Sunday, August 30, 2009

Cardboard Boat Regatta

Edmond's first annual Cardboard Boat Regatta

Stuart, Sean and team took the Pride of Fleet Award!!

Just for fun, think/sing "Kung Fu Fighting"


Everybody was Cardboard Boat Racing...







Those boys were fast as lightening...








In fact, it was a little bit frightening....







But they rowed with expert timing...
Everybody was Cardboard Boat Racing....and had just enough fun to fill a three hour tour....

Thursday, August 20, 2009

No back to school blues here....

It was cold, wet and rainy but that in no way dampened the excitement of Reagan and Avery on their first day of school. We have bought and 'set off' confetti shooters on the first morning for the past two years. This year we were not as together in the count down.....hopefully they can work on that at school. :o)

Here some pictures of our Elementary school students!!!


























Lost tooth

Reagan lost her tooth while she was brushing her teeth this morning and surprisingly enough, it did not hurt. Go figure. Here is snaggle tooth Reagan.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Catching some rays

In August, in Oklahoma, after 8pm, in the last spot of sun in the yard. Does this fall into the category of fake baking?

And the Best Supporting Actress Award goes to....

Avery Marie, the little sister, for her supporting role in the great saga of the ever loosening first tooth of Reagan Baskin. Avery's portrayal of the little sister has gone from casually interested to the point of tears over Reagan and Reagan's incredibly ever loosening tooth. Avery has been quoted asking Reagan to "pull that thing out so she will know what it's like". She was also heard stating "Because it will be awesome!" Sources have confirmed that the younger Baskin has not been this interested in anything Reagan has done in the last 5 years.

Reagan is scared, to the point of tears, as well. The tooth is starting to turn a bit of a darker shade, slants in 45 degree angels in every direction and is starting to mess up her speech.

It has been just a like a night at the movies tonight....action, drama, suspense, tears, laughter, deception and even the rumor of a sequel set to run daily until the Tooth Fairy makes a cameo appearance. Speaking on the condition of anonymity an inside source has the funds ready to go and is just waiting on the call.

Just to be prepared, Avery has set the tooth box on Reagan's night stand....just in case something goes bump in the night.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Twas the night before school

Twas the night before school
When all through the house
Not a creature was stirring
not even a mouse.

The backpacks were laid on the black bench with care,
In hopes that they will make it all the way to the care(silent e).

The children are resting with ready confetti in their beds
While visions of bologna, mustard and pickle sandwiches dance in their heads.

Let's hope there is no clatter tonight....not sure that I am ready to 'spring' from my bed.
Or for that matter I prefer to not see a jolly old elf just yet either. But in the spirit of it all...
Happy first day of school to all and to all a good night.

First day of school pics tomorrow. They have their clothes ready, have asked for pancakes, we read Oh the Places you will Go just like last year, sprinkled the Ready Confetti under their pillows now if only Reagan will go to sleep.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Avery the new Deer Creek Antler


Roller Derby 09 pictures

The pictures are not really all that great, but here they are.






Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Roller Derby 09

The girls and I are spending the week cramming. Cramming in everything we can into the last week of our summer vacation. And we plan to be busy. On Tuesday we decided to try roller skating. The girls were given skates on their last birthday and have done okay around the kitchen and pool table but today was the day to try it on the slick floor. After going to Avery's picture appt we headed to Yukon and talked about our last trip there that was not so pleasant and involved a canon and cherry pie....but we paid the toll and went to Yukon anyway.

We stopped at McDonalds across the street for a quick lunch. I noticed there were a lot of flies, but its August, the doors are always open and there is food and kids there so I really did not worry about it. But at this McDonalds, I saw a first....a customer walked in with a bag, ordered a coke and sat down, pulled out a paper and a fly swatter....true story. I wonder if I have seen it all now?

