Vanover Adventures

New Blog

2009-04-15T17:28:00.001-07:00

As mentioned before we are combining my personal and business blogs (you know how much trouble I have posting anyway!!!) Visit us today!

www.bloggingdoodle.blogspot.com

While you are surfing check out http://www.fabulousfindsshow.com/

You are all invited to the first annual Fabulous Finds Show in Edmond THIS Saturday.

Check out the website for details....

On a side note- this will be the LAST post at this address. Bookmark Blogging Doodle for future reading!

On the move.....

2009-03-15T14:28:00.000-07:00

Well, as most of you know WE MOVED to Edmond...finally! We love our new location: close to work, close to church, close to friends- YEAH! Thanks for all the support and prayers that went into the journey of selling our house in OKC!

Things are getting busier all the time and in an effort to streamline a few things I am MOVING THIS BLOG (well combining really) to www.bloggingdoodle.blogspot.com . The theory is that I will be better at maintaining a blog if I am only updating one...we shall see....

So head over there from time to time and see what we are doing and the new things I am making... Until then, take a look at these cute little pics of our family (I should have posted before Christmas -oops!) Courtesy of our favorite red headed photog- Kerri @ Freckle Face Photography!

AAOTH Time again!

2009-02-04T07:41:00.000-08:00

Well, it is that time again...An Affair of the Heart OKC! Sada, from My Baby Boutique and I are joining up as usual and would love for you to come see us. This year we will be int the MODERN LIVING BUILDING Booth 102. Look in your program for BABY DOODLES. We are introducing some great new products that you will LOVE. So come by and see what's new.....

Kennedy turns 4!!!

2009-01-07T19:31:00.001-08:00

Well, there will be many more pictures to follow but I had to share a few of sassy britches modeling her birthday outfit... absolutely precious if I do say so myself (wink wink!)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY GIRL!!!

And after 700 pictures we took a few more... here she is holding her CAKE POPS for Sonshine School...they were yeeuummy BUT do not start new projects at 8pm the night before school.... What is a cake pop??? Check out www.bakerella.com to see how to make these delious little cake-on-a- sticks!

An Affair of the Heart

2008-10-23T20:29:00.000-07:00

It is finally here...an Affair of the Heart! Stop by and see us this weekend at the fairgrounds. Our booth is in the Hobbies, Arts and Crafts building. Come on in, hang a right and we are half way down on the right.

Who are we? Sada, from My Baby Boutique (www.shopmybaby.com) and I have joined forces on the craft show circuit and you will see our name as BABY DOODLES.

We have FABULOUS new things that you have to see, so come out this weekend. We would love to see you!

TIMES:
Friday 9 am-6 pm
Saturday 9 am- 6pm
Sunday 11 am- 5pm

firsts

2008-09-27T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, life has been a little crazy and as usual blogging is one of the many things that fall to the wayside. I should go back to the spring and start catching up on the fabulous moments I missed sharing but I wouldn't even know where to start SO let's just jump back to the first of September...

The first week of September was a week of FIRSTS around our house...

First day of Sonshine School...

First dance class for Kennedy (we are taking a tap/ballet class from Studio J...Kennedy thinks it is absolutely FANTASTIC!)

First practice and soccer game of the season for Brayden (he played in the fall but I am not sure I even posted any pics ...what a great mom I am ..ha ha...I DID take pictures)

My youngest cousin is a senior at Pitt State in Kansas and he had his first game of his final season at UCO...Here is K cheering him on and he is walking towards her...

I have so many cute pics trapped in this computer...maybe I will post again before Christmas (don't laugh Cindy, I said MAYBE)

Rainy Day Play

2008-08-28T14:38:00.000-07:00

As always, I am WAY behind on posting our recent events so lets get started!

Here are a few pics from last week's monsoon(sp?) You can only stay inside so long until all of the toys are irrelevent and they have no choice but to resort to...mom and dad's closets??? Hmmm...

I have no idea what is going on with this but she just insisted on the bow/turbin...

she wore it all morning!

