Trains and Planes

Julie and Neil came by to visit the family for the weekend at the end of their glorious vacation to Angel Fire. I'm sure glad that we get to see them as often as we do! (thanks guys for coming to visit us!)

On Friday night Kenny and I took pizza over to Mom and Dad's to see Neil and Julie and play an awesome new board game that they discovered. It's called Ticket to Ride.

So, after some official instructioning from Neil and Julie we were ready to play. Mom and Lori joined us, and since there are only five players Julie decided she could be the official mentor for the game. Thank goodness! I think all of us girls needed some help *laughs*

Well, once we got the hang of it we really had a blast! You draw cards and build train tracks from city to city to get points. It gets especially tricky when another player builds a track RIGHT where you need one and you have to stratigize and plot and scheme to get around them.

Such fun! We were laughing and teasing and trying our hardest to get our tracks all built and you know what!?!? Mom beat us all!! (way to beat the boys Mom!! *grins*)
Here's Neil's awesome fortress of trains *laughs*

After the train game we girls left Neil and Kenny at Mom and Dad's house and left for the airport to pick Dad up from his two week business trip to Mexico!

Wowee we were so excited to see him! We all rushed out and smothered him with hugs *grins* Two weeks is a long time!

I do not have ANY idea what we would do without him. It seems like everytime he's gone on a business trip some emergency happens or one of our cars breaks down, or we run the sprinklers in the freezing cold and have a winter wonderland in the back yard *laughs* Seriously, there are so many big and little things that he just always does to take care of us. I am so very thankful for the Dad God blessed me with. He does SO SO SO much for all of us and we just love him more than words can say!
Welcome home Dad!

Police Persuasion

Tuesday morning started out like any other... nice warm shower, two pieces of whole wheat toast with orange juice, quick dab of makeup, kiss Kenny goodbye and I'm on my way! *smiles*

But, this would turn out to be no ordinary Tuesday morning. I hopped in my little car and snapped my seat belt into place and OHMYGOODNESSGRACIOUS the pain!! (You'll remember from my last post that I was sunburned to a crispness right on my chest and shoulders) I gently slipped the seat belt under my arm and breathed a sigh of relief.

I backed my car out of the garage and headed off to work. Then.....suddenly.....a mere three blocks from my house I see the shocking flicker of police lights in my mirror. (I don't know about you guys, but the moment I see police lights behind me, whether they're pulling me over or not, my heart turns to mush and I can feel my heartbeat pounding in my head)

(not actually my car *winks*)

"Oh no" I thought silently to myself, "he's pulling me over because he thinks I'm not wearing my seat belt!" I rolled down my window, smiled my biggest smile and kindly turned over my drivers license and insurance verification.

Officer: Miss, the reason I pulled you over is because when I saw you you weren't wearing your seat belt.
Me: Well......actually I did have it on, I just had it under my arm because of my awful sunburn from Memorial day weekend at the lake.

at this point I innocently pulled my sleeve over to show him the horrific redness and he winced in pain.

Officer: Oh, wow, I feel your pain. I'm sunburned too from the lake this weekend. Here you go (handing me back my license and verification) have a nice day!

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT!?! No ticket, not even a warning! What a miracle! I started my car back up and could barely work the clutch my legs were shaking so bad *laughs*

And from this day forward Kenny keeps teasing me that I "flashed" a cop to get out of a ticket!!

Memorial Day walk!

Well, since the bike riding didn't work out as planned Kenny and I decided to go for a Memorial Day walk around Lake Hefner.

Mind you, this may sound like an easy feat, but it is actually TEN MILES all the way around Lake Hefner!

So, I mustered my courage, did my stretches, applied sunscreen lightly in key areas, Kenny packed up some water and granola bars to fend off my starvation and we were on our way!

As we stepped out of the car and into the sunshine the whole world transformed. This wasn't a giant exercise trip, this was an adventure! I excitedly grabbed Kenny's hand and we were off! *grins*

We joyfully walked briskly through the trees, hearing the birds twittering and inhaling the sweet piney smell. Ahhhh, life is good!

We admired the yachts and sail boats docked lovingly by the shoreline and saw all sorts of birds; cranes, oriels, ducks and geese.

