Anything But Grey: Instagram Dump January

It is hard to believe that 2024 is off and rolling already! The first half of our year has been a flurry of activity, and these are the posts I published to Instagram during the first six months of the year. Enjoy!

01/14 - In case you were wondering, it's Chuck-wore-his-ushanka cold today! ❆❅❆

01/15 - Isn't this the truth!!!

01/17 - Lately . . .

❆ We've had some beautiful winter weather. I love living in a place where we get all the seasons!

❆ Even though the temps have been in single digits, the kids still love to play outside!

❆ The kids are all enjoying the Astronomy class they're taking this semester. Being in class with friends old and new just makes it sweeter!

❆ We started a new science unit on Geology at LIGHT Academy. The hands-on activities have been so fun!

01/22 - We decided that LIGHT Academy would be in session today (because homeschool), but we made time for some epic ice sledding and flying down our slide that is covered in ice. Now we're back inside, warming up by the fire 🔥, and enjoying some good books 📚. These days are a blessing 💗.

01/25 - Sometimes dreams really do come true. Baby J is perfection!

01/27 - A Ladies Conference in Texas, a couple of Buc-cee's stops, and some much needed time to catch up on life rounded out the weekend. Also, it was *not* that foggy!

02/03 - Today was full of basketball, volleyball, and celebrating my babies who are two amazing little {now} nine year olds! As my youngest kiddos begin their last year in single digits, I am reminded how quickly the years fly by and of how very grateful I am for the time I get to soak up with my crew. Happy Birthday, Twinbies! You are such a blessing to us! 🎂🙌🎈

02/09 - The birthday triplets! We all thought it was fun and exciting when my twins were born on my Aunt Cindy's birthday nine years ago. We don't see her often, but this year we got to see her just a few days after their shared birthday! I love this little special bond my girls have with her 💖.

02/10 - Today was a little bit of birthday celebrating and a whole lot of basketball! Bren played four basketball games to ring in his 12th birthday, but we definitely made time for a few gifts and his favorite dessert, ice cream sandwiches. Happy 12th birthday to our little boy who is very quickly becoming a young man. We love you and are so thankful for you!

02/14 - 💖Life is sweeter with you💖

02/18 - Our two weeks of birthday celebrations came to an end today with Brianna turning 14! I can't believe this amazing little bit that made me a momma is growing up so quickly. Happy birthday, sweet girl! We love you!

02/20 - This is new to me . . . raising a boy is SO different from raising girls!

What it's like living with a 12 year old boy . . . he is constantly jumping around the house. He hits door jams and our arches and now he's constantly jumping to touch the ceiling! I never know when he's going to come running through the house to jump at something. This is something my girls don't do. These photos are just a few of the jumps from this morning!

Boy moms weigh in - is this just something preteen/teen boys do?!?

02/22 - That's a wrap on basketball season! The Swish had a lot of room to grow, but the boys worked hard every single week to improve and learn to play together. They are not the same team they were back in November! Tonight, we celebrated the boys, their growth, and the end of the season. We are thankful for this group! 🏀🏃🏀

02/23 - Creative juices are flowing tonight!

02/24 - For his birthday, some of our friends gave Bren tickets to an OKC Thunder game. Bren had a blast soaking it all in and watching some pro ball! 🏀

02/26 - I'm a homeschool mom . . . of course I have crystals growing in my bedroom! 😂 #LIGHTacademy #homeschool #homeschoolmom #homesweethomeschool

02/28 - My friend invited me to take a sourdough bread making class with her, so I've been trying my hand at bread making the past few days. I've got a ways to go to perfect my process, but I'm finding my rhythm with it. My family is not complaining about trying my bread! 🍞

03/11 - That moment when you walk into the house and your child's head is sitting in the dining room and scares the wits out of you. Brianna's braiding skills are on point thanks to "Susan", but I wish she'd stay in her bedroom!

