Bobik "Bidness"

My little ninjas...

2009-12-10T12:12:00.003-06:00

Siblings...

2009-07-20T16:16:00.003-05:00

Jaxton did something to tick Blaykli off.
Blaykli yells: "Your not my friend anymore!" (learned from Jaxton)
Jaxton yells back: "Well your still my sister!"

Blaykli's future goal...

2009-05-23T11:27:00.003-05:00

"When I grow up I'm going to speak spanish at McDonald's like Dora."

Dog Piles and Kisses...

2009-05-23T11:24:00.003-05:00

1 week old...

2009-05-12T16:36:00.003-05:00

One more bit of information according to Jaxton...

2009-02-23T09:54:00.002-06:00

African Americans are "brown" and he is "peach."

According to Jaxton...

2009-02-23T09:05:00.002-06:00

Jaxton to Primary teacher: "My dad is the king of the church because everybody likes him!"

Jaxton's Insight this morning...

2009-02-17T13:39:00.004-06:00

Jaxton: "My brain is a good thinker!"

Beautiful insight after we praised him for being responsible for getting up and getting dressed by himself and feeding his dog all without being asked.

If you think that morning hair was good....

2009-01-13T12:51:00.002-06:00

Check this out!

Christmas Morning

2009-01-13T11:28:00.003-06:00

Hope your Christmas morning was as good as ours!

Santa Came!!!

2009-01-13T10:32:00.003-06:00

for Blaykli

and for Jaxton!!!

Christmas Eve...

2009-01-13T09:50:00.002-06:00

We spent Christmas Eve with the Bones, oh the memories. Here were our actors and actresses for the Christmas Story.

Sledding

2009-01-13T09:17:00.009-06:00

Tuesday December 23rd

*Do I seriously have to walk all the way up that hill?*

*Alright here I go!*

*Hey, wait for me!*

*Hey brother do I look like a yummy ball of cotton candy?*

* HI YAW!*

*I got him!*

*enough is enough already!*

Blaykli at church....

2008-09-28T16:34:00.002-05:00

Blaykli in the middle of sacrament: "I want to go to a different church."

Oh dear

Jaxton at church....

2008-08-23T10:22:00.002-05:00

Jaxton: "I don't feel good."
Daniel: "What do you feel like?"
Jaxton: "I feel like I'm bored."

Now that's funny stuff!

This morning...

2008-08-23T10:21:00.001-05:00

Blaykli from her room: "Mommmmmy it's time to wake up. Come and get me!"

How can I resist that request, regardless of what time it is?!

So she says...

2008-08-09T13:48:00.002-05:00

Blaykli had this outfit on and went and knocked on my mom's door. My mom answered and Blaykli said...

"Blaykli's cute!"

Tide Pools

2008-08-09T13:28:00.006-05:00

July 10th

While we were in California we went down to the Tide Pools at the beach to let the kids play with the crabs. It was awesome! I've never been myself and it was amazing to see every sea shell in sight walking around. Everything was alive!!!

Holy Haircut...

2008-06-11T13:22:00.006-05:00

Who is this kid and why is he calling me Mom??

Catching up...

2008-06-05T14:20:00.001-05:00

Sorry I've been slacking on the "Bidness" lately. Here are the things we've been up to so far. We are really looking forward to our Utah and California adventures this summer.

Tulsa Zoo...

2008-06-05T14:04:00.009-05:00

Sheri gave us zoo passes for our birthdays this year and it has been a real treat!

What a dad!!!!

2008-06-05T13:55:00.002-05:00

Blaykli's Boyfriend...

2008-06-05T13:51:00.002-05:00

This is Jack, isn't he a handsome hunk. I'm pretty sure Blaykli has her eye on him. Look at the way she has her hand on his back in this picture. Watch out boys!!!

Woodward Park...

2008-06-05T13:36:00.008-05:00

Kindergarten Graduate...

2008-06-05T13:25:00.007-05:00

Jaxton's best artwork for his kindergarten year...

2008-06-05T13:16:00.004-05:00

This is Alvin the Chipmunk

Here are his buddies Simon and Theodore
And Jaxton's specialty Sponge Bob Square Pants

I can't tell you how many of each of these I found in his backpack this year!!!

Like Father, Like Son...

2008-06-05T13:10:00.004-05:00

Shirts to the elbow, shorts past the knee, it's how they roll and it's all good!!!!

Hey Batter Batter

2008-05-09T12:44:00.003-05:00

Family Night

2008-04-15T13:59:00.006-05:00

Across the street we have a brand new huge parking lot that is empty most of the time so last night for family night we went and rode things. Sounds fun doesn't it?!* Watch the video's below to see how it went!!!

Thanks Nanny and Pampa for the Scooter, I love it!!!!

Jaxton riding his bike!!!

2008-04-15T13:45:00.003-05:00

Sorry that you have to watch these video's sideways, my bad. I'll work on my camera skills next time. This is technically only Jaxton's second time riding without training wheels. Watch his graceful fall, his lurpy dancing, and listen carefully to what he says at the end. What a kid!! He came and got in bed with us this morning and told us how proud he was of himself and that he can't wait to ride again!!

Blaykli's scooter riding started like this....

2008-04-15T13:32:00.002-05:00

Then it went to this....

2008-04-15T13:25:00.002-05:00

Spring Fever

2008-03-19T14:23:00.004-05:00

The weather in Oklahoma likes to tease us a bit. One day it is 70 degrees and beautiful and the next day it is 40 degrees and raining. We take advantage of the good days when we can.

Jaxton "losed" his first tooth!!!

2008-03-09T22:21:00.003-05:00

Talk about one excited boy. Last night after being asleep for like 3 hours he ran into our room and showed us his loose tooth. This was the first the either one of us had even heard about it so we were a little surprised that it was as loose as it was. I tied some floss around it and yanked a bit and it went flying!!! He didn't even flinch. I told him to go to bed so the tooth fairy could come but about and hour or so after that he came back into our room and said, "I've been trying to go to sleep but the tooth fairy hasn't come yet." He finally did go to sleep and the tooth fairy brought him a whole dollar and he was so excited!!!! I can't believe that our little stinker is getting so old!

Good Times---Newspaper Article Flashback

2008-02-28T15:47:00.002-06:00

OSU's Bobik balances family, hoops
By Berry Tramel
The Oklahoman
STILLWATER — Daniel Bobik walks through the door of the cozy house on the northeast side of town, and here comes the welcome that trumps anything seen on game day in Gallagher-Iba Arena. Jaxton Bobik, who turns 3 this summer, zips down the hallway ready for action. Daddy is home from work — basketball and school — and Jaxton wants to play. Natalie Bobik, the spitfire blond who stole Daniel’s heart back in Utah and CBS’ spotlight during March Madness 2004, has a mission for her husband, too. Daniel has brought visitors home for dinner, and Navajo tacos don’t get made by themselves. There’s even a dog, a pug named Eddie, after a certain scowling basketball coach. Daniel Bobik is a man among men. On a team with eight players at least 22 years old, on a team with five fifth-year seniors, Bobik stands alone.His life is unlike his teammates’. Bobik has more in common with head coach designate Sean Sutton, father to three pre-teen boys, than he does even his fellow seniors.“This is why he’s different,” said Lee Manzer, an OSU business professor who attends Stillwater’s Mormon church with the Bobiks. “When they (coaches) give you a day off, you know what Bobik’s day off is? His wife hands him the baby and says, ‘He’s yours.’“His day off is to take care of that rambunctious boy. Not saying he minds that. But that’s his day off.” Sean Sutton believes Bobik is the first Cowboys player to be married with a child since Johnny Pittman, Eddie Sutton’s first center at OSU, back in 1990-91. “It’s awesome,” Bobik said of playing the highest level of house while he’s playing the highest level of college hoops. “Having my family to experience it. Definitely the best of both worlds.” The other day at practice, Eddie Sutton warned his players to enjoy their college days. Especially the seniors. The time is short, Sutton told them. Soon enough, the season ends. The classwork ends. Eventually, basketball is gone, too. “Then the real life starts,” Sutton said. “Go out, get a job, get married, have a family." From the back of the room came a voice of experience. “I hear you, Coach,” Bobik said.
Spaghetti pie
Bobik came to Stillwater in summer 2001 sans scholarship. He transferred from Brigham Young to play for Eddie Sutton, who had coached Daniel’s father, Ralph, at Creighton in the 1970s. Bobik came to find a better basketball experience. But it came at a price: the uprooting of his family. Daniel and Natalie met in the ninth grade in Provo, Utah. Natalie had a major crush on the new kid in school; the new kid was shy around girls. Daniel signed Natalie’s freshman yearbook this way: “Natalie, I’m really sorry that things didn’t work out this year. But I want you to know that someday they will.” Then the Bobiks moved back to California. Five years later, after graduation and a two-year Mormon mission to the Dominican Republic, Daniel was a basketball freshman at BYU and remembered the vivacious girl from Timpview High School. He looked her up, asked her out and they were married less than a year later, on June 1, 2001. “I remembered she was a lot of fun,” Daniel said. “I was too immature at 14 to say thanks for being nice to me.“ We hit it off (at BYU). It was like we were best friends. Unlike any other date I had been on.”But a year into marriage, Daniel wanted to leave BYU. Jaxton was 6 weeks old when they arrived in Stillwater.“At first, I put up a little fight,” Natalie said. “I said, ‘What!’ I was pregnant. I knew it would be hard. But my mom was supportive. She said, ‘You need to be out on your own. That’s how you grow.’ ”Nothing about that first year was easy. Daniel worked, went to school and practiced with the Cowboys. Natalie, who knew no one in town upon arrival, stayed home with Jaxton.“We were so poor,” Natalie said. One night, she made spaghetti pie, a baked concoction of spaghetti, cottage cheese, mozzarella and eggs. It was a Bobik staple in those days. En route from oven to table, Natalie dropped the spaghetti pie, and it scattered across the floor. Money was too tight to go wasting a whole spaghetti pie, so Natalie scooped up anything that hadn’t touched the floor, and the Bobiks finished their dinner. Daniel worked odd jobs for the late Jerry Carpenter, who owned an insurance company, and Rusty Shaw, who operates the Conoco stores in Stillwater. Daniel and Joey Graham, who also was without a scholarship that season, worked together cleaning car washes and painting gas pumps. Natalie took a photo of Daniel doing the latter, as a keepsake. “We’re keeping this forever to show our kids,” she said. Eventually, Daniel went on scholarship and the Bobiks made friends. They became very active in the church, where Daniel is a youth leader and occasional speaker for the Mormons, who do not employ paid ministers. Said Daniel, “My family, my beliefs, are something that are sacred to me.” Before Navajo tacos are served, Daniel leads his family and visitors in prayer. The house is homey but not spacious. Few clues show it’s the home of a starter on the nation’s fourth-ranked basketball team. An All-College MVP trophy sits hidden in the corner. A couple of wedding photos show Daniel in a tux, holding a ball, and Daniel wearing a hoops uniform opposite Natalie in a wedding dress. The dining-room table sports four folding chairs. Daniel and Natalie make inside jokes over dinner and call each other silly nicknames. Daniel is Weetie; Natalie is Boozu. Don’t ask. “He knew I was crazy when he married me,” Natalie said. “I’m not going to change who I am. Daniel lets me be me.” Two lives to live Bobik says he tries to keep his two lives separate. Basketball player and husband/father. One of the guys at Gallagher-Iba, man of the house with Natalie and Jaxton.“I’ve been amazed the way he’s been able to handle everything,” Sean Sutton said. “He’s been able to balance both.” Sometimes, the lives converge. Natalie occasionally will show up for the end of practice, with Jaxton in tow. And Natalie rarely misses a game, even on the road. She and her sister, Kristi Monks, have become part of OSU lore. At the 2004 Big 12 Tournament, the sisters, sporting “Cool Chicks Wear Orange” shirts and goofy hats, mimicked riding horses while dancing to the William Tell Overture. Their hijinks quickly became a tradition. The sisters made the “One Shining Moment” segment that annually concludes CBS’ NCAA Tournament coverage, and they have trademarked the cool-chicks slogan and are selling T-shirts in Stillwater and via the Internet. “I’m always looking up to the stands,” Daniel said. “I’m proud of that, that my family’s there, supporting me. To see them happy, Jaxton decked out in orange stuff. Natalie decked out, that makes my day.”Joey Graham, about as mature a 22-year-old as you’re likely to find, said Bobik isn’t missing anything with his unconventional journey through college basketball. “He has his responsibilities,” Graham said. “On the court, he’s one of the guys. ”Sometimes, Bobik’s teammates stop by the house. But they enter a foreign land. “They kind of get it,” Bobik said of family life. No, said Natalie with a laugh, “They don’t get it.” Daniel admitted that freshman JamesOn Curry “thinks of me as something like a grandpa.” Soon enough, the Bobiks probably will leave Stillwater. Daniel graduates in May with a marketing degree, and he’s not ready to give up on basketball.“I’m going to miss this place,” Daniel said. “Life is all about experience, and this is definitely an experience.” The Navajo tacos are gone, the dishes put away and an 8:30 curfew looms for Jaxton, who needs a bath and his teeth brushed. Daniel Bobik has a job to do.

