OSU Homecoming 2012

Oklahoma State University Homecoming is known as one of the best college homecomings. And we love celebrating! Friday night they have what you call the walk-arounds. The sororities and fraternities spend a crazy amount of hours creating these engineering and artistic masterpieces made out of metal and tissue paper! It is neat to see how intricate some of the decks are! Neither John or I desired to be involved with that when we were in college but it is neat to see them anyway. I heard there were over 82 thousand people that attended the walk-arounds...not sure how they come up with that number? We went at 5 to beat the people-traffic so we didn't get to see all the lights but they did have the house deck pieces moving, carnival going, food for sale, and pictures with Pistol Pete. We also saw several people we know and that is always fun! Here is a family picture in front of the boot at Theta Pond. Thank Chandra Roush for taking the picture!

 After walking around to see all the deck creations (couldn't even tell you what to call them), we went to the carnival part for the kids. They had bounce houses, different kinds of obstacles, bumper cars, swings that went around, and cars to sit in that flew around and twirled around (not sure the name of all those things either). They even had camel rides. 

 We stayed the night at the Henry's (John's sister and husband) with their three kids and the boys stayed in the motor home with Pop and Grammy. The boys had a blast and enjoyed the whole week end! The new motor home is even more spacious than the last one they had. I can see why people retire and drive the country in those things! Very neat! John and Lori also watched the boys during the game so we could enjoy it! We started off in Grandpa and Grandma's seats but it was VERY hot and sunny so we ended up sitting by Danny and Marva in their private area with lots of room and in the shade. Ahh! It was nice! I wasn't a fan of 'all orange (orange helmets, pants, and jersey)' but overall is was tons of fun! Before the game we had waffles, bacon, and sausage at the RV. After the game, Danny cooked out and we enjoyed the family! I even got to visit with the parents of one of the girls who cheered with me when we were at OSU. What a fun week end! 

Chester's Pumpkin Patch

This pumpkin patch is in Piedmont. It is a really neat place. They had a pumpkin patch (of course), hay rides, a pumpkin launcher (that was unbelievable powerful and almost hit some cows in the pasture over the lake!), a corn maze, a huge slide made of pallets, all different kinds of animals to pet and feed, a cute little shop with gifts and snacks, and pony rides. The kids had a lot of fun with everything. Thanks Grammy for such a wonderful day!

Little boy entertainment...

The OSU jacket...

 We were given the cutest leather OSU jacket when Noah was a baby and today it almost fit! I can't believe how big he is and remembered not being able to imagine him this size. He is growing into such a sweet, joyful boy!

Noah is very excited about staying with his brother, Grammy, and Pop in their new motor home after the walk around tomorrow. Go Pokes!

Breakfast for dinner :)

I love having breakfast for dinner but we hadn't done it in a while. The menu was homemade pigs-in-a-blanket, fancy scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, and fruit. Yum!!! Everything had so much flavor! 

Let's start with the bread part of the pigs-in-a-blanket. I made the dough in my bread maker! Love my bread maker! I just used my dinner roll recipe instead of expensive store bought dough. 

Dinner Rolls
1 c water

2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1 egg
3 1/4 c bread flour
1/4 c sugar
1 tsp salt
3 tsp bread machine yeast
2 tbsp melted butter

1. Place ingredients (except melted butter) in your bread machine according to the manufacturer's instructions.

2. Run dough cycle (1.5 hours to complete). When complete, remove dough from machine and rest on a lightly floured surface. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Divide dough into 15 equal pieces and roll into balls. Place balls in glass baking dish. Cover and place in a warm place to rise for about 40 minutes, or until doubled.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake rolls for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Brush tops with melted butter. 

I flattened and cut the dough to work for the little smookies and cooked it about the same time I do my dinner rolls. I also use this same dough for cinnamon rolls. Yum!

For the eggs I used this recipe:

Ingredients: 4 eggs, 3/4 c. milk, 1/2 small onion, 1/4 - 1/2 c. bell pepper, 1/2 tsp. Lawry's Seasoned Salt, 1/2 tsp. garlic powder, salt & pepper to taste, butter (melted)

Mix together eggs, milk, seasoned salt, garlic powder. Chop and dice onion and bell pepper and add to egg mixture. Melt butter in pan, add egg mixture, and scramble.