It is hard work....

2008-08-15T17:25:00.000-07:00

I guess it is hard work being a princess...the moral of this story however- never leave a good Sonic coke unattended! (By the looks of her face, there must have been chocalate involved at some point as well...where was her mother?)

Just in case you were wondering...those adorable bows came from Lady Jane Bowtique!

SHAKE THE SALT

2008-08-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

Have been to Shake the Salt? No? Then stop what you are doing and go visit Christy right now! She has a fabulous blog devoted to moms and she is having a HUGE giveaway (including some of your favorite sellers...) Today is my turn. THANK YOU CHRISTY for an incredible feature!

Now head over there http://shakethesalt.com:80/2008/08/doodle-design-shop-cute-signage/ and add her to your favorites.

NEW PRODUCTS ARE BEING ADDED ALL WEEKEND so keep checking www.doodledesignshop.com!

Have a great weekend!

Tomorrow is the BIG BASH!

2008-08-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Come one, come all...blogger, blog reader, blog stalker, or wanna-someday-start-thinking-about-what-a-blog-might-might-be.....

Make it is a girls night out and head on over to MRCC.

Bring yourself, bring your favorite finger food and get ready to have a little fun (and shop at one of the fabulous vendors!)

See you there!

(see previous post for time and place info)

You're Invited!

2008-07-13T20:47:00.000-07:00

Father's Day Photo Shoot

2008-06-14T09:19:00.001-07:00

For Father's day I wanted to give Chance and my dad new pics of the kiddos so we had a little photo shoot in our backyard. I was pretty please with the reaults (with a little help from www.picnik.com!) Enjoy our beautiful babies!

Yeah for Kraft!!!

2008-06-03T19:05:00.001-07:00

Whatever you are doing you have to stop and go to http://www.kraftfoods.com/. Many of you are probably light years ahead of me with the whole "menu planning" thing, but when I found all of the fabulous features on this site I knew it would be my new best friend... Using it was and the organization is great!

-Search through a ton of family-friendly recipes and back magazine issues. (SIDE NOTE: sign up to recieve the FREE magazine...it is good stuff)
-Find what you like and save it to your recipe box
-Think you might want to eat a certain dish and need to get the ingredients when you go shop?? **THIS IS THE BEST PART! Just click "add to shopping list" and there you have everything you need added to your list.
-Shopping list perks- you can edit the list to meet what you have and don't already have in tthe cabinet. You can even add your own extras you need to your trip to Wally World!!

So there you have it- my plug for Kraft Foods... ENJOY!

2008-05-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

How fun.... A blog giveaway! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to LIPSTICK TO CRAYONS- head over to the blog and see all fabulous giveaways going on. I am giving away a 6x12 sign of your choice from Doodle Design Shop. Click the link and start signing up! HAVE FUN!

SUPERHERO TRAINING CAMP

2008-05-17T07:15:00.001-07:00

For Brayden's 5th Birthday Party we had
SUPERHERO TRAINING CAMP!

We started our SUPERHERO TRAINING CAMP with a visit from BATMAN!!

He led the trainees through some warm up excercises then through an obstacle course.
After completion of the course the fabulous heroes had earned SUPER CAPES- which they decorated themselves.
BATMAN took them on a flying expedition through the backyard and took a break from fighting evil for one last pic before returning to the batcave....
My mom made a SUPER cake...

Everyone seemed to enjoy the BLUE icing!

We opened gifts, played like crazy then called it a day....

a SUPER day (I couldn't resist!)

BIRTHDAY BOY!

2008-05-05T20:37:00.000-07:00

Our little man turned 5 today...

WOW! We started the morning off with yummy cinnamon rolls (did I mention they were so warm they melted the candles, hmmm) which everyone loved -YEEEUMM!

A family tradition around our place is the early morning serenade via phone from the other family members. No matter where we are, you can always count on the serenade. Brayden enjoyed his call fom PaPaw, Lainey and Sho Sho during breakfast.

