momma & me: adventure 8

Pelican Bay

Elle and I checked out Pelican Bay in Edmond during their twilight hours. Twilight hours are 5-8 Monday through Wednesday, and 5-7 Thursday and Friday, so we chose Monday to maximize our time. If you go during these times you get in at a reduced rate. Elle had a blast even though she didn't even experience most of what they had. She chose to play in the pool staying right around 1 ft, but absolutely loved it. She did eventually venture over to one of the steering wheels on the little island with the slide, but not until almost closing. I thought it was a fairly nice place to cool off and let Elle play. My only complaints were that they've added "safety breaks" once an hour for 10 minutes, which means you have to get out of the pool. Their reasoning behind it is to get people to reapply sunscreen, get a drink, etc., but that means we lost 30 minutes of our time. I didn't think it was necessary in the evening or for that long. I also don't like that you can't bring in food. They did let me bring in a cup for Elle and my water bottle, but I didn't like that you couldn't even bring fruit or something healthy that they do not offer at the snack bar. We probably won't be going here again in the near future, mostly because their are free spraygrounds everywhere in the city, but it was fun to try it out.

thankful thursday + adventure 7

This past week I've been so thankful for friends and family and the time Elle and I have spent with them. I'm also more and more thankful to have a husband who is so loving, thoughtful, and who is actively present in our lives. I have new appreciation for single and/or military parents. They are my heros and I do not know how they do it all the time. Elle and I have missed Chris so much while he's been gone and really 3 weeks doesn't even compare to how long some families are apart. I am so blessed that he takes time out of his day to talk on the phone, send a postcard, or skype.

I'm also thankful we got to go to Tulsa last weekend and spend some time with family celebrating my mom's birthday. My sister's and I wanted to do some special so we threw her a "Ruby Red Rendezvous". Red is her favorite color and ruby is her birthstone! I'm so appreciative to all who came and supported my mom and Elle's Nana. I'm especially thankful for Michelle and Casey's hard work on the party!

Also thankful for a little swimming at Aunt Lynessa's house!








Grandma's 7 great-grandkids (r to l: Camryn and Evan (in Grandma's lap); Ruby and Derek; Esther and Hope; Elle)

and with the great-grandkids to be! Randy and I are few weeks apart, of course she still looks beautiful!

reach out and touch someone

We've been keeping up with Chris through phone calls, emails, texts, skype, and postcards. He's been so wonderful to send Elle tons of mail. She loves getting her postcards! She's also figured out the phone and she really loves to skype.

We usually talk to Chris before bed and Elle will even hug and kiss the phone. She is so sweet!


This is generally how most of our skypes go. She's running off or playing with the computer.


*Please ignore the messy home! It was pretty difficult to stay on top of the mess while doing swim lessons and running around so much.

momma & me: adventure 6

Science Museum Oklahoma

We had taken my sister, nephew, and niece to the Science museum, but got there with only 45 minutes left until they closed. Elle wanted to go back all weekend so we headed there last Monday. We had gotten a groupon for a membership and it has been well worth it. You would have to spend all day there to do everything. One of my favorite things about this place is that you can bring in your own food. They have a cafe, which is good, but since you could stay all day you don't have to spend more money. Elle has so much fun when we go. We had some friends join us this time and Elle played until she crashed.

momma & me: adventure 5.5

Going Gluten Free

My sister and her family have been trying a gluten free diet, so while they were visiting Elle and I tried it too. Before they arrived I didn't realize how much work it is to not eat gluten. I quickly became overwhelmed trying to find recipes. Gluten is in so much that we eat! After looking at several blogs and websites I found some easy, kid friendly dishes that didn't require me to overhaul my pantry. After talking with my sister and going through foods I realized it's not as overwhelming as I thought, but does require some thought. Here's our gluten free menu:

breakfast:
gluten free rice krispies (Walmart)
eggs

lunch and dinner:
nachos (corn chips, fresh ground beef, cheese, salsa)
chicken, rice, and peas
cheese quesadillas on corn tortillas
baked beans

snacks:
Annie's organic oat granola bars
popcorn
fruit

momma & me: adventure 5

Taylor visit!

Thursday afternoon my sister Michelle brought her kids, Derek and Ruby to the city for a visit. We met up at my cousin Emily's house for some visiting, playing, and ice cream. Then we headed to swim lessons and finally made it back to our house that evening. This was their first time spending the night with us so it was very exciting to have them over. Friday morning we braved the heat and went back to the zoo so they could see the baby elephant, but we didn't really see much else because we headed straight for the waterway. I think Ruby enjoyed it the most! The afternoon consisted of lunch and naps.



That evening we took them to the science museum, but got there with only 45 minutes left. We still had a good time, but they'll have to come back. Then we headed to Coit's, a root beer stand, for some yummy food and root beer in frosted mugs.

An aside: We also had to go to Target and exchange the air mattress I had just bought because it had a hole in it, which unfortunately Michelle and the kids didn't discover until the middle of the night. This coincided with a phone call from Chris, but while I was talking to him Elle decided she needed to look at the bras and kept saying "oh how so cute!". I think Chris may have had a slight coronary, but I couldn't stop laughing. But I digress...



Friday night the kids enjoyed baths, popcorn, and a movie, and phone calls to Daddies before bed.

Saturday my mom and Casey drove over for a Stampin Up! workshop. A couple of friends joined us and we made some really cute cards.

momma & me: adventure 4

swim lessons

Elle started swim lessons last Monday. We are doing a parent/tot class at OCCC Monday-Thursday evenings for two weeks. So far she's been pretty timid about putting her face in, but she's working on it. I have to say it's kind of a let down from last summer's swim lessons at Miller Swim School. Do you remember her tv debut? Can you believe how much she's changed? We haven't done really anything new since the first night and we don't get much instruction. I guess you get what you pay for. It has been nice to have something to do in the evenings and she has been enjoying herself even if she's not learning much. She likes watching the other kids in her class and especially watching the "frog kids" (a.k.a. scuba dive students, I don't know why she's calling them that).



