This 'n' That

I pretty much have a hodgepodge of pictures from the remainder of the month of June -- there's just been a lot going on this summer, so bear with me as I try to share the rest of the month's goings-on in one fell swoop. :-)

Games people play:

We enjoy playing all kinds of games at the Smith Haus, but this one takes the cake. "Hedbanz" is a "What am I?" guessing game for kids ages 7 and up, but that's okay. It's funny! And we're all BIG kids. Players ask questions to figure out what their card says. Things get silly pretty quickly.

Suffice it to say that there are usually tears along with the laughter when we play this one. 

Time to get cracking:

 

Our most "eggcellent" neighbor girlie, Miss Claire, has pet chickens. Lots of 'em. Never mind that little paragraph in the CC&Rs that prohibits chickens from being kept in our neighborhood. Chickens? What chickens? She also has fresh, organic eggs. Lots of 'em! And she's a good neighbor to share with me -- eggs, not chickens! If I ever need to borrow an egg, I know which neighbor to ask. I don't anticipate ever needing to borrow a chicken.

Claire came over one day to introduce me to the hen that she had named after me. I didn't know if I should be flattered or insulted. It was intended as a compliment. A week or so later, she informed me that the hen that bore my name turned out to be a rooster, and that she had to get rid of him. The poor thing was probably confused by his girly moniker; however, she could have dropped the "e" from his name and set things straight for the fowl one. Oh, well...

"Queenie Poo" is her new name:

My ballerina girl has been sidelined by an injury for six months. It's been a royal pain... Thankfully, she is healing and has permission to start dancing again. Yay! 

I did not purchase tickets for the June ballet performance that she was not supposed to be dancing in. At the last minute, she was asked to play the part of a queen in Swan Lake, as it was a non-dancing role. This is the first time I have missed seeing her perform, as all shows were sold out by the time I learned she was crowned as queen. My dancer will be back "on her toes" for Nutcracker season, so I'll be sure to get my tickets early.

June Birthdaze:

We celebrated with our family friend, Stephen, for his 20th b-day on the 20th of June. This was his "golden" birthday, I suppose! Dinner, cake, and The Man of Steel made for a happy day.

One week later, it was MY turn!

We had excellent Italian fare at Brio in Southlake.

Liesey made a German Chocolate Cake  for the occasion -- Deliciousness!

Thankfully, there were NOT 51 candles to extinguish;

however, there were plenty of presents to unwrap!

Having a ball:

  

Our group of eighteen fans attended the Rangers game on June 28th. Practically everyone in "our" group wore Rangers garb. Liesey donned her Mitch Moreland jersey, of course, but she also wore "my" red/white/blue birthday boots -- perfect "ranch dressing" or Ranger attire. 

I just love the sounds of baseball. There's nothing like hearing the crack of the bat -- literally! And it's pretty cool that I was able to capture this picture of Beltre's busted bat from so far up in the ballpark.

Yes, the Rangers won!

Flee, Fleas

It always feels soooo good to get back home after a trip. Well, that "glad to be home feeling" normally holds true. Not this time. Our cats and house have fleas. Ugh! I am ready to leave again.

Jemima is doing her best to show us what a true flea bag looks like. Our unpacked duffelbag still had clean clothes in it, until she curled up for a nap. Yay! More laundry.

I have had pets for years, yet I had no idea what a flea looked like. I had to Google it.

Thankfully, fleas are nowhere near this size in real life.

This is what Bartholomew thinks of the whole parasitic situation.

He blames his sister for being such a gracious host.

She blames him.

There's a lot of paw pointing going on here...

and a lot of itching and scratching.

We are now armed with a three-month supply of Frontline Tritak from the vet, and the exterminator is coming to treat our house and yard. Daily combings, house vacuuming, and regular kitty baths are in order until we win this war. (Thanks to the Katy Thompsons, we have a bar of goat milk flea soap. The Maine Coons beasties just love bath time!)

In my spare time, I will be cleaning up flea "dirt" from just about every nook and cranny in our house. Okay, "dirt" is too poetic of a word -- we're talking poop -- tiny flecks of flea excrement. It's a crappy job, but somebody's gotta do it. I don't think the furry family members are going to be lifting a paw to help with the cleanup efforts, as they'll likely be napping. Cats!

Fork in the Road

It seemed like it was a good time for a road trip to the Hoosier state. 

Hertz supplied us with a big ol', gas-swilling Expedition. (This rental rig brought about fond(?) recollections of our 1998 Exped., a.k.a. the Lumbering Moose. Yay for 13 MPG!) We packed a few bags, then hit the road bright and early in the morn. Once we made it to OKC, we called my dad to seek his sage advice.

Me: "Dad, what is it you have always told us to do when we come to a fork in the road?"
Dad: "Take it."
Me: "Right. Should we still take the fork if it means we'll end up at your front door?"
Dad: "Where are you?"
Me: "OKC"
Dad: "What are you doing there? Does Mr. Smith have a meeting there today?"
Me: "No. No meetings. It just seemed like a good day for a road trip."
SILENCE
Me: "So... Should we take the fork?"
Dad: "You're not driving to Indiana today, are you?!"
Me: "Yep!"
Dad: "Then you'd better take the fork!"

