Day 184: OKC Bricktown (4/24)

Rennie is going to the Thunder game tonight. Gavin and I went into Bricktown to eat dinner with him. We ate at Hooters and on the way back to the car {at Bass Pro Shop!} we stopped by the canal and the water fountain. Again what a wonderful way to spend an evening after school. 

Day 183: Finally Outside! (4/23)

After a winter of having the trampoline inside, Rennie was finally able to break it down and take it outside. Oklahoma has had such beautiful weather that we've been outside everyday this week. Gavin loves jumping outside.

Day 182: Super Hero Snacks (4/22)

Super hero snacks! Enough said.

We can't even pass them up in the store. 

Day 181: Remember the Ten (4/21)

Rennie has been working so hard on his running and was so excited to participate in the Remember the Ten Run. It's an annual 5K, 10K, and Fun Walk to remember the OSU players and staff that died in the plan crash years ago. 

Rennie ran 10K and was very proud of his time: 58:15.

He has been training to run the Memorial Run honoring those that died in the Murrah bombing. That's a half marathon so this race was a good idea to see how well he could do. 

I am so proud of him.

Afterwards we walked around Stillwater and enjoyed all the free things they had to offer. Then went to the Spring Finale game to watch the Pokes play. 

What a wonderful Saturday. 

Day 180: Eskimo Joe's (4/20)

I took Gavin to Aunt Sharman and Uncle Brad to stay the night. So we decided to stop at Eskimo Joe's for dinner. Gavin was able to meet Joe and Buffy. He would follow them around all night if he could!

Day 179: It's TWINS! (4/19)

OH MY GOD, I can't believe there are two babies in there! 

We always knew there was a chance that there could be multiples but it was so slight it was only considered jokingly. Rennie and I's conversation right before the doctor entered went like this:

Rennie: "How many do you think is in there?"

Emily: "Uh, one." {like in totally, duh!}

PAUSE

Emily: "Why? How many do you think?"

Rennie: "Two. I always thought two."

I laughed and rolled my eyes. I was blessed to be pregnant and I was happy.

As soon as the doctor started the ultrasound, we immediately saw two separate egg sacks and two yokes!!! I was flabbergasted, no way did I even consider there being two babies. They are fraternal twins, so that means two different eggs and two different sperm. 

Our doctor has put us in a two week wait before "we can tell the world." It's just to make sure that the babies are growing at the same rate. It's a precaution that we are taking seriously. I hope our miracles survive. 

Here's to TWINS!!

Day 178: Stinky Diaper (4/18)

A huge thanks to Garvis for dropping everything at 9:30 last night to come to OKC and watch Gavin for the day. He even broke a 19 year record on stinky diapers and it stank!! 

Thank you Garvis we couldn't ask for any body better to be with Sami right now. We appreciate everything you do for our babies. :)

Day 177: Six Weeks (4/17)

Big six weeks! Not showing yet, just my belly but you have to start somewhere. :/

Day 176: What to Expect...(4/16)

Finally got to pull these books out again! How exciting, I love to read and reading about our baby makes it even better. Even though this is my second pregnancy, I still love know how the baby is developing. 

Day 175: Sunday at Nana & PopPop's (4/15)

Rennie had some things to do in the morning so I decided to head over to my Mom and Dad's for the day. Gavin was PopPop's shadow all day, where ever PopPop was Gavin was close behind. They spent most of the day outside working in the yard. It ended up being a beautiful day. 

The last picture is of Gavin after eating a WHOLE ice cream sandwich. Piggy!! 

Day 174: Quail Springs Mall (4/14)

First off:

Happy 5th Wedding Anniversary to Us!

We didn't do anything special for the day; just dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse. Yum!! We have planned a trip to Playa de Carmen in June for our anniversary. I look forward to June!

We actually spent most of the day apart. Sami and Garvis were in town. Rennie and Garvis helped some friends of our move in the morning and then spent the rest of the day working on the bus.

Sami and I went to Quail Springs mall. I spent some time in the play-place with Gavin. :) It's one of his favorite thins to do at the mall. 

