INOKWACA

SOONER...or Later?

2012-01-30T12:21:00.000-06:00

OK sunrise

Saturday mornings are good for sleeping in; however, this past weekend found us up at 5:15 and on the road by 6AM headed for Norman, Oklahoma. YAWN!

Our resident OSU Cowboy willingly agreed to drive his middle child to the enemy camp -- University of Oklahoma -- for a campus tour. At least Mr. Smith has braggin' rights this year, since OSU routed/trounced/crushed/licked/defeated OU in football 44-10, and the Cowboys captured the Big 12 championship. (Although tempted, Mr. Smith didn't wear any orange and black articles of clothing on Saturday.)

We arrived on campus 30 minutes before our orientation meeting began. We were thankful to get there early until we realized we'd be spending that time in a torture chamber... er, uh, I mean large meeting room with seventy-some total strangers listening to "Boomer Sooner" way too many times. Awkward!

Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,
Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,

Boomer Sooner, Boomer Sooner,
Boomer Sooner, O-K-U.
     
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma, Oklahoma,
Oklahoma, O-K-U.
     
I'm a Sooner born and a Sooner bred
And when I die I'll be a Sooner dead!


Rah Oklahoma, Rah Oklahoma,
Rah Oklahoma, O-K-U!

After being subjected to an instrumental version of the OU fight song a COUNTLESS number of times, a representative from the university gave an informative, thirty-minute, multi-media presentation about the school, its history, degree options, campus life, etc. Finally, we were treated to a walking tour of the campus with NO Boomer Sooner background music within earshot.

Having never set foot on OU's campus before, I was surprised to find how beautiful it is. Apparently, Frank Lloyd Wright used the phrase "Cherokee Gothic" to describe the the unique architecture style found on campus. The buildings are classic gothic architecture mixed with design elements from Oklahoma Native American tribes. It is pretty and interesting, and pretty interesting!

The Great Reading Room in the library is lovely, and OH, so quiet. Shhhhhhh! When I curl up with a good read, I prefer to do so on a comfy sofa or over-sized chair, and that is one thing that is noticeably absent in this room. Perhaps furniture that would promote sleeping was deliberately omitted from the decorating scheme since snoring would be a distraction. ;-)

I snapped a photo of a couple of dancers outside the School of Dance.

Liesey had originally scheduled a ballet audition at the school, a few hours after the campus tour; however, due to injury and a flare-up of bursitis in both shoulders, she had to relinquish her spot. (No dancing for a minimum of two weeks, doctor's orders.) We saw so many bunheads on campus, but alas, our dancer was not one of 'em.

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." Proverbs 16:9

We are taking this as a sign that the Lord has something else in mind at this particular time, but it was disappointing, nonetheless.

It definitely was not a disappointment to get to spend time with a dear friend, Sarah.

I snapped a SECOND photo of a couple of dancers. :-)

After a very full day on campus, we met up with our long-time friends, enjoyed tasty food, then spent several hours visiting. All's well that ends well.

The college tours are complete. After visiting IU, Texas A&M, TCU, and OU, our soon-to-be college freshman now needs to decide where she wants to go to school. Bring on the scholarships! That might make the decision-making process a little bit easier.

A Brunette Moment?

2012-01-26T15:45:00.000-06:00

Who is that brunette hiding behind the blonde?

I guess I didn't understand the "power of the dark side," until I tried it. It's not that I have anything against being a brunette; blonde is just a shade more natural for me, as well as a more natural shade.

Yoda said, "Fear is the path to the dark side." Nope, I'm pretty sure a box of L'Oreal Excellence Medium Golden Brown was the path that I took.

Yoda also gets credit for saying, "Once you start down the dark path, forever it will dominate your destiny." I know that the wise Jedi Master wasn't talking about hair color, but I decided I'd better turn back before my roots started growing out, just to be safe.

"More fun, blondes have. Yes, hmmm?"

Despite all the flack that blondes receive about being dumb, I'm now back to being a golden girl. Brownish tresses were fun for a few weeks, but blonde is "funner." Also, blonde jokes are better than brunette jokes. And I can certainly laugh at myself.

Q: If a blonde and a brunette are tossed off a building, who hits the ground first?
A: The brunette. The blonde has to stop to ask for directions.

Through the miracle of chemical artistry,

I am once again blonde, but I'm no dummy.

Ahhhh! It feels good to be back -- jokes and all.

PADD

2012-01-24T17:24:00.000-06:00

I must confess that I have PADD -- Prayer Attention Deficit Disorder. I know many prayer warriors who seem to have NO problem finding the right words to pray, and they stay focused as they communicate with God. (Confession: I really don't like those people!) I know, too, that there are others, just like me, who no more than 30 seconds into prayer, start thinking about what has to be done, what has been neglected, questioning if the bills got paid, or if my outfit matches, or what the dinner menu is going to be, or...

Be still, my over-active thought life!

Now, what was I writing? See, I am distracted, even as I write this. I have always thought of being able to think about three things at once not as being "distracted," but as being able to multi-task. I thought this skill was an asset, not a liability. When it comes to prayer, I should not do or think about more than one thing at a time.

It certainly is hard to be STILL.

It's been said that you can always find a distraction if you are looking for one. I guess my eyes are wide-open, and I am on heightened alert for a diversion.

I also have been known to fall asleep right in the middle of a prayer. I know, that's REALLY bad form. So, it's possible to be too STILL during prayer? I suppose so.

My intentions are good. I try, really I do, but when I pray, I all too frequently find myself hopping down some rabbit trail of unrelated thought. Thankfully, God is ever so patient with me despite my digressions, and slumber.

Here are some ways I think I can do a better job of staying focused:

1. JOURNAL
Writing down my prayers in a journal is an idea that I haven't yet successfully implemented, but am willing to try -- again. I have attempted to do this over the years, but I never stick with it for a prolonged period of time. My greatest fear is that the information contained on those ink-filled pages could be embarrassing, damaging, hurtful, etc. if someone else read it. By contrast, if I wrote things in too cryptic of a way, even I might not remember what it was I was praying about.

