Far too long...

It has been a while since I've updated and now seemed like a great time to get back into it. I have neglected to mention so many important events! School started again. The boys got great teachers who look oddly alike. It is hard for me to tell them apart at a distance. Gavin started guitar lessons. Joey coached another season of Trevor's soccer team. I finally made the effort to get the boys enrolled in scouts here. We are attending every week and loving it. The boys made toolboxes last week with real power tools and everything! Everyone is doing great:) Work is still keeping me pretty busy. We went through a rough patch where we lost several of our well-trained employees to school and other endeavors. It has been difficult to find replacements and I am learning a lot about unspoken communication in interviews. I hope I am getting better about weeding out the losers! I just hired 4 people, so I guess I'll know soon;)

I would be remiss if I didn't mention how blessed our extended family has been lately. I am so excited for this summer when our sweet new additions will arrive! I am so happy for my beautiful sisters who will become new mothers. Yes, Carrie, I realize you have a child. But I think a 16 year gap also qualifies you as a new mom(again)! Thank you, both, for growing our family while the rest of us take a break!

Well, gotta go for now. Take care everyone:)

Blue Hole

Blue hole is a little known swimming hole about an hour from our house. We, the Ronnow's, have been going there since I was a teenager. It is crystal clear and very cold! Because of the freezing water, the best time of the year to go is late July/early August. This is when the temperature is steadily above 100 degrees. Joey and I took the boys and some friends last Thursday. We had such a great time! The family we invited had 3 small kids and they had never heard of blue hole. They were so much fun! Phoenix, the 5 year-old, jumped right in and started paddling around. Sequoia, is 3 and she also loved it from the minute we arrived. Bridger is 1 and he took a little more convincing. Before we left, he was right in there splashing and loving it! Some friends of ours from Owasso met us there. They took Trevor and Gavin around the bend in the stream to an area where they could climb up a hill and jump into the water. Gavin jumped twice and Trevor jumped over and over. We all had fun swimming and picnic-ing. By the time we left, everyone was smiling and exhausted. Too bad we won't be able to go again 'til next year.

Darby!

We have not made a final decision about Darby, a.k.a. the Darbinator. She is a wonderful girl and she loves the boys. I finally got a good pic to show you all. Here she is.

And in other news...

I am not sure all of you are aware, a tragedy occurred the Friday after we returned from Utah. At the age of 56 and without illness or warning, Carrie's father-in-law, TJ, passed away. Cindy, Gary's mom, called the paramedics that morning, but there was nothing they could do for TJ and he was pronounced as soon as they reached the hospital. Carrie and Gary rushed from Arizona to be with Cindy and to help in whatever way she needed. Joey and I went to visit and see how we could help on Sunday. In true Carrie fashion, she dove into the paperwork that had to be collected from the far corners of the house and organized. When we arrived, Carrie was reading through legal documents and preparing all that would need to be taken to a lawyer later in the week. We did a little to help her with collecting papers and identifying what was junk and what to file. Mostly we visited.

The following Thursday, JoAnn and I drove to OKC and picked up Carrie to come visit our neck of the woods. Carrie spent the night with JoAnn on Thursday and me on Friday. We had a good visit. We had Braums sundaes for dinner and went shopping at Hobby Lobby. Then we went home and made necklaces. Carrie's was this awesome combination of big acrylic beads and thin glass beads. It is amazing how she will pick things to put together that I would never think could look right, but then it looks like a designer piece. Anyway, we had a good time and talked until way too late.

So, returning to the unfortunate event that brought Carrie and Gary to Oklahoma. Cindy and TJ had taken in a dog shortly before he passed away. They were planning to find it a home and now Cindy would be doing that alone. Carrie had asked if I may be able to help, considering my connections. So, we met the "little dog" (as Carrie called it) on Sunday when we were in OKC. Only Carrie could call this dog "little". I estimated she was around 35 pounds! Enormous, in comparison to my brood all under 15 pounds. She was a pleasant dog and Joey and I said we'd think about it. Well, by the time Carrie was headed back to OKC, we agreed to foster her until we could get her spayed and find a suitable family. Saturday night, JoAnn delivered Darby to our door. She is a beautiful red-nose pit bull terrier. Her coat is a blinding white with big red-gold spots. She looks like a cow skin rug!

