Oklahoma Weekend

The Friday night after VBS, we had a great time swimming with our friends, the Sharplesses.  They stayed afterwards for a cookout and we enjoyed their company.  I enjoyed it so much that I completely forgot to take any pictures, but here’s a link to the ones that Sheila posted. 

Saturday morning, we drove over to Owasso to see Jan and Bill.  Caleb got to play with Gabe and they even got out the slip & slide to try to escape the ridiculous heat that we’ve had this June.

After the slip & slide fun, the boys all went to Bass Pro Shop while Jan & I stayed home for Nola’s naptime.  Bill’s son, Tyler and his wife Andrea joined us for dinner.  They have an adorable little boy named Will who is just a few months older than Nola.  Here’s Jan holding both of the little ones.

On Sunday, Bill and Rudy played golf.  Jan and I spent the morning playing with the kids and then took them to lunch.  When the golfers came home, we gathered up our things and headed for home to get ready for another summer week.

Grand Slam Birthday Party!

Before we went to Caleb’s birthday party, Mom, Mr. L., Jan and Bill came to the house to give him their gifts.  (We asked for no gifts at the party.)  Caleb was thrilled to get a new “big boy” bike from LaLa and Pops.  He also loved the bow/arrow set, water gun and bug vacuum that he got from Grandma and Bill.  (Yes, he usually has to wear a helmet on the bike!)

We hosted Caleb’s 5th birthday party at the NWA Naturals Game on Friday, May 6th.  We invited 3 friends and his cousin, Gabe to join us.  We let Caleb choose his guests and he chose 2 boys from his class and his t-ball team (Michael and Conner) as well as his daycare teacher and her son (Kaleb).  We weren’t about to try to take all of those boys without an adult, so we paid for a parent to come with them.  The kids got a ticket to the game, a wristband for the kids’ zone, a hot dog/chips combo and an ice cream.  We were even able to use the ice cream as the birthday dessert and didn’t have to mess with a cake or cupcakes.  At the end of the night, the boys got to be on the scoreboard screen, which they loved.  The kids had a fabulous time and the adults were completely worn out when it was over.  I’m not sure any of us actually saw any of the game, but the entertainment was the 5 little boys running like banshees all over the place, having the times of their lives!  Here are a few pictures from the party.  (The rest are on Shutterfly…)

Kaleb, Conner, Michael, Caleb & Gabe

Playing in the kids’ zone:

Hanging out with Strike!

On the big screen:

My birthday boy and me!

Nola’s Birthday Party

We celebrated Nola’s first birthday with a small party at our house on January 29th.  Mom and Mr. L. were already here after taking care of Nola while she was sick.  We were joined by Jan & Bill, Nana and Aunt Kathy.  We decided not to try to do anything really fancy this year, since Nola isn’t really a social butterfly at age 1.  We don’t have any close friends who have toddlers, so it seemed like a family party would be just the right thing.  Rudy and Mr. L. smoked a ham that morning and we served that with rolls, fruit, veggies and chips.  Of course, we had to have cake!  I decided we’d celebrate our little girl with little cakes, so I ordered petit fours with “N” and “1” on them in colors to match the plates and napkins that I found.  We were pleasantly surprised that it was sunny and warm enough for us to have lunch outside.  Here are some photos of Nola’s big event (scroll over for description):