August 2015

August in Oklahoma is one word: HOT. Usually over 100 degrees. It's delightful (not). Yet, if you can be near a pool or some sort of water source, it's not that bad. I still prefer the ease of summer--throw on shorts, tank, flip flops and you're good to go. Sleeping in, no set schedule, vacations...,I digress.

With school staring August 13th this year, we only had two weeks of summer left to play. 

My dear friend and college roomie, LeAnn, came down from Kansas for a visit with her boys. She surprised me with the news that she is pregnant with her third baby--a girl! LeAnn is amazing--smart (has her PhD in biochemistry and microbiology), beautiful, patient and so genuine and kind. She is a friend to everyone. I just love her and cherished our short, but sweet visit. 

We took in another fun Energy game!

We finally started the project of redoing our girls' room, taking it from toddler girls to young ladies. We started with new paint and carpet, then added bunk beds, new comforters and a desk. We still aren't finished, but we made big strides forward in August.

Getting there! We definitely freed up more floor space! 

My dad took Lucas to a Dodger's game for a special Guy's night out. They had a blast!

The second weekend in August, my friend Nikki and I decided to take a quick Mothers/Daughters' road trip. We decided to make this an annual thing from here out with these simple rules: 1. It will just be a weekend trip 2. It will be to an off the beaten path kind of place--no theme parks or or gimmicky kid traps. These girls' only trips will be focused on the journey, the quality time and a quirky experience so we can bond even more over the unique experience. For our innaugural trip, we chose the exotic town of Graham, TX. Why, you ask? This is the town I was born in and lived until I was ten years old. It's a quaint, small town of 8,000 in north-central Texas Hill Country. And it's only a 3.5 hour drive from OKC. 

We arrived around 1:00 and went straight to the Dairy King of course. That's right, Dairy KING, not Queen. The King is a total greasy dive that has been in Graham forever, and you must get a vanilla cream Coke when you go. It's the law. It might even be the eleventh commandment. Served with crushed ice and a classy super sized styrofoam cup, it's summer perfection. 

Next we checked into our hotel then changed and headed to the city pool where we swam the afternoon away. 

                    Cooling off! 

Later, back at the hotel, we did facial masks, manicures and pedicures. The girls loved it. Then we went next door to Pizza Hut for dinner before our final event for the evening--a drive-in movie! 

I grew up going to this drive-in! The firstv movie I saw here was Flight of the Navigator with my friend Shauna. We sat in the back of her dad's brown and orange pick-up truck and loved every minute of it! 

This night's feature was Pixels. It was meh, but the girls had tons of fun. Especially since we loaded them up with candy too.

The next morning we slept in, ate breakfast at the hotel, swam at the hotel pool, then checked out. On the way out of town, we stopped by Shauna's mom's house which happens to be across the street from the house I lived in. We got to sit and visit with her for a bit before we hit the road back to Oklahoma. But not without another Dairy King drive through!

Then, a few days later....school started!!!

Hannah and Leah started 5th grade at Deer Creek Intermediate School! A new adventure!!

And Lucas started kindergarten at Deer Creek Elementary School just down the street. My handsome boy!!

Once school started, I could really start devoting a day or two a week working on the House of Healing Gala. This is Nikki, Kathy and I working on securing auction donations downtown in Bricktown one afternoon. 

I blinked and August was over!