Finally....some Branson Pics

As you know, we went to Branson almost 2 weeks ago & I just got around to uploading the pictures. My blog must feel so neglected... As I said in a previous post, we had such a great time. Dylan L.O.V.E.D. the water park & Silver Dollar City. She rode everything!! I wish the weather would've been a little drier, but other than that, it was perfect!! This is when we first got to the water park. It took her a little while to get used to the noise.

Splashing around in one of the kiddie pools

Slipping & Sliding

The lifeguard broke the rules & let Dylan go down the big slide with mommy.

She wasn't quite tall enough.... She LOVED it!!

Getting Cocky.....

Swimming in the hot tub with Daddy.

The little LAZY RIVER. This was right up my alley!

Attention to the big bucket at the top....when the bell rings, you better run....

OR YOU'RE GONNA GET WET!!!

Riding the tea cups with daddy. The faster they were spinning, the louder she was squealing. She loved it. I got nauseated just watching!

We loved the frogs!

I couldn't believe she rode these swings...TWICE!

MY GREATEST ACCOMPLISHMENT......

The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new. ~Rajneesh

A daughter may outgrow your lap, but she will never outgrow your heart. ~Author Unknown

__________________________________________________

A Mother's Love by Helen Steiner Rice


A Mother's love is something that no one can explain,
It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain,
It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may
For nothing can destroy it or take that love away . . .
It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking,
And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking . . .
It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns,
And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems . . .

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Blame it on the rain....

We have been so busy lately!! And when I'm not busy.......I'm just lazy! BLAME IT ON THE RAIN!! The weekend before last, mom stayed all weekend & sewed my kitchen curtains...yay!! My little sister & her boyfriend also came down & he helped hang/move light fixtures in the kitchen. DOUBLE YAY!! In the middle of all of that, we took a several hour break & headed to Sallisaw to watch my niece, Hailey, play softball in a tournament. FUN, FUN!! :)

I've been off work since Tuesday of last week. Can you say WONDERFUL?? I definitely needed a break!! We left Ft. Smith on Wednesday a.m. & headed to Branson for a few days. We had so much fun!! Dylan was an angel & had soooo much fun! I didn't want to come home. We stayed at the hotel....(or is it motel--doors on the outside) with the indoor water park....SHE LOVED IT!! We closed it down both nights we were there!! We also went to Silver Dollar City despite the dreary & drizzly weather. Ryan & I were amazed at how brave Dylan was. She's 3, but she's always been a little bit chicken... NOT ANYMORE!! She rode EVERYTHING...more than once! She even rode Fire in the Hole with Ryan. She didn't love it (too dark), but she toughed it out TEAR-FREE!! It was so much fun watching her & hearing her scream & squeal from excitement. I could never get sick of that deep belly laugh....LOVE IT!! Dylan also rode the big water slide with me! She wasn't quite big enough but the lifeguard was nice enough to bend the rules a bit. She loved it!! We also shopped til we dropped & ate too much!! If you have never had the guacamole at Cantina Laredo, you need to! They make it fresh at your table & I'm quite sure it's the best I've ever tasted!! I can't wait to go back & have more!! We had such a GREAT time!! I'm so thankful we took the time to go...

(I WILL TRY TO POST PICTURES IN A DAY OR SO....ONCE AGAIN THE WHOLE LAZY THING IS TAKING OVER! I'M TYPING THIS FROM BED....INSOMNIA!!!)

AND NOW FOR THE KITCHEN.............I'm sure everyone is wondering when & if we will ever be done. Well, you're not alone! I wonder myself....Ryan is on vacation for 2 weeks so hopefully he will get the floor done this week (hopefully our tile came in while we were gone). Our counter tops, back splash, & curtains are finished. We stopped working on the cabinets until we get the tile floor done. The same goes with the wall color. Everything we do, changes the look of the kitchen so much....I want to wait & see what colors we will NEED to make it all complete! Leslie, I will be calling you ASAP after Ryan gets the floor done!! I can't wait to make that little purchase.... So far, I am very pleased with the things we have done. Hopefully it won't be long & I'll be close enough to "finished" to post pictures!! Until then......don't hold your breath!! :)

TTFN....