03/16 - We took an overnight trip to OKC and spent a beautiful, chilly day at the zoo! Brooke and Brecklyn got to feed the flamingos 🦩 (Brecklyn's favorite!), and had an amazing experience when the elephant zookeeper, Nadia, invited them to come behind a locked gate to help get things prepared for the elephant enrichment. They were elated to be in the elephant enclosure helping the zookeepers! The lions put on a great show for us, we loved seeking the okapis and giraffes, and all the kids got to pet stingrays. It was one fun experience after another!

03/17 - We were pinch proof in our green today! ☘

03/18 - A surprise visit from a friend was just what the day needed. Great to see you, Nic!

03/23 - This felt like a throwback to my teenage days sitting in the same pew with my parents and sister. Our congregation hosted a lectureship this weekend, and my sister and her daughter were in town visiting. Our kids were all sitting elsewhere with other kids and my hubby was serving, so it ended up being just the four of us together on the pew . . . just like 30 years ago! 💗

03/26 - About Spring Break . . .

💮 Having friends over to our house . . . we loved snuggling Baby J!

💮 Track and Field practice with teammates who have become friends

💮 Meeting up with friends for fun and play at Claremore Lake

💮 Hanging out with our cousin

💮 Learning about God's word with friends and loved ones at our annual lectureship

We loved having this time to catch up with some of our favorite people!

03/29 - Two meets this week = 5 PRs and 3 medals for my two big kids! At a meet in Porter, Bren earned a PR in all four events he competed in (long jump, 200m dash, shot put, and discus), and medaled in shot put and discus. At the Oologah meet, Bri medaled in discus and got a PR in shot put. Bren got fourth in shot as a 6th grader throwing against 7th graders. My brother was in town visiting, so he joined us in cheering our athletes on. It was a great week to enjoy some Track & Field!

04/01 - Yesterday . . . 🪺🐣💮

04/05 - It was a good day in Mannford! Brianna's hard work is paying off!

04/08 - Eclipse viewing party . . . it's so amazing how precise our universe is. The heavens declare the glory of God!!!

04/10 - Brenson had the best shop class with Grampy where they built a desk for Bren's bedroom. I'm so glad Bren got to have this priceless experience, and I hope he'll remember it for the rest of his life!

04/13 - Three of the kids had a Track & Field meet in the OKC area today, so we made a fun trip out of it. Yesterday, we visited the Oklahoma State Capitol (it's beautiful and impressive!), walked around Bricktown a bit, then enjoyed an OKC Thunder basketball game. We had a blast even though we left early to get a good night's rest for today's meet. All the kids did great today! Highlights include Brenson winning first in discus and setting huge PR (he beat his previous PR by almost 18 feet!), Brooke winning first in discus and second in shot put (GREAT throws in both!), and Brecklyn placing third in long jump (with a couple solid jumps!), and third in both her individual running events. It was a great weekend!

04/21 - I'm enjoying the beautiful sunset and watching my boys practice discus. They're working on training those newly acquired long limbs to do what they're supposed to do!

04/28 - Watching Anne of Green Gables with my girls . . . one of our favorites!

04/27 - Lately . . .

💚 Youth Bible studies

💚 Track meets

💚 Birthday parties

💚 Team Cookout

💚 Fun with friends

💚 Art Class for Brooke

This is a busy time of year for us, but we enjoy being with people who make life sweeter!

04/27 - Ok friends . . . which one are you? I'm pretty organized, methodical, and tidy in many areas of my life, but I have NO patience when it comes to cords! It drives my hubby crazy because although he has no problem being sloppy about a lot of things, he hates it when my cords are a big wad of mess 😉.

05/06 - Another school year is finished, and what a blessing it has been!

Brianna completed 8th grade this year and continues to love being homeschooled. She wrote some moving poems in ELA, knocked Algebra 1 out of the park, and loved our unit studies of National Parks and Africa. In addition to our home studies, she took a biology based class called Fine-Tuned By God and an astronomy class. She ran cross country and track & field with the Falcons, played volleyball with the Y, and took two OABS classes on Isaiah and Jeremiah/Lamentations. She has a sweet group of friends that she enjoys texting and spending time with.

