My baby is Two!

Lydia got herself locked inside the shower. Bless her heart, but she couldn't figure out that she needed to push on the handle and not pull. Emma and I got a good laugh out of her little learning experience.

Taking some of the kids to explore a local park. It is so bloody hot outside that we don't even care when the kids submerge themselves in the sprinklers and water faucets.

These are long, hot, summer days. We try to stay as wet as possible to get us through.

We had a fabulous girls lunch at cheesecake factory. We learned to go BEFORE the guys go knock doors so they can stay with the kids. The Luau Salad is pictured below this one, it is my most favorite salad there ever was.

Keeping cool at the play area at the mall.

The bath tub really is like a swimming pool for the girls.

We celebrated Lydia's second birthday today. She is so sweet and gentle and our family just wouldn't be the same without her.

To celebrate her birthday we let her ride the carousel at the mall....

...and also go to the car wash, her other favorite activity.

I hopped on the latest trend and put glitter tattoos on the girls to celebrate Lydia's birthday.

We had a BBQ at the pool with all of our friends

It wouldn't be complete without rough housing from the guys

The one request of the day was that Brewster (Merril's dog) come to Lydia's party. She was thrilled to see him!

We've got a great group of friends out here who have been so good to treat our girls like family. It was nice to have so many people to celebrate Lydia's birthday.

We ended the night by opening her presents at home. It was a great day as a family and I'm glad it was so busy and fun so I didn't notice the ache in my heart that my baby is now a toddler.

Mondays is .75 movie day. I took the kids to see Hoodwinked 2 (worth .75 cents but that's all) then later that night a group of us went to see Soul Surfer, I highly recommend.

I love nothing more than having the whole pool to ourselves. Doesn't happen too often, but sure is nice when it does.

Vivint takes us out to eat a lot. Our group is always the first to arrive and the last to leave. It's like we can't get enough of each other.

If the girls have been really good I let them stay up until Ryan gets home and then go for a dip with him in the pool. It makes their day.

Lydia got herself locked in her bedroom and there weren't any door keys to be found. She had to wait until her scrappy dad got home to get her out. We slid her Nilla wafers under the door to keep her content.

Saturday night was a treat for many reasons. One was that Misty and Bill had our girls over for a "late night" with a movie and treat while we joined the rest of our group for dinner at Flemmings. For 13 of us to eat the bill came to over $1000!!! Yikes!! This is the perk from being on a very large and successful team, can't hate that.

The steak and sea food was truly the best I've had. The bread, spread, and salad were also on a whole other level. It was midnight before we left there, but it was a great way to end a long week.

We're not in Kansas anymore

My little girls are so fun to shop for. They are so excited and appreciative of new things that I buy for them. Gap was having some wicked sales going on and I couldn't help but start Emma's back to school shopping. Lydia's outfit is baby Gap and only cost $11 for the whole shabang, again, I couldn't resist. But who wouldn't want to dress up these little loves?

For the team dinner this week they hosted a pool pizza party in lieu of having their meeting. They also had a belly flop contest and the winner got $100. The guys got pretty creative with how to create the biggest slap.

We had no idea but some of our old friends moved out to Wichita and we randomly bumped into them at church one week. So Hayley Beus and I met up for lunch and the park a couple times and it was so nice to reconnect. This photo below was taken as the tornado sirens were going off and she was kind enough to invite us over to huddle in her basement until the danger passed.
We have kept busy and just been having so much fun. Every day is a new adventure. The photo of Emma below is the day I thought I would be a good mom and let her enjoy playing in the mud. Sadly, it ruined her little outfit....guess that's what I get for going against my better instinct. But oh well, clothes can be replaced, but memories can't.
So I have been reading the Help and I find myself being so much more drawn to black people. We were feeding the ducks one afternoon and these little girls were just watching us. So I sent Emma over with some slices of bread and the girls had fun joining us in feeding them.

Sunday was a leisurely day as usual. We ended the evening with a few of the team members having a great game of football.


Hayley has given me some great tips on places to visit in the Wichita area. One of which is this unique doughnut cafe. Our favorite flavors were maple bacon doughnuts and also maple sea salt. Who would have ever guessed they could be so yummy?

We spend most of our spare time with the Wimmers. Landon was kind enough to take Emma on a motorcycle ride and it was the highlight of her day.

This was our last day in the Wichita area. I must say that Wichita has some VERY nice areas and if a person could live without mountains, I could definitely see them having a happy life here. Nothing is fast paced, very laid back, and very Christian. My favorite aspect of Kansas is that they know how to do neighborhoods. These neighborhoods ALL have an HOA. They have charm and appeal and everyone takes care of their property. The photos below are from Ryan's last area he knocked in. I just love the Kansas style of homes.

I am so thankful for my android phone. We spent three full days packing, moving, and unpacking down in Tulsa. Emma is happy as a clam when I let her play with my phone. The painting app. can keep her busy all day long.

I finally finished my book, the Help. Thanks Lee for the great recommendation, AND for providing the book. It has left me heavy in thought over how I treat others and what my character would portray if someone wrote a book about me.


