Summer is over!

It is unbelievable that summer is coming to an end and school starting tomorrow.  The girls have had a lot of fun with friends this summer...visits to the aquarium, the Tulsa Children's Museum/Discovery Lab, lots of swimming, Tulsa Drillers baseball games, visits to Gilcrease Museum, and many visits to the library and book store, and a week long visit to Mamaw and Papaw's house in Louisiana. They also attend ikamp and musical theatre camps! Summer 2015 has been a lot of fun and we wouldn't have had it any other way. While M&M look forward to school starting, it is sad that summer is over and our girls are getting older!

Fun with friends at the Oklahoma Aquarium in Jenks

Little M being goofy and crazy with a friend in the tunnels at the aquarium

Receiving their awards for reaching the library's reading goal

Swimming with friends

More swimming with friends

Fun at a Tulsa Drillers baseball game

Family Fun Day at Gilcrease Museum

 Meeting in Shreveport to pick up M&M from their visit to Mamaw and Papaw's.

Mary Poppins Musical Theatre Camp

M&M attended another musical theatre camp this summer.  The theme this week was Mary Poppins.  They had a blast and it was so fun because a good friend went to camp too.  We loved seeing Big M sing "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious".  She was so animated and you could really see that she was having fun.  Little M and her friend sang "Jolly Holiday". She was animated and having fun on stage too. Definitely a fun camp for the M&M girls! 

After the Mary Poppins Performance

A pic with fun friends!

Sunset Bible Camp

Big M attended her first overnight church camp last week.  It was the first time she has gone away from home for camp that included sleeping away from home.  Luckily,  Charley attended as a counselor this time, so it made me feel better about her being away from home even if it was for only 2 nights.  Big M had a wonderful time and she loved sharing her experiences canoeing, zip lining, swimming, sleeping on the top bunk in addition to singing and worshiping.  We are so glad she had a fun time with church friends and learning more about being a Christian. 

 They are ready to load up and go!

 Paddling the canoe with Sophie and Ms. Melissa

 The Northside Christian Church Group

 Big M and her Dad (Charley)

At Worship 

Big M's Ziplining video

Frozen Musical Theatre Camp

M&M had a great time at Frozen Musical Theatre Camp this week!  They practiced each day learning their lines, singing their songs, and practicing the dances.  Little M's group sang "For The First Time In Forever" and Big M's group sang "Love Is An Open Door". It was fun to watch their performance tonight...they both did such a great job.  Next up in July...Mary Poppins Camp!

Summer Fun!

It's been a hot week and what else could we do but go swimming?  This photo from our visit on Wednesday was just too cute not to share.  M&M had a blast with their sweet friends floating on this donut float.  What a fun day...looking forward to many more!

Snickerdoodles and Creativity

M&M have been asking to eat some snickerdoodle cookies, so I decided that it might be fun for them to help make them.  While these aren't my all time favorite cookie, the cookies tasted wonderful and were fun for the girls to make.  They loved rolling the dough into balls and then covering the dough with the cinnamon and sugar mixture.  And, it was fun for them to measure out ingredients and fight for control of the mixer.

M&M with their yummy Snickerdoodles.

Making snickerdoodles wasn't the only activity of the day.  M&M also wanted to spend some time being creative.  Little M painted a princess canvas she has had for a while.  Big M had fun coloring a portrait holder for her room. It was a busy, fun-filled summer day.  So glad we were able to spend time baking and crafting!

M&M with their finished projects.

Branson Fun

We had a fun time in Branson last week.  We enjoyed 1 1/2 days at Silver Dollar City.  At the end of the second day, we enjoyed dinner at Fall Creek Restaurant, the "Home of the Tossed Rolls!".  The last full day was spent swimming and then seeing Dixie Stampede.  Lots of fun with Mamaw, Papaw, and Aunt Natalie! Thanks to Mom and Dad for such a good trip.

 

 Still smiling at dinner after sweating all day and getting drenched at Silver Dollar City.