Sixth grade was a great year for Brenson. He completed Algebra 1 with Bri and really enjoyed it. His favorite academic pursuit was our unit on National Parks, but his very favorite part of his school week was working with Grampy on Fridays. In addition to our home studies, he took a dinosaur class and an astronomy class. He ran cross country and track & field with the Falcons, played basketball with the Swish, and took an OABS class on Jeremiah/Lamentations. His spare time was spent growing a solid six inches in height 😂.

Brooke was so excited to join us at home this year for 3rd grade. She had no problems with the transition from public school to homeschool, and her favorite subject was science (we did units on Human Anatomy, Marine Biology, and Geology). She loved taking additional classes on apologetics and astronomy, as well as an art class at a local studio. Brooke wants to play every sport there is, but we started with running cross country and participating in track & field with the Falcons this year. She is learning to cook and her life skills class with G-Jo on Fridays is a favorite.

Brecklyn did great with 3rd grade at home this year, even though the transition was tougher for her. Her favorite things this year were our unit studies on Nationals Parks and Africa. She also loves reading! She was an eager learner in the apologetics and astronomy classes she took, and enjoyed running cross country and participating in track & field with the Falcons. She's a little homebody, so life skill class is another favorite.

💙💡💙

05/10 - Track & Field season officially ended this past week with a trip to Homeschool Nationals in Missouri. It was a busy and long three days of competition, and my kids all walked away with at least one top five placement! I'm not going to mention all the races and events each child competed in, but some of the more exciting things included:

Brianna set a PR in the 800m run and placed 4th in discus. Bren competed in the triathlon, then placed 3rd in discus and 4th in shot put on another day. Brooke was part of a 4x200m relay team that placed 5th, won 2nd in discus, and 4th in shot put. Brecklyn was also part of the relay team that placed 5th and rocked the long jump competition with 3rd place. Most importantly, they had a blast competing!

05/10 - One more post about Track & Field and I'll be done until next season 😉.

It's about so much more than just running, jumping, and throwing. It's about discipline, determination, and resilience. It's about cheering on your teammates and encouraging each other. It's about growing mental toughness and learning to push your body. It's about building relationships and learning to win and lose gracefully.

We are so thankful for our team and for a great season!

05/13 - Happy *70th* birthday to my beautiful Momma! She is a godly woman who is strong and steady and always ready with a listening ear. Her life is evidence of her faith. We are so thankful for the blessing she is!

05/13 - North to Niagara Day 1

On the road again! This time, we are headed to Niagara Falls with many fun stops along the way.

We left the house at 5:30am and hit Missouri before 7:00am. Our favorite mid-MO candy store (Redmon's) was open, so we had to make a stop there to stock up on all things sugar. We hit St. Louis by lunchtime and stopped for a picnic in Gateway Arch National Park, watching the barges float by on the Mississippi as we ate. The afternoon took us all the way across Illinois and into Indiana. We checked into our hotel in Indianapolis in time to eat dinner at the hotel during the "social" and relax in our suite before bedtime.

05/14 - North to Niagara Day 2

We started the day in Indianapolis at the Motor Speedway. It was the first day of practice for the upcoming Indy 500, and we were all excited to watch the cars speed around the track at 200+ MPH. It was drizzly, so the cars only practiced for about 30 minutes, but it was enough for us to enjoy. The IMS is huge and LOUD, but we are so glad we had the experience.

After a few hours of exploring the IMS, we headed to the Indiana State Capitol. It started pouring rain as we walked from the Capitol building to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument, so we headed to a local pizza place for lunch while we waited out the rain.

After lunch, we headed east toward Columbus, Ohio where we drove through the Ohio State University campus then visited the Ohio State Capitol. Downtown Columbus was hustling and bustling, so after exploring a bit we headed to our hotel for the evening. The kids went swimming, and we ordered in dinner before turning in for the night.

05/15 - North to Niagara Day 3

This day was all about the Columbus Zoo! My kids love to watch Secrets of the Zoo - Columbus, a show all about the Columbus Zoo and the animals and caretakers that call it home, so we knew visiting the zoo while we were in town was a must-do.

