The Gaglione's in Oklahoma

November already

2010-11-22T08:31:00.002-06:00

After playing with her killer whale, "Scout" snuggled up with our tortoise "Pistachio" next to the fire.

Naomi with the Lorakeets at the OKC zoo.

Seth

Joey

Adam

Ivy

Gaglione kids plus Seth's friend Cole at the OKC zoo.

Seth

Ivy

Seth - Halloween 2010

Halloween 2010

Summer 2010

2010-07-25T19:50:00.000-05:00

Looking at the pictures I have taken, I realize most of them are of Ivy. We are working at toning down the silliness with the other three so I will have more of them next time.

We are anxiously awaiting the move to our new house. We went down there on Friday and it is getting close but we don't have a definite closing date yet. The house still needs the carpet laid, appliances and fixtures installed, and sprinkler system and grass put in. We are hoping the house will close by the time the kids start school on August 19th or it's going to be an 80 minute commute morning and afternoon to get the kids to and from school. I also start grad school on August 24th. I'm starting to feel a bit stressed wondering how it's all going to fit in but I've already decided we might leave everything in storage until Christmas break and move it then.

It has been a pretty laid back summer. We went to Idaho in June for 2 weeks and have spent the rest of the summer at home. We have a season pass to a theme park and a water park and so we try to go there at least once a week. The kids are home bodies and enjoy just hanging out at the apartment and swimming in the pool. Seth and Joey just finished up playing baseball - about 4 games a week since school got out so it has kept us busy. Seth got a tortoise and glasses, Naomi and Joey got guinea pigs, and Ivy "babysits" them all. I've had to rescue the pets from many life-threatening predicaments because of the unsupervised babysitting.

I choked on a piece of beef jerky a couple of weeks ago and after trying to get it to come up or down for about 1/2 an hour, I drove myself to the ER where they knocked me out and went in for it. They took pictures and a biopsy and diagnosed me with a disease called eosinophilic esophagitis. I just found out last week and am still researching what treatment options are available. I am chewing better these days and just for those of you (Adam and my brothers) who have accused me of not chewing my food enough it wasn't entirely my fault. I guess I have an overabundance of white blood cells in my throat that react to certain foods and cause swelling. The shape of my throat is also an issue. I have been choking for years and I guess I now know why.

Well I have the camera sitting on the kitchen countertop to remind me to take more pictures. I will try and get another blog here soon as we know more about our new house. Maybe next time I blog we will be homeowners again!

Naomi birthday party at school - 4th grade

Joey birthday party at school - 1st grade

Ivy

Ivy and her Furby

Naomi and the Furby

Ivy reading to the guinea pigs

Seth in his baseball uniform

Ivy and Pistachio

Joey

2010-04-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

Guilty of not blogging more

2010-04-23T14:00:00.000-05:00

This past week we signed the 4th and final (it better be) contract on a house. After 4 months of looking we never found the perfect house so we are having one built. Our closing date is September 15th and although it seems a ways off we are excited. We love the house plan and the neighborhood and it feels like the right place to raise our family. The hardest part about the wait is living in this apartment. The dryer doesn't work and the dirty laundry is taking over the place as I get furthur behind. Adam says that if I string a clothesline outside of the apartment our dryer would probaby get fixed soon. Our kitchen area has flooded twice and yesterday I opened up a drawer in the bathroom that was full of water. The plumbing in this place is really old and the maintenance can't keep up with the constant disasters. Just about everything in this place has a problem and it takes them weeks to even do the little things. Yes, I feel a little crazy but now that there is an end in sight it will be easier to deal with.   The fact that my eye surgery didn't correct my vision completely is frustrating as well. Everything is pretty blurry and I go in for my 2nd surgery in June. After that I should be seeing 20/20 according to the doctor.   Thank goodness Adam got me a GPS for my birthday. Everytime I go somewhere I haven't been before it acts as my eyes since I can't really read the road signs.

The other day on the way home from school the kids found a tortoise and she now lives in the boys room in a swimming pool of dirt.  She looks like she has been hit by a lawn mower and her shell has a crack. It doesn't look like it goes into the flesh but from what I've read on the internet it has the possiblity of getting infected. The kids keep asking for me to take it to the vet but I'm not sure vets do that sort of thing. We've had her for 3 days now and she is still very active so she will probably be okay. I guess tortoises are very common around here and it probably won't be the last one we find. A man I was talking to told me that during the rain they will crawl out on the road and you can't help but hit them.  The first visual that popped into my head was the Super Mario Bros. but I imagine it is not funny at all.

