Summer Wrap Up

Here are a few pictures that didn't make it in to any of my summer blogging stories.  I miss the carefree days of summer already.  I had big plans for summer - I wanted it to be super special since it won't be just the four of us for much longer.  It didn't go exactly as I had hoped.  I was really tired and we ended up doing a lot of things out of town.  It was nice just being home with them, though.

My mom's siblings do a family reunion every summer.  Although not all the cousins could be there, it was great seeing everyone.  I always enjoy family get-togethers.

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.

Easter 2013

A few months back we celebrated Easter.  Yes, I realize its almost June.  In case you didn't know, I took a three week subbing job at the end of school.  I have a new-found admiration of you full-time working moms.  Now that summer is here, I have a little time to catch up on everything else in life.  And because Easter happened over two months ago, that's all I can tell you.  Easter happened.  Here's proof.

More Holiday Fun

We were able to enjoy an evening of looking at incredible Christmas lights with Will's parents and brother.

One of the girls' favorite parts of Christmas with Will's family is the fancy bows Grandma uses.

Yeah!  New bikes!  The camera had been in the cold car and the lens was fogged over.

Butler Christmas 2012

I wrote last year about our family Christmas with my maternal grandma's family.  I can't tell you how much  I love it.

We start with a late lunch.

The family talent show follows.

Last year Emma was too shy to do anything on her own.  This year she was brave enough to sing the "Fa la la la las" in Deck the Halls.

Taylor was going to sing Santa Claus is Coming to Town.  This was her first attempt.  She decided she didn't want to.

She decided to give it another try.  Taylor is a bit of perfectionist and her cousin skipped a few words.  This completely threw Taylor off and once again she quit.

Taylor gave it one more try with her cousin Peyton.  Thankfully, they made it all the way through!

Next comes "We Three Kings", followed by the Halleluja Chorus, which I didn't get a picture of.

We end by reading the Christmas Story then opening gifts.

This afternoon with family always blesses me deep down in my soul.  I leave you with a few extra shots of  sweetness.