 

A little pose before a wet ride on the River Blast!  Big M loved the roller coaster she rode, but Little M even rode on several rides and really enjoyed her Silver Dollar City experience.

 

 

 

One more family pic before watching the Dixie Stampede show.



June 18 and 19--- awesome days!

Tuesday was a pretty awesome day for us.  Big M had asked us if she could help raise money for a special young girl she knows that lives with Cystic Fibrosis.  She had decided that she wanted to sell the items she had cleaned out of her closet and donate the money to Hope for Hannah through the CF Foundation. A friend's dad had suggested she sell water and we all decided that would be a great addition to the sale.  She did all of the organizing of items and was definitely spreading the word by mouth and all we did was help her get the items to the neighborhood playground and splash pad. 

 

Big M was super excited about the sale event and even more excited that Hannah was able to join her at the sale.  She loves Hannah along with all of the great crafts Hannah does with her and looks up to her.  We are so proud of Big M---she raised $129 with all of the treasures she cleaned out of her closet and the water sales.  Her sweet little heart just loves to help others and we couldn't be more proud of this awesome thing she's done.

 

 

When the sale was complete, it was time for me to get my running shoes on! A friend's husband had signed up for the OneRunforBoston Relay and was asking for others to join him in the 10 mile relay leg from Depew, OK to outside Bristow, OK.  The big catch was that the relay leg was to be run from 12:00 midnight to 2:00 am.  I had never done anything of this nature...having run in only 1 5k race ever.  I am so happy to say that I finished the relay leg and had a great time running on a "perfect  weather" night along the two lane road between Depew and Bristow---something I thought I would never, ever do considering I usually run shorter distances on a treadmill at "room temperature" (as my friends tease me) and I'm definitely not a night owl.  It was definitely a day/night we'll never forget! 

A HUGE thanks to Rhonda for following along behind us in the car and providing some light to see since my very fashionable headlamp just wasn't working out for me.

 Getting ready to get in the car to head out for Bristow with Paul, Kevin, and Rhonda.

 



 

Having a little "Goo" and fluids before the run.

 

 The Baton has arrived and it's time to head out.

 

 

Rhonda and Kevin's boys made signs to decorate the car. :)

 

 

We're done!  The last 1.3 mile hill was a killer!



Summer Zoo Trip

We started summer break off right with a trip to the zoo today.  Two of M&M's friends came along and we had a ton of fun.  It was a little windy, but the temperature was perfect and all of the girls had a great time together.  What a great way to start off our summer!

 

 

Tulsa Zoo's Baby Jaguars

The Tulsa Zoo had some new baby Jaguars born this last April and we knew we needed to get over there to see them before the school year began. So, the day before school started, we ventured off to the Tulsa Zoo to see the new jaguars and have some play time with a couple of the girls' friends.  The kids all enjoyed seeing the baby jaguars, but they also had a great time having a picnic and playing with their friends on the zoo's playground. 

 Five Little Monkeys                                                       

 

One of the Baby Jaguars

Lucas, Little M, Abigail, Jayden, & Big M                              Silly Kids

August Getaway to Louisiana

We recently visited my Mom and Dad in Louisiana for an end of summer getaway. M&M had lots of fun visiting the High Delta Safari Park (http://www.louisianatravel.com/high-delta-safari-park).  As you may notice in the pictures, Big M loved feeding the animals and Little M found that playtime on their playground was more her thing.  The girls were able to pet a snake, chinchilla, and lizard.  But their favorite animals of the day were the baby camel and baby donkey.  I have to say the donkey was pretty fun to watch!

We were also able to swim in the neighbors' pool...we are so appreciative that they allowed us to swim during our visit.  The girls had a great time!

A visit to the local skating rink was fun for both girls.  Even little M was able to skate with some help from her "skate assist" and snap-on skates.  They enjoyed their time with Emily, a neighbor girl that lives just down the street.

I don't think the girls were quite ready to go home when it was time---they were having too much fun.  Maybe next time they will be able to stay at Mamaw and Papaw's for a longer visit without Mama and Daddy!