Two Steppin' in the Stockyards

EPIC. WEEKEND. There, I'm done.

Just joshin'. I've got plenty more to say.

To be honest I came pretty close to throwing in the towel before the weekend even began. What towel you ask? The towel of finding childcare and coordinating everything involved with such a task. My Enid family all came down with illnesses the day before Hallie was coming to stay with them while we were away. Eeeek! My blood pressure was a bit off the charts and I probably could've benefited from a few sedatives. Thank heavens that Nanny and Papa agreed to keep Hallie for the entire weekend after I hit a few roadblocks. My mind was finally at ease come Friday morning once I'd squared away childcare for that evening until Nanny would be able to pick up Hal. And speaking of Hal and Nanny, they had a rather fun morning together on Friday while I skedaddled to the gym. It just happened to be her birthday and Lil Red got up early and whipped up some pancakes and wrapped some gifts for Nanny. Cards and a birthday crown made it all complete! Mission accomplished: when Nanny arrived she was surprised by all of the surprises. Yay! The ladies scarfed down the pancakes as my mouth watered watching them eat. Hal grabbed Nanny's vest and scarf and before we knew it she was Nanny! Complete with birthday crown......

Hal and I spent mid-morning playing restaurant. She was a pro at getting into the fridge for some great ingredients to prepare the meals I requested. What a good lil chef.....

She got all dolled up for a much anticipated playdate with her new friends Jaidynce and Jocelyn. Their sweet momma invited us over for lunch and some play time. I feasted my eyes on the gorgeous decor in her home taking mental notes as I looked around. She had some yummy lunches ready for the kiddos and had a chicken casserole for us in the oven. Hal wasted no time making it clear that she wanted to go jump on the trampoline. After plenty of begging to go outside despite the cool temps we put the girls' coats on and they got to runnin'. Hallie decided that she was only suited for solo jumping so she meagerly waited for J & J to finish jumping and then hopped up alone. Lil stinker! The moms ate and talked while the princesses began their destruction of the playroom. They watched Dora, played some drums, had a tea party and did I mention they watched Dora??

  

We reluctantly left knowing that it was time for a nice long nap for Hallie and an afternoon of packing for this momma. I had already packed her bags the night before so that left my bag full of plenty of stuff I didn't even end up touching in my suitcase....but apparently I thought it was all necessary. After all, it's not every weekend that we get to go out on the town and dress up. I needed options!!! So I guess I should tell you where we were headed and how it all came about...........

Our friend Kim planned the entire fabulous weekend and did a mighty fine job of it. Kim and her sister, Kelli, shared the birthday weekend. We had a date with the Amtrak from OKC to Ft Worth, a night of dancing and a Wade Bowen concert and a hotel stay in the stockyards Saturday night. We rolled out of town around 5:30 Friday night after Jennifer arrived with Hal's playmate for the evening, Nic. I knew she was in some amazing hands so we left without a care and drove over to pick up Steven on our way out of town. Hal didn't seem too concerned about us leaving either....but this was after she told me at least ten times "don't leave me, momma." Heart broken in pieces..but quickly put back together once I began dreaming about all of the fun we were about to have. The ride down to OKC was full of laughs and I knew that it was just the beginning. Any time with Steven is full of belly laughs! We dropped Steven off at their hotel, checked into our hotel down the road and then walked back down to the Sheraton to meet him and Rachelle for dinner. We hopped on over to Abuelo's for dinner and drinks. Before long another couple from our train crew showed up for dinner there too. They introduced us to Rick and Kelsey who joined us for dinner. I didn't really want dinner to end because we were having such a good time but we were all dreading the early wake up time on Saturday morning. Our alarms rang at 6:00 and I hit the ground stumbling. So tired. I really can't remember the last time my alarm had gone off before 7:00. Spoiled by sleep I suppose. We hurried around that morn and made it to the train station right on time. Everyone rolled in to the parking lot around the same time. You could feel the excitement in the air...and the need for caffeine...you could also feel that too. ;) We all stood beside our bags as we waited to board the train. The Fannings, Rogers, Harringtons, Williams, Messers, Moores, Storms, Millers and Adams were ready to board......ALL ABOARD!! I really had no idea what to expect as I'd never been on a train before. I was surprised to see that it was very similar to airplane seating. Us nine couples claimed our seats and settled in.....

