Crystal's News

OU/OSU Game

2008-12-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

Jeff and I got to go to the OU/OSU football game Saturday night. We had so much fun. It was so worth standing in the freezing cold. Football is so much better in person than watching it on TV. Maybe next year I will get to go to more than one game.
Don't we make the cutest couple!

Dressing Nice for School

2008-12-02T18:07:00.000-08:00

I have to share this picture and the story that goes along with it. Nathan decided one day that he and Lane needed to dress nice for school. Lane thought that was a great idea. The next week Lane wanted to dress in his nice clothes again. So I let him. He was soooooo funny. When he was dressed and ready for school he danced around the living room and told me he was a rock star in these clothes. When he arrived at school he strutted all the way to class. Several people told him he looked hansom including Ms. Rolland. When someone would tell him he was hansom he would say I know. It's funny now but I'm not sure how we will handle him when he is older.

Fall Day Motorcyle Ride

2008-12-02T17:35:00.000-08:00

A few weekends ago, when the weather was still permitting, Jeff and I went for a two day motorcycle ride. We had so much fun. The boys stayed with grandparents and we drove and drove and drove. We put over 300 miles on my motorcycle. We drive all around the Illinois River and up Highway 10. The trees were beautiful. The weather was wonderful. The time spent together was priceless.

Halloween Skeletons

2008-11-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

The boys decided to be skeletons this year for halloween. Nathan wanted to be one since September. When we went to find halloween costumes, Lane could not find one that he liked and Nathan conviced him it would be cool if they were dressed alike. I think it turned out pretty cute.

I had to post this picture of Nathan. It's one of the last with his front tooth. He has now lost both front teeth. I tell people he lost them so he could sing All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth. It took a couple of days to get used to the sight of him without teeth.

We took the boys to trunk or treat this year. There was one truck they could climb into. In this picture Nathan and Lane are waiting to climb in. They both look a little nervous.

After trunk or treat we took them to a neighborhood to trick or treat. This is the first year we have done that. They really enjoyed it quite a bit. Aren't they the most adorable skeletons you have ever seen.

Birthday Cakes

2008-10-19T13:29:00.000-07:00

I made cakes for my niece and nephew's birthday party. Originally Mariah wanted a flower cake. Then she decided she wanted to share her party with her brother so we changed it to football and cheerleader. She loves being a cheerleader.

At the party we had cookies for the kids to decorate. They had a lot of fun. I'll have to remember this for Nathan and Lane's party when they roll around. Nathan decorated 5 cookies. He had to decorate one for me and one for his dad. He is always thinking of others.

Air and Space Museum

2008-10-19T13:23:00.000-07:00

Nathan's class field trip was to the Air and Space Museum. Lane got to go along.

They got to climb into a plane and play around. Of course Lane climbed in with Nathan. Nathan enjoys his role as big brother. He makes sure Lane gets to do everything he does.

Baby Shower

2008-10-19T13:17:00.000-07:00

Brittney and I decorated for Kendra's baby shower. She is due Nov. 11. I'm not sure if she will make it that long. Her belly is so cute. She is one of those women that don't show any sign of pregnancy except for the belly. They are having another girl. Aspen is so excited. Brittney made a very pretty diaper cake for the baby shower.

Walk A Thon

2008-10-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

The school fundraiser was a walk a thon. Both to the boys enjoyed walking.

Lane got tired of walking and I ended up carrying him at the end. Lane's class did not have to walk the whole way. They only had to walk the track. Lane got a little more exercise than the rest of them.

Day with Friends

2008-10-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Chance and Rayleigh came over and spent the afternoon with us. We had lots of fun.
Chance loved crawling in and out of the bunk bed. He thought it was so funny.
Rayleigh enjoyed having different toys to play with, even if they were all boy toys.
What's that. Chance said that several times that day. It was the first thing I had ever heard him say. It was so cute.

