making the move

So, we're at the halfway point, all sunburnt from our trip to Texas, and just after we got home, Josh's sister generously and unexpectedly threw us a baby shower!  It was such a blessing, and I was touched by her thoughtfulness and  organization to get it all done.  My husband had wisely asked people to give books, not clothes (being that we're having girl #3, we have plenty of clothes!) so we ended the day with a stash of children's books!  Wow!!! Thanks so much to kristen and to everyone else for coming and giving such sweet gifts.  Because it was a surprise shower, I didn't happen to have my camera with me, so I have no pictures yet from the fun afternoon.  But eventually I'll post some and you can see what a beautiful chocolate cake I had that day! 

But anyway, enough about presents, though I could talk about them forever possibly.  We moved out to josh's parents house and spent a bit of time getting settled.  I must say, I'm not much of a country girl - I grew up in the city - but Josh is a country boy through and through...like, waving to other drivers you pass on the road, enjoying wide open spaces, fishing, hunting and things that make you really dirty...you know, that kind of thing.  

In fact, though, I really like where josh's family lives.  It's beautiful country, just close enough to the city to make it workable, and they live in a great spot.  They've got a huge yard, lots of space, and it's so dark at night, you can see possibly every star that was ever created.  It's beautiful and gorgeous, and I was just as excited as josh to spend our two weeks out with his family.  

We started off our time right, by heading to a different park that was on our list but hadn't been to yet.  This park is really close to the University of Oklahoma, and also boasts lots of nice open spaces.  

Josh's mom - hereafter referred to as Gigi - and mantha, laughing about some little secret...

Fun swings...everyone loves swings.  Print these out and stick 'em on your walls, jayne! =)First ever introduction to the tire-swing!  they thought it was VERY cool that they could swing together.  And go round and round.  And still go higher.  The tire swing was a hit.  
Grandparents are much more willing to push than momma...
Ok, Gigi totally wins the award for going down the tube slide.  I'm not even at 30 yet (so I still feel young) and there was no way I was getting in there.  I would be afraid I'd get stuck or something.  But she was willing, and therefore made fast friends with Samantha!


Josh and the girls with his parents, pappy and gigi.  (on one of the few cloudy-not-so-great weather days).

See, I told you...go down the tube slide with mantha and you have a friend for life.  Plus, I love pictures of holding hands.  

The day we went to the park also happened to be Gigi's birthday...but for some reason, we were given the choice of where to eat! Where's the birthday justice in that?!  Anyway, the group reached a consensus to go to Olive Garden and we had a lovely lunch. Italian is great when you make it at home, but somehow eating it at a good restaurant makes it superb.  Long live the OG!

Later on that night at their house, Emma and Samantha hung out with Jason, Dallas and Nick (three boys that josh's parents have adopted).  As can probably be expected with josh's grandfather, Jason LOVES anything that has anything to do with horses.  Most of his toys are horse-related, and he was more than happy to share his love of the equines with my kids.  

The lesson of this particular night was how to use this rope to lasso the kid-sized horse.  First, Jason gave a demonstration...

...and then Emma tried her luck.  There was lots of effort there, but she decided after her tries at the lasso that she'd rather figure out how to feed the horse his pretend carrot.  The girls really enjoyed having a house-full of people to play with, and there was never a dull moment!