Fun, Food, Friends, Fireworks

Isn't this time of year fun? Yes, it's a million degrees in the shade and there's not really any good TV on unless you're into reality shows or Olympic trials (yeah!!) but I have always liked cooking out with friends, eating ice cream, and watching fireworks. In Middle and High School, my group of friends always went to our friend Heather's house out east of town to swim and watch the guys almost set themselves on fire on the street behind her house. Oh the good ol' days.

The week leading up to the 4th was uneventful- good school week for Caleb and work week for us. We've been working on a "must do to the house before we put it on the market" list and began tackling some of those projects. Aaron has been watching Design to Sell on HGTV for a week and now knows everything about what to update in your house to sell it quickly. (Note slight sarcasm.) Here's a picture of Caleb 'helping' Aaron as he takes the screws out of the living room wall where we used to have a great big mirror.


We also bought quite a bit of paint for the house. We both really like the new color (it's one we used in Caleb's room) but also they discontinued our original paint and have not been able to match it so there's no way to touch up scuffs or scratches unless you repaint the entire room. And with an open floor plan like ours, painting a hallway turns into painting the entry, living, and other hallway. Lovely. I hid the paint cans behind the kitchen table and Caleb left them alone until tonight. Here's what Aaron found:

Back to our weekend...

On the 3rd, we went with some friends to Keifer, OK (151st west of Hwy 75 so not that far away) for a great fireworks display. Caleb was riled up and wiggling around his stroller waiting for it to begin and once it did, he was awestruck. I didn't think a picture would have turned out in the darkness but it was a priceless image. Eyes huge, mouth literally dropped to his chest, just watching. Even when I asked him, "Do you like it?" or "What do you think?", he just kept staring. Then when the whole thing was over he clapped and said "again". It was a great show with not a very big crowd, which was nice.

The next day, some other friends came over for dinner and playtime. Owen and Caleb played well together (much better than Caleb was with his friend Katy the previous week) and dinner was yummy - gotta love brisket from Rib Crib.

We headed out to see the flyover and fireworks at Jenks airport's 50th birthday celebration that we read about in the paper. Only problem was it was misprinted in the paper. The poor old security guy at the Jones Airport had to tell car after car that there were planes leaving from the airport to go flyover the Riverparks area and that there were going to be fireworks at the Riverwalk area but that no 50th birthday celebration was ever planned. Oops! So we traveled over to Riverwalk and waited over an hour for it to get dark then watched a less than stellar show. Owen and Caleb were tired and it wasn't really loud or bright enough to get their attention (though I will say we were quite a ways away, on the other side of the 97th St. bridge. So we left about 10 minutes into the show. Oh well.

When I was looking through pictures recently, I found that we have TONS of just Caleb but hardly any of Caleb with Aaron or me and even fewer of the three of us. Maybe its because we'll soon be a family of four, but I am really wanting to get some photos of Caleb with his parents (preferably before I am huge and swollen all over). So here's an attempt from over the weekend as we waited for our friends to arrive. Pardon Caleb's semi-trance...he was in the middle of watching Cars and was not thrilled to be interrupted.


No big progress on the house. I have determined I am not going to blog about what "should" happen in the near future with the house because it never works that way. I'll just wait until we make some steps forward then talk about it.

We received our first baby girl gift in the mail this week. My cousin (who has an adorable girl so she knows all about how to shop for pink) sent a super cute pink sweater and pant set with matching hat. Yippee! (And thanks, TT).

Not too many pics and way too many words but that's what you get this week. Have a great one!

Catching Up

Well, I am back. I would never have predicted that I would be a blog slacker. But, once I got out of the habit (plus leaving the camera in KC), it has been hard to get back in. But we borrowed my parents' camera so we are not devoid of pictures for this blog!!

Here are two pictures from our trip to KC several weekends ago. Already blogged about it but here's some photo proof. Caleb with his third cousins then our fam at my favorite Plaza restaurant.

I was getting something out of our hall closet the other day and had to move my 5 lb. weights to get to it. I turn around when I heard Caleb grunting and groaning and here's what I found. He thought it was very fun but we had to put it away before he dropped it on his toes or mine.

The next weekend we had a fun party for another Sunday School friend's son who was turning two. It was at the Mohawk Park Splash Pad and was a lot of fun. If you've not been out there, you should check it out. It took Caleb awhile to get comfortable with the water but then he LOVED it. One picture is of Caleb under the water rainbow and the other is of Caleb and Owen checking out the drainage system.