Fast forward a week and a half. She is spayed, up to date on her shots and not going anywhere. Joey is only half serious when he offers to divorce me. I didn't do it by myself, though. He likes her as much as I do. And she is way more manly than any of our other dogs. The final test will be when the boys arrive home. It may be that 4 dogs really will be too many when I have 2 boys to wrestle, too.

Whether or not she is right for us, I don't think I'll have any trouble placing her. She is so good natured and very smart. She hasn't had a single accident in the house and she tolerates my dogs just fine. (Of course, I don't think she believes they are dogs.) If I can ever get her to hold still and take a good picture, I'll post some.

Oh, one more thing... If you see the boys, please don't mention Darby! It is a suprise! ;)

Kids. Can't live with 'em...

It is hard to believe it has been 3 weeks since my last post. It seems like forever since we left the kids in Utah. Joey is on the road right now, going to pick them up! I will be happy to have them home. Being childless was fun for a while. We ate out a lot. Left whenever we wanted. Did whatever we wanted. It did lose the shiny-new-freedom feel pretty quick, though. I realized that if we had never been blessed with kiddos, I would be living my life just for me. I felt some of the purpose drain out of the things I do. I am not sure I am explaining this well. Maybe it is not something I can articulate fully. I know I would have a reason to live without my boys, I just think it wouldn't feel nearly as important. So, now that my husband is driving off into the sunset to get my babies. I find myself praying that all of them will return quickly and safely, and restore some of the purpose to my life.

Back Home... some of us anyway.

So here I am on my day off again. We had a wonderful trip to Utah! Beginning with a 20 hour drive straight through with 2 small dogs and 2 boys, you'd think it was miserable. You'd be wrong, the boys were a dream and the drive was smooth and uneventful. I had estimated an extra 1-2 hours into our drive time to allow the boys (and dogs) to stretch their legs along the way. Trevor and Gavin can rarely spend more than 15 minutes in the car without complaining or arguing over something. But, Joey packed the truck strategically so each of the boys had his own area. They could watch movies together or play their games separately. It worked out great. Trevor spent a lot of the drive looking at the atlas and tracking our progress. (Yes, we are still kickin' it old school with a paper atlas.) Gavin quietly played his game or slept. It was so pleasant a drive we could have forgotten the boys were back there!

It was so fun to arrive long before we were expected and nearly shock the life out of my mom! Amber was on the phone and heard the whole thing. Mom opened the door and did a double take and exclaimed "OH! You're already here!" It was priceless!

We were visited by Chantelle, Jeremy, Katie and Joshie that evening. It was so good to see them all. Pretty soon, I had to excuse myself to take a shower. Even if they were too kind to mention it, I knew I smelled. (hadn't showered since the morning before) Joey and I fell into bed early that night. Despite the fact that it was a wonderful drive, we had been up for well over 24 hours, with just a cat nap to keep us going.

The next morning, we all went with Stacy and her kids to see an Independence Day parade. It was soooo cold! Can you imagine? We all had goosebumps and Ky was wearing a hoodie that Stacy found in the car for her! I have never been to a 4th of July parade like that! We had a great time, though. We met Stacy's twin sister and nephew there. We all visited until the parade started. We were pretty early to get a good spot. It was a big parade. We saw tons of firetrucks and emergency vehicles. They were all running their lights and sirens. It was very loud, but the kids loved it. Everyone was throwing candy and we had to keep a close eye on the kids so they didn't get run over. There were several impressive floats, dance teams and high school bands. There was even a dance studio that offers free dance lessons to children with disabilities. (Katie, did I tell you about that?) Some of their special dancers were in the parade. We were so glad we went!