2008-08-28T11:59:00.000-07:00

This post is for those of you who just can't picture me on a motorcycle. I have to admit it took a little while for me to get used to the idea myself. I think Jeff looks a little more natural on his. I do feel much better since we took the motorcycle safety course and we both have our endorsement on our license. So we are all safe and legal. It is a lot of fun when we get the chance to go for a ride. A couple of weeks ago the boys stayed the night with my parents and we got to go for a ride around the lake. It was a little cool in the morning so it made for a perfect ride. It was so much fun going around all the curves around the lake. My motorcycle now has over 200 miles. I hope to put more on it soon. Jeff gets to ride his much more than I do. He actually rode his to Stillwater yesterday. He said he didn't think he would do that again next week. His rear end and arms were tired when he got home.

Day at the Zoo

2008-08-26T19:37:00.001-07:00

Going on a Rabbit Hunt

2008-08-26T12:35:00.000-07:00

These pictures have the funniest story. I was in the living room doing my yoga video. Which takes up the TV and bores the boys. They noticed a baby rabbit outside in my tomato garden and decided they needed to go hunting. So they go in their room and get themselves ready for the hunt. As you can see in the background it had been raining quite a bit, and was still lightly sprinkling. I quess that is why the decided on the hats. Every once in a while I could see them running by the window full force after the poor baby rabbit.

I still can't get over their outfits. Nathan the avid hunter was dressed in head to toe in as much camo as he could find in his room. Along with his rubber boots so he could splash in every water puddle he could find. Lane has on his pajama Batman shirt, his favorite pants (which are now way too short), his cowboy vest (upside down), his rubber boots and his trusty sword. I'm not sure what he planned on doing if he caught that poor rabbit.

Last Day of School

2008-08-26T12:29:00.001-07:00

I know I'm going about this a little backwards, but here are a couple of pics of Nathan on his last day of Kindergarten. He loved being in Mrs. Ireland's class. He had so much fun. I'm hoping the Lane with end up in her class next year. I believe she has the patients of Job, and they were always doing something fun in her class.

First Day of School

2008-08-18T12:33:00.001-07:00

OK. OK. OK. I'm finally back. I know I'm a little behind on my blog but life happens. I'm going to try to do a little better this time. Now that Lane is in school for a whole two hours I may have a little time to do a few things I like to do. Like keeping my blog updated. It may take several entries before I can catch up from the summer.

These pics are from the first day of school. I don't have one of Nathan in his classroom because for the first time I did not walk him to class. So many firsts.

My boys are growing up so fast. They seem to change every day. If Nathan does not slow down the is going to be taller than me before he is in the second grade.

I took several pictures of them when I dropped them off and when I picked them up. Lane decided that he needed to take a picture of me. So here I am on their first day of school. Along with Lane's little finger. Pretty good for a 4 year old.

Babies Everywhere

2008-04-11T07:38:00.000-07:00

We picked up our new baby goat last night. We still have not decided on a name. She will either be Rose or Lilly. The boys are both already attached to her. They are sitting on the couch with her even though I have told them several times, she does not need to be on the furniture. I had to get up with her a few times last night. It reminded my why I'm done having babies. I'll stick to the goat kids.

A couple of Killdeer have layed their eggs in our driveway. Nathan thinks it is funny to walk by the nest so the birds fly off and act like they are hurt. When I took this picture there were three eggs, now there are four. I hope they make it through all the rain and winds we have been having lately. I love spring.

Easter With A Broken Arm

2008-04-01T09:14:00.000-07:00

We took these pictures on Easter Sunday. We did not do much that day. We went to Jeff's mom and dad's house for lunch and that was about it. The boys did not get to hunt eggs this year. It was to cold outside. Being the overprotective mother I am I did not want Nathan risking falling on his arm again.
These are the first picture I have of Nathan with his broken arm. He has not wanted me to take any of him up until now. I think he is getting used to having his splint. He has not been complaining of pain to much, unless he think it will get him out of trouble. He has been quite a trooper through this whole thing. I think boys are born with the idea that they can't let people see them cry, except mom and dad. When he had pins put in his arm, we had to wait outside. After they let us go back to see him, he was upset because he cried when they woke him up. Jeff and I both told him several times it was ok to cry. It's hard watching your baby go through something like that. I am thankful to God everyday that our boys are happy and healthy.

