THE GIRLS

SEE! They DO love eachother!

Unless Phoebe gives them no choice!

LOL!

Cute as a Button! What?

I don't know who ever decided that buttons were cute....because what I'm about to show you is waaaaaay cuter!


My new Niece was born today! Isn't she gorgeous?

I don't know all the fine details. I was actually informed of them, but I was just so excited to hear she was born that I didn't focus on remembering them! I know she was born today, October 20th around 11am. She was about 6 lbs and about 18 inches. One more thing I can't tell you is her name. She is currently helping her Mommy and Daddy decide on the perfect name. Whatever they pick, it will be perfect I'm sure. Until we know for sure, Mia and I are calling her Baby CoCo. :O)

Getting her Hand Knit Baby Hat @ Meriter

With Her Daddy Jesse

Grandpa & Grandma Veit

What a Precious Bundle!

One more thing... I think we must rethink the cuteness comparisons! From now on, I say we just use "Cute As Baby CoCo!"

Miss Mia Elaine....2nd Grader

We got Mia's school pictures back today. This is her Fall/Yearbook picture. They also have Spring pictures. Enjoy!

Soccer...Soccer...Soccer

Princess Strikers Get Outta Bed For This Game

Fall soccer season is in full swing. And now we are even more immersed. Mia is playing on her regular Friendship Rec Team, but she also joined an Academy team. We were going to eventually join a team like this, but really weren't planning on it Spring or next Fall. One of Mia's good friends from her class also played on a Friendship team at Metro Tulsa Soccer club. Her team broke up and some went to this academy team this season. Aftere talking to Amber, her Mom, we decided to go check out a practice one day just to see how different the team dynamic was. And also to see how Mia reacted to the coaching. The coaches on Academy are paid coaches who live and breathe the game. After just one practice we knew this was something that we wanted for Mia. We called a family meeting and discussed possibly joining the team this season. It was unanimous. The next day we were registering and ordering her uniforms.
Now we are practicing with our rec team on Tuesdays with games on Saturdays. Plus, practicing Monday and Thursdays with our academy team with two games on Sundays! So far Mia is having a great time and responding so well to the coaching. Troy and Coach Mike (who are the coaches for the rec tream) are enjoying some soccer from the sidelines now on Sundays!
Today was Mia's first game with the academy team. The whole team does not play both games every Saturday. So she just played game two today. She did AWESOME for her first game! In fact, she almost scored a goal in the first half! I thought she was going to fall over from the increased amount of running in the game. The fields are bigger, and they stay in a long time in between subs. We were so proud of her!
She is in full soccer mode, as I type this she and Troy are practicing out back.
This is going to be a really fun soccer season!
I didn't get any pics from today's games, as we were so engrossed in the action. I will try harder next week!

Mia @ 8am Princess Strikers Game

My Missing Vera Bradley Sunglasses

....Have Been Located!





Normally I buy cheap sunglasses. (Insert ZZ Top tunes here.). But for Christmas last year my lovely in-laws bought me a pair of Vera Bradley's. I love(d) them soooo! I actually keep track of them. (For the most part, that is.). I guess I set them down on the table out back last night while drinking a Sam Adams Oktoberfest. They have been recovered in the yard. Dead On Arrival. Along with the cap to the red sharpie she got into and a navy blue towel. That Phoebe is one weird dog. Wait...One weird dog with pink paws that is! I guess you could say she was caught red handed!



R.I.P favorite shades. Phoebe...that's a Strike girl! No treats for you!
Happy Sunday!

Fair Time!

Real Quick....I had to share these awesome pictures that I took at the fair last weekend.

Troy and Mia went on the Swing Ride together. After waiting for over 30 minutes in line, I figured I better capture the moment. And since the swings have such a colorful backdrop, I had my fingers crossed for some beauties.

Wow was I pleased with how they turned out! I got REALLY lucky and actually captured the two of them in two shots! What are the odds!? I say they are pretty darn slim considering I could not see them when I took the pictures! (Ahem...I cannot watch spinning things for fear of the wooziness it may cause!)

I took these shots with my Hipstamatic App on my iPhone. It has totally been my go to photo app for over a year now. It takes some really neat shots.