Day 173: Norms (4/13)

Testing week is upon us and I bring these up to monitor everyday. My cup of coffee and a large water to make it through the day. God Bless coffee. :)

Day 172: My Kindle Fire (4/12)

There are really two great things about the Kindle Fire: 

1. free library ebooks 

2. the free books offered by Amazon weekly. 

The Metropolitan library offers so many free ebooks and I can loan them from the comfort of my own home. They can be loaned for two weeks and then they are sent back to the library without having to worry about returning them! The only down part, the wait for a really good book could be weeks. 

Every week I check out Amazon for there list of the most downloaded books and there is a list of the most download FREE books. I glance through there at least once a week and download to my hearts content. They may not be the best written books but if I don't like it I just delete it. No harm, no foul; it was free!! :)

Day 171: Grad Classes (4/11)

All my homework for the week is due on Wednesday at midnight. So most Wednesdays after school you will find me here on Blackboard completing my assignments. I only have two more semesters to go and then I will have my Masters in Library Science! Yea me!!

Day 170: Five Weeks (4/10)

When I was pregnant with Gavin I took one picture a month of my belly. It was fun but I also had a weekly journal. Since I have this blog and Gavin I think that the tradition will be the picture that you see above. Each week Gavin will hold up the week with my belly showing. 

It will be fun and different. This way we can see Gavin and the baby grow. :)

So every Tuesday, it's going to be a belly picture for the next 8 months.

Please enjoy, I know I will. 

Day 169: "No chocolate!" (4/9)

The video says it all!! We have been saying this since about Tuesday when Rennie told Gavin that he was getting chocolate but when he got to PopPop's house. PopPop gave Gavin some candy!! This has been repeated all week!

Day 168: Happy Easter! (4/8)

We had such a busy morning. 

We first went to church at St. Paul's. We are officially members {the first time I've been a member of a church without my parents!}

The church had a large Easter egg hunt after Mass and Gain got lots of candy and a stuffed bunny.

We then went to the Cowboy Hall of Fame for brunch with my parents, Susan and Brian, my Aunt Shanda, Uncle Greg, Allisha and Ava, Dana, Jeff, Rye and Cort, and Sami Jo and Garvis.  The people there told us numerous times, "You are our largest group!" The food was wonderful!

Then we headed to POPS for an egg hunt. It wasn't as good as we thought it would be but we have lived and learned. What a wonderful way to spend Easter Sunday.

Day 167: Egg Dying (4/7)

At first, Gavin was a little unsure about dying eggs. 

However, he jumped right in and loved putting the eggs in the colors and pulling them out with his hands. 

We dyed eggs at Nana and PopPop's house so it didn't hurt that PopPop was helping out. The crayon confused him at first because, "It's not coloring!"

I love dying eggs and always make my own. I'm an artesst!! :)

Day 166: Tulsa Zoo (4/6)

Today Nana, Gavin and I met up with Molly and her boys for a day at the Tulsa zoo!

We had so much fun. The boys enjoyed spending the day together and Gavin cried when he had to leave Jason and Tommy. 

They got to ride the camel and the carousel. It was beautiful weather and we all enjoyed it so much. 

My favorite picture is Gavin in the monkey outline! 

Day 165: WE ARE PREGNANT!! (4/5)

Big news!!

The Nickell family is growing by one!!

We are finally pregnant! Blood test confirmed it today as well. The days are going to fly by!

YEA!!!

Day 164: Book Review (4/4)

As you all know: I love to read!

I try not to put looks of books on my blog because I could recommend a lot of books. I really try to just put books up that are REALLY REALLY good!! 

So far my previous recommendations have been:

The Hunger Games

The Girl with the Dragoon Tattoo

I think I have a pretty good record at recommending books!

