It's Fall.....Oh, yes!

Kristin Chenoweth - Broken Arrow's Sweetheart

Well hello friends!  I know, it's been awhile.  And I know, I say that every time it's been awhile since I've blogged.  But here's the deal, I've been a bit of a mess lately.  I won't bore you with all the boring details of my mind and all the thoughts that run through it at a very rapid pace.  Short story: I've been feeling burnt out on my job (been there for 14 years) and all of my fears, frustrations, irritations and doubts just all collided and took me for a ride.  Things are starting to get better as long as I take it one minute, one day at a time. I also took today and tomorrow off just for a little relaxation time and spend it with my girl.  I need it for sure.

BUT on a much more fun note, let me take you back to 2 weeks ago.  Kristin Chenoweth was in town for a concert that was being filmed for a PBS special and I volunteered (didn't need my arm twisted much) to be a seat filler.  Since it was being filmed there was not to be an empty seat in the audience filming area. My job = someone gets up, I sit down in that seat.  They return, I get up and look for the next empty seat.  I thought there were going to be like 20 of us seat fillers, turns out there were only 3 of us.  This was either going to be an evening of A)Running around from empty seat to empty seat B)Standing against the wall because no one was going to get up to use the restrooms or C)Someone doesn't show up for their seats on the 3rd row right in the middle and I sit there all night.  Guess the answer?  C!!!!!  It was awesome!! I got a free show up close and personal and it turned out to be a wonderful show.  Aaaaaannnd me and my other seat fillers (ya know, the other 2) got to meet Kristin.  She was super sweet and suuuppper tiny.  I think the show is airing in November so watch for me, the girl in the black shirt, 3rd row, trying to sit up straight and have a smile on because the cameras kept passing over and around me.

Some facts you may not know.....

1- Kristin is from Broken Arrow, Ok.  The town I currently live in and have grown to love very much.

2- The local theatre, Broken Arrow PAC, has been renamed The Kristin Chenoweth Theatre.

3- The dress she wore during the Academy Awards

 

4- Her high school jacket is in the lobby of the theatre. 

 

5- The original poster from Carnegie Hall.

6- I don't have a picture to prove it but after the show she gave her Tony and Emmy to the theatre to also be displayed in the lobby.

I'm guessing she had on 3 inch heels (at least) in this picture.

The waist of this dress was itty bitty.

Backstage passes!!

I'm taking a selfie of their selfie.

And now a real selfie.

Camera crew filing something backstage.

This may not be as cool to you as it was to me but I also got to meet Kenny Ortega.  I know him best as the director in This Is It telling Michael Jackson what to do.  For those that love High School Musical, he directed those too. As a matter of fact he was all over Twitter this week attending a High School Musical reunion.  He was really nice and we high-fived.  Which means I've touched a hand that has touched Michael Jackson :) Oh, and I guess Zach Efron.

Turned out to be a really fun night and I'm excited to see the show in November.

Ps -Thank you to the people who didn't show up for their 3rd row seats.  You missed a good one.

-april

Evelyn's Birthday Party

I think in my last post I stated that I hadn't talked about Evelyn's birthday yet when in fact I had talked about it I just didn't talk about the birthday party.  So let's party!!

We went with a Minnie Mouse theme this year and I think everything turned out fantastic.  Evelyn got the cutest red and white polka dot dress for her birthday from family in Missouri and I just knew it would be perfect for her party.  I wanted to pair it with a cute little pair of black shoes to make her Minnie Mousey but after getting home and trying the shoes on with the dress and it was a big big no.  She looked like she was wearing old mens shoes.  It was a sight to see so we went with her white sandals and called it good. She refused to wear the mouse ears so I guess it wouldn't have worked out anyways to make her a little Minnie.

This year was so different than last year because she was actually able to run around and play with the other kids.  I love watching her with other children because she's just not around them a lot.  Her cousins from Texas came up and she became really close with them over the week they were here.  She  asks where her cousins are every morning when I drop her off.  It's pretty stinkin' sweet :)

It sure does take a lot to get ready for a child's birthday party.  I know she will not remember this when she is older but there will always be pictures to look back on and I want her to know how amazing she is and how I will make 96 red bows for the top of the cupcakes to show how much I want everything to be awesome for her.  It may be the last time I get to pick the theme myself for her birthday :( I'm excited to see what her interests will be as she gets older and more independent.  