Last week we put up Caleb's little pool in the backyard. As I did last summer, I made sure this new pool was big enough to fit an adult raft. So Thursday I put Caleb down for nap and headed out to enjoy a new book and catch some sun. I had been out there about an hour when I start to get sleepy and I hear Caleb beginning to stir in the monitor so I think, "I can just rest for a sec then Caleb will wake me up". OVER NINETY MINUTES LATER, I wake up and am burnt to a crisp, but, as always happens, only in certain places. My face, chest, and legs from the knees up are bright red. But the truly special mark is the space on my growing belly between where the tankini top stopped and the swim bottoms started. Let's just say Aaron took to calling me the "red striped zebra" (I am sure he meant it in the sweetest way possible.). I will spare you and not show you any horrific pictures.

Friday, Caleb's best friend from school came over to play. Her mom is off for the summer so Katy's not been in class and Caleb has been missing her. The plan was to play in the park across the street or let them run around in the sprinkler but the weather did not cooperate. So we were inside, which was fine until Caleb turned in to Mr. Selfish right before our eyes. Poor Katy could not touch a single thing in the house without Caleb yelling "No" or "Me" (he doesn't know "mine" yet but I bet that's coming soon). At one point, he was sitting on his bouncy zebra, not because he was playing on it but purely so Katy couldn't, with a toy under each arm and was still yelling at her not to touch even one of the 200 Duplo blocks that were on the other side of the room. It wasn't all bad - here's one shot of them playing the piano together and another of them hugging (Caleb was fine with it until Katy went in for the kiss. I think his face is priceless!)

Caleb is getting very silly. We used the last tissue one day so he took the box to throw it in the trash. I never heard the box make it in the trashcan so I walked in to his room. And this is what I found:

In consumer news, beware of your Weight Watchers Smart Ones meals. I was heating up a yummy Fiesta Quesadilla last week and when I walked back in the kitchen, after being gone for 25 seconds, the microwave had flames inside it. We doused it with water then pulled out the food to see what happened. I have eaten these several times and have never seen a wire of any sort as part of the heating sleeve. I guess it sparked which lit the cardboard on fire as well as the paper towel I had under it. WOW! I emailed Weight Watchers about it but haven't heard back. Channel 2 works for you, here I come. I did throw away the quesadilla as it was getting stinky but I have photo evidence.

In house news, we are finally making some progress. The land has been cleared and is ready for footing, then plumbing, then foundation. Hopefully the weather will cooperate. We visited quite a few homes over the last two weekends as part of Tulsa's Parade of Homes and got some good ideas.

And we had another OB visit on Thursday. Everything continues to look great and Dr. Williamson confirmed his earlier suspicions and said we should definitely start "thinking pink"! Very exciting - lots of bows and ruffles on the horizon for the Waltons!

Well, that's the last two weeks in the world of the Waltons. Have a good one~

A Blog Without New Pictures

Well I was all set to make up for the lack of blogging the past few weeks then, sure enough, we left our camera in KC last weekend so we have no pictures available from the last few weeks! SORRY!!!

So this will be a boring post with just my witty comments to entertain you.

WE SURVIVED PAGEANT WEEK!!! I know people have various opinions about pageants but, whatever your stance, it takes a heck of a lot of effort to put this whole thing together. And, as would totally be the case, Caleb was still under the weather and was not well enough to go to school (we actually sent him one morning but I got a call while at the Mabee Center that I needed to come get him) so then we were really scrambling for babysitters. By the end of the week, he was crying when the doorbell rung because he knew it was another sitter coming and Mom and Dad were leaving. I think there were 6 or 7 different babysitters throughout pageant week- thanks to each of you!!!

Our teen pageant winner is an awesome girl. She is very smart and super talented. She is a world champion tap dancer and holds a Guinness book record for most consecutive pirouettes. Here's a clip from a few years ago that the news did on Alicia. If you want to see more, feel free to google or search youtube for Alicia Clifton.



Last week we just worked to get back to normal- lots of sleeping, laundry, cleaning, etc. Then Saturday we went to Kansas City to celebrate my Aunt Debbie's retirement from teaching elementary school for nearly 20 years. Lots of family came so it was good to see them and catch up. Plus we got to eat at my fave KC restaurant, Baja 600, which is on the Plaza. YUM!

