Samuel

As promised, here are some pictures of our adorable nephew when he came over on Sunday:

Just chillin'

Hanging out with Uncle J

Aunt LaLa and Uncle Jonathan love me so much...

...but I don't like them kissing me one bit! (Check out the expression on that face!)

Notice how Samuel is imitating the way Lola kisses....ewww! And yes, our dog has an enormously long tongue. It's disgusting.

Lazy Weekend

So this weekend I didn't feel like doing ANYTHING! I had meetings every day last week, either before or after school, and I was just exhausted. On Friday we went to an Italian restaurant on the Hill (from those of you not from St. Louis...it's the "Little Italy" of the Lou) with Brian and Mallory. The food was yummy and the company was really fun. We got home around 10 and went straight to bed! We're so exciting in our "old" age. :-)

Yesterday Jonathan wanted to watch football all afternoon at Bryan's house, and I decided to do a little shopping. Then we met up at home to watch OU vs. Washington (BOOMER! SOONER!) and USC vs. Ohio State. We were really excited to watch Saturday Night Live, and it wasn't funny at all. We both fell asleep before it was even over...again, I realize we're becoming very lame...

So today we're just staying in and trying to avoid the flooding from the remnants of hurricane Ike. This evening Sarah, Dave, & Samuel are coming over for dinner. I'm so excited to see them! It's crazy that we live in the same city and sometimes don't see each other for a couple of weeks. We definitely need time to catch up and play with our adorable nephew. He's 6 months old now!!! I need to take some pictures tonight so I can post them. Hope everyone is staying dry!

How many Thetas...

...can you fit in a photo booth?

These are some of the funny shots we took at Melissa's reception. We had way too much fun in the photo booth! Laura Brewer was the queen of the booth, grabbing people all night and stuffing them in. It was so fun to see all the Theta girls, and it made me realize just how much I miss them. I had to post these because they make me smile.

Labor Day Weekend

Oh, how I needed this weekend! It was so nice to have an extra day off for Labor Day. Plus we had a professional development day at school on Friday, so kids had the day off and we got to catch up on some things at work. That morning our leaders for the day gave us an extra recess...imagine how much fun teachers can have when given these choices: kickball, 4 square, or playing on the playground. We had so much fun! And I think everyone needed time to play and hang out before getting to work...it was a great idea. The only problem was that the darn sun kept getting in my eyes and making me drop the ball when I was playing first base and I had to promise, promise, promise that I would practice so I can be on the Henry kickball team for the Parkway tournament coming up. I'm hoping everyone forgets about my errors cause I think I might be pretty good if the sun's not out. :-)

Friday night I went to book club at Sarah's house. If you're like my husband, you're probably thinking I'm a big dork. And that's okay with me. I've come to terms with my dorkiness and try to embrace it to the fullest. Actually, book club is really a chance to get together with girls, drink some wine, and chat. What more could a girl want?!? We decide to read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon. I picked it up on Saturday on our way to Alexander's birthday and finished it last night. (And no, I don't normally finish that quickly. I'm usually a big procrastinator when it comes to book club and don't even finish the book before our meeting, but this one was different.) It was a great, easy read. If you're looking for something fun to read I highly recommend it! We also read A Spot of Bother by the same author in our last book club, and I really liked that one, too. The story lines are kind of crazy, but they draw you in and it's really hard to put them down.

On Saturday afternoon we went to Tim and Jen's for Alexander's 1st Birthday party. I can't believe he's already 1! It seems like yesterday when they brought him to our house (all of 6 days old) to watch college football. We had fun seeing Alexander open his gifts, but I will admit that Jonathan and I were a little overwhelmed with all the kids running around. I guess you get used to that when you have your own. Here's a little look back at the cute guy:

This is Alexander last Labor Day Weekend. He was 6 days old, and his parents brought him to his first barbecue at our house. I can't believe how much he's changed in a year!

This is the one-year-old...eating at Brian and Mallory's barbecue last weekend. What a cutie pie!

Yesterday we went on a float trip with Brian, Mallory, Mallory's sister, and her boyfriend. We floated the Meramec River, which was about an hour away from St. Louis. It only took us about 4 hours to float 4 miles, even with stopping to eat our sandwiches half way. It was really fun and relaxing, despite the frigid temperature of the water. At one point near the beginning I thought my buns were numb, but then it got pretty hot outside and I didn't notice anymore. The only trouble I got into was when I got stuck in a mini whirlpool between two trees along the bank. It was really nice when the people in a raft floated on by saying, "Oh, honey. We're not laughing at you..." Yeah, right! I'm just glad I managed to remember some things I learned watching "Man vs. Wild" and got myself untangeled since my whole party floated on without me.

