July 2015

Catching up again today. So let's look back at July, shall we? It was a big month, so get ready for picture overload.

Fourth of July this year was all about tradition. Doing things we do every year. 

We look forward to them and it's part of the rhythm or our lives. Starting off with the LibertyFest Parade in Edmond. 

Up early and ready for the parade!

 It's 8:30 am here and it's probably already 90 degrees.

Top Left: Lucas and I at the parade. 

Top Right: Leah with a sparkler at our friend Beth's pool. We always spend the afternoon and early evening there with friends. We swim, we eat, we let the kids play with fireworks. It's great! 

Bottom: The day concludes with a fantastic fireworks presentation at the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond. 

A few days later, on July 9th, we hopped on a plane (a direct flight none the less! woot! woot!) to Newark, New Jersey to spend 11 days celebrating family. And it all started with these two.....

This is Richard and Dixie Galloway, Mike's parents.

They celebrated 50 years of marriage this summer and to celebrate all three of their children, plus spouses and all nine grandchildren, and one great-grandmother, all descended upon the east coast for a fun filled reunion. Mike's brother, Juan and his family live in New Jersey, but we came from Oklahoma (duh) and Mike's sister, Rachel and her family flew in from Alaska!

We all stayed at Mike's parents' house in Elizabeth, NJ for a few days, then we loaded up and headed to Long Beach Island for a week at the shore. It was just so, so fun.

Loaded up in the van and ready to go!

We had to bring enough food to feed 18 people three meals a day for seven days.

Just let that sink in....it was a lot!

We've arrived!

I loved the house we stayed in. It was built in 1890 and had 8 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and plenty of space for everyone.

But THIS. This was the best feature of the house. It was wrap-around porch heaven.

We spent most of our down time all gathered on the porch, talking, playing games, being silly.

We even hosted a talent show on the porch and celebrated two different family birthdays with cake and ice cream out here. 

One day, I want a house with a porch like this. A girl can dream!

Each and every room in the house had a stained glass window like this. 

I loved the simple color block pattern. 

The window in the bedroom Mike and I stayed in faced east, so we had the morning sunlight streaming in different colors across our bed every morning. 

At this time, it seems like a re-cap of who was staying here is in order. Starting from the top...

Grandma Velda: Mike's 92 year old grandma, mother of Richard (Mike's dad)

Richard and Dixie Galloway: Parents who started it all

Juan and Tracy Galloway: Mike's brother and his awesome wife

River: 19 year old niece

Hailey: 18 year old niece

Corban: 15 year old nephew

Connor: 13 year old nephew

Mike and Emily Galloway: The "Oklahoma Galloways"

Leah: 10 year old daughter

Hannah: 10 year old daughter

Lucas: 5 year old son

Rachel and Juan Martinez: Mike's sister and her Colombian husband

Velda: 7 year old niece

Rose: 7 month old niece

Hannah, Leah and Velda (the three amigas) playing in the Atlantic.

These three are so close and have so much fun together.

Why can't we live closer to each other!?!?!?

I loved that they had an entire week to just play and make memories together.

There was a lot of giggling in the house with these three (and they also shared a room together on the top floor of our beach house).

Another awesome thing about this trip was that I got to meet my newest niece, Rose, for the first time! She was born in Alaska on December 1st of 2014. She's everything I could have imagined and more: beautiful, chunky, smiley, sweet, cuddly, wonderful, yummy....

I love her.

Top Left: Building sand tunnels

Top Right: Sweet Rose

Bottom: Leah and I taking a walk through Beach Haven, the little town we stayed in.

Uncle Juan using his selfie stick.

We took all the kids to the local amusement park, Fantasy Island, one night and let them ride rides and play games.

Top Left: one of our nightly walks to get ice cream at Barry's. Coffee flavor is the bomb.

Top Right: Me at the beach on a cloudy, dreamy day.

Bottom Left: Lucas taking a contemplative walk on the shore. We saw a school of dolphins swimming by shortly after I took this pic!

Bottom Right: River and Hailey were in charge of our chalkboard menu every day. Mike crushed it will some killer kabobs one night. 

Lucas buried and loving it. 

This child managed to get sand in every crack and crevice of his body on a daily basis.

Kan Jam!

Lucas LOVES to play games, and this one was a big hit.  

Mike and Lucas = killer team

Mike and Emily = comical losers

Mommy's not skilled with a frisbee.

While Lucas was busy building sand castles and playing games, the girls were busy boogie boarding!

It was their favorite thing to do and they spent literally hours working on their skills. They actually got pretty good. Lucas tried it too, but the girls were ALL ABOUT IT.

This is my favorite picture of Lucas from our trip.

My boy and the big Atlantic stretching out before him.

Our whole crew!

I married into an awesome family.