TaTa Tuck...

yes, I helped with the flowers...

Against my advice, Ryan brought home a baby turtle for Dylan. Now, don't get me wrong, he was a cutie....in a weird, turtle kinda way (obviously not too cute--i didn't even take his picture). He was the size of a quarter!! Dylan loved "Tuck", but after her handling him CONSTANTLY & putting her hands in her mouth repeatedly (DISgusting), Ryan saw the light...Tuck had to G.O. (thank you, God)


I sent out several plea's via Facebook & finally, we found a taker... thank you, Ashley!! Ryan delivered Tuck to his new mommy today, & we were a little worried how Dylan would handle it once she saw he was actually gone. I had been telling her for 2 days that Tuck had cried all night for his mommy so we were going to have to take him home. Every time I would say that, she would get pretty upset (mad), but I was hoping it would help ease the pain of the empty Tupperware bowl (which was thrown away after Tuck moved out). Come to find out, she didn't even miss him or ask about him for hours. No tears were shed...Hallelujah!! I think our trip to Hobby Lobby helped the situation. I caved & bought her a birdhouse to paint, so after that, she was SOOOO over the turtle. She has moved on to Habitat for Humanity...birdie style!! :)

My lil humanitarian..... :)

i love my job, i love my job, i love my job....

Well, it's 4:40 a.m. on Sunday & even though I'm not on call, I have been awake & on the phone with Sparks, on & off, since 3 a.m. And did I mention that I didn't even go to sleep until almost 2 a.m...?? Ok, that was my fault, BUT I'm a night owl & it's not a school night :) so what the heck, right? STUPID ME!! This "SUPERVISOR" thing isn't always so fun, but despite my frustration, I am very thankful I do have a job, a good job (most of the time). OH, there was also the 11:00 phone calls during the power outage....did I mention that?? That didn't bother me though...& I was awake.

I GUESS I JUST NEED TO VENT A LITTLE....

I'm extremely frustrated.

I want to sleep, but I can't.

There is no one on Facebook for me to talk to... GLAD SOMEBODY'S SLEEPING!

I'm hungry.

I'm thirsty.

I want a Sonic Breakfast Burrito (2 picante sauces, please). Random, I know!

AND a Dr. Pepper....a real one! Diet won't do!

I don't have either.

Now I'm even more frustrated!

Meatball's frustrated too.

He has been groaning at me through it all.

Where is my Ballmania lip balm? SIGH......

Anyone got the number to Jackson Healthcare?? We get paid well when we get "called in" but I don't get anything except a headache for nights like these. Can we fix that PLEASE, Mr. Jackson? :) THANKS!

Thanks for listening. I've got to go find my Ballmania.....

The Finished Portrait!!

The moment we've all been waiting for.....


DRUMROLL PLEASE.....

MEATBALL CHRISTOPHER RAINS------SO DISTINGUISHED!!

These pictures don't even do this painting justice! I was even more thrilled when I saw it in person. And the frame...it's so big & dramatic. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!

(Dylan thinks the Easter Bunny brought it...??)

A shot without the glare of the flash....

CLOSE UP!!

"bubba bubba boo"



Heather & I are having our oil painting party this weekend. Everyone's paintings turned out great. I just can't decide what I want to have done next! HMMM.....

If anyone is interested in ordering, please leave me or Heather a message & we'll
get you all the information. You won't be disappointed!! :)

Our Easter Weekend

Dylan & I headed to Stigler on Saturday. Our first stop was Memaw's house. We visited for a little while & then loaded up & went to eat lunch. It was so good to see her!! After lunch, we headed to my Nana's house for her birthday party. It was so nice spending time with family there, also. I miss everyone so much!! Dylan thoroughly enjoyed playing with Bennett & Bethany. They played hard & had so much fun!

