2014

Hello out there... to all my faithful friends who still find it interesting enough to stop by for a peek into the life of the Thomases. Life doesn't look like it will be slowing down anytime soon so I am determined to still find some time for this "overview-photo-journal"... snapshots of some highlights of these months that keep flying by! Enjoy

Back in Oklahoma with Pa and Mom we visit the Cowboy museum.. a very western place to visit with exhibits, paintings, and a western town

Roy Rogers!

Probably my favorite painting they had was this cowboy and his horse

There was this lonely bench just begging for someone to come and sit and enjoy the paintings... unfortunately it was surrounded by paintings that were only worth sitting for as long as it took to take this picture.

One of my favorite pictures of Pa... capturing some Sunday fashion... and that smile.

For such a little town it sure does host a number of fun concerts... this time featuring some of our friends!

Such a happy day! Pa and mom bought me a hammock stand!! Since the walls are made of lath and plaster the bolts I usually would screw in would not have had anything really solid to go in. I love sleeping in a hammock. If anyone's interested Seaside Hammocks has some great options without spreader bars (thus better for your back).

Had to laugh and snap a picture of what our Sunday stroll looked like at one point, since it's so not the norm! My techy parents :-)

Sometimes you see ideas online that look so fast and yet they never seem to make it to the top of the priority list, but when it involved our only ironing board needing to be recovered in order for it to be used and us needing to use it, a cover was completed.

KATHY!!!

This year we were so thankful to be able to have Kathy come visit us in warmer weather to take her to Laura Ingalls house and have a beading party.

Twins at our pre-beading garden party. Melissa made the place look like it came straight out of a Better Homes and Gardens magazine... only better.

Let the beading begin!

Designing always seems like it should take two seconds... and for those with great creative vision it does... for the rest of us it's kind of like piecing together a puzzle... with no picture to follow!

A finished masterpiece... or rather ankle piece

Haven't posted a walking-at-the-Niednagels picture in a while so here you go... motivation to take a break from the computer and enjoy the great outdoors!

AND... back to beading!

It's so refreshing being able to take a few days off to spend working on a fun project with good friends that make for great fellowship time!

They'll be driving like pros in no time at all!

Philip was a great sous chef in the kitchen

Welcome to the Bead fest... oh wait. It's the end of the time, but that's when we remembered to take a group shot. At least we don't need a sign to make us feel welcome!

Yay for Thomas birthday traditions!! This year we made it in town for Micaiah's 21st birthday. The only problem with continuing our first-bite-with-your-hands-behind-your-back tradition is the boys are much bigger then when they were little and half the cake might be gone after one bite.

I love sharing the same birthday month with him and initials.

Sometimes being a kid at heart carries over into still wanting the benefits of a kid. Who doesn't like free stroller rides?

Learning to keep things clean with some of the people in this loud ADD group can make it take twice as long... but it's also very entertaining too!

Getting ready for a girls day of fun for my birthday Mom painted Marian's nails for the first time. As her face shows it wasn't quite the shade she was hoping for.

Tres chic!

Birthday celebrations with this group is always unforgettably grand!

Art

They brought out a brownie with a sparkler in it when they heard it was my birthday. Mom was quickly scrambling for her camera and took it... just as the sparkler died out.

Window shopping we came across our favorite model yet. I think the store should have paid for the great marketing she was doing

The following day the boys planned a movie night celebration since I wasn't with them for my birthday. They gave me such royal treatment saying they'd get me any food I wanted, and set up a movie I wanted to see. You can't beat snuggle time on the couch with my three boys, beer, brie, and baguettes. We had rice dream too, but that doesn't start with a b so it needed it's own sentence.

The boys unknowingly coordinated the gifts they gave to go along with the royal treatment. Such dear lads!

Well that's all for the merry month of May... stay tuned for a post on June soon!

I decided to post March and April before going back and catching up with the rest of last year... Be sure to check out Jordan's blog for a different take of some of the events below that we were both at... and because his blog is plain awesome anyway!

The beginning of March Jordan and Melissa hosted a historic ball where everyone was required to come in a historic/historically inspired outfit. This was the perfect deadline for me to make us girls 1860's ball gowns that have been on my to do list for a few years. Deadlines are great when you know the project will be completed... this was the closest I've ever come down to the wire... still sewing on my dress at the ball room as the others set up!

