Where to begin?!

Last weekend, we went to Tulsa, OK for my cousin's wedding. We made a stop in Dallas for the night to break up the trip. Here are the boys helping my dad wash the van...

Then, on the way to Tulsa we stopped for lunch where Will showed us that he could dip his french fries in ketchup! He only had to see Zach do it once to pick it up. It's amazing how fast these guys are learning how to do stuff. He wouldn't eat another french fry without first dipping it into the special sauce.

We made it to Tulsa just in time for the rehearsal dinner. It also happened to be my cousin's (aka the groom's) birthday! It was a double celebration, and we all had a blast at a great Mexican food restaurant right on the river in Tulsa. Here is Chad (groom/cousin) with Levi snoozin. They are both pretty darn cute.

We had a blast hanging out in the hotel with family. Here is Kaleb (2nd cousin?) and Will playing catch. (Will's favorite game!)

I love this picture because Will & Pawpaw (the boys' great-grandfather) have the same expression on their faces! Ha! I snapped the picture without telling them what I was doing. They are both usually happy people : )

Pawpaw and his grandkids! Will has a question....

Levi realizing that Memaw is the one he needs to stick with! She gladly shared her cookie with him, and she will always be his best friend!

The wedding was absolutely BEAUTIFUL! The location was an old barn with acreage that is well kept. The bride's dad made those letters for the barn. I just love the white curtains for the barn entrance!

The planned reception site and the wedding site in the background. gorgeous!!!The ceremony was short and sweet. It was made even shorter by the rain that came during their vows. It was the sweetest light right at first, but then it turned into a big storm right when all the people made it safely into the barn. It was sad to see all their table stuff get drenched, but the barn was so fun and perfect for the occasion!

Here is the rain...

Here comes the barn fun!
Me & Will (Zoolander face)

Zach & me with the bride & groom!

Here are the bride & groom sharing their first dance. They make a good lookin' couple, don't they!?
Precious!

I was able to visit with some old camp friends during the reception! I haven't seen these girls for years, so it was sooo much fun!
Julie, Me & Abbie


We made it back home on Sunday night. Here are some randoms from this week...

I love it when the boys cooperate for a quick self-photo. Here I am with silly Will!

I had Ava & Pierson the other day, and we all had a fun wagon ride. Poor Pierson rode on the floor, but he didn't seem to mind! I think this picture is so cute of all of them!

Heather is about to move to Baltimore for residency, and the boys are going to miss her greatly! Will wanted to get some good snugglin' before she leaves...

Conversations of the Sleep Deprived...

The boys have been 'messing up' the nice sleeping schedule that I had going for awhile. They are making attempts to do away with their morning nap and replace it with just one long early afternoon nap. These attempts have also messed up their night time sleeping, and both boys have been waking up earlier than usual. All that to say, Zach and I have been going with a little less sleep recently. This is a snippet of a conversation we had at about 3 am a couple nights ago. Up to this point, our night looked like this:

10pm- Trying to get boys to go to sleep, but both of them fought it, so both ended up falling asleep in bed with us. Not the best start to a sleep deprived night...

midnight- Zach is sound asleep, but I am trying to fall asleep with one boy grinding his teeth and the other one smacking his lips. I was unsuccessful.

3am- (this is when it gets good) Zach wakes up to go to the bathroom, which ends up waking me up from a deep sleep that I was finally able to achieve. I don't have my contacts/glasses on, so everything is blurry and dark. I sit up in a slight panic because something is different. I start feeling around on the bed in the dark and realize that there is only one boy in our bed. Zach starts walking out of the bathroom to get back in bed.

Me: Where's the other one?
Zach: ...what?
M: Where's the other one? Both of them should be in our bed, but I only can find one.
Z: Did you put him in the basket?
M: (Trying to think what basket we would put our son in. Slightly confused, but too tired to question the basket reference....still thinking what basket he is talking about....)
Z: (getting agitated/scared tone) Is he in the basket?!
M: (Still trying to rub my eyes out of grogginess and figure out what basket we have ever put our kid in...)
Z: Kara, is.he.in.the.basket?
M: (Finally realizing he means the pack n' play...which he has NEVER referred to ask 'the basket' before)

I get out of bed and start running my fingers through the bottom of the pack n' play. Yup, that's a face.

Me: Yes, he's in the pack n' play.
Z: already asleep.

I guess sometime between midnight and 3 am I transferred Will to the pack n' play. I don't remember it at all.

I am still making fun of Zach for referring to the pack n' play as a basket. We might just start calling it that from now on!

Just Do It.

Recommendation of the year:
Read this book.
It's beyond good. It's real.

Letting Freedom Ring...in A-Town!

We had a great 4th of July with family & friends at our place. I'll let the pics tell the story...

Fun 4th of July Cake!

Strader kids, Sheets kids & Adkins girl

Will, Levi & Addison. These 3 have been good friends for their whole lives!