New Boots

2008-02-25T09:29:00.005-06:00

I bought some snow boots for Blaykli for our trip to Utah. I tried them on her to make sure they fit and she hasn't taken them off since! She slept with them the first night she had them, no like really slept with them on ALL NIGHT LONG!!! She threw a fit and wanted to sleep with them the next night too so we let her fall asleep with them on and then I went in and took them off of her. She thinks she is so cool in them and I'm thinking that was a fabulous purchase.

The Sweetest Words from Sweets

2008-02-20T11:25:00.002-06:00

Eddie

2008-02-18T11:18:00.003-06:00

This is our dog Eddie, for those of you who may not know. He is the best pug in the entire world. We all love him although Daniel would not admit that, so don't ask! His favorite activites include: Sitting under the table while Blaykli is eating, sleeping on Jaxton's head at nights, coming and sleeping on our bed pillows every morning, basking in the sun in Blaykli's room, barking at the mail man and sleeping on my legs every time I sit on the couch. We have had Eddie for 4 years and he is definitely part of the family. It will be a sad day at the Bobik residence if something ever happens to Eddie. He stinks, he stinks really bad. He's completely overweight and most people that meet him call him sausage, so I think he has a complex, but other than that, he's the best!!!!

Our new pets

2008-02-18T10:57:00.000-06:00

Here are the new pets I brought home for Jaxton last weekend. They are Hermit Crabs and they love to hide in their shells and try to escape while taking their baths. The white ones name is "Shermin the Wormin" and the Pirate one is of course, "Captain Jack Sparrow". What else would it be with Jaxton around?

Allergic

2008-02-14T18:30:00.000-06:00

Jaxton was asked by the Kindergarten teachers to memorize a poem and do it for something they were having at the school. This is the poem they thought fit him perfectly:

Allergic

by Robert Pottle

I'm allergic to pencils

allergic to ink,

allergic to markers

and crayons, I think.

I'm allergic to homework,

allergic to rules.

To sum it all up:

I'm allergic to schools.

Um, is it sad that already in Kindergarten he is the kid that everybody loves because he will do anything to make people laugh. His teachers love him but at the same time they probably want to beat him!!! What a kid!

You can't see me...

2008-02-06T15:17:00.001-06:00

This is Blaykli's new thing to do when she doesn't want to be seen, usually during one of her many "man-phobia" moments. I'm pretty sure she thinks if she can't see us, we can't see her. I love her attitude!!!!

Washing Eddie with Daddy

2008-02-01T13:12:00.000-06:00

This is a Saturday afternoon activity about twice a month in our house. Usually Jaxton is Daniel's helper with washing Eddie, but last Saturday Sweetcakes wanted to help too so.....

Now you see her....

Now you don't...

She got so excited to help that she fell in head first. It was so hilarious!!!

Cheese!!!!

2008-01-31T18:23:00.001-06:00

"Say Cheese" has a whole new meaning with this little stinker! If you can't tell, she absolutely loves it! Loves it enough to grab a whole 2 pound block and go to town. Yummy!!!

Oklahoma Snowmen

2008-01-31T17:26:00.000-06:00

It's no frosty, but it's what we get here in Oklahoma and look how proud Jaxton is of his little guy. The eyes and buttons are made with pokey things that fall off of our trees and the hair is dead grass, I think. Snow is a rare occassion here and we all get excited about it for some reason. It's snowing here today actually, too bad there aren't any mountains to go skiing on.

That's all folks...

2008-01-30T20:38:00.000-06:00

Alright that was the last of the newsletters I sent out. That was actually a really fun trip down memory lane for me while typing them out. Read them if you choose, or just start from here, it's your choice.

December 3, 2006 Christmas Bobik "Bidness"

2008-01-30T20:08:00.000-06:00

Hey Friends,

First of all, I need to apologize for not keeping in touch with everybody like I normally do. My Bobik "Bidness" newsletters ceased to exist once we arrived in Germany last year because my mamma always taught me that if I didn't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all! Although Germany was VERY hard (and being pregnant didn't help things AT ALL) it was a good experience for us and the longer we are away from the situation, the fonder our memories get. In Germany we met some of the greatest people in our Military ward. Friends that we will love and have forever and in my opinion there is nothing better than friends. So with that being said, I will fill you in on the Bobik's who are now back in Oklahoma (who would have thought) and loving it! Okie's for life baby!!!
I have to say one thing and that is, I had no idea how much my husband really talked until he quit playing basketball!!! It's amazing how many words he can say without taking a breath! It's so great to have him home every night. We celebrated our first Thanksgiving together, with no basketball practice to have to work around, in 5 years. I didn't quite know what to do with myself and it actually caught me by surprise that I would have to learn how to make a Thanksgiving meal. Speaking of Thanksgiving, the only way to describe it this year is POOR WHITE TRASH!!! Our plans fell through because of sickness and so at the last minute I realized it was my job to prepare the meal and suddenly I was really really missing my Grandma and I began asking myself, "Why, why didn't you pay more attention to what Grandma was doing all of those years?" To make a long story short I prepared AND ate that meal in my pajamas. Jaxton ate and hung out in his underwear all day. Blaykli was in her diaper and Daniel had on his basketball shorts. Nothing on our table matched and we laughed the entire meal. The food wasn't too bad but I could use some tips on mashed potates and stuffing. Next time that happens my vote is Golden Corral!!
Jaxton is 4. he started Pre-K this year and absolutely loves it. Everyday he says to me, "Mom, when is school time?" His teacher is Mrs. Nicar, who he totally adores and it's fun to watch him learning so much and using his little imagination like he does. His teacher wants to get him screened for A.D.D. and for any of you that know Daniel's brother Aaron that will be of no surprise to you. Jaxton is a mini Aaron and as much as I love Aaron, I have to say that scares me a little!!! Jaxton is a great kid and he brings so much laughter to our lives. It is so fun to watch the love that he has for his daddy!! There isn't anyone in this world he loves as much as his dad and any phrase that comes out of Daniel's mouth is used by Jaxton over and over again so he has to be very careful. Jaxton loves to remind us that he's "dangerous", and his favorite words right now would have to be "toot sniff". Hmmmmmm, I wonder where he got that one? I swear.

Blaykli is 8 months old and is a delight!!! I can't even tell you how much fun I'm having with a little "cool chick " of my own. She is such a wonderful baby, but she has an attitude and it's awesome! She started crawling almost a month ago and is now pulling herself up on things and thinking she is pretty darn cool. We have to get tubes put in her ears because she has had 4 ear infections in the last 2 1/2 months. That hasn't been fun for anyone. Poor little stinker. As fun as it is to watch the love Jaxton has for Daniel, it is just as much fun to watch the love Blaykli has for her brother. No matter what, when she sees him she grins from ear to ear and it's tender.
And now for me, I'm just as busy as ever being a mother of two and running "Cool Chicks Wear..." We launced a brand new website last Friday (check it out) and it has been a big hit so far with those people that have seen it. It's very fun and bright but what else would you expect from Kristi and me? Life is so interesting but so fun and I have to say, I love it!
Being here is OK has given us the opportunity to go to the OSU football and basketball games and it's been great. I love seeing all of the people we used to sit by game after game and the friends that we made while living in Stillwater. The other night at a basketball game when the William Tell Overture came on all eyes were on me to see if I was going to do the "horse dance". Do they think I'm crazy? It just wouldn't be the same without my sister but I did stand up with Blaykli and she did a miniature version of it, giggling the whole time. It was pretty cute. Anyway, after the game a member of the OSU band called Kristi's phone and told her, "so your sister totally whoosed out on the horse dance tonight, but she had her daughter do it and that was cool. Anyway, we just want you to know that we really miss you guys and things just aren't the same without you here." No kidding, nobody else in their right mind would make fools of themself's quite like we did. When we start adverising at the games Kristi is going to have to come back and we are going to have to do the horse dance. People will be so excited!

We are off to California for christmas this year so for those of you who we will get to see HOORAY! For those of you we won't, we love and miss you and hopefully we will see you soon. We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

April 5, 2006 Blaykli's Entrance Into the World

2008-01-30T17:57:00.000-06:00

Hey Everybody,
Our little Blaykli Shalee Bobik has arrived and I have one word for her arrival into this world.......UNBELIEVABLE!!!! If it hadn't have happened to me, I wouldn't believe it myself, but this is my story and I'm sticking to it!!!
It all started on Thursday, the 30th of March. I went into my doctor for my regular check up and she told me that I wasn't dilated at all."BOOOOOO," was my first reaction, but then I was relieved because Daniel had a road trip and he was really nervous about leaving me. I came home and gave him the 'good to go' cause my doctor said she would be surprised if the baby came at all that weekend.
Well Friday came along and we took Jaxton swimming, went and got ice cream and just did our thing before Daniel had to get on the bus to leave at 5:30. Around 6:45 or so me, Jaxton and my mom went to Burger King to eat. While we were there I had a contraction that really left an impact. I said to my mom, "I think I should go home and start timing these contractions." At 7:30 I began timing and they were about 8 minutes apart for about a minute each. * Remember, I was induced with Jaxton so I had no idea what natural labor was all about.* Around 8:00 I called our Bishop who is an OBGYN and asked him to tell me a little bit about labor. He told me not to rush to the hospital at the first sign, just wait until the contractions were 3-5 minutes apart. Well, the contractions just kept coming and my back was killing me. I took a bath, called Daniel and told him to head home (he had just gotten to the place they were playing and was in the middle of eating his dinner) and then I gathered a few things together and we left for the hospital.
On the way to the hospital I had 3 contractions that about killed me."Ouch" and "Hurry" were all that I could say as my mom was driving for the first time on these crazy German streets. My mom dropped me off at the front doors of the hospital at about 8:50 p.m. and in the lobby I buckled over during another contraction and of course, there was nobody there to help me. After that contraction, I waddled over to the elevators, pushed all of the buttons and waited for the elevator to come. I vaguely remembered the breathing techniques that I learned for Jaxton's delivery but I was breathing about as heavy and as hard as possible. As soon as I got to the 2nd floor and into the Labor and Delivery station I pushed the door open and was greeted by a doctor that started talking to me in German. I yelled, "I ONLY SPEAK ENGLISH." She asked me what was going on and I yelled again, "I'M HAVING A BABY!!!" She told me that she needed to check me but by that time I was buckled over again having another contraction and I stuck my finger in the air like, 'hold on a second lady.' I only had enough energy to say, "I NEED AN EPIDURAL!" They walked me into the room and told me to take my pants off. I just kept saying, "I need an epidural." She checked me and said, "no time, no time, the baby is coming!!!!" They threw on their gowns and grabbed my legs and said,"PUSH!!!" On the first push my water broke and drenched anyone in the way. Next I knew they were all pointing to her head. One more push and it was over. (To be honest, it's all such a blur that I don'tremember if I pushed 2 times or 3 times but that was it.) Daniel completely missed it, by a good hour and a half and when my mom came in looking for me the nurse said, "the baby will be here in one minute." My mom said, "not my daughter, I just dropped her off," and then she heard me screaming, "OH IT HURTS, IT HURTS SO BAD." Blaykli was born at 9:06 p.m. on Friday March 31st.
After all of the commotion was over, the midwife stuck her 10 fingers in the air and said, "10 minuten" (10 minutes). I looked outside the door where my mom and Jaxton were sitting and said, "UNBELIEVABLE."If this is a sign of things to come with little Blaykli in our family,we can for sure look forward to many exciting adventures!!! I still can't believe that it happened that way and I really can't believe that I did it naturally. "No epidural for me," are words I NEVER thought would be coming out of my mouth in a million years. The truth is, if we would spent two more minutes at home, hit the soccer game traffic or one more stop light, my mom would have been delivering her in the car. Oh dear, now that's a scary thought!!!!
Blaykli is perfectly healthy and beautiful with a lot of her daddy in her. I will take no credit for her toes which are about as long as mine are right now! Flip flops are probably out of the question for her for the rest of her life but she has the longest most beautiful fingers, a perfect amount of brown hair, blue eyes (you can tell already) and the cutest little face. She weighed 6 1/2 pounds and was 21 inches long. Jaxton says "she has my nose and my foots!"
So much for the expected story about my manly German midwife, this ones even better. The language wasn't a barrier either because there wasn't any time for it to be!!!! Next baby I will be camping out in the hospital lobby the last week of my pregnancy regardless of where we are living!
We love you all!!!!Daniel, Natalie, Jaxton and Blaykli

