weather – The Bless Your Heart Blog

Summer So Far

Today is the *official* first day of summer…but we’ve been calling it “summer” for well over a month now. Lucky for us {insert sarcasm here} summer is really showing off and it’s supposed to be over 100 today. Gag.

Despite the heat wave, we’re really enjoying our summer! The kids are at such fun ages and we’re in a season where life is relatively easy again. (I know, I know…it’s time to have another! We’ll have to see about that…) We’ve tried to take full advantage of our time and resources and do some fun things!

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We started June with a birthday party for the big guy! He turned 35 this year and has been wanting to have a Minute to Win It party with some of our favorite friends so, that’s what we did!

We played silly, ridiculous games – and had a blast while doing so!

The classic knock the water bottles over with pantyhose on your head game... — The classic knock the water bottles over with pantyhose on your head game…

At the end of the night, this team DOMINATED the competition…which, I mean, look at them. Bonafide athletes, all of them!

We made their trophies out of something from each of the games we played. If they made it home, I’d be impressed! HA!

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Sawyer got a new horse from her friend Mr. Jeff. This sweetie’s name is LuLu and we. are. in. love!

LuLu is strong and stout and as sweet as they come. She loves to eat treats from your hand and will stand all day where you tell her to.

These two are going to make a lot of good memories together… We just have to keep the fighting down when it comes to who gets to ride her!

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A mobile Children’s Museum came to town so we checked that out! It was fun enough inside. The kids got to build and color and explore…

The best fun was outside! They had a chore challenge race that was a LOT of fun! They had to move the cow, throw the “cow patties”, haul the corn, churn the butter and shoot a buffalo! The kids had a BLAST at this station!

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Of course, we’ve already hit up Cody Park!

This is their favorite ride because it's FAST! — This is their favorite ride because it’s FAST!

I’m sure there will be a few more trips here for some good, cheap fun!

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We celebrated Father’s Day with this sweet guy!

We had yummy food (his love language – ha!), watched shows with snacks (Wryder’s idea), rode horses and played outside!

My kiddos are so incredibly blessed to have this guy as a daddy. He received two different father’s day cards in the mail that BOTH said, “I believe you are the kind of father that the Lord intended men to be.” I couldn’t agree more…

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We just got home from a mini-vacation to Kansas! Wrex had to go to the feedyard down there so we tagged along and had some fun when he was done!

We stayed at fun motel that had bunkbeds for the kids, checked out the local zoo (it’s free!!) and then went to the new indoor water park called Parrot Cove. It. Was. A. BLAST!

This one just wanted to roar... — This one just wanted to roar…

They had 4 little kid slides, a lazy river, several pools, a rock climbing wall, 4 big water slides – it was a LOT of fun! We can’t wait to go back!

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Sure do love these littles…and they’re only little once. We do our fair share of work around here…we kinda like to work hard and play hard. Can’t wait to see what the rest of summer brings!

The Calm Before the Storm

For a January day, it sure was a nice enough one! We’re all bracing for a nasty snow and ice storm that’s supposed to roll in tomorrow, but today? Today was pretty pretty. (I think the lack of wind helped as much as anything!)

Sayble has been dying to go outside since she’s gotten her wheels under her, but it’s been REALLY cold prior to today.

As dad got ready to head outside to do chores, Sawyer and Wryder wanted to go to. Well, once Sayble saw them suit up, she sure wanted to join in the action. We got her all bundled up and out and the door we went!

How cute is this little toot?! Can you see her under there?

I bet she walked a good mile or more this morning, quite a ways with her little legs!

She looked so tiny next to the house... — She looked so tiny next to the house…

Of course, we had to stop and pet the doggie…

and the kitties…

Say and Tractory. Wonder who named that one?!

and haul one around…

Say with Damilla Willa. Don't ask. — Say with Damilla Willa. Don’t ask.

We spent some time at the park with brother and sister…

Good grief I love these kiddos... — Good grief I love these kiddos…

then we spent a little time swinging before heading inside for a peanut butter sandwich!

Who knows what this weather will actually bring…but we took advantage of today!

