Thursday, May 29, 2008

Viva Mexico!!!






Dan and I just returned from a great vacation in Mexico. We dropped William off with my parents at DFW and flew to Guadalajara to meet up with our friends, Richard and Amy. They are in their last year of living there before heading to Shanghai, China. We had lots of fun catching up, seeing their life in Mexico and touring the exciting city. We ended the trip with a tour of the Jose Cuervo Tequila factory (see the picture of the crow). Thanks to Richard and Amy for showing us around your stomping grounds and we hope to see you in 2011 - CHINA!

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

Come and knock at our door, we've been waiting for you......





Around 11:10am this morning, William and I were busy playing with his race track on the kitchen floor. I heard a small knock on my front door, but didn't think much about it because it sounded like the wind just brushing up against the glass. It happened again, so I looked up and to my excitement, I saw one of our friends from the forest. He/She just stood there with her nose touching the glass door, hence the "knock." Being married to a deer hunter, I pride myself on knowing what to do when a deer comes to your door. I immediately froze and hoped that William would do the same. He did, eyes WIDE open and hanging onto my leg for "deer" life. Luckily, the camera was within reach and I was able to snap this picture before the deer turned and went on her way. When she did turn around, she took her time going up the hill. William went to the door pointing his finger and said, "ooo, ooo" (his version of hey, check this out). The deer looked back at him a few times and that was it. Dan isn't sure if the deer is a boy or a girl since it didn't have any antlers. But for now, I am going to call her "Penny" since she was intrigued by William's pin wheel and watched it for about a minute before leaving us.


Some background information: We are an end unit of a townhouse row and our closest neighbor to the right is a beautiful wooded area I refer to as "our national forest." We have all kinds of friends up in those woods who occasionally come down to our porch area. There's Marden the box turtle, Mr. Fox, and the deer family, most recently, Penny. Marden, bless his heart, is the sweetest box turtle and it had been 2 years since I last saw him. I have wondered about him from time to time, and then while I was out of town, Dan snapped his picture at our door. I was thrilled to know he was going strong! Most of the time, Mr. Fox is just running by which is how I'd like to keep it. We've seen Penny and her family come down from the woods to eat, but what made this visit so fun was that she stayed at our door for a good 1.5 minutes. Usually, they just hear you or another noise and bolt for the trees. This was also the first time that one of the deer actually knocked at my door too. Just so you know, I NEVER go outside to visit these creatures and I would NEVER take William out there to hang with them either. They are wild animals who just happen to be my neighbors and we enjoy seeing them with a glass door between us. We don't feel scared or unsafe living near them. They keep to themselves and we'll sometimes go months without seeing any of them too.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEGSY!











May 17th marked my 31st birthday. William gave me a wonderful birthday present - he slept until 10am this morning. A historic moment in the Barron home for sure! Once he woke up from a sweet slumber, the three of us packed up and headed for the Leesburg Outlets. I did some birthday shopping while Dan entertained the little man on the play train (see picture). I took my time wandering around without hauling a stroller, diaper bag, snacks, and a sippy cup. That was really fun actually. Then it was off to a birthday lunch at Blue Ridge Grill, one of our favorite stops in Leesburg. Of course, what makes a birthday without a trip to Walmart too? After that, our trip was complete with a stop at Mama's Pies, a cute little dive in an old historic dugout. We bought a few slices of our favorites along with a Gingerbread Boy and Dan's favorite, a Buck Eye. As we were heading out of town with our loot, Dan noticed a sign for yet another Virginia Battlefield......so, we stopped just as we always do. I think we are among the few people who have hit every VA Battlefield site out there. We walked the trails and stopped by a graveyard that houses 12 Union soldiers from the Battle of Balls Bluff. William really loved it because after a day of shopping, he was desperate to stretch his legs and run like the wind! People kept asking me what I wanted for my birthday, and honestly, I didn't want anything. I had a grand time just hanging out with my boys. It's a blessing to be in such fine company every day of my life! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MOMMY!

Friday, May 16, 2008

Bebe's Birthday trip

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY BEBE!

May 14th marked Bebe's 60th birthday. So, with the help of Pops, Rachie, Ryan and Jesse, William and I were able to surprise my mom for her special birthday. On Thursday before we left DC, I told my mom I would be at the Smithsonian museums most of the day and so I wouldn't be in touch until around 5pm. She fell for it - hook, line and sinker. At 11:30am, William and I boarded our flight for the Heartland. He was a gem the entire way....I must say that since we fly so often, he's an old pro! The boy slept from take off to touch down on both legs of the flight.....CHAMP! So, we arrived at 4:30pm and Rachie and Pops picked us up. We all headed to the restaurant shortly after and when Bebe arrived - SURPRISE!!! She LOVED it! It was SO FUN keeping the secret and seeing the look on her face! After the initial thrill, we settled into a happy week of celebration. Saturday night we grilled outside and watched William's first encounter with a garden hose. He played for a hour with the water and would have lasted much longer if I hadn't "rained on his parade" and shut down the flood gates. Sunday, we celebrated Mother's Day. It was my second year as a mom, and I look down at my William and think, "what did I ever do before he came along and what could ever be more important?" He's the love of my life. Sunday night we had a festive birthday party and Mother's Day combo at RED PIN, the swanky bowling alley in Bricktown. We had so much fun with our family, and it was really impressive to watch Mac and Meme throw down some pins! You'd think they were 19 again. Bella taught William and Micah how to throw the ball and it was cute to watch them run around together. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY TO RANELL, KRISTEN, BEBE and me! We rounded out the week in OKC with several friends. William, Rachel and I picked up Ann Joullian at Casady and took her for an after school snack at our beloved Sonic. We then met up with her sister and mom who told us all about their recent trip to Africa and a certain prom date of another favorite Joullian child. The grand finale was a backyard water party with our buddies Lisa and Paul. Paul is 6 months older than William, but they sure have a blast getting into trouble. You can see Paul and William in the slide show. They had fun chasing the beach ball, riding the toy car, stealing each other's toys (much to the other one's dismay) and splashing with the water table. It's the sweet moments with friends and family that make our trips back to OKC so frequent and yet, so hard to leave behind. HAPPY BIRTHDAY BEBE! We love you more than the world!

Sunday, May 4, 2008

A Day at Frying Pan Park and the Animal Farm






Today was a beautiful day in VA, so I packed up my farm boys and off we went to Frying Pan Park and Animal Farm. Tucked away in the Virginia countryside, Frying Pan Park is a cute little farm filled with adventure. There are wide open spaces to run and play, a small petting zoo, tractors and hayrides, as well as an arena for horse shows. In fact, there was a show going on while we were there and visitors could watch the horses jump over the hay bales. William had a great time running around the open fields and meeting real animals, face to face for the first time. In the beginning, he was slightly hesitant to visit with the cows and turkeys, but after he heard a "gobble," he chuckled a bit and that broke the ice. He was fascinated. I think being up so close and personal to the same animals that he sees in books just made his day. If only there had been a zebra.....William loves a good zebra.
 
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