June 23, 2005

2008-01-30T13:40:00.000-06:00

Great news...Yesterday Daniel got an offer to play basketball in Germany next year. WHAT?!* I know...it's too crazy to even think about. He would be playing in the top league in Germany, which is great and challenging at the same time. he would be playing for an American coach, which helps, since we don't even have a clue what German sounds like. They would pay for our apartment and give us a car while we are there and although it's not the best paying league we'd definitely be making more than his scholarship check. Oh dear-nothing is final yet but if this works out we will know more soon. We'll keep you posted.
Daniel has been playing with a semi-pro team called the Oklahoma Storm. It's a fun team to watch but the fan base is kind of sad. The coach doesn't have a clue what he is doing. No, seriously, I'm not kidding. Daniel isn't having the greatest time but he says it's better than doing manual labor at Conoco and it's almost over. This weekend he has a tournament in Salina, Kansas and then we are on our way to Utah. HOORRAAYYYY!! We can't wait to get there and see everybody and actually have time to stay and visit.
First stop is to visit my little cousin Parker who was just diagnosed with Leukemia. Last week my mom told him, "Natalie will be here soon to visit you," and she said that he gave a big sign and said, "When is Daniel coming?" I see how it is. Isn't it great that Daniel has the ability to make dreams come true? Second stop is to Vernal to see my Great Grandma Drollinger who isn't doing very well. After our visit there we are going to take Jaxton to the Dinosaur museum...he is going to eat that up! We will be back in Provo for the 4th of July. Daniel has never been to the Stadium of Fire so we are going to try to find some tickets and let him have that experience. We will be in Utah until the 14th of July and then we are going to drive to San Diego. There we are going to take Jaxton to Sea World for his birthday of the 15th, can you believe he is going to be 3? Daniel's cousin Robin is getting married in the San Diego temple on the 16th so we will be there for that and then after the wedding we are going to Newport Beach until the 20th. Plans are up in the air after that, we will drive back to Utah and hang out until we are ready to go home and then head back to OK. If Daniel plays for Germany he will need to be over there by the 1st of September and then Jaxton and I will go over around the 1st of November.
I took Jaxton to his 3 year checkup today. He is 42' tall-that's not normal. I have yet to meet a three year old that is taller than him. Twice this week when he has been in the tub he has jumped up on the big boy toilet and gone "poopies" all by himself. He wipes and flushes and everything! This is a huge deal for us because up until now he wanted nothing to do with potty training. I realize this is a huge step in a very gradual process but it's been exciting and he's done it completely on his own. I could use any pointers that anyone has on little boys. We buzzed his head the other day and my friends said to me, "wow, that haircut really fits his personality!" Now what does that tell you? he actually reminds me a lot of Daniel's younger brother Aaron.
I started keeping a journal of all the funny things that he says and it has been so fun. Daniel and I are crackin' up all the time. I have to share some of these with you:
*My mom came out to visit and watch Daniel play with the Storm and after the game we went to Applebee's to eat. She had some broccoli on her plate and he wanted to try it. he barely even touched it to his lips and he said, "I don't like the trees."
*I've been trying to teach Jaxton the concept of getting our bodies from Heavenly Father-because his big question lately is "Where did you get that?" I asked him where he got his eyes and his answer was, "WALMART!"
*We were getting ready to run errands and he wouldn't leave the house without his little alligator that he couldn't find. We finally found it and I said, "Ok hurry and get in the car." he said, "Ok-at ease!" (I wonder where he got that one from, Daniel?)
*A few weeks ago I had a horrible stomach ache and I tooted (why am I telling you this?) anyway, a few seconds passed and he looked at me and said, "You stink Mama-go in the toilet and go poopies!" (He hears me say that to Daniel constantly cause Daniel is the stinky kid in our family)
* Daniel was getting dressed to go workout one morning and Jaxton looked at him and said, "Oh Man." "What?" I asked, and he said, "Daddy's strong!"
*About a month ago we were on our way to church and he said, "Mama where are we going?" I said, "We're going to church, bud." and he said, "Jesus is up in the sky and he sees you." How tender is that?
*We went to get Jaxton's hair cut at Whispering Richards (that's the barber) and he said to him, "Richard, you're the best!" A few night later he came up to me with his little safety scissors and said, "Mama, I'm going to cut your hair." "No bud, that's OK", I said. he said, "I'm Richard- I'm going to give you a haircut!" Once I had forgotten about it he actually did come up behind me and snip a few hairs. That could have been scary. What a kid!!!

April 20, 2005

2008-01-30T13:20:00.000-06:00

Well so much for keeping you all posted since last November---SORRY! The basketball season was wonderful. Daniel and I still can't believe that it is over and Jaxton refuses to believe it. Every time we pass the arena Jaxton says, "I want to go to daddy's game." Try to explain that to a two and a half year old. Who would have thought that three years ago when we arrived in Stillwater Oklahoma, we would have experienced all that we did here. It is going to be VERY VERY hard to leave.
Right now we are tying to get life back to normal but to be honest...we don't know what normal is. Daniel is having a hard time because his entire life he has known what he is going to do the next day and now he has absolutely no idea. He wants to continue playing basketball, at least give it a try because he doesn't want to have any regrets in the future. As soon as he graduates (May 7th) he is going to go different places and work out with certain people or teams to see what happens.
I am just going to continue designing more Cool Chicks Wear...stuff because everybody here seems to be worried that once we leave Stillwater that the company is just going to die. I am not that stupid! As long as I keep coming up with new designs it's going to keep selling and when Kristi and I decide to go market to other places around the country it could get out of hand. I am going to have to hire employees before that takes place!!
Jaxton is a hoot!! He makes me and Daniel laugh every single day. Now I realize it's not hard to make me laugh but he is a funny kid. His favorite thing to do right now is play baseball. We got him a T-ball set and a real bat and a glove and he rips it. he bats left handed and throws with both hands so we can't quite figure him out yet. The pool should be opening up soon and we will spend a lot of time there, he loves to swim and he is not afraid of the water at all. Thank goodness for flotation devices!
While it's on my mind, Daniel is begging me to start cooking new things now that we can actually sit down as a family and enjoy a dinner together so if anyone has any simple, great recipes please send them my way so I can feed my deprived husband something great!!

November 18, 2004

2008-01-30T12:58:00.000-06:00

Holy smokes, has it been a couple of the craziest months EVER!!! Life has taken a few unexpected turns but we've got them under control. For those of you who may not know my sister and I turned our "Cool Chicks Wear Orange" fame into our own little business that not only has orange but every school color you could ask for, except Crimson of course. We have been doing booths outside of the last 3 home Football games and they have been VERY successful!! The first week we totally sold out of T-shirts. It was great! Kristi and I have been excited about his all along but it has been so fun to see other people get as excited as we are. I designed some new screen prints that have a basketball and Daniel's number incorporated in them so you'll have to check them out all you Bobik #20 fans. They are my favorite products and you know, without him playing basketball for OSU none of this would be happening. It's totally fun!! Our website is up and running. Check us out at: www. coolchickswear.com. Orders are starting to come and I still don't think we have a clue what we have gotten ourselves into. I never dreamed in a million years that I would be starting a business that so many people are excited about with the greatest sister in the whole world! The best part about this whole thing is that we are having so much fun. I am considering having some reps for our company. I would pay a commission on each shirt you were able to sell. Let me know if anyone is interested because Cool chicks don't only apply to college age girls they apply to high school girls or pro sports fans. The possibilities are endless!! Log onto our website and let me know what you think. I'd really appreciate some feedback.
Basketball season has started. I can't believe it! They have already played two exhibition games and non-conference games start tomorrow. We have some fun travel plans coming up. I get to go to Dallas. I am traveling to New York on December 5th with my mom and sister to watch the OSU vs. Syracuse game at Madison Square Garden. And then I get to travel to Utah with Jaxton on December 16th to go to the game in Las Vegas on the 18th and then stay a few extra days to visit family and friends before the Holidays. It's a crazy life, but we wouldn't have it any other way. Check the schedule and let us know who's coming for what game. This is your last chance to see Daniel play in Gallagher-Iba Arena my friends and it's something you don't want to miss. TRUST ME!
Jaxton is a monkey! he wears me out every single day. I seriously have never slept better in my entire life and I'm ready for bed by 9:00. People without children laugh at me when I am chasing him around whatever store I happen to be in and I just want to say, "Laugh now, you'll get your turn." It doesn't help that his attitude would give anyone a run for their money. he still loves his horses but now he also loves DINOSAURS!!! "oh no, oh no, dinosaurs are tomin." He pronounces his c's as t's that's why the dinosaurs are "tomin:" instead of coming. "Look at that!" he says when he's excited about something new. "Tome on Daniel," he says when he wants Daniel to play with him. "Show me" he says when he wants to show us something or he needs help with something. "Hot dog, chicken" is his way of trying to get out of going to bed at night. he's a character but we love him more than anything. he loves to read and color. In fact, he loves to color so much that he drew a nice red border around our entire room and on the television, pictures, and mirror. But that's not the kicker, about a week later when the babysitter was suppose to be babysitting somehow he got a hold of a black SHARPIE and drew beautiful details on the walls in his room. There was sharpie on his wood bed, his lamp, his night stand, and the back of his door. who does he thing he is, PICASSO? Luckily the babysitter had some sort of cleaner that got it off and put a little bit of touch up paint on the walls so everything is OK. I tell you, if you take your eyes off him for one second he's into something new. Not only is he an artist, he's a great problem solver. he has learned that if he can't reach something, all you need is a chair to give you a little "boost". Heck, those things are now so high I even have to get a chair to reach them! For a couple of days I couldn't figure out why he would never eat his lunch, but that I caught him with his little paw in the Oreo's and almost the entire bag was empty along with all of the Halloween treats and whatever else I had in those cupboards. The little turkey was just helping himself and Eddie out with whatever they felt hey needed. It's amazing how much more he eats now that the treats are out of reach. What a kid!!
For Thanksgiving this year we are once again celebrating with our wonderful friends Sterling and Tara Bone. Sterling's parents John and JoAnn are coming in on Tuesday, we are so excited! They are the greatest and I'll tell you what, they know how to cook one scrumptious Thanksgiving dinner. We have so many wonderful people in our lives. That's what I'm thankful for this year....ALL OF YOU!!!

July 14, 2004

2008-01-30T12:24:00.000-06:00

Can I just tell you all how much we love Stillwater, Oklahoma and the people that live here. A few days ago I had to go to the dermatologist because I had a few friendly zits that wouldn't leave my face and after I met with the Dr. and told him what was going on, he came back in the room with an arm full of samples and told his nurse, "We are dealing with a celebrity here so here are about $250 dollars worth of samples and we aren't charging her for anything." Come to find out the dermatologist was in East Rutherford and San Antonio so he saw Kristi and me preform live. Can I just say along with loving Stillwater I also really love the HORSE DANCE!! I know Daniel feels the same about Stillwater because he has been considering changing his home town in the starting lineup form Newbury Park, CA to Stillwater, OK because he says that this feels like home now. We also became official Oklahomans a month or so ago when we got Oklahoma license plates put on our cars. They aren't the ugly dream catcher ones they are cute Oklahoma State ones with Pistol Pete on them! We are proud to be Oklahomans as long as we can keep our teeth from turning yellow and falling out.
Daniel and I were asked to go to a couple of auctions these past months. The first one was in Tulsa and the second one was in OKC. They are really fund raising auctions for OSU athletics and people are usually pretty generous. They had a silent auction where there were a lot of really nice pictures of the basketball players, football players and coaches. And then they had a live auction where they auction off trips with the teams and things like that. While we were there they put us to work being spotters for the people that were trying to bid. Daniel got some guy to bid $3,000 dollars for a signed Final Four basketball and I got some lady to bid $2,000 dollars for a signed chair from Gallagher-Iba Arena. She was going to stop bidding and then I said, "Come on, Daniel sat in that chair." She started laughing and kept bidding to win. The auctioneers are hilarious and they offered me a job spotting at all of their auctions but um, no thanks. I told them that I was a good spotter because I went deer hunting every year while growing up and I got really good at spotting little white bums! At the auction in Tulsa they sold a lot of really nice pictures of Daniel and at the auction in OKC they had a picture of Kristi and me doing the horse dance and two "Cool Chicks Wear Orange" shirts that we autographed that went for $300 dollars. How funny is that? I remember when Daniel and I came to Stillwater for our recruiting visit the last thing Coach Sutton said to us before we left was, "It will be an adventure for you guys to be out here." To which I replied, "Oh no, Coach Sutton, it will be an adventure for you to have us here." Isn't that true! We are having the time of our lives.
Daniel has been working like crazy at summer camps. He has worked both basketball and wrestling camps and next week he is going to Ada, OK to work a basketball camp that is on an Indian Reservation. CUT YOU MONEY UP! Between camps and lifting and scrimmage games I don't see him any more than I did during the basketball season. He broke his left hand playing in a scrimmage game a few weeks ago and has a hard cast on it so that has slowed him down a little, but not much. Don't worry, he will be fine, it seems to be healing well and he will be more than ready for the season. We are both thankful that it happened in the summer and not in the season and that it was his left hand and not a knee or leg or something that takes longer to heal.
I finished my scrapbooks-yes books being plural. It is over 200 pages long and takes up 3 whole 12 by 12 binders but it is AWESOME and totally worth the time and money spent. For our children and grandchildren it will be priceless. So now I'm back to sewing and for Daniel's birthday I made him a T-shirt quilt with all of his Final Four shirts. It's really cool and it will be a keepsake. I love being domestic!!
We had a Pistol Pete party on Daniel's birthday and combined his and Jaxton's birthdays together. Guess what? Pistol Pete himself came!! It was a lot of fun, we had a lot of people show up and we got some really great pictures. I actually hired a photographer because I am sick of never being in any pictures with Daniel or Jaxton. Jaxton thought he was the coolest kid on the planet because he didn't have to share Pistol Pete with anyone; Pistol Pete was there for him!! I made some Pistol Pete cakes and we wore Pistol Pete shirts and we just Pistol Peted ourselves right out!
Jaxton will be two tomorrow and I can't believe it! His attitude gets more and more apparent each month and I can tell you that we are in for it! At his 2 year check up he measured 37 inches. he is going to be so tall! He still has to sleep with all of his stuffed animals but now along with making sure they have enough sleep he has started feeding them and making sure that they have enough to eat. Horses are taking over Elmo in the favorite toy contest and he gallops around the house saying "Ye Ha, Ye Ha". We have been taking him to see real horses at the Animal Science field they have in town and he absolutely loves that. Jaxton is the biggest fish you will ever find. At the swimming pool we put little arm floaties on him and he is off, jumping off the sides of the pool, diving board, whatever. he loves to go under the water, he loves to float on his back, and he doesn't like to have nay help doing it. he isn't afraid of anything which is a little scary in itself but he absolutely loves the water. WE have been teaching him about Jesus and prayers and he is so cute because he will go up to any pictures of Jesus and points to it and say, "Jesus" with the biggest smile on his face. he won't go to bed without saying a prayer and he also like me to say a prayer for his nap time too. It's so cute. Being in Primary has made me realize how important it is to teach children about the gospel at such a young age. Their spirits are definitely ready for it.

