Getting Even

Do you remember when we were blessed with MANY American flags on the 4th of July by our friends P and J? Well, we finally got them back!!! The month of August is a busy one for those 2! Both of their birthdays and their anniversary fall in this lovely Summer month. We decided to help them celebrate with a few "decorations"!

I must admit that although it was approximately 145 degrees outside when we "decorated", it was quite fun to be mischievous and sneaky!!! Neighborhood wars are such a treat!

Little Bits of Randomness

None of these things has any relationship to each other, but some of these pictures were just too funny not to post.

Today I heard Karson say, "I'm going to dress Campbell up like Mary." Huh? I rounded the corner and this is what I saw.

Oh! Mary, you know, the mother of Jesus! Just take Campbell out of that Mega Saucer, and she could fit perfectly in anyone's Nativity Scene. From our home to yours, "Merry Christmas"...in July!

Tonight I took Karson to get a snow cone from Todd (our precious nephew). The Lord was smiling on us, because just as we arrived at the park, the sun went behind the clouds and it was actually bearable for a few minutes! So I'm documenting it here...Mommy took Karson to the park on July 23 and played outside!!! You'll never guess what kind of snow cone she got! :) (BTW, excuse the lack of clothing - she was about to take a bath!)

Yesterday we went to have our family pictures taken. I can't wait to get them back. From what we saw of the proofs, I think they will be really sweet! I'll post some here when I get them.. In the meantime, here is a random cute pic of the girls. Look how Campbell has already learned the art of the "lean in".

Happy Wednesday! SYTYCD is on tonight!!!! Don't have the energy for a complete recap, but here are my favorites:

Dance - so predictable, but I have to go with Katee and Twitch's Contemporary - so fun!!!
Girl - Katee (she is amazing)
Guy - Will (I think that boy could do anything)

Rus's Favorite Dance - Chelsie and Joshua's Disco (his quote - "that's entertainment")

Rus's Favorite Girl - Cat :)

Rus's Favorite Guy - he refused to answer this one

Girl to go- Do I even have to say it? Please people, for the love....COMFORT
Guy to go- I'm thinking it's the end of the road for Crazy Mark.

Come on, play along and tell me your thoughts!

Talkin' Smack

Tonight we let Karson stay up a little later so we could play UNO. While we were getting ready to play, we were teasing her and telling her she was "going down". We're such nurturing parents. :) A few of her come backs cracked us up!

Daddy: "I'm going to kick your bootie."

Karson's Come Back: "I'm going to kick your bootie off!"

Daddy: "I'm going to kick your pants."

Karson's Come Back: "I'm going to kick your shirt!"

Needless to say, there was a lot of "kicking" going on at our house this evening. I'm sad to report that Daddy won 2 out of 3 games. What happened to girl power?

In totally unrelated news...For the past week Campbell has been humming. It is the sweetest thing ever. She purses her lips together and hums! We've nick-named her our Humming Baby. It's pretty much a constant hum as long as she's awake. LOVE IT!

Hopefully they'll still be sparkly tomorrow.

Karson went to the dentist for the first time today. (Don't judge me. I know that I'm a horribly irresponsible mother who didn't take her child to the dentist until she was 4 1/2). Anywhoo...I was so proud of her. She was so nervous to go, so we pulled the old Barbie bribe on her if she promised to be brave. (Again, don't judge. I'm not above any form of bribery to better the health of my child's teeth). She did so great!!!

We went to the only pediatric dentist in Owasso, and he was great. I would HIGHLY recommend him to anyone. Everyone was super sweet to us, and very friendly. The office building was a log cabin and the inside was decorated like a hunting lodge. There was a huge moose head in the waiting room. After a few minutes of waiting, we notice that his head was moving and his ears were twitching. Kars thought this was hilarious.

After we were called back, our hygienist told her all about the instruments and explained what they would be doing. Karson went for "a ride" in the special chair and it all got started. She got to pick what kind of tooth paste (polishing cream) she wanted. You'll never guess what they had. Chocolate chip cookie dough!!! She thought it was great. Lori (the hygienist) polished away, and Kars never even flinched. When Dr. Ahlert came in and gave the report that she had no cavities, I was so proud! (Is that weird?)

