Lucky #7

Sunday, Emma turned SEVEN! (Seriously...how can my first baby be 7?)The birthday festivities started on Saturday. Emma, Claire, Rachel, Tara and I went to Tulsa for a big girls shopping trip and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory.

Emma's big surprise...Travis FINALLY gave in and gave his seal of approval for her to get her ears pierced.

(She has been working on him for about a year now. I was ok with it, but told her that I was NOT going to do something that Travis did not approve of. So...she was relentless in her reasoning and finally, he agreed she was old enough to get them pierced.)

As we were shopping our way to Icing ("the ear place" as Emma referred to it), she kept asking to hurry so she could just get it over with. At one point, she told me "I am getting a nervous tummy the closer we get." Finally, we made it there. She got in the chair and as they were sterilizing everything, she started crying. I asked her if she wanted to get them done and she said yes.

She calmed herself down. Then, she saw them...the "staplers" (her word...not mine). Cue the corking out! She was in complete panic mode. At one point, she begged me to let her leave and not do it. As bad as I felt, I knew that if we walked out of there without her ears pierced, she would regret it. So, I made her stay. (It hurt my tummy to be such a meanie when she was looking at me with those tears streaming down her face!) In two seconds, they were done. She cried about ten more seconds and was over it. A little while later, she even said, "I am glad you didn't let me leave, Mommy." (Whew! Not such a bad Mommy after all!)

We shopped a little more and the girls got feather extensions in their hair. After that, we headed home and Claire stayed at our house. The girls played, ate pizza and petit fores and watched TV, but only made it until about 9 before passing out from a long hard day of shopping!

Sunday, after church, we met Honey and Daddy Brooks at Marketplace for lunch. Then, it was back to our house for cake and gifts. Grammy met us there.

I would venture to say that this little girl had a very good birthday!

Emma,
I am so proud of the little lady that you have become. You are the calm in the chaos that is our house. You have such a good heart and are always giggling about something. We talk a lot about being beautiful on the inside and setting a good example for those around you, (especially your crazy sisters!). Emsie, you are beautiful inside and out. At such a young age, you try so hard to be a good example for others. After being a week late, you have NEVER been in a hurry to do anything. Your Daddy, sisters and I love you SO much! Stay true to who you are and keep those lofty goals. There is NOTHING you can't achieve.
Love,
Mommy

Mother's Day

Mother's Day is such a special day. Funny thing is, I didn't realize EXACTLY how special until I became a Mommy.
My mom is amazing. I often times look back at all the things that she did for/with us, all while keeping a clean house, cooking dinner most nights and working, and I am in complete awe that she made it all look effortless. I took dance, played basketball, cheered, and played golf and my mom never missed a moment. She took me to every practice, went to every game, clapped at every recital and laughed at every golf meet.

More than that, she has always been there for me. She was there when I lost my first tooth, and watched me wiggle it for days while my dad barely kept from losing his dinner. My mom dried the tears when my friends picked on me so much in Jr. High that I didn't want to go to school. My mom was there when I found my first love (and lost him...and eventually married him!). She was there when I had my first daughter (and second and third). She has ALWAYS been there. Listening, laughing, consoling, guiding, protecting and sometimes letting me learn the hard way.

My mom taught me how to laugh at myself, love who I am and most of all, be a great Mom. My prayer is that my girls look back and think, "Wow. My mom was amazing!" like I think of my Mom. I hope that they, too, think of me as their best friend (and like I do, laugh because as a teenager I thought I would NEVER say that!). My mom is simply the best. She deserves so much more than just ONE day...

Thank you for teaching me how to be a good mom, Mom. (One day I will keep up with my laundry and fold the socks...one day...) I love YOU!

"A mother is the truest friend we have, when trials heavy and sudden, fall upon us; when adversity takes the place of prosperity; when friends who rejoice with us in our sunshine desert us; when trouble thickens around us, still will she cling to us, and endeavor by her kind precepts and counsels to dissipate the clouds of darkness, and cause peace to return to our hearts." - Washington Irving

Sunday, we went to church and out to lunch with our friends. After we got home, we spent the day playing outside and soaking up the sun.

I am so very blessed that these three wild monkeys are mine. Despite the crazy, loud, messy, arguing chaos that is our house, I wouldn't trade these loving, happy, sassy, smart, beautiful girls for anything in the world. Being a Mommy is the hardest job there is. But the rewards are immeasurable.

