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'

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

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.

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)

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)

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!!!!

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!