Anyway, back to Yukon on Wheels. We got our tickets, I got my skates, which are still brown with orange wheels and went to get a locker. Avery thought that was cool, skates, locker and a special key! The girls did a great job. They hugged the carpet wall for a while, but Reagan left it shortly and really did pretty well. Avery....well some of you have seen Avery ski....think of her on short skis....short skis that do not prevent her from crossing them. She was a mess, the two of us laughed all afternoon. Her once white shorts, are not sort of cream. Reagan fell a couple of times, Avery tripped me once but she takes the cake on wipeouts, hands down.

A parent commented on Avery's style of skating....she runs on her stops/toes for several feet and then coasts....then runs on her stops/toes and coasts....its very, very funny. I had trouble seeing from the tears.

Here are some pictures of the two of them. Notice nothing has changed.....

And just in case you are wondering....There is still a door and hallway that keeps the sunlight from getting in, the carpet is still wild, the place still smells of feet, teeanagers and their cheap cologne, popcorn and that yellow runny stuff they serve with chips. The lights are also the same, in the middle is a big star with different colored lights with disco balls and fun lighting everywhere except the bathroom where you can barely see. They still play limbo, the corner game and end with a couples skate. The same crowd is even still there...the oh so cool looking teenagers that race and weave in and out of the slow skaters, the older people that can not leave the skating scene acting like the oh so cool teeanagers and even the boy playing air guitar on the bench. Seriously. It's a time warp....maybe it has something to do with that heavy door that keeps out the light.

Avery wants to go back tomorrow but my shoulders are so sore from holding the two of them up that we may need to take a break. I know they had fun and it was the best couples skate I can remember. It was a great trip, great to see them try something new, great to play together and great to stop by Sonic happy hour on our way out of that odd little town.

Tomorrow we are going to go for something artistic....a trip to the pottery place, the western heritage museum and maybe the zoo. Oh and to get the pictures that we forgot to pick up after our Daisy meeting. They are great pictures, coming to mailbox near you shortly.

The camera batteries just died as I tried to load the pics....I will put them up tomorrow. Hopefully they will be woth the wait. I have not even looked at them.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Enjoy

Avery has picked up a new phrase, not sure where it came from. Maybe from a waitress somewhere or an infomerical. She ads the word enjoy to phrases several times a day. Sometimes with an expression just like this. So enjoy!


Monday, July 27, 2009

Mt Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Cody, Yellowstone, Jackson Hole

Loaded and ready to go!










Is there a better way to start off a trip thru Kansas and Nebraska than a trip to Krispy Kreme? Probably not.








It was nearly two hours on the road before the first “are we there yet” was asked. Avery is pretty sure that the middle of nowhere and Kansas are the same place. I have to agree with her. The first day was a long, long drive. But on Day 2 we picked up Jason in South Dakota and drove to see the Presidents heads aka Mount Rushmore. We went back later that night to watch a night time show that was a disappointment but Mom caught a great picture of the kids using the binoculars.
We stayed at a great resort in Keystone, SD and went on a tour of a working gold mine and the panned for gold afterwards. Water + rocks +bowels + shovel = a great day on vacation for the girls and Carter. They each found several flakes and other precious gems that are now sitting, freshly washed on the kitchen counter.

Crazy Horse, Three Crazy kids.









Devils Tower on the way to Cody, WY.









While we were in Cody, WY we went to the nightly rodeo since all three kids were sporting new boots and cowboy/girl tops. It was cold and rained off and on. Reagan volunteered for the calf scramble. She walked right into the arena and lined up with the dozens of other kids. I decided to step on the inside of the arena just in case. Then I saw the young cows they were passing on as calves and looked at the bleachers to see if Jason was in cardiac arrest. They released three rather large calves that all ran right by me and straight to the back, right passed the crowd with Reagan in the middle. I am glad she has the courage to volunteer and join group activities….but I don’t think I will introduce her to Running with the Bulls in Spain just yet. Here is a picture of Avery telling her how crazy she was.