I have had people tell me that this is a wonderful way to document what all God is doing. I keep searching for a journal that I like, but I cannot find one that fits my requirements. I suppose that I could resort to using a plain ol' spiral notebook, but holding out for a pretty hardbound, book-like journal.

2. DOODLE
Praying in Color is a book written by Sybil MacBeth (Hmmmm... I just had the quote "Fair is foul, and foul is fair." come to mind as I typed the author's last name. I MUST stay focused.) that I have not read, and will probably not purchase. The concept presented in the book is pretty straightforward: as you pray, you write down names of those you are praying for. Next you doodle and color in with markers as you think about what your prayer for that person is. By drawing your prayer, it allows you freedom. I kinda like this concept of having an "active, visual, and meditative" way to pray, when words fail me. This approach appeals to my inner-artist, too! (No, this is not one of my doodles. I do not know Sandy & Tom.)

3. The B-I-B-L-E (Yes, that's the book for me.)
Use Scripture as prayer. I have done this in the past, but somehow do not seem to keep it up.

4. ONGOING CONVERSATION
-Use everyday (even mundane) situations all throughout the day to give thanks to the Lord.
"God, thank you for giving me __________."
-Pray for others when they pop into your mind.

5. ACTS
A- Adoration
C - Confession
T -Thanksgiving
S -Supplication

6. THE LORD'S PRAYER
Jesus prayed this way, so we should use this as a model of how we are to pray.

I know that I am only scratching the surface here, as there are MANY other ways to have a more effective prayer life. I just hope to find something that works for me. If you have any other suggestions, please send me an e-mail.

Oh! Here's yet another option for enhancing prayer time, but I am not adding it as #7 on my list.
I read about a gentleman who set up an e-mail account for God. He writes/sends prayers to God's e-mail address throughout the day. Whatever works... but I wonder what happens if/when God's server is down, or if His in-box gets full. Or what if God starts marking the influx of e-mail prayer requests as "spam" or "junk mail"?!!!

Okay, I'm thinking it, so I might as well write it. I am wondering what kind of name this guy chose for God's e-mail account:

god@god.com?

jehovah@heaven.com?

creator@iamgod.net?

yahweh@alphaomega.net?

god@themanupstairs.net?

iam@gmail.com?

The possibilities are limitless.

Out with the old. In with the new.

2012-01-01T22:59:00.000-06:00

It's time to eat healthier, exercise more, and get ORGANIZED! I'm not so sure about the first two, but I am all about organization. I love making order out of chaos.

I've been going through scads of photos from the past twelve months. Sorting through pictures is time consuming, but rewarding. It's a good reminder of just how blessed we are. I've sorted through an abundance of family members' faces, oodles of friends' smiles, countless places we've been, stuff we've seen or done over the past 365 days, numerous ballet pics, and a few things I just don't recognize or recall taking a picture of. Of course, there are a gazillion images of those darn cats. (Millie's been using my camera again!)

During the month of December, there were several hundred pictures taken with my camera. (Oh, I am so glad we don't have to buy film and pay for processing any more.) I won't share all of the pictures here. I promise! The majority of the images already have been, or will be, deleted. Here are a few choice photos from Christmas Day until the end of the year. Well, there might be more than a few pics -- perhaps a dozen-ish will do.

The table was set for five for Christmas dinner, but Jemima thought that she needed a chair of her own. (No, we didn't pull an extra chair up for her. She got booted. And no table scraps, either.) I thought our table looked simply elegant set with our Dansk china and silver. (Wedding gifts!) The water goblets are circa 1900, and used to belong to Mr. Smith's grandmother or maybe great-grandmother. They are old, no matter who the original owner was. I think the food tasted better because it was served up in a little more formal fashion than we are used to on a daily basis.

#1 Resolution for 2012: Use the "good stuff" more often, and not worry if a piece gets damaged/broken.

These "boots" were a quirky addition to the Christmas decorations this year. They are so doggone adorable, I would almost consider leaving them out all year. Thank you, Pier1!

Harwood and his two favorite girls. These two are my two favorite, too.

The journey to the Hoosier state on December 26th may have been long, and rainy, but it was fun. Junk food (a road trip tradition) and silly games were the order of the day. We received many stares and chuckles from other motorists along I-44 as we were playing this guessing game. You've gotta admit that the headbands ARE rather stylish.

Walkin' in a winter wonderland? What a treat it was to wake up to an Indiana snowfall on our wedding anniversary. All that precipitation we drove through in Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Illinois turned white when it caught up with us in Indiana.

I coerced the Smithlings into posing for a picture in the new-fallen snow. Everyone's smiling and all eyes are opened, so it's a keeper.

Surprise! For our 24th anniversary, Mr. Smith had our favorite Hoosier florist, who did our wedding flowers all those years ago, recreate an arrangement similar to what we had for decorations. He's so thoughtful!

Are there any photos of me with my beloved on "our" day? Nope. Maybe Mr. Smith and I will pose for a photograph on our twenty-fifth. I'll start planning now.

#2 Resolution for 2012: Say, "Cheese!" more often. I take lots of pictures during the year, just not of myself. I've always been more comfortable behind the camera, but I will resolve to get out of my comfort zone and get in the picture more often.

Millie Girl with her grandpa

Grandpa and his grandkids minus two

All smiles!

I've always looked up to my mostest-favoritest seester.

Or over to her? Or something like that.

Cousins!!!

Thompson, Burton, Thompson, Burton...

Do you see a pattern here?

I already know that I am going to get questions regarding my current hair color, so I will address it right here and now.

So, does she... or doesn't she?

She did.

On a whim, I decided to try out some darker tones. It has been interesting to hear and see the reactions of my family members and friends. The brunette hair color has been getting mixed reviews. One of our neighbors simply didn't recognize me, and had to do a double and triple-take before things clicked. A couple of people loved it, a few liked it, and there were some who were indifferent. I only received one "mildly dissatisfied" comment. All in all, I learned that I could do a brown 'do if I wanted to. So, there! Operation Brunette was not only born out of boredom, but also it has been a scientific experiment to try to answer the age-old question of whether blondes or brunettes have the most fun. The results reveal that blonde wins, by a hair!

