Sunday, November 20, 2011

Corn on the Cob Thief

9-28-11
The other night we went to dinner at Chili's. Greg and I ordered our food and then we ordered a kids meal for B. Chicken tenders and corn. I ordered corn on the cob with my meal. When the server brought out our food, B stole the cob off of my plate before I even had a chance to look at it! 
I had to let her feed it to me to be able to eat any of it! When it was gone, she then proceeded to eat her kernels that came with her meal! It was so hard to keep from laughing while I was watching her eat it. A few people that were sitting around us thought it was pretty funny as well!

Happy 17 Months B!

Since I am behind on posting I am only going to post pictures for this month! I can't believe how much she is growing and how fast she is learing and picking things up!
This is the look I get when she doesn't want her picture taken!





TMS Sept. 16-17, 2011

We just got back from the Texas Motor Speedway Dirt Track Nationals! It was a long fun weekend. It started on Thursday morning when we left town at 8:30am. We drove all the way to Winstar Casino in Thackerville, OK, just on this side of the border. We ate at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill. B was awake the whole way there and was so good. We had a short drive onto Texas Motor Speedway. B finally fell asleep! Thursday night was just practice. So we hung out a while and got everything unloaded.

Shortly after we arrived the crew next too us unloaded, they had a little girl 1 year older than B. She had a small battery operated 4-Wheeler and B immediately took it over! Thank goodness they were very nice people and didn't mind her riding it. That's all she did the rest of the day, other than watch daddy practice. Practice went good for Greg and he was ready for the first day of the show.
The races didn't start until 6pm on Friday. Since we stayed at the track in the toter it was pretty boring all day. We just sat around and played with B! Which I guess wasn't so boring because she is a bucket of laughs!

That night Greg went out to pack the track and hot lap. During his hot lap session it started to sprinkle and the track got really greasy so he pulled in! It continued to rain all evening. My cousin Harley had come down so we decided to make a trip to Wal-Mart, because B needed a 4-Wheeler, we needed some ice and because we knew we wouldn't be missing anything. Races were cancelled that night and were to start at 9am the next morning and then Saturday's show would start as normal at 6pm.
This was our entertainment for the evening!

Saturday we woke up to race cars running! It was an early morning. The boys started getting the car ready and I watched B ride her new 4-Wheeler.
Greg was scheduled to start 5th row outside (10th) of the 1st modified heat race but one car dropped out so he actually started 4th row outside (8th). He finished 8th. The track was still pretty greasy from all the rain! They place you into a qualifier based on your passing points in your heat. He was put 3rd row outside (6th) of the 2nd C qualifier and only the top 4 cars would transfer to the B qualifier. Greg WON IT!! Way To Go!
So now he had to start 11th row inside (21st out of 24 cars) of the B qualifier. Again they would only take the top 4 cars. He had a long way to go in a short time and didn't make it. He ended up 14th, which wasn't to bad but not good enough. He would have one more chance in that night's show.
They ran 4 B qualifiers and would take the top 4 in each one to the A Main....The Big Show....the Big Money!!! Greg started 5th row outside of the 2nd B qualifier. He drove hard and fast but not fast enough. He ended up 8th. So our night was over:-(
There were over 100 modifieds entered and I thought Greg did a great job. This isn't like your weekly Saturday night racing. All these cars are fast and all of them will do whatever it takes to make the show! I am so proud of Greg and can't wait to go back in April!
We spent the rest of the night watching the A Mains and hanging out with friends!
B was so good all weekend! She was awesome on the way there and back. She loves sitting in the stands with me watching her daddy race. She thinks he is always out there. She gives him a kiss as he is getting settled into the car and waves bye-bye as he is pulling out of our pit stall. Then she thinks hes racing. I don't have the heart to tell her he's not out there so I just cheer with her as she claps her hands and says "GOOOOOO!"

England Wedding

9-10-11: An easy anniversary date to remember!
Greg's last single friend finally tied the knot! Congrats to Mr. and Mrs. Cory England!! We wish you a long life of happiness!
No picture of the bride and groom but here is a pic of Greg and I!

I've got some catching up to do!