The kids have another month of school and are gearing up for a fun summer. They are taking swimming lessons at the YMCA right now and we will probably continue that through the summer.  The boys are playing baseball and all 3 older kids will be going to a week of summer camp. We are coming back to Idaho for 2 weeks in June and we can hardly wait.   We all got a season pass to a theme park here (kind of like Lagoon) and to a water park. I'm told it gets really hot here in the summer and there are a lot of fun water parks to try out. There are quite a few places to go camping and fishing and since we are new here there are a lot of new places for us to explore this summer. Now that the house is on order we can start checking out the area instead of looking at houses every weekend.

I hope everyone is well. We are doing great and the kids have adjusted pretty well. Just yesterday, speaking for all of us, Naomi said with tears in her eyes that she misses her Grammie Joan. Our lives right now would be absolutely perfect if all of you lived out here with us. We miss everyone and are excited to see you in June. Love you all. Julie

Spring Break 2010

2010-03-20T22:08:00.000-05:00

The kids have had the most fun this week just "hanging out" with the other kids from the apartment complex. We went and saw "Alvin and the Chipmunks" at the dollar theater and went to Chuck E. Cheese another day. We got a bike rack for the back of the van and we have enjoyed riding bikes at some of the new parks we have found. The weather this week has been perfect and it has been nice just to be able to go outside. Last night it started to snow and has snowed and blowed all day long (today is Saturday). Next week the weather is forecasted to be bad so thank goodness the kids are back in school Monday. This apartment seems to get smaller as the kids get louder.

We went to a Japanese Steakhouse for my birthday today and the kids had fun watching them cook our food. Joey told the cook he was a "good egg spinner". We then went out for ice cream and are now back at home snuggling around the fire getting ready to watch the "Wizard of Oz".

I hope all is well in your homes and we will blog again soon.

Monday, March 8, 2010

2010-03-08T15:04:00.000-06:00

I just got back from the eye doctor and had the bandage contacts removed from my eyes.   My vision is about 20/100 so excuse any typos. I can't see really well quite yet but that is normal at this point. It is pretty amazing that we live in a time when this surgery is possible. Everyone who has had it done says it is awesome and as soon as I can read anything I'll add myself to that list. Right now I can't read any street signs and had to actually get out of my car to check and see if I was about to go off a curb or if it was the exit. I am definitely a menace on the road (more than usual) and stay home as much as possible.

I just signed the whole family (even Adam) up today for a membership at the YMCA. They have a lot of neat programs and I'm loooking forward to signing the kids up for swimming, baseball, and summer camp.    The kids don't need as much cough syrup to get to sleep at night if they get enough exercise each day. They have free child care while you exercise so I am excited to get back into a routine and Ivy will like going and hanging out with kids for an hour a day.

I have the last 2 weeks in June off and we are planning on coming to Idaho for a visit. If we stay long enough everyone will probably stop missing us.

We found a giant frog the other night and took some pictures of him with the kids. I will have Seth post them when he can - I can't really see which ones are any good.

We are all doing well. The kids are starting to give the "Gaglione's"  a bad reputation around the apartment complex so it is good we'll be here for only a few more months. The kids get out of school the last week in May and hopefully we have a home by then. House-hunting is awful - I'm ready for the realtor to tell us where we have to live and I will adjust to whatever. It is really a difficult decision but when we bought our house in Jerome, as nasty as it was, it just felt right. I'm hoping for that same feeling here.

We love you all and hope to talk to you soon. Julie

Happy Birthday Ivy!!

2010-02-24T19:21:00.000-06:00

Today, February 24th, Ivy turns three years old. We love her so much and couldn't imagine life without her.

I hope everyone is doing well. We love and miss everyone.

February 17, 2010

2010-02-17T14:31:00.000-06:00

Not much is happening right now - just day to day stuff. It has been cold outside so it is hard for the kids to get out and play much. Our apartment is pretty small and it will be nice when we can get back into a house.

Ivy's Birthday is coming up and we are planning a trip to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate. Hopefully now that we live by one we won't have to stay there 3 hours everytime we go. Uncontrollable kids and noise - you can only take so much.

For my birthday this year I am getting my eyes "fixed". I need new contacts so I thought I would get a 3rd opinion on whether or not I am a candidate for Lasik. I am not a candidate for Lasik (cutting a flap in your eyeball) but I am a candidate for PKR (scrapping the surface off your eyeball). I've talked myself out of it at least 10 times a day but I am still scheduled for it on March 4th.