We continued on our way.....mile after mile...........after mile.................................after mile.... *grins*

Luckily Kenny is a sweetie sympathizer and would lovingly encourage me and ask me how I was doing. I on the other hand am a bit of a "whimper" (as Kenny would say).

Kenny: You're doing great!

Karen: Ahhhh, my baby toes are grinding off

Kenny: Do you want your granola bar?

Karen: (dragging my legs as I walk) my feet are turning into stumps

Kenny: Don't worry we're almost there

Karen: You mean halfway there *laughs*

Hopefully I wasn't THAT bad right?

Well, we completed the TEN MILES and I felt so accomplished! It really was a fun time and we got to see the ENTIRE lake *smiles* I'm so glad that we made it!!

After we got home and rested on the couch as the time was going by Kenny kept noticing "Wow, you're looking pretty pink"....."eek, your shoulders are pretty red"......"Ahhhh, you are BURNED!"

I finally went to check in the mirror and sure enough, I got a MAJOR sunburn! Even through my sunscreen. I suppose I wasn't thorough enough or liberal enough with my application. On my shoulders you could see a perfect little hand print where the sunscreen was *laughs*

OOoooh it was ouchie! I can't believe I wasn't more careful with my poor skin *frowns* I was soaking in aloe vera just to survive! Then after the skin pain was soothing down I noticed my feet.....eeeek humongous horrific blisters on my toesies and the back of my ankles. I lovingly spared you the pictures *laughs*

All the pain was worth it though. It was a great day and I can't wait to do it again sometime (if Kenny will still go with me *laughs*)

A bike and a boom!

For memorial day weekend Kenny and I had the brilliant idea to borrow some bicycles from my Dad and sister Lori and do a little biking over at lake hefner. We are thinking about buying some bikes for ourselves and thought this would be a good little test run. There is a really neat trail all the way around lake hefner as well as some neat trails at lake overholser right by our house.

Luckily we have some very kind and generous family members who were more than willing to let us borrow their bikes. So, Kenny and I stopped by Dad and Mom's house on Sunday to pick them up.

My Dad is out of town on a business trip, so Mom directed us to the bikes and we pulled them out and decided to put some air in the tires. Lori's was looking a little flat *winks*

Kenny lifted out Dad's big air compressor and proceeded to gently inflate the back tire while I was holding the bike upright.

Karen: "there you go"...."easy does it"....
Kenny: "hmmm, that looks pretty good to me"
Karen: (this is key) "just a little more"...

and BOOM!!!!

that's right folks, I exploded a bike tire. It sounded like a gun shot went off! In fact, I nearly dropped the bike, hit the dirt and covered my head *laughs*
Kenny and I just stared at each other in disbelief! "Lori! I'm so sorry" I cried out, "we burst your bike tire! I promise I'll get you a new one!!"

We felt so bad and just stunned. I've never popped a tire in my entire life! Lori was so gracious and sweet. "Don't worry, it was probably just an old tire". Her boyfriend Matt even offered to drive to Edmond to get his bike so we could still ride (awwww, thanks Matt!).

In that instant, there went the entire biking trip plan. Obviously we're just not ready to be bike owners huh? *grins*

Sports Banquet!

Kenny's school hosts a LOVELY sports banquet every year where they announce the sports teams, hand out awards and have a yummy dinner for the athletes, parents, coaches and coaches spouses *smiles*

This was my second year to go with Kenny and they are so much fun! I love getting to see "Coach Schell" get up to the microphone and talk about his teams, how he's proud of them all and the great things they've accomplished over the year, how he'll miss them and that he appreciates all the hard work they've put in. I just glow with pride!

It's also pretty darn exciting to hear a cafateria full of people explode with cheers, screaming and never-ending applause when your husband walks up to the podium *grins* Seriously, he's like a rock star!

It's so cute the way all the students look and wonder and even come up and ask me... "are you Mr. Schell's wife?" Then they'll rush back to their little group and announce their findings and everyone will turn and smile and wave *laughs*. It's quite the ego boost! I even got to sit at the Head Table!

They had some yum-nummy mexican food catered in and we sure enjoyed that!

Kenny, you are a blessing to your school and to each and every one of those students. I just know that you are changing their lives forever and I am SO VERY proud of you!

