Birthdays & Besties

Saturday was Mom's 70th Birthday (born in Texas, 1-18-55)... and we celebrated with dinner at Firebirds in OKC (a new place for us - good and similar to Red Rock)!  Chet Lee kindly provided this lovely pink Christmas-themed cake from Ludger's... YUM!  Love this pic with Mom! ❤

The wonderful Wilson fam made the trip from Tulsa to celebrate with us, and Karli made the glittery Cricut cake topper Mom is holding here!!

Kyndal and Parker were cute friends again... Chet also brought Mom's long-awaited Christmas ribbon from Amber Marie!

Table group pic... (they initially tried to seat us at 3 separate tables, but they eventually made this work without too much drama)!

Mom looking beautiful with her impressive birthday board made by Rach, lovely cake topper by Karli, and birthday roses from the restaurant! ❤

Kyndal Faith made Parker Elizabeth a rainbow-loom bracelet, which made my day as much as it made Parker's! lol. We got pics of everyone with Mom in their patio room after dinner!  I got one of Chet and Mom together since it was also his 1/2 birthday!! =)

Christmas cake gif!

Group pic! ❤❤

A 2-player version of Ring Around the Rosie. lol

All in all, it was a memorable night and a wonderful celebration for Mom - good food, fun atmosphere, great pictures, and I'm super grateful that the Wilsons and Charlene joined us for it!!  (For the record, Carter Lee was competing in a rodeo and could not make it, and Bill and Jill's first great-grandson, Gatlin, shares a bday with Mom, so they were understandably at his party!)

Yesterday, I came to Tulsa for dinner with the Wilsons and Fultons - here's our party-of-8 group pic!

We were celebrating Sarah's last day before heading back to Kansas to start her 3rd semester of the DNAP program to become a CRNA!  Chet sent a group text to confirm this plan around 3pm.  Thankfully, Steve was also there to remind Sarah, as she had started cooking them dinner at home just before this! lol  I totally get being frazzled and having your thoughts feel fragmented, though - hopefully everything will calm back down as this new semester gets going for her!

It was good to catch up with the Fultons and hear more about their family road trip.  And it was fun to watch the girls play together and see Tate bonding with Uncle Steve! =)  Sarah eventually put on the animated Cinderella for the girls, which will forever and always bring back delightful childhood memories for me! 

Voicing their princess dolls...

Kate as Belle:  "HEY!!  You wanna be best friends!?"

Parker as Snow White:  "Yeeees!" lolol No introduction needed!

❤

And that brings us to today, where I made another Tulsa trip for an MLK Day hair appointment with Janelle!  We had a good talk, my hair now matches my extensions better, and I got this cute Valentine's-themed headband - hooray!

Sarah and her fam traveled to Kansas and changed out her mattress for the coming semester... her course load has doubled for this season - praying she has a good semester ahead, and thankful that all of us completed our road trips before tonight's snowfall!

I'm grateful for all the fun times and group events pictured above!  And I am extra grateful for the sincere encouragement and solid advice from Chet Lee lately on family stuff, health goals, work decisions, & Scriptural discernment... pictured here in his Inauguration-Day patriotic flannel shirt! =)

Speaking of, here's Carrie Underwood's impromptu, brief-but-powerful acapella version of America the Beautiful from today's Inauguration ceremony!

❤ ❤ ❤