Happy 4th of July!!

We are heading out to spend time with extended family today. Will be back to posting on Monday. For now, here are a few short updates.....

• OKC now has an NBA team!! I'm sure you've heard about it on the news. We are very excited even though it's been a negative process so far. We don't have any professional teams so please accept our enthusiasm :) The name and colors will be announced soon. Any ideas for the name of the team??

• Fuel prices in Seattle were anywhere from $4.40-$4.70 a gallon, back here in Oklahoma it's about $3.87 a gallon. That is a HUGE difference!! I think Oklahoma is the lowest in the nation. Not sure why we are , but I'm thankful. What is the average price where you live?

• Isn't it strange how you come home from "vacation" all worn out? We vowed we were not going to do that this time, but we did. I think there is just so much to see and do in a new place that no one wants to sleep. We are feeling a little more back to normal (although Brandon came home with a cold).

• Wimbledon women's final is Serena vs. Venus! Which Williams' sister will prevail?
  

Happy 4th of July! We celebrate our freedom as a nation! What are your plans for the 4th? Do you get to be with family? What are your family traditions for this holiday?

Sights of Seattle (pt 4)

Taken on the drive to Anacortes. Just a beautiful morning viewBrandon and I on the ferry ride (first time on a ferry actually)

Brandon watching the bald eagles and the wildlife around the ocean

A family of seals

This was one of the orca's we saw. He got really close. He was a transient whale hunting for food. Most of the whales eat salmon, but the transient whales actually eat seals!

Another view of the Orca. He was following us. You can click on the pic to get a closer view of him.

Love this landscape!

The sun setting on our day. Brandon took this on the ferry ride back home.

Sights of Seattle (pt 3)

We ended up getting books for the boys for souvenirs (the other one is several pictures down). We searched the market high and low and ended up with these. They can be purchased in other places besides Seattle, but we knew the boys would love them. They still think talking about bodily functions is hilarious. Can't wait to hear them giggle:) If you ever want to borrow them ,let us know. They are very informative.

The Original Starbucks.....yah!

Brandon got a drink from there but said it tasted just the same as in Oklahoma. Good, now we won't have to wonder.

They had live music right out front. The blue grass band that played was so impressive that we bought their CD! (Wish we had live music at our Starbucks)

Enjoying the atmosphere (and the 'Bucks!)

The other souvenir for the boys

The famous Pike Place Market

Look at all those yummy fruits and veggies. Wish we had a huge market like this. I resolved to visit our local farmers market now!

And, you can't forget the dessert! They also had fresh donuts they were making on the spot. The line was pretty long though so we opted not to wait and try them.

The fish part of the market was impressive. We did get to see the guys throw the fish like they do on TV. We wanted to buy some and have it shipped (they do that!) but didn't have an extra $200 to spare.

More of the beautiful colors of the market. By the way, they did have lots more than food but these are the pics we ended up with :)

Sights of Seattle (pt 2)

Taken from the top of the Space needle

The sign on the bathroom door at the Science Fiction Museum. They had memorabilia from Star Wars, Star Trek, Terminator and many more. They also had a robot exhibit with 200 robots which was my favorite!

A nighttime view the from the Space Needle. What a gorgeous city!

The sun is starting to set. The water quickly began filling up with sailboats wanting to watch the sunset.

This was taken at the Experience Music project, a really cool place where we spent hours. They had info and memorabilia on Seattle artists as well as many others. They also had an area where you could try to learn to play the guitar, drums, keyboard, scratching, and much more. This was us in the recording studio recording a Nirvana song.

On top of the Space Needle looking out over the city. We went during the day and at night.

A big screen from the experience music project. Do you see Christi standing at the bottom?

The Infamous Space needle. You can see this landmark from all over the city. It's pretty cool to be up there and be able to see the Seattle landscape.

One of the views of the sunset from the Space Needle.

Sights of Seattle (pt 1)

OK- by now I'm sure you are tired of hearing about our vacation in Seattle. Well, we were pleasantly surprised by how much we like it here! I wanted to do a photo blog this week to share the beautiful sights of Seattle. Enjoy! Thanks for being with us along the way :)


View from our rental house (just wish the power lines were gone but I guess we need power:)

We went to the store and bought some yummy food. This is what we came up with for our first night at the house. Steak, potatoes, garlic bread, salad and Chocolate strawberries for dessert.

One of the many gorgeous views we had on our drive around the area. Can you see Mt. Rainier in the background? We have many more of that mountain coming later.

A tree on the beach we thought looked hilarious.

At the beach- notice how big we are smiling! (Lord, can you add a beach to Oklahoma pretty please? Then all would be well. Thank you so much)

Friday Update (from Seattle)

Hey friends! We wanted to update you real quick. We arrived in Seattle and we are loving this city! Here are a few of the things we have been doing:

• Went to the beach and enjoyed the beautiful landscape
• Visited the Space needle (twice) and took lots of pics!
• Went to the Science Fiction Museum (not as boring as it sounds :) they had tons of movie memorabilia and also a ROBOT exhibit with about 200 robots
• Visited the "Experience Music Project" which was also a lot of fun. I practiced my "scratching" skills on an old album and Brandon got to drum and learn some Nirvana songs on the guitar.

Today we are heading out to Pikes Place Market. Tomorrow, we will be out whale watching, and then Sunday we are going about 3 hours north of here to take a boat tour and see a beautiful lake and the mountains will be our backdrop.

Hope you have a great weekend! We still haven't had time to upload the pics because we are wanting to fit in everything possible (but will probably add some this weekend).

A Beautiful World...Let's Dance!