For the roasted potatoes:

3 medium round red or white potatoes (1 lb), cut into eighths, or 10 to 12 tiny new potatoes (1 lb.), halved

2 tbsp. olive oil or butter or margarine, melted

½ tsp. onion powder

¼ tsp. garlic salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1/8 tsp. paprika

Place potatoes in a greased 9x9x2-inch baking pan. Combine oil, onion powder, garlic salt, pepper, and paprika; drizzle over potatoes, tossing to coat. Roast potatoes in a 450 degree oven about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Except I used fingerling potatoes (the orange kind that is sweet like a sweet potato). Yum! Check it out...

 It was so good. Tonight beef enchiladas are on the menu with fresh tortillas from Vinicio's. Love this recipe from Robin Jones! It is the best! Thanks Robin! The best part is that I finished putting it together at 830 this morning. I love getting dinner and dishes done in the morning and have the rest of the day to play with the boys. I used 6 tortillas for tonight and froze the other 6 beef enchiladas for another day I don't want to cook. Yea for frozen meals! I am glad I had that done because we went on a walk around the neighborhood and spend the rest of the day outsides watching the construction next door. The boys absolutely love trucks and any construction work! Here are some pictures of the morning...

the skid steer doing a bunch of dirt work...

Luke in the skid steer...

 Noah is the skid steer...

 The boys in the dump truck...

 They were in little boy heaven!

They even saw the train go by! How fun! Now they are sleeping hard and I am enjoying my afternoon showering, blogging, and reading instead of cooking dinner. Ahhh, mommy time!

What I love...

Our boys are such a joy! It is so fun to see them grow each day. Luke is quite the talker and Noah is becoming such a good big brother. Here are some of the things I love about them...

LUKE...
I love it when he says "Hurry, hurry, hurry" when he is trying to catch up with me, "coming, coming" when he is pushing his trains along the train table, "dark in here" everytime we go outside at night or into a dark room, "Daddy's car work" when he wakes up and doesn't see Daddy around, "Noah, I don't know (as he turns his head sideways)" when Noah is at Mother's Day Out and not at home, "Diaper" before he pees and poops (yes, I should potty train him but don't want to go there yet), "snack" or "cheerios" before he opens the pantry and picks out some cereal, grunts as he tries to pick up something heavy and then says 'heavy' and 'hard', sits on my lap facing me and says 'hey' while he grins so big and crunches his body with excitement, "I do it" every time I get on the floor so he can ride on my legs into the air, and on and on. It is such a precious time when they are learning to talk. He pronounces everything so clearly except for his 'L' when it is the first letter but can say it in most words in the word (like milk). I am amazed how he can say his "r's" since I had to go to speech for that and he could do it at 18 months. He loves saying 'dirt' (construct around the campus) and 'cows' and 'truck' on the way to pick up Noah as he sees things along the road. So fun!

NOAH...
He typically has something to tell me or do right when he wakes up. This morning he came straight to me and said, "I want to go see the elephants at the Fair." He is also becoming such a good big brother by giving Luke toys, trying to protect him at different times, and making sure he doesn't get left out whether it is going to Grammy's, getting a snack, or having toys. He is also doing really good in MDO. He is learning to write his letters and numbers and getting better and better and coloring in the lines. We go over his sheets and projects; he loves telling me about them. He tells me everything...like not just what all he circled (b/c it was a group of '5') but other groups and what numbers are associated with those. So thorough! He has always loved cooking with me and makes sure lately that I know he is the 'pour-er' and will do a good job. He doesn't like to miss out on any book reading. He always gets upset when he has to pick up his toys and is afraid he is going to miss out on reading. He is so smart and learning a lot of social skills and group obedience. Today I saw him stay in the line even though the other kids ran (something he tells me he does every time even through the other kids didn't-he so proud to tell me he obey's!) while walking from the play ground and he even let some other kids go first...wow! He always likes to be first so this is a tremendous step! I am thankful for his MDO and what is is teaching him! Thank you Grammy and my parents for allowing the boys to go!

