Happy Halloween!

Not our pets, but still hilarious! We hope you enjoy, Jackson!

What Have Friday Nights Turned Into?
I sit here ALONE in our apartment counting down the hours until Matthew will come home from work. It's about 10pm so only 2 and half hours to go. I haven't even showered yet today and was debating over whether or not to gather up my sudoku book and jump in the tub. During this great relaxing thought I was brought back to reality by the loud laughter and noise going on right outside my back door. I guess some of the neighbors who weren't blessed with the night shift this week have started their weekend of rest. About six o'clock I watched a guy walk by the back door with a case of his beverage of choice for the night. I kind of laughed to myself because immediately I thought: "That would have been a very strange picture if he had been carrying a case of 7up or Pepsi. No one brings a case of soda to a party to consume all by themselves. Nobody sits down and drinks a six pack of DR Pepper's in one evening. Think about all of those calories...." Then immediately after that conversation with myself I thought, how old are you? I am GLAD that my Friday nights are slower now. I'm GLAD that the best thing I have to look forward to is my husband walking through the door. I get to hear about his day and then snuggle up next to him in our rented, too hard, creaking bed. We only have five more days before the BIG move and the beginning of another leg of this adventure!

Are You Crazy?Sunday we had a fantastic day! After morning services we ran by McDonalds and consumed enough calories for our entire daily intake goal. We caught a quick 20 minute nap because no one can move after a meal like that. We didn't want to feel too guilty so we put on workout clothes and drove the 20 minutes to Lake Hefner. We decided we would conquer the entire trail. Starting off the nine and a half mile hike seemed like a very manageable distance. We had planned out our attack, specifically mapping out where the restrooms were located. I knew I had to make it half way before there would be a pit stop. We knocked out the first two miles before I was urgently looking for a bathroom. I guess 120 ounces of water is just too much to drink in a day. Lucky me there was a port-a-potty at the boat ramp. When we arrived at the lighthouse(about 31/2 miles in) I asked Matthew if he wanted to read the plaque. His answer was priceless: "No. If I stop I may not be able to start again." We finally made it to the kite surfing guys and took a little rest. We didn't bring any water because I didn't want any weight bringing us down (mistake). We did throw a dried fruit snack pack in Matthew's pocket which was a very good treat. At this point I didn't want to continue but the car was parked where we started, of course, so we just had to do it.

After the seventh mile the pace slowed a bit and the funny part was, I was the winded one. The wind was blowing so hard against us it was hard to walk. The final mile was filled with many jokes about calling a taxi, test driving a car from the dealership down the hill, How much will you take for that there bike buddy?, as well as asking Eric to pick us up because his church was just down the road. The car was finally in sight and I have never been so thrilled! KJ just happened to call and provided a little fan encouragement the last 10 steps. Thanks! That was priceless! Really it wasn't that bad. We are looking forward to doing it all again this Saturday! We rewarded ourselves with a little Joe's Crab Shack! Matthew had crab and I enjoyed the coconut shrimp. Like I said we had a fantastic Sunday!

Baby Sister's Birthday!

Happy Happy Birthday! You are the best little sister I have. I just wanted to let you know that I was thinking of you on your day!

Here are a few fun facts and memories I want to share about Cassandra:

• My favorite childhood memory was when we lost Cassandra at the mall and she told the security guards that her name was Cinderelly and her dad's name was Pumpkin.
• I have loved watching Cassandra's faith develop.
• She has such a servant's heart. She has spent the last two summers giving to the kids at Gander Brook.
• Her talent for photography is incomparable.
• She has become a very loving wife.
• I still think fondly of the days we shared in the north. Thanks for the Cabela's date!
• I wish she could be a school counselor because I think she would be really good at it.
• I love the time we got to spend at Tahkodah.
• She really is an artist. Check out her scrapbooking.
• She ROCKS at climbing and repelling.
• She has the forgiveness of Christ.
• She can host a mean dinner party. Fondue included.
• She is quite the little actress.

I love you and hope you have a very special day. Consider this your card. :) I hope you have a blast with the family this weekend. Are you doing Amish Country again?

Birthday Weekend! The big 30!