We are so happy to hear cousin Lily is eating and getting closer to going home. She is so cute and the kids love to look at the pictures of her.

Well, everyone have a great day and we will talk to you later. I will get some pictures posted after the kids come home from school. Love to everyone.

Some photos

2010-02-07T14:43:00.001-06:00

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Sunday afternoon

2010-02-07T13:47:00.000-06:00

We just got home a while ago from church. Naomi and Adam had church-itis and stayed home. It has been one of those weeks and hopefully everyone is back in school tomorrow.

Here are the boys ready for church in their suits.

Naomi stayed home sick.

Already a Nintendo addict.

Playing video games Sunday afternoon. (Notice now that church is over, Naomi looks better.)

Joey came in the door Friday and crashed.

Have a great week and we will try to keep this blog updated at least once a week. Love you all!

New phone number

2010-02-05T15:26:00.000-06:00

We just got a land line so I thought I would let everyone know our phone #. Our home phone is (405)513-5876. Adam's cell is (208)404-3526 and Julie's cell is (208)404-9449. Seth was just reading through the blog and reminded me that we don't just have one cousin - we have cousin Jordan (Lynn's stepson) and we have a cousin on the way. For those in my family who don't know - Adam's sister Lori is well on her way to having a little boy at the end of May. Although we won't get to see him very often we are excited for the Gaglione's in Florida - a baby definitely changes the dynamics of a famiy in a very good way. We love you all.

TGIF! (that's goodness)

2010-02-05T11:18:00.000-06:00

The kids were home the first 2 days of this week (snow days) and the last 3 we have had a kid home from school throwing up everyday. Ivy and Adam are going to be the last to get it. The snow and ice have all melted and now it is a muddy mess outside. I went to pick up some homework for school on Wednesday and got stuck in the mud. I had to call a tow truck to come and get me out. I really missed having my dad around at that moment. Even as an adult I still think he can do anything.

The house shopping hasn't been going to well but we have until June anyway. Our lease is up then and we don't want to move the kids from their school again. Adam and I both work in Oklahoma City and the college I am going to go to in the Fall is there as well. Around Oklahoma City is a lot of smaller towns and we are having a hard time picking the area we want to go to.

I told the kids that this blog will be their job on Sunday afternoons. It is kind of fun - I feel very isolated here and it is nice to just jot a note to all of you guys. I saw the new pictures of Lily and she is soooo cute. I know she has a huge fan club already waiting to nibble on her.

Love you lots. Julie

2010-02-03T19:47:00.003-06:00

2010-02-03T14:11:00.000-06:00

I am learning how to put pictures on the blog and I found this picture on the camera. It reminds me of the day I went to pick Joey up off the bus and was about 30 seconds late. The bus had already pulled away and Joey was no where in sight. Of course, I instantly thought someone had taken him (who wouldn't want him) and started questioning kids that had just gotten off the bus. No one had seeen him. I frantically raced up and down the road for about 10 minutes and then a bus pulled up and Joey got off. He had forgotten to get off and was pretty upset. The driver discovered him aways down the road and turned around. Just another typical day in the life of Joe.

Adam does all the computer stuff at our house so bear witih me

2010-02-03T13:18:00.000-06:00

After seeing Curtis and Crystal's blog and following Lily's progress everyday, I thought maybe I could give this blogging a try and at least update it every once in a while. That way family can at least see an occasional picture of our kids. I'm not sure how to post pictures yet and that will probably have to wait until Adam can show me how (and when we can find the cord to the camera).

The kids have been home from school for about a week with the ice storm that hit. It was our first ice storm and it was pretty treacherous. They are back in school now - thank goodness. We are living in a small apartment right now until we find a house to buy and it is kind of like camping. The kids are having a blast though. There are lots of things to do and lots of kids to play with when the weather is good. After school they like to join the wild pack of kids riding their scooters around the sidewalks that wind through the apartment complex. They like it here but wish they could see their "grammies" and "uncles". Great-grandma sent us some pictures of everyone and Joey told me the other day that he doesn't like to look at the pictures because he will never see you guys again. It really broke my heart.

Well we are all so happy that Lily is progressing and looking so good - we love to see the pictures. She is our kid's only cousin and they are already pretty fond of her.

Well everyone take care and I will soon attempt to post some pictures.