#3 Resolution for 2012: Return tresses to their mostly natural shade of dark blonde soon; however, a few well-placed lighter blonde highlights are always welcomed.

After three short days in Indiana, we drove back to Texas. Instead of the usual 14 hour trip, this one took 17 hours. We stopped in St. Louis for coffee and beignets with T&L. This tasty stop may have added an extra hour and a half, but it was well worth it.

We stopped again in Joplin, MO, to survey the rebuilding process. It was amazing to see how much has been cleared and rebuilt after the tornado last spring. We opted to eat at Panera, no fast food, so this stop added another hour.

Sprite

Miss Millie took a photo of her Panera drink, and I think it turned out really well; however, too much liquid refreshment caused us to have to make an unplanned McWee Wee stop along the Will Rogers Turnpike in OK.

After our McStop, it appeared that we would be getting home around 10:15 PM, but that was before we opted to make a Starbucks stop in Norman, OK. Since our resident high school senior has applied to a certain university located in said city, we had to take a short driving tour of the campus. We arrived home at 11 PM, oh, so happy to be back home and out of the car.

New Year's Day Forecast:

#4 Resolution for 2012: Give thanks and enjoy every day, rain or shine. (Shine is preferred, but rain is good, too.)

#5 Resolution for 2012: Rejoice!...whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Happy New Year!

Deck the Halls... and Windows

2011-12-13T09:30:00.000-06:00

This year, the Smith kids pretty much get all of the credit for getting the "halls" decked. Mr. Smith and I assisted, too, but it was mainly Millie Girl who was crackin' the whip in order to get the Christmas decorating chore checked off of the to-do list. I probably shouldn't refer to decorating as a chore, but I think you know what I mean -- right? The project took nearly a week to complete, and the end results are holly, jolly indeed.

The indoor Christmas decorating was compounded by the fact that we are in the midst of a home improvement project. (Thanks, Markkkk and Mr. Smith!) We decked the windows in the family room and kitchen with wood trim, a total of eleven windows, so the sawdust has been flying.

I am growing quite weary of filling nail holes, sanding, caulking, priming, and sanding some more. There is a fine layer of dust EVERYWHERE! Even the dust is getting dusty. And my index finger is calloused from smoothing the bead of caulk, but we are almost ready for paint. This is fussy work at its finest. And it cannot be rushed. The prep work is the most important step in the process, but it has taken what seems like forever to complete.

Aside from all of this decorating and home improving, we also had a weekend of Nutcracker thrown in there for good measure. It's been busy 'round these parts.

Men at work...

Although the project is not yet completed, I figure that I can give you a sneak peek of the progress.

Back to the CHRISTmas decorations:

What a delightful daughter!

Although you cannot see 'em, there are two big, brown Maine Coons sacked out under our tree. Our feline friends are responsible for decorating the tree skirt with globs of fur, so they are helpers, too. I am not sure what it is about Christmas trees, whether they are real of artificial, but cats seems to love to hide beneath the branches. At least B&J don't climb the tree or knock ornaments off -- well, they haven't done that yet. There's still time.

Festive festoons

We've been told by someone that the lighted swags look like a capital letter "M". Hmmmm... if so, I guess it stands for Merry Christmas. Or sMith? Or Mele Kalikimaka? Or it'll take Much Money to pay the electric bill?

Thanks to Millie Girl for taking this photo with her phone -- good work!

The backyard even has a jolly feel to it.

The stocking are hung... with care, of course.

Up on the rooftop -- LEDs glow!

We have lost count how many years we have been outfitting the family car with festive lights. I believe the first year was when we were living in Tulsa, in 1995. That was w-a-y back when there were only TWO lil' Smithlings.

I managed to find this old photo of the Explorer sleigh. Despite the road grime, the '92 Black Beauty was definitely stylin' with lights and red bows.

We started out using battery operated lights, but learned that the batteries died very quickly in the bitterly cold temperatures. The drive up I-44 from OK to IN was a lot merrier in a decked out rig, and the wee passengers in the vehicle seemed happier with the lights on. (On long road trips, happy is good, no matter what the cost.) We would stock up on more than enough D cells to make the round trip. We should have bought stock in the Energizer Bunny while we were at it.

We then we advanced to 12V strands that plugged into the car's auxiliary power outlet. Those worked well, but one by one the bulbs burnt out and we couldn't find replacements. This year, we are using good ol' regular Christmas lights made in China that plug into a 12V DC to 110V AC power inverter. We get lots of smiles and waves from those we meet on the roads. Don't mind us, we're just out spreading holiday cheer as we roll merrily along. ;-)

The decorating may be completed, but there remains that little detail of shopping to attend to. And there are final exams for our student population, but it'll soon be time for FUN!

Let the reindeer games begin...

N-cracker 2011

2011-12-07T12:55:00.001-06:00

We survived yet another season of the Nutcracker and lived to tell about it. We are indeed still breathing. Well, I haven't told you anything just yet, but I will.

This year, our dancer girl was in the following roles:
1. Party Scene (Liesey was a party mom in two shows and Clara's mother in two shows)
2. Snow Princess
3. Arabian Trio
4. Waltz of the Flowers (Corps)

Liesey also was responsible for working with five little cherubs, ages four and five. She spent several weeks at rehearsal teaching them their choreography. The "teacher" soon learned it was good to bribe her young pupils with candy, specifically Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, to get them to pay attention. If the kids worked hard, they were rewarded with a treat at the end of the rehearsal. This plan was most effective! Dangled chocolate is much tastier than a dangled carrot. ;-)

The performances were held at the Will Rogers Auditorium in Ft. Worth. It is a lovely old art deco style theatre that was built in the 1930s. The auditorium holds 3,000. Only one performance was sold out, but we still figure that 8,000-ish patrons saw the Nutcracker over the four-day run.