Muffins with Mom

2008-04-01T08:50:00.000-07:00

Lane enjoyed Muffins with Mom day as much as I did. We got to go to school with Nathan for about 45 minutes. We had muffins in the cafeteria then went to his class to see how they start their day. Lane did not want to leave. Nathan loves having his little brother in class with him. I think he would take him every day if he could.

One afternoon we were messing around with my camera. We had a lot of fun making silly faces and taking pictures. I need to take more time to just be silly with them. They are growing up so fast.

Wild Country

2008-01-22T14:33:00.000-08:00

We went and picked up our pig saturday. Lane and I got to ride in the back seat with him. Isn't he cute. Well I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For now he is in Jeff's office. We are going to have to add on to the house before he will fit.

Jeff and I have been working on the fence for the last couple of weeks. This was the second week. The first day I did not have gloves. My hands looked horrible. I think I will keep this picture for future reference for anyone who says I don't do anything. I look like an old farm hand. I think I could have made it in the wild west.

Nathan's 6th Birthday

2008-01-21T10:32:00.000-08:00

Nathan had a great 6th birthday. He had a transformer theme. We had his party at the church and he got to invite his friends from church and a few from school. It is so fun watching him grow up. (Just a little note, after seeing myself in these pics I decided it is definately time for a diet.)

As you can see Nathan had lots of help opening his presents. It was a little hard to see what he was doing, but he loved every minute of it. The little boy wearing the black T-shirt is Nathan's friend Ethan. He was in Nathan's pre-k class and his class this year. The party was on Saturday and Ethan and his family left for Japan on Tuesday. We were very glad that he could make. Nathan has been sad about him leaving. When he talks about it he gets a little teary eyed.

Christmas Tree

2007-12-04T09:37:00.000-08:00

We finally got around to putting up our Christmas tree. Nathan has been harrassing us for some time to get it put up.

We decided to get a real tree this year. I think it looks great. I put the lights on and let the boys put all the other decorations on it. The had a lot of fun playing with the tree and santa. I hope their joy of the Christmas season last for many years.

Halloween Fun

2007-11-02T14:36:00.000-07:00

We had lots of Halloween fun this year. As you can see Nathan was Batman and Lane was a blue Power Ranger. We went to my mom and dad's church on Saturday for a carnival. They had so much fun. The had a small blow up slide for the little kids and a blow up obstacle course for all the kids plus games and a hay ride. They had so much fun. It was hard to get them off the obstacle course. Lane would hide in the middle and not come out. Wednesday we had a party in Nathan's class. Mrs. Ireland had the party first thing in the morning and had breakfast instead of cake and cookies. I though it was a great idea. They got their partying over and finished the rest of the day normally. Lane's halloween costume also helped with the potty training. Two weeks ago he was still pottying in his pants. I put his halloween costume in my room and told him he could not have it back unless he pooped in the potty and not in his pants until halloween. It's two days after halloween and he has not had a single accident. Finally something that worked. I just hope he keeps it up.

Work, Work, Work and a Little Play

2007-09-24T09:09:00.000-07:00

I though I would post a picture of Jeff doing what he does when he is not at work. Working on the house. We have talked several times about what would we do if we did not have to work on the house. We wouldn't know what to do with ourselves. In this picture Jeff was running a new electric line for the well house. I though this was a very amusing position for him to be in. The boys tried to "help" him several times by dropping stuff down the hole.

It's not all work and no play. Even though play sometimes seems more like work. These pictures are from earlier in the summer. The boys love going fishing every chance they get.

Nathan doesn't like it when anyone catches more fish than him. Last time we went fishing he got very upset with Jeff because he caught three fish and Nathan only caught one. It took him a couple of days to get over it. Lane could really care less. He usually ends up playing in the pond instead of fishing. Both of the boys enjoy holding the fish and throwing them back.

