Ooooooooklahoma

Last week, the kids and I took a trip to Oklahoma with Gamma Padilla and Aunt Megan. Much of my mom's extended family lives there, and it had been around twenty years since I last visited. We began the trip by teaching Joshua and Makayla some good 'ol Okie tunes... "I'm proud to be an Okie from Muskogee..." and "Ooooooklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain..." Then, came the nine-hour car ride. I'm pretty sure Joshua annoyed Megan the entire ride to Oklahoma, as well as the entire ride home. Leah cried off-and-on for most of the ride, while Gamma tried to keep her happy with the pacifier. Thankfully, at least one of the kids was easy, as Makayla was quiet, occasionally napped, and attentive to the movies. All in all, the car rides went pretty smoothly, which was a huge blessing!!!

Once there, the kids were spoiled, spoiled, and spoiled some more. They had a blast visiting the Science Museum, blowing bubbles, coloring, playing with new toys, running around open, green yards, staying up late, experiencing crazy rainstorms, seeing extended family, and living life in a RV trailer. Let's just say that Oklahoma life is very different from life here in New Mexico :0)

Here are some pics from our visit...

Everything is bigger in Texas...even their crosses!

Playing in the water at the museum...she could have stayed here for hours.

Building towers with Gamma

Mount Rushmore out of Legos

My kind of Lego creation!

Snuggles with Great-Grandma Rahe

Aunt Carol couldn't get enough of her :0)

More snuggles with Great-Grandpa Rahe

Makayla's new "eyebrow-up" look

If you're ever having a hard time finding Carol, she's with the kids!

Covered in bubbles from head-to-toe.

Joshua made a friend in Aunt Marilyn.

Pics Update

We like to color outside with the chalk

Home Depot was having a safety day, and Joshua was in awe. He saw fire trucks, ambulances, police cars, and even got to sit in this helicopter!

So sweet

Andrew surprised me with my far-away friends for a late 30th birthday present. What a wonderful gift!

We can't get enough of these smiles :0)

All smiles

While the first month or so is still a fun time with babies, it's always a little more fun when they start to interact with you. This week, Leah cracked her first smile, and she hasn't slowed down since! 

And, these goofballs, can't get enough of Leah's play mat and swing. At least someone is getting some entertainment from them because Leah does not want anything to do with them at this point. I don't know why we buy them new toys...

Sisters, Sisters

"Sisters, sisters. There were never such devoted sisters..." While these lyrics from "White Christmas" don't reflect Makayla's feelings toward Leah yet, she is starting to warm up to her baby sister. I finally have a picture to post of the two sisters together. And to clarify, Leah is just yawning, and not screaming in agony ;0)

"The Leah"

I have noticed that Leah loves to give a certain look in which she raises her left eyebrow (especially when she's pooping). I have caught her doing it quite a few times, and have named it, "The Leah":

Boys and Dirt

We are currently in the process of landscaping our backyard. With Andrew's parents in town, we took advantage of the extra hands by clearing out the dead grass and sprucing up a bit. Joshua pulled out his bucket and went to work. He was in heaven as he moved rocks and dirt. This picture of the guys together is so special:

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's Day. We began the day by dedicating Leah at church. As Andrew introduced our little girl to the church, she spit up right on cue! We shared that our prayer for her (and for all of our kids) is to live out Psalm 63: to seek after, thirst for, and praise her Creator. Please join us in praying this prayer whenever you think of/pray for our kids.

After church, we headed home for naps, and I got a few hours of alone time out of the house. I spent most of the time driving all over the city trying to find an ice-cream cake for Leah's one-month birthday, but being in a car without screaming kids is basically like a vacation, so I enjoyed every second of it!

After naps, we had dinner and dessert at my parent's house. We had a delicious meal of steak and salmon, and followed it up with the ice cream cake...a perfect meal in my book! Even sweeter was that we enjoyed Mother's Day with both of our moms. As I looked around the table, I was so overcome with God's goodness. I'm so blessed to be a mom to my three crazy kids, and also to have two wonderful role models in my mom and my mother-in-law. Praise God, the giver of every good and perfect gift!

And to end the night, we tried to take pictures. I had a big-time picture fail as we finally got a good one of the kids smiling, and ruined it by closing my eyes...ugh :0(