Summer. Summed up in
one word: FULL. As in: FULL of
activities, FULL of family, FULL of fun.
A full car, a full calendar, a full onslaught of laundry. Full bellies, full minds, full hearts. For us, summer seems to get more hectic every
year. Make sense – kids get older, have
more things going on, more independence for the older ones. So, the management of this is really an
ongoing, dynamic process. Once again, I
have to say how very thankful I am that I found
Cozi a few years back (after
making my own color coded Excel Spreadsheet calendar for YEARS!) to help keep
me organized! And without Nana the Wonder
Sitter, well, all would be a huge mess.
The last couple of weeks were full of baseball, nature camp,
baseball, friends over for dinner, baseball tournament, Father’s Day, Britt
dressed as a Kangaroo, volleyball camp, sleepover wilderness camp, Kayleigh
here from Texas, and looking forward to more baseball and another baseball
tournament. All of this can best be
summarized in a few sunny and funny
pictures and a short video:
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| Pirates end of Season Party |
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| Last Pirates Game |
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| Lara, Jake and Emma at Nature Camp |
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| Lara's presentation at Nature Camp |
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| Jake - warming up for Stampede Baseball |
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| Me and "Kanga" Britt - March of Dimes Kangaroo-a-thon |
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| Stillwater Stampede - 3rd place Eskimo Joe's Tri-State Shootout Tourney |
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| Emma - Pioneer volleyball camp |
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| Jake - Camp McFadden |
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| Finn's Flags |
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| Emma and Kayleigh with the Krazy Loom |
But the definite highlight of my summer so far? DATE NIGHT WITH MY HUSBAND! It’s been MONTHS. And months and months. Since we have had the
opportunity to be kid free and do something just for us. Back on Valentine’s day, I was given this:
Last weekend, it finally was time. We spent hours getting everything arranged
for the kids. The older 2 were with
their Other Dad, but needed to come home and be cared for before we would get
home. The younger two would need care as
well, so I hired a sitter to come hang out with them. Nana the Wonder Sitter and Grandpa were road
tripping south to pick up my niece Kayleigh from her mom. I needed all 7 of those people to end up at one
place at the same time while we were in Tulsa.
I made a spreadsheet. It helps, I
swear! It was color coded, and had every
phone number anyone on this carousel would need. Quasi adults and adults each got a copy. Digitally and in print. There was NO WAY this was getting messed
up! I felt I had it all covered. AND IT WORKED! By late evening, all 4 of my kids and my
niece were at Nana and Grandpa’s for the overnight. #MommySuccess
So, what were WE doing is the big question, right? Well, we left Stillwater mid-afternoon for a
blissful, kid-free time in T-town. That’s
right, Tulsa was on the horizon and we wouldn’t look back. For a few hours, at least… First stop? GAS! It’s so much cheaper in Tulsa (Sand Springs)
than Stillwater. This tank should last
us a couple of days, right? Then, the
MALL! We’re flatlanders in a flyover
state. The mall is a big deal. Again, haven’t been inside one in YEARS! And this one?
WELCOMED us! Seriously – it’s
like they knew we were coming:
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| Woodland Hills Mall |
Wicked and OSU adorned the courtyard in the middle of the
shops. Yup. All for us.
Even though we had agreed upon a STRICT “no shopping” policy, I somehow
ended up with the CUTEST shark pajamas for Finn (dang you, Gymboree) and a fun
baseball T (in Stampede colors) for by baseball lovin’ Jake (And dang you, too,
Children’s Place)! Time to get the heck
out of there! NO MORE SPENDING! (I promised Britty I would sell extra stuff
on the
Etsy shop to make up for it, so go check it out! I do
custom graphics for just about anything! What can I do for you?)
On to dinner. Now,
you know, we are on an ******** journey and we’re both droppin’ libbies right
and left. So, what’s a couple to
do? Why, go to CHEEESECAKE FACTORY of
course! All kidding aside, we had acquired
a gift certificate to that restaurant last winter, and since cheesecake is may
FAVORITE (all time, ever!) desert, I wanted to go there! This was our first “cheat meal” (I hate that
term) in FOUR MONTHS. We knew we wanted
to make good, sensible choices, especially since we KNEW there was cheesecake
for desert. CF made is easy for us! They have an extensive (and delicious) “Skinny”
menu. (Again, small town dwellers that
don’t get out much – we don’t know about these things!) We chose from those items, and Oh. Em.
GEE! Love. We ate it all (not really, I can’t eat like I
used to). Loved it all. AND had
cheesecake for desert. It was a truly
wonderful experience. And, YUM!
Next stop: Tulsa Performing Arts Center to see WICKED!!!!! Back where it all started! The first time we saw Wicked, I surprised Britt
with a trip to Tulsa and tickets for his birthday in August of 2009. We saw it once, and were hooked. This past weekend marks the 5th
time we’ve seen it! We’ve been changed
for good and can’t help but to keep dancing through life as we defy gravity and
spend one short day reveling in all things popular.
This performance.
Whoa. Hands down, the best we’ve
been too. Tulsa, Wichita, OKC, Dallas,
and back to Tulsa. It was
WONDERFUL. Through and through. The last time we say it was in Dallas for the
girl’s 8th birthday; that was 4 years ago. (We’ve had a hectic few years…) A lot of the costuming has changed (The flying
monkeys got scarier!), and so has almost ALL of the choreography! While we both have favorite scenes we were
looking forward to that were completely different this time around, the show
was fabulous. This Elphaba (played by Emma
Hunton) was by far the best I’ve seen.
And her chemistry with Fiyero (played by Nick Adams) was unmatched in
anything I’ve seen – it made the show that much better. Glinda (Gina Beck) had the best ad-libs and
was very convincing. The entire cast was
stellar. The dancers and ensemble were
just incredible. I was bawling at the
end of Act 1 (typical) and still crying at the curtain of Act 2. I can’t explain it, but this Musical has my
heart. I can’t wait to go again! Where to this time, My Love?
We got back to our home in Stillwater in the wee hours of
the night. During intermission and after
the show I had read texts from Nana describing the musical beds situation going
on at her house, but I think they all finally got a few winks before Sunday
morning rolled around. We spent a leisurely
summer day – resting, playing in the yard, doing chores – before wrapping the
night up at church. The twins are old
enough to serve in the little kid rooms during the service. How is that even POSSIBLE? Sunday was their first time. They did GREAT, and they loved doing it! So proud of them as they start this new
chapter of life. This is a summer they
will never forget as they step into the role as servants for our Lord with the
Church in our local church. They are the
hands and feet of Jesus for these small fries in the yellow hallway on Sunday
nights at LifeChurch Stillwater. To sum
it up: they are changing lives. And
because they are committed to serving, Britt and I added more to our serving
plates as well. That’s what leaders do,
right? Lead by example. Love.
Serve. Summer. Full of awe.
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| Lara and Emma - Swerving for the 1st time! |