This series isn't as good but I have really enjoyed it. Heres a quick summary:

High school sophomore Miranda’s disbelief turns to fear in a split second when an asteroid knocks the moon closer to Earth, the way “one marble hits another.” The result is catastrophic. How can her family prepare for the future when worldwide tsunamis are wiping out the coasts, earthquakes are rocking the continents, and volcanic ash is blocking out the sun? As August turns dark and wintry in northeastern Pennsylvania, Miranda, her two brothers, and their mother retreat to the unexpected safe haven of their sunroom, where they subsist on stockpiled food and limited water in the warmth of a wood-burning stove.

It's a good read and there is another book in the series but I haven't go that far yet! ;)

Day 163: Juicy-Juice (4/3)

At PopPop's house, Gavin is allowed to stand on the counters {with his shoes on!} and drink juice out of the bottle!! Gavin loves being at Nana and PopPop's house. He gets aways with so much. :)

Day 162: We Love Smoothies (4/2)

Gavin loves fruit smoothies. One of our favorite things to do on the way home is to stop at Sonic and get a strawberry smoothie. Gavin loves the whip cream and will sit there the whole time with the straw in his mouth. 

Day 161: Genghis Grill (4/1)

After such a busy day yesterday, there wasn't much on the To-Do list for today. We really didn't move around until 4 pm when we decided to go Easter dress shopping and run a few errands.

Tonight we went to Genghis Grill for dinner. It's a place where you can make your own stir fry. Rennie and I first tried it when we visited San Antonio.

We didn't realize there was one in Moore until we were Easter dress shopping. It was just as good as we remembered! 

Day 16: Girl's Day and Daddy/Son Day (3/31)

We have been wanting to do this Wine & Palette for a while. The calendar fills up so quickly! We were able to get into a class this weekend. The picture is called "The Red Tree." There is an artist there who teaches you how to paint the picture. It's so funny how each one turns out a little differently. It was so much fun! We were able to laugh and have fun, then we were able to take home an art work. My painting is hanging in my living room. I am pretty proud of it. :) We then went out to dinner and ice cream. It was nice to spend the time with my sisters and mom without all the babies. We definitely need to do it more often. 

While I spent the day with my sisters, Rennie had a full day planned for Gavin and himself. They started out at breakfast with Mese and BR. Then to see the Easter bunny. The group then headed to Lake Hefner and road around the entire lake {10 miles} with only one stop at the playground. The boys came home Gavin took a nap and then headed to the rodeo at the Fair Grounds. Gavin and Rennie both wore their new boots. Rennie said that Gavin was yelling at the cowboys and was surprised how much Gavin enjoyed watching the riders. It will be something that will definitely be done again. 

What a busy Saturday for the Nickell family. 

Day 159: First Pair of Boots (3/30)

It was time to get Gavin his first pair of boots. We tried on dozens at the store and finally agreed on these. They are so cute and he loves to run around in them. They are a size 9; big, fat foot!

Day 158: Thursday Night at Jones (3/29)

Most Thursday nights, we head over to the town of Jones. We only live about 12 miles away so its a quick trip. Every Thursday, Jones has an auction. Usually its mostly horse supply but sometimes there is some pretty random items. One night there was a Coach purse. I don't know if it was real but it's fun. Think of it like a garage sale but in auction form. Gavin has to have his guys and last week another boy showed Gavin this trick so we wanted to do it himself. He was pretty proud!

Day 157: My Guys are Flying (3/28)

We literally can't go anywhere without handfuls of guys. Superheros. 

The last few days has had some wonderful weather so I have been driving with the windows down.  

Today Gavin yelled, "Look Mommy, my guys are flying!"

Love him and his guys.

Day 156: Barbecue Night (3/27)

I was craving barbecue tonight, so I texted Rennie and said, "Rib crib?" When we got there we realized it was Tuesday's all you can eat ribs night. So the only logical thing to do would be for me to get the ribs, take a picture of it and send it to my dad!! He told me, "Thanks for the invite." and then he finished our conversation with "K." Reeealllllly? That drove me nuts. :) I guess he was just getting me back for sending him a picture of a plate of ribs. 

Day 155: Number 22 (3/26)

Why do you continue to take pictures of me?!

