Christmas 2010

Here's a few pictures from Christmas day. Braden got an iPod touch so he's been in a trance since yesterday morning! He's been video chatting (FaceTiming) with his friends that got an iPod yesterday as well ... it's crazy! What's next?

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Jingle the elf

So for those of you who have not been able to follow Jingle's facebook album, here's a few of our favorite shots of him!

Jingle is Braden's elf that was sent from the North Pole to watch him until Christmas. He shows up in a different place every day, and reports back to Santa every night after Braden goes back to sleep. We are really having so much fun with him! I'm going to miss him when he goes back home on Saturday!

3 Wise men .... and an elf?

This was after a bad day at school when Braden forgot Rule #1: Keep your hands to yourself!

trying to catch our poor defenseless fish

getting cabin fever! He wanted to go ice skating with us, Braden said.

Little late-night gambling with the boys!

Little prankster!

He found the gameboy ... Braden was quick to figure out how to get that away from him! (if he touches Jingle, his magic goes away)

getting homesick

Hope he can find lots of fun new things to do next year!!!! Hope everyone has a great Christmas!!!

Ice skating footage

Time for Christmas!

Well, this first picture is a little bit ago, but the rest of these are a little more recent. We are getting ready for Christmas around here! We put up our first big Christmas tree, and we started our first tradition with the "elf on the shelf." He came from the North Pole to stay with us and watch to see if Braden is being good during the day. He leaves every night to report to Santa. He's in a different place every morning. This morning, we woke up and he wasn't here. Turns out he is at Grammy and Jeeps' house. I guess he thought Braden was there. Maybe he needed a break from us! Watching Braden can be exhausting!

Braden won a first and second place metal at his first karate competition!

Braden and I got to meet our new cousin, Reid in Texas over Thanksgiving. We heard he was shy ... didn't take him long to fit right in!

Braden in the cotton feild!

Jingle the elf

The tree

our new stockings ...

We went ice skating yesterday. Braden thought he would just go out there and take off! HA! He didn't, of course. Poor kid has my patience. 10 minutes of falling and he was frustrated! So we got some hot chocolate, s'mores, and rode some rides while the girls enjoyed their day of ice skating for Jaden's birthday.

The ferris wheel

S'mores

Stretching at Karate

I just thought this was funny!

Halloween 2010

As pointed out by my Grandma this afternoon, I've been slacking on my blogging! So here you go!

Here's some pictures of our Halloween fun, and a picture at karate. Braden is LOVING karate. He even made the newspaper last week! He has his first competition coming up November 13th, so stay tuned ... I'll keep you posted! He's actually pretty good at it, and it's really helping him with some of his issues he was having at school with aggression. He's better behaved, and he's been doing a lot better. He's really growing up fast, and turning into such a smart little boy! OF COURSE!!!

This is me in the dark .... I'm a glow stick girl!

I was Pippi Longstocking for the Boo Ha Ha parade. Only the people my age knew who I was! I am getting old!
Braden and his friend "Jader-Bug" ready to go trick-or-treating
posing with the warty pumpkingThe Peace girls (lobster, super-girl, and pirate) at the parade Saturday

pony rides!

a last-minute trip to the Aquarium for Hallow-Marine!

Braden with Master Beaven at the Claremore Rotary Club chili dinner fundraiser.

Time for fall, y'all!

So I finally got a new camera. I dropped my 4th digital camera in the lake. So I felt I should get back to blogging! I also had to throw in a pic from the John Mayer concert ... look how close I was! (6th row) It was amazing.

OU/TX weekend with my gal pal, Lauren in Dallas. I'll use any excuse to go see her.

Came back today just in time to fit in some fair time with Braden ... he loved the one ride I let him go on. It was NUTS! Too many people. Maybe we'll go back another day this week when it's not so busy.
Braden's favorite thing was the butterfly exhibit. It was really cool! They were all over us! I couldn't resist this one! HAHA (insert Silence of the Lambs quote here)

My amazing friend Shelly

So I forgot to post the coolest thing from last weekend! My awesome friend Shelly competed in her first triathalon ... and got SECOND PLACE in her age group!!! She is such an inspiration to me. Not only did she train like crazy for this race, but she is one of the most caring people I've ever met, a devoted wife and mother, and great friend. An ironic twist of events brought us into each others lives, and I now believe that God has a plan for everything. For those of you who don't know, Braden has a half sister. Bailey just turned 9 years old, and Shelly is her mother. Just 5 years ago, Shelly and I barely spoke to each other and had no idea that we'd soon be such great friends. There's the irony! The only thing we had in common then was that we loved that little girl! Who knew ...

Now, I can't imagine my life without them in it. We are so fortunate that Shelly and Ashton have welcomed us into their family, and I do feel like we are all family. We may be fit for Jerry Springer (without the hair pulling) but we are determined to keep the kids in contact over the years, and the funny thing is - we enjoy spending time together just as much, if not more, than they do!

Shell with her trophy ...

a tiny picture of the kids

my Arkansas girlfriends that I just adore ... and Braden of course! We were so proud of our Shelly!

Braden at the Mud Run

See previous post for all the pictures, but this Braden on the HUGE slip-n-slide at the Mud Run ealier today. It was pretty intense. He lost his shoes on this trip down!

2010 Mud Run

So the girls from work got a team together, and we did the Mud Run. It was a 1.5 mile obstacle course in the mud. It was a lot of fun. Braden went to, and he had a blast! Here's a few shots ...

Here we are arm and arm on the slip n slide

before

After

Can't sleep so I'll blog!

I wish I had more pictures! Kara and I went to the Current River in Van Buren, MO last weekend, and when I get the pictures I'm waiting for (hint, hint) I'll blog more! This one of the view from our room is all I have! We stayed at the Landing, a hotel, on the water. We floated a couple of days, went to some hole-in-the-wall bar, made some new friends, and had a blast. It was a tradition that Kara's dad started 12 years ago. Next month will be a year after his passing, and I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate his life than to spend a fun weekend with his amazing friends every summer. They are so great. I only wish we could've spent more of our adult lives with him. Instead, my only memories of him are us getting in trouble as teens ;( ha oh well - fun memories! I'm sure he'd love to hear some of the hilarious adventures we had this weekend! We laughed, we cried, and yes, Tammy ... we made memories. And as long as I have willing sitters, I will make this an annual tradition of mine as well. They told me by the end of the weekend I would be family, and I felt like I was before the end of the first day. I love Kara with every ounce of my being, and I could see how much Kerry meant to all of them. This trip was very special to him, and it was very special to all of us. Thanks for letting me be a part of it, Kara! NOW SEND ME SOME PICTURES!

Here's a few pics I had sitting around of the past few weeks. Here's Braden and Eric (or as Braden calls him "E") at Skiatook lake

Yesterday at the lake my friend Chase wakeboarding.

I haven't gotten off of the couch all day because my back hurts so bad. Needless to say, I didn't do so well. Braden kept saying, "come on, Momma, I know you can do it!" Ha! I didn't want to let him down! So I just kept trying and trying! It hurts!

Thanks to my great friends for being so patient with me while I tried a million times!

This is my great friend Julie dancing with Braden at the concert in Utica Square. He just had to dance right in the center of the dance floor! It was the last concert night and there was about 1,000 people there!!!!! He was cracking people up! So cute! Julie is a good sport! We love our Jules!