These were all shot using the John S lens and the new Ina's 1935 Film.

We had such a good time walking around, eating junk and riding rides. Ok, I didn’t ride any rides this year…I did the Ferris Wheel last year…this year I let Grandpa Don have that privilege!

We love the fair! Prime people watching and everything fried on a stick! The only think I don’t love is the money we blow. We never have a single thing to show for our trip. (Unless you count the extras on the scale the next day….Whoopsies!)

A Little Sketchy

Last week I received the rough sketch of our dear Madison from Angie Ketelhut. If you follow my blog, you may have seen the post when we received Chena's artwork. Angie does a wonderful job of capturing the spirit of her subject. Even though she has never met them in person. All you do is send her a handful of pictures of your pet and she takes it all from there. The sketches alone are so impressive. But wait until you see the finished paintings! They are breathtaking indeed!
In case you want to see exactly what I'm talking about....here is Chena's sketch and painting.






As soon as we get Maddy's finished piece, I will post it for all to see.
I think everyone should commission a painting! Check out her whimsical work at www.artbyangie.com

You Can Find Me Here...

I am going on Hiatus. I love keeping up with all of my friends. Near or Far. But I have decided that I needed to take a little break from that lovely social distraction that is Facebook. Don't worry...It has nothing to do with you. Or YOU. Or even you. It has everything to do with me. I need to focus on some things right now and life is sooooo busy and crazy. I need to wean myself off of that site for a bit. We have so much going on with Mia's now two soccer teams, work, homework, three crazy hounds, and fixing up the casa. I have a lot of work ahead of me, so I am taking this time to focus.

You can find me here every now and then. I will try to post meaningless nonsense like I normally do on Facebook. It just will not be as often and it will not take away from my other obligations.

I will see you back there though! Believe me! I think Facebook rocks! I have caught up with soooo many friends since logging on.

Until then...Be Good!
See you on the Flip! :)

Slow Down Sunday

Today we went to one soccer game. And that was it! Ah, it sure is nice to relax and hang out at home. Here are the dogs hanging out as well. They loooove being outside and today is a gorgeous Fall day. Finally!

Eight is Gonna Be Great!

Happy Birthday to Sweet Miss Mia! Today she turns EIGHT! Yikes how time has flown by!

Saturday We had two soccer games. So we were all excited to relax that night. Our friends had a football party and we decided to bring a birthday cake to celebrate ! After all, this is our Okie Family.

We gave Mia her very own James Avery charm bracelet. She reeeeealllly loves it! Now we always have gift ideas. We also gave her a Middleton Doll. She is obsessed with dolls. Grandma Sherri got her Ivy, the American Girl this summer for her early birthday gift. She got her first Middleton doll with some birthday money she received during the same trip to Wisco. She plays with "Hadli" all the time and really wanted another one for her birthday. After her first soccer game we drove her to Girlfriends Gifts in Broken Arrow and let her pick out her new baby. This one she named "Ashley".



Today she wanted to go to The Funhouse at the Riverwalk. We played some games, won few tickets and cashed in on some Tootsie Rolls. It was great! And turns out...Mia is a darn good driver! She was passing levels on this driving game like a pro!



After The Funhouse we went to pick up Grandma and Grandpa Eberhardt and their friends from Wisconsin, Mike and Lynn O'Brien. We were going to take Mia to Red Robin for a birthday dinner. She got another charm for her bracelet among other things. This charm is a Dachshund. So cute!






It was a great day. Thanks everyone for her birthday wishes!

This IS Fall!

My FAVORITE Fall Candle Lights Our Home

Even though it is a balmy 94 degrees out, I have officially crowned this weekend the beginning of Fall. It is my favorite time of the year. I'm sure I share this love with soooooo many others. Fall is welcome at my house not only due to my extreme aversion for hot weather and the sun, but mainly because of all the fond memories that Fall has always made in my memory maker.