After a long day of waiting, Lainey and Papaw came over with a gift before our outing to Incredible Pizza. Brayden has his very own IPOD (Ok, so maybe it is a Philips but it plays music, vidoes and radio....Brayden was THRILLED! Chance loaded a few videos of the kids on it before they gave it to him....they just love watching themselves!!

More festivities to come...next up- SUPERHERO TRAINGIN CAMP!

Easter Egg Color Fest!

2008-03-22T20:44:00.001-07:00

Domestic Godess

2008-02-27T19:59:00.000-08:00

What Is A Domestic Goddess??
A Domestic Goddess is a SAHM, a homemaker, a housewife, but instead of saying "Yeah I'm a stay at home mom..." She should say
"I'm a Domestic Goddess"
She cleans
She cooks
She wipes noses, teary eyes, tushies, and anything else that needs it
She gives the kisses to boo boos
She gets the kids ready for school
She's a taxiShe's a dictionary
She's a fashion director
She does the never ending laundry
She does the billsShe does the dishes
She goes to all the dr's appointments, teacher meetings
She takes care of her husband (which is the BIGGEST job of all)

BUT the part that makes her a goddess is..............
She isn't perfect, but her hubby treats her like she is
She's proud of what she does
She's got imagination and creativity
She makes herself IRRESISTABLE to her hubby
She EMBRACES her life and lives it to the fullest
She has a wild side
She always tries looks good... no frumpy stained t-shirts and sweats (well at least not when she goes out...)
She isn't some humdrum Susie Homemaker and doesn't want to be... she wants to be a rockin' version of Martha
most importantly, SHE'S HAPPY wth her life
"Inside EVERY woman is a goddess.." LET YOURS OUT!

Yeah for vaccines!

2008-02-24T21:37:00.000-08:00

I think we are definitely on the uphill from our chicken pox scare. Brayden was totally clear, aside from a few red marks left on his skin and Kennedy is drying up very fast. Neither went past the pimply phase which is fantastic! I can only attribute the escape from 10 days of misery to the well baby vaccinations... sounds good to me! Thanks to everyone who has been checking in on us! We will be around soon!!

Chicken POP Update....

2008-02-23T06:16:00.000-08:00

Well, we first found the spots Thursday night after bath time. Kennedy had them all over and Brayden just had a few. Friday we were still in the little pimple stage, just more of them. So far this morning we are still there. Kennedy definitely has a bigger breakout than Brayden but no one is in the full blister stage as of yet....yeah! I am praying we just dry out and miss out on the crying, itching, etc.....hmmmm. I will upload pics later today (just for you Cindy!) More on the Chicken POP Chronicles to come..... Here is to a "pop" free day at your house!

2008-02-22T05:28:00.001-08:00

We have CHICKEN "POPS".....more to come.......

2008-02-13T13:25:00.000-08:00

So I have a million things I could be doing but NO... I have become addicted to my new found friend picnik.com.... I am sure that there are many gaps to fill in since my last "real" post from before christmas but insteadI am going to share my fun little edits from today~ ENJOY!

Precious Little Darlins'

2008-02-05T19:40:00.000-08:00

Brayden & Kennedy Christmas 2007

This is one of my favorite pics right now....they totally staged thier own photo. I also found this great little editting tool (I am sure you already know about it!) picnik.com...LOVE IT!

Enjoy the pic of my babies!

40 Tips for an Exceptional New Year

2008-01-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you must.
3. Buy a TiVo (DVR), tape your late night shows and get more sleep.
4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, "My purpose is to___________ today."
5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6. Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7. Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8. Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9. Dream more while you are awake.
10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat fewer foods that are not manufactured in plants.
11. Drink plenty of water.
12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.
14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the energy vampires away.
18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
22. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets because today IS special.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
32. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
33. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34. The best is yet to come.
35. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
36. Do the right thing!
37. Call your family often.
38. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements:"I am thankful for __________."Today I accomplished _________.
39. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.
40. Enjoy the ride. Remember that this is not Disney World and you certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

2007-10-22T17:07:00.000-07:00

A dragon, a princess and a lot of rain...

