Friends and Family

I had the neatest night on Monday. I met a great friend (who is now one of my friends!!) of a fellow blogger, Candy. Candy lives in Louisiana but her friend Guyla lives in the same town I do!!!! Candy and Guyla went to college together. Guyla doesn't have a blog (I think Candy and I are really trying to get her to blog) but she has been reading Candy's and came across mine. Because we lived in the same town and had a few other similarities Guyla emailed me when we began planning our DC trip!! It was so neat!! I felt like I was a teenager all over again and I was giddy when I read her email. In her original email she mentioned she went to a Missionary Baptist Church in a nearby town. I emailed back and said I had a friend that attended there at one time and wondered if her and her husband were still there. Guyla replied Yes! and that they were great friends with each other. I had not seen this friend in 5 years.

So Guyla, Kim, and I were finally able to meet this past Monday night!!!!! So Candy, I thank you. Through you I made a new friend I'm excited to build a relationship with and I was reacquainted with a friend I had not seen in a long time!!!! Thank you Candy!!!!!

I loved my time with Kim and Guyla. Guyla has the sweetest, kindest spirit about her! I love seeing her love for her little boy shine through! My friend Kim had to leave a little early but Guyla and I stayed at iHop a little longer and just talked. I'm always a little nervous when I meet someone for the first time. I hope she didn't think I was too crazy or loud!! One very major highlight and interesting note is the fact that Guyla lives literally about 2-3 blocks from me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait until the next time we meet. We talked about meeting and walking the trail near our house. I wanted to take many pictures but I didn't want Guyla and Kim to think me too strange on this first meeting. I nearly forgot to even get a picture but I knew I needed to so Candy could see it. Sorry, Kim had already left before we took this picture.

We made plans for all 3 couples to get together soon and have our husbands meet. Kim's husband likes to hunt and Guyla's husband shoots guns, so Bryan will be happy!!!!

Wednesday was Brooklyn's birthday. Happy Birthday, Brooklyn!!!!! Her mother-in-law's (who is my boss) birthday was Thursday. The Gorton family (parents, sons and their wives) went out to eat with no children on Wednesday night and I offered to babysit for Jorge and Brooklyn. I had a fabulous time!!! I didn't get any pictures of Stella (sorry Brooklyn)! But we had a joyous time. We swung around, plopped on the couch (sorry Brooklyn), "body slammed" on the bed (sorry Brooklyn), and any other bad habit I should not have done!!!! :) I promise I didn't literally body slam them. I just picked them up high and gently laid them on the bed. They just thought I was slamming them. I promise. I bet the parents who just read this are so nervous now!!! Sorry!!!

The girls were great and Boston spent a significant amount of time in the swing. I'm thankful for the man/woman who created the swing!!! It saved my life on Wednesday. It was an honor to watch these sweet ones. They really are like family to Bryan and I.

I kind of wonder if Boston was thinking "Who is this crazy lady watching me?" He looks a little scared!! But isn't he precious!!!!!!!!!

Ava "painting".

We had cake and lunch for Judy and Brooklyn at the office yesterday.

My cousin James has been visiting from Texas. This evening we are headed down to Ada for a family reunion tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it. I haven't seen my cousins since Katie's birthday.

Mt. Vernon and Annapolis, Maryland

This is the last of our whirlwind vacation blogs...promise!!! We were going nonstop. Oh how I miss it but I seriously think I could not keep up that constant pace.

On Saturday 7/5 we drove to Mt. Vernon and we loved it!!! We stood in line 2.5 - 3 hours to tour George Washington's home.

We want to go back some day because due to time we missed seeing some of his gardens and demonstrations they were giving. There was just so much to see. They had a tour based on the scenes from National Treasure 2 but it was sold out when we got there at 12:00!! It was very moving to view his bedroom and see the actual bed he died in. We could not take pictures inside the museum.
We also walked down to his tomb. We hate to say seeing someone's burial place was the highlight but we felt very honored and privileged to see the place where the 1st President of the United States was buried. Our trip was full of so much history! We live in an amazing country and we have had amazing leaders!!
There is also a very nice museum/visitor center at Mt. Vernon that have several relics and displays pertaining to George Washington, his home, and presidency. We saw some of his clothing. It was amazing. But once again, due to time, we cut our visit short. We have to go back!!!


