Moving On

Tuesday afternoon we received an offer on our house and we accepted it. We close on July 29th, which means our new house is not done yet. I have been in full blown research mode trying to find a temporary home for about 3 months.
This is such a relief, not just financially, but emotionally. Trying to be on edge and keep a house clean and perfect for over 3 months is no small task. I'm glad that we don't have to worry about showings any more. Whew!

Birthday Revalations

36

In honor of my 36th birthday, I decided to write out 36 completely random things about me. So here goes:

1. I like Diet Dr. Pepper (ok, kinda sorta addicted to it)


2. I was born in Sanford, Florida


3. I have lived in Florida, Indiana, South Dakota, Wyoming, Iowa and Oklahoma (Iowa and South Dakota are my favorites)


4. I was married to my best friend a week after my 19th birthday


5. I like to eat cereal, but only at night.


6. I have my bachelors degree in Chemistry


7. I did not start drinking coffee until after Spencer was born (out of sheer exhaustion).


8. The only kind of spiders I like are dead ones.


9. I like to play Wizard 101 with Madison


10. I really wish I could sing (and I really cannot carry a tune)


11. I love photography


12. I haven't scrapbooked in almost 6 months and I miss is terribly


13. Milk chocolate is my favorite, but I won't refuse dark chocolate


14. I have one brother


15. I drive a mini-van and love it


16. I despise Wal Mart (refuse to go in there)


17. I have never been to a professional football game


18. I have a certification as a Technologist in Molecular Biology by the American Society of Clinical Pathology


19. I can't go underwater without plugging my nose


20. My first car was a 1987 Chevy Cavalier


21. I spent my summers with my grandparents in Wall, South Dakota


22. I don't play the lottery


23. My mom is my hero


24. I like all kinds of music (Pink, Adele, Michael Buble, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, etc., etc.)


25. I am currently watching the Disney channel (thanks to Spencer to waking up, soooo early)


26. I lived at Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota


27. I can handle the cold better than the heat (yeah, it was like a 102 degrees yesterday, YUCK)


28. One of my favorite TV shows is So You Think You Can Dance (I look forward to it every summer)


29. I also like The Voice and American Idol


30. I don't like watching any CSI shows because I pick apart everything they are doing wrong.


31. I want to visit Europe


32. I don't get pedicures or manicures


33. I have two dogs (Moxie and Harley)


34. I have to wear glasses, not contacts


35. I am not a fan of shopping


36. My laptop is pink

So if you have read this far, I'm sorry to tell you that I am pretty boring.

Grapevine, Texas Vacation

We headed out for the American Family Vacation on Sunday. Thank goodness for DVD players!
We went to Great Wolf Lodge in Grapvine, Texas. We spent the first part of the day getting Spencer ready for the water. He liked the water but hated, let me repeat,

hated, blood curling screaming and crying

the waterslides.

This place is one giant waterslide after another. SO, we played on the small toddler area and then headed outside to warm up. Madi wasted NO time in hitting the wave pool and big waterslides. She would check in for food and drink money every now and them, but she was having a blast.

I did get to do a few rides with Madison and I was told I scream like a girl. Oh well, at least it was fun.

Spencer was SICK of the water, so we decided to play inside. We worked up an appetite at the arcade, so an Elmo cupcake did the trick.

Yes, Elmo red and no, it did not come off easily.

We decided to head over to Grapevine Mills Mall and go to the Rainforest Cafe. One, itsy, bitsy problem.....

he HATED it, blood curling screaming and a death grip on mama like I have never seen before.

We actually had to ask them to move us to a table the FURTHEST away from anything that remotely moved.

All the while reminding myself, this is a family vacation, it is supposed to be fun.

Thank goodness for this small train that went through the mall, he LOVED this!

The next stop was the Lego store. His eyes were HUGE! This store is just amazing.

So, yes, I do have another child.

She is a teenager.

She doesn't like her picture taken.

She doesn't want to be with her parents.

Thus, very few pictures that she actually went with us on this FAMILY vacation.

The girl can shoot some baskets though. Her ticket winnings from the arcade.

She was very proud and even used 10 tickets to buy her brother a bouncy ball.

We decided to hit Discovery Legoland. This place is AMAZING. We visited miniature world and looked at Dallas re-created with just LEGOs.

