PJ's, Ice Cream, and Lights

So, I know I've become a slacker, but I was on vacation and took it to heart by doing a whole lot of nuttin' (including updating my blog). Now that our house is back to normal, I guess I should get back in the grind of blogging.

Christmas was great this year. Among the Nephew's celebratory events included our 2nd Annual Light Watching Extravaganza. On the Saturday before Christmas (that would make it the 20th), the 4 of us dressed down in our PJ's (or pre-j's for some), stopped by Sonic for an ice cream involved beverage, and traveled around Ponca City America to look at lights.

We stopped by my mom's house so she could document the occasion for us. How awesome is her fireplace??? They just finished remodeling the house and it turned out beautiful.

So anyway, after looking at all the pretty lights, we drove back home. Michael and I decided to surprise the kids by seeing if they wanted to open their presents early. The kiddos quickly squealed with delight and said yes. We figured that since the kids were going to their mom's house on Christmas evening, they wouldn't have much time to enjoy their gifts...so why not just open them early!?! It seemed to go over well too and definitely made the week more relaxing.

Hope everyone had a great Christmas Season! Merry Christmas!! (a little late)

A sheer crack up!

Last night was a special night at Awana's. Not only did it ring in the 2 week break (yeah!) but the kids (and adults)also dressed down in their PJ's, listened to the Pastor and his wife Laurie read/acted out the Christmas story, and made sheep Christmas tree ornaments.

Back story: I help the 1st graders. Austin is in 2nd grade. Two types of yarn choices - one fluffy and one not. In my opinion, the fluffy one was WAY cuter. So, using my leader connection skills, I make sure that Austin gets some of the fluffy yarn for his sheep. I feel like I'm watching out for my kid and being a good parent by hooking him up with the starts of a great sheep...

So, fast forward through the night...It was a crazy night, but the kids all seemed to have fun. (Leaders - not so much). We are getting ready to leave and Austin is showing off his sheep to me. (which by the way he named Candy because I guess they both like sweets) He cut off almost all the yarn....basically sheering the sheep in a way. When I asked him why he cut it off, he simply said, "it was too fluffy." So cracked me up. Here, I think I'm looking out for the little guy when I should have just let him pick the yarn himself. Ok, I know in the picture, the sheep looks fluffy, but it was supposed to be TWICE (maybe even three times) that size with yarn.

Still, little Ms. Candy Sheep (i think its a girl) is pretty darn cute and will proudly be displayed annually at our house.

10 Things Most Readers Won't Get

Top 10 Inside Jokes...

1. 256 Baby!

2. Hello Puppy!!

3. That's ok Shelby, you'll catch up...

4. Panda, the Princess of Reveille

5. Happiness isn't happiness without a violin playing goat.

6. Just tell her its Smurfette, or George, or Your Mom, or Bambi, or etc...

7. Keep it Posssitivveee. (gotta sing it)

8. There's a whole bunch of bugs in there, gosh!

9. Can I show them my exercising skills?

10. Julie....I can't read..... (this one still makes me laugh)

Goofy Us

Our family loves to take pictures....especially goofy ones...









Ya...the goofier, the better.

We make rockin' look easy

So far, this weekend has been a typical one at the Nephew House.

Last night Shelby had a friend spend the night, and they decided to make Guitar Hero into a true group effort.





Yes, three of them are playing the drums together. (silly,silly)

Tonight, it was all Michael and Austin. First Michael cooked dinner. Burritos...mmm, yummy goodness, and then ROCK TIME!

Austin began the rock show with a few slick guitar moves...



Then the boys rocked out together. (I knew that rocker wig would come in handy!)





I caught Shelby praying during their performance. I have a feeling her words included, "when will it end??"



Dont' worry. Shelby "Livin' On a Prayer" Nephew got her chance to play later, but the highlight of the evening was definitely watching Austin's dance moves.



He is such a nut.

Wii ROCK!

Our family purchased a Wii earlier this year. The rest of my extended family had one (ok, just my mom and brother), and we made numerous excuses to hang out at their homes in order to play the Wii. Oh so much fun!! Honestly, I'm not a big fan of countess number of video games and just staring mindless at a TV, but the Wii is different.

We play games as a family and in the process spend some fun times together. Many games call you to get on your feet and move around. No other gaming system, that I know of, does this.

One of the first games we bought was Guitar Hero 3. After playing it at my mom's, we were hooked! Shelby and I have both mastered the art of pushing buttons and are able to play most songs on Expert. So ya, we rock. Michael can play on Hard (and I think a few songs on Expert). Austin wasn't the biggest fan of this game at first. I think his fingers were a bit small to move over the buttons in a timely fashion. With a little practice, he is now a total rocker!

Anyway, so all of that is my back story. Here is the real blog...

