Livesay Orchard

Hailee had her first field trip today, so of course Braden and I found our way out there! The kids had SO much fun!!! See --->

something random...

alright Katie.....random it is.

I hate needles.

I had granola cereal for breakfast and leftover pizza for lunch.

I'm going to go make a latte right now!

the picture here, is what I'm going to scrap for Shellie's "warm, fuzzy, cozy" challenge. lol

Happy 11th & DANG she's cute!

Happy 11th Anniversary to my Darren. We've made it a lot longer than some people thought we would. I love you more and more everyday and thank you for the life we've made together.



okay, mush over :)



Look at this KID! Wow! I'm so lucky to call her mine...okay okay "ours". I really didn't know if I wanted to keep the pictures...her bangs are messy (come on, what kind of photographer can't take 5 seconds to fluff some bangs) and it's not totally centered. But it's such a cute smile, and the background is great (yes, I chose the brown!). So...we're keeping it and calling it a "normal 5 year old photograph". Sorry for the glare on the white shirt - I have got to learn how to fix that after I scan!

Brag time!

I had a conference with Hailee's teacher Wednesday. It was wonderful! I really love her teacher, and Hailee seems to be learning a lot.

Mrs. V said "Hailee is my best artist/drawer in the class. I can always tell her work from the other students because she always has so much detail." That made me happy. We knew she loved to color and draw but didn't realize how well she did with it.

She got mostly S's (satisfactory) in all "subjects". A couple P's (progressing)...but that's good. 2 were in areas that the class has only covered a small portion (like letter sounds) and the teacher can't say for sure that the kids know them all since she hasn't covered them all. One area was talking out of turn. lol Hailee will giggle with Gavin (sheesh, a boy) while the teacher is talking...but she stops immediately when the teacher says her name and it's not a daily thing. So that needs work. Oh, and she will only tell you that her birthday is "when it snows" and not the day so we need to work on that. lol

She said Hailee does really well with the other kids, is quiet (yeah right!), and can work through "arguments" with the kids when they come up. Mrs. V says "Hailee is quiet, and may look fragile, but she has some fire in her!". Boy she has no idea how much fire Hailee has! lol

It was great, and the teacher seems to agree with me that if Hailee wants to spend her free time with crayons and pens, then let her. That's her outlet and what makes her happy....and it's even helping her penmanship (I was amazed at the other artwork on the walls from the other kids...Hailee really IS advanced in that department). Last year her teacher would tell her to do her free time, but when Hailee wanted to color everyday she wouldn't let her. That really bothered me. So now I'm happy, and so is Hailee!

Now for Braden! wow, he's really starting to talk! He says "nana" for banana, "ni-ni" for night-night, "Nanny" for Sammy, "I-eee" for ice, hi, hot, yummy, daddy, mommy, and is sort of saying "a-eee" for Hailee. Plus he's doing really well with his signs. He's remembering to sign "more" when he wants more and not just grunt. Plus he signs "please" and "thank you" at the right times! Darren and I have noticed he's not learning as early as Hailee did, but all you have to do is show him once or twice and he can do it. So what was I thinking when I showed him how to climb a box??? The other day he climbed Sammy's toy basket and was sitting in the middle of our end table. Monkey I tell ya.

Thanks for letting me brag!

the new model for STARBUCKS!

They couldn't get a cuter model if they tried! lol When mom was here we went to Bass Pro Shops so she could get some things to take home for Joe. The highlight, for me, of that store is the Starbucks. Of course we stopped during our browsing for latte's and mocha's. Mom wanted to get the kids something so she had the guy whip up a coffee-free strawberry frap. Well Hailee wasn't all that thrilled but Braden LOVED it! So, the scrapbooker I am snapped this shot. But my little camera doesn't do that great indoors so it's dark...but you get the idea anyway!

Hi.

I'm here. I either have nothing to say or I'm not in the mood to say anything. I know I need to get more stuff uploaded from Arbuckle, but I really am not motivated to go through the whole process! sorry - lazy days here in Broken Arrow. I've done a lot cleaning and decluttering lately and frankly, I'm worn out!

So hi to all who read this, I know it's not many - and I'll be back with a more interesting post soon!

is HE big? or is SHE small?

Braden went in for his check up and shots yesterday. He weighs 23 pounds and is 32 inches long.

Hailee went in today for her cough (bronchitis) and weighs 35 pounds and is 40 inches.

SO...12 pounds and 8 inches seperate my kids who are more than 4 years apart in age! This just cracks me up! I look forward to seeing them in another 2 years to see where they are on this chart of mine!

Here are pictures of them from Sunday at the Arbuckle Wilderness thing!

Wanna kiss?

isn't she cute? This was taken on our trip to Arbuckle Wilderness. It was so cool. I'll post more details and pictures later!

Today we flew some {sort of like} kites!

the "Easter Bunny" got the kids each a "kite in a can", ready to fly! lol Poor things. They were horrible! Now I won't tell Hailee that because she had tons of fun! Darren did manage to get Braden's up pretty good for a few minutes, but that was about it. At least they had fun and we have pictures to show for it!

My lucky streak!

Well, I've had sort of a lucky streak lately. First I won the contest at the Unpubbed Blog, and was their famer after that. THEN, I won the I spy contest at the Tinkering Ink Blog. THEN, I won the newsletter drawing at The Scarlet Lime Blog! Good grief! lol

I received the unpubbed prize from their sponsor right away, and have used up some of their fun stuff (wish I would've taken a picture). Haven't received my prize from Tinkering Ink yet, but really looking forward to it.