Random Rambles

The weather was SO nice last week so we tried to be outside as much as possible – always a good thing for small children with lots of energy.

This girl LOVED riding the little car... — This girl LOVED riding the little car…

Forgive the two-toned fence in the picture above. We replaced the boards earlier this spring after Wrex left his pickup in reverse when I waved him back to the house. Apparently, he thought there was a sincere emergency (I just had a a letter that I needed him to drop in the mail) and came running in without shifting into park. Thankfully, there’s a small hill in the pasture behind it and it stopped it – on this flat farm ground, who knows how far it would’ve traveled!

We had a cheeseburger picnic one day last week after an impromptu trip to town.

They played at the park, ran their hearts out and tried to sneak up on a little robin.

It flew off, but it was worth a shot.

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The impromptu trip to town was to get a little chicken house we found. It. Is. ADORABLE. We wanted it to put close to the house for some of our momma’s and babies. So far, it’s just housed cats and dogs…

A new breed of chicken.... — A new breed of chicken…

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We went to town on Friday to buy groceries and someone wasn’t too thrilled with his attire.

Doesn't he look handsome? — Doesn’t he look handsome?

He swore this was a girl’s shirt. It’s not. I made him wear it.

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Saturday we strayed from our red meat diet and had some roasted chicken. This was Wryder’s first experience with a chicken leg and he was a HUGE fan!

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We also had some fun visitors last week! Our sweet friend, Diane and our NEW sweet friend, Katherine stopped by!

The kids adored them and Wryder wanted them to stay to tuck him in bed. They doted on the kids and took a tour of the Phipps farm and ate cookies and punch with us! They even brought the kids supplies to do a fun craft which Sawyer did this weekend.

Ms. Diana brought her a bunch of torn up tissue paper and some mod podge and Sawyer made a box for a baby shower gift for our neighbor.

Cute - both of them! — Cute – both of them!

It turned out so cute!

You ladies come back ANY time!

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Saturday was equally beautiful and we took the kids to walk around the little fishing pond in town.

We saw 1 goose, 4 ducks but no fish or turtles. They had a ball exploring and running and checking out the water…and we had a ball being with them.

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This little dandy showed up on Facebook this morning:

5 years ago...Sawyer and Uncle Blake — 5 years ago…Sawyer and Uncle Blake

Be still my heart. Sweet girl has grown a little since then, yes?! (Blake is just as dashingly handsome, just FYI.) I love seeing all these clothes in Sayble’s closet now. We put her in some of Sawyer’s old jammies yesterday and it just made her even cuddlier!

That Sayble…she is just pure joy, I tell ya!

She hams it up for the camera, that girl!

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Today, we got to shower our sweet neighbor who is expecting a sweet baby girl in about a month! Sawyer got to see two of her favorite girls (and fellow flower girls from Gillian’s wedding) and they had a ball together!

They’ve grown a little…

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Gillian has some of the sweetest family members a girl could ask for. Two of her aunts (and ladies I’m proud to call friends) were there today and were just so encouraging to me regarding motherhood.

One of them told me that if the Lord would give her any day to do again, she’d choose one when her kids were around the age of mine because they are just so fun. And it’s true. This right here:

This is the closest to heaven I’ll get on this earth. I love them with every ounce of my being…

I love the way Sayble NEEDS me right now and needs me with ferocity! I love to hear her little jabbers and her sweet smiles. I love the way she pats me when I pick her up and the way she only wants to be where I am.

I love the way Wryder is all boy. I love how he wants to mow and shoot guns and eat dirt and poop outside. I love how he helps pick up after meals and how much he loves his sisters. I love how he always hollers, “love you!” one more time as I close his door after tucking him in.

I love the way Sawyer has entered a self-sufficiency of sorts. I love that she and I can go anywhere and she’s fine and I’m fine and we can go and do without a lot of planning (or extra bags)! I love that she loves so many of the same things I like. I love that she loves to talk to me and is, truly, one of my best friends.