It ended up being a very rainy day, but we didn't let that stop our fun! In fact, it meant the zoo wasn't very busy so that was kind of nice. The kids loved seeing animals they "know" from the show like Aurora the polar bear and Haleakala the flamingo. One of the best parts of the day was being able to visit with Joy the zookeeper for the flamingos and penguins that we've seen on the show several times. Also, the sea lion exhibit is amazing as the sea lions can swim all around you!

05/16 - North to Niagara Day 4

Today we ventured into Cuyahoga Valley National Park. We started at the Boston Mill Visitor's Center, walked along the Cuyahoga River (which flows north!), took a stroll along the canal towpath, and enjoyed a mid-morning ice cream treat. Then, we took a short hike to Brandywine Falls before having a picnic lunch at the trailhead.

We drove through the park a bit more, then headed back to our rental house for some downtime. We made tacos for dinner and finished the day with a family game of Trivial Pursuit.

05/17 - North to Niagara Day 5

The first thing on the agenda for today was a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. It was a very rainy morning, so seeing the park from inside the train was the perfect activity. The ride lasted about two hours, in which time we were able to see many parts of the park and learn a good deal of park history.

We decided to have Indian food for lunch - something that was new for the kids. Part of them really liked it and afterwards Brecklyn declared that the plain white rice was delicious 😂.

After lunch, we headed to Beaver Marsh to walk along the boardwalk and enjoy the wildlife and birds. It's a beautiful area! We then made a quick stop at our rental house to freshen up a bit before driving about 45 minutes to my cousin's house for dinner.

Being able to see my cousin and spend time with her and her husband was a blessing and the highlight of the day for me! It's been about 10 years since we've seen Terra and Mike, and we had a wonderful evening. We ate a delicious dinner together, played a game, and enjoyed their pups. It filled my heart to be with them!

05/18 - North to Niagara Day 6

We got up and going a little earlier today to hike The Ledges trail in Cuyahoga Valley National Park. It did not disappoint! The ledges were truly breathtaking, and the kids had a blast exploring along the trail. It was only a few miles long, but it was a great way to see a unique portion of the park.

We had stopped by the Canal Exploration Center a few days ago, but it wasn't open so we went back over there today. The museum and hands-on exhibits were very interesting. We learned all about how the lock system worked, and then walked along the canal for about a mile where we spotted a cute muskrat in the water who swam alongside us for a long ways.

Lunch was at Yours Truly, a great local place. I told Chris we had ordered way too much food, but all that was left on the table was a crust of toast and one bite of eggs 😂. We had worked up an appetite!

After lunch we headed to a town called Brecksville where there was a great park (part of the famous Cleveland Park System) and nature center. Brecklyn loved seeing her "name" on things. In the park, we hiked on a small portion of the Buckeye Trail which goes all around the state of Ohio.

The evening was spent at our rental house getting things organized to move on down the road tomorrow. We made chili for dinner and had a Trivial Pursuit rematch before going to bed.

05/19 - North to Niagara Day 7

This morning, we left our rental house in Cuyahoga Falls and drove to Norton, Ohio to worship with the church there. We grabbed Chipotle for lunch before continuing our drive northeast along Great Lake Erie.

We said farewell to Ohio and crossed into Pennsylvania before driving into Presque Isle State Park. It was beautiful scenery of Lake Erie on a beautiful day! The beach was calling our names, so we stopped and played for about an hour. We thought the water would be frigid - and while it was certainly cold - it was actually really nice compared to the warm sand.

Our drive continued into New York and through Buffalo until we reach the US/Canada border. Border crossing took almost an hour . . . we were shocked at the traffic and number of cars trying to cross!

We made it across and to our hotel in Niagara Falls, Canada. It was all the kids' first time in another country, and they were excited! We can see the mist from the falls from our hotel room, and we can't wait to explore tomorrow!

05/20 - North to Niagara Day 8 (part 1)

There was so much packed into this day that I'm going to do two posts. It was finally time to discover Niagara, and we made the most of it!

