forget the fair...

... take me to the Omniplex. Or as William calls it, "The Science Place." Saturday we had the chance to go to the State Fair or the Omniplex. I'm not a huge fan of the fair. It's dirty, expensive, and well, dirty. We've never been to the Omniplex. Since William is a huge fan of Sid the Science Kid we thought he'd be in heaven. We were right.

He "drove" a tractor...

And now when we see them on the road (which is often... we live in the wide open spaces) he tells me, "I drove one of those at the science place!"

They sat in teeth,

pretended to be an astronaut,

met a buffalo,

and watched a show with lots of explosions.

One of the coolest things was a giant tree house! Seriously this thing was 2 stories high! The boys and I went down the slide--which has got to be one of the longest twisty slides I've ever seen!

We also had fun on the teeter totter next to the tree house.

Thanks Grandpa Crane for treating us to such a fun day!

sweet brothers

On more than one occasion I have told the blogging world how sweet my boys are to one another. They aren't always that way. Sometimes William doesn't want James to mess up his creations--whether it be a jungle with his animals, a tower of pillows and blankets, or cars lined up in a row. Or James just wants to tease--which makes William irate and James giggly.

But mostly they are giving hugs. And James is always making sure that William has his sippy cup before sitting down with his own. Just this morning I saw James tentatively reach across the coffee table to a toy that, just moments before, William had been playing with. Usually he'd try to pawn off a less desirable toy on his younger brother. But today William looked up and in the sweetest voice said, "Yeah, James. You can play with that." It's moments like those that make me love staying home with my boys.

welcome Fall

William is feeling very festive lately. Whenever we pass Halloween decorations he exclaims "It's Halloween already, Mom!" The other day, after flipping through the newest Family Fun magazine, he requested that we have "pumpkin pancakes" for dinner.

YUM!

boys will forever be boys

When I bought these little missionaries to put in our "Sunday Bag" I imagined William playing with them so nicely on the bench in Sacrament Meeting. As I watched him on Sunday running them into each other, having them fall in slow motion to the ground, I realized that, to him, they are nothing more than action figures dressed in white shirts and ties.

p.s. James went to nursery for the first time on Sunday! The nursery leaders (who are awesome) said he seemed a bit overwhelmed but he stayed the whole time without mom or dad! Yea!!! We made it! Hopefully tomorrow goes just as smoothly.

the sunshine of my day

As I was cleaning up around the house, William was in the living room playing--and singing. I couldn't help myself... I had to catch it on tape. He's so cute!

You might not recognize the song-- it's from Scripture Scouts.

accentuate the positive

I have been thinking about this for days. No. Weeks, really. Ever since I heard of the accident that changed this beautiful family's lives forever.

I don't know the Nielsons. Not personally at least. But as I sit and read the archives of this wonderful woman's blog I feel that I do. I love to see the adventures that this young family sets out upon. To see the fun she cooks up for days when they are cooped up in the house. I love to see their celebrations. Most of all? I love that she has found joy in motherhood and shares it with the rest of the world. When I read Stephanie's entries I want to be a better person. More particularly--a more loving wife and mother.

I love these words:

I am asking that we stop seeking out the storms and enjoy more fully the sunlight. I am suggesting that as we go through life we “accentuate the positive.” I am asking that we look a little deeper for the good, that we still voices of insult and sarcasm, that we more generously compliment virtue and effort.... What I am suggesting is that each of us turn from the negativism that so permeates our society and look for the remarkable good among those with whom we associate, that we speak of one another’s virtues more than we speak of one another’s faults, that optimism replace pessimism, that our faith exceed our fears. When I was a young man and was prone to speak critically, my father would say: “Cynics do not contribute, skeptics do not create, doubters do not achieve." --President Gordon B. Hinckley

Her sister now keeps the world updated on the status of recovery and the lives of the Nielson children. She is so positive. She helps those children "enjoy more fully the sunlight" at a time when it would be so easy to "seek out the storms." Thank you nie and cjane for helping us to accentuate the positive.

To find out more about the Nielsons click here, here, here, and here.

In the spring William and I planted flower seeds. As the summer ends and we head into fall this is what I see as I leave the house.

a tale of birthdays past...

Today is my birthday so I thought I'd take a look back at some of my more memorable birthdays.

Here I am on my first birthday. Okay... so this one isn't exactly memorable seeing that I don't remember it. But aren't I cute?

When I was three my mom made me a clown cake. This was one of my favorite cakes. I'm sure I asked my mom to make it at least one other time.

For my tenth birthday, my mom threw me a surprise party! My dad was supposed to keep me out of the house until the party so he took me on some errands he had to run up at UT. I remember being at the library on campus--so bored--and constantly bugging my dad to go home. My poor dad.

Skip ahead a few years... For my seventeenth birthday Katie and Nicole took me out for lunch at Marie Calendars. I got fresh peach pie... delicious! Then I went with my family to the LA Temple and later that night a bunch of us went to a dance. This was my last birthday at home.

The next year, when I turned eighteen, I was away at BYU. All my roommates had gone the week before to get All Sports Passes. I couldn't afford one. Little did I know that they had all chipped in and bought one for me as well. The first football game was the day before my birthday so they surprised me a little early. This has got to be in my top 5 favorite gifts of all time. (Go Cougars!)

And then tragedy struck the day before the big 2-0. My roommates baked me a cake.Then we ordered pizza (a big treat for us) and sat on the floor, watching the news, and discussing the world events that had transpired just a day before. I believe on this birthday was one of the very first times I met Rich. My aunt Linda came over that night and, as soon as she left, called me to say "That Rich guy is CUTE!"

And finally, my twenty-second birthday--my first as a married woman. In the morning Rich surprised me with breakfast in bed. In the afternoon I was delivered flowers at work. And that night he treated me with tickets to the State Fair to see the Disney Princess On Ice show. It was magical.

Rich always has something up his sleeve for my birthday. I'm excited to see what this year has in store!

This...

... is a very common scene at our house. Aren't they just sweet?!

the stars at night, are big and bright...

...deep in the heart of Texas.

Back in March, for his birthday, I promised Rich a "weekend getaway for two." Six months later I made good on that promise. Friday morning we kissed the boys goodbye as we left them with Grandma while we headed down to Dallas.

On our way down south we decided to stop by Norman. It was fun to drive past our old apartment and walk around the OU campus. I had forgotten just how green Norman is! I think the highlight for Rich was seeing DeMarco Murray (a running back for OU) walk right by us. My highlight was seeing Rich's thesis in the library.

It had even been checked out a few times!

After a quick lunch we hopped in the car. We had a pleasant drive--with the best company. It was so relaxing to not have any plans! After we arrived, Rich, of course, wanted to work out so we took the stairs down to the workout facility. I wish I had pictures of Rich pumping that iron!

And then for the main event!

I guess we ate dinner first, walked up a busy road (because there's no way we were paying $12 for parking), and then arrived at Rangers Stadium. It's been years since I've been in a Major League Baseball Stadium! So fantastic.

I felt sorry for the Rangers because it must have felt like an away game for them... there were so many Red Sox fans! I couldn't believe it! There was a sea of red everywhere you looked and when everyone should have been cheering, "Let's go Rangers!" we were bombarded with chants of "Red Sox" instead. The only relief was a group of 5 little boys sitting near us, all decked out in Rangers gear, who weren't going to let those Red Sox fans ruin their experience. Every time a fan of the opposing team let out a cheer those boys were right there cheering on the home team with even more gusto! It was great!

The next morning, after a late breakfast, we headed back to Oklahoma and our boys. It was a great date that we'll have to repeat again!