We then went on the ride in which Spencer whined excessively to go on and then cried the entire ride. He really wasn't a fan.

Madison started building her own car to race on one of the three race ways.

Spencer and Justin got down to business as well. They can't let a girl win!

The race was on and the winner was.....

Spencer and Daddy!

But Madi built hers by herself.

We spent another 1/2 hour or so looking at the LEGO store again and dropped a small amount of change in that store.

We weren't home a 1/2 hour and both kids had their LEGOs out on the table playing with them. AHHH, quiet.

Oh, wait, the fighting over whose LEGOs are whose has started.

Family Vacation = Family Fun

Three Days of Work

Sunday: foundation and plumbing done. Notice all of the gorgeous, green trees (yes, it is Oklahoma and those are REAL trees and they are GREEN).

Wednesday: half of the frame work is up. Holy cow that was fast.

Unfortunately, there are problems. We knew that building a house was a chore and stressful and we were told to expect errors. Hopefully we caught things in time and they can be fixed.

We haven't sold our house yet. Next week it will be 3 full months on the market. ~ SIGH~

It will probably be Sept before ours is done, so there really isn't a huge rush, but I would sure like to know that it is sold.

Water Play Day

On Sunday our church hosted a water play day for the kids. First of all, our church is small. Second of all, 60% of the congregation is probably over the age of 60. There isn't a lot of children around. When we take Spencer to church, the older ladies just love him. We just weren't sure how many people would actually be there and we weren't sure if we wanted to go because it was hot, like 98 degrees hot. According to my husband, I don't like the heat. I gather that statement comes from my constant whining that, "I'm hot and feel gross." Get the picture, it was HOT!
Needless to say, we went and Spencer poured water, ran through the sprinkler and even managed not to get a sunburn. There were about 30 people total and about 15 kiddos. They all had a good time. I took frequent trips to the restroom (inside in the air conditioning).
I think Spencer was complaining that dad got him wet. I don't think he understood the concept of "water play" = getting wet.

Filling up his bowl with water. Not pictured: Spencer chasing dad down to pour water on him.

Refilling the fluids!

Progress

Very slow progress, but it is progress none the less. This was last week. The foundation has been poured since.

Fears

People are afraid of many things, bugs, snakes, or spiders. My fear is tornadoes. I would go as far as saying I have a phobia and probably should be medicated. When I was a child I remember getting so nervous, I threw up. I always get nervous, even with thunderstorms. I don't sleep (at all). There have been times as an adult I have cried. Yes, I admit, it is irrational.

This week was tough. Beginning on Monday, the forecast was for VERY severe weather and tornadoes on Tuesday. Tuesday morning came and around 11am, we got an emergency notification from work asking all of the employees to take precautions and to review emergency procedures and shelter locations. The nervousness begins, the pit in my stomach grows. I am constantly looking out the windows and really can't concentrate on work.

Around noon, the phone call from daycare comes in. They want all the kids picked up before the storm hits. Pictures of my child being corralled into a bathroom with 20 other children and a handful adults trying to keep them calm. The image sickens me. The nervousness continues, the sick feeling grows in my stomach.

A little after 1pm, we were told that all the of clinics were closing at 3pm and to finish up all work so we could leave. First time ever that we have been sent home early because of summer weather.

I left at 3:15pm, arrived at daycare at 3:50pm and the first tornado was already on the ground. It was west of the metro and moving in. I got home and started packing stuff. I was piling blankets and flashlights into the bathroom. I started packing items that we would need assuming there was going to be nothing left. Irrational? I don't know. Multiple pairs of underwear for Spencer, jeans, wipes, pull ups - who knows where we will end up. Irrational thoughts screaming through my mind.

The tornado is on the edge of NW OKC. Three separate cells merge in southern OK, heading straight toward Moore. Justin walks in, there is a tornado in Chickasha (just 20 miles southwest of Moore). Justin calls our friends Clay and Shyla and ask if they have room in their storm shelter. We leave immediately. The prediction is the tornado hitting us dead on at 5:55pm.

At 5:45 we all head into the shelter. It is dark, hot and loud. We can hear it pounding outside. The weather radio talks about a tornado at 164th & Western, one mile from our house. We finally emerge to find out that more tornadoes had touched down.

The evening went on. People are dead, babies missing and I hold my babies tight and watch as the evening unfolds more horrors.

Irrational fear, I don't think so.