Our friends flew in the night before and stayed at the same hotel as us. We met up for breakfast at the hotel, then began our adventure at the Skylon Tower where we took an elevator up the outside of the tower to catch 365 degree views. I gasped when we first saw the falls! It was a great way to start our day.

Next, we headed to the Whirlpool Aerocar which is a cable car that took us over the Niagara River where we saw amazing landscape and watched the water "whirlpooling". Another very cool experience!

After lunch at a strange spaceship restaurant (complete with aliens), we went to Journey Behind the Falls. We walked down tunnels to viewpoints behind the falls before visiting an observation deck that had an incredible view of all the falls, as well as Rainbow Bridge.

05/20 - North to Niagara Day 8 (part 2)

Following a {very} short rest at the hotel, we ventured to The Rainforest Cafe for dinner. It was in a super commercialized and crazy part of town, and parking was almost as ridiculous as the crowds 😁. Once we finished dinner, we decided to leave our vehicles parked at the hotel and walk to our next adventure - a nighttime boat ride to the falls!

The boat ride was fantastic! Seeing the falls lit up in all the colors was incredible, and then the fireworks began!

The walk back to our hotel after all the festivities were over felt pretty long, so we decided to break it up by grabbing ice cream on our way. After walking 17,000 steps, it was the perfect end to an amazing day!

05/21 - North to Niagara Day 9

We ventured to the US side of Niagara today. After breakfast at the hotel, our adventure began at Cave of the Winds where we walked along the American Falls and were splashed with waaaaay more water than we expected. We were definitely thankful for the ponchos!

Following a hunt for decent food and a not-so decent lunch, we boarded the Maid of the Mist for another look at the falls from the water. I was concerned that after our boat ride the evening prior, this activity might be a little redundant. However, it was a totally different experience. The wind was blowing and the water was not at all nice and smooth like the night before. We got drenched again as the boat cruised past Horseshoe Falls.

After a walk along the Niagara River, a bit of park play, and a few photo ops, we headed back to our hotel on the Canada side of the falls. The kids did some swimming in the hotel because apparently we hadn't had enough water yet 😂.

Once the kids finished swimming, we all cleaned up, got some food, and hung out in our hotel room together. Niagara Falls was a wonderful, awe-inspiring experience!

05/22 - North to Niagara Day 10

We woke up really dragging this morning, but we had to get an early start and get on down the road. We left our friends (who were flying home) and Niagara Fall, Ontario at about 7:00am, but not before stopping one last time to look at the falls.

Our next stop was Grimsby Beach on Great Lake Ontario. The water was beautiful in the morning sun! A couple hours later, we stopped at Windcliff Beach on Great Lake Huron. The water here was rough and cold, so we only stayed about a half hour before moving on down the road.

Our final stop in Canada was at Tim Horton's for lunch before getting in the looooong line to cross over the border into Michigan. We sat in line for over an hour, but we had a gorgeous view from the bridge we were on.

We finally made it to Port Huron, Michigan, and Brecklyn was so excited to be back on US soil 😂. We made our way to Lansing for a super quick visit to the state capitol of Michigan before coming to our final destination for the day, La Porte, Indiana. Thirteen hours after we left our hotel in Niagara Falls (including crossing back into central time zone), and we were ready to be out of our van!

05/23 - North to Niagara Day 11

On today's agenda was Indiana Dunes National Park. We didn't really know what to expect with this one, so we started out at the visitor's center to get some information.

As our first activity in the park, we took the Mount Baldy Trail where we saw lush greenery, an amazing view of Great Lake Michigan, and the Mount Baldy living sand dune.

We drove on Lakeshore Drive for a bit and saw the five Century of Progress Homes built for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair. Then, we spent some hours on Lake View Beach enjoying the gorgeous Lake Michigan. The kids had a blast playing in the sand and water, we enjoyed the boats speeding by, and we soaked in the view of the Chicago skyline. It was a perfect day to spend on the beach!

Following a mid-day meal at a local BBQ joint, we walked along the shore of Michigan City Beach. It is not in the national park and was more public and busy, for sure. The view of the lighthouse was delightful, so we strolled down the break wall to take a closer look.