Oh My! I am way behind on posting. Since I have plans to turn my blog into a book I am going to do some catching up! Hope I can get it all done!

Friday, September 9, 2011

Happy 16 months Brinley

Can it be.....Can Brinley really be 16 months old? Well as of August 21, 2001 she is!
(OK, I know I am a little behind on this post, but life has been happening!)
I cannot believe how fast she is growing and how quickly she learns new things. It seems that she does something new everyday. She is so funny and always has us laughing. I love this stage of her life!
What is Brinley up to?!
  • Her schedule: I am back at work so her schedule has changed a bit. 7am-wakes up and had a cup of milk and a cereal bar, 7:45am-gets dropped off at daycare and had breakfast (yes again!), 9am-morning snack, 11:30am-lunch, 12-1:30pm-nap time, 3-afternoon snack, 4:30pm-mommy picks her up from daycare, 6:30pm-dinner, 7:45pm, bath and bedtime.
  • She goes to Nana's (Gma Jane's) on Mondays and Wednesdays and to Miss Michelle's (her daycare) on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
  • She is an eater. She snacks all day, mainly on animal crackers and water.
  • She wants to eat whatever you are eating. She loves to dip everything!
  • She still loves water best but will occasionally have apple juice.
  • She runs everywhere she goes. Very little walking. She looks so funny when she runs. Her little hips just twist from side to side and her arms swing like crazy.
  • She has started trying to jump/hop off the steps.
  • Words Brinley says: peas (please), uh-uh (no), no-no, noooo, me (when she wants something), hi, bye-bye, momma, mommy, dadda, daddy, baby, papa, nana, ba (bath) wa-wa (sippy), Coco - apparently we yell at Coco a lot because Brinley does, tee (teeth), mine, eat, bite, sho (shoe), ash - trash, cocks (don't judge!) (Socks - Nana's Dog),  car, go, one (like own for phone) cow, no (nose), eye, and she babbles a lot!
  • She can point to her: nose, ear, eye, hair, and belly.
  • She can tell you where your nose and eyes are.
  • She loves to talk on her play phone, but when she hears someone through the real phone she is completely confused!
  • She loves to play with her babies. She feeds them and brings them to me to wrap up so she can carry them around.
  • She sleeps from 8pm to 7am on school nights and will sleep even later on the weekends. I love her for this!
  • She has 16 teeth. 8 on the top and 8 on the bottom.
  • She is still in a size 3 diaper but I am pretty sure we will be in a 4 very soon.
  • She is wearing some 12 month clothes but mostly 18 month clothes.
  • She can wear a size 3 or 4 shoe, just depends. She has only been wearing sandals this summer and I am interested to see how shoes go this winter because...
  • She takes her shoes off as soon as we get into he car.
  • She loves her baths now that we are not going to the water park anymore. This is the only time she gets to play in the water so she likes it now!
  • She loves to wrestle with her daddy on the floor. If he lays down it is a matter of seconds before she is climbing all over him!
  • She has become stingy with her kisses. It is very rare to get one anymore. However she willingly gives high fives!
  • She tries to put on her own pants and shoes. Thinking she needs some dress-up clothes soon!
  • She loves to play outside. I hope it cools off so we can do more playing outside because she loves her slide.
  • She loves to dance and she will dance anywhere! I gave her my old iPhone, she found the music and turns it on and dances around the house like crazy!
  • She loves to get you! She will run up to you and wrap her arms around you and squeeze, then laugh and run away!
  • She is a laugher! She thinks everything is funny.
  • She loves to tickle and be tickled!
16 Month Stats
weight: 24 lbs 12 oz - 70%
height: 32 in. tall - 80%
head circumference: 47 cm - 74%

Shoulda Stayed Home

8-27-11
Greg decided that he would race in Lawton this weekend. So Saturday morning we got everything around to head out. When I got B up and dressed, she immediately brought me her shoes and said "Daddy!" She knew he was in the shop and she wanted to go out there. So out we went. She even helped load the race car! Greg started it up while she was in there and she loved it!
My fav picture to date

They say bad things happen in sets of threes. It's true. On the way down to Lawton we had a blowout on the trailer! (Bad thing #1) It was super hot but the guys got it changed and we were on our way again. When we got to Lawton B just chilled until it was time to watch Dad race.
B got to watch Greg hot lap and then headed to bed. He started pole (1st) in the heat and won it. That's about the only good thing that happened on this trip. Because while we were waiting around for his feature to start the generator on the truck quit on us! (Bad thing #2) The guys tried to work on it but had no luck!

