Weather in Oklahoma brings thunder storms, blistering sun with random flash flooding… and that’s just in July! On sunny days you can usually find the kids anywhere there’s water. Wouldn’t you with a heat index of 108?! On this bright afternoon I found my two littlest sisters playing swimming games with our cousin Tonya (the dark haired cutie). Rachel, the youngest, was most keen on jumping the highest while Sarah and Tonya were convinced that talking to each other under water was the coolest thing ever!
You know you’re a country kid when: A- you’re swimming in a feeding trough and B- you have to block your pet turkey from joining you!
The boys? Some days you’d catch them mowing lawns as a summer money-maker or out on the job with dad getting covered in stucco. If the weather permits, more than likely you would lose sight of them to a pond full of fish that “needs to be caught”.
These are called Catalpa worms. Aparently you can freeze them until needed, then hook up and throw your line out. I’m not necessarily a fan of any hooking or throwing, however I don’t mind a fish dinner and I love spending time with my bro, so here we go!
A hot summer visit to my Grams’s house wouldn’t be complete without some solid work in the yard.
Because I respect my grandma (and value my camera and want to keep my life), I won’t be posting any photos of her push-mowing the lawn. Just know that my 80 year old hero maintains the energy of a woman just a portion of her age while doing laps around her great grandkids.
Fun fact: She just became a great-great-GREAT Grandma! Here’s a pic of our newest member Asher. Congratulations Dutch and Lauren!
When the sun chooses to let the clouds roll by and the streets begin to flood, we tend to find ourselves indoors with games, arts and crafts!
We usually choose old fashioned coloring books (not a coloring app on your tech device) and games like Hungry Hungry Hippos (calling all kids from the 80’s and 90’s) to rounds of Phase-10 and Skipbo! On this rainy afternoon we decided to color some rocks.
To you, this is a photo of a cute family (if I don’t say so myself). To me, these are precious moments in time that can almost bring a tear to my eye when I allow myself to indulge in the love that I have for these kids.
Joseph, Ben (Dalton), Hannah, Sarah, Rachel and never forgotten Elizabeth… I love you. 
You’ve seen them in posts since the beginning of my travels and oh my how they’ve grown!
Her Happy Trails 
