LOUISIANNA

The kids and I took a trip to Louisiana to visit my sister Jennifer. It was such a great trip. We had never been to Louisiana and had a great time. Seeing the swamps was probably one of our favorite things. It's just so much different down there and I love seeing different parts of our country. The drive down was actually pretty nice. I was nervous about it with this being my first solo LONG drive with the kids. We left at about 7:30am and arrived in Baton Rouge around 6-7pm. We stopped quite a bit on the way down and drove through Arkansas on some 2 lane highways so I think that's why it took us a little longer. On the way back home we took a different route and went more through TX and stayed on 4 lane hwys. It went much faster. I think we left at about 9am and arrived home around 7:30pm. We didn't stop as much and the kids slept a lot more on the way back! They were completely worn out!

The first full day we were in LA we spent the day in New Orleans. We went to the Audubon Nature Institute Zoo. Wow! What an amazing zoo! One of our favorites was that the elephants came up close so the kids could touch them! The whole zoo is just great! After the zoo we headed to the French Quarter. We ate beignets at Cafe Du Monde. YUM! And then walked the streets. We stopped in the French Market where we got mardi gras masks & beads and pralines! There was so much to see! The river, the old buildings, artists, performers, some weirdos (LOL), the St Louis Cathedral, any kind of daiquiri you can think of...and so much more! Lots of fun!

The 2nd full day we spent in Baton Rouge. We started that morning at the farmers market. We left there with chocolate covered oreos and chocolates from the best chocolatier! We then went to the World Market which is such a fun store. My sister and a friend of mine had told me about it and so it was on my list of places I wanted to go. I really wish they would open one here in Tulsa! I could spend every day in that store. After lunch we visited a plantation just south of Baton Rouge called the Houmas House Plantation. It was beautiful! There were 2 weddings going on while we were there. It was fun to see these gorgeous weddings.

There are so many pics that I can share them all on here. Visit my facebook page and you can see all the pics!

HALLOWEEN

We are so behind this year it's not even funny! We came up with some very last minute costumes (and when I say last minute...I mean just hrs before trick or treating time!). Megan went as Guinevere, Kylee was a mechanic, and Cody wanted to be Wolverine again this year! We started our Halloween night in Collinsville at the halloween parade and merchant trick or treating downtown. Afterwards we hit up sonic for their free hotdogs & drinks for the kids and 50 cent corndogs! We finished up trick or treating our neighborhood. The kids were worn out by the end of the night and came home with a TON of candy!

CARMICHAEL'S PUMPKIN PATCH

I am so far behind on posts so here goes!

We visited the Carmichael's pumpkin patch earlier this month to pick out our perfect pumpkins. Last year I was on a hunt to find a "real" pumpkin patch here in OK but had no luck. They just don't have them here where you walk the field and pick your own pumpkin. I did find Carmichael's pumpkin patch in Bixby though. Last year we went for the first time and had so much fun. They do grow many of their own pumpkins there but they still don't let you walk the field and pick your own. Not sure why...But they do have an amazing display of pumpkins and so many different varieties. Along with the pumpkin patch they also have a corn maze, petting zoo area, camel rides, homemade fudge, and a bunch other fun displays around for you to take pictures. It's a lot of fun and a place we will continue to visit every year. Here are a few of our pics. You can find more on my facebook page.

FALL PICTURES

A few weeks ago we headed out to our land for a very quick photo shoot of the kids. They turned out so cute! I can't wait to order some large prints for the walls.

NO MORE HOME PHONE

As of this morning our home phone has been disconnected. We no longer use it so it was a wasted expense. Please contact us on our cell phones.

Hope you all are having a wonderful Monday! ~ The Carlsons

Party Time!

Megan had so much fun at her birthday party. She chose a manicure/pedicure theme this year. The girls all got to do their nails and then spent quite some time making necklaces and bracelets with some of the jewelry kits Megan got for her birthday. I still can't believe she is 11 years old! Her gifts are getting more and more grown up. She got a hair dryer from mom and dad (one that matches her hair straightener she got for Christmas), lots of jewelry & jewelry making kits, clothes, an umbrella (polka dots!), 3D sidewalk chalk, books, and more. She loves all her gifts and thanks each and every one of you!

Megan is 11!

I have lots more pictures to post but for now I want to get a few up from Megan's birthday party. She had a blast. Thank you all for the birthday wishes and for helping Megan celebrate her 11th birthday!

MEGAN IS TURNING 11!

Megan is turning 11!!! Can you believe it? Her birthday party is on September 4th starting at 2pm. She (we) are planning a "manicure/pedicure" party for her and several of her friends, and maybe a sleepover. See the invitation below and let me know if you will be attending!

MOON DOUGH

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CODY!