Greg started pole in the feature which is usually a good thing....not this night! The track was rough and everyone was driving crazy. Greg broke his drive shaft and had a DNF (Did Not Finish). (Bad thing #3) Pretty sure he would have won...but life goes on! We loaded up and headed home. It was a hot ride home because the generator had broke the A/C in the back of the truck wouldn't work. Thank goodness B slept all the way home!

B enjoyed scraping mud off dads car after his hot laps before she had to go to bed! She is such a big helper!
B really loves going racing and hanging with Dad and Uncle Dan!
Bad things definitely happen in threes:
1. Blow out on the trailer!
2. Generator quit!
3. Broke the drive shaft on the race car!

Hopefully we can get it all fixed before we race in Texas!

Sunday, August 28, 2011

1st Day of School and Racing in Lawton 8-20-11

Friday (8-19-11) was the 1st day of school. I remember my 1st day of school (as a teacher) 5 years ago. I was the Pre-K teacher and I was so nervous...mostly wondering if this was what I really wanted to be doing for the rest of my life! I quickly learned that I loved teaching and the only other thing I prefer doing is being a SAHM! Since that day I have taught Pre-K (2yrs), 3rd grade (3 yrs), and I am now teaching 1st grade. My class is wonderful and we are going to have a wonderful year!
Saturday Morning (8-20-11) Greg decided he wanted to go to Lawton to race. Nothing like a last minute decision! I packed B up and Greg got the race car ready. Greg, B, myself, Uncle Dan, and Papa loaded up and headed south. Gene's long time friend, Gail showed up. I have only met him a hand full of times but he is great! B isn't to sure about him yet, though she did let him hold her...surprising! Don't worry Gail, she'll warm up to you at some point!
I got B to wave at her dad before he went out for mud laps and she decided that she needed to wave at every driver that she could see drive off. It was so cute. She would hear them start up their car and off she would go to wave/say bye-bye. Needless to say I got a workout. Secretly I think her dad loved seeing her wave to him before he went out!
Greg did OK.
Heat: Started 4th row outside (8th) and finished 5th.
Feature: Started 5th row outside (10th) and finished 8th.
Not the best but we came home in one piece. Kind of a win-win situation I guess.
It was a late night and so we loaded up and headed home.
Sorry no pics :(. It's no easy to get pics when I have to chase a 16 month old around! It can be pretty dangerous in the pits so I have to keep a close eye on her.

B's 1st Day of Daycare!

I started back to work on Monday Aug. 15th. B went to Nana's (which is where she will go on Monday's and Wednesday's). B's first day of Daycare was Tuesday Aug. 16th. She is only going to Miss Michelle's part-time right now (Tues., Thurs., and Fri.). Greg and I both dropped her off. Greg hadn't been there and I wanted to be there for her 1st day!
We had been here twice before so B kinda knew the place and Miss Michelle but she was still a little leery. She cried just a bit when we left her. I think my heart was breaking more than hers was. I told Greg this year is harder for me to go back to work than last year. She is just so much more playful and is learning so much right now! Everyday she has something new that she can do or a new word she can say! When does the growing stop??!!
I picked B up after work and she was so excited to see me. I love it when she runs up to me with a BIG smile and gives me hugs and kisses without me asking for them! Miss Michelle said she was wonderful. B even did an art project. (of course Miss Michelle had to help her a little)
I can't wait to see what else she is capable of! We might have a little Picasso on our hands!!