NY PICS ARE NEXT...PROMISE!

Cinco de Mayo

I know I know...you are on pins and needles for some NY pictures. Well...hang in there. I am still gathering pictures from everyone's cameras and trying to get the details into posts. :) Soon...I promise!
Last Thursday was Cinco De Mayo and the day after I got home from NY. So, needless to say, we had NO groceries! I told Travis that we should celebrate Cinco de Mayo and go eat Mexican food with the Brown's. His response, "You'll look for any reason to eat Mexican with your friends and not have to cook!" (He is SOOOO right!)

So, we met the Browns, The Hermans, The Gibsons, Nicole and Aaron out for some yummy Mexican food. It's always insane when we all get together because there are 7 kids between all of us. We had a great night especially since I didn't have to cook catching up with my friends after my trip.

New York - Sunday

Preface: About a week before my trip, I dropped my camera lens down. I thought everything was fine until a couple of days before I left and the auto-focus started acting up. I took it to get fixed, but they couldn't fix it in time and I could NOT go without my camera. So, I took it and tried to manage with manual-focus. Hence, lots of these pictures are blurry. But, to me, they are precious memories!
I am not sure if I mentioned it or not, (ha ha!), but last week, I was in New York on a dream trip of mine. For my birthday, after LOTS of demanding hinting from me, my parents let me know that they were going to send me on a trip to NYC...and the best part, MY MOM WAS MY TRAVEL BUDDY! :)

(Also, some other mom/daughter duos went with us...it was WONDERFUL!)

Since March 4th, I have been counting down the days until it was time to board that plane and get to New York.

(I am serious when I say I drove my mom CRAZY! "What time is our flight?", "What's the weather going to be like again?" "Do you think this shirt/dress/shoes is cute enough?" "What time is our flight again?" "Did you get my text of NY Outfit #2?" "What time is our flight again?")

So, Sunday morning, we headed to New York. There was a list THIIIIIIIIIIIIIS long of things I wanted to do while I was there. We were only there 4 days, so we had to get with it! When we landed, it was beautiful outside.

(And can I say, Laguardia is the ugliest, dirtiest airport I have ever been in? I mean...how old is that place!?)

We quickly checked into our hotel and headed down 5th Avenue to Central Park. Our plan was to eat a hotdog on the street, shop our way to Central Park and ride a rickshaw through the park.

This is where I will pause to say: My mom's friend, Mrs. Brenda, has been to New York a million times. She is a Pro at getting the best prices for everything and even set up a whole itinerary for all the things that we wanted to do. I really don't think we would have been able to see and do all the things we did without her keeping us on task! Thank you so much, Mrs. Brenda!

So, as we made our way down 5th Avenue, we saw all the amazing places like Tiffany's, Louis Vuitton, the coolest Apple Store I have ever seen, Trump Tower and, of course, The Plaza Hotel. It was all just how I imagined it.

As we were getting hot dogs for lunch, Mrs. Brenda was working out a deal with the rickshaw driver. We needed three to carry all of us and a discount...right? At one point, Amanda turned to me and said, "LOOK! He's got a 6th finger on that hand!" Of course, I am not blessed with the ability to hold in a laugh, so I burst out laughing and turned around. Once I gathered myself, I had to snap a picture. (Yes...as you will see, I took pictures of EVERYTHING!).

So, the-guy-with-eleven-fingers and two of his buddies biked us through Central Park. It was amazing. We stopped to go down to Bethesda Fountain, Strawberry Fields and to see John Lennon's house. Plus, we saw all the cool stuff as we were riding through the park.

After we finished a Central Park, we went back to the hotel to get dressed. At dinner, we met up with Cristin and one of Sarah's friends, Melissa. We ate at a great Taco & Tequila Bar called Teqa. It was so good.

Then, we walked to the Empire State Building. At first, I was kind of like..."Eh...I don't care if I go to the top. There is so much I would rather do than that." But, my mom insisted. Boy am I glad we did. It was beautiful (and windy as evident from the pictures)!

As we were leaving, Cristin checked her phone and told us all the news: "Bin Laden is dead." UM...WHAT!? I remember where I was when I saw the 2nd tower go down. Now, I will always remember where I was when I heard the news that the mass murderer had been taken down. It was a surreal moment.

We took a limo back to the hotel and promptly crashed for the night.

Monday: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island,  Wall Street, NYSE, Ground Zero, the Subway, Time Square, and Phantom of the Opera

Stay tuned!