Block Party Summer!

Saturday was Chet's 6th annual Block Party, an early summer Client Appreciation Event that grows and improves year after year!!

Here's me and Parker E. in our matching pink t-shirts - YAY!!  The shirts were such a fun addition for this year's festivities - the Wilsons made them one by one using the Cricut and a heat press machine! ❤

Chet Lee also hired a great photographer named Ashton Marie this year, which is why there are lots more photos in this post than usual! The right middle pic of the Evergreen crew makes me happy - Hope's teacher + Elizabeth, Jess, and Kristin!

Always a fun way to start the summer!

It was a really great turnout, and lots of people stayed longer than they did in years past!

The face painting lady (Karen) and the balloon artist stayed busy all afternoon!!

Henry Edward blowing me a kiss! ❤

(Right middle pic is on our way to Andy's after the party!)

Wonderful Wilson Fam!

Love the backyard swing pic of Jeffrey and Henry!  Kate with her butterfly balloon, pre-catastrophic fall!  Kate excited to see Donetta, who was in Tulsa with Ava this week!  And the Moss family with their balloons and bouquet!

The kettle corn and Loco Lemon truck were also very popular, along with Chet's new yard signs!

Parker was first in line for the face painting (and chose a unicorn, obviously), and Tate was the last one to ask for a balloon animal (penguin, one of my favs)!

Chet and his neighbor accidentally twinning, fun Wilson family photos, and Chet with Debbie, the co-sponsor for this party!!

Karli Marie's flower bar was a big hit, as well!

Love the trio pics from 2024 and 2025, and I'm proud of our health progress!

Side Note:  I followed the latest trend and asked ChatGPT what we'd look like as dogs - was not expecting this anthropomorphic animated response, but it definitely made me laugh!!  (Full post with random ChatGPT commentary coming soon - always entertaining!)

So much summery cuteness and fun, and yay for seeing Cody and Yolanda again!

Quick throwback to the first block party in 2020, because planning and hosting a community-building event for family and neighbors and friends is exactly how my fav extrovert responds to a global pandemic - that feels very on brand! lol
Shane and his friend wearing masks in an already-hot popcorn truck... woof, baby Tate offering me popcorn (him asking to open it so we could "see what's inside" still makes me laugh), Karli's bday sign (that one fell on her actual bday, and please note the original bricks on their house that year), Sarah and I by the pool for Karli's Qdoba bday dinner, and the Wilsons and Fuldas!

2021: Baby Parker's first party - I was already smitten, Chet with the Rise Home team, Tate feeding GiGi popcorn, Moss fam party of 3, and the Gas Petal Flower Truck! (This was the year I left a bit early as Dad was hospitalized.)

2022:  The only year I've missed it - won't happen again if I can help it - I believe Holly Dei was in town.  The pics of Parker and Jemma help date it for me.

2023: Their neighbor Steve served as a photographer that year - this event was about a month before Jon's heart attack, and I think about that when I see the pic of me with him and Kristin.  They did a raffle drawing for Allison's Tulsa cityscape painting, I came early and popped in and out while attending a CCU group seminar in their upstairs loft room, and this Popcorn King pic was my profile pic for Chet's calls for quite a while. lol

2024:  The year of the H-Tea-O truck and the first time they did their own flower bar, which went really well!

Okay, back to 2025... so many details in bringing all of this together - Chet and Karli go all out and do an amazing job planning and hosting this every year!  It is never lost on me what a privilege it is to be in their close circle.  After cleanup and sampling Karli's cannoli cake from Carrabba's (yum), I joined this crew for the Whataburger and Andy's custard afterparty!  Parker was hangry and emotionally distraught before dinner, but she cheered right back up when the cheeseburger arrived.  Best.  =)  Also, us repping the full rainbow of color here makes me pretty happy!! =)

*Post title courtesy of Nick-at-Nite, circa 1997!  ;-)
Aww, childhood summer memories!!

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Weekend Update!

Hey, friends and fam!  Last night was a Tulsa trip for dinner with the Wilsons and the Fultons!  A tiny bit of rain and lightning on my drive home, but nothing as terrible as they predicted, so no regrets on my end!  The Wilsons were kind enough to host us - Sarah had an extra-stressful week, and it was good to be able to talk through it with the adults while the kids played on the bouncy house outside.  Here's our happy group pic at the end of the night. ❤

The kids waiting on their friend, Kate, to arrive + Chettles grilling awesome steaks for us!!