On the way home, I was complimenting her on how white and sparkly her teeth were. She then declared that she LOVED going to the dentist and couldn't wait to go back. Wow. After a few minutes she asked, "Mom, will my teeth still be sparkly and white tomorrow so that I can show Nana?"

I love that girl!

So You Think You Can Dance - A Recap!

Okay, so it's a wee bit past 1 o'clock in the morning, and I just finished watching one of my favorite summer time shows on the ole DVR. I have been a huge fan of "So You Think You Can Dance" since the first season. Now, I must confess, that up until tonight I have been a bit blah about this season so. I don't know what happened tonight, but it grabbed me! So much so, that in a "Boo Mama-esque" tradition, I would like to recap it. Just for grins.

I must add a few comments of my own before recapping each dance. First of all, I was QUITE ANGRY at the beginning of the show to find out that Jessica was not going to be on. Not that I loved her all that much, but the fact that Comfort was coming back made me mad. I thought we were finished having to suffer through her performances...yuck! Secondly, it made me laugh to here Lil' C's critiques. He is so articulate! I was pleasantly surprised! And third, I LOVED what Nigel had to say about making a mistake in a performance. It's so true. Every mistake you make lives with you forever, but it keeps you striving for the next time. I had never really thought about it quite like the way he put it.

Can you tell I'm truly missing dance?

1. Joshua and Courtney - Frankenstein Hip Hop & "Be Your Hero" Rumba
Ummmmm...is it just me, or has Courtney gone down hill? I just didn't think she did very well tonight. I like both of these numbers, but I'm just not loving her. That little ren de jambe/whateverthatwas thing she did in the Hip Hop (you know, the one they replayed) was. bad.

2. Kherington and Mark - "Kick Back" 2 step & "Canned Heat" Jazz
Okay, let me start by saying that I was a HUGE Kherington fan at the beginning of the season. But now, she's reminding me of Natalie and Musa a few years ago. Remember how great Natalie was until they hit top 10 and she wasn't with Musa any more? I'm thinking K is kind of like that. She's lost a bit of her mojo (yep, I just said mojo). And, she danced the whole night looking down at the stage with her shoulders raised to her ears - it was bugging me. Anyway, I thought both of their dances were pretty bad. Mark is a bit odd, but I've always liked him. By the way, I love the song "Canned Heat". I know it's old school, but it always makes me think of Lindsay Bane and our field chair routine - which makes me smile. :)

3. Twitch and Comfort - "Open Arms" Waltz & "Forever" Hip Hop
I was so uncomfortable the entire time they were dancing the waltz I had to force myself to keep looking at the TV. It. Was. Awful. If I had to see Comfort's sickled feet and nasty dance hands one more time, I was going to puke. Other than that, it made me giggle to see those 2 trying so hard to be graceful. The Hip Hop was good - hello, what did you expect, but it didn't do much for me. I do love Twitch. He just has a cute, puppy dog face. AND, Mary Murphy saying "buck" is just wrong.

4. Gev and Chelsie - "These Arms of Mine" Contemporary & "The House is A Rockin" Jive
I LOVED the contemporary. That mowhawk lady scares me a bit, but she can choreograph! Chelsie is so versatile and fluent in all forms of dance. I have been surprised by her from the beginning and she's one of my faves! I'm not a big fan of anything ballroom, but the jive was okay. Gev was struggling a bit.

5. Katee and Will - "You're Rockin the Boat" Broadway & "Imagine" Pas de Deax
AMAZING!!!!!!! They are both stinkin incredible. I love the Broadway number. The drill team nerd in me immediately started thinking of how cute it would be as a team novelty or prop routine. Too cute. But the Pas de Deax...OH MY GOODNESS!!!! First of all, I love this version of the song. I was speechless - they were so good. What an amazing gift. They are also so humble - love that!

Okay, so I'm sure this is the most rambling, nonsensical bit of junk ever...my eyes are starting to droop and the screen is now very blurry! I must go to sleep. But before I leave, I'm suggesting to those of you who also watch, that we start posting our favorites each Wednesday - what fun!

My Favorites
Dance - Katee and Will's Pas de Deax
Girl - Katee
Guy - Will

Who Should Go?
Girl - Comfort - PLEASE!!!!!
Guy - ????? I don't know. I'm going to go with either Mark or Gev (neither of them are bad, but someone's gotta go)

What do you think?