Caleb is talking up a storm. In fact, one of his teachers was asked what words could Caleb say and her response was, "What words can't Caleb say?!?" He is continuing to form his own opinion about what he would and would not like to do (we are getting a lot of "No"). Oh well!

Our first "child" Samson has injured himself somehow. My guess is that he jumped off the bed and landed funny but, however it happened, he has been diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back and is on anti-inflammatories and pain killers for the next 7-10 days and we have to keep him in his kennel except to feed him and let him go outside. We are hoping this heals him as we would rather avoid a costly and dangerous back surgery. As Caleb says, "See-see (Samson) sad". Here's a cute photo from several Christmases ago. Sam is with Aaron.


OK, as an apology to you faithful blog-readers (who don't comment nearly as often as Aaron would like, by the way), I have some exciting news for you. Several of you may have heard this through the grapevine but...


Yep, Caleb is going to be a big brother!!!!! We have known for quite awhile and told our families on Mother's Day but I haven't told my work yet (I am going to tomorrow so if you know anyone at Riverfield, or if you are from Riverfield...SHHHH!!) so I hadn't posted it on here. I am due Dec. 12th but will schedule a C-Section for the week before. So pretty much this baby and Caleb will be two years and a few days apart. Now you know why we've really been anxious to get our new house going :)

So that's the scoop from the Walton house. Hope everyone has been doing well and enjoying their summer. Have a great week!

Could We Be Any Busier?!?!

Here's the last two weeks in a nutshell:

1)Aaron's family came to visit for an extended Memorial Day weekend. This included Aaron's parents as well as his cousin and family from Jacksonville. We enjoyed getting together with the fam several times over the course of the weekend. Here's a picture of a tractor that Aaron and all his cousins played on when they were little out at their grandparents' house. It was fun to see the next generation playing with it too.

And here's a shot of Caleb with Rome, Aaron's FL cousin. He and Aaron moved out there together when Aaron interned for the Jaguars and Rome stayed, met Val, got married, had kiddos, etc. Aaron returned home, dated around, met me, got married, stayed here, had Caleb, etc.

2)We went to another friend birthday party. This one was at Tulsa World of Gymnastics. Caleb particularly liked the mini trampolines and the foam pit.

3) We bought some real Crocs. Not because I wanted to pay $25 but because I couldn't find any off-brand ones in his size. HE LOVES THESE SHOES!! Every time we put them on, it is followed by "slide slide" as he wants to go out and slide. Two pics here- one of dirty shoes (Caleb sloshed through the mud in the yard and stopped and yelled "Oh No, Mess!") and one of a not-so-happy Caleb getting his shoes cleaned off. He was fascinated by the fact that we could get running water outside. Not so happy about its temperature.

4) I cleaned house several times. (Yes, this is notable for me b/c I don't like to do it but I've done it several times in the last two weeks as I prepared for out of town guests and prepared for crazy pageant week and all the guests that will be helping with Caleb). Caleb has become such a helper. He follows me around carrying the cord to the vacuum, wipes the windows with paper towels, and helps me swiffer too.

5) Caleb gets very into mark-making. Anytime he sees us with a pen and paper he says, "A, B, C" like we are writing out our alphabet, I guess. And he loves sidewalk chalk. We are working on learning colors but so far he'll only say "blue", regardless of color.

6) Caleb finally got a haircut!! It had been since Easter and as you loyal blog-readers had probably noticed was getting a bit out of control. I thought the curls were super cute, but they were making him really sweaty and two people called Caleb a girl over Memorial day weekend, despite his orange and khaki Hawaiian shirt. So I snuck him in to my haircut over this past weekend and now he really looks like a big big boy.

7) Caleb is a basketball fan. We don't watch much of it but had the Pistons/Celtics game on the other night. Caleb was very into it and his dad said it was OK to stay up late to watch it...hmmm. The first video is one where Caleb noticed Dad was recording...show off much?? (Pardon the sideways shot, didn't have time to take it into another program.)