The cutest little besties... both in purple dresses and silver "click-clack" heels! =)

Chet with Karli's famous parmesan/jalapeno focaccia bread + Karli sautéing the asparagus... the pics are purely bc I was excited about them both having fun aprons for cooking!! =)

Steaks, mac n' cheese, veggies, potatoes, and bread (thanks again, Wilson fam!!) + everyone watching the International Space Station pass by overhead, thanks to Karli signing up for location-based text alerts (and now I have too.)

Group pic minus Kate and Parker + a bright and cheery assortment of Poppi sodas - better than expected + the kids having Cookie Two Step ice cream brought by the Fultons!  Mom also made brickle bars for us, so we were well stocked on dinner and desserts! =)

Rach texted me on Friday that her hand was cramping from all the note-taking... I applaud her studious efforts and her colorful notes - hopefully this will pay off and help her remember it all for the CPC certification test!

Her hands didn't get much of a break, as she's been busy painting then starting the process of crystalling my graduation cap most of this weekend... get excited!!  My parents shan't have trouble finding me in the crowd. lol


I told her the term "crystalling" in her text made me think of Winnie the Bish and his puzzling song! lol

I've spent part of this weekend working on another creative project, building my counseling website with Wix and Storyline... still an unpublished work in progress that needs extra "tweaking" (#youvegotmail), but it's a fun and uplifting project for me!  Compass Counseling: Empowering Women to Move Forward with Hope. ❤ Yay!

So my weekend mostly consisted of website work + the Tulsa trip + a lengthy jog yesterday morning, and of course, Harry Potter audiobooks and Cobra Kai! lol

That show is a treat - funnier characters and more redemptive storylines than I expected.  I went down a rabbit hole reading entertaining Reddit threads and Googling the actors... I had no idea Miguel was Victor from Parenthood and Sam was the first daughter in Scandal!

A presh duck couple stopping by Mom and Dad's pool for a spring swim - I freaking love it! =)

And finally, a meme from Chet Lee that made me laugh!

That's all for tonight.  Hope it's an excellent week ahead!

❤ ❤ ❤

A Christmas Surprise!

While I was away, Mom came to my house at least once a day to work on the Christmas decor.  Kristin joined her twice to help with everything... very thankful for all their hard work!!  (Side note: Just booked a hotel room at the Tulsa Renaissance for Kristin and I this weekend - yay!)

Mom was there to greet me, and it was a fun surprise to see all of this when I got home late Friday night... loving the new fireplace look!!

Pulled back a little to see the tree and fireplace together... Mom got some new flocked garland along with the new ribbon and gold curlicue stuff from Amber Marie and the glass ornaments underneath the mantel.  All really pretty!

A new Christmas look for my front porch bench, courtesy of Rachael LaJo!  Love it!!

Pulled back a bit to see the front porch decor! =)

Mud bench - they added new Christmas stuff on top + a new flower pot with Christmas lights + the "For unto you" Christmas verse (Mom had me calligraphy that for her, me, Melissa, and Mrs. Garner. lol) + new decor in the boxes above and below the mud bench!

Cute Nutcracker painted by Rach, new flocked garland and small mirror wreath from Mom, Amber Marie bow on the bigger wreath, and ribbon behind my white picture to add more color (because white is not a color according to my Mom. lol)

New ornaments under the bar - fun!  ...And my new backpack, but we've covered that. ;-)

With every artistic project (drawing, decorating, painting, calligraphy, photography, slideshows, writing, songwriting, etc.), most people generally enjoy/appreciate the end result but grossly underestimate the time it took to get there.  It requires more than just artistic talent - it's the willingness to invest loads of time and energy into creating something beautiful.  I understand that every part of this involved a lot of work and trying different things until they got it just right, and I'm grateful they put in the time and effort to make it a lovely Christmas wonderland! ❤

Song of the Week = Moving by Ed Sheeran

Love it!  This entire album is top notch, written when he was in a season of grief - this song is clearly grieving a dismissive avoidant, so I'm familiar.  Borderline, End of Youth, Eyes Closed, Salt Water, and Life Goes On from that album are all poignant and great music for a rainy day!  Visiting Hours and Supermarket Flowers from his other albums are also excellent for anyone processing grief.  I just adore Ed - a deep thinker who writes thoughtful lyrics on the intense joy, love, anger, and sadness of life.

Speaking of rain, huzzah for finally getting to wear this cute raincoat I bought for my Florida trip. lol  Thankful for no rain while we were there, but also thankful for the gray skies, cooler weather, and rain to accompany this first Monday back at work.  It feels appropriately melancholy and goes with my choice of music for today. lol

Okay, byeee.  Hope your week is off to a good start!

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