Thanks Michelle for braving the traffic to go with us and for taking the pictures!

momma & me: adventure 3

new foods

We were hoping to make s'mores while at the cabin, but because of the burn ban we couldn't make a camp fire. And it never worked out to try them in the potbelly stove. So one night last week Elle and I made them so she could have a fun new treat. We put a piece of chocolate (dark for me, milk for her) on a graham cracker and topped it with a large marshmallow. Then we microwaved them for 10 seconds, put the other piece of graham on top and enjoyed! I've also been successful at getting her to eat or at least try some new veggies, which is a major accomplishment for Elle.

momma & me: adventure 2

Zoo and Waterway

Monday morning Elle and I met up with some friends at the OKC zoo. We looked at the Oklahoma Trails area and a few of the cats and then headed to the waterway in the children's area. Highlights of her morning were watching the deer and spending time with "Aba", "Isabewa", and their momma's!

momma & me: adventure 1

Harvest Hills Sprayground

As I said before, as soon as Chris left for VA Elle and I got busy. I decided we needed to check out a sprayground and I found this blog post about Harvest Hills Park. So off we went! Elle could not contain her excitement when we got there and took off towards the water before I could catch her. But then her true personality shined through and she became so timid about getting in. This meant I had to head in to show her it was okay. I found some of the calmer spray parts and she eventually enjoyed herself. This park is very clean, the neighborhood is nice, and it wasn't too busy. The sprayground theme is a dinosaur and whale. Elle's favorite part was that the playground was right next to it so she could alternate between getting wet or playing on the playground. They also have a big shelter and several shaded picnic tables. We highly recommend this sprayground and can't wait to go back!




(I thought this picture was too funny not to share! I have no idea what she was doing.)

thankful thursday and forgetful friday

I completely forgot it was time for another Thankful Thursday yesterday so I'm going to squeeze it in. Since starting this I have found things each day to be thankful about and I think to myself I need to put that on the list.


I'm thankful...
that Elle, Mops, and I have survived while Chris is gone.
that Chris made it to VA safely and the wonderful couple he's staying with.
for a sweet husband who makes time to talk to us via phone, skype, text, email, or postcard.
for baby belly kicks!
for friends and family who want to spend time with us so we won't be lonely.
for some rain and cooler temps for at least a couple of days.
for maintenance who will check out the stinky water situation.

momma & me

Chris left on the 9th to drive to Charlottesville, VA and won't return until July 31st. So what do you do with a toddler for 3 solid weeks when you're the only parent? Pray... and keep her busy! So as soon as Chris pulled out of the parking lot we started our Momma & Me time. Before Chris left I researched and came up with a long list of things around the City that Elle and I could do that was toddler friendly and relatively cheap. Here's what I came up with:

zoo
science museum
unpluggits
mall playground
playdates
picking peaches and nectarines--harrah orchard
bouncin' craze (2 and up, M, T, W, F)
round barn and Pops!
sprayground
jasmin moran children's museum (Seminole, W or F, kids under 3 free)
martin park nature center
ok railway museum (free, saturday train rides-adults $10, under 3 free)
edmond historical society museum (T-F 10-5, free!)
redhawks game (25th-30th)
winnie-the-pooh movie (premiers july 15th) {not sure if we're ready, but put it on the list}
harn homestead (adults $5, 3 and under free)
red pin bowling (she has a coupon from the library)
horse show at fair grounds (July 20-31, 8am-10pm, free to public)
library
pelican bay waterpark (twilight hrs, M-W 5-8, TH-F 5-7, $5 adults)
stampin up workshop
children's theater producation of Dr. Doolittle (ticket from library)

We've kept our normal schedule as well so Elle still goes to school Tuesdays and Thursdays. She also started swim lessons at OCCC on Monday and we just completed our first week. I'll be posting more about our activities over the next several weeks.

2011 trip to Shrockendo

In 1950 Chris' grandparents built a cabin in Platoro, CO. They lived there while Chris' granddad was working as an engineer on the reservoir. Chris' family has maintained it and he's has gone every summer of his life except two (thanks to grad school!). I was blessed to go with him the first summer we were dating. We like to refer to it as the place we fell in love. The cabin has no electricity, a pot belly stove to keep you warm, a kerosene stove to cook on and kerosene lanterns for lights. It's wonderful! The first few years I went you didn't shower unless you went over and paid for one and you used an outhouse. Since then a bathhouse has been added in back and the most recent development is the new cabin Chris' parents built next door.

This summer we were blessed to get to take Elle for her first time. We spent 4 days over the 4th of July holiday and had a blast. She wasn't really into hiking, but she did enjoy herself. Can't you tell from this face?
She didn't even seem bothered by the 40 degree weather at night. We tried to give Elle the full experience.

One of her favorite things was watching the horses who belong to the guy whose cabin is right behind us.

She saw a rescued baby chipmunk being fed. She didn't want to touch it even when Daddy was holding it.


Her bed, an original to the cabin, I think slept in by all Shrock kids now.

Chris taught her how to build a fire. (Not outside though because of the burn bans.)

When I say full experience, I mean full! A bath in the wash tub by the pot belly stove.

She saw snow on Conejos Peak, the highest point in the county. It's hazy because of smoke blown in from nearby wildfires.

A picnic by a little waterfall and some rock throwing in the Rockies.

She fed peanuts to chipmunks on the deck.

And of course watching the annual 4th of July parade and attending the potluck!



You can see more of our trip on our shutterfly website.