Okies in Uganda

My husband, Steve, recently went on a two-week missions trip to Lira, Uganda with a team of eight other people. They worked with children at an orphanage, provided AIDS education and counseling to the locals of Lira, and even got to go on an African safari.

I'm such a sap! Trying hard not to cry in this picture.
You would think he was leaving for a year instead of 2 weeks!

Here's a funny story about something that happened to Steve while in Uganda...Before his trip, he bought some gymnastic rings to take with him because he's kinda fanatical about working out and couldn't take 2 weeks off. These rings work over a door, hanging from a tree, etc.

So one day, he was working out with the rings and pretty soon he had a small audience watching him. They were laughing at the "white man" wondering what the heck he was doing. The man that runs the hotel came over and asked him what he was doing and Steve tried to explain that he was exercising. Of course, he had to go on and tell him why we exercise in America - because we have cars that take us places and we sit and eat bad food all day. So the hotel manager tried it, too, then told Steve he was going to wear shorts the next day so he could work out with him. ;-)

Then the guard at the gate of the hotel came over, sat his big rifle down, and tried it out, too! Several other people continued to make comments or tried to do the rings, as well. One guy told him that he was big and strong and sure to find a wife while he was in Uganda ;-) I guess it was a good opener to some conversations with the locals!

What's funny is that I even tried to talk Steve out of taking the rings (mostly because of the scene it would cause!) but also because of the weight it added to his already heavy luggage. God sure has a funny sense of humor!

I have to say I have one of the most thoughtful husbands ever. For weeks before he left, he wrote us letters to open every day and planned out little surprises for the girls and me to make the time go by easier without him.

He left us his famous Butterfinger dessert...

$ to go get sno cones (one of our favorite treats)...

He conspired with my friend, Brandi, and we had a MNO while the girls stayed the night with their grandparents...

He conspired with another friend, Jennifer, and we went to Cherry Berry for some frozen yogurt...

And the morning of the day he was coming home, our friends Scott & Andrea dropped off bagels at our house (something Steve and the girls do together every Saturday morning)...

Love Abby's crazy bed hair ;-)

I always say he's a much more thoughtful person than I am! I love that guy.

Thankfully, we were able to text or talk on the phone almost every day he was gone - made the distance much more bearable. But we sure were thankful when he came home!

You can see pics, watch videos, and read more about Steve's trip here. It was such a great experience and we both definitely want to go back again someday.

Summer Fun at the Blue Hole

The Blue Hole

Salina, OK

* Click here to go to their website and here to go to their facebook page.

We recently went to the Blue Hole in Salina, OK with some friends. Their website says, "The main swimming hole is fed by 3 different springs. The water temperature stays between 50 and 60 degrees and is around 15 feet deep." We had such a great time swimming, taking a walk to the rope swing, and just cooling off in the 100 degree (+) weather. Their website says it's 15 feet, but that is at it's deepest point, which you have to swim out to. They also have lots of shallow areas for little ones. Swim shoes are a must as there are rocks everywhere. Your family has to go soon if you've never been! It's a blast!

A Quick Visit to OKC

The girls and I recently took a quick jaunt to OKC to see my family. We had fun swimming at the Mustang Aquatic Center with my sis and her boys...

Then the rest of our family met up at my sister's for dinner and hang out time.

This is my nephew helping make the chocolate cake desert...

I ♥ my sisters. Obviously, I did not get the memo about wearing black or white...

And here's my dad, step-mom and five of their seven grandkids...

The next day was "Dress Like a Cow Day" at Chick-fil-A and because you get free food if you are in costume, we, of course, had to participate. Check out those cute cows ;-)

Fun times in OKC. Hope to go back again soon!

Update on the Girly Me Missions Sale

As mentioned in a previous post, my girls and some of their friends had a sale this past Saturday to raise money for Project Hope Worldwide, an organization building an orphanage, school & medical clinic in Lira, Uganda.

The sale went great and the girls had a great time selling their products. It was also "Kid's Day" at the Farmers' Market and some of their friends were there selling items they've made, as well. Lots of creative kids out there already learning how to run a business and make a profit.

Here's a few pics from the sale...