It was a lovely show, from start to finish. We are oh, so proud of our daughter, and all of her dancing friends. All of their hard work resulted in a fantastic show!

Let it snow...

I'm thinkin' these lil' cherubs are looking forward to that Reese's candy for a job well done.

Arabian Coffee

A Starbuck's "extra hot split quad shot (two shots decaf, two shots regular) latte with whip" ain't got nothin' over these beauties.

"Flowers"

Sorry, there are no action photos. I simply sat back and enjoyed watching this piece. I couldn't help but smile... Waltz of the Flowers was both of Liesey's grandmothers' favorite part of the ballet, so I wanted to watch it to honor them. I know they were smiling, too.

The End.
Roll credits...

Thanks, Jack and Judy, for coming to the show!

Lovely Thomson and Smith girlies

The Huffmans

The ballet bun is down!

A Grandpa hug is always welcomed. ;-)

Here we are posing with a long, lost TX relative. Notice any family resemblance? He is tall...
Christmas card pose? Maybe...

Nuts on Parade

2011-12-06T17:58:00.001-06:00

Oh, the weather outside was frightful, as it was 39º F with light drizzle and a breeze on Saturday morning. Brrrr! The chilly, damp weather didn't stop a group of beautiful ballerinas from parading down the streets of Big D. Are these dancers nuts? No, but they are part of the cast of Nutcracker! There is a nut in there somewhere, I am sure.

North Central Ballet had the opportunity to "march" in the annual Children's Medical Center Holiday Parade in downtown Dallas alongside a young ballerina, Rachel Herrera, who was of the Grand Marshals of the parade.

In November 2010, Herrera had a stroke while at ballet class. She is still recovering, and is not able to resume dancing at this time. (See her story here: Herrera) Rachel, who is now 14, had danced in a production of the Nutcracker every Christmas season since she was a small child. This year she was given the role of Clara for the parade. Of course, being Clara is a dream role for every young ballerina. And being a Grand Marshal for a big time parade is pretty cool, too! To top it off, Clara got to roll along the route in a vintage Rolls Royce -- even cooler, especially since it was a convertible.

"Our" ballerina girls did not know Rachel until they were asked to participate in this annual event. They were blessed by getting to know this remarkable young lady.

Nutcracker was the biggest balloon in the parade, measuring in at 45' tall. It took a team of twenty-five people to handle the big guy.

Grand Marshal "Clara" and the Sugar Plum Fairy

We learned that this Christmas parade is a pretty big deal. Three hundred fifty THOUSAND spectators line the parade route! Through national syndication at varying times in December, the parade will be broadcast to more than 100 million homes across the country in markets that include New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Boston and Atlanta. (Broadcast Schedule)

We opted to stay at home and watch the parade from the comfort of our family room to catch a glimpse of our favorite Arabian smiling and waving. I think the smiles were frozen on the girls' faces.

Love the shoes!

After a brief photo shoot with Ian Kinsler, second baseman for the Texas Rangers, and a quick meet & greet with Miss Texas (What a social calendar!), these dancers were off to the Will Rogers Auditorium in Ft. Worth for their third performance of N-cracker.

Hang tight, dear INOKWACA followers, there will definitely be a blog entry with show pictures coming up just as fast as I can type in all of the details. ;-)

ThankFULL

2011-11-29T21:14:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving was a very FULL and fun day. We counted our many blessings and probably should have counted calories a little more carefully.

Although the headcount 'round our table reached fifteen, no one went hungry. We were well-stocked with plenty of provisions to feed the masses. It was a two turkey kind of day -- gobble, gobble! One turkey was smoked on the grill, while the second one was baked in the oven in a more traditional manner. Both birds were moist and yummy, thanks to several hours of brining, but the grilled turkey was the unanimous favorite.

Gobble is a clear, succinct, one-word description of the day's events. I really tried to not overeat, but aside from the fowl fare, there were way too many of my favorite things: sweet potato casserole, mashed spuds, homemade noodles, fresh green beans, good ol' canned green bean casserole, orange-cranberry relish, yeast rolls, and two kinds of dressing. And then there was dessert on top of that! I was a wee bit beyond "politely full," but not quite to the "miserable" stage.

Dad, my three brothers and their wives, two of my nephews, and my mostest favorite sister all made the trek to Keller to join us in giving thanks. What a blessing it was to have most of our family at our home. Of course, we missed having Mom, Florence, and other family members here with us.

Here are the photos from Turkey Day. There are ALWAYS photos, you know!

I am thankful that I have a daughter who can fold dinner napkins.

We all were thankful for two tables and plenty o' chairs so we didn't have to crowd around one table.

I am thankful for my beautiful, kind, helpful, generous, loving, etc. sister!

Oh, so thankful for tasty carbs...

We joined in a big circle for prayer, but I only had enough time to snap off one photo before the praying began, so the other nine family members didn't get shot. They were thankful for that!

I'm VERY thankful for my daddy. 'Nuf said!

Uncle Todd is thankful for such a fine nephew.

"The Birds" are thankful for one year of wedded bliss!

We are all thankful to have Robin as a relatively new addition to our family. ;-)

I was thankful to have so many wonderful AND photogenic helpers in the kitchen.

I am thankful for a turkey-carving pro bro. He is such a cutup...

These three were thankful that I only made them endure three shots with my Canon before getting the right photo.

We were all thankful for the opportunity to get a group photo. (Thank you, Thomsons, for shooting the Thompsons!) The only thing that might have been better is a group hug, or perhaps a photo of this group group hugging.

We are thankful that our driveway could accommodate five cars, while the garages held three vehicles. Nobody had to park on the street. We are thankful, too, that all of our guests had safe travels both coming and going.

Yep, "ThankFULL" pretty much sums the day up.

All Treats, No Tricks

2011-11-01T21:27:00.000-05:00

The stage was all set...

...but only a handful of neighbor kids rang our doorbell.

Perhaps we have a reputation for being too scary.