This weekend we celebrated Labor Day Weekend. Being today is Labor Day, I am looking back on a very wonderful weekend. The last week was so busy for us. Work, soccer practice, BM Wednesday, Twirling class brought us right up to Friday night and we had a party to go to! Kaitlyn, Mia's friend, had her 8th birthday party at The Grand Health Club on Friday night. They rented the upstairs where they had a Camp Rock 2 party. Fun and games and the premier of the movie Camp Rock 2 on The Disney Channel. The kids had a great time! We ended the evening with a couple Modelos...Yum!

Kaitlyn's 8th Birthday Party

Saturday was a total bummin' day. It was so awesome and very much needed. I don't think we did anything productive. We did sleep in until almost Noon. That is kind of productive. In my mind anyway. That night was the OU game against Utah State. We did not watch it, it was on Pay Per View. But I heard that the game was really close and the Sooners didn't play very well. I think they won...but that is all hearsay. :) My lovely in-laws Don and June came over to hang out with us and then later after the game our friends Tara, TJ and Tia swung by to visit for a bit. I had made a batch of chili earlier in the evening. That, yet another welcome to Fall! It was so delicious.

Tia and Mia Listen to Tunes

Marley Gets Cuddled By Tia

Marley Rockin' Out to Guitar Hero

Tara and I busted out the BM Wednesday Sky and whipped up a couple of Lemon Drops (my favorite shot) and we all took to a couple of rounds of Guitar Hero. Feels like a fun fall game to me! I am going to have to practice up though. It has been over a year since we have played it and I actually got booed off the stage by the computer audience! Yikes!

Sunday we went to lunch with The Buchanans at Los Cabos. Of course it was good! And it was great to see our friends. It had been a while since we got to see them. Later that evening we went over to Tara and TJ's and had burgers on the grill. Standard Labor Day fare. :)

It has been a weekend full of relaxing, hanging out, visiting and we won't forget sleeping in! I absolutely loved it!

Bring on the short week, which I am sure will be totally crazy. Mia turns 8 next week! EEK! We still have not determined what to do for her party. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. :0)

Next thing you know, we will be celebrating Halloween! Lots to do! Lots to do!

Meet Phoebe

The Eberhardts sure don't mess around. We sure adore our hounds. After losing Madison we all had (and still have) a large hole in our heart. Madison's personality sure filled our house. Each time we would let them in and out to potty I found myself counting 1...2...3. Two seemed like such a lonely number. :(

We knew we would be adding a hound at some point. The three of us were on the Petfinder.com app on our iPhones/iPods every chance we could get. We really wanted a Basset Hound around the age of 1 1/2-2 years old. We actually found two in that range but they were in Dallas and we ran into problems. The rescue organizations weren't too jazzed about adopting to us since we were four hours away. After returning from Rudy's Road Trip in Wisconsin, we found a Basset locally. She just popped up on Petfinder.com out of the blue. Being only five months old, we hesitated just a bit. Troy set up a meeting with the foster mom at the park. It was all over after that! We met them at PetSmart that very night and brought Phoebe home to meet her sisters.

The dogs are sloooooowly warming up to her existence. She obviously loves to play and sometimes she pushes Hannah and Marley over the line. I know from past experiences that it will only be time before the three of them are stuck together like glue. :)

She can't wait to meet you sometime!

Madison, Our Sweet Basset

Two weeks ago we had to say goodbye to our sweet Basset baby Madison. We got Madison a month after we moved to Tulsa, OK in February of 2000. She was a puppy when we got her. We went to buy a gold fish from a local pet store and ended up with a Basset Hound! Don't start wincing yet...I know exactly what you are thinking. And yes, we got a dog from the pet store. This is something I said I would never do. (We felt like we saved Madison from that pet store, but would like to say we prefer actual rescuing instead.) We were leaving the store with our new found goldfish pet for our mini tank and were JUST about out the door when a lady walked in and asked if they had any puppies. The girl working at the store rattled off a few breeds, and then it came out...BASSET HOUND PUPPIES. An hour later we were cruising back to our brand new house in Jenks, OK to introduce Madison to Chena, our Australian Shepherd.

Madison and Chena grew into life long pals. Madison was diagnosed with a very aggressive fast growing Cancer. We didn't get much time to accept her leaving us. But we find peace knowing that she and her buddy Chena are back together at last.