Tomorrow is Monday and before I know it, Friday will be here again. Another week done and gone. It happens so fast… Lean in and love it, momma…

Today I Learned…

Sawyer went to the sale barn with daddy today so I got some good one-on-one time with Wryder. (Well, as one-on-one as you can get around these parts). Sayble is pretty easy going and doesn’t have too much to say in conversations so it was nice to be able to give him a lot of undivided attention.

The weather was so nice here today – until about one o’clock when the wind rolled in AGAIN – so we set off for the back pasture to explore a bit.

Poop examinations... — Poop examinations…

Today, I learned…

Life is better if you run…

Daddy can fix anything…

Fences can “hot wire” you…

Doritos taste better when dipped in apple sauce…

Jumping really high on the trampoline makes you giggle uncontrollably…

Jumping on the trampoline with bricks is unwise…

Badgers should be trapped and caught and fed corn…

Toy chainsaws can be used to cut anything and everything, including baby sisters…

Woofy momma cows don’t really scare two year old boys standing outside the pen…

Everything should be touched and examined, even poop…

Even the wildest of boys have soft spots for their mommies…

I seriously had a really great day with my little buddy. Let’s do it again soon, shall we?

Sawyer had fun with daddy, too. She was already awake when I went to rouse her up at 6:45 this morning. She hung out with all her sale barn buddies, helped daddy load some calves and sweet-talked her way into mexican food for lunch – a girl after my own heart.

Have a little salsa, babe... — Have a little salsa, babe…

I think we’re all a little tired tonight after a busy Monday and a busy weekend. We got our fence put back up that the last major wind storm blew over.

Blew it flat over... — Blew it flat over…

We reset 8 posts and reattached the boards and the kids helped clean up all the old wood.

Yes, Wryder is pantless. At least he has on shoes, right?!

Sawyer is so strong for her age. She carried posts like it was no big deal.

There’s a lot going on this picture and I belly laugh every time I see it…

Little worker bee... — Little worker bee…

Wrex needs new jeans, Sawyer is doing all the work, Wryder is playing with a milk carton, pantless (what the what?!) and they’re loading posts on the pony cart. Yeah, that’s life at the Phippses!

Sayble enjoyed the afternoon from Wrex and I’s backs.

Look at that smile... — Look at that smile…

We toted her around in this thing for quite a while and she thought it was fantastic!

Pretty sure I might have a small bald spot from all the fun she had with my hair…

I’m thinking we’re all gonna sleep good tonight…

Random Rambles

It’s FRIDAY! Do I really need to say anything else?!

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I love to see the gifts in my children become glaringly obvious. Sweet Sawyer is such a little administrator. It takes one to know one, perhaps.

Wryder has a crush on a cute little high school girl and the minute he saw her last fall, he’s been telling her (and everyone else) that he was gonna marry her. He and Sawyer have made plans for him to live in the playhouse with his new wife, with a sled for a bed. Sawyer has been busy planning his wedding for months and this week, she got their wedding clothes done.

She made notes and designs in her notebook and would check off each piece as she completed it.

Her main construction materials were paper towels and washi tape and they look surprisingly good!

The dress and "gail" — The dress and “gail”

Wryder's tuxedo shirt. Note the red rose and the bow tie... — Wryder’s tuxedo shirt. Note the red rose and the bow tie…

I feel like we’ve fought their obsession with this project for quite some time. I do love that they love the concept of marriage and how joyful it truly is. We must be doing a little something right…

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Sawyer has her first 4-H meeting this weekend. We are so excited for her and she is so excited for herself! Wrex and I’ve done a lot of talking this week about the joys and advantages of a slower pace of life.

Everything that he is today – from follower of Christ, to husband, to father, to cattle buyer – all of the things and people that influenced him most, took place before he was 15 years old. It wasn’t high school…it wasn’t college…it was the things he got to try and experience during his most formative years that shaped his being.

I am so grateful that I get to be a stay-at-home mom…that I get the opportunity to spend more time with them than anyone else…that we get to encourage them and teach them and train them and provide them with opportunities and experiences that will translate into their futures.