Or we're bad treaters.

Thankfully, there were no tricks.

Cat's-eye marbles were used for the orbs of this squash-cat.
Purr-fect carving, Liesey-Lou!

We only heard "ding-dong" seven times. It's quality, not quantity, right? It was certainly a treat to open the door and see these faces:

Preston/Buzz Lightyear

Alex and Amelia

Claire, Quinn, Gordon, and their parents

Katie and Millie

Maddey and 'Mima

I neglected to take pictures of the two other groups of masqueraders, but by the end of the evening, when we added up all of the smiling faces (including parents), we had a total of seventeen people at our door. Maybe next year we will make it to twenty. That might be setting expectations too high!

Avast, me hearties! 'Ere's one more picture of a lovely lass.

Okay, so a landlubber like me doesn't really know pirate-speak, but I had to give it a try. (Perhaps a hearty yo-ho-ho would be appropriate here.) Millie's not the swashbucklin' type, any way. At least I don't think she is... Arrrrr!

Hoedown Lowdown

2011-10-31T14:19:00.000-05:00

Yeee-ha! The Harvest Hoedown was a smashing success! And you'd better believe that I've got LOTS of photos and details to prove it.

Twenty-five adults and thirty-one "buckaroos" (ranging in age from 4 months to 19 years, and everything in between) were present at the neighborhood shindig. Four new families joined in on the fun. We are blessed to get to live next to so many nice folks.

Grilled tri-tip, brisket, pulled pork, and tube steaks were on the menu. The neighbors brought appetizers and side dishes to share. Our kitchen island was filled with just about every kind of food from salad to beans to hatch chili casserole to yummy potato casserole to a baked "grown-up version" of mac-n-cheese to this to that and the other. I am missing several other offerings, but you get the idea. There was no shortage of chow.

Here are some of the smiles I was able to capture:

Claire, Jacinda, and Quinn

Macias Family

Jennifer, Cooper, Jack, and Judy

Alex and her Mommy

(Alex is holding the "Dandy Duds" Award that she won for donning the best western outfit.)

Harris Family

Misailov Four

Cecily and Jens

Katie, Millie, and Lexie

Andrea, Liesey, Judy, and Barb

Dean and Jack

Cooper and his parents, Russell and Jennifer

Lanier, Livvy, and Lauren

I love fall decorations, so I have to share some of the fall-ish items we used to prettify the Smith Haus.

Thanks to timely order fulfillment from Oriental Trading Company, and speedy-quick delivery via USPS, the kids had projects/crafts to do. Millie assembled this adorable scarecrow as a demo model. We also had an Indian corn craft and coloring activities.

Easy as pie!

The 2nd Annual Pie Bake-off was highly anticipated, and competition was fierce, in a neighborly kind of way. Seven pies were entered into the contest. The flavors represented in this year's event were: apple, pumpkin, peanut butter, buttermilk, and chocolate cream.

The highly-esteemed (upper crust?) panel of judges tasted each entry, took notes, then tasted a second time. It's a crusty job, but somebody's gotta do it...

I captured Dave, a.k.a. the General and head pie-tasting judge, and the "other" Dave engaged in an important discussion. This judging stuff is serious business, so there was much deliberation, debate, discussion... and disposal of pie. A third tasting was required. The judges reportedly had a tough time deciding which pies were the best of the best, since all seven pies were tasty.

Scores were tallied,

Alka-Seltzer administered,

and the results were revealed.

3rd Place: Lexie's Triple Chocolate Pie

Somehow I missed getting a photo of this sweet eleven-year-old with her prize. Lexie won 1st place last year, but had to settle for 3rd this year. She was thrilled with a top tier finish, especially since there had been a three-way tie for 3rd place that had to be resolved.

2nd Place: Liesey's Peanut Butter Pie

(Thank you, Southern Living Dessert Cookbook!)

1st Place: Barb's Apple/Cranberry Pie

After the winners were announced and prizes awarded, it was time for dessert. YUM!!! Obviously, I had lots of forks and napkins at hand -- or in hand. Thankfully, everyone had saved room for pie.

At the risk of having an illustration on my blog that is deemed as being in poor taste, I am going to share a tee shirt graphic that made me chuckle. It seemed to fit the occasion. (Please refrain from sending me any snarky comments.)

The aftermath

I'm thinkin' pie for breakfast...

Phone Photos

2011-10-28T18:22:00.000-05:00

I recently got a new phone, which prompted me to download all of the photos from my old phone to my Mac. It is always amusing to see what is on my phone gallery -- I will go for months without ever really looking to see what is lurking there. There is always something interesting, that's for sure.

The following photos tell what we have been up to. Perhaps this post will fill in some of the gaping holes that this fairly neglected blog seems to have.

August 27 -- We saw MercyMe in concert before the Texas Rangers ballgame.

We had fun at the game even if we were all the way up in the nosebleed section. And we were still smiling despite the loss to Anaheim. The Rangers have been really fun to follow this season, even for those of us who are not die-hard baseball fans.

Mr. Smith has been a St. Louis Cardinals fan for as long as he can remember. As a young boy, he would tune in his transistor radio past all the static to the to hear Jack Buck call the games. I need to add that he has long been in the "the-National-League-is-better-than-the-American-League" camp; however, after living in Texas, he now has a favorite AL team. I think that the Cards will always be his favorite favorite. Let's just say that it has been an interesting World Series. My husband is a tormented, conflicted fan. The upside is that despite what happens in Game 7 tonight, he will be happy, well... sort of.

Is this really photo-worthy? I'm not sure, but it made us laugh.

Over Labor Day weekend, we headed to Waco for a visit with Mitchell and the Houston Thompsons. This summer, we endured 71 days (thankfully, not consecutive) of temperatures at 100 degrees or hotter, so it was a pleasant surprise to finally have temps in the low 80s that weekend. Ahhhh!

In Waco, we visited Heritage Homestead and got to do some fun hands-on activities and crafts.

We got to meet Pretty. I think she is smiling for the camera.

