Two years 'til 30!

Well...today was the big day. I am officially 28 now! Richard just can't stop reminding me that it is only 2 years until I'm the BIG 3-0! But hey, it's just time! :)
In honor of the big day, here is a list of my Top 28 Favorite Things! (I "bloglifted" this idea from Sara!)
1. Harper Grace...she is the light of my world! Even though she is 3 going on 13!
2. Richard...I couldn't ask for a better soulmate and father for my daughter!
3. Family...it is so nice to be around people who like to laugh as much as I do!
4. Friends...especially everyone who sent me birthday wishes today via phone, text, email, and birthday cards! It is so awesome to know that I have so many people in my life that remembered me on my special day! Thanks!
5. Dogs...and cats...and turtles...and rabbits...and guinea pigs...and hamsters...and hermit crabs...and rats! Yes, I have all of these. Kinda like Noah!
6. Eating Out!
7. Dressing Up for Church on Sunday!
8. Scrapbooking...I can't tell if it is a passion or if I am a full blown addict.
9. Shoes and Purses!
10. Coca-Cola! even better from Sonic!
11. Photography...learning how to use my camera in new ways.
12. The OSU Cowboys!
13. Jewelry! Especially necklaces! ;)
14. Sidewalk Chalk...Harper and I play almost everyday on the driveway. I guess the bigger I draw, the more artistic I feel!
15. Shopping the Sale Rack.
16. Trying to tell jokes! Ask anyone...I usually can't remember the punch line!
17. Wearing Jeans and Sweatshirts on a Fall Afternoon!
18. Kids...especially those in High School. The make each day an adventure.
19. FlipFlops!
20. Any picture of Harper!
21. Saving Money! I love %s off!
22. America's Got Talent, CSI, Law & Order, Lipstick Jungle, and DVR because it allows me to watch all of these!
23. Dressing Harper up like my Barbie Doll!
24. Purple, Purple and more Purple!
25. Teaching kids, teaching teachers, and teaching myself!
26. When Harper paints my toenails and I paint hers! I just have to use a lot of remover on mine.
27. Big, Juicy, Fresh Orange Slices (the candy...not the fruit, are you kidding!?!)
28. Dreaming Big!

Silly Saturday at the Barlow's!

Well...sorry for the delay in posts...we just got back from a trip to Branson last night. I will post more on that later.

First...here is the post I meant to send before we left!

Saturday was a super fun day at our house...Harper got to stay home and hang out, one of her favorite things to do. She spent the morning vegin' with Daddy wathcin' some cartoons.

Then she tried out her new soccer shirt from Gus. And of course had to kick the ball around a few times. She feels like a pro! Thanks Gus!!!



Next adventure of the day was courtesy of mom, the science teacher. Have you ever heard of the saying, "This cement is hot enough to fry an egg!"? Well...we tested it out. The cement was soooo hot, and we had eggs. Well...it took awhile, but yes, the egg did fry!





Last silly thing on the agenda was the 3D Hannah Montana concert on the Disney Channel. Harper and I had been waiting all week. We went to Wal-Mart, picked up our complimentary 3D glasses earlier in the week and couldn't wait until Saturday. The quality of the show was a little subpar, but none the less Harper was still very excited!


Saturday was a very silly day at the Barlow House, but it was all about making memories! :)

The last few days...

Well...we have been back to doing "summer" things the past two days, now that summer school is over. Yesterday, we took Harper and her friend Gracen to the movies. Our new movie theatre in town has free kids movies at 10 am. They are older movies, but FREE is good! We saw Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. It was such a cute movie and I had never heard of it.

Today, Harper went to Grandma T's to play, while I recruited Rich to come and move tables in my classroom. Harper was so glad to get to see her dolly Goldilocks at Grandma T's house. This afternoon, the three of us went to Kimbell Pool and swam for about 45 minutes. Harper is getting so much better about swimming this year! We are proud of her. Here is a pic of her at swimming lessons in June!

A Proud Momma Moment!

Yippee! Hooray! And all of the other words I can think...she finally didit! She ran at her soccer game without Mom or Dad by her side. It may not seem like a big feat, but she had the whole crowd cheering because they have been watching her (or us) run around all season! It was the best feeling in the world, a true milestone!

She was such a trooper...she even kicked the ball several times. Her Daddy, Grandma, Aunt Cindy, and I watched with gigantic smiles on our faces! She even started waving to the ref when she ran by him...like "Hey how's it going? I'm just running...BY MYSELF!"

She even got a special gift tonight from her cousin Gus! It is a real German Soccer Shirt. She was speechless and just kept touching it. She is so proud of it and can't wait to wear it. I will get some pics of that and post them soon!

Go Harper Go!

Having a blast in Coldwater!

