40 Years in 40 Days, Day 11

Day 11 ... " 40 years later … 40 priceless pictures of 4 precious grandkids!"

This is probably in my top 5 of things we are doing in the 40 days. We took 40 pictures of the grandkids (10 each) and made a memory book for them. We started with their birth pictures and finished off with their current picture.

Here is a link to the book: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AYt2TRi2ZtWTlw

 

 

Koby Dale - 2002

Brailee Mai - 2007

Abigail Rose - 2008

Brayden "Tiger" Dale - 2010

Tiger, Brailee, Koby and Abby - 2013

11 days down - 29 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 9 & 10

Day 9 … “40 slices of bacon will keep the mornings sizzling for another 40 years!”

Our parents L.O.V.E. bacon! They seriously go through more bacon in a week than we do in an entire year! They have turned ALL the grandkids into bacon-lovin’ fools!  So, what better way to support their love for bacon than 40 slices of bacon (low sodium, of course).

Day 10 … “There are simply no words for this one. Happy 40th!”

Living on a farm, my parents always seem to have mice. We thought it would rude of us to not provide them with 40 mouse traps.

10 days down - 30 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 7 & 8

Day 7 … “40 words  describing you and your marriage …”

Me, Brian, Mandy and Jason each submitted 10 words that reminded us of our parents and their relationship. We put them together and framed the list. If I were to pick 2, I would say “supportive” and “respectful” … but I like them all!

 

 

Day 8 … “It doesn’t get much better than 40 I-O-U’s from the Grandkids!”

Koby, Brailee, Abby and Brayden Tiger each completed 10 vouchers – 5 for  Mame’ and 5 for Pape’. It cracks me up that the majority of them are related to animals – dog, cat, donkey, cows and chickens! It was pretty funny to see what all the kiddos wrote.
 

 

 
8 days down – 32 more to go!

April RAK

I am late posting about our April RAK (Random Act of Kindness) because 1)I was late getting it out and 2)I had to make sure they got the RAK before I could post about it.

For somebody we know ... We have some very good friends who have moved to Florida. Before they moved there, Brian & I vacationed with them there. During our vacation, we had the best time. One of the most memorable experiences came from the restaurant Cooters. We still laugh about that memory! At any rate, we thought they would enjoy getting a gift certificate to Cooters. Although we cannot be with them to enjoy it, they will definitely be thinking about us when they go there.

For somebody we don't know ... One of our favorite places to go is QuikTrip. If we like QT, everybody else does as well - right?!? We got several gift cards and handed out to strangers. Abby gave one to the receptionist at her gymnastics place and another one to somebody walking their baby in the park. I don't know who Brayden gave his to.

Stay tuned to see what we do for our May RAK.

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 5 & 6

Day 5 … “40 years of M-Mmmmm Love!”

All the kiddos love to get M&M’s from my dad. He has an M&M candy dispenser at the funeral home and at the house. These 40 M&M’s won’t last long, but they sure will be enjoyed!

 

Day 6 … " Why not try out these 40 Oklahoma casinos during your 40^th year of marriage!"

My parents spend a lot of time helping out with the grandkids. Their occasional adult time fix is to stop by a casino. We thought they should be a little adventurous and try a few more casinos out. Wonder if they can hit all these this year?!?

6 days down – 34 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Days 3 & 4

Day 3 … “these 40 sticks will sure help keep the FIRE going for another 40 years!”

At the top of our parent’s favorite things to do is having bonfires with the grandkids. So, we felt it was only appropriate to incorporate a bonfire into their celebration. Koby, Brailee, Abs and Brayden all picked up 10 sticks each (40 total) for the fire. Luckily they already had a big burn pile, so we got to enjoy the fire for several hours.



Day 4 … "Here is to watching another 40 years take BLOOM!"

We had 40 flowers that we planted in pots on their front porch. Brailee and Abs helped plant and water the flowers.


4 days down – 36 more to go!

40 Years in 40 Days, Day 2

Here is to keeping it POPing for another 40 years!

Based on the clue, my mom thought it was going to be popcorn ... wrong! Instead, it was 40 ounces (2-20 oz) of pop.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

I am nearly 2 weeks late blogging on my dad’s birthday – sorry dad! On May 4th he celebrated his 59th birthday! Happy Birthday, dad!

We have been trying to meet up for dinner this year to celebrate everybody’s birthday. For Brayden, we were in North Carolina and my parents were in San Diego, so we didn’t have dinner on his birthday. For my dad, he was hanging out with his brothers and sisters in Bartlesville, so again – we missed his dinner. Well, last night Brayden Tiger and my dad FINALLY had their combined birthday dinner. And where did they pick – why McDonald’s, is there really any better place?!?


I just realized I never wrote about MY birthday dinner! For my dinner, I opted for Subway at our house. My mom made me a birthday cake AND the kids got me cupcakes, YUM-MO!

40 Years in 40 Days, Day 1

I have been waiting for this day for months! I seriously didn’t think that this day would EVER get here! Today is Day 1 of “40 Years in 40 Days”.

Our parents will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary on June 23. We couldn’t be more excited for them for reaching this milestone. In honor of their 40th Anniversary, we will be spending the next 40 days celebrating! Each day we will be doing something special for them, with the 40th day of their celebration being on their anniversary, June 23rd.

It has been fun getting to this day. Mandy and I have literally been planning this since January 28th! And yes, we have forced Jason & Brian into this planning as well! My parents obviously know that something is going on now, but they won’t know what they will be getting each day. We hope that our parents enjoy their celebration over the next 40 days and that they know that we are very, very proud of them for reaching this milestone.

I think the world of both my mom & dad. They have been a constant in my life, to which I couldn’t be more thankful for. I know I have grown into the daughter/wife/mother/friend that I am today because of my parents.

Here is to Day 1 of 40 ... we got things “ROLLING” with 40 donuts.

Celebrating Mother's Day

My Mother’s Day celebration started on Friday. The kids had a special luncheon honoring mother’s and grandmothers. My mom was able to make it, but Brian’s mom had a prior commitment. The luncheon started off with a poem/song from all the kiddos, followed by giving us paper flower bouquets and then a tasty lunch. We had finger sandwiches, fruit, chips and cookies. It was so much fun and I was so glad to have my mom there with me.



Sunday the kids gave me a few presents, framed paintings (L.O.V.E.D. it!) and a glider for the back porch. I have to say, I spent almost ALL day Sunday in the glider! We have been looking for quite a while on which glider to get and this was the front runner. I was pleasantly surprised to get it! Mother’s Day ended with the kids dressing up as Spiderman and Spiderwoman … I couldn’t ask for a better ending!



This post wouldn’t be complete without saying a few words about my mom. I feel extremely lucky to have my mom. She is a very special person and I couldn’t be more honored to call her one of my best friends. I wouldn’t be the mom I am today without her. Happy Mother’s Day mom!