Of course, no trip to Waco is complete without a visit to the Dr. Pepper Museum.

I'm a Pepper. He's a Pepper. She's a Pepper. We're a Pepper. Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper, too?

There are several apps on my phone for taking and/or editing photos.

The WeCam app is fun to play with, but Millie Girl looks kinda sad about it.

Pepper likes eating apples. What an unusual little beast!

Bartholomew found himself on the wrong side of the wine grotto door and could not figure out how to shoehorn his portly form through the bars. Isn't that a pathetic face?

It's apple butter season! We found a nearby orchard to buy apples from, but were puzzled by the box. Texas apples = California Tomatoes? We now have a pantry well-stocked with homemade apple butter and apple sauce. Maybe it's really Tomato Butter, and I am the one who is confused. Whatever the stuff is called, we should be set for a couple of years!

I get to see this face every night as I get ready for bed. Bart jumps up on my sink and loudly, yet politely, requests a drink from my faucet. Never mind that he has his own pet water fountain -- complete with filtered water.

My kitty-boy is a dork. I am a dork, too, for taking this picture of him and adding it to my blog.

So, all of the pictures are deleted from my old phone. The new phone has an even better camera so that should be put to good use. There will undoubtedly be more silly cat poses to capture. And who knows what else my new phone's camera will shoot? We'll see...

Off-the-Wall

2011-10-25T23:30:00.000-05:00

It's been a slow news day.
A slow week?
A slow month?

October is winding down, and I have not shared one word via INOKWACA about what's been going on with the Smiths. There has been a lot going on, but you just haven't read about it here. Maybe the daily goings-on at our house just isn't newsworthy stuff.

I have been busily tending my daily household/wife/mother/neighbor/friend/homework assistant/etc. duties, so I have not had time to write much this month. Although I have written a few entries, I didn't publish them. Sometimes I do that. It helps for me to get my thoughts written down, but then I decide that nobody needs or wants to see what I wrote.

While I haven't exactly had time to sit and stare at the walls, one might draw that conclusion based upon today's entry.

Have you seen or taken a Rorschach test? The Rorschach test or inkblot test is a psychological test in which the perception of blots of ink reveal one's personality characteristics or their emotional functioning.

We have a variation of the inkblot test built right into the Smith Haus. We call it the drywall mud test. Well, we really don't have a formal name for it at all. The Smith Mudblob test? The "Sheetrock Brand" All Purpose Joint Compound Weird Shapes Test?

After living in our new house for over a year, we all realized that we were "seeing things."

One evening, our dinner conversation turned to the images on the walls. Now how's that for an exciting table topic? We learned that we were seeing the same things in one room in particular. Most of the walls in our house have a normal knock down drywall finish; however, the master bathroom, guest bathroom, and kitchen walls have a skip trowel finish, which makes for some interesting shapes in the mud. I won't mention what room it is that has the most interesting images -- suffice it to say that it is a room that we all visit with some regularity. And of course, regularity is much preferred to irregularity.

I am not sure what I see on the wall reveals about me or my personality. We will have to analyze that another day. Probably not. Could it all mean that I might be a bit off-the-wall? Probably! I mean, I did take photos of the mud patterns and write about them on this blog. And I fully intend to hit the "publish" button this time. Those actions could be considered unusual, I suppose.

Despite the fact that my reputation as a normal, sane individual is at risk, here are one dozen Smith mudblobs, as well as my personal interpretations:

A hat? A flying saucer?

A rooster?

I'm seeing an exotic bird here; perhaps "Kevin" from the movie Up.

"You ain't nothin' but a hound dog..."

Lafayette the Bassett Hound from The Aristocats

One fish

Two fish

(No red fish or blue fish)

A boot? Italy?

A cat? A boar? A catboar?

A turkey! (It is getting close to Thanksgiving, you know.)

A wren

I am not sure what we agreed that we saw here, but it kinda looks like a map to me.

Or single-cell eukaryotic organisms?

(Is it evident that I've been helping my 7th grade student prepare for a science exam?)

Or maybe it's really just drywall mud.

Michigan/mitten

I must think a lot about food, pets, and travel -- well, travel to Michigan and Italy. And I find it interesting that I "see" nine of the twelve images as animals. So, what does it mean? Probably not much. I think that the drywall finishers simply had a good time playing in the drywall compound. Or it could be that I really have been too busy this month, and I am starting to see things.

I'll let you know if I start seeing any writing on the wall. I would really be concerned about seeing that, especially if the words are being written by a disembodied hand. King Belshazzar would likely have rather traded the message he received for my birds, cats, fish, and Michigan. ;-)

Counting Calories

2011-09-28T14:29:00.000-05:00

"Sweet" is pretty much a one-word summary of the month of September. I really enjoy baking, so I had a lot of fun making the three Smithlings' favorite treats for their respective birthday celebrations. Eating the fruits of my labor was pretty fun, too!!!

I probably should not have done the calculations and added up the numbers of the calories that have been ingested over the past few weeks, but I did. Oh, my! I was shocked.

Liesey's Snickers/Hot Fudge cheesecake added up to 8,958 calories. It was divided 16 ways so that each serving packed 560 calories. Adding a dollop of homemade whipped cream added another 50 or 60 calories, give or take...

Millie Girl's German Chocolate Cat totaled 10,096 calories; divvied up sixteen ways for a total of 631 calories per serving. For those who added a scoop of Blue Bell ice cream at 190 calories/serving, the grand total equaled 821 calories. Anyone want seconds?

The Birthday Boy's pumpkin pie added up to 2,240 calories or a mere 280 calories per serving. What a caloric bargain!

8,958

10,096

+ 2,240

21,294 calories

Yikes!!!! It's a good thing birthday celebrations come once a year.

The birthdaze are over, the cake plate is empty, and now I'm feelin' a bit of a hangover -- over my waistband, that is.

Another Year Older and Wiser

2011-09-23T14:57:00.000-05:00

We intended to embarrass the nineteen-year-old on "his" day by writing silly messages on his car windows. The problem is that our easygoing guy doesn't get bugged by anything; he just rolls with whatever comes his way.