April 29, 2004 FINAL FOUR EDITION

2008-01-30T11:02:00.000-06:00

Wow! What an adventure we have all had since the last time I wrote the "Bidness". I really don't even know where to begin. I guess since the last newsletter was about Melvin dying I should let you know that we got our new puppy. he is so cute, a heck of a lot cuter than Melvin. We named him Eddie Swoosh Bobik after Coach Sutton. We have discovered that Eddie is a wimp. I took him to get his nails cute and he was yelping so loud that you would think he was getting his nails ripped out instead of cut. It was very dramatic. he is a great little dog and Daniel and I were so excited thinking that we had him potty trained pretty well and that potty training was easy until we found a little pile of crap under Jaxton's bed. I know that's gross, the darn dog, but these are little puppy turds so we cleaned them up and Jaxton's room is off limits to Eddie. Jaxton and Eddie play very well together. There have only been a few times that I have had to separate them. Eddie gut put in his cage fore biting and Jaxton got put in his room for trying to poke Eddie's left eye out. They were both tired!
March was definitely MADNESS but probably the most exciting month of our lives up to this point. I'm so glad that I got to experience the entire ride with my mom and my sister who I would like to thank for coming with me everywhere and supporting Daniel like you both did. It wouldn't have been the same with you.
It all started in Dallas at the Big 12 Tournament. After the Cowboys had won the regular season championship they went to Dallas hungry for the tournament championship. They got to the championship game and beat Texas for the third time in one year, to bring home the hardware (UNBELIEVABLE). It was a great tournament and we had so much fun! We got to spend a lot of time with Mary Ann and Don Alexander, whom, for the record, and no longer our "adopted" grandparents they are officially the real deal. We love them so much and they love us and support us just like grandparents do. They were there more than an hour early to every single tournament game and that meant a lot to Daniel to see them up in the stand waving at him and ready to cheer. Thank you for everything Mary Ann and Don, we love you so much. Ralph and my dad were also there along with Dennis Bunker and the Bone's we all had a great time.
Kristi and I started dressing alike for the Big 12 Tournament for good luck and it worked. The now famous Horse Dance also came to be in Dallas when I just couldn't sit still for the William Tell Overture anymore. For those of you who might not have seen a glimpse of the horse dance during the games on CBS it is kind of like we are pretending to be jockeys in the movie "Seabiscuit," but without a horse. it's kind of hard to explaining words, you'll just have to ask for a demonstration when you see me or Kristi. Honestly, we had no idea what we were starting but I'll tell you about it later in this letter.
Although the Cowboy's won the conference for the first time in 50 years and the conference tournament they were denied a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament so we took a #2 seed and a few days later we were off to Kansas City, Missouri for the first round. I packed up my little traveling buddy Jaxton and we drove up there and picked my Mom and Kristi up at the airport in KC. This was a really fun place with a lot of shopping and yummy restaurants like The Cheesecake Factory which we visited at least once a day while we were there. The games were fun and for some reason we really caught the CBS camera man's eye. The Horse Dance took off again but this time when we finished the OSU crowd stood up and started clapping for us. Kristi and I took a bow and I said, "Thank you we will be here all week and in New Jersey next week!" As soon as they won both of their games in Kansas City we all drove back to Stillwater and made arrangements for the next weekend in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Plane tickets were a joke for OK to NJ so I decided to fly back to Utah with my mom and Kristi, leave Jaxton with my did in Utah because Manhattan did not need a 21 month old named Jaxton running around, and then fly from Utah to New York on Jet Blue. We weren't even home for 24 hours before we had to leave again and by the time we got toNew Jersey we were tired. But like you can go to New Jersey and be right across the river for Manhattan and just chill-we were there to PARTY!!!
On Pittsburg game day we went to the little mall they had in East Rutherford and found us those good luck hats and glasses that we were wearing. We knew they were ugly when we bought them but we made them official good luck charms when we made the rules that we would only put them on at halftime if we were losing. The horse dance because so popular that while in NJ Channel 5 news in OK asked us for an interview so they could get an up close and personal demonstration of the horse dance. Let me tell ya'll something; the moonwalk doesn't have anything on our horse dance! Everybody loved us so much that the Athletic Director asked Kristi and I to do the horse dance for the Pep Rally in front of all the alumni that traveled with the team. Of course we would! We were a hit! The band leader and the mascot Pistol Pete because our new best friends because they couldn't believe that we actually did that dance in front of people let alone on national television! Kristi and I also busted out our "Cool Chicks Wear Orange" T-shirts that we had made (total high school flashback) and those were even more popular than the horse dance! We made it on national television again that night and the next morning people started calling stores here in Stillwater asking where they could get one of those shirts. Chris' University Spirit, the most popular store here, started making and selling those shirts while I was still in New Jersey but they knew the idea came from me so they are paying me a 10% royalty. Hooray for me!!! The store sold over 800 shirts in less than a week. They also told me that next year I could design the shirt and make it cuter which will be so much fun for me. I am quite the business woman and you know now that I have talked the talk saying that Cool Chicks Wear Orange I have to walk the walk and wear orange almost daily. It's my new favorite color for real!
Anyway, back to basketball, the next game against St. Joe's in my opinion was the best game of the whole tournament. We were so out numbered as far as fans were concerned that it wasn't even funny but we were ready to cheer our little butts off and that's exactly what we did. I don't think that we sat down once the whole game and when we rode the horses this game we rode with all of our might with our good luck hats and glasses and our shirts that said, "Ride Em Cowboys!" After Daniel got his finger on that ball that Jamere Nelson shot (NICE DEFENSE BABE) and they won, we went crazy, I mean crazy!!! Daniel came over and hugged me and with tears in his eyes he asked, "Can you believe it? We are going to the Final Four." After this game we met Tim Robbins, the white actor in Shawshank Redemtion, he is a pretty cool guy and he was there because his son Jack had OSU picked to win the whole thing so they came to the game. We got a picture with him and he complemented us on our horse dance and then he went in the locker room and told Daniel how cool he though Kristi and I were. It was hilarious! Back the the hotel, it was madness and I heard here in Stillwater people were going "bonkers" as they put it. Everybody was so excited! Coach Sutton came up to Kristi and me with a huge smile on his face and told us that he finally looked up to watch our horse dance during the time out and he thought it was great too. I tell you we had no idea what we were starting but it's become more famous than any other tradition OSU has right now. They want us to teach the entire student body next year, oh dear.
We got to spend a lot of time in Manhattan shopping and exploring and that portion of the trip was very exciting.
Next was San Antonio, TX for the Final Four, can anybody believe it? I still can't, it's crazy!! I got to fly with the team because according to Coach Sutton I am a business woman now because of my t-shirts. That's not the real reason. It had something to do with NCAA rules but there are so many rules I don't even try to keep track of them. We got a police escort from the airport to the hotel where the players were just mobbed with media when they got off the bus. I don't think I had a clue how big the Final Four was until I got there. HOLY SMOKES!
The next morning my family arrived in San Antonio- Mom, Kristi, Dad, Grandpa, Grandma, and Uncle Ricky-the whole fam. They got a few hours of rest and then we were off to experience the whole thing. We went to fun restaurants and got spoiled by our grandpa and grandma. I think by the time we left we each owned one of every Final Four thing that was made to see. THANKS GRANDPA AND GRANDMA. We went to the team practice session and supposedly Coach Sutton told the band that they couldn't practice while they were on the court until he saw that we were there and then he allowed them to play the William Tell Overture. Coach Sutton himself went over to direct it and do a little version of the horse dance himself. Of course Kristi and I couldn't resist and when the song was over we ourselves got mobbed by camera men and newspaper writers. The main CBS guy came up to us and said, "I am the one that has made you guys famous." We talked for a little while and he had no idea that I was Daniel's wife. he got so excited and said, "This is even better than I thought!" Random people were coming up to us asking for pictures with us or autographs. We felt like celebrities, walking around in our twinner outfits getting stopped by everyone. My mom had seen us getting more famous throughout the tournament but the rest of my family was like, "What is going on here?" We really had the time of our lives. That night we were LIVE from San Antonio on the OK news and they advertised about us "The Bobik Twins live from San Antonio at 8:00 tonight," the whole day. Too much fun! People were telling Daniel" You know we really enjoy watching you play but we just LOVE you wife!" Daniel has been so cute about the whole thing. when I asked him if we were embarrassing him he said, "Heck no, I think it's freaking hilarious!" I am so thankful that I married a man that let's me be me, no matter how crazy I may be at times. He said he is just so happy that I can be having as much fun as he is. Now I know that I haven't written a lot about Daniel through all of this and that is because they were in hotel arrest. I got to see him for no more than an hour or two each day so all I know is that he watched a lot of Sports Center and Infomercials while he was in his hotel room. he even ordered me a "Bun and Thigh Master"!
Game day again Georgia Tech was nerve raking. I had a "Cool Chicks Wear Orange" shirts made for my mom and a "Groovy Granny's wear Orange" shirt made for my grandma so we were set. When we got to the Pep Rally everyone else had our shirts on too! Kristi brought orange, black and white watermelon flavored suckers that we passed out to 400 people and then of course they had us do our horse dance in front of everyone, up on a stage this time. sometimes during the horse dance I would get laughing so hard that I wouldn't be able to finish.
As everyone knows they lost that game by 2 points, which was heartbreaking, but OK cause that's life. I'm just glad that Daniel isn't a senior. Personally I think the team will be better next year. I know they just signed a big guy and I'm pretty sure they will be UNSTOPPABLE!!!
I have been working on Daniel's basketball scrapbook this last week and it's going to be awesome! You should have seen the pile of newspapers that I had to go through. I have great pictures also because a studio here in Stillwater takes nice, professional pictures at all the home games and he was at all the tournament games too. The camera man's name is George and we are tight so he takes lots of pictures of Daniel and lots of pictures of me and Kristi! I told Daniel that pictures were something I would be spending money on because pictures are priceless.
Daniel has just been catching up on school since they got back. They were about a month behind so he's been busy and has finals next week. he got a new calling as the Priest Quorom Advisor. We have been speaking at a lot of things lately. He got asked to speak at a community thing then I got asked to speak for Mormon week up on campus and then we both got asked to do a fireside for the youth up in Ponca City. We enjoy doing stuff like that and hopefully somebody can learn from our experiences.
Jaxton is such an awesome little boy and I'm not saying that just because he's our little boy. He is so much faun and has the best personality I've ever seen in a little kid. The loves of his life right now are Elmo, horses, and Pistol Pete. he loves anything that has to do with any one of those things. He watches the movie "spirit" at least twice a day and anything orange or anything that has the OSU logo on it reminds him of Pistol Pete and he goes crazy! He does the best horse sound I have ever heard and he also pretends to ride. Next year he'll be doing the horse dance right along with me. Jaxton loves stuffed animals and he has to sleep with almost every one of them. he sleeps with his monkey, his dog, his Mickey Mouse, his 4 horses, his 2 Elmo's and his Pistol Pete. Trust me, he knows when one is missing and he won't sleep until it's found.
He is saying so many words. Pistol Pete, hot dog, pancake, chicken, outside, park, thank you and I could go on and on. He repeats everything we say and says it over and over again with a huge smile on his face. he knows he's funny and I can tell you already that he is going to be a big tease. Jaxton can tell you the sounds of all the animals; you would think that we live on a farm or something. WAIT, we live in Oklahoma! He also knows all of his body parts and we are working on his colors, he gets blue and green mixed up. He is so observant of everything and so creative. it is so fun to see his mind at work. The other day he was sitting down playing and his foot fell asleep. he couldn't quite figure out what was going on so he hobbled over to me pointed at his foot and said, "hot, hot".
We have been taking time to enjoy the simple things in life lately and have been going to the park a lot or just going outside to play baseball or to ride his bike which he loves. Being with him just brings out the kid in Daniel and me and we have a blast with him. I can't wait to start taking him swimming because I know he is going to love that. he would stay in the bathtub forever if we let him.
Have a fabulous day, week, month and I'll try to stay on top of things now that life has settled down a bit.