New Additions

2007-09-24T08:22:00.000-07:00

I know everyone is dying to see the "new" vehicles (yes it's plural as in two). Jeff says they are called a deuce and a half. I'm not really sure what that means I think it's a two ton army truck. As you can see they are very big. The tires are taller than Lane. Nathan loves it when Jeff blows the air horn. It is so loud you can hear it for miles. I'm sure our neighbors love it too.
We have also had a loss and addition to our clan. We lost Lulu (the goat) last thursday. She was sick when we first got her but she got better for a while, she got sick again and went down fast. Before we knew it, she was gone. Saturday we went to visit my grandparents and came home with a baby rabbit. I think we are going to name her Fluffy. It has been a little rough for her to adjust to her new home. I keep telling the boys they are going to make her have a heart attack. I've tried and tried to tell them to be quiet and easy but that is very, very hard for two little boys. I have been keeping her on the screened in back porch until she gets used to us and can stay in the rabbit hutch (I need to work on it a little before I put her is there). This is her third day here and I think she is going to make it just fine.

2007-09-13T08:55:00.000-07:00

OK! I'm finally back. I know it's been a while. I'll try to catch up all at once. The first two pictures are Nathan's first day of school. He loves school. He gets up excited every morning. I hope he stays that way. In the second picture he is in class with Ethan. They were in class together last year. It made the first day a little easier already having a friend. The next pictures are of our goats. We have two now. Daisy has gotten quite big. She is not just a pet she is a family member. She comes running anytime anyone goes outside. She will stand up on the wood part of the fence and give Jeff kisses. I think it is one of the funniest things I have ever seen. I will try to get a picture of her and post it soon. The second goats name is Lulu. She is not as friendly as Daisy. It is taking her a little longer to become a family member. The last picture is of Lane. I am enjoying having more time to spend with him alone while Nathan is in school. I'm not sure what I will do next year when they are both is school. I'll try to keep my blog a little more up to date.

2007-06-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

We started VBS last night. All the kids had a blast. We had 95 kids there. I thought that was quite a few for the first night. Captain VBS (Jeff) and Grouchy Rooster (Josh) did a great job. It was so fun to watch. Jeff was a little nervous at first but once he got there and got into character he did great. Chrish is a good leader. He is very excited when he is in front of the kids. The kids really got into the play. I hope the rest of the week goes as smoothly. Jessica, Barrett recored the action last night. I will get him to make me a copy so you can see it later.

2007-05-30T11:14:00.000-07:00

Nathan had a picinic at school to finish out the year and he received his Pre-K certificate. We have officially made it through his first year of school. Even if it was only two hours a day. Next year will be all day. I'm not sure how Lane will handle brother being gone all day, but I'm pretty sure Nathan will enjoy it. We've got a lot going on this summer so I'm sure it will fly by. I'll try to keep posting to keep everyone up to date but I'm not making any promises.

Lane's Birthday

2007-05-07T12:26:00.000-07:00

Lane had a great 3rd birthday. We had it at Cowboys. We really enjoy having parties there. We have so much room and so much good food. Lane wanted to have a monster truck party so I made him a monster truck cake. Nathan and Lane both enjoyed helping decorate the cake. Of course I think they just wanted to lick the icing off their fingers and spoons. They both love sugar. I'm not sure where they could have gotten that from.

Lane enjoyed opening all of his presents but one. My dad and Mariah (his 3 year old cousin) gave him a lizard. He would not get it out of the bag. As you can see in the picture, I had to get it out for him. The look on his face when he pulled out the tissue paper was priceless. He did not want anything to do with it. There was also a ball in the bag, but he would not get that out until I got the lizard out. As far as I know he still has not touched that lizard.

Meet Daisy

2007-04-17T08:17:00.000-07:00

Easter was a great day for me. I loved having everyone dressed in their Sunday best. Nathan was not to excited about taking a picture with me and Lane. He thought his tie was hurting his neck. When we got to church he decided it was not so bad. He even wanted to wear it to school the next day.