I love these people.

XOXOXO

I love him.

The Five Oklahoma Galloways

Mike, Juan and Juan

Yes, Mike's brother is named Juan (Juan Carlos Ricardo Galloway).

No, Mike's brother is not Hispanic.

Yes, Mike's brother-in-law is also named Juan (Juan Pablo Martinez).

Yes, we have a lot of fun with this!

My wonderful sisters-in-law, Rachel and Tracy

After seven days, we came back to Elizabeth for two more nights. 

One of those nights, we were able to jump on the train into New York City (it's a short 15 minute ride) for a double date night with Rachel and Juan. We ate delicious pizza at John's on Bleeker in Greenwich Village, then had coffee and cupcakes at Sweet Revenge. We were in food comas, but had a wonderful time. 

Top Left: pizza place

Bottom Left: Freedom Tower

Right: Rachel and me

We flew home on the 19th and will always cherish the fun memories of that trip.

On July 24th, our Lucas Gabriel turned 6!

From six weeks to six years, this boy has brought so much joy to our family.

He is sweet, smart, athletic, a good friend, and still likes to snuggle with him mom.

He will have my heart forever.

Birthday Boy in his new Energy Hat.

Instead of a big party, he requested that we take him and his two buddies to an Energy Soccer Game.

Done! We had cake and pizza at our house beforehand, then headed to the game.

And the Energy won!

A few days later, he lost his very first tooth.

It was a big month for this boy.

July 25th we celebrated one of my bestie's birthday.

Nikki is truly more like a sister than just a friend.

We've known each other over 15 years and have laughed, cried, prayed, talked (and talked and talked and talked) together, and we never seem to run out of things to talk about!

A group of us met up at The Grand House in the Asian District of OKC and had a yummy dinner out. Later we went back to our house for cake and games.

Summer wouldn't be complete without a trip to a water park.

Our last weekend in July, we took the kids to Andy Alligator's Water Park. It's a smaller park than others in the city, but the kids love it and because of its size, we can keep track of everyone easily.

Having twins is such a blessing.

These two really do love each other.

Phew! I think that about covers July!

Use Your Energy

Yesterday our semi-pro soccer team, the OKC ENERGY, played in the Western Conference finals against the LA Galaxy. We got tickets for Mike, Lucas and I to attend. My girls weren't too jazzed about going, so our good friend/babysitter, Jacque, came to hang out with them and have a girls' night. 

Taft Stadium was packed with over 8,000 people in attendance. This is only the second year for OKC to have a soccer team, and I love the way our city (and state!) have rallied to support them. Lucas was totally into it and loved clapping, chanting and cheering. When the lady a few rows behind us yelled, "You suck!" after a questionable call by the ref, Lucas followed suit and quickly chimed in. 

Whoops! We had a quiet discussion about not yelling things like that and he got the message. But it was still kinda funny. 

Here's a highlight for me from last night--Coit's has returned! My entire life, Coit's Drive-In's were local restaurant staples in OKC, serving hot dogs, chili and frosty mugs of root beer. Sadly, they closed their stores a few years ago to the sounds of weeping in the streets. But recently, they have returned to the OKC food scene in the form of a food truck! Praise Jesus, Amen. I enjoyed myself a chili dog and a root beer and it was goooood.

Sadly, our Energy team fell 2-1 to the Galaxy. But they fought hard and had a great season. We are thinking of buying season tickets next year. I had no idea how much fun soccer could be until I married a soccer fanatic and gave birth to one too! 

 

Be All There

This morning at church, our pastor shared a quote from Jim Elliot, and it really stuck with me.

"Wherever you are, be all there."

Wherever I go, whomever I'm with or whatever I'm doing, I want to be ALL THERE. 

Fully present. Engaged. Offering to God all that I am and who He created me to be. 

I want to carry that thought into this week and always. 

Catch Up Day

It's a beautiful, fall Saturday here. Lucas had a soccer game this morning (He played great and had a hat trick, but his team still lost 8-7), then we came home and watched the Red River Rivalry football game (that's OU vs. TX for those who don't know), and sadly OU lost. Tomorrow night we have tickets to go watch the OKC Energy Soccer Team play in their conference championship game, so we better not lose that one! Ugh!

So, to get my mind off the sports losses today, let's play a little blog catch up since I never posted at all this summer!

If I were to bullet point the Galloway Summer of 2015, it would look like this:

June
--VBS
--16th wedding anniversary
--Swimming
--Trip to Arkansas and Missouri

July
--Independence Day
--Trip to New Jersey and New York
--Lucas turned 6!
--Swimming

August
--More swimming
--Girls' trip to Texas
--School started

That's the cliff notes version.  I thought I'd at least elaborate a little and show some pics for posterity's sake. Let's start with May and June!

