Grandma Charleen's 100th birthday

We headed up to Kansas again this past weekend to celebrate Nick's grandma's 100th birthday.  She was doing really well, and here's some of our adventures that we packed into two days of travel and just two days of visiting.

Being silly in the car.

Playing in the outdoor area at the McDonald's in Burkburnett, TX after a quick lunch.

Check out that crazy hair!

Daddy and Gabi say "cheese".

Nick and Gabi exchanging sun glasses before we take off to visit a few friends in Cheney (and drop off some Mary Kay purchases too).  Pizza at D'Marios was delicious!!!  Then we had a quick stop at the hospital to visit the Anderson's and their new baby, Carter (congrats again, guys!).  Can you believe we even made time to stop at Guitar Center (for Nick) and Pier 1 (for Debbie and I)?

Spending some time with my family in Salina at the mall after we met up with the Knopf family for church on Sunday morning.  Nick got some cargo pants at Old Navy for just $3.50 each, I found a shirt at JCPenny for $4, and my mom found some black pants for $5 that she needed for an up-coming work trip.  

Wow--bargain shopping galore!

Nick's aunts and uncles on his dad's side of the family and some other people (we didn't know who they were!).

His grandma and her boys (from left to right are Nick's uncles Merle, Bruce, and Dean, and Nicks' dad, Chuck).  Can you believe that she has only been living in an assisted-living place for a few years?  And, I really can't fathom what she's been able to see our country go through in 100 years either--whether that be the wars, the economy, or even technology!!!

Being silly on the trip back to TX--if you look closely you can see that the cap is on the Dr. Pepper bottle.  I think that she really wants to be like her mommy--guess I'd better watch what I do and say even closer now, huh?  :)

Construction Zone

So for Valentine's Day we gave Gabrielle an assortment of dress-up stuff.  A couple of skirts, some jewelry, and a construction hat/goggles set.  Here she is enjoying herself as a construction worker--too cute!

Nice!  :)

Don't miss the cute smile at the end of the video!

Happy Valentine's Day (a little late)!

Happy Valentine's Day!

This year we gave Gabrielle some pretend dress-up stuff including some plastic necklaces, bracelets, and rings. She loves to put them all on, and then take them off and put them all into a small purse of hers. We also gave her some play clothes, but those weren't the hit that I thought they might be.

Comparing our pretty rings.

Checking to make sure it fits right.

Now, that's a lot of accessories! Not to mention that the construction hat goes just perfectly with the princess shoes and all that jewelry!

Playing the piano with mommy.

CHEEEEESE!

Gabrielle has figured out how to get her clothes off...which usually happens in the evening. Hopefully this will be something that she only does at home! What a good ending to a wonderful day.

Hangin' with Haley

Haley Hart came to play one day last week while her mom was recovering from a hysterectomy. The girls had a great time together, and there were only a few times that I needed to remind both of them to share. They are getting better at playing together, and trying to wait until the other one is done with a toy (of course, there's always room for improvement too!).

Checking out all the books in Gabrielle's room.

"How do you spell 'piano'"?
Seriously, how early do they start texting now-a-day?

Hello?

Making some food in the play kitchen.

Wonderful day at the park

We've had several really nice days here in the last few weeks. On Friday the 6th we all went to the park to play and then enjoyed a picnic lunch before heading home. We had lots of fun!

Whoa! It's sure bright out here!

Me just testing out the equipment...
And having fun in the process!

Gabrielle LOVES slides.

And, going face first too.

I know that this looks like she hit the ground, but she didn't...she's just having a hard time getting up after going down the slide face-first. :)

There we go...getting up and going again!

Trying out the balance-thingy with daddy.

Swinging with daddy.

Checking out the solar system play area. Seriously, there were all the planets circling the sun and a space ship too. Neat!

This playground is right beside one of the hospitals in town. So, naturally, Gabrielle wants to check everything out...even the stuff that isn't playground equipment (like the walkway up to a backdoor to the hospital...nice!).

Petroleum Museum

On Saturday morning we headed out again...this time to the Petroleum Museum near Midland.  And, lots was learned again...about the oil industry this time!

Some of the granite samples that come out of the ground before they get to the oil.  I already picked out the one that I want for my kitchen counters.

Gabrielle listening to the display talk about drilling.

Up close and cute!

A little game that demonstrated the percentage that they actually get oil each time they drill.  I didn't know that when they drilled somewhere, they wouldn't necessarily hit oil each time.  I guess I figured that they had better technology to do that by now.

The "Sea" that used to be in this area.  That's why this area is so rich in oil now--because there was so much stuff that just died.  I guess I don't understand how it can be sooooo dry though now when it was soooo wet then.  The last precipitation that we had here was October 14th--seriously!!

They used to use dynamite to blow holes in the ground to get down to the oil...sounds a little dangerous to me.

And, to check for "leaks" they used to do fly-overs.  Seems like that wouldn't have been the most efficient way, but I guess it worked for quite some time.

A cool display showing some of the stuff that comes from oil.

Gabrielle playing with one of the displays.  She did a  GREAT job at this museum only touching the things that she was supposed to...much better than yesterday.

Nick and Gabi trying out the race car.

Gabi's still in the driver's seat, but I thought I would try getting in as her passenger.  Those little narrow seats really aren't made for my "mommy hips"!  :)

My parents trying it out...

One of the outdoor displays.

An "old" oil rig set-up.

A modern oil rig set-up.

Presidential Museum

Friday morning we headed out to the Presidential Museum here in Odessa with my parents.  The museum was inspired and created by locals after JFK's assassination.  They also said that it's the only one in the whole nation that is devoted to the history of all the presidents and their wives.  Coincidentally, George W. Bush lived here for a short time when he was just a few years old...he also lived in Midland for a few years too.  

A replica of the rug in the oval office.  I guess that each president has the right to completely redecorate, and sometimes even orders a new, slightly different rug--interesting.

Listening to George Washington give a little intro to the museum, and the little-old-lady who was a sweety, all the while trying fairly hard to sell us something in the gift shop.

Nick, my dad, and my mom checking out the displays on the earliest presidents.  Lots of interesting facts that will be useful if Nick ever goes on Jeopardy!

Standing in front of the child-home of George Bush.  They recently moved it here near the museum since it was closer to the downtown area.

My parents standing in front of the museum.