February 11, 2004

2008-01-30T10:19:00.000-06:00

To start out our "Bidness" for the month we have horrible news. Jaxton's best little buddy Melvin (our dog) got ran over and killed a few weeks ago. It all happened after a basketball game one night. We came home from the game and the first thing I did was feed Melvin. Daniel and I put Jaxton to bed and then we let Melvin outside to go to the bathroom. A few minutes later I heard a certain noise that made me think of Melvin so I opened the door and called his name. he didn't come running like usual and my heart sank. I ran to it and sure enough it was our little melvy, he was still warm. I picked his little body up and carried him to our porch but he was already dead. I think he died instantly without suffering but the worst part about it is that whoever hit him didn't even stop, they just kept driving. I stood over his body and just bawled my head off. He wasn't suppose to die like that, he was suppose to grow up with Jaxton and die of old age. We called Sterling and Tara and told them what happened and they started digging a hole in their back yard so we could bury him there. Jaxton was asleep through all of this, thank goodness, but it was so hard for me to tell him that Melvin wouldn't be able to play anymore. Jaxton still walks around the house looking for Melvin and he still asks for him each morning. It has been really lonely around here without him; I didn't realize how much I loved that silly dog until he died. Elder Jenkins who is our favorite missionary that loved Melvin as much as we did wrote a poem about Melvin that I would like to share with all of you.

MELVIN WEDGIE

MELVIN THE DOG WILL BE MISSED FOREVER,

I'M SURE EVERYONE COULD THINK OF MANY REASONS THAT ARE CLEVER.

MELVIN WAS ALWAYS UP AND ABOUT,

THERE WAS NEVER A TIME THAT HE GOT WORN OUT.

YOU WOULD ALWAYS KNOW WHEN HE WAS AROUND,

HE WAS SPUNKY, LOVABLE, PLAYFUL, AND FRIENDLY, HIS NAME WAS RENOWNED.

HE WOULD ALWAYS LOVE TO PLAY NO MATTER WHAT TIME OR DAY,

MAN! THAT DOG WAS A.O.K!

HE TENDS TO PUT A SMILE OF YOUR FACE,

WHETHER HE WAS SNORTING, FARTING, SLEEPING, BARKING, OR EVEN

SLOBBERING IF THAT WAS THE CASE.

WHEN HE SLEPT HE SNORED UP A STORM.

I MUST SAY, MELVIN COULD REALLY PERFORM.

I DON'T THINK YOU COULD FIND A FUNNIER LOOKIN DOG,

EVEN IF YOU LOOKED IN THE FOG OR UNDER A LOG.

I WILL NEVER FORGET WHEN MELVIN GOT TACKED BY JAXTON THE STUD.

AND AFTER JAXTON SAID, "MELVIN YOU'RE MY BEST BUD!"

WHEN YOU TRY OT THINK OF REASONS OF WHY YOU LOVED MELVIN,

YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE TO START.

BUT WE KNOW FOR SURE HE HAD A BIG HEART.

IN LOVING MEMORY TO MELVIN WEDGIE BOBIK

Melvin is missed but to ease the pain my Grandpa and Grandma Gates have already found and bought us a brand new pug. he was born on January 31st so we will get him around the middle of March. To make sure this never happens again we are going to buy an outside play pen and set it up in the back yard where he can do his duty in safety. And the moral of this story is don't you dare drive off if you ever hit somebody's puppy.

The Cowboys are seriously kicking some butt. I know I have said that before but this time I really mean it. This week they are ranked 10th in the nation and they already beat the 12th ranked Kansas last Monday, which was a huge win!! Other teams in the top them have lost this week also meaning that next week they are going to probably be 7th or 8th in the nation. DO YOU PEOPLE KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS...THIS IS SO EXCITING!!! If they continue winning like they are they could be going deep into the NCAA tournament, sweet, sixteen, elite eight, final four, the sky is the limit. Next Monday the 16th will be a huge game in Norman against OU (which is on ESPN by the way) then Missouri at Missouri will be tough and Texas ant home will be tough but other than that it's a cake walk. Coach Sutton game the team a few days to celebrate their win and then yesterday he sat them down and let them have it just in case their heads were starting to get big. You have to keep these guys humble because then they will keep working their butts off. Who would have thought a few years ago that Daniel Bobik would now be starting for the 10th ranked team in the nation? I wish every one of you could come watch a game at Gallaher-Iba Arena because the atmosphere is UNBELIEVABLE. Some of you have had concerns about me taking Jaxton to the games with the level of noise in there. NO WORRIES, he eats it up, this stuff is in his blood. The louder it gets in there the more he claps or dances.

For you football fans out there I have a fun story. When I went to the game against Texas University in Austin I got to stay at Ty Detmers house. He is a very cool guy with a cute, spunky wife and 4 beautiful girls. Yes, I got to see his Heisman trophy which is awesome! I got to say there because his little sister Lori is dating Franz Steyn (the 7'2" giant on the team) and I go on road trips with her sometimes.

Primary is going pretty well but we still have a lot to learn. We are trying to find out what works best for this primary and these children but that in itself is a challenge. I never pictured myself in primary before I received this calling but I love getting to know the kids and it is right down my alley when it comes to being creative. I'm still asking for fun ideas from any of you that might have been in a primary presidency before.

Jaxton has been a lot more whiny and clingy since Melvin died. I wasn't sure how it would affect him but it certainly has. Without Melvin he doesn't have anybody to chase around with his popper or hit with the flyswatter or wrestle with but he has been trying to keep himself busy with his toy horse that plays the "dalun dalun dalun dun dun" song that gets really annoying. This horse used to take lots of naps on the top bunk or the top shelf in the closet or anywhere else it could hide but since Melvin's been gone it's been a pretty good sport. It's taken a few beatings and withstood Jaxton trying to wrestle with it without much complaint so we will keep the horse until our new puppy arrives and probably a while after that since Daniel and I are going to have to protect our puppy from Jaxton for awhile so he doesn't end up killing it himself. I can just see him body slamming it the second he sees it!! It's a good thing Pugs are tough and crazy and can get themselves out of sticky situations.

Have a Happy Valentine's Day everybody!! Know that we love you tons and tons and think about you always.

January 1-5, 2004

2008-01-30T09:43:00.000-06:00

Happy New Year!! Hooray for 2004, I have a feeling this is going to be a fabulous year! One of my New Years resolutions this year is to be a better journal writer and thinking of that made me realize that I have a lot of "Bidness" to fill you in on. I've been a total slacker.
Christmas this year was a blast! We stayed here in Stillwater and my sister and my mom came to visit. Actually, Kristi and I surprised my mom with her plane ticket on Christmas Eve and told her to hurry and pack. They arrived here on Christmas day and we went and picked them up in the city. We went to The Marriott Hotel to eat our Christmas dinner, they had a huge buffet set out with Turkey, Steak, Shrimp, etc. and it was delicious, plus we didn't have to do one thing to prepare for it or clean up after it. Dinner is always better when someone else makes it. Once we got back in Stillwater we picked up the missionaries from the 1st and 2nd wards and had them come celebrate Christmas with us. We played card games with them until their curfew that night and we had a totally chilled out, relaxing Christmas that rocked! Santa Clause brought Jaxton his very first basketball hoop and when he saw it for the first time his eyes lit up and he said, "Ball", we gave him the ball and he dunked it. His very first dunk at 17 1/2 months. he started clapping for himself after he made it and so the rest of us joined in with some claps of our own. We have it set to the 3 foot height and if he stands on his tippy toes and extends his little arms he can make it. He loves basketball but more than that he loves his daddy playing basketball. All we have to do is drive by Gallagher Iba Arena and Jaxton points to is and says "dad." He also points at any basketball game that is being played on tv and say "dad". The cutest thing ever though was at one of the first games of the year Jaxton was watching a game and Daniel got fouled, so he went to the foul line to shoot his free throws and Jaxton looked out on the court pointed to Daniel and said "da da" in the most excited voice I have ever heard. Then he looked at me and pointed as if to say, "look mom it's my dad out there do you see him?" I will never forget that. Anyway, back to Christmas, thanks to all of you who sent us such thoughtful gifts and cute Christmas cards. We appreciate your love and support more than you can even imagine. You all have been such great examples to us.
As most of you know basketball is going VERY well for Daniel this year. I am so proud of him because his hard work is finally paying off. The coaches love him so much and are so thankful for what he brings to the team which is a level of maturity I don't think they have ever experienced with any of the other players that they have coached. The coaches have a ton of confidence in Daniel and they are totally committed to him as a player and an individual. They respect him for his religious beliefs and they respect him for being so committed to Jaxton and me. He has started every game this year and is kicking some major butt. he averages about 29 minutes a game. he is shooting 62% from the field and 55% from the 3-point line which is the best on the team. He also averages about 11 points a game and he is the second highest on the team with assists. I know I am bragging right now but he rocks and he has become a new crowd favorite because he is a white man that can actually play basketball. He isn't the most athletic on the team but he is definitely the smartest and there are people in Stillwater that tease him and tell him if he ran for the mayor of Stillwater he would get it because the people love him and they know that he is such a hard worker. Last Saturday they played in the All College Classic Tournament that was shown on ESPN. I hope most of you got to watch it. anyway, he had 4 three pointers in the first half and ended up with 14 points for the game. He was voted the tournament MVP and also voted a member of the All College Classic team along with his teammate Tony Allen. In other words I need to rearrange my mantle for the trophy he brought home. he has one more non conference game tonight and then they start conference play on the road this Saturday against Texas Tech. Most of the games from now on are on ESPN+ so check your schedule that I sent or go to the website okstate.com to find out.
As for me I am trying to get back into the swing of things and get my scrapbook night back in order because we are all having some major withdrawls. Along with that I was just called to be the 2nd Counselor in the Primary Presidency in my ward. I am so excited!! I have never had a primary calling but I am totally looking forward to getting to know the primary children and loving them and learning from them. Last Sunday we went to Primary for the first time and I was busting a gut at some of the things the little kids were saying. I am going to have a really hard time staying reverent!
I have also been traveling a lot and following the team to wherever they go. Some people thing I'm crazy to pack up my little traveling buddy Jaxton and take a long drive just for a basketball game but I know that if I don't go and support my sweet husband I will regret it, so it's worth it to me. college only lasts so long and this is a fun time in our lives, there is no way I could stay home for the BIG 12 Conference game no matter how far away it is. Jaxton and I will be going to Lubbock Texas this Friday to watch the Cowboys take on Texas Tech. I am going to personally introduce myself to Bobby Knight just to see if he bites my head off! Then next week we are heading to Kansas State in Manhattan, Kansas and the next week we will be going to Austin, Texas to watch them play UT. After that it's to College Station, Texas for the Texas A&M game and then down the Norman for OU. I will probably fly to Missouri for that game and then back down to Waco, TX for the Baylor game. After that the BIG 12 Tournament in Dallas and then wherever the NCAA Tournament takes us. What a fun adventure!! It's a good thing Jaxton is so good in the car. All I have to say is "Let's go watch your daddy play basketball", and he's there.
Jaxton is a hoot! Oh my heck I wish each of you could spend a day with him to see what an awesome personality he has. He is saying all sort of things no like, Melmo, shoes, juice, crackers, he said Jaxton for the first time on Christmas, basketball, bye, horse and much more. he will tell you what a dog says and what a lizard says and what a duck says. he loves to dance and he put on quite a show for Mary Ann and Don Alexander on their 50th wedding anniversary. He is not shy AT ALL, the other week at a basketball game a big black guy that we had never seen before sat in front of us. At halftime he went and bought some popcorn and brought it back down to his seat. As soon as Jaxton saw it he started tapping this guy on the shoulder and pointing at it. The guy was so cool and would just lift the popcorn over his shoulder so Jaxton could grab a handful or two. I leaned over to thank him and told him that Jaxton wasn't too shy if he couldn't tell. Jaxton loves Melvin so much it's not even funny. They are constantly wrestling each other, it's hilarious. Jaxton will wrap both his arms and legs around Melvin and just hang on to him as tight as he can. he just randomly jumps and tackles Melvin to start a wrestling match. I have to tell Jaxton to leave Melvin along just as much as I have to tell Melvin to leave Jaxton alone. Our favorite missionaries that just got transferred (frown) gave Melvin a middle name. His official name is Melvin Wedgie Bobik and don't you forget it. Speaking of Melvin I think he is going through his teenage years and is totally rebelling. You know how they age faster than humans. He has started to chew on things he wouldn't have even thought about chewing on a few weeks ago and he is starting to dig a hole through the wall in our garage. What is that all about? I swear some days I about lose it with my rebelling pug and my child that's a stinker.
Wait the UPS man is at my door. Oh man, my grandpa let Daniel order some basketball shoes for Christmas so we custom designed these shoes off of Nike.com and they just got here. They are tight!!1 They are bright orange patent leather with black leather strips and a white sole. Bobik is embroidered on the side by the heel and 20 is embroidered in the tongue. They are awesome! Be watching for them on the next game that's on T.V. you won't be able to miss them!
Anyway, that's if for the Bidness this month and I promise I will quite being a major slacker and get back into my monthly routine. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and a happy New Year. We love you all.