Today I decided it was time to replace the plants I lost this summer. I think the combination of animals attacking them and too many weekends with no water did them in. I feel bad about the whole situation. It's not like I purposefully killed my plants. I really tried to save them. I even spent $30 on a bottle of "Critter Ridder" that promised to keep small animals away from my plants for at least a month. Talk about false advertising! That stuff only worked for about 2.5 days, if you ask me. Anyway, I did some damage at Lowe's today and came home with crimson and gold mums for my front porch. We LOVE college football at the Teal household, so the crimson is for OU and the gold for TU. I also got a steal of a deal on some hanging gerber daises. The guy sold them to me for $4 each, which is much better than the $10.97 they were originally marked. I think maybe he could tell I don't have much luck with plants and felt sorry for me. Either way I am glad to have some pretty plants to look at again, and I'm hoping that whatever animals ate my other plants don't like the taste of mums. We shall see...

Hope everyone had a fun and relaxing Labor Day!

Happy 30th Birthday, Sarah!

August 15th


Happy 30th Birthday! We were so sad to miss your "surprise-unsurprise" party. It looked like you all had such a great time. We are so blessed to be in the same city as you and get to see your sweet family often. We love you and wish you many blessings this year!

Jill and Nick's Wedding

Melissa and Matt's Wedding

What a busy month!

So I haven't had much time to post lately. We've been busy all month with two weddings in Oklahoma, school starting on the 14th, and a very busy time at work for J. I've been trying to upload some pictures of all the fun things that have been happening, but it's taking a long time, so I'm going to write about everything first and then add pictures as I can!

August 8-10

We headed to Stillwater, OK for Nick and Jill's wedding. We had a wonderful weekend seeing everyone, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful! The weekend was very relaxed even though we had lots of things to do. It was great to just hang out with everyone and catch up. It almost felt like we were back in college when we could lounge around in our p.j.'s and have no worries! Nick and Jill looked so happy and in love...it was an honor to stand by them when they said, "I do!"

The highlight of the reception was the awesome band they had. We danced all night! I even broke my shoe from all the dancing and walked to Murphy's with everyone afterward with my shoe flip-flopping behind me. Oh well...at least we know we had a good time!

Happy first month of marriage, Jill and Nick!

August 11-15

I had to report back to school this week to get ready for the first day. We had 3 days of meetings and working in our rooms and with our grade level teams before the kiddos came on Thursday. Wednesday afternoon was our "Meet the Teacher" day when kids could drop off their supplies and see their new classrooms. I had a good turn-out, and the kids were all so cute and little. I'd forgotten how small they are in 1st grade!

I have two favorite stories from this day...one was a little boy named Rick who I'd heard about from his kindergarten teacher. He speaks only Chinese at home but knows quite a bit of English already. Apparently he will sometimes act like he doesn't know what's going on so he can get away with not working...pretty smart little guy! Well he's just the cutest little thing...he showed up for Meet the Teacher with gold bracelets on both wrists, a gold chain around his neck, and LOTS of cologne! He's adorable. My other favorite story is that one of my little boys, Seamus, saw our gifted teacher after he left my room. Stacy asked him who his teacher was this year, and she said he got really embarassed and turned totally facing the wall and yelled in a really high-pitched voice, "MRS. TEAL!" Stacy turned to his mom and said, "What's up with him?!?" His mom said, "I don't know. He always gets this way around pretty women." Then Seamus turned around, still covering his face with his hands, and said, "I can't help it! I LOVE PRETTY WOMEN!" Can you believe this kid?!? He's 6!!!

The first two days of school were relatively good. I was super lucky to have a student teacher in my room the first 2 1/2 weeks of school, and she was AMAZING! I told her lots that she was a God send. She would jump right in and help without even being asked to do anything. I'm really sad that she has to move on to 2nd grade this week, but I'm crossing my fingers that she might want to do her full semester in first grade...we'll see!