Happy Birthday to Cody! Cody is now officially 4 years old :) On his actual birthday we celebrated by making cupcakes and Cody opened gifts from dad, mom and sisters. He got a new spiderman bike and another nerf gun!

Saturday was his big birthday party! He had a blast. His guests included Grandma & Papa J, Grandma & Grandpa C, Aunt Missy & Uncle Dan, Uncle Todd, friend Konner (& his mom and dad), friends Olivia & Mason (& their dad), and of course mom, dad, and sisters. It was a crazy house! He now has 7 nerf guns....so after cake and ice cream a nerf gun war was had. I think we are still looking for several lost nerf bullets :)He also got a spiderman, hotwheel tracks, tractor, moon sand, clothes, colors, and so much more!

His hotwheel cake was made by my very talented friend Jennifer Loveland. It was delicious!!! She also made Kylee's gingerbread house cake last year for her party and will be making Megan's birthday cake here in just a couple weeks.

Missy brought Grandma C her bday gift since her birthday is Tuesday. She got some very special Precious Moments to add to her collection.

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Well, yesterday was the first day of school and all 3 kids did great and had a lot of fun. The night before all kids were in bed before 9pm! First time they've been in bed that early for a very long time. The next morning the girls were up before 7am and I woke Cody up at 7 and we told him Happy Birthday and he says "Where's the cake?" Hahaha! He was excited for his first day of Pre-K and got dressed, ate breakfast, and brushed his teeth. Megan and Kylee caught the bus just a few minutes after 8am and Cody and I headed to the other side of town to his school. He did really well. We walked inside and waited with all the other parents and students until it was time to go into the classroom. Then once inside the "bumble bee pod" (common area for his group of pre-k classes) he sat on the bumble bee with his classmates and waited to go into his classroom. He was very quiet and just checking out all the other kids, gave me a kiss goodbye, and waited. I stood behind a few other parents just out of his site and waited to see how he did. He did start to cry, which made me tear up a bit, but his teacher was right there and comforted him and they started talking about his birthday. I picked him up at 11:15 and as soon as he got in the car he said "well, that was fun!". Too cute.

Megan is in 5th grade this year and her homeroom teacher is Mrs Roller. Kylee is in 4th grade this year and her homeroom teacher is Mrs Egger (Megan's homeroom teacher last year). Kylee switches between 4 classes this year and Megan switches between 3. The 4th grade is a bit bigger than the 5th grade this year so that is why they have 1 more teacher. Cody is in his first year of Pre-K and is in the Bumble Bee Pod with his teachers being Mrs Clifton & Mrs Statum.

Blueberry & Strawberry Pie

Lately I haven't been able to get enough fresh strawberries and blueberries. I think every time I go to the store I pick some up. Today I made a homemade blueberry and strawberry pie with a crumb topping. YUMMY! Yes, I took pictures...don't make fun of me :)

Filling:
5 cups fresh berries (2 1/2 cups blueberries, 2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries)
2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour

Crumb Topping:
1 stick butter
2 cups flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp salt

Bake at 375 for 50 min or until crust and topping is lightly browned. Serve with whipped cream or ice cream...or BOTH!!

OUR LITTLE FARMERS

Yesterday John took the tractor out to mow so the kids and I drove out to see how it was going. Megan and Kylee both took turn mowing and Cody just wanted to drive the tractor. They had a blast! I couldn't resist taking a video of Cody driving. He was going crazy :) CLICK HERE

So you think my tractor's sexy?????

Hahaha! Sorry, couldn't resist on the title of this post :) Here is John's new "toy". He found a great deal on this tractor and mower last week and we drove to Gore, OK to check it out and purchase it. He's all set to start mowing our new 3 acres :) Took a quick pic with my phone...

Back To School

Well, school supply shopping is 98% done! All that's left to get is Kleenex (7 boxes), Clorox wipes, water paints that are almost impossible to find :), and a student planner. All after going to 5 different stores to get the best deals and to hunt through all the picked over supplies. I'm sure you can tell how much I LOVE school supply shopping :(

We had a hard time finding backpacks this year. Well, not really a hard time finding a store that had them in stock, but a hard time finding one that didn't cost an arm and a leg. We finally found some nice, but affordable, backpacks at JCPenney this year. Cody found his spiderman backpack, which made his whole year! The girls found some really fun ones too that are a much more comfortable design for them.

All 3 kids are very excited to start school next Wednesday (Aug 18th...yep, also Cody's bday). Cody already talks about his teacher, Mrs Clifton, and can't wait to meet her Monday during "Meet the Teacher".

Here are pictures of the kids with all their supplies and backpacks. Cody was in a modeling mood that day :)

All the supplies before we sorted