October 24, 2003

2008-01-30T09:07:00.000-06:00

Next month is the one year anniversary of the Bobik "Bidness" so I am going to make this month's newsletter a special edition called "Non of your Bidness!" I'm going to make everything your business in this edition by sharing random things with you that not everybody knows about Daniel, Jaxton and me but things close friends and family should. If you didn't learn enough about us through the past year this should totally fill you in. We feel that if we can bring just one smile to your face our job is done so I hope you enjoy. We will start with favorite words: My favorite words are "Hooray!" "Fabulous!" and "Boo". Daniel's favorite words are "Peace" "For-sho-do" "you're right Natalie" "true" and "what-up dawg?" Jaxton's favorite words are "dad" "mom" "bye" and "ba" (which means bottle or boo depending on what the context is). Favorite Colors: N: lime green D: yellow and J: red. Favorite places to be in our house: N: craft/scrapbook room D: bean bag and J: wherever I happen to be. Favorite cartoon characters: N: Goofy D: Scooby Doo and J: Elmo. Favorite movies: N: How to Lost a Guy in 10 days D: Top Gun and J: Elmo's World-The Wild Wild West! Favorite treats: N: starburst and skittles D: snickers and J: oreo's.
Practice is underway at the good old old Gallagher Iba Arena and Daniel came home the other night with 5 stitches in his chin. I told you that this Big 12 stuff was a lot more physical. He hasn't been able to shave now for the last week and so he is a little scruffy. Plus the stitches hang down and they look like long think hairs sticking out of a mole or something. It's totally sick and it reminds me of the Chinese guy in the University Mall that had a little place in the food court. Every time I ordered ham fried rice I made sure the hair in his mole was till there after he scooped up my serving. I know, I know, that's disgusting! Enough about hairy moles and back to Daniel. Things are liking good for the basketball team and all I know is that this year is going to be fun and exciting. There are so many good players on the team that it can't be anything else but fun and exciting.
I have been up to decorating our new little house and scrapbooking my little hear out. Our house is so nice and my craft room is the greatest place on earth. I decorated it in bright green and purple, which was inspired by a garbage can I fell in love with at Target. I made cute curtains to match and a fabric memory board and I found all sorts of things to coordinate. We mounted shelves on the wall that I painted bright green and purple and I spray painted my cork board and some picture frames too. It's absolutely fabulous! Hooray for Target (everybody needs a break from Wal-mart at time), Hooray for garbage cans and Hooray for bright green and purple. Everybody just needs to come visit us so they can see all the fun things I am talking about.
My mom and sister were out here visiting a couple of weeks ago on Homecoming weekend and we had a blast! Homecoming here is a HUGE thing. OSU has a bit parade and all the fraternities and sororities build these float type things in their front yards and everybody goes and does a "walk around" to see them all. The best part about Homecoming was the the Oscar Meyer Weiner-mobile was here in Stillwater and Kristi and I jumped at the chance to get our picture taken with it!!
Because we are completely spoiled when my mom is in town I have been experiencing some major McDonald's and Sonic withdrawals.
My mom loved the top bunk and it was so cute because every morning when Jaxton would wake up the first thing he would do is reach for the top bunk to make sure my mom was there and then he would want to get up there and snuggle with her. he loves his Nanny, that's for sure and she loves him too. Kristi knew that he loved Elmo so when she came she brought him the Hokey Pokey Elmo, it is so fun! He loves to squeeze it's little hand to turn him on and then while Elmo is doing the Hokey Pokey, Jaxton makes up his own version of the Hokey Pokey. (Personally, I think Jaxton's is better).
Jaxton is wonderful!! He is in the stage right now where he is copying everything we do and it's darling. I have to tell you the funniest story. the other day we had Melvin inside playing with Jaxton and I could tell the Melvin was totally thirsty so I gave him some water and he just slurped it right up. anyway, Melvin was pooped and he needed some alone time so I put him back out in the garage and when I turned around Jaxton was down on all fours bent over Melvin's bowl about ready to drink out of it. I said, "Jaxton, no no sweetie" and he looked up at me with his tongue hanging out of his mouth ! I was laughing so hard. So Jaxton isn't only imitating everything we do he is imitating what Melvin does also.
For Halloween this year Jaxton is going to be a skeleton. We got the cutest little costume at Old Navy so I will send you pictures when I get them back. This will be his first trick or treating experience and you can bet that I will have the camera ready. AT our church they have a thing called a "Trunk or Treat" where everyone from the ward comes to the church and parks in the parking lot and lifts up their trunk while the kids go trick or treating from car to car instead of house to house. Fabulous idea isn't it. Jaxton isn't shy so I won't be surprised if he ends up with more candy than the older kids!
Melvin is now officially an"it"! We had him neutered last week because everyone has told me that the best Pugs are neutered males. I know you all want to know about Melvin's personal life so don't even try to act like you don't. He's part of our family too, you know.
Back to :"None of you Bidness" I'm leaving that up to you. If you want to know anything, I mean anything about Daniel, Jaxton, or me just let me know and I will post it in next month's newsletter. Then you will really find out what you don't know but should. have a great Halloween and eat lots of treats. We love you guys and hope to see you all soon.

August 28, 2003

2008-01-30T08:49:00.000-06:00

We're back!!! Back to good old Oklahoma, back to school, back to being domestic, and most importantly back to shopping at the only place to shop here in Stillwater...WALMART! I though this day was never going to come. My first trip back to Wal-Mart last Monday was magical. I had my pajamas on, no makeup, my hair wasn't combed, my teeth weren't brushed, and I fit right in!! I stepped through the doors, took a deep breath of the smoky fresh air, smiled, and said to myself, "Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, what a fabulous day!!"
Sorry it has taken us so long to get in touch with everybody. When I returned home and got online I found out that we had six different viruses on our computer, the so called "Worm Blaster" is the one that has been kicking our trash. A friend of ours works on computers so he has been helping us get rid of the virus so that we don't pass it on to all of you.
Our summer in Utah was absolutely fabulous and just what we needed. It was full of family, friends, basketball camps, bowling adventures, baby contests, birthday parties, BBQ's, building the play house I won on "The Price is Right," trips to Park City, the Stadium of Fire, a Lagoon day, wedding receptions and yard sales. We had so much fun and we just want to let you all know how much we love each one of you and appreciate all that you have done for us. Daniel, Jaxton and I are truly blessed to have such wonderful support from each of you. Thank you for everything.
Jaxton took his first steps on August 8th. He walked from my dad to me, Hooray! It's a good thing that he did because my mom said she wasn't going to let him go home until she saw him walk. She said that because the three weeks that Daniel was gone all he cared about was Jaxton waiting to walk until he got home. So, in those three weeks we didn't do anything to help him get a head start on walking and my mom would have been totally bummed if she missed it. I don't think Jaxton would have minded staying with my mom because he loves his Nanny! She was over every morning giving him his bath, dressing him, feeding him and changing his diapers. Then back every night to bath him and feed him, put his pajamas on and put him to bed. Sometimes they even had slumber parties. I don't know who misses her more, him or me.
Jaxton has learned to give kisses. These aren't just ordinary kisses. They are the slobberiest things you will ever experience. He loves to play Peek a Boo and play with the phone and you'll never guess what he does when he gets his hands on it. He puts it up to his ear and he paces with it because that is what he sees his daddy doing every time he gets his hands on one. Seriously, he'll walk from one end of the hall to the other holding the phone to his ear blabbering away. Now if that doesn't show us how much he watches our every move and how much he loves his daddy, I don't know what will.
We came back to Oklahoma with a new addition to our family. We got a puppy! He's a pug named Melvin! He's crazy like us so he fits right in. He likes to eat crickets, paper, thread, and duct tape. His favorite thing to do is jump up and lick Jaxton's ears so now when Jaxton sees Melvin coming he covers his ears with his hands, it is hilarious!
We don't have the Basketball schedule yet but we do know when OSU plays BYU at the Delta Center, Saturday, December 6th and 4:00 p.m. So mark your calendars and get ready to cheer. GO COWBOYS!! Let us know if you are planning on coming. We aren't sure how many tickets we will be able to get so we can't make any promises but we will do what we can. As soon as we get the schedule we will send one out.

May 21, 2003

2008-01-29T22:49:00.000-06:00

I just want to start off this months "Bidness" by thanking all of you who have been concerned about us because of the tornado's. It was so thoughtful of those of you who called or e-mailed to make sure that we were alright. It made us feel very loved!! Tornado season is crazy in this part of the country because it is so real and it can happen so fast. It is one thing to hear about it on the news but it's another to experience it first hand. The tornado sirens went off last Friday here in Stillwater and I wasn't sure whether or not to be afraid. It's not like I'm going to do what they tell you to do which is : Put your bike helmets on and get in your bathtub with a mattress over you. First of all, I wouldn't be able to lift our kind size mattress, let alone fit it into our bathroom and second of all, WHO DOES THAT? S-T-U-P-I-D!! Just picture this-Daniel, Jaxton and I in our little bathtub (which Daniel barely fits in himself) with our bike helmets on and a mattress on top of our heads-that's not going to happen. I looked outside and everything looked pretty normal so instead of messing around with my mattress I decided to run my errands. No worries! Actually, I've seen the way they build apartments around this joint and they are basically made our of plywood with holes in it for the windows. Seeing them being built lets me know that if a tornado really did come I would probably be safer in WALMART-back in the fabric section which would be totally fine by me because it's my favorite anyway!!
Daniel is finally done with school thank goodness, and now he is, as Coach Sutton puts it, "The Gopher of Stillwater." He is working full time running around from Conoco to Conoco just doing all of the dirty work that the lazy managers don't want to do themselves. he gets to paint, clean car washes, bag ice, mop floors, get all of the dead flies out of the outside lights, pick up trash, etc. He is trying to make enough money to pay rent for June and July because even though we won't be here, living in our apartment, we still have to pay (you know what's it's like when you sign the dotted line). Our options were very limited-1. Pay your rent or 2. Pay your rent AND move out then find a new place when you get back--NO THANK YOU. Finding a place that has never been smoked in is next to impossible out here in Smokeville, USA.
Speaking of summer plans, for those of you who are wondering what we will be up to, here is the rundown. We will be leaving Oklahoma for Utah on June 7th and will hopefully be arriving on the night of the 8th. From June 8th to June 22nd we will be living at my dad's place while he is in Europe. From June 22 to August 9th we will be living at my mom's house. Daniel will be in New York from July 5th through the 26th (Jaxton and I are staying in Utah) and then from July 29th to August 3rd we will be in Newbury Park doing a basketball camp there and visiting all of our friends and family in California. We will fly back to Utah and then be off to good old OK again on August 9th. We hope to be able to spend some time with every one of you so please get in touch with us so we can make plans.
What a fun and crazy adventure this summer is going to be. Jaxton will be turning 1 year old on July 15th. I can't believe it! he is such a wonderful little boy who brings so much joy to not only the lives of his mommy and daddy but also the lives of all those who associate with him. I can't tell you how many random places that I have been that Jaxton has just smiled at someone and they have said to me, "He just made my whole day!" He is such a good baby and he is always so happy. We have so much fun hanging out together everyday. he isn't just crawling now he is cruising in high gear. For those of you who have been frazzled by experiencing the way Daniel paces all around the house when he talks on the phone just imagine Jaxton, following his daddy's every step on his knees. It is so funny to watch. Jaxton is now pulling himself up onto everything. he helps me do the dishes by pulling himself up on the dishwasher and taking all of the silverware out of the holder as soon as I get it in there. he is the best little helper I've ever had! he also dances now and let me tell you he puts Micheal Jackson to shame. As soon as music starts playing from somewhere he either bounces up and down if he is standing up or rocks back and forth if he is on his knees. This boy has some rhythm! He must get it from his father SIKE!
He finally started eating fruits and he also loves to share his daddy's popsicles with him. My favorite thing that he does right now is when he wakes up in the morning we bring him into our bed and give him a bottle and then as soon as he is done with it he turns toward me and puts his little arm around my neck and falls asleep again. It just melts my heart. We took him to the zoo for the first time last Monday. Eh could have cared less about the animals but he had a blast checking out all of the people and the other kids in their strollers. I got some cute pictures of him sharing his animal crackers with the monkey statue. Daniel and I are entertained each day by Jaxton. He is going to be the biggest goof ball ever, but with parents like us, what else could anyone expect!