I'm sure everyone is excited to see our new addition. Daisy is a very cute little goat. She was born last Thursday. Nathan has been so excited since I brought her home. He even got up early this moring to take care of her before school. Lane also likes taking care of her. I told him he is no longer the baby of the family, and since he is now a big boy he has to use the big boy potty. He told me he is going to, but I'm not going to hold my breath.

Easter at School

2007-04-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

Today was Nathan's easter egg hunt at school. At first Nathan was not too excited. He did not like the idea that we took his eggs and put all the eggs together to hide them. I had to explain to him that he could not have his eggs back that he would get to keep the eggs he found. It took some conviencing but he finally decided it would be ok.

Lane got to help hide and find the eggs. I think he had more fun hidding than hunting. When we went back inside, they had the cutiest bunny donuts for snack. Nathan shared his with Lane. They can be so sweet sometimes.

Tomorrow we are going to go to my sisters house and hunt eggs again. I hope it will warm up a bit. It was so cold outside today. I was freezing the whole time. The boys don't seem to mind the cold as long as they are getting to do something fun.

Fishing and Swimming

2007-04-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

We have had a great time the last few days. The weather has been good and we have been outside most of the time. Jeff took the boys fishing and Nathan caught two fish. He is holding up the blue gill in the picture. He also caught a bass. Jeff caught a bass which Lane now claims as his. Lane was so excited he wanted to touch the fish Nathan was not as crazy about touching the fish. They both had a blast. They love being outside and doing anything with their dad.

Nathan started swimming lessons today. At first he was a little nervous, but once he got in the water he took to it like a fish. Maybe this summer we will have to get a pool. Lane wanted to swim also but was not quite old enough. I told him he had to go pee-pee and poo-poo in the potty before he could go swimming. Maybe that will help the potty training along a little.

Catching Up

2007-03-23T07:08:00.000-07:00

OK Jessica. I'm finally back to blogging. I didn't realize it had been so long. I'll try to keep it a little more recent. We have had a good spring break week. Jeff came home last Friday, so we had a nice weekend. He really enjoyed his week in San Diego. Monday I had a day with just Nathan. Lane stayed home with his daddy. Nathan and I went to my grandma to do laundry. Not to glamorous but it was fun to have a day with just him. Tuesday we went to the aquarium and the boys a a great time. They talked about all the fish the rest of the week. They also enjoyed playing at the park even if it was cold and rainy. Wednesday we went to my sisters house in Wagoner. We took a picinic and played at the park. My nephews (Wyatt and Tyler) rode there bikes and we lost them for a few minutes. It was a little stressful when we did not know where they were. They got lost in the neighborhood and had to ask for directions to the park. Once we found them we all had a good time. Thursday we enjoyed the day at home. The boys watched movies and played with toys in the house. They finally got ungrounded and could play in the yard Thursday evening. Jeff and I worked in the yard while the boys played. It was really nice to be outside. We drove over to Jeff's mom and dad's house Thursday evening and the boys got new horses. Just what they need more toys. Today we are going to stay home, maybe. Who knows what we may end up doing.

Cabin Fever

2007-01-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

We had a very long week last week. We were stuck inside without electricity. It went off Sunday about 2:00 p.m. and did not come back on until Friday at 8:00 p.m. Needless to say the boys and I got a little bit of cabin fever. The ice was very beautiful on the trees but the picture after the thaw was not quite so pretty. We did not have trees that broke around the house but there is a mess down by the creek. Both of our parents yard look pretty bad. I'm sure Jeff will be busy for a while helping with the clean-up. I'm very greatful no one I know was hurt during or after the storms. Hopefully the rest of winter will be a bit friendlier.
The boys made good use of one of Nathan's birthday presents. (Thanks Jessica) I eventually had to take them away and put them up until a later date. Which has yet to be determined. The boys did not hurt each other to bad but I can't say the same for Jeff. Nathan and Jeff were playing one evening each had one glove one. Jeff was on his knees in the middle of the floor so he could be on the same level as Nathan. Nathan decided to kick instead of punch and Jeff wasn't ready for it. Jeff said it is funnier when it happens on Funny Videos, not near as funny in real life. Jeff complained about that one for quite a while, but he did get up and continued to play with the boys.