Once we arrived back at our hotel, the kids wanted to swim (again). That activity rounded out our full day!

05/24 - North to Niagara Day 12

We drove about four hours south today to spend a very rainy day in Springfield, Illinois. Our first stop was the Lincoln Home National Historic Site where we were able to get tickets to tour the Abraham Lincoln home. However, our tour time was about two hours from our arrival time, so in the meantime we walked several blocks in the pouring rain to eat lunch at Subway and see the old Illinois State Capitol Building.

It was still raining when we took the tour, which we followed with a visit to Lincoln's Tomb. Finally, we visited the current Illinois State Capitol Building - it was busy and very ornate. We overheard that Illinois elected officials were trying to make some decisions before the holiday weekend.

By this time, we'd had enough of the rain and decided to head to our hotel for the night. Chris and Bri picked up dinner for us, and we turned in fairly early for the night.

05/25 - North to Niagara Day 13

Are we tired yet?!? Why yes, yes we are!

Today's goal was to get HOME. We left Springfield, Illinois around 7:20am and hit St. Louis a couple hours later. After some big traffic slow-downs, several bathroom stope, and a visit to our favorite mid-MO candy store (again!), we rolled into our driveway just after 4:00pm.

It was an amazing and incredible trip, but as always it's great to be home!

05/25 - We recently completed a goal of visiting all five Great Lakes! They are all beautiful with clear and COLD water, although Erie and Michigan were warmer than the others while we were there. Huron was worked up during our visit, so we didn't stay long. Ontario was probably the coldest, and the beach we visited at Superior had the prettiest rocks.

05/26 - Yesterday, we got home from an epic two week road trip at about 4:30pm. Between all the luggage, brochures, souvenirs, snacks, trash, and piles of laundry, I said, "Wow. Our house looks like a tornado came through here!"

Later that night, an actual tornado came through.

We are so thankful that we are safe and that our house sustained very minimal damage, especially compared to many of our neighbors who are dealing with roof damage, missing siding, broken windows, etc. The experience was pretty terrifying, and I'm pretty sure it was the first time Chris has ever actually joined us in the closet to take cover.

It was so still right before it wasn't, then everything went dark and still again as soon as it passed. We (and many, many others) are still without power.

Our little town has extensive damage, and it's going to take a while to recover. Please pray for Claremore and all those who have been affected by this storm.

05/27 - So much to be thankful for!

The first pic shows the path of the tornado that passed over our area the other night. The blue dot is my neighborhood. We are so grateful to God for His protection!

The second picture is the six loads of laundry I was able to do at a friend's house today. They also fed my entire family two meals, let us charge allll the devices, and let all six of us take showers at their house. We are still waiting for power to be restored, so another friend is letting us use freezer space at her house.

Praise God for these huge blessings!

06/10 - Brooke Ellie has always loved art and being creative, so she was SO excited to take an art class at a local studio a few months back. Her layered painting she completed over 5 class sessions turned out so beautiful! She can't wait until her next class (soon!).

06/14 - 2004 ----> 2024

20 years later!

Chris and I were recently able to revisit some places we had been together 20 years ago, although it sure doesn't seem like it's been that long! We were 23 years old in the photos from 2004. It's crazy how time passes.

💙Soldiers and Sailors Monument - Indianapolis, Indiana

💙 Lincoln's Tomb - Springfield, Illinois

06/15 - Life lately . . .

🌞 VBS

🌞 Youth Devo

🌞 Amazing sunsets

🌞 Summer running club

🌞 Jazz camp concert

🌞 Fishing at the neighborhood pond

Hello summer! So glad you're here! 🌞

06/19 - That's a wrap on basketball camp 🏀! Bren won the Hot Shot award one day and the Layup award on another day. He's been working hard to improve his game, and it's great to see that hard work recognized! 🏀🏃🏀

06/26 - Today was a blast hanging out with this super fun group of teenagers at Gloss Mountain State Park. I loved seeing this unique part of Oklahoma!