So far I'm absolutely loving being back in 1st grade. I really feel like this is where I'm supposed to be! The kids are so fun, even when they fall out of their chairs or just fall over for no reason. (Yes, that's a daily occurence in first grade in case you didn't know!) Walker falls over CONSTANTLY and even starts yelling out, "I'm okay! Don't worry! I'm fine!" before he's even finished falling over. We're going to really work on controlling our bodies this year, I have a feeling. My team is wonderful, too. I was really sad about leaving Sasha and Katie this year, but I could not ask for a better team to work with. We plan everything together and share tons of ideas. Plus first grade seems a lot less stressful than third...I never thought I'd say that, but it's true. If you know any 3rd grade teachers, give them a huge hug! (Actually, give any teacher you know a hug. They probably need it!) My class is just as cute as they can be. I only have a few little difficulties, and considering my class last year, they feel like nothing! I am really counting my blessings and thanking God for a great class. I needed this year!

August 15-17

The next weekend we headed back to Tulsa for Melissa and Matt's wedding. On Friday we went to the rehearsal and then to the dinner at Molly's Landing in Catoosa. If you are in the Tulsa area and want some wonderful food, I totally suggest this place! I'd never been there, but we still talk about how great it was. I have a feeling it's going to be on our list of "must dos" when we go back from now on. Friday night all the girls stayed at Melissa's, and she got up and made us a yummy breakfast before we headed off to have our hair done. Seriously, I felt super spoiled all weekend! Melissa took great care of us. But I'm feeling guilty because I think we were supposed to be there to take care of her...

The wedding was so pretty and the reception was a blast. A bunch of our Theta girls came from Dallas and Oklahoma City, so it was so much fun to see them and catch up on what's been going on with everyone. We ended up spending LOTS of time in the awesome photo booth they had at the reception. There was a box of dress-up props to choose from, and I think I hopped in the booth at least 10 times. Oh, and there was also lots of tearing up of the dance floor. At one point Britney and I cleared the dance floor with our riveting dance-off to "I Love Rock & Roll" by Britney Spears. I don't think anyone else found it very funny, but at least we can amuse ourselves.

Melissa and Matt are so adorable together...I was very honored to be a part of their special day and to read our Theta verses during the wedding. Thanks for everything, Melissa! Happy first month of marriage to you, too!!!

August 23

Jonathan and I were really excited to be back home for a weekend. Is it sad that I was excited to do laundry and go to the grocery store? You don't need to answer that...I already know the answer. On Saturday (after lounging around most of the day) we went over to Brian and Mallory's for a barbecue. We ended up having a "Wii Olympics" evening, guys vs. girls. It was very entertaining! Here are some pictures from the night:

Even Alexander, our youngest Olympain, had his own game..trying to crawl away while Bob pulled him back. He laughed so hard, and it entertained all of us for quite a while!

Happy 32nd Anniversary!

August 7th

My parents celebrated their 32nd anniversary on the 7th. They are an amazing couple and wonderful inspiration to Jonathan and me. Here's to many more years. We love you both! (If only I had a picture from your wedding...)

Happy 5 Months!

Happy 5 Months, Samuel! We love you so much.

~Aunt Laura & Uncle Jonathan

Rock Band

While looking for a fun picture of my dad, I found these pictures that we took over the 4th of July. Jonathan got "Rock Band" for his Play Station 3 for Christmas. We had lots of fun with it at first and then kind of forgot about it, but Sarah reminded us of how fun it really is. And if any of you watch the Today show (I personally love it!) they (Matt, Meredith, and Al) rocked out to Rock Band on the plaza this summer. It was too funny. Here was our attempt at Rock Band:

Sarah on the drums, J on the guitar, Dad rockin' the mic, and Mom watching enthusiastically

Sarah and J...don't they look like pros? J cracks me up with his foot up. Apparently that makes him better

I finally got my turn...I'm sure it wasn't pretty!

The only problem with games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero (another favorite at the Teal household) is that I have a tendency to think I'm really good at them and probably could play guitar/sing/play drums in real life. I even catch myself listening to a song on the radio and thinking, "I could play that on the guitar!"

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My dad's birthday was on Friday. Jonathan and I were sad we couldn't be there to celebrate, so I thought I'd post this picture of him to remind everyone of how hip and young he is:

Dad rocking out to "Rock Band" with Sarah

Happy Birthday, Dad! Keep rockin'! We love you.

This means war...