After being water logged in the house all day we had exhausted our normal activities and had to bust out the princess castle tent. Knowing my children have a flair for drama, costumes were a must and the "mini fairytale" that followed...well just watch. There are 3 videos but I will only make you watch one...

Never fear...in videos 2 and 3 the princess slays the dragon herself (once with her wand- wackt to the face, and once with a sword- kind of...) And everyone lived happily ever after!

Vacation Pics (finally)

2007-09-01T21:34:00.001-07:00

I know, we went on vacation the first week of July and I am just getting the pics up..better late than never, right? The whole family went to Cabo San Lucas for a few days and loved every minute of it! The kids LOVED swimming and eating all day- who doesn't?! Brayden would live on the beach if he could, Kennedy on the other hand is a pool kind of gal. She performed for a big crowd singing and dancing) on stage 2 ngihts with Brayden coaching her from the side of the stage. He was Mr Dare devil trying to crash the waves. We found Kennedy's inner diva (you will see in the sunglass picture) and Brayden's ability to SOAR through the air above the pool (good thing Papaw, dad and Uncle Dusty like to play catch!) Needless to say, we are ready to go back!

Other updates:
We are trying to sell our house and move north. We are tired of the OKC-Edmond commute... so say a little prayer for that. Brayden started tee ball this week. His first game is Thursday. This should be entertainment at its finest! I know I am proud mama, but he hhas a pretty good little swing! OC is back in action so Chance has been running like crazy. He started the MBA program this summer and is teaching an adjunct class as well. Sonshine School kicks off Tuesday so we are about to get back into some kind of routine. My youngest cousin plays football for Pitt State in Kansas so we are trekking that way several weekends to watch him play (GO GORILLAS!) I have started the quest for Halloween costumes...last year she was a fairy and he was a pirate so I want to branch out alittle this year. Let me know if you see something cute. My website is finally finished and ready to go! Thanks to everyone who has been checking it out. I have added a few Halloween items and I am starting on Christmas very soon. And just in case you are a bargain hunter...the Pass It On consignment sale is this weekend (www.passitonkids.com.) I think that gets us up to speed!

WAY BEHIND (and my new website)

2007-07-23T21:46:00.000-07:00

SO, when I started this little "blogging venture" I thought it would be a great way to show off our bambinos and stay caught up with everyone else...what I found out was- life happens. As you can see my weekly/monthly blogging has quickly gone to a post every 3 months!

We have made a lot of trips to the zoo, Omniplex and to Uncle Dusty's pool, not to mention the blow up monster pool in our backyard. Of course that all takes place in between the torrential rain!! We also took a family vacation to Cabo San Lucas earlier this month with my parents, grandma and brother-FUN! (pictures to follow in the next blog.)

My parents and grandmother have successfully made the move to Edmond and we are about to put our house on the market so we don't have to make the big commute everyday into Edmond. In the middle of all of that I have opened my own online boutique featuring custom artwork and accessories for kids. www.doodledesignshop.com It is still under construction but if you visit you will see a few of my designs and can quickly access my Etsy store (which is filling in while I work on the website.) If the link works...you can see some of the listings I have on Etsy from the blog...or check out my etsy store directly at http://doodledesigns.etsy.com.

There will be a TON of pictures and video in my next post (that was your warning!!)

Brayden turns 4!!!!

2007-05-27T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ahoy there matey- Pirate Parties ahead!

May 5th our little guy turned 4! Where does the time go? Of course we had to drag the birthday festivities out for several weeks, having several parties and a LOT of pirate cookies...AARRGGHH! (My first attempt at actual cookie decoration I might add...)

We moved his parties (we had a family cook out and our first "kid" party) back a week beacuse of rain. But we had to do something on his actual birthday so we got up and opened presents, ate pirate birthday cookies and then partied at Incredible Pizza with Papaw and Lainey. Pirate cookies again on Tuesday when we celebrated at Sonshine School....

