George & Abigail's 4th Birthday Weekend!

Had to start with this pic of "real life"...yes, George is getting ready to hit his sister in the head while sporting their birthday crowns from Pumpkin Shell Preschool.

We celebrated the twins' 4th birthday with our traditional backyard birthday party. This year's theme was a "Planting Party" and activities included painting terracotta pots and rocks (from our rock hunt in Colorado), planting flowers in the pots, and playing on the backyard fort. We loved having most of G&A's best buddies over to celebrate. In lieu of traditional birthday cake, we served "Dirt Cake" in painted birthday pots that we will re-use each year! Cannot believe my baby twins are 4...seems like just yesterday their little cloth diapered bottoms were crawling around chasing the cats!!!

My sweet 4 year olds hunting for snakes and bugs in the sand.
Abs modeling her new birthday dress.
And this is how the party started....the bucket of water was for rinsing hands, but leave it to these three to find another use!
Love that Kale and Kallie!
Our precious neighbors Jemellia and Evangeline (with Aunt Go-Go, Nana Mille and Paw Mark in the background).
She learned how to swing herself this summer! Yay!
The boys hanging out (Camden on the ladder, Kale on the swing, and Hudson).
Painting his heart out!
Our dear friends Missy, Mark, Brady, & Colin McClendon drove in from Wichita Falls for the party (also here with Emily Lane).
Helpful friends Evangeline & Stella.
Camden wanted to show off his sliding abilities for the camera!
And I think the grown-ups enjoyed it too!
Since this was the first year I have done anything artistic for their celebration, I had to capture it! Fruit shish-k-bobs & buckets of goldfish & pretzels.
Happy Birthday my loves!
"Dirt Cakes".
The chef. Hot dogs and bacon and jalapeno wrapped antelope balls. Mmmm.
Pop, Missy & Mark.
I think you're stuck, Campbell.

Their birthday gifts from us were big kid bikes without training wheels. They have been riding balance bikes for a year and after seeing how well they did in Colorado on Madeline's bike, we thought this was perfect timing. And it was!!!! Daddy gave G's bike (that used to be pink and purple) and custom orange paint job and it looked great. Within seconds, Abigail was zooming all over the place. It took George about 5 minutes before he was chasing his sister (foreshadowing for years to come?)!They rode for hours on their actual birthday and we were so happy that Aunt Go-Go, Cliff, Grammy, Grandpa, Nana, Pop, and Mr. Smitty were all here to witness it too!

That weekend was the first OU home football game so we continued our tradition of tailgating and enjoying the pre-game Pride of Oklahoma Band concert and parade.

Jerry Martin and Smitty Brown= best friends for 40+ years!

Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma, Oklahoma!
Opening more presents: bday pjs from Grammy. Posing with Pop and Aunt Go-Go in her fave poker hat.
New pom poms and Oklahoma football jersey from Nana and Pop!
Super G & A capes from the Connecticut Jankowskis! Thanks Aunt Missy & Uncle Billy!


And this is a true pic of the little diva, couldn't have just one accessory. Had to pair it with her new Dora umbrella from Grammy & Grandpa!

We also snuck in a Labor Day hike at Lake Thunderbird hiking trails. Beautiful weather!

July & August 2011--Evie, Cliff, & Colorado

Our niece Evie and her friend Morgan spent 5 days here this summer the week prior to Kirby & Darwin's visit and we all had a blast! They volunteered at our church's VBS as teachers in G&A's class, ate @ Pop's in Arcadia, and swam in the swimming hole at the Chickasaw National Park area. We loved having them here and G&A were SOOOOO sad to see them go (Abigail's quiet tearful goodbye to them about broke all of our hearts). The Jank 4 loved having our nieces and their friends here and can't wait to do it again next summer!

Daddy on stage! What a great sport!

We also got to have Cliff in Oklahoma for a few days at the end of the summer. He came home with Nana & Pop from the Ranch and hung out lots. He enjoyed the OU Campus Tour, going out to listen to music with us, and having G&A follow him around (ok, maybe not that part, but G&A loved it!) CWIFF!!!