8) Caleb has been fighting a virus since Thursday night. Just fever and yucky nose with sore throat. After hours clinic said it was not strep. He did have a stomach thing yesterday that included puking at the Miss OK patron picnic. It was lovely. (Again, he said, "Oh No, Mess! over and over. Yes, Caleb, oh no mess is right!!) He is feeling much better today and just has a low grade fever but I decided to keep him home from school which makes loading stuff into the Mabee Center for pageant week a little tricky. But I thought better than sending him sick, having to go get him and not being able to take him tomorrow since he wouldn't have been fever-free for 24 hours. Of all the times to be sick!!!!!!

So that is our two weeks list format. It also includes late nights of working on teen pageant stuff, a intro into the Terrible Twos, and a hailstorm or two. Oh, and our friends from Covenant that went on a mission trip to Red Bird, KY returned home safely on Sunday night. They had an awesome experience.

Have a great week!

Last Week of School

Who knew that Caleb's last week during the school year would be so emotional? Not for him really (though he was clingy at drop-off, so I think he knew something was up) but for me. It is totally silly because he'll go back to the same class this week, but it will be different...because it's summer! His main teacher is taking the summer off and his 2 closest friends from class won't be there either. On Wednesday I left a note asking to have a picture taken with Caleb and his family group teacher. It turned out very cute and is a fun reminder to Caleb and to me of what a great year he's had.


Here's a picture of the kiddos from Caleb's family group. We've posted this pic on the fridge and he can identify everyone by name but himself. When you point to him and ask, "Who's this?", he says, "Baby". Oh well.


I can't remember if I've posted about this before but Caleb is doing more and more pretending. He will lay down on the laundry pile, a stuffed animal, or even just the floor and say, "Night night". His newest "night night" is the blanket that hangs over the edge of our couch. He especially does this when he's sleepy.


On Saturday, Aaron got up early to go help with Men's Ministry Car Care at the church. It's an opportunity for widows, divorced women, and single moms to come get their oil changed, tires aired, car washed, etc. Aaron and a handful of guys from our class joined other men from Asbury and ended up washing around 50 cars between 9 and noon. What a good guy!


As he opened the garage door to leave, he noticed a neighbor up the street having a garage sale. We were so pleased when we got our neighbor's slide for $10, something we had been looking for for awhile. It's a little weather-worn but certainly gets the job done. Caleb has enjoyed it thoroughly and its presence in the backyard has caused even more hand prints on the back door (if that's possible) as he waits oh-so-patiently to go out and slide again and again (and again). Here's two videos, one of a not so successful trip down the slide (don't worry, he doesn't get hurt) and another successful trip.








A few weeks ago Caleb got a water bottle as a party favor at a friend's birthday. We haven't used it yet so after making sure it was an OK bottle to use (with all that recent drama about dangerous plastics), I filled it up for him. He takes drinks out of straws frequently with no problem but for some reason, it is much more amusing to him to take a big sip and then just let it all dribble right out of his mouth and onto his shirt. He's a photo of the big boy (notice the wet spots).



Saturday night the girls from Covenant met at The Melting Pot for dessert. I hadn't been there in quite awhile and really enjoyed my chocolate fondue. Yum! It was a fairly late evening but I had every intent to go to church the next morning, especially since I was out with those girls the night before. But, Caleb woke up later than usual and then was quietly resting for quite awhile so we decided to make use of the time and sleep in all the way to 8:15, which is too late to get to church on time. Oops!


Here's a funny video Aaron took last week of Caleb and his favorite song. He sings it at home, at the mall, in the grocery store, in the car (you get the point). Sorry it gets so dark but the audio is the best part anyway.

Today was In-Service Day at school so I had to work as usual but the school was not open for children. So Aaron and Caleb had a fun day together including a trip of the zoo. Tomorrow is the same so Caleb will hang out with his Grandma for the day. Yippee!

Have a great week!

Another Week- This One with Daisy Dukes and a Parade!

There are many benefits to having your child attend school where you work. One of them is the gossip mill that gets back to your desk and tells you to "Be aware...when you go pick up Caleb this afternoon he is wearing pink shorts because he spilled on his own and we couldn't find any others." Now one person telling me this would be considered normal. But, after five co-workers made a point to stop by my area (and I say "area" because it is definitely not an office, not complaining just clarifying) to inform me of Caleb's attire, I was wondering how ridiculous he really looked. Well, take a gander yourself:


What you can't truly appreciate is the blue Sharpie marks with the school and class name or the cute little white eyelet trim across the top. Oddly enough, they weren't too small for him, but I guess girls shorts are just shorter than boys.