Towards the end of the evening I think the older kids and adults had the most fun playing dodgeball with the balls purchased for the kids to play with.  And let me tell ya, no one was taking it easy on each other and those balls can sting!

It was a great party and I'm thankful for everyone that came out to celebrate this girl that we are absolutely gaga over.  Thank you Ashley for taking pictures! It means a lot that you don't mind capturing these moments for me so I'm not behind the camera for all the fun.  

Happy birthday sweet baby!  Momma and daddy love you!!

Have a great week everyone!

-April

Fourth of July: The Party

Now that I have made you all hungry from the last post let's get to part 2 of the fourth.  The PaRtY!

It really wasn't supposed to be "party".  I thought it was just going to be a little get together so the boys could practice their smoking skills but that's not how it turned out.  The guest list just kept getting bigger and bigger.  Of course that meant I had to get this house together and obviously throw some decorations up somewhere.  A little festive stuff hanging from the ceiling or some balloons tied to something always makes me feel happy and adds some fun to the event.

The "party" ended up being kind of a small family reunion for me.  Two of my cousins were in town with their kids from Kansas visiting their dad so they all came out.  My cousin Jared brought his son and girlfriend over and of course Kaycee had already planned to be there- Smoking Hot Denver belongs to her ;)

Evelyn took real quick to her cousins and pretty much played with them until they left.  It was nice to have everyone together for a little bit just enjoying each others company and I think they were all happy that they made it out.  

It turned out to be a good night and everyone was gone and we were in bed before 11:00.  (Win!) Now that's my kind of party.  Evelyn even got to sleep with us because she was not liking the fireworks.  At. All.  And in this neighborhood they go off until the late late hours of the night.

Red White and Blue

1-Gladys Jade and I having some hangout time.

2-My niece Aubrey taking some selfless with my phone.

3-Cousin Mia and Evelyn hanging out.

4-Evelyn's worried face while fireworks are going off.

These kids were so sweaty and red-faced.  It's funny how kids just have the best time running around.

The Cousins

Chandra, Kaycee, Brittany, Amber, Me, Adam and Jared in the back.

Amber and Adam are my siblings.

We are missing Aaron who was in Texas.  (Next time Aaron, next time.)

I don't want to leave out that we also have a cousin Zach but he passed away when he was just days old.  I always wonder what role he would have played in this bunch.  Cause we are a special one :)

Kids of the Cousins

Again, we are missing Abigail and Christian because Aaron lives in Texas.  It's hard to get us all together so these pictures are pretty special.

I know I jumped ahead with talking about the 4th when Evelyn turned TWO on the 3rd but those posts are on their way.  Promise.  

Happy midweek tomorrow! :)

-April

Fourth of July: The Meal

My house lately has become one hot smokin' joint. (And it smells fantastic!)  Zach and Denver recently took a cooking class where they learned the many many techniques of how to smoke some tasty meat.  It's pretty much the main topic of their conversations nowadays.  I thought the 4th was going to be just one of our typical little cookouts at the house but it didn't take me long to realize that it would not be the case this year.  This year it was going to be an all day (as in 12 hours) prep, set up, party and clean up kind of day.  My feet were in need of a rub on the 5th!

The guys started the meat around 10 in the morning and it was finally ready about 6 when our guests starting arriving. It was a day full of thermometers, cutting boards, knives, slabs of meat and 2 grown men who had smiles like kids on Christmas morning getting to play with all their new toys.  They were loving every minute of this and I heard them both say at the end of the evening what a fun day it was.  If I recall correctly (and I am) they both sent Kaycee and I texts that said "This is the best day of my life" during their all day cooking class a couple of weeks before.  I have a feeling this is going to become an expensive hobby.  They plan on entering some contests so maybe they can win us some big bucks.  Now that I am being forced to watch all these BBQ shows I know that they can win a pretty good chunk of change.  I've been promised the role of handing out samples when they finally do enter a show.  I wonder if I'll get paid for that???

There was quite the spread to choose from.  Ribs, brisket, hot links, burnt ends and something they referred to as a fatty.  Some sort of meat wrapped in meat, wrapped in meat.  I have to say, it looked very pretty all bundled together and it was pretty dang tasty.  I had several servings. #notembarassed

Pretty much everyone in attendance raved about the meat saying it was some of the best brisket they have ever had.  I think the guys walked a little taller the next day.  Since Kaycee and I will be in Oklahoma City all day tomorrow Denver is coming over so him and Zach can have a meat practice day.  Not even sure of their plans cause I will be at a wedding show doing girly things.  :)

So much of this post is dedicated to the cooks that I will save the rest of the party for next time.