The Lion King

Oh dearie me, I know I'm more than a week behind in posting this, but life just gets so fun I don't have time to stop and write about it *grins*

So, Sunday morning we woke up in St. Louis and ran out to see the arch ONE last time. Needless to say, on a Sunday morning it was VERY busy. There were lines of people just waiting to get inside (underneath) to then get in line to buy tickets to go up inside the arch. We should have gone up inside it on Thursday when it wasn't so busy. Oh well, it's a sight to see whether you're inside it or BEside it *laughs*

So after a few more pictures we hopped in the car and started the journey home. We were in a bit of a rush this time because we had tickets to see the Lion King (Broadway traveling show) downtown at 6:30 that evening. We actually made pretty good time, only stopping once for gas and to get a bite to eat for lunch.

We got home about 5:00. Just enough time to quickly change clothes, for me to apply some makeup and get back in the car to go downtown. We took my tiny Miata in hopes of an easier time finding parking, and luckily got a GREAT (tiny) spot right by the theater.

We got inside and to our seats with time to spare *smiles* Kenny got us some fabulous seats! This was actually a Christmas present to me (what a great find in my stocking huh!?) We were in the first balcony on the VERY front row! We could see everything and Kenny had plenty of leg room and no heads to peer around *laughs*

I had NO idea what to expect with this show. I knew there were LOTS of intricate costumes, but I had NO clue how many and HOW extraordinary!! The VERY first scene was an actual parade of all kinds of animals, through the audience and down the aisles to the stage!

Zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, birds zooming through the air, lions and an ENORMOUS (four person) elephant!!! Unbelievable!!

We couldn't take any pictures of the show, so I got these off the internet *winks*

This is Pumba and Timon (you'll probably remember them from the movie) And this is Scar and Zazu (the bird...SO funny!) I love how Scar's "head" juts forward when he growls at someone!

Needless to say we had a fabulous time!! So much talent! Wow those guys can really sing!

Can you believe we had so much excitement all in the span of FOUR days!! Whew!

(ps- I'm going to try to get caught up with my blogging, so there may be more than one post today *laughs*)

Bee-Boo I love you!

Happy 4th Birthday to my sweetie pie nephew Bryce!

I CANNOT believe he is FOUR already! I remember the day he was born like it was yesterday *grins*

Wowee I was praying for that sweet boy (and Lisa and Bart) that day! All day at work I was fielding and making phone calls to and from Mom to get updates....what's happening now? Is he here yet? Is everything going okay? etc. *grins* well, everything went GREAT and we got to see his smiling face that night..... May 23rd, 2005! Bart (his Daddy) actually had to go out of town for a few days about a week after Bryce was born! Lucky for me I got to stay with Bryce and Lisa while Bart was gone and Bryce and I bonded like bread and butter!
He's my little sweetie pie! In fact, I'm the one who gave him his little nickname "Bee-Boo"~it means I love you *grins* (see how it rhymes...bee boo I love you!)
He's so fun, and ALL boy! He wants to see how things work and use every single one of Grandpa's tools(or "ha ha" as Bryce calls him).
I love the way he satisfies my baby needs without me actually having a baby yet *laughs* (don't worry Lisa, I know my day will come soon *winks*)
This is THE big FOUR year old today!
He's so funny, see those ankle weights on his ankles and wrists? He's doing his exercises "so he can grow big and strong like his Daddy Bart" (soooo cute!) *laughs* I promise we don't torture him with ankle weights! Here's Bryce and Bart...

Well Brycey, I love you and I hope your birthday is TONS of FUN!!

(he's getting a swimming pool in his backyard from his Mom and Dad!!! *grins*)

Missouri Botanical Gardens

On Saturday morning, our last full day of vacation, we met Neil and Julie and Einstein Bros Bagels for a yummy breakfast!

It's a classy little place with a million different kinds of bagels, pastries and treats! I got a Southwest egg wrap and it was DE-LIC-IOUS!!! It had jalapeno cream cheese and some sort of salsa that made it spicy.

After breakfast Neil and Julie had to head back to Springfield for a banquet at their church so Kenny and I decided to go check out the Missouri Botanical Garden.