We were all starving and lined up as soon as the snack car was opened for business. Steven made friends with the snack lady by letting her know that he liked older women and that he'd "be down later to see her." We all got a good laugh out of the scene.....

Some slept, some got a jumpstart on the big day with some Bailey's in their coffee and some (me) sat and stared out the window wishing the minutes away. I couldn't wait to arrive at our destination!!! Our big posse rolled out of the train and over to where the transport van was waiting....

The van was a midget van that only carried seven so Riley, Steven, Rick and I ended up grabbing a cab over to the hotel. We got there around 1:30 and snagged a room that was cleaned early. For most of the other couples it was too early to check-in. We dropped our bags off and then headed back downstairs where we met a group who wanted to go explore a bit. But first.....LUNCH at Riscky's BBQ. One word: delicious.

We set off on foot with Steve, Lacy and Gregg hopping in and out of stores in search of goofy hats for the guys. We ended up at the Thirsty Armadillo where we all had a quick drink before making our way back downhill to the hotel. Along the way I really couldn't resist paying the $5 to hop on these real bulls. And I convinced Lacy to join me.......

She threw up the pistols....I opted for the double peace signs ;)

I would've killed for a nap when we got back to the room but I settled for putting makeup on while watching This is War as I listened to Riley snore away. The afternoon had flewn by and it was time to kick start an amazing evening of incredible fun. We met all of the dolled up couples in the lobby before we walked down to the steakhouse for dinner. Everyone was looking spiffy in their cowboy/cowgirl boots!

We had reservations at H3 Ranch Steakhouse for the gang but ended up splitting up to seat everyone at the same time. The Harringtons, Williams and Millers rounded out our dinner group and I enjoyed a margarita (or two) with this pretty lady at the end of the table....

Kim was a sport and partook in this potent "birthday cake" shot that we ordered.....

When I tell you that dinner was delicious it just doesn't cover how I felt about the steak I ate. How should I put this.......I think I'd be willing to lick a subway handrail right now for another bite of filet from H3......

After dinner we all met up outside where Kourtnei gave the birthday gals their headwear for the evening.....

We all boot scooted down the street to Billy Bob's to check the place out. It was pretty early in the evening at that point so we found a few tables and parked our boots for the next couple of hours. There was dancing, singing, laughing, shenanigans and of course PICTURES!!!!!

We finally rounded all of the girls up for a group pic.....

Steven kept everyone entertained for the majority of the night. This moment in particular was quite funny....

Random dancing partner #1

We mozied on over to the bull riding area inside Billy Bob's. I must note how ginormous that place was. Just HUGE!!! Half of the group stayed behind to hold our tables while the rest of us grooved in the stands to some music while we waited for the show to start......

It was a quick twenty minute bull-riding session so we were back on the dance floor in the blink of an eye. Heather, Kim, Kourtnei and gave it a whirl with some linedancing. Wow....talk about a workout. It very well could've been my lack of coordination that made it taxing....taxing but so, so fun! And I suppose it wouldn't be right for me to leave out the part about me slipping on the hardwood floor and landing hard on my butt. I collected myself and got right back to tappin' my feet to Foot Loose. Such a fun time!!! Our men were up to no good most of the night but that was no surprise.....

