ONE NATION UNDER GOD (ONUG)

Today was our Fourth of July celebration at church. It was about the best day you could ask for. Clear blue sky, no humidity and temps in the 80's. We were all looking forward to the afternoon festivities. Funny thing about Sunday's at our house it that everyone sleeps, including myself. Today was no different, except I must have been more tired than normal and slept so hard I was unsure of what day of the week it was when Ron woke me up. Needless to say we got a little bit of a later start than normal, but still made it in time to enjoy all the fun and games.

The big hit for the kids was a big water slide. I was positive that Becca was not going to do it and felt kind of funny even putting on her suit. I had a not so nice realization seeing her in line that she was no longer a little toddler-which I think I see, but instead has grown into a little girl. She was so brave and even after standing in line watching all the kids climb up a tall rope she bravely climbed in and made it up to the top, with help of course. The first time both kids went down the slide they both got to the top and you could just see the worry on their faces, but once they landed and climbed out they were off running to stand in line to do it again.

There were some little carnival games, which Brayden was all about as most involved throwing. Supper was hamburgs and hot dogs, complete with Cheeto's. I think both kids could eat Cheetos everyday and be totally happy. There was a desert/cookie table and after taking a look with the kids, Brayden decided on some brownies, Becca on the other hand was into the cotton candy. I think her little container lasted all of 2 minutes. It was a lot of fun seeing the kids get to play and run with their friends. They are finally saying names and starting to interact which is always fun to see. The evening concluded with a wonderful patriotic concert which I very much enjoyed. It was complete with some of the Tulsa Symphony and a wonderful choir-yes they even sang the Coast Guard Anthem (thanks Uncle Doug for your years of Service); Although, I am still wishing I was able to sit with my Brother and fiance in Millennium Park/Chicago and hear an outdoor patriotic concert.

It was a wonderful evening and a great start to our Fourth of July celebration and reminder to us to always put our Hope and trust in the Lord who is thankfully always in control.

Brief update

We have been having a fairly low key week. Somehow we manage to stay busy and it is amazing how fast the week flys by. Both Ron and I have been busy with "exercise" as the kids call it. We have been doing a lot of running and bike riding. I need to get some pictures. The kids love to run and after spending some time on the track they have some great moves for just about any warm up you could invent. As for the bike riding I think I am enjoying it a little more than the kids. We have been biking a little longer distance so Brayden is also riding in the pull behind with the girls. They usual do great but Becca likes to pull Brayden's hair after a little while. Although I find fussy kids are great motivation no matter how hot or windy it is. I am hoping the heat holds off so we can get in a couple more rides. Actually the kids don't mind so much as it is fast and there is a good breeze and they know they get to either swim or get ice-cream after. Besides for swimming, biking and running not a whole lot has been going on in the Haveman household. Brayden is now an expert on pushups and will drop and give you about 3 anywhere. He is also enjoying his computer again. Amazing what they can figure out-or pretend to know. Becca is still big into her baby which never leaves her side, it did manage to get a bath and scrub the other night. It worried me some as she awoke crying in the middle of the night because baby was gone. Thankfully she fell back asleep as Baby was still soaking wet. The worse moment was actually putting her baby in the dryer-Becca was so upset and couldn't understand why she couldn't just towel her off, ahhhh the mind of a two year old! Andrea is still just a little happy camper, as long as she gets her food....I think she is growing.

WHAT WAS THAT???

The other night I was up in the middle of the night feeding Andrea when I thought I heard something. I thought as usual that it was my imagination, which Ron can testify goes a little crazy in the middle of the night. As I sat there in the rocker in Becca's room a little longer I realized it was not my imagination, there was really something moving around in the wall. Then I look over at Becca and in the dark all I can see are her eyes, as she is laying perfectly still on her back, wide open. I knew we were thinking the same thing... what was that!?? I went to tell Ron, who in his deep slumber didn't really seem to care that something was in the wall, and our life carried on for about a week without incident. Then this weekend while Ron was packing for our day trip away I guess he saw something in the garage; which by the way I have also seen a couple times, but when I tell him and we go hunting I think he is always humoring me and a course of action is never taken. So.... since I guess HE finally saw a mouse with his own eyes, he got a bunch of traps that day before we left and set them. Sadly and disgustingly to say we have a mouse problem-thankfully only in the garage and attic. The kids have no clue and I am hoping to keep it that way. I am sure that Brayden would be way to interested in the whole mouse catching process. In my defense the traps set in the attic have been very productive. At least I know that I was not crazy that evening. Here's to catching all the MICE, that have I am sure multiplied 3 fold since I first heard them!