The rest of the week was pretty laid back but did include a trip to our new Wal-Mart SuperCenter (yeah!) and a trip to the pediatrician because Caleb's allergies were not getting any better and his ear started draining fluid. At least, thanks to his tubes, they were draining instead of getting all gunky and infected.

Saturday morning Aaron got up early to go with guys from our Sunday School class to do yard work at another classmate's house. The hubby is serving in Iraq this year and our guys decided to help spruce things up for their family while he's gone.

While Aaron was off doing good deeds, Caleb and I headed to BA for some Rooster Day action. Now, you may ask yourself, "What is Rooster Day?" Rooster Day is Broken Arrow's big springtime carnival/festival/celebration thing. It involves stages with singing and dancing performances as well as the annual Miss Chick pageant (yes, I was in Miss Chick in high school- don't judge me!), rides, a craft show, and Saturday morning's parade. We picked up my parents and sister and staked our claim on Main Street. Let me just say that Caleb LOVED the parade experience. I think he said "HI" at least 300 times as the various parade participants walked or drove by. Here's a picture and a video of his friendliness.

And what would a trip to a fair-like event be without some yummy food, namely a Blue Bell ice cream sandwich, part of a funnel cake, and some fried pickles. YUMMMYYY!!!

Sunday we went to church then my parents and sister came over for lunch. We had tasty pork loin from the grill that Aaron did a wonderful job supervising. After lunch, Caleb was beyond ready for nap, so everyone headed out. My parents got me a pedicure gift certificate for Mother's Day and Aaron and Caleb bought me a fun plant for the front porch and a cute new top that I picked out earlier in the week. It was a fun day celebrating our Mommy-hood.

Good news on the house-building front, we are on track to break ground in the next week or so. Evidently, the price of concrete is skyrocketing July 1st so our builder is wanting the foundation in before that (yippee for a budget-conscious builder). Some have asked where we are building- it is in Jenks on 121st and the Arkansas River. Seriously you take 121st until you would run into the river and follow the curve.

The weeks continue to get busier and pageant season gets closer and closer. Looking for something to do the first week of June? We could use your help in 'managing' 31 fabulous teens from across the state. Don't you all volunteer at once now!

Have a great week!!

Happy 30th, Old Man Walton!!

Really quick post tonight as it is late and I am sleepy. Here are some fun pics from the week, including Aaron's 30th birthday (can't believe I am married to such a fossil!!- ha!).


Aaron's b-day was on Wednesday but he has enjoyed celebrating throughout the week. Here's a picture of Aaron and Caleb on the big day (notice the adorable decorations put up late Tuesday night by an adorable and thoughtful wife).



Aaron requested brownies instead of birthday cake on his actual birthday. Thankfully our friend Julie made some yummy brownies a few weeks prior that Aaron loved so I was able to get her recipe. (OK, moment of truth, it was a box mix but it was very tasty.) Here's another picture of Aaron posing with some decorations. This was actually a table centerpiece but Mr. Creative was using it as a hat.



Just in case you were wondering where the Caleb pictures are, here's one of him walking a mile (or across the living room) in my sneakers. Not sure how, but he definitely knows which shoes are "mama's" and which ones are "dada's". He is learning the possessive form of things, which I am guessing means we have lots and lots of "MINE" on the horizon shortly.



Our friend Brooke made Aaron's cake for his birthday weekend. For those of you who might not know, Aaron worked for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars broadcast department for a season during college and has been a fan ever since. Brooke (who also did Caleb's fabulous turtle cake on his 1st b-day) used the jersey Aaron had in his closet as her inspiration but personalized it. How great is this cake!?!?!


Aaron's parents came in town over the weekend to celebrate his birthday and also our nephew (their grandson) 5th birthday. They all went to Jake's pirate party on Friday night while I worked the sleepover at Riverfield. Though Aaron took the camera with him, no pictures were taken so we have none to share. Oh well, it was a fun time.


Several of you have inquired about how our house-building is going. We are almost finished with the architect (feel like we've been saying that for several weeks now) and are on track to be in by December as long as we stay on schedule. Yippee!


Congrats to our friends Kristin and Michael who had their baby girl, Addison, on Sunday morning. She appears to be cute as a button, based on their blog pictures, and we can't wait to meet her when the family is in town for Miss OK in June.

OK, off to bed. Have a great week!!