A month with my niece

It has been a busy summer in our little casa, which is why I've been MIA for awhile now.  Sorry!  We had the honor and privilege of having one of our nieces come stay with us for a month this summer!  Having always wanted to have a little sister, I was so excited for her to come so we could stay up late, braid each others hair, try out new make-up techniques, and gossip about boys!  OK, just kidding!  Although that is what I thought life with a little sister would be like.  In reality we:  watched a lot of movies, went out on the boat, went to the beach, went shopping, took a trip to the zoo, made a few visits to my mom's house, got sick, drove around on the golf cart, and she even shadowed me at the real estate office a few times.  We had a lot of fun, but I will admit, I spent a lot of time worrying that she was going to be bored.  After all, I am a working mom and wife, so I knew I couldn't devote all of my attention to her.  Luckily, she knows how to keep herself entertained (by texting)! 

These are a few things I learned by spending the month with my 13 year old niece:

1.  Teens text.  A LOT!
2.  Even though I think I'm pretty savvy about music for my age.....I am not.  She even let me listen to a song by one of my favorite bands that I didn't even know existed! 
3.  She knows way more about fixing her hair and make up than I did at her age.
4.  Teens have much better fashion sense now than when I was growing up.
5.  They eat a lot of pickles!
6.  They are more than happy to show you a cool dance move if you don't already know it.

Playing with Parker in a bounce house at the mall.

Swimming in Lake Texoma.

Tackling a pinterest project: fingernail polish with newspaper ink on top.

Our nails!

A trip to the amazing Warren Theatre.

Eager to watch Snow White and the Huntsman.

A trip to the zoo with more of her cousins!

Aunt and Niece.

Our only "family" shot before we said our good-byes.

Braylee, we had a great time with you this summer, and hope you had fun as well.  My only regret is not taking more pictures! (*TAQUITOS!*)  We love you!  (*Do you need anything from The Home Depot?*)  (*Sorry, inside jokes, I couldn't help myself!*)

The Warren Theatre

Greg and I were fortunate enough to be able to go to Oklahoma for a few days during the holiday weekend. And the best highlight of the trip for me was the chance to visit the new Warren Theatre in Moore. To sum it up, Greg and I were actually living in Moore when the city announced they were going to be building what was to be "Oklahoma's Largest Theatre". At the time I was still working for Pinnacle as a new home consultant, and part of my sales pitch when it came to the location of the communities in S. OKC was that they were going to be so close to this new theatre. Then, for the next three years, I watched as this grand structure was being built. Of course during those three years we moved to Harrah, and from there we began our stint "on the road". Last March Greg and I were in Oklahoma for almost a month while we waited for his next job assignment. And of course, all I heard about was the grand opening of the Warren Theatre that was going to take place the first week of April. As luck would have it, we left for Colorado the week before the theatre opened its doors to the public.

For those of you who are not familiar with the Warren Theatre, let me give you some background information. It is the largest theatre in Oklahoma. It costs millions of dollars to build. (I read the actual amount in an article, but I can't remember if it was three million or thirty million.) The floors are made of marble and the counter tops are made of granite. They use REAL BUTTER on the popcorn! Two of the theatres have balconies and if you are lucky enough to snag tickets to the balcony, you have waiters that will come to your chair (which is made out of the backseat of a Ford Mustang and they actually heat) and serve alcoholic beverages from the full service bar, or bring food to you. If you aren't lucky enough to score balcony seats, people twenty-one and up can still go up to the lounge and order adult beverages and food. The other theatres have pretty cozy seats as well. They are made of temperpedic foam and after awhile you just sink into them. Every theatre has a curtain that raises before the trailers. And each theatre has a glow in the dark clock so you don't have to resort to looking at a cell phone if you need to know what time it is. There is an open waiting room in front of the restrooms with a cozy fire place. Basically, to sum it all up, it's just pretty dang cool!

Greg and I spent four days in Oklahoma and went to the Warren Theatre twice. And it was well worth the wait!!! The popcorn with the real butter was as wonderful as I anticipated! The seats were so comfy I didn't mind sitting still for a couple of hours! I honestly cannot wait to go back. If anyone reading has not gone to the Warren Theatre, I would highly recommend you to not waste another minute and GO!

www.warrentheatres.com