Dylan & Memaw

Bennett, Dylan, Nana, & Bethany

We stayed in Ft. Smith for Easter this year. It was the 1st time in 4 years (if not longer). The weather was nasty, but it was nice to be at home. Ryan had to work, but I called him as soon as Dylan woke up (almost 9 a.m.--yay for me) & he was able to come home & see her get her Easter bunny stuff. Dylan let me blow dry & straighten her hair for Easter. She was so excited! We played beauty shop & chatted it up. I have to pretend she is my customer & I am NOT her mom. I refer to her as Miss & she stands so still & acts like a little lady. I love it! The conversation is pretty entertaining. It was going so well, when all of a sudden, she slipped off of her stepstool & hit her nose on the counter. My poor baby got a bloody nose on Easter. All of a sudden, I was mommy again... beauty shop was OVER!! :(

The Easter Bunny treated little Miss quite well!


Doesn't she look precious?? ;)

If you click on this picture, you can see her bloody nose....so sad!

Curls?? What Curls?

Look at all these kids!! Quite a difference from the

2 cousins Dylan has on my side of the family.
I love this picture!!

She loves to drum....but we'll just head back to Jamie & Lorelei's to let her do that!! :)

Hunting Eggs with Brax

On Thursday night, Josh & Mary invited us over to eat dinner & let the kids hunt Easter eggs. How exciting!! The kids had a lot of fun & ate way too much candy. OH WELL! Dylan found Katie Womack's $10.00 prize egg. She was excited to see her "4 dollars", but dropped it fast for a chocolate egg. At 2 & 3, they care much more about the candy than the money. I guess we should cherish these days....

We had a lot of fun too. It has been a long time since we've gotten together. I missed you guys!! Dylan was missing her some Braxton too! Hopefully when spring decides to stick around, we can do it much more often!

S.A.S.S.Y.

Huntings eggs followed by a romantic dinner for 2....doesn't get much better than this!

1st trip to the dentist

Last Wednesday was a BIG day. It was Dylan's first dental appointment!!! You're supposed to take your child when they turn 3...we were running a few months behind. Our plan was for Ryan to pick her up at school & for me to meet them there, but work was crazy, so Ryan ended up taking her without me. I figured with Paula & Ryan there, she would be more than fine. They say she did very well. She was a little scared of the dental chair so they moved her into a cozier room. She sat on Dr. Tim's lap like a big girl & let him check her out. I'm sure it helped knowing that Noni & all of her sweet co-workers would give her as many tokens as she wanted....& apparently they did! She came home with lots of prizes, stickers, & toothpaste & toothbrushes for all her friends at school. HOW FUN!! Dr. Tim said her teeth looked perfect, so we were all pleased with that!!Sweet Baby Girl

Trying out the chair with Noni. No love for the chair!

Dylan & Judy :)

Getting a pep talk from Noni

Opening wide for Dr. Tim

THANKS TO EVERYONE FOR TAKING CARE OF MY BABY GIRL!

~~Chuck E. Cheese & Foam Flinging~~

On Friday evening, dad came up with my niece & nephew & we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. It was wild...as usual.....but the kids had so much fun. Hailey was very serious about her game playing. I hardly ever saw her. She is definitely in it for the tickets...I had my hands full keeping up with Dylan & Bennett! All in all, it was a great time. I just wish Chuck E. would learn how to make decent tasting pizza!

When we left there, Ryan called & wanted us to come by the fire station. The kids were excited to do that. When we got there, he had a big surprise for them.....he had sprayed foam from the truck ALL OVER the driveway. They ran & played & got each other soaking wet!! So much fun! The guys have done this for Dylan before, but she enjoyed it even more with her cousins there. Luckily the weather was decent so no one developed a pneumonia!! :) There are definite perks to having a daddy as a fireman!! (for those of you concerned about what kind of foam it is, they say it's almost identical to Dawn dish washing soap...it's harmless! Who knew that would put out a fire...?)

(I've also reaped the benefit...it's not everyday the firetruck will come to the Now & Then Shoppe, block off the entire street-- with lights flashing-- just to change a person's flat tire!! A bit embarassing, but good service none the less...)