We have Guitar Hero World Tour!! With drums, a rad guitar, and a microphone. Oh so fun!! The game was released at midnight on Oct 26. (yes, we preordered our copy!) Michael and Shelby were especially excited about this game and decided to wake up at 11:40 PM in order to make the grand release at Game Stop. (yes, I thought it was a bit crazy).

I figured that if they are getting up they should AT LEAST take some pictures for me so I can blog about it. Although Shelby refused to take any pictures in the store, she was ok with taking them away from the public eye.

So here is my storyboard from Michael and Shelby's rockin' good time!

Like I said, they left in the middle of the night (well, it was almost midnight, so for some that could be considered early evening).

Here they are getting ready to leave on their adventure. Michael was so tired that he couldn't even get himself totally in the picture while Shelby can't even keep her eyes open (but still giddy with excitement over the new game)!



On the way to Game Stop, Michael's mood started to pick up. I have a feeling he was feeling like a kid at heart right about now.



Yeah! They arrive and of course they are early.



The store won't open for another 7 minutes. Michael said the guy inside was almost taunting those waiting (all 10-15 of them, which in Ponca City America is quite a mob).



I think Michael may have been drooling with excitement in this picture. Here he is loading the game into the car. Shelby is doing so well with the play by play pictures. Too bad we don't have one of the actual purchase...I know you all are sad about that...



And...finally home sweet home! Our brand new baby has arrived.



Michael and Shelby stayed up 'til about 1AM getting the game set up and "testing" it to make sure everything worked. The testing was very scientific too seeing as they needed to play at least 5 or 6 songs.

So now our house is full of evening "jam" sessions and I must say...Guitar Hero World Tour totally rocks. (and kicks Rock Band's tail)

Playing Dress Up

Today is Halloween (just in case you didn't get the memo). Although its not my favorite holiday by any means, I do have fun dressing Austin up and even doing a bit of dress up myself! I try to not take the "holiday" too seriously, but at the same time, I'm not sure I completely understand the reason for celebrating the dead. So, instead, the day is an excuse to have silly costumes and enjoy horribly yummy candy. Come to think of it, this whole "fun size" candy bars are really just a joke. Its like the candy companies are just teasing us with their bite size yumminess.

So this year I have two Halloween stories both packed full of fun times for all!


FIRST HALLOWEEN EVENT (kid related)
From a few posts back, I mentioned how Austin now loves Star Wars. So, when we saw the Darth Vader costumes at Wally World, it was a no brainer on what the little man would pick. Although his costume was a bit restrictive (aka tight), Austin still loved it to pieces.



Last night the family went to the city wide Halloween carnival. Tons of games, candy, and fun were had by most kids. I'm not 100% sure the parents can say the same.



Honestly, I think the kiddos had more fun after the event just by goofing off for the camera. Such hams, I tell ya!



This was our first time attending the event and might very well be our last. Long lines, so-so games, and random candy filled the evening. There were a couple booths (such as our church's moon jump) which were a huge hit, but overall I would much rather have our normal church Fall Festival back. We can always hope for next year!


SECOND HALLOWEEN EVENT (work related)
I don't think I've ever blogged about my job. (Not that there is a ton to blog about.)

I work...at a bank. No, I don't save lives, make millions of dollars, nor teach the children of our future....I....bank. I can balance a mean check register and know the difference between a debit and credit. I am down with the banker lingo.

My mother's favorite banker term is "the work." Yes, it is a technical term.

Anyway, I enjoy my job and love those with whom I work. This year, the powers that be said we could dress up for Halloween. Oh what fun! I figure, any excuse to wear sweats and sneakers to work is a great thing. Remember, the only time I even get to wear jeans on a Friday is when I'm paying $5 for a fundraiser event. So this was a huge treat! All the girls in my area agreed to wear costumes. Honestly, we always have fabulous intentions but often little follow through when it comes to participation. Thankfully, we all actually dressed up! I went the cheap route (not in a hooker kind of way...I know some of you went there!) and made my costume. Here is the final product. Don't I look cute!?! Yes, I'm a puppy with tail and everything.



As you can see, my coworkers had as much fun as I did with this whole dress up thing. The only drawback is that my head really started hurting by the end of the day. Pigtails really take a tole on one's noggin!

Ohhhh, and the BESTEST part of the whole day, you ask? Michael showed up with McD's breakfast for me this morning and was also in costume.



I was so caught off guard with his get up that I burst out hysterically laughing...tears and all. He said the rocker hair would be great for our Guitar Hero game. Silly silly hubby. He is just so darn cute!! Best part is that his attire totally blended in with the rest of wacky bank costumes.

Fun times...fun times!