Yet again, Bryan saw someone he knew from Oklahoma. As we were leaving the visitor center I heard him say "Fancy seeing you here." I thought he was talking to me as I walked out of the bathroom!!!! Nope. It was another guy (different from the one in DC) that he had a class with at OU. I'm telling you, it was crazy!!! We just laughed and laughed that he ran into someone he knew 2 days of our trip all the way on the east cost!!!


This was outside of George Washington's home toward the very end of the day. We had taken a break on the beautiful lawn. Do we look tired or what??!!

On Sunday, I just did not think my leg could handle a lot of walking in DC again so we drove to Annapolis, Maryland to see the US Naval Academy and other sites. I believe one of the things it is known for is their chapel. It was very nice and ornate inside. My pictures did not turn out but the stain glass was gorgeous. This is taken inside the dorms where the "recruits" stay. The art work was amazing. So beautiful. There was also a fresh class of Plebes there. We were able to see them marching. They had only been there 5 days and looked scared to death!!

I had to take a picture of the Olympic sized swimming pool at the academy in honor of Granny. She swims everyday at the college in Ada. This pool below is slightly bigger than what she is used too!!! It went under the stadium seating!!! I so would not make it at the US Naval Academy considering I only can swim on my back!!!!!

This football is from the first Army/Navy game.

You probably know they have a HUGE rivalry!!! Bryan was in the Army National Guard early in our marriage. I told him his Army guys need to pick it up!! Go ARMY!!!

View from the back of the Naval Academy.

I LOVED Annapolis!! We want to go back again!!!
A police officer volunteered to take our picture with the harbor in the background. I promise I didn't even ask. She said she was from a large family and knew how important pictures were. I loved her!!!! I truly did not pressure her to take our picture. I think Bryan let her take the picture due to his fear of being arrested if he didn't allow her to take it!!!
We enjoyed seeing the Naval Academy and Bryan remembered there were a few scenes from the movie Patriot Games filmed there. When we got home we watched the movie and Harrison Ford walked through the exact same gate we did!!! We were pumped!!!!

Annapolis has a really neat downtown near the harbor. We ate great seafood and clam chowder for the 3rd or 4th time!! This was our last full day of vacation and we wanted to get in the last of the seafood and clam chowder while we could. This was the view from our restaurant. We ate upstairs.

We ended our last vacation day with Eric and his family! We ate a nice dinner with them in Aberdeen, Maryland. We enjoyed our time with Eric and really tried to make the most out of it. If he is deployed to Iraq, this may have been one of or possibly the last time we see him before he leaves. We just don't know his schedule yet. I'm so glad we had a lady take our picture together.
Bryan and I made a mad dash back to Gettysburg Monday morning before catching our return flight. He picked up some officer buttons and I bought an "aged" American flag.
I saved this picture for last. It was taken on Monday in Gettysburg right before we made a beeline for the rental car place and the airport to catch our flight.

I found the army hat in Annapolis Maryland in a souvenir shop. Since Bryan was in the OK Army National Guard, I felt he had to have it. And we found it funny that we bought an "army" hat in the town that is home to the US Naval Academy. I LOVE BRYAN HASKINS!!! This picture just makes my heart skip around!!!

The End!!!!!

4th of July in DC -- (I'm almost done with vacation pictures)

Are you tired of my vacation yet?? Thank you for putting up with my posts. I know if I do not record this somewhere, I will forget some of the wonderful memories we made. I only have this post and one other left to do and then I will be back to the normal every day happenings of my life. Yippee!! Don't get too excited! :)

The 4th of July in DC was another amazing day on our vacation. It was very rewarding, very hectic, very tiring, and very enjoyable all in one! We spent the whole day with my cousin Eric, his wife Whitney, and his step daughter Katie. The city was very crowded and there was heavy security. It was neat to say we were in our nation's capital during Independence Day but we will probably never be there on a major holiday again. The security blockades kept you from seeing several sites up close, i.e. the White House. The Mall was fenced off and there were security checkpoints to even get onto the Mall. I'm not complaining. I'm thankful for the security. It just made it a little more inconvenient to navigate to the various sites. Still a great day for Bryan and I though. We did a ton of walking and my leg was not doing too well on this day. My ankle was swollen so much the skin cracked. I couldn't wear my support hose because I had a heat rash and razor burn!! But I still was thankful I had two legs to walk on and my wonderful, adorable husband was very patient and very concerned. The next morning he got up early and drove to a pharmacy to pick me up some burn cream and then some medicated powder to put on. He was an angle!! Thank you Buddy!!