A Bachelorette Party

My husbands good friend it getting married in a few weeks. Greg was invited to the Bach party and Cory's fiance was kind enough to invite me to her bachelorette Party. I don't didn't know Amy that well but we quickly became good friends. Saturday morning we dropped B off at Nana's (formerly known as Gma Jane) and we headed over to Cory and Amy's house. The boys headed to OKC and the girls headed to Wichita!
We had a great time. We met her friends at the Hotel at Old Town. We all got ready and headed to dinner at Old Chicago. Delicious!
My dinner was free because they continued to mess up my pizza before they even delivered it to the table. After dinner the party started. That's about all the information I can divulge to you! HA! Let's just say we had a blast! And from what I heard the boys did too!
The Bride to Be all dressed up and all the girls

Sunday morning we headed back home. I was more than excited to get home and see my baby girl! Greg got home first and sent me this pic of B!
 Thanks Amy, Courtney and Stephanie for a wonderful night! Amy, I wish you and Cory the best!!

My Classroom Project

I decided that I wanted a cute chair to put in the reading center of my classroom. I have seen lots of old chairs that people have redone in a cute color and recovered the cushion with a trendy fabric...and they are so cute. So I set out on a mission. 
I found this chair for 50 cents at a thrift store. Reg. price $10. A great buy! I primed it with KILLS. Then painted it purple (which was leftover from my colleagues room painting project)! And covered the cushion with zebra fabric to get this finished product!
I LOVE IT!!!!
This has inspired to me to repurpose lots of old things! Lets see how long the fire will last!

Monday, August 22, 2011

My Last Free Week...Before School Starts

I have been spending a lot of time in my classroom. Summer is kinda over for me. So I wanted to spend some extra time with B because she will start daycare next week. We went out to eat at Applebee's and B got to sit in a booster seat for the first time. She usually does very well in a high chair but she wanted nothing to do with it this time. So we asked for a booster and she was amazing!
Eatin Good in the Neighborhood
(you can't really tell but she has a ponytail in)
 And because her daddy loves us so much he took us to Cherry Berry after dinner! B and I love FroYo! She isn't much of a sweets person unless it is some sort of ice cream! Thanks Daddy! We love you!


Terrible Wind Storm Aug 8, 2011

We had a terrible wind storm come through on Aug 8, 2001. I was out at the school getting my classroom ready when one of the other teachers said her dad had called to warn her about a bad storm coming though. I decided it was time to wrap up and head home. I thought that I was going to make it but I was caught right in the middle. It was a little freaky. I had to drop my friend off at her house and when I left the wind was blowing so bad that I could hardly see where I was going! Thankfully I made it home safe and we didn't have any damage, just no electricity. the neighborhood my friend lives in had uprooted trees and lots of things blown everywhere!
Monday night we slept in the toter because it was way to hot to stay in the house with B. She was a little confused on why she was in the toter and not going anywhere!
Here are some pics of the damage at the fairgrounds.
(what used to be the Pit Shack, garage door by the stands, down power lines)

B's 1st Full Ponytail

I am way behind on blogging.
This is b with her first full ponytail. It was August 9th. Her hair is  really thin so I don't think it will be up in one much becase she also tries to pull it out. As much a I love bows and fixing her hair, she loves to pull them out! Ha
(this is from my phone so the quality is kinda poor)

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

We've Got A Swimmer

I have been working in my classroom for the last week. I was moved from the 3rd grade to the 1st grade. The room I moved into was beyond ugly. 5 different colors of paint on the walls from more than 20 years ago I'm sure. If you know me, then you know I need things to be clean and organized.....So I painted and then had to go through everything!
While I've been doing this my mom has been keeping B. My mom hurt her arm a few weeks ago and is now doing better but they haven't released her to go back to work. B has been enjoying staying at Grandma B's. My mom has a pool that is 4 ft. deep all around so B can't touch, but she loves to swim. The other day my mom put arm floaties on B and she just took off. Yesterday mom said she swam from one side of the pool to the other all by herself multiple times. She loves the water!

We went to OKC with Aunt Alea on Friday. She had to go pick something up and didn't want to drive by herself. We took the car seat out of Greg's truck for B. This is how she rode all the way home while swaying back and forth dancing to the music! She is too funny!


Thursday, August 4, 2011

An unexpected trip to MO.