Technically, our summers in Oklahoma start mid to late May. School was out this year on May 20th, so we had a good 11 days of "summer" before we hit the typical summer months. I honestly can't remember much about those days except that we slept in, played with friends, and had a Memorial Day party with friends from church.

Playing the best game ever at our Memorial Day party.

Let's just say it got competitive.

The first two weeks of June we attended two different Vacation Bible Schools. We live in the Bible Belt and if you wanted to, you could send your child to a VBS every week of the entire summer. They are free and fun, and my kids enjoy them. But two or three a summer is plenty.

The first one we attended is one that we have attended every summer for the last four years. It's at a church where they not only have the typical stuff: snack, Bible story, games, songs, but they also take advantage of the creek that runs behind the property and take the kids fishing and canoeing everyday too. My kids love it. The second VBS we attended was at our home church, and I took on a leadership role over one of the craft rooms. It was fun to be a part of the week with my kids and my close friends too.

Me, Kim, Tanda, and Nikki at the end-of-the-week VBS cookout.

It was a great week!

June 4th, Mike and I celebrated 16 years of marriage! Wow! That's a long time! We actually celebrated while we were on a short, three night/four day trip through NW Arkansas and Missouri. We drove to Eureka Springs, Arkansas with my dad and step mom and her granddaughter and checked in to a cozy cabin. While there we visited a Wildlife Sanctuary, toured a haunted hotel, shopped and meandered the quaint shops and winding streets.

Wedding Day

June 4, 1999

My dad and stepmom watched the kids one night while Mike and I went out to officially celebrate our anniversary. We ate a fantastic taco place called Aquarius Taqueria. Then strolled through the town and went for a sunset drive. It was wonderful and relaxing.

And then this happened. 

What better to celebrate an anniversary than with a cheesy old-time photo.

In all honesty, we laughed our way through it and had a lot of fun.

After two days we headed to Missouri for a day at Silver Dollar City (think roller coasters and water rides and overpriced junk food) and then a tour of Fantastic Caverns (the country's only ride-through cave). My kids had so much fun with their cousin as we packed our last days absolutely full of activities (hence very little time for photos!

Here we are driving through Fantastic Caverns in Springfield, Missouri.

The rest of the month of June looked like this.

Escaping the heat and swimming two or three times a week at my dear friend, Beth's pool.

All I can say is, to survive summer in Oklahoma, you must be near water.

Thank the Lord for Beth's pool.

Throw in a few trips to the park, the zoo and playing with friends and that about sums up the month of June!

The Gala of 2015

For the last three years, I've volunteered my time with a local non-profit called House of Healing. This was the third year in a row to be a part of their annual charity gala and silent auction. Each year my role has changed a little, and this year I was the Gala Co-Chair along with my dear friend, Nikki. Our other friend, Shelley also served on the gala committee along with our directors, Kathy and Paula. A year of planning, list-making, decorating, scheming, talking, and deal-making finally came to fruition this past Tuesday night at the Denim & Diamonds Gala at Rose Creek Golf Club!

Through a mutual friend, I was introduced to the two ladies who started House of Healing. I heard their stories, I saw their passion for what they do, and I could totally get behind that! House of Healing focuses on teenage girls ages 13-18 who are struggling, hurting, or going through a difficult time. They provide many resources including a vibrant mentoring program, counseling and equine therapy. A few years ago, House of Healing purchased 25 acres of land near Oklahoma City and next month our first bunk house will be finished and ready to move in! The bunk house will serve as a retreat center for the girls in their care. Eventually, the land will include a few residential homes where girls could live on a full time basis. House of Healing is a proactive organization instead of reactive. They try to intervene before girls make more serious life-altering decisions. They stress the importance of young women getting an education and becoming self-sufficient. They teach them communication skills and build up their self-esteem. They even offer parenting classes for willing family members. It's a great program and I was honored to put in the hours of work to make their gala a success. And it was fun having an excuse to get together with my good friends often during the week!

We arrived at the golf club at 10:00 in the morning the day of the event and worked non-stop until it was time to begin at 6:30. We had to set up the silent auction, decorate the tables with the centerpieces we made, write some thank you notes, fill out bid sheets, go over the flow of the evening with our emcee and guest speakers, meet with volunteers and make sure they understood their tasks, adjust the seating chart, etc. It was non-stop movement! But I'm very pleased with the way the room looked. 

Fun Fact: We had all our dessert donated by a local cupcake shop called Cuppies & Joe. We decided to use the cupcakes as a part of our table centerpieces, but we weren't sure how to display them. Pinterest to the rescue! We went to the dollar store, purchased 20 dinner plates and 20 martini glasses, turned the martini glass over and used a silicone glue to stick the bottom of the glass to the underside of the plate and voila! Plate stand centerpieces perfect for 8 cupcakes! I wish I had taken an up close pic of them. They turned out great for $2 a piece!