Our days there were so full, I could write for days and still miss some of it! Here is the gist of the rest of the weekend... Back at mom's house, early lunch. Next to a barbecue at Stacy's Grandma Dixie's. Beautiful yard, right next to the river, got to see a whole flock of canada geese on the lawn, nearly got carried away by mosquitoes until we got sprayed with bug repellent, delicious second lunch! Hurry home to Mom's house, prepare for Trevor's B-day party, welcome more friends to visit, yummy pizza, Trevor loved his presents! Sunday, 4th of July: Attended our old ward, fun to see everyone, people nearly fell over when they saw how the boys had grown, several asked if we were back to stay, the boys walked home to Grandma's b/c they were tired of waiting on me. Spent the afternoon with Dad who had arrived home late the night before, indescribably good dinner made by Dad with supervision by Joey, visited some more, started packing the truck for mom to leave for cabins early the next morning, gave up packing truck b/c it got dark.

Monday July 5th: Mom left with the boys (Trevor, Gavin, Paxton and Wyatt) and Christina to head to the cabins. We sent them off and then spent the day with Allan and Stacy. Yay! Cafe' Rio for lunch! Yum! Saw a movie at the Megaplex, Knight and Day, very funny, I'd see it again.

Chantelle and Jeremy came to visit Joey and I for the evening. We all went shopping up and down Riverdale Road, dinner at Chili's. Yum again! We got to see their home and picked a movie to take back to my parents to watch. Very enjoyable day.

Tuesday July 6th: Stacy took me to the LDS distribution center, then to visit Crestwood, my old boss gave me a hug! Everyone was excited to see me, I answered lots of questions and then went to lunch with Anna, one of my friends/co-workers. Deli sandwiches from one of our old haunts- super good! Stacy, Ky and I went on to Deseret Book and Great Harvest. Joey and I attended the 1st birthday of the daughter of one of my other co-workers from Crestwood, Shannon. The barbecue was more for their friends and families. A thank you for all the support before and after the adoption. It was wonderful to be there for such a joyous event. Got to see Anna again and her sister, Laura. They were regulars at pizza night, sure miss them! Hurried off without eating so we could take my dad to dinner. He had been gone again since Monday morning. Yummy dinner at Olive Garden. Then home to pack, leaving for the cabin tomorrow. Chantelle and Jeremy stopped by for one last visit. We played Sequence (I lost) and stayed up too late!

Wednesday July 7th: Katie, Josh, Stacy, Kysa, Joey, the dogs and I leave for the cabins. 6 hours later, we arrive to play games, hike, catch frogs/snakes, and enjoy each other's company.

Thursday July 8th: We all got up early. Clocks are banished at the cabin, it's hard to feel tired when you have no idea how much sleep you have or haven't had! The little kids, Grandma, Katie and Stacy went on a easy hike. Joey and I took Christina, Trevor, Gavin, Paxton and Asher on the water hike. This entails trekking down the stream that leads from the upper lake to the lower lake. It is steep and rocky and the easiest way to pass is often in the water. Thus, it is called "the water hike". We had a marvelous time. The scenery is unsurpassed and the kids had a blast! Imagine being told- "I don't care, just get in the water fully clothed" when you were a kid. It is like a license to be bad! We hiked all the way down and around the lower lake. Saw tons of wildlife, including a young fawn that Asher startled out of the brush. Asher was bounding through the grass like an antelope! He thinks he's a real wilderness dog. The kids caught (and released) snakes and frogs all along the way. I took lots of pictures with my mom's camera. With some luck, she'll send them to me and I'll post them later. It was something magical to do that hike with all my kids and Joey. We couldn't have done it a year ago. Joey has lost so much weight and I am stronger too for all the dog food, gravel, kitty litter, you name it that I sling around. I know we'll look forward to doing the water hike again, hopefully many times, in the future! We hiked back to the cabin exhausted, but elated, to spend the day with everyone. We made hobo dinners on the grill and ate too much. We played games and laughed until well after dark.

