Bear Lake

We visited Bear Lake last week and it was beautiful and a most welcome visit with family.

Cousins are the funniest!

















On the paddle boat with Daddy and Mommy. I succumbed to the princess lifejacket. Okay, I didn't notice.

















I could run in the water, play in the sand and eat the sand to my hearts content! It took only one taste to decide that sand was for playing, not consuming.













I love reading stories with Grandpa! He reads the best.






























A picture of the crew! Sadly we were missing my brother and his pregnant wife and kids. :(

If you would like to duplicate this carefully crafted facial design, run at full speed along sand and then face plant.

One of those rare pictures of Mommy!

Another one!! How lucky are we!!!

We had a birthday celebration for all the August birthdays. I just love the balloons!

The Little Man

Gideon likes to beat his chest. Especially when he conquers something. What a man.

Muldrow

We went out with some friends to Muldrow recently. It's near the border of Arkansas and Oklahoma. The home we stayed it in a a large piece of land and it's so beautiful and peaceful in the morning.






























We took some time to go fishing. I think I caught more mosquitoes than fish.


























I think I remember making this same face as a teenager. He's starting already?!













It was nice to go swimming in the middle of the day. Gideon was content to be held and eat his icee.


























Yes, that's a camera. No touching!






























The look on his face is quick...is it so bad that I love this video so much?!! We were going over hills that caused butterflies in our tummies. Gideon's first experience with it.

A Healthy Appetite

This is how I feed my son. Anything that can be dipped is welcome to his palate, and when he's thirsty, I send him to the backyard for a drink.

Socks and Shoes

Gideon has a love for foot wear. He's convinced that if we're wearing shoes, we should be outside. So he's constantly bringing me his or my shoes and then patting the door.
If it's not shoes, he loves socks. He likes them so much, he prefers at least 2 pairs on his hands.
Tristan's socks are no exception.

The Fourth

Gideon discovered many things on the 4th. Fireworks are really neat, but too loud, and corn on the cob is very yummy!













He let us know it was way past his bedtime. On the way home from fireworks, he covered himself up with his blanket and zonked out.

Oh, G.

I'm about a month behind...so basically I'm just emptying the pictures on my camera here. Enjoy!

We had a HUGE rainstorm that flooded parts of Oklahoma City. Our neighbors backyard turned into a small lake.






Gideon was insistent on running around in the rain, so we ventured out.

We spent the rest of the day in our warm dry house; Gideon in his warm dry toy box.





















He was very tired after a fun birthday party and didn't want his picture taken.

Yes, he is wearing overalls without a shirt and yes they are floods on him. He should be on a raft down some river. ;)

My sister came to visit! We had lots of fun with her and her now fiance.

For Fathers Day I made Tristan almost all the cookie dough he could handle. I like mixing by hand and after the third my arm was about dead. Now my bicep is so big my shirt sleeves don't fit. ;)

We got a new roof...I know...bad picture.

Gideon met some of the zoos goats. What a sweetheart.


























G Plays hard and sleeps harder.

A friend showing him the ropes of a slip 'n slide. (I LOVE this picture!)

However, G prefers sand over water.

Just to back up the water likability level, here he is vacating the super fun splash park.

Before and After Kitchen

I've FINALLY posted pictures of our kitchen before and after we remodeled it. Back in January it flooded when a pipe burst from an ice storm. Tristan's parents came out in March to help us redo it all during Spring Break. There still needs to be odds and ends done, but it was a long enough wait to get these pics up. So here they are!! Notice the careful-picture-taking so as not to look in the other rooms. That's where I piled Gideon's toys and other things to make it look cleaner than it actually is. :)

BEFORE

DURING

Ripped up floor, cabinets taken down, ceiling scraped of awful popcorn texture.

Carpet ripped up.

Painted walls.

Tiled fireplace.

Piled everything from backrooms into kitchen and dining room for carpet to be laid.

AFTER

Sorry about all the pictures, It's hard to get just one good picture through a doorway to show it all.

(We also fixed up the dining room and front room while we were at it.) YAY for new carpet throughout the WHOLE house and tile in the dining room. Seriously, why is it ever a good idea to put carpet in the dining room?!!!

BEFORE

AFTER

We are so glad Tristan's parents could come out and help us! The house looks SO much better, and a lot more functional. :)