The moment we pulled up I was mesmerized by these rows and rows of huge purple puffkins outside the main entrance and in the parking lot. Seriously, the heads of these flowers were probably as big as a softball!!

I made Kenny stop and take a picture so I'd never forget them. Purple is one of my VERY favorite flower colors. So unusual! It's also the color I picked for my wedding flowers *winks*

We walked through the grand entrance doors and into a garden wonderland of beauty! So many gorgeous flowers and fountains EVERYWHERE you looked!

There was a glorious rose garden!

Look at some of these beauties Kenny captured...

There were also glass sculptures floating in a large pool with a fountain. They reminded me of Christmas ornaments *grins*
We went into a botanical green house area and they had all sorts of tropical flowers...
and waterfalls!! (my favorite!)
There were also Victorian gardens with gazebos and mazes and hanging baskets erupting with flowers!Hey! I just noticed, these are purple TOO!!

There are so many pictures, I could go on forever! We just had a wonderful time!

As we were leaving the gardens there was a wedding just getting ready to start and we noticed these adorable sweet older couples...
I couldn't help but snap their picture as Kenny I knowingly turned and winked at each other "It's Kenny, Karen, Neil & Julie of the future" (We sure hope so anyway!)

Continuing on our vacation journey *grins*

Friday Neil and Julie came up to meet us in St. Louis. Kenny and I had ventured out to take another look at the arch and Neil and Julie just drove by about noon to pick us up. We were SO VERY thankful that Neil chauffeured us around. There really are some tricky one way streets and excitable traffic in St. Louis.

First off we headed directly to Forest Park. It is a HUGE park like setting that has several wonderful museums (art, history, and science) as well as fountains, statues and The Zoo!! An added bonus is that everything there is FREE!

Once we made our way through the maze of streets and traffic to find a parking place the zoo was looking pretty busy. So, while the "school field trip" crowds died down we decided to visit the art museum.
Just walking around in the beautiful trees and fountains with our sweet friends was fun. Kenny and Neil were busy catching up and Julie and I had fun giggling and talking *smiles*The art museum had all sorts of beautiful exhibits, it even had one of the original Monet water lilies pieces, pretty exciting to see!

After touring the exhibits we were all getting pretty hungry, so we had lunch at Puck's cafe (Wolfgang Puck, the famous chef's cafe) la-tee-dah *laughs* it was kind of pricey for what we got *laughs* I suppose you're paying for his name huh?

Julie and I discovered some neat little masks at the gift shop...
After lunch we walked across the park over to the Zoo. Whew we were so excited! So many animals to see and all for FREE!

We didn't know where to go first! Here are a few pictures of our favorites...
The giraffes (my favorite animal)
The penguins, their exhibit was SO AMAZING! They were outside swimming in a little pool and I was saying to Julie "Wow, it's pretty warm out here for penguins, isn't it?" Just then Kenny escorted us to a doorway that led to an arctic winter wonderland where the temperature dropped to about 40 degrees!
They were frolicking around on the rocks and chirping out their hello's. We could have reached out and grabbed one to take home! *winks*
Next we went on to see the tigers! Little did we know there were FIVE young sibling tigers who were bouncing and splashing and wrestling all over their pool and habitat. They were so entertaining to watch. Often at zoos the animals are just lazing about with one eye open, but these little guys were going crazy!! Julie and Kenny got some great pictures!
We toured that zoo until it closed and they took the animals in for the evening *laughs* Then after a little further exploring of the fountains at Forest Park we decided to head out to find somewhere to eat dinner together.

We eventually happened upon a cute little pizza place called Imo's Pizza in a neat little suburb called Webster Grove.
Julie and I were fascinated with the Apple shaped chairs that were outside in a couple little parks near Imo's. Of course, inducing much laughter from our husbands, we had to take some pictures in these chairs *grins*
By this time the storm clouds were rolling in and we hopped back in the car. Neil bravely navigated us through the downpour and enormous lighting bolts back to our hotel. We said our goodbye's and dashed inside and Neil and Julie headed off to their hotel.

As we were riding the elevator up to our room Kenny and I were reminiscing about the wonderful day we'd had and both feeling sad that we had to part ways with Neil and Julie so soon. So, we decided to call them up and see if we could meet them for breakfast the next day! We just can't get enough of those two *laughs*