Today, I received my prize from Christy Tomlinson (yes, I got mail from CHRISTY!). She was so gracious! Look at this picture, people! The Autumn Leaves stamps were calling my name at Target the other day, but I knew I couldn't spend money at the time and not have to listen to Darren griping about scrap supplies....and I haven't seen the vinyl thickers yet...but oh my I just *heart* RED!!! and the Making memories stuff...FUN, and Heidi Grace..CUTE! So such a little drawing brought HUGE smiles! Thank you Christy!!!

yay for me!

Braden and I went for a walk today. We took Sammy and off we went exploring. Because there is a lot of unfamiliar area in the surrounding neighborhoods I didn't venture too far. But after our walk we got in the car and checked out those areas and found the route we will follow tomorrow! I'm really excited about this!

Diet mumbo-jumbo

Yes, I'm dieting...but I'm actually doing pretty good this time! I was all set to start taking those Alli diet pills, but $60 per month? I can buy lots of scrap stuff for that! lol So, I'm watching what I eat on my own. And really, it isn't that difficult (but yes, the big mac's have called my name really loudly a couple times) if you set your mind to it! I know cheese it pretty much out, and that's fine (except for the nights we grill burgers). I am loving all the steamed veggies! Add some rice and a little parmesan and I'm full at the end of the meal! I'm really proud that I'm making myself stick to this, and am showing my kids a good example. Now if I could just add in some more exercise~

Braden likes to dance, and he likes when I hold him to do it...so for 10-15 minutes I hold an extra 22 pounds while hopping, stepping, jumping around the living room...and we do it 2-3 times a day. I'm hoping it's helping...I haven't weighed myself since I last learned of the 6 pound loss....I know it's time, but what if I go up and down on the scale? ugh. Anyway, I'm hoping that when I hit the next big mark on that scale I'll be able to add in some more cardio - like one of my videos. I know that'll boost the pounds off too!

And fall is coming - that means cooler weather for days at the park! And Braden isn't in to all the playground stuff yet so I can do some walking, swing pushing, and more walking and we'll both be happy at the end of an hour!

So that's my thoughts for the day....add exercise to my diet. Now that I've put it here I'm stuck to doing it, right? I mean, once you tell someone you're pretty much done...can't go back on your word right?

And I have to say, I'm inspired by Ginger Rohlfs http://gingerrohlfs.blogspot.com/ - she's lost 31 pounds! Isn't that amazing? So, you may get more talk on my blog about weight loss, too, just bare with me, ignore me if you must, and watch for scrappy, kid stuff in between!

Have a great week!

an evening at the park!

We took the kids (and the dog) to the park last night for some walking and playing. Hailee took her bike and rode while we walked a lap around. Then we stopped at the playground! The little people had so much fun! and so did we! watching them laugh and play just makes us smile! Here, you can see....and maybe smile, too!

The Heir, and other things.

Well here he is. The heir to the Precision Lawn Maintenace fortune (rofl!)

If you haven't made it over to the Playground yet (link to the right) then now is the time! I'm hosting the month long layout of the day mini album in September. It should be fun....a great way to get something done, but small enough to make it easy for those busy days when you barely have enough time to pee! lol I will be posting the challenge/requirement each day. You just create something based off of it. Here's my Sept. 1st page....and no, I won't tell you what the challenge is...you'll find out tomorrow!!!!

So come out and play! We'd love to have you! (and everyone who does all 30 days gets put into the drawing to win a great prize from Wendi!)

and my disclaimer - since I'm not able to be in the drawing myself - I'll be slacking towards the end when my mom is in town visiting from Seattle!!!!

Happy Birthday my friend!

Today is my friend's birthday! Please sing to Nicole today, and wish her a wonderful day!!!


Hope you get all your camera-snappy wishes and wildest dreams!!!!

(check out this awesome lo she in honor of her special day!)

Love ya my friend!

just a post to say I posted!

lol, not much going on. a busy Monday. Braden went to the doctor, then we ran errands and came home. Braden only napped about 1 1/2 hours today, so he was in bed at 7pm...Hailee is on her way now! Hope ya'll had a great weekend and make it through the week!

trying again...

to add some more pictures! More of Hailee's first day at school.


Hailee with Mrs. Van Dolah

Getting off the bus after her 1st day!

She's a KINDERGARTENER!!!

Yep, today was her first day! She was SO excited, which made us happy! Darren and I took her to class today, got some pictures of her with her teacher, Mrs. VanDolen, then we left, she never looked back :(!

While she was at school, we spent at least 4 hours cleaning her room...yes, it took THAT LONG! It was AWFUL! but it looks great, she's happy, and now the lesson comes when she learns to KEEP IT THAT WAY! lol

We met her at the bus that stops at the end of our road, and she said she loved the bus ride, and wow it was fast. It sounds like she's the first stop from school, so that's good, because the buses don't have a/c! Today was 104 BEFORE the heat index! ick!

Here are some pictures, enjoy!

wahoo! look at me!

thanks UNPUBBED!

http://unpubbed.blogspot.com/2007/08/coreys-15-minutes.html

Well I have to share!

I showed you pictures of Braden's hair cut so Hailee says I should show hers! Her bangs were trimmed and long layers added...it looks better when it's down now.....but even better yet when it's styled!

then of course she started loving on Braden so I kept taking pictures! They are so cute I just want to squeeze them!