I don't want my kids to grow up....

I'm loving the stage we are in right now with the boys. I realize this will change once we adopt but am enjoying it while it lasts. The boys are independent (which I love), they are great at going places (I love even more) but they are also getting so stinkin' grown up (which I wish I could stop just for a bit!)

Even though I have loved every stage, I think I am having time to stop and smell the roses during this one. Sometimes I complain about our life being too comfy cozy right now, but I don't take for granted the fact that we have great family times right now and actually get to enjoy one another's company. We are staying put for a while at least:)

So- let me give you a couple of examples of my 2 grown ups...

Ethan (age 5) loves to cuddle and snuggle. He also can't go to bed with out a big hug and kiss and I love that part! So, the other night, I place a big smouch on his lips and he asks "Mommy, are you wearing lipstick?" I say no. "Hmmm, well what was that wet thing that you just got on my lips?" . I told him "It was just a big juicy kiss " and laugh. He says "no more juicy ones please". Oh- I was crushed. I mean it wasn't a french kiss or anything. I guess he just wants more of a peck on the cheek (note to self: only give Ethan a big slobbery kiss when he is already asleep!)

Merrick (age 8) is my explorer, big time reader, very cut throat honest guy, our future CEO. So, we are talking about how tan the boys are getting. He says "I like tan skin". I say "oh you mean you like the way your skin looks?" he replies "No, I mean I like it when girls are tan". HUH? What?? (Note to self: Go purchase a muzzle and some duct tape, I need to tape a boy down until he's at least 10 yrs older!!)...(and Kim H, I actually did have to check my spelling because I spelled it duck tape just like you said we do!! ha ha. )

So, lovin' the stage, and hatin' the shortness of it :) Thank you Lord for my family!!

I don't want to grow up...

Remember that song? (singing)..." I don't want to grow up, I'm a Toys R Us kid....there's a million toys at Toys R Us that I can play with"...(man they should really give me some endorsement money)

But seriously, I don't want to grow up and am not sure when I ever will. Take for instance Saturday night. ABC had a Disney night (like they used to when I was growing up) and they showed an Original Disney movie called "Camp Rock" starring the Jonas Brothers.

You should have seen me and the boys cuddled up on the couch. Each commercial was about a Disney show or video. They even had "Wipeout" commercials (which my boys are dying to see- ha ha). After the movie they went behind the scenes and showed some music videos.

I LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT! Not just because I got to bond with my boys, and cuddle up on the couch with them, and order my favorite Pizza hut breadsticks to have delivered (which is a special treat in our home because it's usually only Little Caesars around here).

It was because I got to feel like a kid. I went from actually being a "kid", to remembering when I was a kid, and now getting to enjoy things with my kids. Very cool.

I was telling B that although we both hit (clears throat) *35* at the end of this year- we are both just kids. Kids at heart, kids learning the way, kids enjoying the simple things.

And that's just the way I like it! Growing up is so overrated :)

Friday follow-up #5

Here's our week in a nutshell...

• The boys are finishing up swim lessons today. They LOVED taking them at Pelican Bay. I highly recommend it if your kids can't swim (or even if they can, but need a little refining)
• I am starting to pack today for our trip next week. I'm already getting little butterflies in my tummy from knowing I will miss the boys. I know it will be a blast but I sure will miss my little buddies!
• We got a little 2 1/2 ft deep pool (about 12 feet wide). The boys are in heaven! They played "Marco Polo" the other night in that thing. It was so cute. They didn't care that they were bumping into each other :)
• This weekend, our church (along with about 1500 other churches), is taking up a special "offering" during ONE PRAYER, to start about 500 churches in several countries. Very exciting. If you want to read more about it, check this out.
• The boys are participating in the library reading program where they get prizes each time they read 8 books. Wish they had that stuff for adults! I've been reading a LOT lately:)

What have you been up to this summer? What are your weekend plans? Is your church participating in ONE PRAYER? Do you like to read? Do you know how to swim? :)

Gotta brag on our friends for a bit (pt 4 of 4)

Want some more good music? Well, check out LUMA! These guys also grew up in the youth group we led. They have grown up so much! They are ALL amazingly talented in the music area. They are also quality men. Brandon and I mentored Stephen (guitar player) and his wife, and Brandon performed their marriage ceremony! Stephen played on the worship team with Brandon for years. Marcus (bass) and Adam (drums) were also active in the youth group and played music with Brandon sometimes. Hunter (vocals) was one of the first "kids" we had over at our house from the youth group. I still remember when he was shy about getting up on stage and singing. I always knew he had the talent!!We love these guys and know they are going to make it big! Great quality music right here, folks! OH- also, their song "Wake up" was featured on an episode of MTV's "The Hills" this past season.

Buy their merchandise here to support their new recording

Go HERE to order their EP

Here's a clip from a live show they performed some time last year. We were actually at this one singing along:)

Gotta brag on our friends for a bit (pt 3 of 4)

Gotta brag on Matt Doane for a bit....Matt was one of our "youth kids" back in the day. He turned out to be one of our best friends. He recently moved out to Los Angeles and is doing great out there (although we miss him!). I don't know all the technical terms for what Matt does but I know he is a smoke artist/colorist, and did editing on "End of the Spear" (by the way if you haven't seen this movie yet, rent it on DVD- we loved it!), "Beyond the Gates of Splendor", and "Miss HIV". The photos on the right were taken when he was on location filming "Miss HIV".

Here are his FLICKR photos, they are amazing!

Here is his editing reel. Pretty cool, huh?

Can't believe all that talent is bottled up in one guy!:)