Good job guys!! 

-April

The Big 2!!!

What a busy busy long weekend we've had around here.  I've been looking forward to this weekend for awhile now and there is a slight wave of depression rolling through me knowing that tomorrow it's back to the real world with the return to work.  As always I am thankful for my job and put my best foot forward every day but it sure does sound lovely to be a famous author who writes from her cozy writing room at home who becomes one of those classroom moms who gets to go to all the holiday parties.  Yeah, I can see myself living that life :)

But let's not rush that classroom thing yet.  I'm still enjoying the little baby toddler running around the house who recently starting asking us "What the tarnations you doing" when she walks up to us.  Oh, this child, she is the best!

On Thursday, Evelyn turned the big two and I think mommy and daddy took it pretty well.  We had a nice breakfast at Waffle House and then made our way to the mall.  There's not a whole lot a 2 year old can do so we went to the Disney store, bought her a few new things and rode the carousel. She did better this year than last year.  When we got off of it she said "Try again!"  
Second time around=success!

She had several visitors throughout the day and got lots of cool stuff.  She understands a little better what a present is but she still needed some help getting started on the unwrapping.  By Christmas I bet she's got it down!

Her birthday party is this Friday so she might have the skills down by then to rip those packages open :)

A fun filled day!

I'd say she is pretty loved.

We also hosted a 4th of July cookout on Friday but I'll save that for the next post.  Nap time is over and  I gotta go love on my baby toddler. 

Happy Sunday!

-April

Oh Weekend, Where did you go?

Well rats!  Things really didn't go my way this weekend so I'm half way glad it's Monday.  My weekend started off Friday knowing that it wasn't really my last day of work.  I had to work Saturday to finish up end of the month business so I never got the chance to have the Happy Friday's on Friday.  Then on my lunch break Friday I tuned into one of my favorite blogs only to find out it was her LAST POST.  Wait, what?!?!?!? I backed up and read her words again.  The Farewell Blog Post.  Seriously, a lump formed in my throat and I had to stop the tears from leaking out.  Now, you might be thinking "really, it's just a blog" but what you don't understand is that I have put in my time forming a friendship with this blogger and have even met up with her when she came here to cheer on a friend at the Tulsa Run.  She's the best!  With every post of hers I read I thought to myself "if she lived here we would be best of friends"  She and I were pregnant at the same time so I tuned into her blog to see what was going on with her and just fell in love with her little family.  Anyways, my heart sank a little after reading she was hanging up her hat and stopping the blog. I texted her immediately and let her know my feelings. #sad #verysad

The reason I got Instagram.  So I could keep up with her when she got to Tulsa.

I miss you already Holly.

Check out her blog where we can live like jack and sally

THEN I was so tired on Saturday from getting up early to go to work but I managed to stay up and watch the my Thunder LOSE.  Ugh! No, no, no, no, no.  But as the good fan that I am I watched them lose, had my sad moment and got super comfortable in bed to finally relax.  One good thing about their loss is that now there are no late games keeping me up, filling me with anxiety and struggling the next day cause I had trouble getting to sleep.  To be a basketball fan I have found that it really takes up a lot of your time.  You gotta be committed. Thank you for an exciting season Thunder.  I will be seeing you in October.

I am excited for Wednesday night though.  I keep forgetting that we are going to see Bruno Mars.  I think it's going to be a great show.  I'm ready for a little outing with Zach.  He went to St. Louis this past weekend so I didn't get a full weekend of him or Evelyn.  I'm pretty excited that we have no plans this weekend.  Thank goodness! I still have Evelyn birthday stuff to get ready so I need to take the time to do that.  One month and one day and we will be the parents of a two year old.  Unbelievable! She has changed so much in this past year.  I'm always comparing this year pictures to last year pictures.  She is such a blessing to us and I am ready to see what changes will happen this year.  Fingers crossed for potty training!

Silly girl.

We really want to get her involved in some sort of activity this summer.  Even if it's just some sort of class where they teach kids to run in circles. I want her to be around other kids and work on her social skills.  In 2 more years she will be entering into the 4 year old program (gasp!) and I don't want that to her her first time interacting with kids with a teacher.  Any suggestions on what kind of activities I can put her in?  I would love some ideas.

Wishing everyone a happy week!

-April

ps -Breaking Amish is back!  So good!