I found this shirt and had to buy it! Rennie wears number 22 so it's only right to pass it down.

I love his expression in this picture. 

Day 154: Cheetos (3/25)

We found these at Bass Pro Shop and decided we would give them a try. Of course, my child doesn't want to eat out of a smaller bowl, he wanted the whole bucket! Silly boy!

Day 153: James Harden (3/24)

Yep, my boy knows Harden!

Today we went to Dave & Buster's with Rennie's family and James Harden was there. Rennie and Susan creeped him and Gavin got his picture taken with Harden! 

I love the OKC Thunder!

Day 152: New Tattoo (3/23)

I finally talked Rennie into another tattoo for me!

I say that like I have to ask for permisson which is by no means how our relationship works! I just kept saying, "I want a tattoo for Gavin." and he kept saying, "What happens if you have another baby then another tattoo? Where does it stop?" I guess he doesn't think I would stop if I got another one. 

When we were in Branson, there was a nice tattoo parlor and apparently I stared at it every time we went by it. I guess I used Rennie as an excuse to not get a tattoo because when Rennie pulled in and said, "Check out how much it cost." I got so damn nervous!! 

So without preperation I got a tattoo. I knew exactly what I wanted so it wasn't hard. I was going to get it on my ankle but Rennie suggested on the top of my foot and I said, "Go for it!" It's a little more showy then where I planned to get it but I LOVE it!

Day 151: Silver Dollar City (3/22)

We went to Silver Dollar City today!!

We planned on being in Stroud for dinner, so we got up early and headed to Silver Dollar City for half a day. 

It was so much fun!

It was a little cold {thank goodness we had a sweat shirt for Gavin!} but it was sunny.

Because we had Gavin we headed to the kiddie area for the first half of the day. Gavin rode everything and enjoyed it. He wasn't scared and even wanted to go on the "super fast" boats. Rennie couldn't ride that ride because it went to fast in circles. Gavin loved it.

Rennie used to come all the time when he was younger and his favorite ride was Fire in the Hole.  So we decided that we would both stand in line then one would ride while one of us stood in line with Gavin and then pass him over and the other ride. However, it turns out the minimum that height that you need to be to ride most of the rides with an adult is 36 inches. Gavin is maybe 37 inches. So he was able to right Fire in the Hole!!

I was so surprised that he like it.

As we were leaving we asked, "What was your favorite ride, Gavin?" Gavin replied with, "The train." "What was your second favorite?" Gavin said, "The tunnel." {Fire in the Hole} We both laughed and were surprised so Rennie asked, "You wanna ride it again?" Gavin quickly answered, "Nope!" 

Day 150: Dolly Parton's Dixie Stampede (3/21)

I have never been to Branson so I have never been to show. I told Rennie that if we went to Branson, we are going to see a good show!

We picked out Dixie Stampede it was recommended to us by multiple families with young kids.

They put on a show and served you dinner.

The show was lots of animals and singing. It was perfect for Gavin and I enjoyed it as well. It reminded Rennie of the Medieval times. The area is oval and seats are all around it. As you can see the people behind us are much higher than us. We had great seats!

Gavin is a picky, picky eater so we where unsure how well he would eat dinner. However, he surprised us both and ate much of his dinner. Rennie and I said that the new way for us to get Gavin to eat would be to make it too dark for him to figure out what he was eating! :)

Day 149: Camping Trip (3/20)

We finally made it camping!

I camped all the time when I was younger. It was our way to vacation. We would head out to campgrounds all around Florida with two or three different families and camp for a week. I LOVED it and wanted Gavin to have that same experience that I had. 

We decided that we would start out slow. Camp only one night and see how it worked out with a two year old in a tent. 

If is wasn't raining hard all night long... the trip would of been perfect!

However, it did rain and we ended up sleeping in puddles of cold water. I was able to sleep a lot of the night but I remember waking up and having to move because water was splashing on my face. Rennie didn't sleep much at all because he is a light sleeper and the rain was loud.

We will definitely try camping again. If we can camp in the rain we camp any where!