We reluctantly left our good group of tables and headed down to the concert area around 10:00 to wait for Wade Bowen to take the stage. Like a doofus I threw away my ticket after we watched the bull-riding so Riley and I were sent through a maze to get another ticket. Luckily I made it back to our table before the concert started. Things were pretty cramped in there and it was hard to see the stage because of a big beam parked right in front of me but as always Steven didn't fail to keep up entertained and laughing our tails off. He set his sites on a group of girls next to us who were having a bachelorette party. He took pictures of every innocent passerby and also plenty of himself. Half of the crew took to the streets of Ft. Worth around midnight to check out what the city had to offer. Hallie girl, remember this: nothing good happens after midnight. K, you got that? Although in this case we had an absolute blast making our way up and and back down the street hopping in and out of places to dance a bit. We found ourselves in a rather interesting crowd of people in one particular bar. But we stayed. Why? Because they were playing some stellar dance songs. We certainly weren't about to leave. We stayed and got our groove on. And by get our groove on I mean that we all looked ridiculous and then Riley finished the night off with a dance off with a black-clad cowboy wearing tennis shoes. I think the scene is permanently ingrained in everyone's memories for life. It was a fabulous end to a fabulous night! We walked arm in arm back toward the hotel where it was time to sit. And eat pizza of course......

We retired to bed entirely too late for our old bodies. 3 a.m. Which means that we slept until 11:00 Sunday morning. We got around quick that morning but I had to take time to pull out the ol' iron to press the shirt I was going to wear that day. I even took a picture because I think that was only the second occasion which I'd used an iron and ironing board in my life.....

I'd been dreaming of our next destination from the moment I learned that we would be going to Ft. Worth. Five years ago I found myself at what can only be described as a magical restaurant...Joe T Garcia's. It's safe to say that I'm a tad bit obsessed with this place. The anticipation made it hard to ignore the sheer exhaustion I was feeling when we left the hotel on foot around noon headed towards the delicious Mexican oasis. We waited a little under an hour which was fine by me because I knew what awaited us. OBSESSED! Lunch was fabulous because of the gorgeous weather....because of the company we shared...and lastly because of the food!

After we were sufficiently stuffed and feeling rather glutenous we rolled ourselves back down the road where we stopped in and out of each unique little store along the way. My favorite: this quirky nik-nak shop with items such as these.....

A stylish armadillo purse

A men's consolation basketball trophy

A raccoon rummaging through some cereal

And last but not least.....

This giant horn magnifying glass that Riley was quite fond of

Lacy, Rachelle and I picked up some gourmet cupcakes from a cute little shop and we picked up some gifts for our hard-working mother-in-laws who were watching our children back home. Speaking of children back home....my child was having the time of her life with Nanny, Papa, Carmen, Luke and Katie that weekend......

Saturday morning with cousin and Papa

Barking orders to the cat I'm sure

Lounging around watching cartoons with Carmen

Fishing with the Shirleys

Checkin' on the dogs

Park time with Nanny was a blast it seemed!

Back to the hotel we went after our shopping was done. The girls loaded up and headed to the train station after the guys had gone ahead. Protecting their women I suppose by keeping eight girls from having to stand around in a bad part of town had we gone first. How awfully sweet. ;) The train headed out around 5:30. It was a quiet ride home. Some watched the Super Bowl, some slept but almost all had iPhones in hand catching up on some sort of activity. I enjoyed the quiet time to just relax and mentally prepare for another busy week ahead. We pulled into the OKC station around 9:45, literally flew to the truck chasing after mad man Riley, dropped off Heather and Matt in Yukon and continued our flight home. Or at least it felt like we were flying compared to the slow speed of the train. We passed out around 12:30 and that was all she wrote...........

It was most certainly a weekend that will never be forgotten. I've been trying to make it a point lately to really stop and revel in the good moments in life. Let's just say I reveled a lot over the course of the trip. It's not everyday we get the opportunity to step out of the parent mode and just have fun with friends. We were forced to relax, let loose and forget our worries. And we did just that.

Until next time Ft. Worth.......