Yellowstone National Park.
Here is the list of what we saw or proof of….buffalo, the tail end of one moose, rabbits, deer, something like a pelican, antelope, elk, and some type of squirrel and snowmen tracks. Dad tried explaining a spot of grass where a few deer had been to Reagan and Avery and then found where a family had emptied their cooler. He told them a snowman had just walked by, snowman droppings. For a second, they almost believed him.
We also stayed to watch Old Faithful.









From Yellowstone we went to Jackson Hole, WY and stayed for a couple of days. Down on the square they collect the antlers from the elk and build arches for each corner. Reagan found this statue of an Indian; I am not really sure what pose this is supposed to be.











From Jackson Hole and the Tetons, which were really cool, we headed home through the middle of nowhere and more buffalo, a snowball fight alongside the road in Medicine Bow National Forest, lunch in Estes Park, one more hotel stop and our first time to use a pool, more middle of nowhere and finally home. We traveled across 6 states and crossed the Continental Divide several times. Vacation over…..until next time.

















The End.

She said...she said

Actually it should be She said “said”….this is a not so new game that the girls have been playing a lot of recently, especially over the nearly 2000 miles that they traveled last week. It usually happens in the car, usually with their best babies or some stuffed toys and of course happens in the land of imagination where they both spend an enormous amount of time. They are each at least one character and each have lines to say…but here is the twist….Reagan makes up all of the lines….including Avery’s. So she will have her toy say to Avery’s “Do you want to go to a swim party today with our friends said of course I would love to and I am going to wear a new suit” Then Avery says “of course I would love to and I am going to wear a new suit”. Notice the duplication/repeat?

It happens all the time. Avery used to never get a word in at all, now she does but her lines are given to her. It’s hard being the little sister.
Reagan may be a great screen writer some day, she gives Avery the lines but also includes stage directions, mood, timing etc and Avery never misses a beat. Never….
On this trip Carter was buckled into his seat between them and stuck in the story…sort of like watching a tennis match…I am not sure that he was bored, entertained or confused….either way we watched most all of it minus the popcorn and sticky theater floor.

Monday, July 13, 2009

School supplies

On the way to Hot Springs we stopped in Clarksville at the Wal-Mart to let Avery use the restroom. While Avery and I were in the store I noticed that the pallets of school supplies were in the aisles so I stopped and dramatically asked Avery to look over there....markers, glue, paper, crayons...school supplies! I then asked her if she knew who got to buy school supplies this year. She smiled with her entire face the way only Avery can do and then rolled her eyes as if she was embarrassed or maybe it was because I was so not cool....anyway….On Monday we made the trip to Wal-Mart to buy a cart full of supplies. The girls were excited and double checked their list. We also made a trip to the mall to buy Avery her new 'ready to go' to Kindergarten backpack and lunch box. I will try to send a picture tomorrow. Reagan asked for a messenger bag this year and we found one online. She should have her new zebra print bag in 10 days. School starts in less than one month. In one month we will be a family with "school aged" kids....what ever happened to the family with the two cute little blondes. I kinda miss them.
Someone please stop the clock.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Reagan wants to know...

On the way to Tball practice Reagan asked.....If someone is allergic to fish, can they swim in a lake?
Does anyone have any ideas?

This is why I do not get to listen to the radio. We discuss things like fish allergies, the types of grass growing in fields and how it is different from Winter Rye, how electricity travels in the power lines if their Grandparents met Noah....I promise I do not make this stuff up.....

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Girls only day...

We started today with a list of errands to run and in the middle of them one of the girls reminded me that we had not had a 'girls only day' in a long time. A 'girls only day' is usually a Saturday when Jason is at work and the girls and I run errands, do some window shopping, make a Sonic run and stay in town for the majority of the day. That was today and it was GREAT even if our feet are tired. I do not think we have had a girls only day since before Memorial Day....it was way overdue and we did let Jason join us for Sam's club and lunch.

Friday, June 26, 2009

T Ball - day 1


This picture was taken on the way to the their very first game. If they ask, of course they won. It was Avery's idea to add in the bike since it has so much to do with her TBall 'match'.
One thing at a time...