SUMMER BIRTHDAYS... DJ and Tim turn 30!!

This summer both my brother DJ and his best friend Tim turned 30! To celebrate their birthday's the siblings all went to Tulsa for dinner. My parents made reservations for us at the Melting Pot. We all enjoyed the most amazing fondue we had ever experienced. We had everything including, veggie's, steak, shrimp, lobster, chicken, pork, and of course... the desert was fruit with chocolate!!

After dinner we all took a walk along the river. We came to an area where children were running through the fountains in their swimsuits. I'm not sure how the idea came about, but before I knew it Tim and DJ were emptying their pockets in preparation to run through. Of course Tim had to one-up DJ and slide through while DJ pranced through trying to avoid the water. Needless to say, it ended our night with laughs.

After our evening, Jason and Traci headed back to Edmond. The rest of us had a "slumber party" at DJ and Miekel's. Colin and Katie were the lucky one's in the extra bed while Tim and Julie slept on the blow-up mattress and Jared and I on the floor. Jared and I are both the youngest in our families and find that the floor has suited us just fine for over 20 years! The next morning the guys walked to Utica Square to get a Starbucks. Aren't they cute?? The girls chose to avoid the heat and drive! This was another birthday bash filled with family fun!

SUMMER BIRTHDAYS... My Grandma turns 75!

My dad and his two sisters threw a 75th birthday party for my Grandma Frankee in Cloudcroft, NM on July 1st. Jared and I flew out to New Mexico with my parents, my brother Jason, my brother DJ, my sister-in-law Miekel, and their son Dawson. We all stayed in a good 'ol mountain cabin in Cloudcroft.
We all had a wonderful weekend spending time with our extended family members. It was the first time Jared met many of my cousins As you can see there are a lot of us, and this picture is missing 6!

The last picture shows the family traveling... NOT so light!

SUMMER BIRTHDAYS... My mom turns 50!!

My mom turned 50 on July 5th. She does not quite enjoy the excitement of surprise birthday parties, so we just celebrated as a family. My dad took us all to the family favorite restaurant Twelve Oaks for a nice dinner. As a gag gift my siblings and I gave my mom a BIG red and purple hat symbolizing her ability to join the Red Hat Society now that she is 50 years old. (A milestone, and society for that matter, of which she was unaware existed!)

SUMMER BIRTHDAY'S... Dawson turns 1!!

My family celebrated our first birthday of the summer the day after I returned from Europe. My precious nephew Dawson turned one on May 25th, 2006! As you can see from the pictures, my family threw quite the party for him. He was showered with gifts of which his favorite was probably a little jungle gym from my parents. However, the gift he uses the most would be his adorable little sandals Jared and I purchased in Germany!








After opening his gifts we let Dawson eat a piece of birthday cake all by himself. He surprisingly didn't make the mess we all expected him to.