We were watching Duck Dynasty the other night and one of the older kids was pursuing his dreams as a musician and just watching his mom’s reaction made me sappy, of course. There are times when it feels like those days are so far down the road, but we all know they’re not; they’ll be here in the blink of an eye, just like everything else.

It made us wonder what our kids would be doing and pursuing…and we pray with all of our might that at the heart of whatever it is, that it’s Jesus.

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The neighbors didn’t have school on Monday so we loaded up for a midday play date. Sawyer got to ride in the go-cart and thought that was pretty fun stuff!

Wryder went over, looked at it, tried the helmet on and then settled for the porch.

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This cute little booger is just joy in every way!

She was a little fussy for the babysitter on Tuesday night and has had a few bouts of that with us lately so we assumed she must be getting a tooth. Yesterday, Wrex was playing with her and saw the monster coming in on the top.

Lately, she’s really been pursing her mouth and that must be why. Not sure what explains all the nose crinkling but I LOVE it.

Seriously, she’s the cutest thing E.V.E.R.

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We’re hoping hoping HOPING that the guys get our barn and shop finished this weekend. They’ve been working weekends and the wind hasn’t helped their cause much….or the fact that they don’t ever get here until 10 am. *ahem*

They have the shop all done but are still working on the barn. I promise to post pics when they are done. I know it’s going to look so nice but there’s something I’ll miss about the chippy old barn…

A few winters ago... — A few winters ago…

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Wrex is still sporting the mutton chops.

Extroverts are so funny. I spend most of my days not wanting to be seen and he’s putting himself out there front and center, with radical facial hair no less. Cracks me up. Here’s to hoping they’re gone by Monday…sure hope that razor doesn’t zip up his face in the night! 😉

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It’s Fun Friday around here and today is errand day. We’re gonna run to town and take some checks to the bank for daddy and get some cash for our Dave Ramsey envelopes and take a cupcake to a special birthday lady and get some birthday cards to send to some other special people (PaPa and RaRa!) and if the wind stops howling, we may stop at the park to burn a little energy (them) and calories (me).

Whatever you find yourself doing today, I pray that you choose and find joy in all of it.

Worth 1,000 Words: Park Play

Sometimes we wished we lived closer to the rest of our family; a lot of them live in Oklahoma now and all of my family is still in Texas. I love Texas, for the most part. It’s a bit hot…and humid in some places. Oklahoma is much the same, just throw in some extra tornadoes ALL YEAR ROUND. Not a fan.

I still remember being in Stillwater 5 years ago this July…Wrex and I went outside at 10:30 at night and our Colorado brains had us fooled that it would be somewhere between 60-70 degrees out. Nope. After the wave of thick, wet heat slapped us across the face, we jumped on the weather app. 93 degrees. STILL. At 10:30 at night. Who the heck would wanna live there?!

My sister~~-in-law~~ says you get used to it and I suppose you do. We’re just spoiled rotten up here in this mild, no humidity, very little severe weather climate.

Today was no exception. Tomorrow won’t be either. It’s February. And we did have a blizzard a few weeks back…but today? It’s 61 and gorgeous out. Tomorrow is supposed to be in the 70s, down to 60s the rest of the week. Sublime.

With that in mind, we did what any logical stay at home mom would do – we had a picnic at the park! And then we skipped naps – well, the bigger two did – because it was just to purdy to stay inside…

She's such an awesome big sister! — She’s such an awesome big sister!

Sayble's first big slide ride — Sayble’s first big slide ride

I *think* she liked it... — I *think* she liked it…

This boy...love his adventurous spirit! — This boy…love his adventurous spirit

Isn't she just the sweetest?! — Isn’t she just the sweetest?!

These guys are out exploring and I’m about to go prep the trim on the front of the house for a little paint. Enjoy this beautiful day…because you know we’ll get a snow storm in May…

Love Multiplied

I keep reminding myself that I need to blog…but I feel like I’m lacking subject matter…or new subject matter, I guess. We’ve just been playing outside, enjoying this spring-like weather in the dead of winter.