Mission accomplished! I wasn't sure I would have any of them done in time as it got closer and started stressing till I realized stressing over it won't help it any, staying focused and diligent and trusting if God wanted the dresses done He'd help me sew them in time. Melissa's was finished the night before, Mom's that morning, and mine right before this picture. I was so thankful they fit since we hadn't really thought of a back up option!

Lined up and ready to go. You can see a clip of Pa and Mom waltzing before every one arrived here and one of the dances of the night here... complete with our unauthentic mess ups. At least we were able to get back on track!

I don't know how family pictures with less then 20 people can be harder to get than this group of about 150!

The next day we had Jordan and Nathan's 90's themed birthday party. It was such a contrast after such an elegant night at the ball and I can only bear to post this one picture :-)

Welcome to Watson!

I headed up to stay with the boys for a bit and the some of the Hansen siblings came for a visit.

Taking a tour of the renovations in progress

It may look like they're just standing there, but brain power is hard work!

Great way to get things done... invite friends for the weekend and put them to work. :-)

One of those awkward panorama late night pictures that Micaiah took to remember the evening by

With weather in the 60's our snowboard trip was canceled, but climbing was a great alternative.

They make it look so easy!

What these pictures aren't showing are all the conversations that took place during the visit...encouraging times, laughing till we were crying, and more...

Like at the Whispering Wall. If you whisper facing the wall it travels up in an arch to the other side 40 feet away where you can here what was said. The sign said people have proposed here. Kristian tried it for the three at the other end, but they were too busy making their own jokes to hear it.

My first group selfie... or any selfie for that matter

Beam me up St. Louis

The Thomases ever taking pictures...

Nothing like a cozy booth with creamy drinks to end the evening by... and more wonderful conversations along with cup slides, water spills, seating shuffles, curtain closings, having someone drink everyones water....fun times!

Cedric showing off his latest accomplishment... standing while holding something.

The surprising time when you try a recipe you saw on pinterest and it actually looks a lot like the real deal

The following week I went to a midwife conference with a few of our friends where we met some wonderful ladies and learned lots of info!

A midwife and doula demonstrating a rebozo technique during one of our lunch breaks

This was the most relaxed conference I'd been to. It was a small group with such friendly people willing to help answer any questions and share tips and info.

On the way home we stopped at this great Whole Foods with the largest chocolate section I've seen.

A week flies by so fast with these girls!

Making enough General Tso's chicken to feed an army...

Part of the "army" exploring a cave. I love how the flashlight made it look like I put a filter on this picture... but I didn't. This phone just takes good pictures.

If anyone is looking for good holsters I'd recommend T.Rex Arms. Maker of excellent quality, durable holsters that won't disappoint.

Art
*This was for a field testing to see if it would work after being submerged in water. While it did work I wouldn't recommended trying it unless you know what you're doing*

Tannerite art

Micaiah tries out his hand at graffiti art since they had to move for their apartment to be demolished and updated.

Let the demolishing begin!

And this is what the new apartment looked like the day after we moved and did multiple loads of laundry. Not every day can be pinterest perfect!

But spring is here... and flowers and bare feet make me happy and makes unpacking more enjoyable... that and good music and messages to listen to!

Roof top art

So thankful to have my sister in law and nephews next door!

Who says yard work has to be boring? After you empty the brush out fill the wheel barrow with kids!

The root that wouldn't die.

I think this was the highlight of our time helping with yard work! Who knew a plant could create such great theological conversations/reflections, broken tools, frustrations, and laughs?

The manager is watching you!

It's handy living on a construction site when you need to turn a coat closet into a pantry and have all the tools needed and someone who can put them in.

"Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed."

I loved being able to take these two littles to the park! I felt like such the hippy aunt running around barefoot, going down the slides with them, sitting in the pile of rocks burying our hands and feet while other little kids would try to take their shoes off and not be allowed to... I'm definitely my mothers child!

That evening we visited some friends from church. They took us to a beautiful park near them along the Mississippi. We decided everyone needed to hold a stick for this picture. I have no idea why.

Climbing the walls quite the feat... climbing it only using your arms is a whole other ball park! They almost made it all the way!

A little woodland fairy

Three bumps on a log

Such a lovely evening of fellowship together!

On the way we had a call from a tenant that a water valve blew. It flooded 3 apartments. This is some of the things the boys get to deal with as landlords... I was glad to be with them to help out.