Thankfully, the writing didn't get washed off by the rain until after our son had driven to UTA for his classes; however, the car windows were a smeary mess by the time he got home. Oh, well!

According to the birthday boy, cake is overrated, so pumpkin pie was on the menu.

I guess our singing was really bad and/or really funny...

Can you tell it was indeed a HAPPY birthday?

M. received many funny greeting cards, but I have to share the one Millie chose for her brother:

78% of the people think you look like a monkey.

32% of the people think you smell like one, too.

You do the math. Happy Birthday.

It's especially comical since math is Millie Girl's least favorite subject, so she wouldn't have added add up the numbers to see what the percentage equaled. She just had a hunch that the monkey business/smelly sentiment was perfect to share with her brother -- after all, he is a boy. AND she also figured her brother would approve of having statistics and such on a card. He did. :-)

In addition to the stack of birthday greetings to open, there were presents to unwrap, too.

Our oldest Smithling has always had this amazing ability to correctly guess what is inside each package before he opens it. This has been going on for years and years, ever since he was a little boy. (I think that goes along with his analytical engineer brain.) He carefully studies/scrutinizes the shape, size, and weight of each box prior to opening it, and somehow ALWAYS guesses the contents correctly. This is somewhat frustrating for me, but amusing for him. Of course, I never let on that he is correct in his conjectures, as I wouldn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing he's right until I absolutely have to.

M. methodically unwraps his gifts by slowly removing the tape so as not to rip the wrapping. Next, he carefully removes the paper and folds it neatly before looking at what was wrapped inside. This is something that greatly irritates his youngest sister. I think the big brother drags out the unwrapping ceremony a wee bit longer than it should take in a special effort to aggravate Millie all the more. When he finally sees what the gift is, he gives a knowing look as if to say, "Uh huh, I could see that one coming."

Well, two can play at this game. This year, I made a little more of an effort to throw him a curve ball by using odd sized boxes for his gifts. The birthday boy failed to correctly identify the gifts we gave him, four out of four times. Despite being w-r-o-n-g every single time, he was very happy with the gifts he received. Mission accomplished. The boy may be getting older, but chalk one up (or four?) for Mom this time around for being a wee bit wiser.

Happy 19th, Son!!!

The umTEENth Birthday Post

2011-09-19T11:20:00.000-05:00

Ummm... umTEENth? Well, it's really only the second September birthday, but I liked the pun.

I briefly considered using "Teen Angel" as the title for this entry. It seemed perfect since Grandma Betty always used to tell Miss Millie that she was an angel. One of our neighbors in Roseville observed that Millie likely was an angel, but she had horns holding up her halo. Then I remembered the song "Teen Angel" from the late '50s about a young girl who was killed by a train. Teen Angel sounds pretty morbid. Scratch that title.

Whether she's an angel or not, our youngest daughter is now officially a TEENAGER! For one year, and one year only, all three Smith kids will be in their teen years. Please pray for us.

No Pop-Tarts for this girl's breakfast. Tree-ripened bagels and schmear were on the menu.

Even though our newest teenager thinks her parents are silly, we are committed to carrying on the bagel tree tradition until our #3 Smithling moves out of the house. It's tradition!

"You may ask, how did this tradition start? I'll tell you. I don't know. But it's a tradition."
(Thank you, Tevye from Fiddler on the Roof.)

Oh! But I do know how the tradition began. A curious and creative three-year-old girl planted a bagel beside an apricot tree in hopes that the two would somehow cross and produce bagels. On her fourth birthday, bagels sprouted from that most amazing tree. We had her convinced that bagels grew on trees for many years. It was quite entertaining watching Millie look for bagel buds in anticipation of the annual bagel harvest.

The tradition must continue, even though the original bagel tree in in California and we are now transplanted in Texas. Millie is a good sport, and she tolerates our foolishness.

Chocolate chip, Cinnamon Crunch, Asiago, Cinnamon Raisin, Plain, Pumpkin, and a few other bagel flavors were ripe for the picking.

A German Chocolate Cat was the cake of choice. Purr-fect!

Happy THIRTEENTH, Millie Girl!

Happy Month o' Birthdays

2011-09-10T21:09:00.000-05:00

It's September, the official birthday month of all three Smithlings, so that means we've been busy. School, homework, and extracurricular activities place demands on our "normal" daily schedule, as it is. Try adding in birthday fun, and things get more interesting. And the schedule gets a little more crowded; however, it's all good.

Liesey Lou is always the first Smithling to get the party started with her celebration on the 9th of the month.

The birthday celebrant started out her day with a treat that we never, ever, ever, ever purchase, except for very special occasions. It'll be another 364 days until these sugar bombs show up in my grocery cart again. (And no, I didn't have one.)

Hmmmmm... It's good to know that these gems are "packed with real fruit." Artificial fruit would likely melt in the toaster and smell all plasticky.

Birthday girl cover girl? She IS seventeen!

A b-day bouquet delivered to work is certain to make a girl smile!

Hooray for presents...

...and cake! (Cheesecake, that is.)

Back to School

2011-08-23T19:50:00.003-05:00

School days, school daze... We are experiencing a healthy dose of being dazed these days.

The past week has been spent getting ready for school to begin. All three Smithlings are hittin' the books this month. Millie's school began on August 22nd. Our son's classes at Univ. of Texas at Arlington begin on August 25th. Liesey's two college level classes (at Tarrant County College) begin on the 30th of the month, and she will also be taking a few of her senior year classes on-line at home. I feel like I need to enroll in a class, or two, too!

For the first time in her life, Millie Girl is heading off to "real" school. What an adventure this has been! The school supply list was long, but we all worked together and even had fun helping the school girl locate every single thing, plus a few extras. Hooray for Staples!

Schedule day was overwhelming; even for Mom and Dad. Millie's new school has 850+ students in 7th and 8th grade, so there were LOTS of twelve, thirteen, and fourteen-year-olds everywhere. And there were just as many parents as students, if not more. It's a good thing it's a big campus.