We’ve played with goats and chalked on sidewalks and jumped on trampolines and played at the park and gone on walks and fed chickens and explored and ran and played ball and ate popsicles and built things and rode scooters and had cookouts…but what we’re really doing is soaking up these last days as a family of four.

We speak of and treat Sayble like she’s already part of the family (because she IS) but she’s not out of the womb yet…and we all know that when that time comes, things will change again.

She’ll require more of me than she does now and will need more of my hands on attention. We’ll all work on bonding and transitioning to our new normal as a family of five. There will be less time for individual time with the kids…for everything (for a while) for that matter.

I remember being scared to death before Wryder was born because I couldn’t imagine how in the world I was going to be able to love him even half as much as I did Sawyer. I mean, that girl…

The Lord does miraculous things with love; mine was multiplied, not remotely divided! I mean, isn’t that how He is with us?? He doesn’t divide His love equally among the entire human population and we all get the tiniest sliver to survive on. No way! We all get ALL of His love!

I remember when they placed Wryder on my stomach and I saw his sweet, quivering lip and his little face that looked so much like his sister when she was born I was smitten! As time has gone on, I love him even more…her, too.

I have no qualms about having enough love for sweet Sayble. He’s multiplied it once, I know He’ll do it again.

Until she makes her arrival, we’ll soak up these last days together before four becomes five…before love is multiplied…before we wonder how we ever were before Sayble…

The product of Wrex and I's love... — The product of Wrex and I’s love…

Worth 1,000 Words: Our Weekend

This girl is getting GOOD at puzzles!

She takes her time and works, works, works to get them completely finished – proud of her! Some friends of ours in Denver had given us a whole tote of kids puzzles with 25-100 pieces and she’s been plowing through them!

Both kids are still in love with their chicks!

They still love their grown up chickens, too! We had ice cream for fun Friday snack and they shared with their favorite chicken, Naked.

There was a lot of goat playing. Wryder helped sister feed them on Friday.

Seriously, so cute... — Seriously, so cute…

She has done SO well and been so faithful to her chores! After we mix the milk, she feeds them all by herself twice a day; we’re proud of her work ethic!

This weekend, she worked on breaking them to lead. They think she’s their mom so they followed pretty willingly.

Olaf wasn't cooperating too well with Bubba... — Olaf wasn’t cooperating too well with Bubba…

Sawyer got to go to a friend’s Minnie Mouse birthday party! She looked cute as a button!

The weather is supposed to be so nice all week! This morning she said she had three things she’d like to do today…shoot her gun, burn tumbleweeds and roast marshmallows! I love my little country girl! I’m betting we’ll get those done! I mean, c’mon, that sounds fun for EVERYONE!

Worth 1,000 Words: What We’ve Been Up To

I was a little absent last week, though I can’t REALLY think of anything out of the ordinary we did – doctor check ups, grocery shopping, Cubbies…just the norm.

There was a little TV watching…mainly so I could watch them cuddle.

Aren't they sweet!? — Aren’t they sweet!?

Wryder got stuck in the chair one time. Then, after all the attention and hubbub, he got “stuck” a dozen or so more times.

I’ve apparently entered THAT phase of pregnancy. You know, the one you just don’t really get cold anymore because you have so much blood and baby pumping through your body? I guess Wrex was a little chilly on the way home Wednesday night and had a good giggle about his pickup settings.

The temp I put the pickup on... — The temp I put the pickup on…

We did a little chicken gazing. I could watch those ladies all day!

Wryder is ALL about driving these days. After almost every meal these days, he’ll pick up his empty plate and use it as a steering wheel. When we were outside, he used the knob to the jack on the trailer hitch as a little tiny one. It. Was. Adorable.

The kids got some belated valentines from Gramps!

Wryder LOVES food. One of his favorites, though…

This weekend has been a REALLY good one! The weather kind of forced us inside to work on some projects we’ve been wanting to get done but haven’t taken the time to do…and a few relaxing deeds, too!

We got baby Sayble’s layette done, as well as our taxes – hallelujah! Those can seem so daunting sometimes but Wrex and I worked all morning and got them done AND get a refund – always a plus!