Nathan's Birthday

2007-01-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

Today was Nathan's birthday. He had a really good day. I sang to him first thing this morning. Actually as I got him out of bed. I took special cookies and juice to school for him and he got to where a birthday crown that Mrs. White gave him. She also gave him a gift. My dad took us to lunch at El Charro. The waiters sang a Spanish song to him while he wore a Sombrero. They also gave him a dessert. Anyone knowing Nathan knows he is all about the dessert. Later in the day his Maw-maw (Jeff's mom) called him to tell him happy birthday. When we got home he had a birthday card in the mail. I let him check the mail. He read his name on the envelope and got very excited. He was jumping up and down in the truck. When Jeff got home he sang Happy Birthday to him and took both boys outside for a few minutes. After dinner I read books to the boys. Nathan finished his day sitting in his dad's lap. All in all I think it was the perfect day for Nathan.

Nathan's Party

2007-01-07T12:03:00.000-08:00

We took a picture of the cake before we left, just in case. You never know with 2 kids and a car ride if everything will make it ok.
Nathan's Birthday party went off without a hitch. Our hat cake turned out great. It was made with three different kinds of cake and took a while to carve and frost but I was worth it. I'm not sure if I will be quite as ambitious when it's time for Lane's birthday. Ah who am I kidding I like the challenge. Cowboys was the perfect place for the party. It was great to have a large room for all the kids to run around in. I hope everyone else enjoyed it as much as I did. Oh by the way I'm compelled to mention on Jeff's behave. Jeff carved the cake. He mentioned it about 20 times at the party. So I imagine he will want me to make note of it here too.

Family Photo

2007-01-05T11:55:00.000-08:00

This is the closest thing we have to a family photo. Jeff's mom took it for us on Christmas. We took about 4 photos but this is the only one where no ones eyes were closed and we were all looking at the camera. With a 2 and 4 year old were are lucky we got one to turn out. Maybe some time soon we will have a real family picture made.

Nathan's First Day Back to School

2007-01-05T11:42:00.000-08:00

This picture is of Nathan sporting his new clothes and boots he got for Christmas, and of course his new horse (couldn't leave him out). This was the morning of his first day back to school after Christmas break. He was so excited to go back. He got out of bed as soon as I went into his room. Which is not normal at all. Usually he tells me 2 more minutes, by raising his fingers in the air and hiding his face. He had a great day back. I was just as excited as he was. I am so ready to get back into a daily routine.

First Night Alone

2007-01-02T12:21:00.000-08:00

We had a first last weekend. Nathan and Lane stayed the night with my parents. All night, no call in the middle of the night or anything. Not only that, we picked them up Saturday morning and took them over to Jeff's parents house where they stayed the day. We meet them for dinner at about 5:30 Saturday night. All night and then all day by ourselves. It was the first time in almost 5 years I didn't have to get up at all during the night. Talk about a good nights sleep. We had a great time but I was glad to pick them up. It makes you appreciate them a little more when you are away from them for just a little while.
Nathan's birthday is coming up. We are planning a party at Cowboys BBQ. Which is very fitting for him. I'm planning on making a hat cake. I hope for his sake it turns out good. It's the big 5 this year. I'm excited to see what changes this year will bring. He has grown up so much this year not just in stature but also maturity. He is no longer my baby boy. Now he is my little man.
Our new years resolution is to eat out less. I don't knows if we can keep that up long. It will be easier once we have an oven in the house. Which we should get next month.

My Guys

2006-12-27T14:49:00.000-08:00

This picture is of my guys. Jeff, my wonderful husband. Nathan, our soon to be 5 year old. Lane, our hopefully soon to be potty trained 2 year old. I don't think I could ask for any thing else. I love my guys.

First Time

2006-12-27T14:44:00.000-08:00

I'm going to give this blog thing a try. Christmas was a blast this year. Our boys (Nathan 4, Lane 2) had so much fun. They open so many gifts I lost tract of them all. Right now they are enjoying their big horses while watching one of their new movies. Moments like this make the rough times bearable.