Whit & Will

Levi & Me. He smiled for the self-portrait!

The Sheets! Whit, Landon, Levi, Zach, Will & Me

Gini & Jude. adorable!

The fireworks show crew. Instead of being on the lake in our boat, we sat in our backyard in the boat. alllll american!

And now, I will leave you with some of the fireworks! I love, love, love the 4th of July! It is climbing the charts to be my favorite holiday! Fireworks make me smile.

How I Became A Sheets: Part 8- Meeting the Sheets

Zach and I knew from the very beginning that we were (for lack of a better phrase) meant to be! So when it came time for me to meet his family, I was quite nervous. We had only been dating for about a month, but I knew that his family was going to be the family I would marry in to. They would be the family who I would spend holidays with, who I would take the name of, and who I would grow to love.

The family was driving to Abilene to spend time together with the kids who were in Abilene. Zach's two sisters were attending ACU, so they enjoying visiting Abilene often. I waited at Zach's house for them to arrive. It was getting close to midnight when I saw the 'Scurze' (Excursion) drive up. They all began filing out one by one, and I started to get really nervous. I had spent many 'dates' with Zach trying to look over family pictures and know who's face went with what name. I was very confident with all the pictures, but when I started to see them through the window, I realized how old the pictures were! Each kid was taller & older than I imagined. I could feel myself starting to sweat this one. His mom & dad walked into the door first, and I shyly introduced myself to them. It didn't occur to me that most of the kids would sleep on the way there, so they all look a little on the zombie side! Within a few minutes, they had all entered the house, given hugs all around, and left to go to a friend's house to sleep. It was a whirlwind of an introduction, but one that I will never forget! Now that I am a part of the family, I get to be an active part of the 'whirlwind' Sheets tours. If you have ever been around us, you know what I'm talking about!

Our relationship continued to grow as Zach and I fell in love. Sickening, I know.

Sing Song my soph year.

It does snow in Abilene!

Formal my soph year.

Grub my Junior Year.

As the summer approached, I had to figure out what and where I was going to be for the summer. I interviewed for youth internships at various churches, but when it was all said and done, I didn't want to be away from Zach for the entire summer. My parents really wanted me to come home, but..... for some reason....staying in Abilene sounded much more appealing. : )

I got an on-campus job, and decided to move into a house and work at ACU. This house just happened to be 4 houses down from Zach's house. Coincidence? Maybe.....

remember how Zach commented on my socks the first time I met him? These are the magical socks!

May 2003

June 2003.

July 2003.

We had a blast that summer hanging out with one another and friends that happened to be in town. Zach and I wanted to spend all of our time together, so when my family was going on a vacation to California, I asked if Zach could come along! We had SO MUCH FUN that summer camping with my parents and brother. We went to Yosemite National Park, Big Sur Coast, Monterrey, and spent time with my dad's relatives. Zach was able to bond (big time) with my brother and parents.

Big Sur, CA

Giant Sequoia

Moonlight tour of a light house. It was a highlight of our Cali trip.

Grand Canyon, AZ

Yosemite, CA.

As the summer came to a close, Zach invited me to visit Galveston with his family. His dad had been invited to speak at a medical school conference, and the whole family was going to just chill on the beach and hang out with old friends. It was the weekend before school started back up, and I was so excited to have one last mini-vacation with my hottie!

Little did I know that this would be one of the most memorable weekends of my life!

TBC.
Part 9- Mosquitos = My Worst Enemy.

Levi is Walking! and some random videos...

Levi took his first few steps this past week. Everyday he is doing better and better, and last night he took about 12 steps in a row for his Uncle Landon. It was very exciting!

Will shows no interest in walking yet, and it will be quite sometime before he is up and running. I am totally OK with that!

I will leave you with some video footage from this week.




Levi & Will as Boys ll Men. classic.


This is how Levi fell asleep last night. We were all watching Batman Begins, and I looked over to find this...

More Pics

Here are some more pictures from our Colorado trip, and then there are a few from hanging out in Abilene.

Will wearing Ben's boots.

Me, Beth, Heather, Faith Anna, Shelley & Sarah.
getting ready for the wedding!

Heather, me, Mamanita, Terah, Gini, Cori, Shelley, Beth, Faith Anna & Sarah Sheets!
aka- all the Sheets girls (minus Whitney..she was taking pictures) and the flower girls.

Will & Levi after the hike.

Family picture at our campsite. We did not plan the matching thing. Promise.

even though this picture is blurry, i absolutely love it! Levi LOVED to walk around on all the rocks.

Outside of Westcliffe, CO (the most beautiful place in Colorado) we drove across a curve to see this! It was very cool to see real ranchers just herding some cattle.

Levi 'Albert Einstein'

I love these pics. They just crack me up!

It has been quite sometime since I wrote a chapter of 'How I Became A Sheets'. I will try to get the next chapter done soon!