I'm thinking it's time to get my roots done...

The following conversation took place tonight at the Zumwalt home:

Karson: "Hey Campbell, do you see this doll? Her name is Dora. She has brown hair like Mommy."

Mommy: "My hair is not the color of Dora's."

Karson: "Well, your pony tail is yellow, but up here (pointing to the top of my head) it's brown...no it's black!"

Wow.

This seems to be a theme in my life. Perhaps it's because I am the world's worst about waiting too long to get my hair highlighted. In my own defense, it's usually a budget thing!

I remembered tonight about another incident similar to this one. Right before Karson was born, I was still teaching 3rd grade. I had read somewhere that it was not good to get your hair highlighted while you were pregnant (something about the chemicals or something). Anyway, I was about 8 months pregnant, and let me say, the roots were pretty bad. I had this sweet little Asian girl in my class, and one day during Social Studies she raised her hand. Now, you must read this and try to hear a very thick, 3rd grade, Asian accent:

"Mrs. Zumwalt, you hair...it going to da black."

Nice.

I'm in a wedding at the end of August, so I'm needing to wait it out a bit longer. I want my highlight to be fresh for the wedding. In the mean time, if you see me and my hair is a bit "poofier" than normal, just know that I'm trying to hide my roots! :)

Don't Blink

The girls and I are usually by ourselves for bath time. Because Campbell can't sit up yet (we are close), I've still been bathing her in her little tub in the kitchen. This creates quite a production at bath time. I wasn't feeling up to doing all of that by myself tonight, so I asked Kars if we could try putting Cams in the bathtub with her. Of course she was delighted! It actually went quite well, and Karson was a HUGE help. She got into the tub and began bathing without me even asking. After I finished bathing Campbell, I took her into her room to get her jammies on. While I was doing this, Karson kept us entertained with a play-by-play from the bathroom. ("I'm washing my arms. I'm pouring water over my hair..."). That sweet girl did her whole bath by herself - this is a first! I was so proud of her!

(Look at those rolls on Campbell's tummy - love it!)

In the past month Campbell has grown like crazy. She is now 5 months old - which blows my mind. She is rolling over from her back to her tummy, eating cereal, and trying to sit up by herself. The sitting up is hilarious. She usually sits in a tri-pod position (using her 2 arms to brace her), but sometimes she gets brave and decides to sit up further with no support from her arms. I had forgotten how cute this looked from when Karson did it. Why is it so funny to watch a little "round-bottomed" baby try to balance and then eventually start to crash over? Maybe those of us at the Zumwalt house are just easily amused!

The whole evening has made me quite sentimental and nostalgic. This is not unusual for me, but sometimes it hits harder than others. Tonight, it was as if God was saying to me, "Life is passing, don't blink or you'll miss it."

When I was a little girl, my mom used to sit and hold my hands. She would run her fingers over the "holes" (the little dimples where your fingers meet your hand). She told me that those holes would eventually go away as I grew bigger. Now, you must know that I was the little girl who never wanted to grow up. I would sit in my room or in the car and bend my fingers back trying to keep the holes from going away. Recently I told Karson about the holes in her hands and how that meant that she was Mommy's little girl. I explained that as she grew, the holes would go away. Now, she likes to tease me by stretching her fingers out to see if they will disappear (she must not be from the "I don't want to grow up" school of thought).

(Ignore my photography. I was trying my best to get as close as possible. I had to wait to take one of Campbell while she was sleeping. It looks like I turned her upside down!)

Time goes on. I'm sure one day Karson and Campbell will be sitting with their babies talking about the holes in their hands. It's the natural order of things. Sometimes I just wish it didn't have to go so fast.

The Name Game

Happy 4th of July!!! I must say, I can be a bit cheesy on days like today. I am a patriot at heart, and I get emotional watching fireworks. I am thankful for my freedom and grateful to those who fight to protect it. I am truly blessed to live in America.

We have had a great time celebrating. Last night we went to the Drillers game with my parents. The game was fun, the weather was OUTSTANDING, and the fireworks were awesome! Karson still plugged her ears this year, but she loved watching them. Campbell didn't seem to be bothered at all by the loud booming going on all around her.

