Me, Momma and the Pioneer Woman

For Mother's Day this year I gave my mom some Pioneer Woman stuff and also told her I was taking her to visit the Pioneer Woman Mercantile and Ranch! We had to wait a few weeks to get a clear schedule and make sure the ranch was open for tours. Last weekend was finally time!

We took off and drove straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn in Bartlesville which was about 25 minutes from the Mercantile. They had a Pioneer Woman special rate so it was nice to get such a good deal on a nice hotel. After checking in we went straight to the Mercantile to shop and eat.  As soon as we got there, Ladd (aka: Marlboro Man) was greeting people and taking pictures with people as they came in. He was very nice and showed us where things were to get started.  We shopped a little and then got in line for food - the wait was about an hour and the line was outside. Luckily they gave out umbrellas to keep us cool while we waited. We just happened to get in line with a couple that lived about 20 miles from us so that gave us plenty to talk about on our wait. Our food was amazing! I had homemade chicken strips and twice baked potato and mom had steak.

After dinner we headed back to Bartlesville to go to the mall to shop for Father's Day and Ryan a dress for her upcoming pageant. We found all the stuff we needed and then something even better happened! There was a Gap in this mall and they overheard me talking about my Gap stuff being stolen while we were in Branson. When I checked out they gave me huge discounts on everything I got to help me replace the stuff that was stolen. I could have cried! I obviously loved Gap before but now I am an even bigger fan! After our shopping we headed back to the hotel where we got snacks from the lobby and watched HGTV until we both fell asleep :)

Saturday morning we got up and had breakfast at the hotel. Then we packed up the car and headed to the Mercantile to finish shopping and head to the ranch for a tour. The Mercantile was a LOT busier Friday than Saturday. I mean the line to check out Friday had 5 people in it, the line Saturday had at least 30. So, I got a little creative. There was no one in the gift wrapping line, so I decided to pay $2 and have my stuff I was buying put in a gift bag and didn't have to wait in line at all! That is why I get paid the big bucks ;) My mom bought me all the things I wanted there for my birthday coming up - so I guess this was a Mother's Day, my birthday, memory making trip :)

New plates for my plate rack

I fell in love with this canvas!

I had to have these adorable measuring cups!

A t-shirt and necklace purchase were a must ;)

The ranch was about a 30 minute drive from the Mercantile. It wouldn't have taken so long but a majority of the drive was on a dirt road and that takes longer. The view from the Lodge was just amazing! The Lodge itself was amazing too! I love the country rustic style and the way it had feminine decorations in it too made it just perfect. Plus, it had the pantry of my dreams! I even got to love on Ree's sweet puppy Walter on our way out. It was a perfect visit!

View from the Lodge

My dream pantry!

We got back home Saturday evening just in time for me to get to see the kids and work on Father's Day crafts with them before bed. Sunday, after church, we had a birthday party for me niece Marley, niece Savannah and myself at my brother's house. I am 29 and holding :) After the party we went and spent some time at the country club - we all swam and Nathan golfed a little.

Noah blew my candles out before I could finish my wish!

Make your own emoji cupcakes :)

Now for a busy week of baseball games, football camp, vacation bible school and Father's Day!

Fun Friday, Parties and Swim Lessons!

The kids and I kicked off our first "Fun Friday" of the summer with pottery painting. Noah chose a Transformer and Ryan chose a horse (again). They both painted Daddy a little something for Father's Day also. I can't wait to see the results after they are cooked in the kiln.

After painting we did a little shopping for Ryan's pageant and Father's Day but had no luck with either. So, we just had lunch at Dixie Cafe and headed home so we could go watch my nephew Greyson play his last baseball game of the year. (Well, technically I watched the game, the kids played on the playground)

Saturday was a very popular day around here. There were lots of things we were invited to so we had to just choose a few. First was Noah's ball pictures and game. We got done just before the day full of rain started. Ryan and I got shirts made to cheer Noah on with - they turned out great!

After the game we all went home and changed from our sweaty clothes and headed to my nephew Paxton's birthday party at the Bacchus Family Farm. It pretty much rained the whole time, but we were still able to have fun feeding the animals, playing in the barn and the rain slowed up just enough for the train ride.

We still had one more party to go to that day. Logan from the kids daycare (the daycare teachers son) turned 4 and had a very cute party at the movie theater. After the party all the kids stayed at watched Captain Underpants - which was very cute! For some reason my kids want to talk about poop all the time so this movie was perfect for them!

For the last week and 2 days this week the kids had swim lessons. They have went really well! This is Ryan's last year in Mommy and Me classes and if she can get more comfortable with her face in the water she will move up to level 1-2 next year which is where Noah is now. I am not really getting to see his class much since I am in Ryan's so I am anxious to see if he will be moving up a level next year or not.

This Friday I am taking my mom away for the night as part of her Mother's Day gift then home for another birthday party and swimming - it is beginning to look a lot like summer around here!