We will always remember you Maddy. There is a very large hole in our hearts with you gone. Your strong personality is missed very much. Rest in Peace Madison.

Celebrate Good Times!

Friday after school/work kicked off a celebration weekend. We picked up Mia from aftercare and headed to the Jenks West Summer Kick Off Fest. This was the first year that Jenks West held this party. It was held outside and full of activities. Carnival games, bouncy houses, sno cones (yummy!), hot dogs, Safari Joe and lots of animals, just to name a few. The kids really enjoyed it. Especially the sno cones! Mia's favorite part was getting to pet all the reptiles! She was not one bit afraid of the big huge Banana Python!


And when the opportunity came to actually hold a snake, she was sooo excited! She thinks they feel weird!



After we got home from the Summer Kick Off, we moved our party to our wonderful friends and neighbors' house to help them "prep" for their daughter Chelsi's High School graduation party. By that I mean test the food and drink and make sure that the music would come out of the speakers at just the right volume! Their great friend Terry and his family came over and brought his smoker. He smoked a whole fridge full of meats. Bologna, brisket, chicken, ham, brats and I'm sure there is something I missed. It was to die for! I paid very close attention. This is something we Eberhardts need to learn how to do! Saturday was the big party. And we all enjoyed the heck out of all the prep that the McGuires did. They put on a wonderful party, full of friends and family! Did I mention there was a cajun crawfish and shrimp boil too?!



It was delish! As much as I really wanted to eat the crawfish, I had a really hard time. The first reason is that we saw them alive and clawing before the party while they awaited their pot of doom. And here is the other reason...




Yep! Mia found a pet in the *cooked* crawfish. She carried him around the party and named him Crabby. I pretty much think my consumption of crawfish will never take place. Oh well! I can still eat shrimp! (As long as they don't take on names and personalities!)

Calling All Talent Scouts!

After the victorious game of soccer on Saturday, we decided that we all REALLY needed an unwind session. So Troy, Mia and I paid a visit to The Wonderful Kirchhoff Family for the evening. We ordered some pizzas and had some beverages. We adults hung out on their wonderful patio while the kids played. It turned out that they were producing their own little play the whole time. They called it The Hip Hop Girl, The Bunny & The Genie. It was really cute. Kaitlyn was The Hip Hop Girl, Mia was The Bunny and Zac was The Genie. Here is the extremely raw unedited footage of the show:

Mother's Day 2010

Today is Mother's Day. It has been OK so far. Mia and I have had our little head butts through the day like any normal day. I wish they didn't have to occur at all. Especially on a holiday like Mother's Day. But unfortunately a seven year old's ears sometimes tend to function at less than 50%. Therefore causing one to need to repeat one's self often. But regardless of all that, we had a pretty good day. We went to a matinee performance of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. It was soooooo cute! It was a small intimate production and the cast was fabulous. The girl who played Lilly was hilarious.

Mia on stage before the show

Mia and Lilly

After the play we went and got Peachwave Frozen Yogurt. Yummy! They have Peanut Butter frozen yogurt. It is so delish! If you have never been there before, Peachwave is a self serve frozen yogurt place. They have at least 10-12 different yogurt machines. You fill your cup with whatever you want and then take it for a trip down the aisle of toppings! You can load your cup with as much (or as little) as you want because you pay by the ounce. I like this place because I am not a huge ice cream lover. I just want a taste. My counter part loves to heap on the toppings. So it works out well.

Mmmmm...

Whatchooo Lookin' At?

Later on this evening, we went with Troy's parents to the Bonefish Grill. That is our favorite special occasion place to eat. Thanks Sher Bear for turning us on to "The Bone"! As you may or may not know, their Bang Bang Shrimp is the BOMB, and they have the best Creme Brûlée in the world. At least in Amber, Troy and Mia's World!

Typical Bonefish Artwork!

Needless to say we are all stuffed and ready for some chill out time before we have to start another busy work/school week. Tomorrow is ribbon week at swim! Yay!
Happy Mother's Day! I hope you all either had a fabulous day with your loved ones, or treated your Mama great today!