POOL DAYS

We got out the new pool-bigger this year, the kids were so excited


Becca is getting so big-able to hang with Brayden and enjoy some of the craziness this year


GREAT!!! I was hoping Andrea was not going to be such a little dare devil.


How refreshing, they actually played together.

A DAY AWAY

Saturday was finally a day we had free as a family and there was really no rain in the forecast. We packed it all in for a day trip and decided to try a new spot. This is always some what dangerous as we have had our share of rotten day trips in OK. I was a little nervous when I called about swimming and the state park attendant said, "sure, Snake Creek, just past Sixshooter and Chicken creek" with a full Oklahoma southern accent, my mind was full of way too many mental pictures! The kids were so excited to go. I think Brayden thought we were in it for the long haul when he met me at the door with his puppy in hand.."I am ready to go, I can sleep in the car mommy" I informed him it was not the MI drive. We went with another family who were thankfully up for anything and a little adventure as well. It was about a one and half hours drive and I think Becca had to go to the bathroom all of about 5 minutes. We finally made her hold it the last 30 minutes-you would think she hadn't seen a bathroom in days the way she cried. The big girl held it till we arrived and after a mad dash to the bathroom again, she went... again.

We found a wonderful camp spot right on the lake, the water was very high and you could about swim the boat ramp parking lot. Brayden told us that it was called snake creek because of snakes, but not to worry because snakes only come out when it is dark. I liked his reasoning. Unfortunately it didn't hold try. We found a dead snake right by our friends van and then HORROR I actually saw one swimming in the flooded road by our site, I did my best to not lose it and freak out the kids -disgusting!

There was a floating fishing dock that everyone was jumping off of and Brayden actually managed to get the courage and jump off. He had about 2 trial runs to the end before he actually made it off. We all did manage to get in the water. I think the babies enjoyed it the most, little Joshua and Andrea would just kick and kick and have the biggest grin on their faces. Ron took the kayak and managed to get both Becca and Brayden on-Becca protested very loudly, she was unsure of the lake water all day. Brayden on the other hand was still talking about tipping with daddy and how it was his favorite thing he did today.

It was fun to see the difference between the kids. Brayden spend almost all his time throwing rocks in the water and playing at the lakes edge. On the other hand Becca and Katherine spent most of the day playing with their babies, so cute to see. They both would feed them, buckle them in the stroller and pretend to love and take care of them. Of course they are both two so there were many heated arguments over who got what bottle or who got whose baby, but still fun to see.

We did a little grilling for dinner-you can imagine a picnic table with five little ones, I think anyone walking by would have laughed. At one point it was Ron on one side with four kids, very funny. After a short play at the park and some fun tire swing rides we packed it in and headed home. No, we stopped the adventure there. I had actually considered tenting and lobbied pretty hard but Ron was pretty set that it was only going to be a day trip. Back in my mind I remembered some of our late screaming nights with the kids camping and agreed that it would be best for all to head home to the comforts of our own beds.

It was a great day away and out of the city. The kids had a wonderful time and Ron and I enjoyed the change of pace. As for our friends we hope they will continue to hang out with us-I was a little concerned when Becca decided to spread them right in front of them and pee for all to see. To conclude, we were driving out of the park in the dark when from the back seat we hear Brayden, " it's dark mommy, the snakes are out now" yes, it was time to head out. What a great day.

Andrea Joy

Today Andrea was just full of smiles. It was a good thing as the other two kids were full of the whines, after a late night last night. Thankfully a friend got us out of the house and we spent the entire morning on a hard bike ride, with a well needed park break, it made for wonderful nap time-for everyone!

Andrea is growing so fast, she continues to be a lot of fun to watch, she is pulling herself up on everything. Most of the time she is standing clinging to my leg-if she hung on tight enough I think I could probably walk with her. She loves being outdoors, today she discovered that she can stand outside and not just sit in the driveway, she discovered the stroller and thought she was big stuff standing in the front yard. Funny thing with her is that I find if she doesn't get enough one on one time with myself or Ron she is a bear going to bed. Tonight after a lot of fake screaming I got her up-she was so excited to be up and just crawled all over playing catch me or I will get you-loving the one on one time. After about a 30min fix she goes right to bed no fuss. I don't mind as it is funny to watch her try to interact with us. I got out the camera tonight, but as usual it is so hard to capture her grins.