I also just found out this morning that Air 1 and K-Love radio stations have been airing a "positive news story" about the girls! You can find links to the story here and here and you can listen to a snippet here. I just asked them to add their event to their local event calendars and they ended up doing a little story on them. So proud of those girls and their big hearts!

4th of July 2011

As usual, we had a lot of fun celebrating the 4th of July this year!

We listened to music and watched fireworks at Stone Canyon...

We celebrated with Steve's family...

We did our yearly tradition - watching fireworks from the roof...

We went to Rockets Over Rhema in Broken Arrow...

Video by my 9 year-old, Abby ;-)

We rode in a bike parade with some of our friends...

And we spent the night of the 4th swimming with friends...

Happy 4th and God bless America ;-)

Life is Full of Surprises

Steve and I celebrated our 19th anniversary today! 19 years?! Where does the time go?! I can still remember the first time we met. We were going to school at OSU and we were at a dance club on one of my first weekends in Stillwater. He asked me to dance and I told him, "No thanks." Four years later, we were married and the rest is history ;-)

We already celebrated early last month when Steve surprised me with tickets to see my favorite band ever, U2. It was a quick, but fun, getaway to Denver and back in one weekend.

But we had to do something to celebrate on our actual day - well, the day before anyway. (The girls had a Swim Meet tonight so we went out last night instead.) This time I surprised Steve with something I wasn't so sure he'd actually like. In fact, I was a little afraid he would think it was silly and super cheezy. I bought a Groupon from Golzern Pedicabs - you know, the little cabs that are pulled by someone on a bike? I have to say, it was so much fun and yes, Steve actually liked it!

We met at 8th & Boston in downtown Tulsa. We were given a list of about 15 restaurants in the area and could pick up to six that we would like to stop and visit (the cost of the food was also included in our Groupon!). Our tour guide, Beth, then drove us to our first stop, Joe Mommas Pizza, where we ate yummy pizza bread and marinara sauce...

Next stop, a restaurant called Trula, which was located at the Mayo Hotel. We had some really good sliders with sweet potato fries. While there, we ran into an old friend of mine from college who knew Steve and I when we first started dating! Small world! ;-)

After stopping twice for food, we were already getting full and we knew right away we wouldn't be able to eat at 6 restaurants in one night! So we decided to make our last stop El Guapos. They have outdoor seating on their roof so we just hung out, watched the sun go down, and snacked on chips, salsa & sopapillas...

When it was time for our evening to come to an end, Beth took us on a scenic route of the downtown area. She was very knowledgable about the history and architecture of the buildings and shared all kinds of neat info with us. She also gave us "the scoop" of what new things were coming to the area such as an art gallery, upscale apartments and a park that will host outdoor concerts...

Since we only used 3 of our 6 restaurant choices, Beth gave us gift cards for the last 3 restaurants we wanted to visit, and now we can just stop by whenever we have a chance! So now we look forward to trying out Elote', Mod's Coffe and Crepes, and Yokozuna soon. Beth also informed us that they'll be offering another Groupon in August but this one will also include a hotel stay :-)  I highly recommend Golzern Pedicabs! We had such a fun and romantic night and it was a neat and unique way to see downtown!

So that was yesterday. Today our girls surprised us! They decorated our house with streamers - something they like to do for most any occasion ;-)

Then, after the girl's Swim Meet, they planned a surprise party for us - something that was apparently in the works for several days now ;-)  Steve's family were at the Meet so they stopped by on their way home and brought brownies for desert. The kids played in the sprinkler and gave Steve & me homemade cards...

It was the perfect ending of celebrating 19 years together. I'm one lucky/blessed girl to have Steve in my life and I truly believe God brought us together. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Steve and I met on one of our first weekends at OSU - thing is, I wasn't supposed to go to OSU. I was supposed to go to OU. I come from a family of HUGE OU fans and everyone in my family attended school there. When I was in high school, I applied to OU and was accepted but just weeks before school was to start, I received a letter in the mail that said they were not going to offer my degree anymore (fashion merchandising). So I quickly had to apply to OSU (at the heartbreak of all my family). Had I gone to OU, I'm pretty sure things would have turned out much differently - can't even imagine, nor do I want to. Steve is everything I could ever want in a husband and father of my children - and more.

So next year's the Big 20! Better start thinking about it now! Any suggestions?! ;-)