Last Tuesday afternoon, Harper and I set out on an adventure. Kinda like Thelma and Louise, with a different ending! :)
We went to stay with my best friend Sara, remember the reason I am blogging, and her two adorable kiddos, Preston and Cambree! Coldwater is a much smaller town than Yukon, but that is why I love it sooo much. It is relaxing there, carefree! It reminds me of the Rascal Flatts song, "...sitting on the front porch drinking ice cold cherry coke. Where people pass by and you call them by their first name." I always feel refreshed after visiting Sara!
The first afternoon, we took the kids to the swimming pool and Sara and I went back to the water aerobics class that she teaches. I even participated...and loved it! I wish we had something like that here in Yukon. That evening, we got the kids all dolled up and took them to the park for a photo shoot. Sara is taking her talent to the next level and branching into the world of professional photography. She is so awesome and will do great things with her new business. You should check out the pics she took of Harper, Preston, and Cambree...and I even possed for a few. Visit her blog to get a link to view!
We had a wonderful time, but had to get back to Summer School! Yuck! We had company on the way back which was nice. Harper's best friend Gracen's cousins live in Coldwater and they rode back with us to spend a little time with the Hoke Family!

One fish, two fish...

No Fish! Well...Harper went fishing for the first time with her Grandpa and Daddy. They set out last Saturday to attempt to catch fish on Lake Hefner. She had a blast! The best part to her was getting to "drive" Grandpa's boat! Richard said she just went around and around and around in circles. She is having an awesome summer!

And Mom got to have a little time to herself...so what did I do, I went shopping for Harper! I went to our local children's boutique, Sorella Due, for their semi-annual 50% off sale. I got some great deals and came home with 5 pairs of shoes for her! Yikes! I am creating a monster, aren't I? Oh well, a girl can never have too many shoes!

Where did our Elephants go?

Okay...so the last time we went to the OKC Zoo, something was missing. And we go enough that Harper knows if something is out of place. So the first stop of that particular morning was at the Elephants...but wait...they were GONE! What is a mother to do? I scoured the railing and came across a sign that detailed the elephants' departure. They were on a vacation at the Tulsa Zoo to "get babies." :) "How long will they be gone Mom?" I looked at the sign again...was I reading it correctly. TWO YEARS!!! In a 3 year old's mind...that is forever. She then stated that we MUST go and visit them. So where did we go...The Tulsa Zoo!

I had never been to the Tulsa Zoo before, but I loved it. It was smaller than the OKC Zoo but very clean and kid friendly. The first thing we did was go to visit the elephants. And as soon as Harper saw them she yelled, "They missed me Mom!" I am sure they did little darling. We stopped on the way up there to get her a disposable camera and I thought she was going to use it all on the elephants. But we moved on.

We spent 3 super fun, but very hot hours at the Zoo looking at bears, monkeys, etc. They even had penguins, which we don't have in OKC. The last part of the day we paid a little extra to enter Feather Fest. It was soooo cool! We were each given a popsicle stick that was covered with birdseed and held it out for the birdies to eat from. Harper was holding her stick and a bird jumped right on it. She wasn't scared, she just said, "Look...Mom...Mommy!" She is such a brave girl. Then, of course, Mom, the Zoology teacher had to give it a try! :)

Of course, it wouldn't be a complete trip to Tulsa without a trip to Scraphappy's, my heaven on earth! And for Daddy...we made a trip to our fav Tulsa restaurant, Goldie's!

The Annual Family Vacation...

We recently returned home from our annual family vacation. This year we returned to one of our favorite places...Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks...Wyoming! Richard, Harper and I traveled with my parents in their 5thWheel or "Vacation Home" as Harper likes to call it.

After the more than 24 hours of driving, we arrived at Yellowstone NP. While we are there, we set out each day to see the sights of the most beautiful and intriguing places our country has to offer.

We saw Old Faithful, The Mud Pots, Mammoth, and had a chance to drive to every entrance to Yellowstone except one. We also visited the towns of Gardiner, Montana, Cody and West Yellowston, Wyoming. Lots of fun touring...but the most fun was walking to the little store by our campsite every night to get an ice cream treat! :)

After our 4 day stay at Yellowstone, we headed south to Jackson Hole, WY. While there, we toured the town and did a little shopping (getting Harper some clothes for back to school!). We stayed at Colter Bay in Grand Teton NP (probably the prettiest mountain range I have ever seen!). Richard and I even got a chance to give Kayaking a go. Super fun! We are trying to find a place in Oklahoma to make it our new hobby!

At the end of the trip, Richard, Harper and I flew home from Jackson Hole on the 4th of July! We got to see fireworks from the sky...Amazing!

Well...here goes nothing!

Ok...so I am finally joining the blogging world. Thanks to my friend Sara...who inspired me to share the everyday happenings of my family! Feel free to check back often...I will try to update this frequently. I bet I do better because it is summer and I am home. We'll see! Enjoy!