Gavin loved the tent and has asked repeatedly for the tent. The campground was perfect with an indoor pool and a playground. Rennie came to this site with Justin when they were younger and it was just like he remember. 

New Nickell tradition in the making!!

Day 148: Ride with the Ducks (3/19)

The plan for our spring break vacation to Branson, MO was to wake up early and head to the campsite and set up our site. When we got to Branson it was pouring rain! So we thought we would drive around for a little bit and then head out to the campground. 

When Rennie was growing up, his family came to Branson and he remembers Riding the Ducks. So that was a definite To-Do on our list. 

When we decided that we didn't want to set up our site in the rain, we found out that the Ducks will continue to give rides in the rain. 

So we loaded up on a Duck.

It was so much fun! I enjoyed it almost as much as Gavin. It took you all over Branson and out on to the water. When we were on the lake, Gavin was able to drive the Duck. He loved it. One of the best part were the quackers that they gave you when you got onto the Duck. Gavin quacked at every passing car!

If your ever in Branson Ride the Ducks, with or without kids. Totally worth it!

Day 147: The Perfect Desert (3/18)

YUMMY!!

The picture color is weird. Don't ask me why. This cake is a definite keeper in our dessert rotation. Soooo good!

It's strawberry cake with strawberry icing with fresh strawberries on top.

Oh my goodness, so good!

Day 146: My Biscuit (3/17)

Today started our softball season for Whoosh and WOW {our woman's team.} I didn't plan on playing much because we are trying so hard to get pregnant. It would be unfair for a team to pick up a girl and then have maybe have to drop her each month before I become pregnant. It just seems easy for both Rennie and me if I play more as a pick up or as needed player. 

I ended up playing a little this weekend. In the very last game of the tourney, we weren't getting many strikes called for us in 40 mile per hour {I may exaggerate} winds. So Cheyenne was pitching this inning and we were losing pretty bad. Chey wasn't getting much calls so he looks at the batter and says, "Here's a biscuit for you!" Meaning: I am going to pitch a ball that you should hit the sh*t out of... And the man did, right at my leg. Honestly, I don't think I ever saw it. If I did I know I was getting out of the way of it!

I cried and this is what I like to call my biscuit. 

It's freaking huge and hurts like a bitch when I walk for a long time or God-forbid I have to squat! 

This is why I am taking this summer easy while we are trying to get pregnant, you just never know.

Day 145: Gavin's In Charge (3/16)

Today Gavin climbed up on the table and he said, "Mommy, take my picture!" So I did. Later he wanted to take some pictures and this one of Rennie came out great. Future blogger?! I think so! :)

Day 144: Spring Break Beginning (3/15)

I don't try too often to post pictures on Facebook that I will be using for my blog. I try and keep it separate but I couldn't resist with this picture!! Just before I took this picture he was trying really hard to not smile. I have three pictures before this of him slyly grinning and not looking at the camera. What a silly billy!

Today starts my spring break and Gavin and I slept in until 8. We had some errands to run so I thought we would start out with breakfast. He is a ham and I love it!!

PS - he is super proud of that Spiderman shirt!!

Day 143: STOMP (3/14)

We meet my mom and dad in Bricktown tonight to eat dinner and then to a show. We had tickets to watch the production of STOMP. 

We met early to eat and then Mom and I wanted to try out Pinkitzel, a cupcake shop in downtown. I got a cookies and cream and my mom choose red velvet. They were soooo good. Thanks goodness we got a large cup of milk.

STOMP was amazing. I loved it. If you have the chance, you should definitely go see it. Its all music but its made with everyday items such as trashcans, sinks, paper and lighters. It also had some comedy in it. I could watch it a thousand times. 

What a wonderful night and a great way to kick off my spring break!

Day 142: Books!! (3/13)

My largest order of books came in this afternoon, while I was working in the library! I am so excited. Even though it's lots of work, I enjoy every moment. I already have a few picked out that I want to read! What you are looking at is $6,373 worth of books. I have the best job!