Anniversary Getaway to Branson

Nathan and I were able to get away for the weekend and celebrate our 11th wedding anniversary. We decided to take a kid free trip to Branson and do some of our favorite things we can't always do with the kids like shop, ride the fast coasters and have calm dinners out :)

Friday we shopped and went to dinner at Buckinghams Steak House where Nathan smoothly cut a carrot and it flew off our table and hit the table beside us :) We both laughed until we cried! We had dessert at Andy's custard before calling it a night at the hotel. No baths to give, or kids to tuck in - just us getting to lay in bed at watch a movie.

Saturday was actually our anniversary. Funny story: I was joking with Nathan earlier in the week and said "Happy Anniversary" to him - he said "is that today, I'm sorry" - so realizing he really didn't know when it was (even though it is engraved in his ring) I let him think he missed it until Saturday when I again told him Happy Anniversary and had to clue him in :) We did some more shopping and then rode the Ozark Mountain Coaster before lunch at the Fall Creek Steak House. The Ozark Mountain Coaster is a new coaster that you ride in your own car and control how fast you come down the mountain. It was a lot of fun and I cannot wait to take the kids back to do it. That evening we did putt-putt golf - I only lost by 1, and dinner at the Bass Pro Restaurant on the water - the food was good and it was storming which was kind of cool to watch through all the windows on the water.

Sunday we went straight to Silver Dollar City and got there when it opened and had no lines for 3 of the fast coasters we wanted to ride. There was a really long line for one ride for some reason so we skipped that one and went to ride the sky coaster downtown instead. I had done the sky coaster a long time ago and Nathan had never done it. The first drop was scary but after that it was just fun. We ended our trip with lunch at Nathan's favorite place - Joe's Crab Shack.

It was really nice to get away and not have to worry about kids getting car sick, a million bathroom breaks, ordering kids food and begging them to eat it, trying to keep them quiet in a hotel, etc. But, as soon as I saw a kid while we were there, I would instantly miss our kids - funny how that works.

Once we got home we did have a not so great realization. On Friday after we went shopping we put some of the shopping bags in the back floorboard under the seat. Once we got home we realized they were not there. We narrowed it down by what was still there and when we put them in there and we know it was taken at our hotel parking lot Friday night. We got the kids new summer clothes, each a new pair of shoes, my bag of Ulta stuff, and some of me and Nathan's new clothes - all gone. No cameras are in the parking lot, the receipts are in all of the bags so basically we are just out of luck. I guess it is a life lesson - take your stuff in with you on vacations - even if it is locked up or hid it isn't safe.

With Ryan's ball season being over and her ballet is canceled this week, we don't have much going on this week other than swim lessons in the mornings. But the kids and I (and whoever else we can drag along) are trying to do Fun Fridays this summer and are trying to do different fun things each Friday like visit State Parks, go to the lake, library or movies. We are hoping to be able to kick that off this Friday!

Noah's First Grade Year

When Noah started the first grade I was nervous. Kindergarten had went so well and I was unsure about the other end of the building where all the big first grade kids were! It all just seemed so different to be in the same building. However, I learned the differences between Kindergarten and First Grade were needed to help the kids grow and be able to do more on their own - and that is just what Noah did. It seemed like in no time he took off with his reading and math skills. I would learn of things he was doing in class and he knew so much about the world and even understood how and why things are the way they are. I saw a real maturity in him this year, that was much more noticeable than in Kindergarten.

Noah's teacher, Mrs. Blackard, was a great fit for him. She gave him the perfect balance of love, discipline, knowledge, guidance and of course fun! Noah just told me last week before his birthday that one of the things he will miss most about being a 6 year old was Mrs. Blackard. He always got up each day ready to go to school and even complained about missing his teacher on Christmas and Spring Break. He has made me promise to bring him back to visit her next year.

This will be Noah's last year in the Primary School. This school has been such a blessing to us. Noah always had something to look forward to and a fun activity to help him learn going on - State Park field trips, AR rewards program, 2-4-6 Reading Fundraiser, Fun Day, Book Fairs, Music Programs and so much more! He didn't even realize how much he was learning most of the time during these activities :)

Since Noah is moving up to the elementary school next year and Ryan will not start school for another year, I will not have a child in the Primary next year. That is really hard to imagine! I plan to still come back and volunteer the same as I did when Noah was there and also help as much at the elementary school as they need me. I have made some of the best friendships and memories in that volunteer program and cannot imagine not being part of it. I realize that as kids get older, volunteers will be needed less and less each year due to not as many crafts, etc. in the classes. So, I may not always be able to help in my child's class, but I really enjoy volunteering and plan to do it as long as I can. I had friends whose kids started Kindergarten this year and they told me when they heard me talk so much about how awesome the volunteer program was last year they couldn't imagine why I wanted to spend my day off at the school. But after they volunteered this year they totally get it! We have so much fun and the teachers and staff are very grateful making it very rewarding!

I officially have a second grader now! He changed so much during his first grade year! His little cheeks aren't so chubby, he definitely grew taller and he just looks more like a little man now. If I didn't have picture proof of these changes I wouldn't believe he changed that much physically. But, there is no doubt in my mind that he is much smarter and mature than he was just 9 months ago.

First Day of 1st Grade       -      Last Day of 1st Grade