"Hunting" Day

My fantastic hubby really enjoys hunting (mostly deer and turkey). He took Austin to go "hunting" a couple times last year and decided it was time to go out again this year. The icky part is that it is squirrel season. I told my hunter hubby that there was NO WAY ON EARTH I would eat squirrel. They are only one step above a rat for goodness sake. Michael reassured me that he wasn't doing the hunting - but that Austin would be - which made me extremely thankful since more than likely, he wouldn't actually hit a squirrel. Uncle David (Michael's brother) has a small rifle, a cricket, that is just Austin's size. The little guy has shot it a few times (with ample supervision - don't worry, the boy knows better than to even look at a gun without having Michael or David next to him) and really enjoys it.

So, a couple weekends ago was the first hunting day of the season for the boys. Since I had to blog about the experience, my sweet hubby took along the camera. Little did I know he would get rather literal when I asked him to document everything. I cracked up when he showed me all the pictures and told me what captions to use....so here is the story in picture/caption form.

First off was a bit of target practice for Austin...



Then all the boys loaded up into Grandpa's truck in search of "danger"...well...in search of squirrels or whatever else they could legally shoot...



Austin quickly realized the REAL danger was Grandpa's music. It really isn't bad music - just not in tune with the likings of a 7 year old....



Once the hunting gang made it to their final destination, they all quickly realized there were dangers everywhere...

Like thorns...



And wasps....



And poison ivy!



While on the hunt, they also discovered a creek but were still in search of those pesky squirrels..



Sadly, they never saw any squirrels; however, they did come across the dreaded crab apple. (yes I'm aware that it doesn't look very dangerous, but trust me, those things are deadly!)



Austin quickly grabbed his gun (well, Uncle David handed it to him), aimed, and fired...



All this "hunting" can really build up an appetite. Thankfully, Grandpa had snacks...



Overall, my guys had an awesome father/son day and hopefully will get to do it again soon.

Are You Ready For Some Football???

Sooner football is a way of life. From a small child through my adult years, the air just seems to change when football season starts. Things seem to taste better; the air gets cooler; people are a little less annoying....because of one important thing....Sooner Football!

When I was young, my parents took my brother and me to OU Football games. I have fond memories of buying new OU paraphernalia, eating stadium hotdogs, and wanting to RUSH into the stadium in order to get a good seat! (my family still jokes with me about this statement). The weather situation was never an issue either. I'll never forget going to an OU vs. Nebraska game one year when it was bitter cold. We bought hats, gloves, and sweatshirts, and shoved our legs in trash bags to keep in our body heat but still sat through the entire game. I was MISERABLE. I remember pulling my hat over my face to keep the cold out...oh...did I mention it was snowing too?? But ya see, it didn't matter that none of us could feel our toes, ears, fingers nor did it matter that our lips were an icy blue. The important thing was that this was a BIG game and we were watching it LIVE. I now look back on this memory and think that it was somewhat crazy and a possible form of child abuse (maybe not), but nevertheless, it did instill in me that there is something extremely important about rooting for the Sooners.

Last year Michael and I were able to take Shelby and Austin to see their first Sooner game. It was OU vs. Baylor - not a monumental game by any means, but still a way for us to introduce the kids to Sooner Magic.



Austin has been sick a few days prior to the game but he really didn't want to miss it. So, he braved through and said he felt ok to go.

The boys sat together....



And the girls sat together...



The kiddos loved the opening with the band...



...but as the game started, Austin started feeling pretty bad. (You can kinda tell from the picture above with Michael) We made through halftime and then packed up and went home. Later, we found out that Austin had pnemonia! We felt horrible about the whole thing but in a way it also felt as if things had come full circle with my family tradition of torturing your kids through watching the Sooners live. BUT at least we didn't stay the entire game this time....that makes us good parents, right????

Here is a picture before the game to prove that we weren't ignoring Austin's illness...the kid looks totally normal!

Whadda mean there’s no Yoda????

A few weeks ago our family traveled to Orlando, FL. We did the whole Disney scene and had a total blast.

While at Disney Studio’s, we road Star Tours. It’s a simulation ride that makes you feel like a part of the Star Wars flight scenes. Michael, Shelby, and I thought it was fun, but Austin loved it!

When we got home, Michael mentioned having a boy’s movie night and watching the real Star Wars movie. Austin was extremely excited about this idea– especially about seeing Yoda. So, the guys camped out in Austin’s bedroom...

...with popcorn in hand...

and watched Star Wars Episode IV.

After the movie was over, Michael whispered to me that there was a problem. Seems we forgot that Yoda doesn’t actually make it on screen until Episode V. During the whole movie, Austin was anticipating seeing Yoda and his acting début. Needless to say, he was rather bummed when he realized Yoda was a no show. Thankfully, two nights later, the boys had another movie night and able to see Yoda, Austin was.