Mike and I just before the event started.

With our gala being on a Tuesday night this year, we went with a business casual dress code and our theme was "Denim & Diamonds" which totally fits our program's theme. Our director, Kathy, is a country girl at heart. She is way more comfortable in a pair of jeans and her cowgirl boots than a fancy dress any day. 

The theme just worked.

Me with Shelley and Nikki

Pretty much every picture we are in has us holding our detailed gala program list. 

Nikki with our dear friend, Mona. She and her husband own a construction company, and they were our first ever event sponsors. Their generosity helped us take our event to another level this year!

Packed House!

Our evening featured 45 silent auction baskets, a DJ, dinner, dessert, an auctioneer conducting a live auction (we had six live auction items including trips to Taos and Destin and of course diamond jewelry), and a guest speaker.

Our gorgeous friend, Jamie, was our diamond model for the evening. She got to wear the earrings and bracelet and walk around letting everyone see them up close. Jamie is also a fitness instructor and about 6 feet tall. I'm on my tippy toes in this pic and she took off her heels and bent her knees.

The Gala committee with our fearless leaders, Kathy and Paula.

I love this group of women!

My dad stepped up big time and watched the kids from as soon as school was out until ten o'clock that night. As soon as we got home, chatted for a few minutes (mercifully all our kids were asleep!), I crashed into bed and was asleep in minutes. The next day I was sore, tired and really felt the weight of the day before both physically and mentally. I allowed myself a good afternoon of rest before I had to jump back into real life. 

These kids don't feed themselves yet! 

(I mean, they can make cereal and pb&j's and are generally pretty independent, but if I want them to actually eat well balanced meals, that involves me cooking). I was kind of hoping there would be a "gala fairy" that would magically appear to cook and clean for me the rest of the week.

Alas, she did not show.

Funny thing is, I'd do it all again next year!

You can go to www.house-of-healing.org for more info!

Pumpkin Patch

Yesterday Lucas went on his first school field trip to the Parkhurst Pumpkin Patch. The night before, he could hardly sleep he was so excited. He was excited to play with his friends, he was excited that I was coming as a chaperone, but he was most excited about riding a bus for the first time. He finally drifted off and woke up ready to go. 

Driving to the pumpkin patch which is located off of a section of the original Route 66. 

Mom and Lucas in the petting zoo area. We got to pet and feed goats, geese, rabbits, pigs, horses, and a donkey. 

Lucas with his buddies, Jace and Eli, along with their wonderful teacher, Mrs. Austin. This was waiting for the hay ride to begin. 

Lucas and his kindergarten class.

Jace and Lucas. These two are peas in a pod. Fun fact: Jace's uncle is Blake Shelton from The Voice. 

                     Tire swing! 

                    Tractor riding!

          Buddies sittin on hay bales.

My favorite....a good old fashioned             corn maze.

                    C'mon, Mom!

        Stop taking so many pictures! 

   Picking out a pumpkin to take 

   home.

Six years ago, I went on this same field trip with Hannah and Leah when they were in kindergarten. In a way, yesterday closed a chapter in the Galloway family as Lucas will likely be the last kindergartener. The day was clear and cool and sunny with blue skies and lots of laughter. And will be a perfect memory for both of us. :)

October

Welcome, October!

An entire summer passed by without me writing one blog post. Oops.

I'll have to write some "catching up posts" throughout the fall. 

That's right--It's FALL! AUTUMN! My second favorite season of the year.

Emily's Seasonal Rankings:

1. Summer 

2. Fall

3. Spring

4. Winter

October may be Oklahoma's most glorious month.

The mornings and evenings are crisp and cool, but not cold

There's a gentle warmth in the afternoon, but it's not blazing hot.

Jackets are out, but no coats yet.

Scarves are becoming an acceptable part of the wardrobe again.

The sunlight is golden and mellow.

There is a very low risk of tornadoes.

People are outside all the time. 

Like pretty much every gathering needs to be outside in October because the weather is so awesome.

OU football is in full swing. (And OSU too, but whatevs).

The kids are totally in the school groove.

Chimineas. Fire pits.

No snow. Just not gonna happen.

Soups and stews are back on the menu.

Fall Break.

Halloween.

And last, but not least, our annual vacation to Lake Tenkiller! YES, PLEASE!

The one thing Oklahoma does not have in October is fall leaves.

It usually doesn't get cold enough here for them to start changing, so it's still pretty green with just subtle hints of color change here and there.

Full blown fall leaves come in November.  

November's a good month too, but I won't rush it.

For now, I'm going to relish October.

I hope you are all having a wonderful October 1st wherever you are!