We all had a fantastic time and now we're even more anxious for summer to get here.

 Here we are writing Mimi a ticket.  He went everywhere with this pen and pad of paper saying he was a police officer man.

 Charlie Chaplin here got into the charcoal while the guys were getting the grill ready for dinner. 

He is doing pretty good drinking water out of the bottle but he still spills a little here and there.  As you can see, he's very conscious about not wasting a drop.

And playing in the boat, naturally.