Friday July 9th: We spent the morning gathering our junk and organizing to leave. Mom went down the mountain to do laundry and some last minute shopping before we left. When she got back, we sang a quick "Happy Birthday" to Stacy and shared some cake. Then it was off we go- back to Oklahoma. The drive was longer from the cabin, than it is from Ogden. It wasn't too bad, except for the blowout we had at 80mph a few hours into the drive. Considering all the things that could have gone wrong, we figured this was fairly minor. 2 hours behind schedule, we got back on the road. We arrived at our front door 24 hours after we left the cabin. With just enough energy to carry in our toothbrushes, we brushed our teeth and collapsed.

Thanks for sticking with me through all that. I know it's a lot to read, but I didn't want to forget it. Joey will be striking out across the country again the first week of August to retrieve our boys. Hopefully, the next trip will be as good as the first!

No pics right now

I apologize that I still haven't figured out how to add pictures to my posts. But I hope to have that worked out soon. Unfortunately, the boys lost our camera right before the trip to Utah, so I have to rely on others to email me pics of our trip. Then I'll get them on our blog, somehow. Keep checking back, I'll have you something to look at, I promise!

Getting ready for Utah!

Yay! We are leaving for Utah in just 1week! As fast as time goes, it will be here so soon! The boys are beside themselves. Trevor almost can't contain himself. Gavin is excited, but always more subdued. Joey and I are looking forward to visiting, and almost as excited about spending the rest of July without kids! Thank goodness for Grandma. Willing to keep our boys for an entire month. It is definitely a blessing because, without school, work schedules get a little crazy.
Trying to keep the boys occupied at my store sounds simple. But they are there so often, it's like their backyard. They forget its a business and treat it like their home, running and playing hide and go seek. (In 12,000 square feet, hide and go seek is really fun, but not good during business hours!) They also get themselves into trouble because they like to "help" my employees. Which usually consists of getting them to goof off and play with the animals. Not great for productivity. It's not all bad though. Trevor is growing into a wonderful greeter and tour guide. He loves to latch onto families or grandparents with kids and show them all the animals. He hasn't made any sales yet. But it isn't for lack of enthusiasm. He will take out and show pretty much any animal. (except cats for obvious reasons) He has no fear and is always asking me to let him hold the tarantulas. (hasn't happened yet) He helped to set up some emperor scorpions the other day and later explained to me that he had become a man that day. I asked what he meant and he said he had picked up 2 scorpions and transferred them to their terrariums. I wondered if that meant that I was a man also, because I had shown him how to pick them up! It is moments like these I know I will look back and treasure about this time in our lives. No, it isn't always easy, but being able to take my kids to the store gives us lots of shared experiences and fun memories.
We are looking forward to seeing all our friends and family in Utah. I have been giving Joey a running list of all we need to do and see while we are there. So far, I figure if I only sleep 3 hours a night, we can fit it all in. If you think I'm kidding, wait 'til we get there! Megaplex at the Junction, Cafe' Rio, Deseret Book, Guitar Hero, Scene It, Pizza Night, cabins, board games, card games, visiting Crestwood, meeting my renters, attending our old ward, and of course catching up with the fam doesn't leave much time for sleep!
I better wrap this up so no one suffers eye strain from reading so much! See you next post!

Here we are

Well I couldn't let you guys have all the fun. I read all your postings last night and figured it was time to get involved. Plus, this will give the boys a place to post their pictures and videos. They got a camcorder from Joey for Valentine's day and they are constantly asking to post stuff on youtube. We haven't felt quite sure about that. This is a much better solution. So here I am on my day off hoping I am doing this right. I will have to wait for Joey to be able to add pics. I am not really computer savvy. Still, this is a start!