Taylor Swift

Taylor asked for a Taylor Swift CD for Christmas and was so excited because she got it!  Her cousin got a ticket to her concert.  She was okay with that.  Until the concert got closer and she started hearing about it non-stop on the radio and TV.  Even then, she didn't really complain, she just said things like, "I wish we could go." 

I explained that the tickets were sold out.  She said she heard on the radio that people could win them.  I told her that all contests were only giving away two tickets and we needed at least three so both girls could go.  Emma said she would be fine if just Taylor went.  It was a very sweet comment, but in reality I don't think it would have gone over so well.

I looked on Craigslist at ones that people were selling and they ranged from $300 - $400.  That was impossible for our budget.  I gave up looking.  Then, a week before the concert a deal popped up on my facebook page that I couldn't pass up.  There was great deal on a name your own price website.  I bought three tickets.  This would be a great before-the-baby-arrives date for Will and the girls. 

We kept it a secret until the day before the concert.  They were so excited!  We explained to them how big the arena would be and how crowed it would be.  We told them about being wanded to make sure know one was bringing a gun in their pockets.  Taylor said, "I probably won't even have pockets!"  Then Emma said,"...And, we don't even have any guns!"

I asked them to show me their "excited" faces.

Now, remember, I got these tickets for a super great price - that doesn't mean they were close seats.

They were up so high that Emma and Taylor were a bit overwhelmed and Emma was afraid she might fall.

They were better after the opening act.  Taylor Swift puts on quite a show.  She even did a portion of the concert on a stage that was closer to the cheap seats.

They got home around 10:45 and were filled with excitement.  After telling me about every detail of what she wore and the songs that she sang their heads hit the pillow and they went right to sleep.

These were some of the highlights:
Taylor Swift gave her black hat to someone in the audience.
Taylor's favorite part was everything.
She wore beautiful dresses.
Daddy got them popcorn and pretzels.
Taylor Swift was wearing red sparkly shoes, just like Emma.  Notice the picture below and compare with Emma above.

Some low points:
She didn't sing Taylor's favorite song.
They never found their cousin, Peyton, in the audience.

Unexpected Visitors

Will's mom, Martha, passed away when he was 8 years old.  Her family lived in West Virginia and Will lived in Oklahoma.  It made keeping in contact with Martha's family difficult.  Will said the last time he saw his aunts was when he was 16 years old.  We've talked about visiting them when the girls were old enough to remember it.  Two of his aunts planned a visit last fall, but things came up and they didn't make it.

Last month we got a call on a Tuesday saying that Will's Aunt Gingy and Uncle Konk were coming for a visit.  They were stopping in Tulsa first to visit Will's brother, Patrick, and would be at our house on Monday.  We were very excited, but I admit I was a bit nervous.  People that I had never met before were staying at my house!  I wanted to be a good hostess and keep them entertained.  

I had nothing to worry about.  They were totally laid back.  Their only agenda was to spend time with us.  To get to know us.  To catch up on the last 20 years. 

It was a great couple days.  They parked their camper in the driveway and we just hung out.  The only place we went was the neighborhood Dairy Queen to get some ice cream.  Gingy played dolls with the girls and read them books.  She even helped them clean their room a few times.  She, of course, made everything fun.  After she left and I made them clean their room by themselves, Taylor said, "I wish Gingy were here." 

I loved hearing remarks like, "They have Martha's eyes", and "Martha had hair like that."  I enjoyed asking questions about Martha and hearing stories from when they were kids.  I felt like even though I never got to meet Will's mom, I got a good glimpse of who she was by spending time with her sister.

Konk (Frank) reminded me so much of my dad.  When he was tired of chatting and needed a break he just went out to his camper to take a nap or watch TV.  He talked about NASCAR and drank milk with his bologna sandwich.   These similarities made it very easy to get to know this stranger.

Actually, it never really felt like I was with strangers.  They were family from the very first hug to the last goodbye tears that were shed.  The girls still talk about them all the time and we can't wait for our next visit.

I now look forward to meeting Martha's last surviving sister, Genie.  Hopefully sooner than later.

Keystone State Park

This summer we have been out of town a lot.  Summer is a great time for Will to do work for family who live elsewhere.  Its nice because the girls and I are able to tag along and visit with family.  Because of this though, we hadn't done anything with just the four of us.  So I planned a spur of the moment trip to Keystone Lake in Oklahoma.  I mean very spur of the moment.  I planned it on a Wednesday and we arrived at the Lake on Sunday.  So spur of the moment, in fact, that I didn't look at a calendar and forgot about the girls having swimming lessons.  We (or maybe just me) really needed a break.

We booked a cabin because being pregnant, I didn't have any desire to sleep on the ground in a tent.  Its unfortunate, too, because the weather was perfect for tent camping.  I have really enjoyed our mild-weather summer.  Below is the view from the back porch on our cabin.  We had a huge open area where the kids could play and we were able to just sit and watch.  It was heavenly.  To make things even better, the cabin next door had a seven year old boy who played with girls the whole time.  It was almost like Will and I had the weekend off from parenting.

We took the girls to a special children's fishing pond.  I'm not actually certain there were any fish in there, but the girls still had a good time.

We made up for the missing swim lessons by swimming in the lake.  Yes, I know its muddy, but that made for very soft ground under our feet.

There wasn't a ton to do at this state park, but the lack of activity was just the uneventfulness we were looking for.