Enjoy the pictures! I'll try to keep the narration to a minimum!! :) Wish me luck!!The Washington Monument was even prettier at night.Our next stop... The World War II Memorial. This was new since we had been there. Bryan and I both really wanted to see this. His PaPaw was in the Army during the War and my Poppy was in the Navy; both in the Pacific area.
Bryan was pointing to an area where his PaPaw fought in the War, New Guinea. His grandpa saw some major combat.There is a wall of stars in memory of the service men who died in the war. The gold stars reflect in the small pool. It is hard to see in the photo but it truly was beautiful.

After the WW II Memorial, Bryan and I visited briefly the Korean War Memorial and then met Eric at the Lincoln Memorial. The Korean Memorial was beautiful. Statues were strategically placed throughout the grounds and faces were seen in the granite wall.

My older sister really admires and loves Abraham Lincoln. I wanted her to be with me and experience this trip so badly. I took a lot of pictures for her (I won't put them all on the blog). She is going to have her Elementary Ed Degree next Spring and I kept thinking she could use them somehow, somewhere.

Above: View of the reflecting pool and Washington Monument from the Lincoln Memorial.

Our little family at the Lincoln Memorial. I loved it that Katie wanted to stand by Bryan and I!!!:The Vietnam Wall. This photo shows the start of the wall which appeared to me to be in the middle. The names are listed in the order the men/women were killed.

We accidentally came upon a parade on our walk back to find something to eat. Which by the way...I had the best chili cheese dog from a vendor ever!!! It was delicious. Expensive, but delicious. Bryan and I each had a chili cheese dog and one water and it costs us $11!!! Not your Sonic Chili Cheese Coney price!! :)Due to security on the 4th, this was as close as we could get to the White House! Another tid bit, while we were walking through this park/lawn, Bryan came up missing. We all looked back and he was talking to someone!!! He had ran into a guy he knew from Norman. Bryan had taken a few graduate classes with him!!! Hilarious that we came all the way to DC and Bryan ran into someone he knew!!! The guy was playing frisbee with the tour guide we had at the capital!!

Do these guys look tired or what!!! And we were still 5-6 hours from the fireworks!!!

The temperature cooled off somewhat. We had road the subway into Arlington to grab a bite to eat and I picked up a thin long sleeve t-shirt to wear. Then, we went back into DC and found one of our many spots (we moved at least 3 times) to watch the fireworks. It rained on us some, but I didn't get too wet because I stood under a tree which could have been dangerous if it was struck by lightening!!! The light shower felt kind of good though!!

Pre-Rain Photo Shoot:

During Light Sprinkle Photo Shoot (I love Bryan's face in this!!! He was being silly!!!):And now ladies and gents (there's only a few gents who read my blog) I present to you the few shots of the fireworks! These were the best I had. It was glorious to watch and hear!! There was constant fireworks and booms!!!Bryan made us all leave a little early and we watched the finale as we walked down the street to the subway station and I'm so glad he did. This is what we encountered when we got to the tunnel. The police had to monitor the number of people going into the subway.When the people took their umbrellas down, we were splattered with water. But it was so humid and hot it felt great!!! We were so very thankful to get into the subway tunnel and then we waited for about another 30 minutes to get onto the subway. It was crowded and nerve racking but we are still glad we had the experience. Now we know what to do and what not to do and when to do it or not do it!!!

Friday Night in the Big Town

What are your Friday Night Plans?

Bryan and I are dining with these fine folks tonight....

We are always going over to Jorge and Brooklyn's to eat. But it seems to work well for their 3 little ones. They are in their element, have their toys, and can go to bed when it is bed time. It just seems to run smoother. I'll be making Spanish rice and Bryan's guacamole (he will be at work until 6:00 so I have to make it without him. eeek!!)

I'm sure we will get in some play time with their kiddos too!

Oh how we love them!!

My Saturday plans consist of nothing but this.....

It is my "Cleaning To Do List." I have a ton of laundry and our house needs a cleaning so I made a list to encourage myself and motivate myself. I want to see all those squares checked come Saturday night!!!! Wish me luck!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!!!