April 26, 2003

2008-01-29T22:25:00.000-06:00

I've been holding off on writing the Bobik Bidness this month because I just knew in my heart that something exciting was going to happen and 'sho enuf' it did. On Thursday April 24, 2003 at approximately 9:30 p.m. JAXTON CRAWLED for the very first time!! Hooray, Hooray, Hooray, What a fabulous day!! We were sitting down to a late dinner and we put our plates on the floor (yes, the floor because who would want to eat dinner at the table like a normal person?) We closed our eyes to bless our tacos and the next thing we know Jaxton is cruising to get our food. He crawled 8 little steps the first time and stuck his hand in the ketchup. We cleaned him up and put him down again and he took off once more. This time I kept moving the plates back and he kept coming for them. No one has ever been more excited about my cooking before. That was a monumental moment and the best part about it was that he waited for Daniel to get home so we both got to see his very first crawl. This has been quite a month for Jaxton. He started getting his top 4 teeth all at once. His two front ones broke through and his side ones are close but now he is getting more on the bottom. To say the least, he acts like Tylenol is candy instead of medicine and welcomes it into his mouth. His favorite treat this month is Lucky Charms. It is so cute because I will pour some onto his high chair tray and every single time he picks out and eats all of the marshmallows first!
Easter was wonderful. The weather was beautiful and the wind wasn't blowing which is a total shocker. Daniel and I were asked to speak in Sacrament meeting about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love speaking and it went well. WE were invited to eat Easter dinner with our friends Lyz and Matt Metcalf and her side of the family. It was delicious! Brisket rocks! We love the fun memories that we are making here in Oklahoma and I have to be honest...this place is growing on me, but I'm still not going to live here for the rest of my life!
The other day Daniel and I were taking Jaxton for a walk in the stroller and we ran across and car that had a license plate on the front that said, "I'd rather be shopping at Walmart." Now if that isn't the most perfect license plate for me and my shopping experiences here in Stillwater, I don't know what is. I'm on a hunt to find one for my little Civic.
I have been on a sewing rampage once again. I got to go visit my mom and sister who returned home from Japan and in our little adventures together we stopped by some fabric stores and my absolute favorite store, Mormon Handicraft. My mom bought some fun projects for me to work on and said, "I'll buy the fabric if you do the work." Well I definitely think that I got the better end of that deal and have been having a blast. I am working on a sports quilt for Jaxton and some baby things for my friends who are expecting and I actually made some really cute Capri pajama pants for me to wear int eh summer time. I love being domestic!
As for Daniel he has one week of class left and then finals. I think I am more excited for him to be done than he is because he is so busy. For those of you who think that once basketball season is over for the year so is everything else, you can think again. he still has individual workouts, lifts weights, and plays in pick-up games everyday. After that he goes to work for 3 hours a night so we can make it financially. What a guy. I had him write down a funny story that happened to him this month so in his words, here it is...
As I was pulling up my pants to go to work Victor, "the bug," Williams came around the locker room corner. My locker is the first one so inevitable he had to pass me to get to his. As he got to his locker he turned and said, "Dang dawg, isn't it about time you got some new garments, how long have you had them joints?" I was wearing some of my newer mesh garments but after a second of trying to figure out what he meant I replied, "Naw, this material is the kind with holes in it." His eyes lit up with understanding as he realized that they hadn't been washed so many times they had become see through. "I see, I see," he said.
We went to a little banquet thing today and Coach Sutton came and snagged Jaxton from me and took him up front to make his little speech. He said, "This is Natalie and Daniel's son Jax, we start recruiting them young around here. If this kid is as good as his grandpa was who played for me at Creighton and his dad is, then we will be giving him a scholarship in a couple years." It was really cute and Jaxton was just up there grinning from ear to ear.
Well that's it for the Bidness. Keep smiling and know that we love you all!

March 20, 2003

2008-01-29T22:04:00.000-06:00

I hope ya'll are feeling this March Madness fever as much as we are. The smells of victory and defeat are in the air all around us with the NCAA tournament beginning today. This is the month basketball lovers wait for each year and what a fun month it has been so far.
We just returned from one of the greatest, most relaxing, fun weekends ever. It was spent with Mary Ann and Don Alexander (Daniel's aunt Debbie's parents for those of you who may not know them) in Frisco Texas, just outside of Dallas. We went down to watch the Big 12 Tournament but we came home with a brand new set of grandparents!! They spoiled us like we were their own grandchildren, which was not expected, but was totally appreciated. Daniel went to every tournament game with Don (who actually found and bought us tickets because the tickets we thought we had didn't exist) and I spent my time with Mary Ann and Jaxton talking, shopping, and getting a pedicure that made us feel like a million bucks!! Jaxton absolutely loved Mary Ann and she came up with some of the most creative things for him to play with that he just thought she was the coolest! She discovered Jaxton's favorite word while we were there which happens to be "Da Da" (no surprise there) and every time she said it, he would just light up and grin from ear to ear. Thanks again Mary Ann and Don, WE LOVE YOU GUYS!
Daniel is on Spring Break this week with nothing to do but sit around and watch basketball all day long ("it's about time," he says). He doesn't have practice because the cowboys are in Boston for their tournament game and depending on how they do he might not have practice again this year. He had a great red shirt year, learning the program and getting to know the guys on the team but he is really looking forward to playing next year (aren't we all).
I am just trying to come to grips with the fact that I am not going to have a husband on these tournament days. This is more like March Madness for me! If I could afford to I would totally take advantage of these types of days...I would say, "Bye Sweetie, I'm going to buy me brand new spring wardrobe." And not hearing one word I said because he is straining to listen to the announcer he would stand up and yell "YES, alright!" That is all I would need to hear and I'd be out the door. Maybe next year.
Jaxton just keeps growing and growing. he is in the funnest (I know that's incorrect English but funnest is funner to say than "most fun" so you'll have to deal with it) stage ever! He is so curious about everything. He just has to try to figure out how everything works and what noises it can made and most importantly how it tastes. I can practically see his brain growing, which would explain the big head. Oh wait, looking at Daniel right now would explain the big head!! he has really quick hands for a little guy and he doesn't give up any opportunity to grab whatever he can. he has great hand-eye coordination which makes Daniel happy because he wants him to start dribbling the basketball next month. With that hand-eye coordination he is also feeding himself his favorite, which include: graham crackers, gold fish, squash and then he washes everything down with a little apply juice YUM! The most entertaining thing Jaxton does right now is he SNORTS all of the time!! I told him the other day that he better get over that in the next couple of years or I'm not going to want to send him to school!! I guess if he's a snorter, he'll be the cutest snorter ever!
It is tornado season here in Oklahoma and it makes me a little bit nervous to be honest. Last week there was a tornado in south-east OK which was pretty far away but when my mom tried to call me on her cell phone it said, "no service" (real comforting isn't it). I guess last year they had a mild spring out here so the weather men are predicting quite a crazy spring this year. YIKES! For any of you that have information on surviving a tornado you need to let me know what it is.
That's it for the Bobik Bidness. Hope all is well and everyone is happy!

February 26, 2003

2008-01-29T19:45:00.000-06:00

Wow! I'm cutting it close on the deadline this month but you'll have to forgive me because since returning from Japan a week ago I have been up with Jaxton every night almost all night long and then we sleep during the day. This whole time change thing has his sleeping patterns all messed up...he's trippin'! I have gradually been working him back into his schedule thanks to the good old teaspoon of Benadryl just before bedtime but then it seems that right when I fall into the deepest sleep I've had since returning home he wakes up, so I am afraid of falling asleep (seriously, it is 3:45 a.m. right now). The trip was worth it though. We had a fabulous time in Japan! That is one weird country and I'm not sure if you will believe this or not but... Japanese people have worse teeth than the people in Oklahoma. I know, I didn't think that was possible but I've seen it with my own eyes. The last night we were there Kristi and I saw a kid with only one tooth. It was brown and was right in the middle on the top, but by the looks of things I would dare say it wasn't going to be there much longer! I have never seen so many fish net tights and pointy toe, high heel boots in my life. I could have sworn that I saw Cindy Lopers entire wardrobe! I don't know what ever happened to blue jeans and tennis shoes but seeing them walk around in their 80's attire made me thankful for my comfy clothes. They wear lots of fur on their coats and I even think I saw a dead dog being used as someones purse. Whatever it was it game me nightmares!
Japanese people are crazy! I have never seen anything like it. I almost lost my life trying to get a picture with Minnie Mouse and Goofy because there were mobs of teenage people jumping up and down screaming whatever they were screaming and I was standing there thinking, "are you kidding me, do you realize that is just a person in there?" They were acting so childish I really don't think they knew the difference. After 5 minutes of standing around trying to nicely inch my way toward Minnie Mouse I finally realized I had to become as crazy as them if I wanted a picture with her and I had to get physical since I'd had enough I just grabbed her arm and smiled while my mom had her camera ready to shoot. With Goofy I just got smart and yelled, "IT"S MY TURN." Of course they didn't understand me but nobody tried to mess with me either!
Kristi's dance production was darling and I just have to say that she makes the best Cinderella I have ever seen!! My mom cried during the whole first show and I just kept saying, very proudly of course, "How many people can say that their sister is really Cinderella?" We got to hang out with all of her fans and they brought us gifts everyday we were there watching her. Her coolest fan was a 48 year old lady named Kimiko who called herself "Kristi's Japanese Mom."
Jaxton was the hit of Japan with his beautiful blue eyes and his big radiant smile. People couldn't get enough of him! On trains and subways they would just stare and in the lines at the amusement parks he was the amusement. Most of them have never seen an American baby with blue eyes but it was hilarious because when they would talk to him in Japanese he would look at them like they were insane. His eyebrows would raise and you could just see him thinking "HUH?" While we were in Japan Jaxton started sitting up on his own and sitting in high chairs at restaurants. he started eating a few solid foods like little pieces of bread and ice cream, the two most important components of his mother's diet, and he ate some rice just to say he had the complete Japanese experience.
After two weeks of being away I was ready to have my husband back and Jaxton was definitely missing his daddy. When we got to the airport and Jaxton saw Daniel for the first time it was the cutest thing I have ever seen. I was holding Jaxton in my arms and he looked at Daniel and his eyes got really big and then he turned back to me and the look on his face said, "Is that rally my daddy?" then he looked back at Daniel, excitedly kicked his legs and smiled from ear to ear. I wish I had that on video camera for everyone to see because the look in his eyes said it all and you couldn't have gotten him to quit smiling if you wanted to. I love to see how much he loves his daddy!
As for what's going on here in Oklahoma the Cowboys have really been biting the dust these last couple of weeks. They are still in pretty good standings but they have got to get their hearts back into the game that they all love. Daniel is itching to play but is thankful for this red shirt year and all that he has learned from Eddie. We are planning on traveling down to the Big 12 Tournament in Dallas next month to cheer on the pokes. I'll let you know how it goes.
Anyway, that's it for the Bobik Bidness this month. Keep smiling and know that our love is with you.

January 20, 2003

2008-01-29T19:17:00.000-06:00

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and have gotten off on the right foot with the New Year. It was so much fun to spend time with those of you whom we were able over the holiday break. Thank you for your thoughtful gifts and the love that you give Daniel, Jaxton and I. We love you all so much!
So my story of the month happened today, just in time for Bobik Bidness. I made spaghetti pie for dinner tonight, I grabbed it with one hand to put it in the oven and it slipped and splattered all over the floor. Daniel had a look on his face like, "is that a joke" and I couldn't decide whether to laugh or cry. I chose to laugh and you know what I did, I just got a fork and scooped up all of the stuff that wasn't touching the floor and cooked it anyway. I know, that's disgusting, but I have to say that was the best spaghetti pie I have ever eaten!! I'm sure a few of you have stories like that of your own when you were in our shoes.
School has started for Daniel once again and to be honest I think he, along with the rest of the team, is glad because those two a day practices were starting to get really long. They were worth it though because as most of you probably know Oklahoma State beat BYU!!! Daniel and I will always have some cougar blue in our blood but that was one of the sweetest victories that we have ever encountered. The best part of the game was when Travis Hansen fouled out (we are not friends)! I was going crazy up in the stands and all of the OSU managers, red shirt players, etc. were laughing their heads off at me. Before that game they all though that I was a nice, calm and quiet person. Shoot, I blew my cover!! Anyway, the next day at practice Coach Sutton came up to Daniel and asked, "Does your wife get that excited over all of the games?" Just wait until next year baby! OSU also beat their rival OU last Monday. For Daniel and I that was one unbelievable experience. When the team ran out on the court and the fans started to cheer chills ran up my spine because it was so loud. Daniel looked up at me from the floor and said, "Now that's what I'm talking about." I couldn't believe the intensity that was in that arena. You couldn't even hear the refs blow their whistles or the buzzers buzz. It was out of control!! Now I know why Sports Illustrated named it the best college atmosphere in the nation. For all of you BYU fans take the BYU vs. Utah game at the Marriott Center last year and times that by 35 and you would have the noise level about right. I didn't take Jaxton to the game because he has been sick but after experiencing that I don't think I will be taking him next year either. Big 12 games are a lot more intense and physical than we were used to..this is BIG TIME BASKETBALL.
As for me I have been trying to adjust once again to good old Stillwater. Every time I get to go home I go through the whole homesick thing for awhile. I am usually alright until I have to go grocery shopping at Walmart again BOOOOO. The fact that Walmart is the only place to shop here is a little depressing at times, especially after being spoiled by my mom while we were in Utah. We got to go out to dinner and go to the movies and relax with no worries. THANKS MOM! Those of you who have known me forever won't believe that I cut my hair while I was in Utah. It is a little about my chin and I totally look like a little mommy, which is what I was trying to achieve! I love it and it's a totally new look for me because I have never had short hair before. Daniel loves it and there is less for Jaxton to pull, so it works out for all of us. Besides being a mommy I have been sewing my little heart out. My mom bought me a really nice sewing machine for Christmas. It was a total surprise and I was so excited when I opened it I almost peed my pants. I am a beginner but I am having a fabulous time learning and have made some really fun things already. Other than that I am looking forward to the trip Jaxton, my mom, my grandma and I will be taking to Japan in a few weeks to watch my sister Kristi dance at Tokyo Disney. Japan is going to be quite an adventure with a 7 month old baby but with everyone's help it will be a blast! I have missed my sister so much and I am excited to see what she has been doing in Japan the last 6 months. Kristi can't wait to see Jaxton, she has a big surprise coming her way because he has changed so much!
Jaxton has had a hard month. I took him in for his 6 month chec up and he was starting to get a cold. The Doctor said he would be fine and it would pass but 2 days later I took him back and said, "This is not just a little cold." They took x-rays and ruled out pneumonia but he tested positive for RSV, a respiratory infection which can get very dangerous. He didn't smile for 3 days straight which had us worried because he is the happiest baby ever, so Daniel and Sterling Bone came over and they gave him a blessing. 30 minutes after his blessing he smiled and started making his cute little baby sounds and started kicking like crazy. We had to keep him inside for a week straight and give him breathing treatments but he is 100% better now, and as happy as ever. On a happier note, he now has his two little bottom teeth, they are so cute! He weighs almost 17 pounds but is 29 inches long and WAY OFF THE CHARTS! If he keeps growing like this he will be 6 feet tall by the time he is 3! He is starting to eat Gerber foods and his favorites so far are potatoes and green beans. Although most of it ends up on his face we have sure gotten some cute pictures. He is in the imitating stage right now and I can tell already that he things to himself, "I want to be just like my daddy." When Daniel was eating his spaghetti pie tonight Jaxton was watching every bite that he took and copying him. It was so cute because he was chewing just like Daniel (with his mouth open). He is growing up so fast that I honestly can't believe it, even though everybody warned me that he would.
We love you all so much and hope this letter finds you healthy and happy!