Birthday Act II- Kid party!! The next Saturday we invited a few kids from school to a Pirate Party in our backyard. Of course I went overboard and planned "centers" (the teacher comes out in me too often), had a mini lunch and more pirate cookies. Brayden insisted on wearing his Pirate costume from halloween but had the typical birthday breakdown during the party. Uncle Dusty bought him the enormous pool/waterpark and some kiddos stayed after for the grand opening swim...it was a big hit! THANKS Uncle Dusty!!

That evening the family came over for a cookout...more food and more presents. It was a great (and exhausting) day. In a blink of an eye my little guy went from a pacifier baby to PIRATE! Enjoy every minute...they pass too quickly!

Caching up....

2007-04-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hippity Hoppity...a little late!

Well, I am a little behind on my blogging so here is a recap of the past few weeks...

This was the first year that both kids dyed Easter eggs. They LOVED it but they also prefered to use thier hands instead of spoons to fish out the eggs from the dye. Needless to say Kennedy's hands, feet and legs were stained for a day or two. Did I mention she only liked the red dye? She also tried to eat an egg or two... As you remember Easter was frigid but we had fully intended on going to the church egg hunt. The kiddos opted for a swim in Dusty's pool (heated luckily) instead so we just hunted eggs at his house after the swim. That was enough for them.
OTHER VANOVER HAPPENINGS- We are loving spending more time outside and at the zoo. We have started the total yard makeover so the kids have spent a lot of time in the mud lately. Chance laid sod in the backyard, aka the dirt farm, which has been a great change for us. He also has been replacing the siding on the back of the house and dad is helping him build a deck. In the midst of the construction Brayden stepped on a nail- it went straight through his croc. He was very brave (only crawling around when he thought it would pull the needed sympathy) and has healed nicely...no doctor visit needed.

We had a milestone at our house last week. With 2 toddlers we became very lax with the kiddos getting in our bed in the middle of the night. Since everyone is so big we were too crowded and with a little positive reinforcement Brayden now sleeps in his bed all night. Who knew that the incentive of getting WHACK-A-MOLE after 5 consecutive nights was so powerful (so if you have an overwhleming urge to get in a game of whack-a-mole come on over!)

I think that about covers it for now../next up- Brayden turns 4!!!

Lake Tahoe Family Excursion

2007-03-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

As most of you know we headed to Lake Tahoe last week with the entire family (cousins and all) totalling about 16 people! We are so blessed to have the family we do. The entire trip went very smoothly, everyone enjoyed the weekend. The kiddos held up very well considering the time change, family overload and lack of adequate naps.

We went sledding, checked out Reno, Donnar's Pass (yes the cannibal adventure site), boated around Lake Tahoe and took in a little tourist action at Heavenly. I will keep the details to that and let the pictures tell the rest. To say the least it was BEAUTIFUL! (We are still going through vacation detox though...) Thanks for keeping us in your prayers as we traveled!

Here it goes....

2007-03-18T16:27:00.001-07:00

I just thought I was technologically savvy until I was informed that "everyone" had a mysapce page and a blog but me! So in an attempt to stay savvy here is my newest way to show off our little darlings!

Let me catch you up to speed on the Vanover House....
In January I started teaching at Sonshine School where the kids go on Tuesday and Thursdays. I love it! I get to be with wonderful people and see my kids grow in different ways. Lainey and Papaw have baby goats so we trek to "the farm" often to check on them. The past few weeks we have made a lot of new friends by having playdates with some of my college girlfriends and thier kiddos. Since spring has been peeking out lately, we have spent A LOT of time outside terrorizing insects and playing in the dirt and at the zoo. And lastly, we are embarking on a family vacation, I mean the entire family-cousins and all, to see my aunt & uncle at Lake Tahoe this week. Say a little prayer for the pilot of that plane!!

That about sums it up, but just in case here are a few pictures to fill in the gaps.....

Spring Pictures

2007-03-18T16:22:00.001-07:00