We haven't been up to much lately. Last Tuesday I got a call from my Grandma Penner. It was not a good call. My Uncle Cecil (my Gma's brother-in-law) was on his way to his granddaughter's wedding and had collapsed in the airport. They had transported him to the hospital and the results were not looking good. He had had a stroke and a collapsed lung. Things continued to get worse and he passed on Thursday.
My Grandma called and asked if I could drive them to the funeral service. We left on Saturday morning and headed to my Aunt Eva (my Gma's sister) and Uncle Benton's home in Nevada, MO. Brinley doesn't know her Great Grandparents very well only because we don' get to see them often. So she was a little leery of them at first but soon warmed up. She really enjoyed Aunt Eva and Uncle Benton. She loved Aunt Eva's baby rocker!
 My grandparents are Mennonite, a  Christian religion with very different beliefs. There are very few pictures of them because they don't believe in it, so no family pics on this trip. After cleaning up we headed to the church in Rich Hill, MO (about 25 minutes from Nevada) for family dinner and the viewing of Uncle Cecil. dinner was delicious. It is very rare the the entire family gets together so when they do I have to try to remember them all. My Grandma has 12 brothers and sister (5 of which are deceased)! After dinner and visiting we headed back to Eva's for the night.
Brinley was in a great mood Sunday morning so I quick snapped a pic of us before we left to go to the service.
 She also had to play with Gma's cane.
 The service was at 10:30. The church congregation served us lunch after the service. Lunch once again was delicious. After that we headed to my Aunt Maggie's home. (Maggie is Cecil's wife). We stayed there all afternoon and late into the evening. It was so wonderful to spend time with family I rarely get to see. Brinley loved all the attention (this was the first time any of them had meet her). I hope that we get to meet up again soon...but not to lay someone to rest.
We got up Monday morning to head home. We decided to drive through Joplin to see the tornado damage. I have never seen first hand any sort of devastation like this. It absolutely took my breath away. We drove by he hospital and through the center of the tornado path. It was amazing (I don't mean this is a wonderful sort of way!) There was absolutely nothing left standing. Piles of debris were everywhere. The most horrifying thing I saw was a home that had been completely destroyed and all that was left was the cement pad and the steps that led to what once was the front door. I tried to take a picture while driving. It's not very good. This used to be neighborhood with houses everywhere.
We stopped in Tulsa at Hideaway Pizza to eat lunch and B wanted to sit with Gma. Gma was just thrilled, as you can see by her expression in this photo.

Brinley did wonderful on this unexpected trip. I am so thankful that I got to see m Grandmother's side of the family once again. Thank you so much Aunt Eva and Uncle Benton for opening your home to us and for the wonderful breakfast every morning and nightly snacks. Brinley especially enjoyed them. We hope to see you again soon.
Family members who Brinley met on this trip: Aunt Eva and Uncle Benton and their children, Aunt Maggie and her children, Aunt Hannah, Uncle Henry and Aunt Gladys, (Eva, Maggie, Hannah, and Henry are Gma's siblings), and many more cousins that I can't even begin to keep track of.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Happy Birthday Maleah!

My cousin Maleah (Amanda's oldest girl) turned 5 on Monday 7-18-11. She had her birthday party at Splash Zone.
Of course Brinley had a great time. She loved playing in the water as always. She really enjoyed it because there were so many kids there that she knew! Maleah raked it in. She got lots of neat gifts. She is a very lucky girl!
I let Brinley hold this capri sun all by herself. This doesn't happen often because she usually squeezes all the juice out of them. But she took a few drinks with out loosing any of the juice. As soon as she saw the cupcakes the juice was put down.
Brinley loved the cupcake. The first thing she did was poke her fingers in the icing and lick them. She usually doesn't like sweets, but I think she enjoyed it so much because there was no parental control. I just let her do what she wanted. We were outside at a water park. I wasn't to worried about having to clean up a big mess.
She dug right in and pretty Mich finished the entire thing. After she finished the cupcake she drank some water and back to the pool she went. We had a great time. Thanks so much Maleah for inviting us.
Maleah,
You are such a sweet girl. Brinley and I are so happy that you are part of our family. We love spending time with you at Splash Zone. I know Brinley loves going down the slide with you and I thank you very much for helping her like you always do. You are almost like a big sister to her.
We love you very much,
Becky and Brinley