Apparently there are some not-so-friendly creatures invading our neighborhood. They've been eating flowers and plants in yards all summer, and their most recent victim was us! When we came back from Oklahoma, this is what I found on our front porch:

This is the evidence, I believe, that some small creature has been digging in them. In this next picture you can even see some ugly white mushroom-type things growing in the back pot. Once this summer my mom pulled the beginnings of an oak tree out of a pot on the back deck. She said that she thought squirrels were burying their acorns in my pots. I'm thinking that might still be happening, but that doesn't account for the mushroom...

As if the destruction of my potted plants is not enough, I also just found out that my azaleas have been completely taken over by lace bugs. I know you might be wondering how I know this, and it was after extensive research on the Internet that I realized what was happening. You can see in the picture that the leaves are definitely not as bright and green as they should be. That's because, according to the azalea society website, the lace bugs are sucking all the chlorophyll out of the leaves. (It's amazing the information you can learn on the web, by the way.) I bought some bug spray that claimed to kill these suckers and have already sprayed all three big plants completely, but I don't think it's working. I'm going to have to call in some big guns...whatever or whoever that might be. Any suggestions for either of these problems would be much appreciated. I'm declaring an all-out war to save my flowers, and I'll be sure to keep you all posted. Try not to hold your breath...

Back to Oklahoma!

This past weekend we went back to Oklahoma. We drove to Tulsa on Friday and met Max, Jonathan's best friend, for lunch. That evening we went to dinner at our favorite sushi restaurant (I can't go back to Tulsa without eating there!) with my sister, mom, dad, Max, and Stephanie. The sushi was as yummy as I remembered and we had such a fun time catching up with everyone. Max and Stephanie are expecting a baby girl in November, so we got to hear all about the pregnancy and the nursery. It was so fun to see how excited and happy they are! And we can't wait to meet Baby Heckenkemper in a few months.

On Saturday I headed to Oklahoma City with Melissa and Amy for Melissa's bachelorette party. We laid out by the pool all afternoon before taking Melissa to....(drum roll, please)...a pole dancing class! It was such a blast! Who knew what amazing inner pole dancers we all had hiding inside of us. And I will say, however, that it takes a certain amount of athleticism to dance around a pole gracefully. After the class we went back to the hotel and had a shower for Melissa before going out in Bricktown. We found a fun bar where we enjoyed watching some black boys dance...boy, do they have rhythm! The funniest quote of the night was when Melissa said, "I feel like we're in the middle of that movie, Stomp the Yard." Okay, so maybe not quite, but it was still entertaining. And I even had someone teach me how to "walk it out." I'm sure you can imagine this white girl trying to get down...I've been told it was pretty funny to watch. Here are some pictures from the night:

Amy and Melissa - the Bachelorette!

The yummy cupcakes Sara made. Don't they look declicious? And beautiful? (Sara, we really did love them!)

Melissa, the bride-t0-be! Does she look like a natural, or what?!?

A group shot after our fun class.

All dressed up and ready to go out!

On Sunday Melissa, Amy, Sara and I went to grab lunch at Bison Witches in Norman. (Any OU people out there...shout out for Bison Witches!) Then we just had to drive past the good 'ole Theta house, which recently got a new paint job and looks as fabulous as ever! We also took a quick trip down memory lane by driving through South Greek and past campus. It was really fun to see how some things have changed and others look exactly the same. I have very fond memories of college, but I'm strangely glad that I don't ever have to do that again. I never thought I would say that...being the kind of girl who didn't want to leave high school, then thought she would never be ready to graduate from college...but growing up and settling down is a lot more fun than I expected. I wouldn't trade my life now for anything, not even another year in college (as much as I liked having less responsibility and a lot more fun!)

We're looking forward to two more trips back to Oklahoma this summer...one for Jill's wedding in Stillwater and the other for Melissa's wedding in Tulsa. We can't wait to see both of my sweet friends get married! Plus, in case you don't know this about me, I LOVE WEDDINGS! I know Jonathan always has a good time, but I'm not quite sure that he enjoys them as much as I do. I wonder why not??

Trip to the Wineries

This weekend we went to a couple of wineries in Hermann, Missouri with several friends. We'd been planning this trip for at least a month, it was just too bad that it was so incredibly HOT this weekend! That didn't seem to slow us down too much, thank goodness. We had such a great time with everyone and enjoyed getting out and seeing someplace new. One highlight was listening to Missy try to read a MadLibs and not being able to finish because she was laughing so hard! At the last winery there was a band and everyone got up and dance. I included pictures from our trip below...