On The Road Again

Ever since we moved to TX, we have spent a lot time traveling here, there, and just about everywhere. Although there have been several flights thrown in for good measure, the majority of our travels have been made by loading up the family 'mobile & hitting the road. Perhaps we should try staying home sometime to see if we actually like living in Texas!

During the month of May, M., Millie, and I made a trip to Hoosierland. We were gone for about nine days, and experienced almost every kind of weather: chilly, hot, humid, stormy, sunny, windy, not-so-windy... Thankfully, no tornadoes.  We also witnessed some incredible sunsets.

This is a pretty typical evening view from my parents' house.  Add a few lightning bugs to the mix and it is an amazing show. And it's free! Thank you, God, for the glorious display of your handiwork.

Goodbye, Indiana.

This parting shot of the Thompson Ranch represents the calm before the storm. The morning we left Indiana, the winds were still and the sky was mostly sunny; however, we knew that our travel route was going to take us directly into the path of strong thunderstorms. Ahh, springtime weather in the midwest is somewhat unpredictable. Yet it has a beauty all its own.

No matter how many times I drive past this almost 200 foot tall cross in Effingham, Illinois,  I am still amazed at just how large it is. Effingham has long been referred to as the "Crossroads of Opportunity." Interstate Highways 70 and 57 intersect here, and there are other highways and byways that also intersect in Effingham, giving the city its nickname. This cross alongside the road represents yet another opportunity. ;-)

We were treated to beautiful cloud formations for most of the drive through Illinois. Thankfully, most of the storms were tracking just to the north of I-70, so we didn't get into too much wet stuff. This photo was taken at about ten o'clock in the morning, but it looks more like it's early in the evening.

 

Somewhere west of Springfield, MO, we passed a long line of dump trunks obviously headed to Joplin to help with tornado cleanup. This photo is taken looking back to the east, so you cannot see the very ominous dark clouds that were hanging over Joplin. Mercifully, the storm that appeared to be very threatening moved off to the north, so the city was spared from another blow. And we were spared from having to drive into really nasty weather. There were tornado watches and warnings all around, but nothing materialized. Whew!

From I-44 we could see just a tiny bit of damage from the storm in Joplin. Although we couldn't see much, it was still sobering. This flag at half-mast speaks volumes.


The trip through OK was okay, so I didn't take a single photo. We had to make a Mc Wee Wee stop somewhere near OK City, and we got soaked by a cloudburst. Definitely not photo-worthy stuff.

Yep, we most definitely were driving friendly. Is there any other way?

You gotta love the cowbell on this livestock truck's bumper -- only in Texas.

As we were nearing Keller, we were treated to a lovely sunset. The perfect ending to another long road trip. Gee, but it's great to be back home. We'll be back on the road soon, so we won't get too comfy.

You Scream, I Scream

According to #3 Smithling, part of the fun of visiting Grandpa in Indiana is getting to "skip" school for a few days, go to new places, do "stuff" that we don't do during a regular ho-hum week, stay up later than normal, and have LOTS of treats that Mom and Dad don't normally allow at home. (There are many other things that could be added to that list, but I will keep the list short and sweet; emphasis on the sweet part.)

It's a well known fact that grandparents are supposed to get away with pretty much whatever they want, as they have earned the right to do so. Grandchildren should obey and honor their grandparents. Right? This "obedience" typically results in spoilage! Oh, but it's all good.

As we were driving back to "The Thompson Ranch" yesterday afternoon, the offer was made to go get ice cream, and it was not going to be refused. :-)

A soft serve cone is always tasty, but it is even tastier right before dinnertime.

In the following photos, Millie demonstrates her "new & improved" version of the double dip ice cream cone.

No matter how you look at it...

..two cones are DEFINITELY better than one.


Spoilage indeed.

A Sign From God?

Mother's Day 2011 proved to be a bittersweet day for Mr. Smith and me, as we were missing our respective moms.

Oh, but God provided just the right sign to show that he loves us and cares about our loss. He provided hope, joy, and even laughter amidst the tears.

Where else but in Keller, TX, would we find an intersection that bears the names of both of our mothers?!

 

“...this will be a sign between me and you for the generations to come, so you may know that I am the LORD..." -Exodus 31:13  

Okay, so I might be guilty of using this passage a little out of its intended context, but it seemed so fitting!

Any way you look at this, it's a good sign... and this is exactly what we needed to see yesterday.

The Best and the Worst...

According to a recent article in The New York Times, our family now resides in one of the "most unsafe" areas for natural disasters. Sperling's Best Places ranked the DFW area as having the highest risk of disasters in the United States. (I am visualizing throngs of people chanting, "We're number one! We're number one!")

Just this past weekend, we saw a few inches of rainfall, impressive lightning strikes, hail, and wind. And that was just within a few minutes. Okay... hours.

 

North Texas is vulnerable to frequent tornadoes, hail, gusty winds, flood, grass fires and even hurricane remnants, sooooo why did Sperling's Best Places also recently rank this area (in another survey) as the 4th best place to relocate to?  Oh, it must be that relatively low earthquake risk that helps make up for the other bad stuff.

I am confused.

The 10 Best Cities to Relocate to

1. Pittsburgh, PA
2. Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
3. Omaha, NE/Council Bluffs, IA
4. Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
5. Austin-Round Rock, TX
6. Des Monies-West Des Moines, IA
7. Madison, WI
8. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN
9. Denver-Aurora, CO
10. Indianapolis-Carmel, IN

http://www.cnbc.com/id/39850148/Best_Cities_to_Relocate_to_in_America?slide=8


What I am seeing from merging these two surveys together is that North Texas is a perfect place to relocate to if you are a storm chaser. Or an insurance adjuster. Or a weatherman.
Hmmm...