It is so fun being out in Tulsa. The apartment complex is huge and has so much to offer. Our units are double the size of our Wichita units. The girls are so happy and it is great to have some new faces and new kids to get to know. Saturday the guys work 12 hours, so the wives all got together for lunch. There are two little boys, ages 6 and 7 and Emma has fun playing with them.
Also, it's nice to be playing games again. We were the last of the group to make our way down to Tulsa and we missed having friends to stay up late with. Notice that the clock in our apartment says 2 am. We really like the group down here and we all have so much fun together, especially once the kids are in bed.

We had a great Father's Day with Ryan. We ended the day by catching fireflies. They are SO BEAUTIFUL! They look like gold glitter in the middle of the woods. However, once you actually catch them, they are rather hideous. This was such a fun night, and Ryan and I might have enjoyed it more than the girls :)

SPARKLING lemonade

Every Saturday night and Sunday night we gather in the lobby of the hotel and play games with a group of other Vivint members. We always have a great time and enjoy playing our favorite games.
We don't get much time off but this week we were able to go to Abuelos with Kylee and Brody. Our girls ADORE them which really solidifies their place as our favorite couple.

We get free passes to the YMCA and have enjoyed having that around the corner. The facilities really are SO nice and it is a great way for us to pass the time. The indoor pool is our favorite activity so far.

That's Kylee, just reading her book while we swim. Boring for her, but even still, we love to have her company wherever we go.

Kylee left to head back to Utah today, and we are so sad to have her go. She did leave us behind with the best discovery ever....sparkling lemonade!! Kylee introduced me to this product, and now our fridge is constantly stocked with them.

There are four YMCA gyms in the city, and all have their own draws. Brittney and Sailor joined us to check out this pool, it had a wave pool that kept us entertained the whole time and was a fun break from our daily routine.

This was the floor model at JC Penny in their patio department, and they let me buy it for $5. I can't believe I even debated about it. I have definitely got my money's worth!

This day was not so fun. I had a rather painful UTI. However, I am very thankful for the health care that is available to me, even when I am out of state. All was well in my world again within 24 hours.

These little sisters are just soooo funny. I LOVE how they play together. Seeing their friendship develop really does melt my heart. However, the sibling rivalry has begun. For now, it is kind of cute and comical to me, but I don't know if I will be singing that same tune by month's end.

We checked out the River Festival that Wichita hosts every year. It's no Rose Festival like Portland throws, but that's tough to compete with. I wasn't overly impressed, but it gave us a reason to see the city and get out with some other team members for an adventure.

I LOVED this day. We have had record breaking highs, so today was over 100 degrees. Sad for Bundy to be knocking doors in this heat, but the girls and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves laying pool side. We spent ALL day at the pool, and Emma and I stayed out while Lydia took a couple of naps. This is one little girl who is NOT home-sick, and I don't blame her.

Ahhh, this is the life

Thursday we were all loaded up, ready to leave when we discovered the car battery was dead. A pretty rough start to the day. We finally gave in and just went and bought a new battery that my neighbor Mike installed and came to our rescue yet again. We were on the road by 2 and pulled into our Denver hotel at 11. The girls were so good, especially Lydia who won the grand prize for best behavior.

Friday we left Denver around noon and drove 8 hours to Wichita, Kansas where Ryan and his team are temporarily staying. The drive was incredibly boring and flat, but went by fast. We pulled in about the same time as Ryan was getting off work so we went and picked him up. It had been 32 days since we had seen him, I just don't know how Army wives do it.

The girls have been loving the hotel life. We have nothing to do but play. The hotel we're at provides a free breakfast and dinner, maid service, and free passes to the YMCA....who am I kidding, I am loving this life as much as anyone.

Sunday is the only day off. Most everyone goes to church and then we all met up for a day at the pool. The team met their goal so they hosted the yummiest BBQ dinner and we had fun getting to know some other families who we will be spending the summer with.

It's so nice having someone else to help put the girls to bed. It's not hard to do, they go to bed good, but it is still nice to have two parents in the family again.

The storms have been cause for concern. Luckily they keep just barely missing us. We enjoyed a great thunderstorm and down poor, but haven't had anything too serious......yet.
My cousin Kylee and her husband Brody also came out to sell for two months. Kylee drove out here with me to see her husband for ten days and then will fly back to Utah for work. It's been fun having a couple to rotate dinner with and just talk and visit with in the evenings.

Kylee is like an aunt to my girls. She adores them and they adore her. I will miss having someone so willing to play with them so I can run errands, or in this case, go and knock doors with Ryan. I'm so glad I went and am so proud of Ryan for the daunting task he faces each day.
The weather here is bi-polar. One day it will be freezing and storming it's guts out, then 12 hours later there is not a cloud in the sky and we spend the day pool side. The photo of Lydia expresses so well...Ahhhhh this is the life.

I was so pleased that Lydia was entertaining herself and being so quiet, until I discovered it was because she was playing with my jewelery. I was crushed when I realized she broke my most favorite necklace that I got in Thailand. I was upset until this little scene unfolded and Emma gave her such sweet comfort. My necklace may be broken forever, but at least I got this tender moment in exchange.