Yes, my sweet husband turned thirty on Sunday. Matthew had the best birthday weekend ever. He started it all off with an amazing steak dinner Friday night at Cimarron complements of Uncle Peery. The company was awesome and the steak really was to die for. He had an excellent romantic walk with the love of his life (me) in Bricktown. The best part was it was while consuming a treat from Marble Slab Creamery. We got to talk about life and goals and where we want to see ourselves further down the road. When we returned to our apartment his whole class of FAA students was across the hall at a friends apt. watching "the game" but stopped long enough to sing happy birthday. It was pretty neat. Saturday morning we got up and drove to FedEx because Matthew has the best brother in law ever! Nick had overnighted us tickets to the Arkansas/Auburn game on the 50 yard line!!!! It was so neat to get to see Matthew so excited. We had a great time at the game. It was such a close one. By the time we had navigated our way out of Fayetteville it was 11:15. We decided that there was no way we were going to make the 3 1/2 hour drive back to OKC. We headed down 540 with everyone else hoping for a vacancy. We stopped at a place in Van Buren. The next morning we decided to drive into Fort Smith. We ate a very late breakfast at Benson's Grill. AMAZING! Then we headed to the actual fort. We went to the museum and learned a lot. Our tour of Fort Smith ended long about 3pm when we decided it was probably about time to head back to the OKC. The next three hours we spent snacking on Sonic and discussing the injustices caused by our ancestors. It got pretty deep. Well although I was very long winded I hope you enjoyed my journaling of Matthew's 30th bday weekend. We left the camera in the car by accident so here is the only picture I took. We were following "Tusk" up 540 with all the other "overdressed" tailgaters.


I love you Matthew, I'm excited to spend another year with you and am greatly anticipating what God will do with this one!

Happy 3rd Birthday T!!
Sorry we are missing this one too. Hopefully next year we will get to celebrate with you little man. We hope you are having the best day ever. Uncle Matty and Aunt Lindsay are always running behind, but be sure that you watch the front door for an unusual box maybe by the beginning of next week! I have left you with a little clue about your awesome present! Be sweet to mommy and Daddy. I hope you have a big old time at your party this weekend! We can't wait to get home in three weeks. You'll have to come see our new place and maybe we could visit the zoo too! Give Easton kisses for us.

Love you, and Happy Happy Birthday Crazy Tanner!

Alpaca Farm

"Where they plant em and grow em big!"

My Mom, Dad and brother came to visit us this weekend!! For all of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting my father, he is quite a character with many quirks. On Saturday morning he got up @ 4 am, while everyone else was sleeping, mind you. He drove to the nearest Denny's, read the entire Oklahoma newspaper, (Of which I don't even know what the title is after being here almost a month.) ate breakfast, drove downtown to the OKC National Memorial, (before the sun was up) then called me at 8am because he couldn't get back into the apartment. This is very normal for him. We just smile and expect donuts. We have come to accept these quirks as blessings. This weekend's blessing consisted of participating in the annual Oklahoma Alpaca Ranch Day. My mom loves knitting and has just recently purchased a spinning wheel so she is very intrigued by animals that produce fibers. It would not surprise me if my dad went out and bought some acres to start "Nana" her own sheep/alpaca ranch someday in the near future. Those of you that know my dad also know that he is an expert in many areas and if he doesn't know something he makes up a very believable story. (Glad we have access to wikipedia or I would feel like Adam Sandler in Waterboy! Ask Nick about Wiki.) Well I think Dad might have met his match here in OKC. The man pictured above was the king of Alpaca information. We really had a ton of fun learning about: fibers, reproduction, luster, preemie alpacas, orgles, humming, prosthetics, communal voiding, and nursing.

This is Nick's reaction to the "rancher" telling us that alpaca fibers are used to make men's high fashioned suits. We then went on to make up creative uses of Alpaca fibers. I think my favorite was the $500 knitted tie, or the cat fiber sweater.
This is a picture of a 7 month old preemie. He was bottle fed so he was very friendly. We really had a fantastic time and I am so glad that my father is so spontaneous. Thanks for making the long drive to come see us! A huge thanks to Nick for the awesome brunch on Sunday. You guys are the best! We REALLY missed you Miss Caroline! Good luck on your test!