December 12, 2002

2008-01-29T17:48:00.000-06:00

Thank you for all of your feedback on last month's newsletter. I am glad that you got a laugh out of our Oklahoma adventures. Don't worry, I will keep you updated on all of them. I know there will be many more in these next three years!
Thanksgiving was wonderful!! We had a fabulous day filled with food, laughter, and fun! We celebrated with Sterling and Tara Bone and his side of the family from Utah. His dad made a mean turkey with stuffing that melted in our mouths. YUM!! It makes my teeth sweat just thinking about it! I slaved away all day on my contribution of jello salad and drinks. I felt like the family member that always gets assigned the jello or fruit salad because nobody trust her to make anything that might no turn out!! After we filled our tummies and took our naps we got together again to play UNO ATTACK! Highly recommend that game to any of you who have not played it, especially if you have a big family. It's no Chutes and Ladders, but it's right up there!
I found out why everyone in Oklahoma has bad teeth...it is because there is TOO MUCH fluoride in the water along with large amounts of iron and calcium. In this case, more isn't better. My teeth are totally feeling the effects and I was teasing with Daniel about how we are going to end up with teeth like everybody else out here because we can't afford to go to the dentist. I was nursing Jaxton at the time and jokingly said, "And I am going to have to nurse Jaxton until he is three because we won't be able to afford milk!" The second I said that he pulled off and looked at Daniel like, "Dad, don't you dare let her even thing about it." I swear, he knew exactly what we were talking about and he wasn't about to let that happen! Daniel and I just started laughing hysterically but eventually our laughter turned into tears. Not tears of sadness or feeling sorry for ourselves, but tears of joy because we have so much to be thankful for at this time in our lives. We have each other, we have a sweet, healthy little boy, we have the gospel, and we have LOVE. Who could ask for more? My mom always told Daniel and me, "enjoy being poor while you have every reason to be," that's exactly what we are doing. Plus, we have something money can't buy....POVERTY!!!!!
We recently experienced our first ICE STORM. "What in the heck is that?" you ask. It is when something resembling rain falls from the sky; it is a lot heavier than rain and it hurts when it hits you but it is nothing like hail. Anyway, eventually it becomes ice that thickly wraps itself around everything. It is beautiful but very dangerous because the roads get slick and big tree branches snap off, power goes out for days in some places and it causes havoc. It the trees don't break from the weight of the ice they are bent over touching the ground. Daniel and I drove around taking pictures because we had never seen anything like that before.
Daniel and I are also in the process of our first missionary experience here in the mission field of Oklahoma. One day Daniel left an LDS pass along card that read, "Family happiness can last forever" on our neighbors door. Our neighbors decided to call the number on the back to get the free video about loving family relationships. when people make that call the MTC immediately gets a hold of the missionaries in that area and give them the media referral. Anyway, in church the other week our missionaries asked if there was anyone that would like to come with them to teach a discussion in Chapel Ridge Apartments (that is where we live). Daniel volunteered and after church when he was getting the details he asked what apartment number it was. They said, #1217..."wait a minute," he thought to himself, "those are our neighbors." On the way home he put two and two together and became very excited. We went with the missionaries last Friday for the 2nd discussion but since they weren't able to read the Book of Mormon as much as they would have liked, it was more a question and answer time and we read 3 Nephi 11 together. After the missionaries left we had an unexpected knock on our door. It was our neighbors with a few things about the gospel they were curious about. They asked about Joseph Smith, the Latter-day Prophet Gordon B. Hinckley, the priesthood, etc. I busted out my Gospel Principles book because as an EFY counselor I found that it explains difficult things very plainly. Daniel stressed the importance of reading the Book of Mormon because if you know the Book of Mormon is true you know that Joseph Smith was a true prophet and that the Church is true. We both got a chance to share a portion of our testimonies and it was a very special experience. I think they are struggling with the whole concept of FAITH and the Holy Ghost being a still, small voice instead of a loud, booming yell. Daniel invited them to come to church with us this past Sunday but they couldn't make it because their little son had the flu. We will leave it to the missionaries for now because the holidays are going to be a busy time for everyone, but when we get back from Utah after Christmas we will extend the invitation again and hopefully they will be able to make it.
Now about our cute, little boy--Jaxton is officially a TOE MUNCHER!! HE found his toes and he knows what to do with them. It is so funny to watch him pull his legs up and munch on his toes for 15-20 minutes at a time. His toes are so big that he gets more toe jam caught in them than Daniel gets lint caught in his belly button! I try to clean that out for him before he gets too carried away because toe jam probably isn't the most nutritious treat he could have, but he sure hasn't seemed to mind so far. He rolled over for the first time last week and it is fun to see his facial expression when he is on his stomach rather than his back, it's like he found a whole new world. He has a favorite toy. A little blue dog that I call "Toofer" I named him that because Jaxton is trying to get some toofs (teeth) right now so he just growls and chews on toofer to make his gums feel better. Jaxton's personality is starting to show and along with being very happy I think that he is going to be very competitive. I say this because he runs races against himself already, it is a joy to watch his legs go crazy and then see him squeal with delight when he crosses his imaginary finish line. He eats more than Daniel already and I think we are in the process of creating a huge monster child. He is seriously bigger )not fatter, just taller) than the 10 and 11 month old babies in the ward and he is just 5 months. He is holding his head up on his own now but reminds me of a bobble head doll! He also has a new favorite activity called Lazy Boy Riding; I sit him up in the lazy boy recliner and then rock it back and forth yelling cowboy slang such as, "YEEEEHAWWWW!!" and "Whoot Doggie!" He giggles and then slobbers all over the place. Jaxton wears a permanent smile on his face and brings so much joy to our lives!
We wish you all a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Our love is with you this holiday season.

November 20, 2002

2008-01-29T17:14:00.000-06:00

Receiving e-mail and letters from close friends and family members has inspired me to start writing a monthly newsletter to all those whom we love. The purpose of this letter is to let you know in detail, what is going on with the Bobik family in Oklahoma.
Daniel and I have come to the conclusion that we will definitely not be living in Oklahoma for the rest of our lives. Don't get me wrong, it is a nice place and we absolutely love the experiences we are having here but to be honest, people here need to get lives. On the news tonight there was a clip about a wife that went on strike because her husband spent all of his free time fishing. She quit doing all of the household chores and had a sign in the front year announcing, "Wife on Strike." A few weeks went by and the sign read, "Wife still on strike." When her husband offered to take her somewhere special for their anniversary she said to him, "does that mean the strike is over?" and the sign in their front yard read, "Strike is over" with two hearts drawn underneath it. Only in Oklahoma would that make the news. Last weekend we had a couple in our ward call to see if we wanted to come over and play CHUTES AND LADDERS!!! (They were totally serious) I don't remember the last time that I played Chutes and Ladders. Daniel happened to be at basketball practice so we weren't able to make it. When I told Daniel about the invitation, he told me to call them back and see if next weekend they wanted to play Candy Land! The people here are so friendly but I have found that they are completely comfortable sharing very personal information. I know things about certain husbands that if they knew that I knew they would probably die. I don't ask for this information. Most of the time I wish I could cover my ears and yell, "I'm not hearing this, I'm not hearing this." Another thing about Oklahoma is that everyone has bad teeth.
Basketball season has finally started here in Cowboy town and the fans are crazier than ever. People wear orange like it is going out of style. The Cowboys have won both of their exhibition games by 25-30 points so things are looking good. The game I am really looking forward to is when OSU plays BYU in Oklahoma City on January 4th. I hope the Cowboys kick their butts, but it will be so fun to see the BYU players and be able to visit with them after the game. Daniel is really enjoying his red shirt year this year because there is so much to learn from Coach Sutton. Can I just say that Coach Sutton is the bomb!! He changed practice on Sundays so that Daniel and I would be able to go to church together. I am the only wife on the team so he calls me the "bride" and always asks Daniel how I am doing. I really enjoy watching them practice and seeing the way that Eddie coaches. he loves those boys and he tries to make them better people, not just better basketball players. Jaxton loves watching the basketball games also. I had to buy him some earplugs because of the noise in Gallagher-Iba Arena (ranked #1 college arena by Sports Illustrated) and now he just looks at the lights, chew on his hand and falls asleep. The only thing that jerks him is when Pistol Pete shoots his gun but that scares everyone.
Daniel is doing very well in school and I still haven't gotten over the comment he made in the early weeks of the semester, "I feel smart here because everyone else is stupid." I don't think they are stupid necessarily, but their priorities are a little messed up. They just look forward to the weekends so that they can party.
Jaxton is doing great!!! We just took him to his 4 month checkup. he weighs 15 pounds and is 26 1/2 inches long. He can almost roll but in the meantime he has this sweet little scoot that turns him in circles while he is on his back. he spends most of his day eating, sucking on his hand because he is teething, and laughing and playing with his mommy. He loves it when I make up stupid little songs to sing to him and dance around like an idiot but hey, I'm the mom to do it!! He totally has a little attitude and I love it!! I think I am going to have to take credit for the attitude since I can't really take credit for anything else. Everyone tells me how much he looks like Daniel and YES, I agree, and I'm OK with that. I know he has my lips and an attitude but other than that he is his daddy's little boy! Jaxton smiles all the time, he is the happiest baby I have ever see. I think he smiles a lot because he looks at Daniel and me and things to himself, "I have absolutely no chance to be normal!" He responds to the nicknames Boopers (mine) and Bicey Buddy (Daniel's). There is nothing that makes us happier than one of Jaxton's huge smile when we walk into the room. He loves his mommy and daddy and we love him.
As for me, I am doing great! I won't lie, I still have my days that I am very homesick for Utah and all the people that I love, but I get over it. I love every second of being a mommy and feel blessed to be able to stay home with Jaxton each day. Being a full time mom has been the greatest desire of my heart for as long as I can remember and I am thankful for a wonderful husband that understands that desire and sacrifices much so that we can make it possible.
We have met a wonderful couple here that we absolutely love and get along with very well. Their names are Sterling and Tara Bone and they are great!! Every Sunday evening we have our "cooking and milk" time where we just get together to talk, relax, and enjoy each others company. On Halloween they told us that they are expecting. I have had fun telling her what to expect when it comes to pregnancy, hopefully she won't be throwing up as often as I was. We are thankful to have friends like the Bones. It definitely makes it easier to be in Stillwater because we have people that we can trust and enjoy.
Daniel, Jaxton and I are very happy and hope that this letter finds you all the same. We love you, we think of you, and we pray for you. Please keep in touch.
Love always,
The Bobik's in Oklahoma

Here we go...

2008-01-29T17:09:00.000-06:00

I've decided for those of you who were not a part of the Bobik "Bidness" subscription in the past, you should have the opportunity to read them, if you choose to do so. I'm not sure I would suggest reading them all at once since I used to do them monthly, but if you have some free time and you'd like to hear about our first experiences ever in Oklahoma, then by all means, knock yourself out!!! Once I get all the old newsletters posted, then I will start where we are now in life and continue from there. Love to you all!