We let the kids pick out a movie and had a fun supper in the living room…and Wrexy and I had a Bourne marathon! YAY! I’ve been wanting to do this for forever because I often fall asleep or get sidetracked while I attempt to watch ANY movie, but especially ones that aren’t so brainless. 🙂

We had a little outside snow play…

Don't ya just love their hats? — Don’t ya just love their hats?

and a lot of other silly shenanigans!

Tomorrow, we’re back to the daily grind. Thankful for this snowy cold…

Random Rambles

Oh, goodness. We had SUCH a good weekend. (I feel like I’ve been saying things like that a lot lately…but it’s true. We are so blessed to have a happy, healthy family and some gorgeous weather to boot…)

I showed you the DIY project I did on Saturday but that’s not all we got done! Wrexy worked in the barn and got two rooms ready to raise baby chicks. We have quite a few hens that like to sit on eggs so he added some lights and wire and nest boxes to get those girls a going! The man loves all kinds of livestock but I really think he might be happiest in the chicken house…

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Speaking of the chickens, we hatched out some black Old English bantams and ended up with about six roosters. I don’t know what you know about Old English, but they’re feisty, cocky little things. The little guys we have love to crow and walk around with their chests puffed out…and they like to attack people. *Ahem*

Cocky little things... — Cocky little things…

They’re tiny and can’t really do much damage, but they’re definitely annoying……..and they scare Wryder to death! He has been victim to their taunting more times than I can count. We’ve given him permission to defend himself but he just freezes and cries until one of us comes to the rescue.

This weekend was no exception. They had him cornered outside the barn door and he was crying and get stared down. Sawyer came to the rescue with her baby stroller and cleaned house. 🙂

Later, Wrex and I were talking about what we needed to do with them and Sawyer said, “We need to give those naughty roosters away! I think we need to send them to Iraq so they can get dead.”

It seems as though every naughty/evil/mean thing hails from Iraq in her mind after we talked to her several months ago about praying for our people there. It’s not a funny situation but to hear her solution definitely was. We had a good laugh about that one!

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Saturday afternoon, the wind died down and we took the opportunity to burn tumbleweeds. Those things are rampant around here and we hauled and burned for well over an hour.

After we were done, we took advantage of our few little burning embers and roasted marshmallows – good use of fire, yes? This was Wryder’s first time having a warm, gooey mallow and they were a hit!

He stole two cold ones out of the tin while I was getting things ready, ate two warm ones and then stole one from a chicken that Sawyer had been trying to feed. *Ahem*

He also had his first corn on the cob that he got to hold himself. He was equally impressed!

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We made a quick trip to Denver on Sunday for a birthday party for a really special friend of Sawyer’s. We ate lunch with Uncle Warner beforehand – always a good time.

Uncle Warner and a happy niece and nephew!

The birthday party was a Frozen theme and Sawyer had a ball, of course! She came home with a bag full of goodies, one of which was a little bag of marshmallows, pretzels and raisins with a tag that said, “Do you want to build a snowman?”

She ate it on the way home last night and said, “Hmmmm. That tasted kind of funny. I’ve never had an Olaf before.”

She was serious as a heart attack and we about drove off the road laughing so hard!

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We had a good, productive trip! We found a brand new bassinet on Craigslist for $25, got Wrexy measured for a tux for a wedding he’s in this summer, loaded up on a few diapers, wipes and a few thrift store goodies, ate some Red Mango for an afternoon snack and took a trip around the Orchard in the little train.

Wryder loved the train, especially every time the whistle blew. He’d look at me with this little surprised face – so cute!

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A sweet little dog named Booey got to spend the night with Sawyer Friday night – one of her favorite things.

She even got her own animal to sleep with. 🙂

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We did a few more little things in Sayble’s room that I’ll have to show you some pictures of…we snapped a few pics of the kids for a little Valentine’s card for the grandparents…washed a pound and a half of dirt off of each kid…and just enjoyed our time together. This week is shaping up to be just as pretty…can’t wait to enjoy it, too!