Our not-so-little pup turned ONE last week.

We didn't do anything too wild and crazy to celebrate her big day, but she did get her first spa treatment.

And let me just say...it was not my idea. My husband can take full credit for looking up the most "masculine" pet spa in our area (sounds sort of like an oxymoron to me, but whatever makes him feel better), and treating her to a bath, blow dry, ear cleaning, and nail trim. Avery requested multi-colored nail polish, but that's where Eric drew the line.

It's amazing how much she has changed in one year.

She is a bundle of energy and absolutely adores Wyatt, Avery, and anyone else who walks through the door. Her favorite activities include fetch, catch, and water retrieving. She can destroy a brand new squeaker toy in about 30 seconds flat, and she'll do absolutely anything for a spoonful of peanut butter or a squeeze of easy cheese. Or beer.

When you meet her for the first time, she'll lick you like a popsicle on a hot summers day. Yes, she is a licker. Annoying yes, but hey, it's better than having a crotch sniffer.

Did I ever tell you about the time Eric and I started a book club for just the two of us?

I didn't?

Surely, I must have.

Oh, you're right. Now I remember. That's because said book club only lasted about two weeks.

You see, my husband and I share many of the same interests. Reading being one of them. Which is why it seemed like such a grand idea at the time to start a mini book club in an effort to spend more quality time with one another. Awesome, right? There was really only one major hiccup. What books do we read?

Just to give you a glimpse into where I'm going with this, when I shop for books on Amazon.com (Yes, we still buy books. Actual books. With pages and everything), these are the types of books you'll see in my Cart:

Scrabble. We just need to stick to Scrabble. He gets to show off his unlimited vocabulary while I drink wine. Everybody wins.

So the next time you're walking through that section in the bookstore--you know, the one that makes you stop, shake your head, and wonder aloud "Who the heck reads this stuff?"--I hope you'll think of me and get a kick out of the fact that my husband likely owns most of them.

New Years Eve. Blah.....

Historically for me, New Years Eve has been the one holiday celebration I enjoy the least. Okay, that's not true. It just plain sucks. Year after year.

Eric shares my sentiment on this, which is why he'd rather work. Year after year. Apparently, seeing stroke cases in the E.R. is much more appealing than seeing nut cases make fools of themselves at some lame party. I don't blame him.

There is one thing I do look forward to on New Years Eve, and that's sitting down at my computer and composing the final blog post of the year, reflecting on all that our family has accomplished over the past 365 days. For me, there's no better way to ring in a brand new year. And it's probably the only way you can get me to stay awake until midnight. So here it goes.

The Edgar Family Highlights of 2011:

1. Our first full year in Oklahoma brought record-breaking snowfall, violent tornados, and the hottest summer on record. Not to mention the 5.6 magnitude earthquake that bolted us out of a dead sleep last month, the largest quake to hit the state. Ever.

5. This year I've experienced for the first time what life is like as a stay-at-home-mom with both kids in school full time. Many people asked me what I planned to do with my time. My response was always the same. "Whatever the heck I want. Maybe for the first time in 6 years, I will actually be able to complete a project--or just a simple thought--from start to finish in one sitting!" Others predicted I would get bored, but I never feared that would happen. I generally have no problems finding something to do. And as much as I have fully intended to sit around and eat bonbons at least a few times since school started in August, I've managed to keep myself busier than I could have ever imagined. While I still can't seem to fit in the time to read my favorite books, update my blog, or keep my house clean, I always make time for fitness. I run a lot. I recently finished the Tulsa Run (9.3 miles) and would really like to run at least one destination half marathon a year, starting in 2012. I also discovered Pilates this year, and it may just be my new obsession. Needless to say, I'm thoroughly enjoying having a bit of free time during the day to focus on myself again. Being without my kids during the day also affords me the opportunity to miss them, which I had never experienced before. It makes our time together in the evenings and weekends much more meaningful. I love that!

6. Avery has grown leaps and bounds in 2011. Since she was 3 months old, she has suffered from severe stranger anxiety. In fact, this time last year her teachers were very much concerned about her confidence level, and her ability to relate to her peers. But there was something about her fourth birthday that flipped a switch in her. She is now incredibly confident and makes friends easily. I love watching her smile when she talks about her friends, and listening to her giggle uncontrollably at the mention of her favorite boy in class.

Today I learned something new about my six-year-old son.

Musical theatre makes him want to claw his eyes out.