My Girls

Last Friday evening my two best friends rolled into my driveway. My driveway!!!!!!!! In Woodward!!!!!!!! For the whole weekend!!!!!!! Lil Red and I were patiently waiting by the window before they arrived. We anxiously ran outside for hugs and hi's!!! This was Kyser's first time to visit us so we showed her around and they dropped their bags in their room for the weekend. Hal didn't know what to think about "her room" being turned into a guest room. But the little toot adjusted quickly and became quite attached to the girls almost instantly......

She shared her "booberries" with Kyser and helped her put on makeup before dinner that night....

We sat around and caught up on eachother's lives for a bit while waiting for Riley to get home from the gym. Hallie showed off her new big girl room and then just showed off in general after that. One of the sweetest things I've experienced so far as a mom is seeing my best friends love my daughter...and vice versa! Hallie thought she was just one of the girls as Riley took our picture before we left for dinner that night.....

The three of us had dinner at an Italian restaurant down the street. I struggled with choosing where to go that night because I'm not a huge fan of any place in town....well, except for Cafe Eden, but that wasn't an option that evening. Dinner turned out great and we topped it off with some ice cream just to make sure we were good and stuffed! Hallie Grace was so fresh and so clean after her bath....and feisty as ever!!!

She latched onto Heather and Kyser like they were long lost friends....best buds.....amigas.....

She was none too happy when I told her it was time for bed. Well, I take that back....after we got in her bed she thought it was pretty funny to pick my nose.....

She had other plans besides falling asleep.....

"You don't really think I'm going to bed right now, do you?"

With the soundtrack of a very loud and defiant two-year-old in the background, us girls talked and talked and talked and talked....and talked a lil bit more. We talked until we were all on the verge of sleep. I found Hallie wide awake at 11:30 playing her Leap Pad. She was not having the sleep thing. Uh uh. She had me burning up the wood between our rooms that night with requests for crackers, cheese sticks and juice. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT! Only my crazy daughter! We had been working so hard the previous five days on getting rid of her cup at night but I had finally caved that night because I wanted the crying to stop so that the whole house wasn't awake. This weak mommy moment resulted in a soaking wet bed Saturday morning. Heather had to leave early for a bank meeting in Alva so I found Kyser, Heather and a guilty looking Hallie standing in the bathroom when I tiredly staggered toward her room. She latched onto Kyser's leg when she spotted me....you would've thought I was the meanest mom in the world the way she was clinging to her. Kinda made me giggle. We were sad that Heather was going to miss out on a yummy breakfast with us but she was going to hurry back as fast as she could. Kyser and I had planned to go to spin class at 10:00 that morning but the pansy in me came out and my sore calf muscles were not ready for another class yet. I decided to forego the exercise thing and instead chose the eating thing. So did the dogs. They conned Hallie into passing out the last of the dog treats.....

"Guys, I'm sorry but I think that's it!"

Riley met us girls at Polly Anna some a delicious breakfast. Hal continued her love affair with Kyser and spent most of our meal sitting next to her picking at her food. Lucky Kyser!!! ;)

Riley went home to do manly things (welding scrap metal together to form something somewhat useful) while our trio marched across the street to show Kyser my favorite children's boutique. This is right after we spent a total of fifteen minutes in the bathroom watching Hallie mess around and say "I not done yet!" at least twenty times. I should've known from that moment that she was in no mood to cooperate without protest or making a scene. We made it through one store and then I picked her up and carried her out the door as she hollered "noooooooooooo!" It was either that or pay for all of the necklaces she was about to break. Do you know how hard it is to reason with a two-year-old who just wants to put on a pretty necklace that's sitting at eye level??? Needless to say we headed home with an overly tired and very whiny girl. Bless her heart, all the refusing to sleep the night before had caught up to her. She went right down for a nearly four hour nap that afternoon. Riley welded. We shopped. Til we dropped were starving. We met up with Heather and hit up several of my favorite stores. I introduced them to my latest obession: the antique mall. We finished off our afternoon with some Taco Factory. Hallie had just crawled out of bed right before we got back home. The weather was not cooperating for a trip to the park so instead we hung out inside and just relaxed. We threw around the idea of making dinner together but in the end decided to head out for dinner. Hal wanted to join us but she had a second night at home with her dear ol' dad. Of course we couldn't let the evening pass by without a photo shoot! Riley happily sarcastically obliged and snapped a few pictures of us and several more of the ground/wall/door/etc.