Discoveryland

So last night we finally did the tourist attraction here in Tulsa/ Sand Springs We went with our small group from church to Discoveryland. I kept telling the kids we were going to see a play that might have some horses in it. All they understood was the horse part, so for most of the day all they kept asking about was the horses. What do you know, we arrived and at the entrance was a cowgirl sitting on a horse-they were so excited. Brayden had the map and was our back seat driver with directions, he was very concerned because he didn't know which sign was the correct one for Discoveryland-then he saw the horse! They served us a meal out on picnic tables-little ones for the kids. Brayden and Becca were so big and sat at their own tables, I don't think Becca ate anything-beans and a BBQ sandwhich are not the kid friendliest food. Brayden dug in. Andrea enjoyed dinner before we arrived so she was happy with a little left over corn.

Becca has been so into horsies as she calls them and couldn't wait to see them. They had a little pony ride that I thought she was excited to ride. As we got in line to ride I realized she was not longer by me and hiding back by the stroller (this is the same girl who road the rollercoaster, no sweat). We managed to get her closer and watch Brayden, then Ron put her on the first pony-we thought she was going to be okay.....lets just say an ear piercing scream about scared every pony in the corral. So needless to say she didn't ride the ponies, she spend most of the time clinging to the safety of the stroller (I guess she didn't trust us).

The show started around 7:30 with some dancing, singing and an Indian dance-in full head-dress, Becca's eye's were huge. The play, Oklahoma started at eight and didn't get over till 11. I thought the girls would sleep but they stayed awake the entire time. They had real horses in the play complete with wagons and gunfire, which also made Becca scream. She sat with her hand over her ears for the next 30 mins after the first gun fire. It was very entertaining even from the back as I watched pushing the stroller around. At the end Brayden got to go up on stage and meet the actors. I think that he was headed to the big bad character but got intimidated and ended up hugging all the girls instead. Becca kept wondering when the horsies were going to go to bed. I knew the kids were beat and it was apparent when as we were loading the car Brayden started to cry and say he was too tired and couldn't read the map to get home. It was a little hard to keep from laughing as we assured him daddy could find our house. A good outing made a little bit more fun with the kids insights though out the evening.

ENDLESS RAIN

Must be a good story-the book is upside down, ha ha

So, after spending an entire day cooped up in the house we are all ready for this rain to be over. I know we shouldn't complain but enough already! The kids didn't really seem to mind till later in the day-I think we all needed a break from each other. In the morning they were entertained by getting to play with play dough-OHHHHH GOODIE was Becca response, we had some new play dough stuff that we never had opened from Brayden's birthday which thankfully lengthened their interest level. Brayden was excited because he got to watch a long video, "We have time mommy" was his comment to me when I mentioned nap time. Yes, I thought, we do have time. Andrea on the other had managed to give all of us quite a headache. She has found a high pitch scream for any reason, happy or sad. I am beginning to think that she is going to be a little strong willed. She has finally discovered something she can do that demands a response, okay not really but when we are all in the same room for multiple hours I need my sanity. Becca's diversion today was her baby. She loves caring for it and is always telling me what baby is doing-"look mommy, baby sleeping on my shoulder, look mommy, look mommy, look mommy......." Today she remembered the bag of baby stuff and it kept her busy with food, water and other necessities for her baby, although we didn't have any clothes which posed an issue. Afternoon finally arrived and after a short nap cession I decided to get out the Lincoln logs. You would think this would be fun but I found out it caused more tears than smiles. Brayden is easily frustrated, I thought I would help and tried building one of his specified cabins. Of course I thought it turned out, he on the other hand said it was all wrong and went back to his general frustrated whine. I caved and turned on Dragon Tails! QUIET. How wonderful that Ron was home on time and able to build the perfect ranch to Brayden specifications and put a smile on EVERYONE'S face. I am so thankful for rain but a break would have been nice.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

