Well it has been a while. I don't like to lag in my blogging but I have no excuse as to the gap.

Basically the boys and I are going to Oklahoma this weekend and that is all I really have to say. I have missed my family very badly this summer and I am so so so glad I get to see them before Thanksgiving. It was like I recently had an epiphany that life still goes on without me in Weatherford, you know? I think previously I thought... oh we all get together when I am here and other than that--- they don't see each other. That was dumb. Anyways, so I miss that I am not there and I am missing out on the memories they are making. Also Baker has a huge memory. He doesn't forget a thing and he misses all his grandparents and aunts and uncles. Then you throw in the fact that Beau is the most beautiful baby in the world and they haven't seen him in so long and you just get homesick. Needless to say I am thrilled to see everyone in my family. My parents, my siblings, my nieces and my sister-in-law. then as soon as we return we will be heading off to Minneapolis for a vacation and Brian's parents are meeting us up there. So, Baker and I will have a huge dose of family and hopefully that will help hold us over until winter.

These pics are from our front yard yesterday. I am very proud of our flowers. They were destroyed earlier in the summer due to a hail storm but they recovered. If green had an opposite color, that would be the color of my thumb so I am just thrilled that these flowers have flourished.

It feels like fall here some days already, as I am sure you can see by the boys' clothing. I am ready for fall but it will be weird not to be in Tulsa. Tulsa is so beautiful during the fall. Brian and I share fall as our favorite season and I know he will miss the ranch- but we do have the badlands and hunting season starts next week, so maybe that will make up for it!

I will end with some funny things Baker has said. He is hilarious these days. Yesterday when we were outside he said "it is super windy today". Which he obviously learned form me. Total teenager English to just say "super" instead of very. I said, "yah, it's windy" and he said "it sure is".

Brian made chicken on the grill and he looked at it and said " there is no chicken in here" b/c it was like grilled and a little charred.

He can buckle his car seat now and I was telling him to do and he said " BE PATIENT MOMMY!"

And by far the funniest thing he has said was while we were looking at a family photo on the computer was "I am adorable"! Perfect pronunciation! He is obviously very loved!

Life is good

I can't say enough good things about our summer. It seems there is no way that this is the same town we suffered through winter in. So much has changed. It is hard to believe that winter will indeed, come again. Perhaps winter is the reason summer has been so sweet. We know it is very limited and we MUST reach its potential.

I cannot remember if I told you about the girl I met at the Redbox- Krisitna. Well we have started a little "newcomers" group per say. It is several moms who have moved into town, mostly for oil reasons and we have joined together to help each other and our children cope basically away from family. It has become one of my favorite get togethers. It is so funny to hang out with other Southerners in North Dakota. Texans have become very comforting to us. Today, the Lord brought us a new friends who has only been here one week and she just happended to show up with her 3 boys at the same park we were at, at the same time. I am sure you can only imagine how hard it is to move to a new place far far away and not know anyone. It is very , very providential how we have all met and how others keep coming in. It is nice to be fully comfortable with my outgoing personality to meet these new people. I spotted a girl at church one week and I thought- there is no way she is from here. Sure enough! She was an aggie.

Anyways, I told Brian this but it seems that we have more friends than we have ever had. He disagreses and says I have more friends but he doesn't. It is hard to think that we can live in a big city for so long and never know as many people as we do now. It boggles my mind.

So, as for our summer fun- it includes.: lots of golf, even as couples with some of our friends., lots and lots of bike riding, going to the State fair in Minot, going to Horsefest (don't ask me what it is b/c I still don't know), pool parties, swimming in the 75 degree lake, and lots and lots of grilling out. For the 4th of July we purchased some outdoor dining furniture and we use it like crazy. Brian has become quite handy on the grill. I have includud some pictures. Well the pancakes and egg salad sandwiches are not from the grill but they are some beautiful dishes I made. We also spend a lot of time just sitting on the deck. Last night we went to a concert in the park, It was lovely.

I have been working at VBS all week and I have really enjoyed it. It takes a ton of energy but it is nice to get out the house and serve and get to know other people from church. We are really happy with our church.

Anyways, life is good. Tomorrow is Brian and mine's 4th wedding anniversary. Does it seem like 4 years?- Yes in the fact that we have lived in 6 different homes since beginning there in our first love of OKC and Portland Ave. Yes in the fact that we now we are in ND with our 1 and 2 year old. That all takes at LEAST 4 years. And yes in the fact that we have changed so much. I asked Brian the other day if I was the same girl he fell in love with and he said "no, you are so much nicer!" And Brian is way funnier than he was 4 years ago. Honestly I look back and think- my goodness, I had no idea how small my love for Brian was on the day we got married compared to now. Don't get me wrong, I loved him A LOT, plenty enough to marry him, its just that I didn't know on that day that my love had so much room to grow!

I think what I have learned about marriage is how much I just enjoy that Brian is my life partner. I hate saying that b/c "partner" usually takes on a different connotation but that is what he is. Does he still piss me off- yes! Do we still have arguments? Yes! Are we still selfish? yes! But we do life together. And we want to do life together. I think this is something my parents have always done that I am just now understanding. my dad always wants my mom to do things with him, like go to wal-mart or garage sales. They do the little silly things together. And all those silly things really add up for me. There are lots of reasons that it doesn't seem like 4 years. Do Brian's good looks catch me off guard and still intimidate me sometimes- yes! Does he still bring me flowers for no reason- Yes! Do we still hold hands in public- yes! Do we still go on dates-yes! We now have our own pile of special moments that only the 2 of us share.We also have the simple things in life that we love like watching Reba or whatever version is going of The Bachelor. Life is good and I am so glad in my choice of husband!

Life is good, but it's not perfect and it never will be and I am so okay with that. But I love Brian and I love my children- but really who couldn't love a family that beautiful!