IT'S SNOWING IN OKLAHOMA! The kids are home from school. I've taken a few photos. The dog is running circles in the yard. I think everyone is excited!

Here's the web album for more pictures! Just click on the square picture.

Snow Day

It seems these things don't open easily when you want them to -or- open when you least expect it. As I was trying to open this crescent roll can (which was an event in and of itself), it brought me WAY back to my late teens. It was the summer I turned 19 and was trying to get my life back together. I spent a couple of weeks out in North Dakota and upon vacating my grandmother's farm, I took the rest of my food things with me. I had a similar tube of biscuits in a small cooler.

Evidently I forgot about it by the time I arrived at a camp I attended with my cousins. When I got back in my car at the end of the week, something smelled a little strange ... and I couldn't open my cooler! At first it was just weird and I couldn't figure it out. Finally, I was able to pry open the cover just a bit and shortly found the exploded biscuits AND the odor!

How's this for a near-December outfit? It was unusually warm today, but snow is in the forecast in less than TWO DAYS! I say unusually warm not because it was warm, but it was warm in a strange way. This morning was overcast and I was prepared for a chill. Everything looks cold, but the day seemed to get warmer. It just felt strange. Maybe it's because of the upcoming shift in weather! We'll see ... maybe I'll finally have some SNOW PHOTOS!!! 

I found a "wave" in the sky tonight. At least that's what it looked like to me. I wish I lived on the wide-open plain sometimes so I could capture the horizon instead of squeezing my lens between rooftops. Actually, it's only minutes away ... I could hop on the bike left in our backyard by the previous owners but as quickly as the sun moves and as slowly as I might ride (I haven't done it in YEARS) I think I'd miss the sunsets! 

We scoured the Christmas trees and came home with a beauty! Not only did we have the adventure of driving home holding a monstrosity through the sunroof, I trapped my kids in the car after my marvelous engineering of string and tree! I still haven't washed my car since my cousin's son's band won ... YES - WON! ... the 2006 Grand National Champions! You can view some clips at the Bands of America site online at http://www.bands.org/ Not only was it fun to celebrate something big with my extended family, I also thought it might get me to a car wash a little sooner!! How'd that work?? HA!

Camera hog! Our dog is a camera hog! The two of them made such a cute appearance in the window that I ran for my camera. And this is what happens.

Party Games!

We had a birthday get together for B (today) and K (Monday) ... I shared my favorite game, which has no name. It's basically a set of stories written line by line on notebook paper and passed around the circle, each person only seeing what the one in front of them wrote. Thanks to the creativity of my extended family, we had a pile of humdingers! For the entertainment of all, I'm posting one of the favorites in honor of the eldest Birthday "Boy" of the night!

It was B----'s 65th birthday and
the next thing we knew
an old man pulled a giant frog from his
underwear, but then later put it back because
the smell had started to overtake me. It smelled like
mustard on the sidewalk in the summer!
It had an awful stench.
I took a handful and it tasted just as terrible as it smelled.
It must have been Byrne's cooking!
Everyone was hospitalized with multiple
stab wounds to the upper torso and lacerations of the
wrist. Maybe if you weren't Emo you wouldn't
spit in the air, spin around, crack your neck and
sing Hallelujah! God really is real, you know.
Sometimes I am in awe of the things that He does ...
the midnight massages, the long road trips,
and the good night kisses
got stuck smack on his lips before
they went straight to his hips as
if he were skinny. But we all knew that
he was hiding macaroni and cheese in his pockets.
But it was nothing compared to the fish in his
underpants. He was so embarrassed
because they had holes front and back
with sweet and sour chicken oozing out all over.

Yes ... she is MY daughter. She loves a celebration, adores confetti (or anything thrown to the sky - believe me), and can't get enough parties! She is the ultimate party planner, I believe, and will look for any reason to have gifts, invitations, and decorations. My son? Not so much. At this point in his life he's a little more interested in trying not to appear to enthused about anything that might not be cool.

This was my first attempt at "painting" one of my photos. Tonight I was attempting an impressionistic interpretation of my daughter when the program suddenly closed!! ARRRRGH. I don't know that I'll start over at this point ... so in lieu of posting something more intricate ... HERE! It's a flower. 

Speaking as a mom ... these moments are wonderful. To see a big brother taking his little sister under his wing and doing something special like fishing? He has no idea how special these things are.

Fishing with Grandpa ... pretty special holiday treat! Of course, there are TONS of photos. Sixty-Two of the favorites are in a web album here (or click the photo below).

Fishing with Grandpa

The man I love ... sometimes words aren't enough.

Theater Arts ... tonight was a showcase with all kinds of improvisational exercises. This particular one was a story line where each person volunteers one word and they build a story until the leader says stop. They did GREAT and I'm proud to say my son had awesome comedic qualities. My daughter, however, tried her hand at video with some interesting results ... I'll upload her work, too! Just click on the clip to watch.

Contraptions

Who can resist a field of contraptions? Thankfully, K doesn't mind stopping for me and my camera when we're on the road! If you're curious, click on the picture above to see the whole album.

Isn't this a great idea for coffee-scented candles? I saw this in a gift shop by the Cane River in Louisianna ... I'd say the town, but I can't. The closest I can come is "Not'cho Torches!" I can tell you, however, that Steel Magnolias was filmed there.

This sign reads ... "NATCHITOCHES INDIANS - According to legend, in 1835 a proclamation was read to the Natchitoches Indians who assembled across the River from this spot, departing them to the Oklahoma Territory - Museum Contents, Inc."

It was pretty amazing and sad to be standing on a site where history took such a terrible turn ... the Trail of Tears.

Her first night at Girl Scouts ... well, BROWNIES to be exact. I remember doing that for a short while at about her age. But now I'm a girl scout, too! I guess we'll both be figuring this thing out together!

Veterans Day ... I went to the school program mostly to get photos of my son, but I ended up wiping tears from my eyes for many reasons. One of the most touching things to me was presenting some very old veterans with their high school diplomas ... they had been drafted before they could finish school, and were just now receiving their honorary diplomas. Made me cry! Of course, there were numerous elements, but I guess when I get to witness the moment in real life versus hearing a story, it means so much more.  

My musical son was part of the Veterans Day program at school. Some say he needs a haircut ... he says he needs a matching dog (we found a picture of one that has inspired this thought - I Tibetan something-or-another I think). 

Fall is my favorite season (at least it is during the fall!) ... and yet I rarely capture the colors. Today was beautiful and I finally remembered to take a few photos of my japanese maple as it turns red (among a host of other things in my front yard) ... and just barely caught it before the leaves started falling.

Autumn in Oklahoma

Another Pride performance ... I think this is my young cousin! It's so hard to tell when I'm looking through my camera trying to recognize him by his instrument and cheeks!

This was the only straight face (well, nearly for the littlest clown) and still moment of the night!

Just going through photos trying to gather all my family reunion shots ... I had forgotten about this one! It was the first day of fishing for my little one. Grandpa taught her how to fish. What a precious memory!