I can't believe it, I didn't take a picture yesterday of Ron with all the kids. I might have to take an after the moment picture.
Yesterday was Ron's special day-mostly a family fun day. We all enjoyed some cinnamon rolls for breakfast-per Ron's request before church. Brayden loved them and was wondering were they were this morning. After church we did a little grilling and had a nice dinner with some friends from church. It worked out great as the kids were entertained and played while we were able to actually eat and visit. Brayden and Becca were so excited to give Ron his gifts. They were under strict instructions not to tell daddy what the gifts were, so after Brayden hid them in his room he promptly went and told Ron were they were hidden. No, Ron was very good and didn't peak all week-or so I think. The kids crashed in the afternoon-all but Andrea who was sound asleep during dinner. She had fun climbing over Ron as he rested on the floor enjoying an Indian Jones Movie. For the evening we met up with the Marsh's again and went for a great bike ride. It was quite an entourage on the river trail-two chariots for a total of 5 kids. It was a lot of fun and the kids did great for being squished in a little trailer for about one and half hours. We ended the ride with supper at the park, compete with snow cones, Brayden make squirrel traps and I made multiple trips to the bathroom for Becca. We ended the evening riding back to our house amongst all the fire fly's, with lightening lighting up the sky in the far horizon. It was a wonderful day and reminded both Ron and I how blessed we are to be able to spend such special times together as a family, no matter where we are!

Bartlesville KiddiePark

Yesterday was forcasted to be a cooler day so when we see this we are always looking for something to do outside. It just so happens that a kiddiepark in bartlesville-about one hour away has opened for the summer. We had been once before but had not been back as it is only open in the summer and it is just too hot for us. Anyway we braved the weather and headed out of Tulsa for a fun evening. It looked like storms by our home but by the time we made it to the park it was clear blue sky and comfortable temps. What a fun night. It is a little mini amusement park for kids about 5 and under. We went with another family last minute and Brayden had a blast with his little buddy Jackson. Becca was so brave and did all the rides-even the roller-coaster. She was so cute, she climbed in all by herself and promptly put her arms up, like, I know what I am doing and let's get the show on the road. The only thing she didn't like was the clowns. They all got her stare down and were never able to get a smile out of her. Between the carousel, spinner cars, boat/car rides, swings, you would think they would have been tired but we closed the park down at 10pm and the kids were still going strong, and more and more hyper by the minute. We knew it was time to leave when the balloon sword that Brayden had, popped as he was sword fighting with Jackson-you would have that he had been stabbed they way he carried on-what an ending to great night! Becca hit the wall in the car when she realized she had to ride home and couldn't just crawl in bed, we listened to the whine of "I TIRED, I TIRED," over and over again. We were doing our best to ignore the crying from the back seat when Becca's cry's turned to, "It hurts, It hurts" I turn and she has her finger up her nose. GREAT, NOW WHAT. It didn't know what was going on and couldn't see really as it was dark. Somehow I convinced her I would take care of it at home and she fell asleep. Sadly she was awakened when we arrived to have a pair of tweezers stuck up her nose-she actually really did have something up her nose, a bead from her VBS bracelet. Who sticks beads up their nose??? Again, we had lots of screaming but thankfully we got the bead out and she headed off to bed. What a night!

Last Day

The crazy Professors! What a fun week the kids had at VBS!

VBS

Becca walking with her class

Brayden-full of smiles after singing with the big kids

Brayden and his class full of dance moves during the singing time.

Andrea-she got to wear the big bow as the VBS outfit was a little too black/boy for mommy.

(It gave everyone a good laugh)

Brayden, decorating his journal with stickers with his friends

Becca, and baby with her class

Becca, having some water after playing outside

Becca decorating her journal with stickers. She loves stickers and has been always the last one doing her craft-determined to use them all.

It is vacation Bible school this week, all three kids get to go as long as I volunteer. It sounds great but by the third day I/we are beat! Getting everyone out of the house by 8:30 is something we don't really accomplish and having to do it 5 days in a row is huge for us. The kids love it. Brayden on the other hand is up by 7am and dressed with shoes ready to go. Not so with Becca, as she is getting more and more tired as the week goes. This morning I had to wake her up and she crawled out of bed saying, "I still sleepy" Both kids love their class and love seeing me through-out the morning. We are doing power lab so Becca loves yelling POWER and listening to the VBS CD. Dancing with the music is big with Brayden's class and they all get to jump around during the singing time. It has been a great week between all the crafts, snacks, singing, playing, they have been fully entertained. Andrea has done great in the nursery all morning and has been even taking her morning nap for them-shocking as there seems to always be a crying baby in the room.