Every time my kids are out of school on break, I have these grand ideas to spend good quality time together as a family, letting them set the agenda. Without fail, however, life (okay...housework) just always seems to get in the way and quality time takes a back seat. As a result, I have two bored, bickering gremlins ready to claw each other's eyes out. But boy, do my floors sparkle!

I've finally realized that despite my best intentions, the only way to truly get the most out of a 5-day break from school is to get the heck out of town, where dirty dishes and dust particles are someone else's problem. So last Tuesday, I picked the kids up from school, popped a movie in the DVD player, and fumbled my way through the navigation system. Moments later, we were burning rubber on a southbound highway headed straight for the Lonestar State. Destination: Grapevine, Texas!

The first item on the agenda was to hit the new LegoLand Discovery Center. If you've been following this blog for a while then you're very much aware of Wyatt's obsessive tendencies. He has time in his life for only one obsession at a time, and right now, it's Legos. He speaks of nothing else, dreams of nothing else, and spends countless hours designing his own imaginative creations. If you ask him today what he wants to be when he grows up, he'll emphatically reply, "an engineer for Lego."

And here is your future engineer hard at work building a super speedy rocket racer...

...while Avery entertains guests in the Princess Palace with her mad karaoke skills.

Building legos is serious business for Wyatt. There is no doubt in my mind he carefully considered each and every piece that went into constructing his super speedy rocket racer. But would it stand up against models created by some of the other young lego enthusiasts? Wyatt's heart was nearly beating out of his chest as the competitors lined up at the start. "On Your Mark. Get Set. Go!"

He made a valiant attempt, but sadly lasted only a few bites. Avery felt the effort was deserving of a kiss nonetheless (it doesn't take much these days), but Wyatt's strong aversion to girl cooties had him running for the hills.

We concluded our 4-day little rendezvous at Six Flags Over Texas. So fun!

We were a little limited on the rides we could ride since Avery was just shy of 42 inches, but we somehow managed to close the park down at 11PM with rides still on our list. Perhaps we would've made it to all of them had Mommy not insisted on a character drawing of her two darlings, but seriously, it's one of Six Flags' best souvenirs in my opinion.

I can't tell you how many times during the past two months I've contemplated laying this blog to rest. I have so many things I want to share with the 3 people who still follow it, yet finding the extra 5-10 minutes to document them has proven to be an insurmountable task. But every time I think of calling it quits, I find myself randomly clicking on blog entries dated two years ago and my mind becomes instantly flooded with memories of days that had long been forgotten. I have come to the realization that this blog is not so much for you all who read it (sorry to break it to you), but for me and my god-awful memory. Because I have blogged so little the past year, I realize that my mind will forever purge some of the greatest experiences we've had simply because I didn't take the time to write about them, and it makes me sad...and a little mad. I can't promise weekly updates, but I hope to post more frequently than I have been lately, even if it means waking up at the crack of dawn (wait, I already do that) or staying up late (hmmm...not happening). I will also rely heavily on my faithful buggers--Ashley Landfield and Wendy Auten--who are the first to admonish me for being blog-lazy. Thanks for keeping me in line, ladies.

(now that's a headliner!)

College football season started just after that.

Then the real madness began. And it can be summed up in six words:

And now that mom has accepted the position of Vice President of the PTO, she's pretty much screwed in the Free Time department.

Needless to say, most of our days are spent in the car driving from one end of town to the other. But as of late, it's really one of my favorite places to be.

We may be living life in the fast lane these days (pun intended), but we're having an absolute blast. Wyatt recently celebrated his 6th birthday (pictures coming soon...promise), and Avery has gone from a shy little caterpillar to a vibrant, outgoing, social butterfly who wants everything to do with her girlfriends and nothing at all to do with stinky boys (except her brother, whom she's adamant upon marrying one day). Oh yes, the girlish nightmare has begun. And so have the pedicures. Lord help us.

And finally, the Tulsa State Fair is in town this week. Even though I am highly allergic to such mayhem, I couldn't pass up an opportunity to take my girl to Disney on Ice...a first for each of us. It too, was pretty "bomb-bastic!"

I'm definitely at a point in motherhood when it is starting to sink in that my kids are growing up on me. And fast. I've been spending a little more time lately tucking them in at bedtime and sneaking in as many butterfly kisses as they will allow.

Here's to another great week of making memories. And recording them. So that in two years when I think about calling it quits again, I'll have a plethora of reasons to reconsider.