After dinner we piled into the playroom with the computer and did some pinterest-ing/etsy-ing/google-ing to help Kyser plan sweet Adalyn's first birthday party. Heather passed out in the midst of our planning party and we followed behind shortly thereafter. I was pooped! And so was Hal. But she didn't show it much. More protesting sleep. My only theory is that she was thrown out of whack knowing that her friends were in the room down the hallway. She was up from 12:00-1:00 screaming her crazy head off about what, I'm still not sure. All I know is that it gave me too many scary flashbacks of life with a newborn. Luckily her sleeping funk only lasted those two nights. Praise Jesus!!!

Hallie was praising Jesus for the rain Sunday morning. What little rain that fell was certainly noticed by this munchkin.....

"It waining momma!" (with her imbelda)

Sunday morning was nice and lazy. Riley headed off to church. The girls got ready for the day while I roamed around in the kitchen doing one of my very favorite things.....making breakfast! Pancakes, eggs and bacon! YUMMMMMMM! 

Lil Red stood at my feet begging for a morsel of food and didn't seem to be willing to wait until I was done. She ended up in her high chair (which I was instructed to place in the living room) eating apple sauce and calling for "more pancakes!" We tag teamed Hallie and got her ready for church in a jiff! Riley swung back by the house to pick up our Bible-toting princess who was excited for Sunday school. It was nice to just sit and have one last chat over breakfast with the BFFs before they had to head home. Goodbyes stink. A consolation is that we've been doing a very good job of getting together every three months. I know it won't be long until we're back together under the same roof. I'm just thankful for friends who love me enough to come all the way out west to visit. Kyser had a long drive back to Arkansas so they headed out around 10:30. We hugged and I waved goodbye.....then retreated inside to savor the fifteen minutes of silence before Hallie and Riley would return home. It gave me a little bit of time to reflect on the awesomeness that is our everlasting friendship.....

Love you girls!!!

Kiss The Cook

She can make a mean bologna butter lettuce jelly sandwich. And don't even get me started about her tomato ice cream. Stop on by for my tiny chef's famous egg plant soup. I think her calling is very clear....cooking academy, here she comes!!!!!

She's certainly not the most organized chef....a tad bit messy....but she's 100% focused on the taste of her food....

"Whatcha think of that hot dog?"

 With all of this time spent in the kitchen honing her skills she's been preparing to spread her wings and jump into the real world of baking and cooking.....

Grilled cheese time!

We eased into things with a batch of yummy M&M cookies. I wasn't quite sure how things would go so I was elated when she picked it up like a natural. Well I mean, duh, she's been practicing everyday....

She even multi-tasked while scooping the cookie dough out onto the pan and sipping on apple juice (and doing a little jig atop the kitchen chair she was standing on).....

She was mesmerized by the big mixer. She's been using a toy mixer that my grandma bought her last week to stir a bowl of cheerios. I had to be on high alert for any flying ingredients that she thought belonged in the cookie batter. She helped me crack the eggs, dump the cups of flour and even wiped up the counter when we were done. And she did it all naked!

Last week I mentioned my excitement while on vacation when Hallie curled up next to me to watch an entire Disney movie. Another mommy dream came true during our baking session. She looked up at me and smiled and said "dis fun momma." That was right after she stuck her chubby finger in the bar of crisco, took a big ol' bite and said "dis tase vewy good momma."

I'll kiss that cook any day of the week!!!!!!!!