I'm normally not one for surprises, but this was epic! We got my daddy good. (Yes, I realize that is not proper grammar, but it stays.)

The joy in the journey is half of the fun. I don't know why, but our family loves road trips. Well, four out of five of us do. One prefers to sleep. The sleepyhead never complains, though. 

Somewhere in Missouri, #3 was awake enough to ask why she never, ever gets to ride shotgun when all five of us travel together. Much to her surprise, at the next gas stop, Big Brother relinquished his position in the comfy chilled seat. She could NOT believe it! It was a first. Photo worthy, even. Oh, the responsibility (and JOY!) of being a co-captain/navigator/chooser of the tunes. 

 It won't be long until she'll be asking to sit behind the wheel. Sigh!

We HAD to take a slight detour in St. Louis to get frozen custard. Plain vanilla for me, please and thank you.

Fourteen-ish hours in the car of pure family togetherness is sooo much fun. Really! I'm being serious here, folks. We played all of our usual silly games in the car. There's the one where each person adds one letter at a time and tries to not spell a word on their turn. Or the variation of that game where each player supplies a word on each turn and attempts to make a crazy, nonsensical sentence that must be repeated on each player's turn without missing any details. Run-on sentences are encouraged.

When the Smithlings were really little, we had Auto Bingo and Interstate Bingo. These were okay, I suppose; however, making up our own road trip games has always been the preferred method. I still have these little gems tucked away -- for future grandchildren? I dunno why we've kept 'em. Maybe they'll be worth something someday since they are in mint condition.

When the gaming spirit fades, it's time for a song. Or two, or more.

Singing along (at a very loud volume) to every single ELO hit is a requirement of a Smith family road trip.

Don't bring me down,grroosss

Don't bring me down,grroosss

Don't bring me down,grroosss

Don't bring me down.

Other suitable road trip sing-a-long "oldies" include, but are not limited to, songs by Supertramp, The Moody Blues, The Cars, Michael Jackson, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, Kansas, ABBA, Boston, and on and on... Guess we're stuck somewhere in the late 70s/early 80s. For fun, we sometimes sneak in a Veggie Tales song from our kids' formative years. I'm not sure why, but singing produce is still funny. 

We stopped for food in Missouri and parked next to this car. Yes, I had to take a picture. Obviously, the owner of this vehicle prefers to travel alone. No four-part harmony for this trashy, solo act.

Once we made it to Grandpa's, the fun REALLY began.

"Hot dogs roasting on an open fire..."

I'm certain there's a song in there somewhere.

 The name of this RV dealer made my daughter laugh. We are easily amused.

Group shot!

We drive friendly, the Texas way.

How special it was to get to see my daddy on Father's Day!

 Grandpa Thompson posed with his Smith kids.

Even the Smith dad was shot with his trio.

While back home again, we visited neighboring Illinois, so the Smith kids could see the birthplace of Heath Bars. I remember taking a class field trip to see the Heath factory tour sometime during my awkward junior high years. It was a memorable trip; probably because chocolate was involved. Although factory tours are no longer offered, we were able to visit the candy bar museum in downtown Robinson. Heath toffee is Mr. Smith's mostest favorite candy, so we HAD to buy a bag, or two, of unwrapped minis. 

Since we were on a trip down tastebud memory lane, I requested that we make a stop at the Dairy Queen in Sullivan, IN, so I could purchase one of MY favorite childhood things, Krunch Kote. As a kid, I thought that a chocolate-dipped crunch cone from DQ was the best! As an adult, I don't think it's the best, but it is still pretty tasty.

Last summer I purchased the crunchies and paid nearly $25 for the gallon-sized carton of goodness. This summer, my purchase of the exact same sized item from the exact same DQ cost $15. I should have bought two. Who knows what the market for crunchy topping will look like next year?! It's nuts! (I'm sorry, I just had to.)

After the trip to the DQ, we drove on some not-so-heavily traveled Indiana backroads. Dad showed his grandkids some other interesting things about where their mother grew up -- old family cemeteries, lakes, ponds, succotash fields, old abandoned buildings, and a strip mining operation. (No, the miners are not strippers. What kind of place do you think I'm from?!) 

The Bear Run Mine (Peabody Energy) is the largest surface coal mine in the eastern US, with an annual production capacity of 8 million tons. In order to see this operation, we were forced to take the road less traveled. 

What's the harm in a little Hoosier clay? 

We drove our very dirty rental beast back to the Lone Star State, singing oldies and munching Heath toffee along the way. 

No explanation was necessary to the nice lady at the rental car return. She seemed to understand that a little mud may fly when you're "traveling at the speed of Hertz." 

School's out for Summer!

Saying farewell to Keller Middle School brought only smiles to these girlies. No tears. The final weeks of 8th grade were full of awards ceremonies, exhibits, end-of-the-year projects, a few exams, giggles, fun, and much celebration! 

MakBo and Millie were awarded for being artsy, not fartsy.

 City of Keller Art Exhibit

 Last day of school!

After the final bell sounded at 12:45, this trio had lunch at Whataburger, played laser tag, and went shopping.

They searched for the most horrendous looking dresses and had to "try" 'em on. Stylish indeed.

Let the summer fun begin!