Tonight we went to Jerry and Martha's to celebrate with them. Rus's brother and sister-in-law were there too. It was fun to be with everyone. Karson and Parker played in the back bedroom most of the night. We all decided it was a sign that they were getting big (they didn't want to be in the same room with us any more). Bella LOVES Baby Campbell, and is so sweet to her. I think those 2 are going to have fun times in the years ahead.

This morning, my sweet husband let me sleep in! Oh, if you know me at all, you know that sleeping is one of my love languages. I'll have you know that I did not get out of bed until 10:30!!! It was heavenly. I can't say that I slept the entire time, but I didn't mind. While I was drifting in and out of sleep, I could hear Rus talking to the girls in the living room. During the course of their conversation, I heard him use several of the nick-names that we've given them. It made me realize that we have A LOT of them. I thought it might be fun to make a list!

Our nick-names for Karson: Kars, Kars-McGars, Sweet Pea, Pea, Pea-Pea, Crazy Lady, Wookie, Wook, Pretty Girl, Pretty, Cla-Cla, Silly Head, Sissy, Sissy Pants, Karson Larson

Our nick-names for Campbell: Cam, Cams, Campbellina, Cami, Campbell Mambell Boo, Campbelly Bambelly, Sissy, Snookie, Snook, Smiley Miley, Campbell Brown, Drooly Julie

I must say that since my husband has not referred to me by any name other than "Lucy" in years, I shouldn't be surprised that we have this many names for our children. I've always heard that nick-names are a terms of endearment - I agree!!! I do love my girls!

Life in FULL swing

Wow! We have been super busy lately. Where did June go? What have we been doing?...

1. VBS was great - so glad I decided to work. Shelbi and I had a great time working together again. It was like old times!!! Karson had an awesome time with her friends, and Campbell did great in the nursery (she's so big)!

(Here are the girls on the last day - they were worn out, but so happy!)

2. Karson completed her 2 weeks of swimming lessons. SHE ROCKED!!! We are so proud of her. After crying every day last year, we were not really looking forward to it. She was a little timid the first day, but after that, she loved it and learned a ton! It's so fun to watch her conquer something that you know scares her - so brave!

3. Campbell is doing so well with her new medicine!!! She is MUCH happier and seems to feel a lot better. We had to adjust the dosage, but other than that, she's doing great. She even got to have cereal for the first time yesterday! She's growing, growing, growing. Last night was the first night we put her to bed before 9:30, and she still slept until 7:30 (that's my girl!)

4. We went to the lake and had an awesome time. My sister's husband's family has a lake house at Eufala, and we always love the privilege of getting to go. This time was no different. It was such a relaxing and fun weekend for all of us! (Pictures soon!!!)

5. Our friends P and J are too funny. There is a history of the "prank game" with these 2!!! We've found all kinds of things on our porch over the past few years! We try to get them back, but they always seem to be one step ahead of us. Well, when we arrived home from the lake the other day our sidewalk was lined with about 15 American flags. The next morning Rus and I both received text messages simply saying, "God Bless America". We replied...GAME ON! We'll let them live in suspense until we make our move! :) This picture does not do it justice (the flags are lining both sides of the sidewalk) - it really is quite patriotic. I've decided it looks festive and will leave the flags there until after the 4th! Thanks for the decorations, guys!

6. I'm getting ready to start the "camp circuit". I will be going to Dallas 3 times in the next month. I also have one camp in Austin and one here in Owasso. I always enjoy teaching camps once I get there, but between now and then it's going to get a bit crazy around here. I'm never good at leaving the girls (this will be the first time to leave Campbell over night), but I know it helps our family. I'm grateful that God has given me the ability and opportunity to use His gift. I'm trying to stay focused on that!

7. A quick Karson story...Yesterday morning I was trying to get laundry finished, and straighten up the house. Kars got very frustrated with me because I couldn't come play with her in her room. She stormed off and mumbled, "then I'm not letting you in." Soon after, I saw her go into my room and get a piece of paper. She began making a sign to hang on her door - one that would "not let me in". The funniest thing about the whole thing was that she asked me to help her spell all of the words. By the time she finished making the sign, she forgot she was mad at me...but she hung her sign up anyway.

I'm grateful for a busy life - it is always full of God's blessings! Tonight we're taking Karson to Bass Pro to go fishing in their pond, and tomorrow we have a play date with Mommy Pose, Mia, and Cole! Let the adventures continue!!!!