We headed out west this year for a week-long vacation in Colorado. What an adventure!! We spent time with Colleen, Drew, George & Madeline at their home in Denver. It was great to catch up and watch the kids play so well together. Got in a hike at Flat Irons Park in Boulder before Matt caught his plane heading home, and the twins and I stayed a few extra days. It was in the Roberts' alleyway where we saw the bike riding potential...Abs took off and Geo was really close to success (so we knew what their soon-to-be bday gifts would be!).

We loved spending lots of time in Elbert, CO at Papa Darrel & Granny Wally's house. We synced our trip with Uncle Robert, Aunt NayNay, and our precious godchild Rebagrace and loved experiencing Colorado with them! From playing all day at Santa's Workshop at Pike's Peak to hiking at Castlewood Canyon several times to the simplicity of hanging out at home...we just loved being all together again.

I took lots of pics on our trip, so bear with me!

Santa's Workshop was the coolest kiddie amusement park...kinda had the flair of times from our our childhood at Hamel's but with a Christmas theme. We had the whole park to ourselves and the kiddos rode ride after ride.

George was fixated on the map!
Even the motion-sickened adults captured a little fun too! Renee (Aunt NayNay) & Wally
Learned that Little Miss Abigail is our thrill seeker...the faster the ride, the better!! Yikes! She and her daddy were in heaven!
And this one went just as fast BACKWARDS! I got queasy just watching...
Love those motorcycles!
Two best buddies!
Looking down at Uncle Robert, RG, & George from the ferris wheel car above.
Gorgeous sight from atop the ferris wheel. Love those CO mountains!
Space ship rocket!
Mini ski lift...this was just my speed!
Cool airplanes that you can steer.
Supposed to be fam pic but you can see how well G cooperated. ;)
Taking RG up to overcome her motion sickness!
I had to put this one in. Hilarious! Matt had more fun on the rides than the kids! He rode the Scrambler all by himself! What funny looks he got...
I have become motion sick on rides in the past year and though I trusted my hubby ("this one won't make you sick, I promise!"), it will be my last ride for a long while!
Bellies to the frozen North Pole!
Group pic!
Sheer happiness. Can you hear their laughter?
Watch out! George & RG are behind the wheels!
Driving Aunt Nay Nay...
Like mother, like daughter...
George's favorite part of the whole trip, Papa's airplane.




Trailhead of Castlewood Canyon. Gorgeous hiking spot 15 min from Wally & Darrel's house.

Enjoying the natural spring pool at Castlewood Canyon. And they searched for crawfish!

Snuggling with my sweet girls on the back balcony.
Yes, we vacationed with a weatherman and a pilot. Yes, we took pictures of cool clouds. ;)
Group shot. That's Pike's Peak from their balcony! Love it!
After the kiddos went to bed, a hail storm came up and the noise on the tin roof scared the little ones. So, after we pulled the cars in the garage, Uncle Robert came to the rescue; he taught the kids how to read the radar!
And they loved watching the big lightning.
Another favorite from the trip: driving the tractors.

RG is being kind to Abigail while her knucklehead brother is trying to pull her off the rocks.
There's the daredevil again. Standing while driving.
2 boys and a tractor. Need we say more?

Hiking with the Roberts at the Flat Irons. Cute kid shot: Abs, George Christian, George Patrick, and Madeline.
Sweet friends!
Abs and her Dada.
The Georges.
Group shot with some of our most favorite people in the world. Hard to believe it's been 17 years of the best friendship ever.
Mad & Drew
What a backdrop.
The Foursome Sleepover! End of the story: GP moved out but the three little munchkins slept all night!
Ended the trip with my first cross-country drive solo with the twins from Elbert, CO back to OKC. 14 hours and one overnight stop...it was tons of fun! New books, pipe cleaners, DVDs, cool park, and a hotel with a pool was the greatest recipe. We are so blessed with fabulous car travelers! Already planning next summer's big roadtrip!