I love that they are both very loving and can't get enough hugs, kisses, and snuggles with me. Boy, I am going to miss that when they get older! Love them and don't want to forget this fun stage!

Emily's Dream Car

We bought my dream car yesterday...

a new van! Woo hoo! It is a 2007 Chrysler Town and Country with 45,000 miles on it. OK, I really haven't dreamed of owning a minivan my whole life but it is really nice and I am thankful for it! I love that the boys doors automatically open to the side and that I just have to push a button to open and close the trunk! It is great for the garage and easy to get the kids out without hitting another car when parked somewhere.

The boys love it and enjoy playing in it...as they do any car. They especially like pushing the button to close their door too. John did a lot of research and looked at a few of those cars yesterday. After saving for a long, long time, we finally were able to purchase the car and it drives great! Now we have room for more people to ride with us! I am sure my parents will appreciate that next time we are there and don't have to use two cars everywhere we go. :)

Praise God for providing yet another blessing for our family!

Day Out with Thomas

We love going to Day Out with Thomas every year. This was Noah's third time to go and Luke's first time. They both daily play on our train table and are fascinated by all vehicles. Thanks go to Grammy for supplying yet again another fun family day! The last few times we've spent with Grammy Luke has noticed her car and he now daily says 'Gammy car' when he sees a big vehicle. So sweet!

What a handsome little man! Love his smile!

They both picked James tattoos...motorized James is currently at another station (lost in the house somewhere) and the regular James just isn't as cool so it is funny they both picked him...coincidence?

 They attended at story time inside an old train. So fun!

Playing on the train tables...

 Noah loved the motorized tables...

 He also loves putt-putt. This was one of his favorite parts last year and loved it again this year. He even choose it over the bounce house.

Sir Topham Hatt...and random child and dad (didn't want to wait in line)...

We sat in the open car on the Thomas train ride. It was fun to see the other old trains, go across a roadway, etc. They loved not sitting in car seats!

 Showing off their tattoos...

Family Fun!

19 Months!

Luke has grown so fast and is looking so much like a little boy now. We went to his 18-month well-visit check-up today...a month late. Here are his stats: height 35.5" (90%), weight 27.13 lbs (60%), head 48.5" (60%), and body mass 15.1 (50%). Those percentiles are compared to 18-months old children but I imagine he isn't grow too much in a month. He has been 95% or so in height since he was an infant and around 75% in weight. He may be evening out a little. Noah was very high in percentiles and started averaging out around 2 years old. We will see! Here are some recent photos and updates of his growth...

Luke is getting better with a spoon but still gets pretty messy!

 He LOVES trucks, tractors, and all things that move! If we are reading a book that has a pages dedicated to tractors or trucks, we can only read that page. He immediately goes to those pages or those books if they are in sight! He will even name them...bus, tractor, truck, dump truck, etc. A couple of his common phrases are "Daddy car work" or "I do it" when he wants to ride something. You can actually have a conversation with him! I am daily amazed at how clear his talking is and how he pronounces each syllable. It seems like he will say another word or two each day that he has learned from the daily book reading we do. Such a sweet voice!

The other day Luke got to ride one time around the field in an 8-wheeled John Deer tractor with Daddy and Rusty Roush seeding/planting wheat. He loved it! 

Luke's love of 'moving things' involves trains. He loves 'choo choos' as he calls them!

Another of Luke's past times is working. He is always working in some way; pulling a shopping cart or wagon around the house, pushing the trash can around, or collecting treasures around the house. Outside he likes to push this skateboard around especially when it is muddy and he gets to go around in his diaper!

 He loves riding his tricycle too. He calls it his 'bike.' 

 The boys loved playing in the kitchen cabinets. I did some 'spring cleaning' this fall. I've never had to do Spring cleaning since we haven't been in a single location more than 1 1/2 years since 2001. We've been at this house over 2 years and I actually needed to dust the inside of the cabinets! That sure was a job...but it is easier than moving!

 Noah invited Luke to ride with him. Of course, Luke wanted to do it because he likes to do everything Noah does. Love them!

Happy 19 Months Luke!