Party at the Ranch

Some people may wonder why we left Tulsa and moved to a smaller town. These pictures show why......hanging out at the Ranch, huge family and friend cookouts, swimming in the horse tank, water balloon fights, kickball at dusk in a pasture, being around genuine people, the horses, Brad fishing anytime he wants.....I could go on and on. Now, don't get me wrong. I love a big city as much as the next gal, but I guess I'm still a country girl at heart. I love being close to my family, and every time I'm at the Ranch I remember how lucky I am to have roots.

Kyson and Jake filling up balloons with water.

Doesn't this look like good 'ole country fun?

Brylee and Paige

Willie the Ranch dog

Cutie pie Kyson

The kids were just as happy to be
in a horse tank as if they were in a pool.

Dinner was yummy!

Kick ball

Paige was a little obsessed with blowing bubbles.

The horses were happy to just watch all the excitement!

We had a great Memorial Day weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Brooks and Dunn

Brad and I went with Becky and Craig to Brooks and Dunn Friday night. We ate at P.F. Chang's beforehand and it was yummy! I sure do miss all the great places to eat in Tulsa. Brad has loved Brooks and Dunn for as long as I've known him, so when I found out there were coming to Tulsa on their "Last Rodeo" tour I HAD to get tickets. I surprised him!

We knew the words to every song.....

Our butterflies

Our dear friends, the Wooderson's, sent us a butterfly kit the first week we moved into our new house. It came in the mail and the kids thought is was so cool that bugs could come in the mail. I forgot to take pictures of the caterpillars, but they started out small and got nice and FAT! We watched them everyday and talked about the changes we saw. Yesterday, they finally turned into butterflies and today we let them go.

Giving their butterflies a little pep talk....

"Now, when we open the net just fly, OK."

The empty cocoons

Our butterflies were the perfect color......
orange and black for OSU!

Jake said he taught one little butterfly to do tricks.

It would walk through a hoop, which he made out of wire.
This little butterfly had a hard time flying, so Jake also decided

it liked the Liston's too much to fly away.

Paige wanted to hold a butterfly too,

but when it got a little to close to her face....

She.freaked.out

Ok, that's a little better. Just not toooo close.

This was such an amazing experience! J&P are already asking when we can get some more caterpillars. Thank you Wooderson's for such an amazing gift!!!!

Anniversary and Graduation

Our 11 year anniversary just so happened to fall on the same night as Brad's residency graduation which just so happened to be held at the same hotel our wedding reception had been held just 11 years earlier.....

11 years of marrige and I still love this man to pieces.

The family medicine guys with their favorite attending.

The family medicine guys and their lovely supportive spouses....

FYI -My pictures are pretty terrible. I've decided we need a new camera!

Dance Recital

Paige had her dance recital last weekend. Her class did their routine to the song

"How much is that doggie in the window?"

They were so precious, and did such a good job for being 2 and 3 year olds!

Her dance teacher, Miss Tracy, drawing on her puppy dog nose.

She was a little obsessed with looking at it....

Hannah and Paige

Leah, Hannah, and Paige with their flowers after the show!

I think she may have a future in show biz......hee,hee!

Our Mema

Mary Kathryn Straka

1931-2010

WE LOVE YOU MEMA!!!!

Brad's grandmother was an amazing lady. Family and God were the most important things in her life and she showed us that everyday.

Pictures from the last two weeks

The boxes...

My old kitchen....lots of good memories here.

When Jake saw all the furniture moved out of the house he said,
"Daddy, we could really do some good horsie back rides now!"

Paigie girl in her old room

Jake in his old room

Jake on his second day of school in Ponca.

He still loves it!!!

Paige in her doggie recital costume.

Her recital is this weekend, so you can expect lots of pictures!!

My new kitchen!! This is my favorite room in our house.

I went out to the family ranch and watched my brothers work cattle. I decided to hop on a horse myself. It's been almost 15 years since I've been on a horse, which seems crazy to me since I grew up around them and even had a horse of my own. I plan to spend a lot of time riding again!

We are off to Tulsa for the weekend........can't wait!

The Move

So, it's been a while since my last post. I've been a little busy moving...ha! Let me start off my saying that I have the BEST FRIENDS ever! I was super emotional during the last few days in Tulsa. My friends took me under their wing and helped me in any way they could. The Wooderson's had us over for dinner when our house was in boxes. Joy picked up Paige on Friday (the day we moved) and took her to dance, and then took her back to her house to play with Hannah, so I could get the last few things done. Michelle came over on moving day and helped me clean. Many other friends helped out too, so thank you girls for everything!

We arrived in Ponca on Friday evening around 6:00. Becky had stocked my refrigerator with food, and had prepared four meals that just had to be thrown in the oven. Did I say that I had the BEST FRIENDS ever!!! I really do mean it. Seriously. I am so lucky! That night we also went to dinner with 6 other couples who are destined to be our great friends. They were so welcoming and were genuinely happy for us to be apart of their group. More than ever, I feel like this is where we were meant to be. God has placed us in a community that is just as excited for us to be here as we are.

We have now been here a week and are settling in just fine. Becky has been here everyday helping me put away stuff and organizing. What would I do without her? We've been friends since 1st grade, and it's so fun to finally live in the same city again.

The best thing that has happened this week is Jake LOVES his new school. I mean LOVES it! He was really nervous and every time we talked about moving he would say, "Mommy, my tummy hurts when you talk about my new school." So, for months now we have been dreading having him change schools at the end of the year, but we really didn't have a choice. It was a big relief when we picked him up and he said, "Mommy, I love my new school!!" Wow, God really did have a plan for us. Jake has already met so many new friends that he can play with all summer.

Jake and Paige have had an easy transition too. Their bedrooms are upstairs, and they have been troopers about going to bed and sleeping up there by themselves. I broke out the old baby monitors and have them hooked up in their rooms so that if they need me I would be able to hear them. Paige says about 100 times a day, "We don't live in Jenks anymore. We live in Ponca City." She's a little obsessed with that phrase. Neither one of them have asked about our old house. They feel at home here, just like Brad and I do. Not to say that I don't think about the Jenks house, but this is definitely our home now.

Believe it or not, I haven't taken a lot of pictures this past week, but I will try and post some later.