Our youngest daughter is now a Keller Middle School Comanche.

The middle school that Millie goes to used to be the high school in Keller, so it is a large-ish campus. Everything is bigger in Texas? Uh-huh. I told Millie that she has more students in her 7th grade class than I had in my entire high school. And my high school was made up of four grades!

Do you think this student has enough pencils?

As an end-of-summer-last-hurrah-kind-of thing, our family went out to eat on Sunday afternoon. The restaurant we chose was in Addison, which is north of Dallas. Eating at the Magic Time Machine was interesting, indeed. Paul Bunyan was our waiter, and Superman breezed by our table a few times. There were other characters there, too. The waitstaff is made up of various fictional characters, and I think it is a requirement for each waiter to be a stand-up comedian, as well. The food was good (not knock-your-socks-off-great), but the entertainment value was exceptional. We laughed the entire time we were there.

Strawberry shortcake is the cure for calming the back-to-school jitters.

Our family posed for a photo, but when the "photo ninja" brought the finished product, we could tell that something went horribly wrong in the developing process.

YIKES!!!!! Mr. Smith is pretty scary looking.
We all agreed that Millie looks like she could be Gregg Allman's brother or cousin.

Lord, I was born a ramblin' man...

The first day of school brought smiles and a few nerves, but no tears.

I'm sure Bart and Jemima are going to miss Millie while she's away all day long.
Don't they look sad?

And she's off...

Showers of Blessing

2011-08-18T18:33:00.003-05:00

Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. -Psalm 127:3

Baby Gianna, our newest neighbor girlie, was showered with love, hugs, kisses, and some very nice presents as we all welcomed her to the 'hood. We have wonderful neighbors, so it is always a pleasure to get to spend time with everyone. And it's always fun to snuggle/cuddle a new bebé.

Thomson Triplets

Gianna enjoyed visiting with each and every neighbor.
This baby girl has great interpersonal skills at an early age. ;-)

Nothing Bundt Cake's carrot cake soon disappeared.

Decorating cupcakes may be fun, but eating the finished product is even better.

The "Denerest" (Denali + Everest) Ladies

Paula had a lot of help with unwrapping the gifts, so it didn't take long to open all of the packages.

Judy enjoyed taking her turn at holding Gianna.

Liesey and Elena smiled for the camera.

I waited patiently and finally got to have my turn snuggling a sweet baby girl. Oh, if only babies stayed this way -- not for forever -- but for longer than they do!

I am not really sure what Miss Katie is up to here.
I'm not even sure she knows what she's doing!

This trio is nothing but trouble -- not!

As I was cleaning up after the party, I opened the china cabinet to store some of our serving pieces. I returned to the kitchen to get a second armload of stuff and left the cabinet door ajar. On my return trip, this is what I found. You can see from the photo that Maine Coons are helpers. Some help, huh?! I suppose that I should be grateful that Jemima didn't want to help me wash the dishes. Cats!

Back Home Again

2011-08-15T17:42:00.003-05:00

Recently, I had the opportunity to fly back to the Hoosier state to spend a week with my daddy. Mr. Smith and the Smithlings stayed behind in the sweltering Texas heat while I got to enjoy cool 79 degree temperatures in Indiana. In mid-August?!! Who would have imagined such a thing?

Dad and I had a very fun week hanging out together. As usual, my father taught me a few new tricks. I can now change a tire all by my big girl self. This is something that I understood (in theory) how to do, but have never HAD to do. I completed the task, and I didn't even get too dirty. :-)

Although the tire changing event was pretty cool, the biggest accomplishment was learning how to use my dad's Dixie Chopper.

A Dixie Chopper is a zero turn lawn mower that is made near Greencastle, Indiana. It reminds me of a very souped up power wheelchair with a cutting deck mounted on the underside. See the similarity? Well, one is a lot noisier than the other.

This beast of a mower is intimidating, to say the least. I have never really wanted to learn how to use it, and I've never really needed to know. Every time we visit Indiana, my son is the one who rides the Dixie. Since M. wasn't with me on this sojourn, I was the one who had grass choppin' duties.

After a quick tutorial, (Thanks, Dad and Cousin John!) I turned the key, put 'er into gear and made a few fairly straight passes in the field. It wasn't so bad -- well, as long as the terrain is nice and flat, it's not so bad.

I decided to not be stingy with the riding duties, so I "let" Dad mow the "back forty." I was a bit put off by the thought of mowing near the creek, and along the pond, so my daddy took care of that section. My hero!

After mowing almost all of the property, we enjoyed a nice cool evening on the back deck. We had teamed up to tame the grass, and I was feeling a new-found confidence about handling the hot rod Chopper. Well, I was sort of confident. It was getting too dark to finish what we had started, so we agreed to wrap things up the following afternoon. After all, tomorrow is another day.

The next morning, we ventured to Vincennes, Indiana, in the southern part of my home state. Dad had an early morning appointment, we had a lunch date, and there were a few places to explore. Oh, my, it had been YEARS since I was last here! I know that I toured the historical sites as a grade school student, but I couldn't remember much of anything about what significant things happened here, or there... What did I learn in school, any way?

The George Rogers Clark Memorial is a memorial built along the banks of the Wabash River honoring George Rogers Clark. Duh! Clark is regarded as the "Conquerer of the Old Northwest." His efforts in the Revolutionary War were instrumental in ultimately defeating the British. I do remember that much.

Another stop on our tour was Grouseland, not to be confused with Graceland. Grouseland was the home of William Henry Harrison during his term as Governor of the Indiana Territory. Apparently the land had an abundant population of grouse, so Grouseland it was, and still is. We didn't see any grouse during our visit, but I won't grumble, complain, or grouse about that.

On the drive back to my dad's place, we just HAD to make stop by the Big Peach. Again, it had been a long time since I had stopped here. The peaches for sale were ripe and plentiful, but not quite as large as the one on the sign. Hmmmm, is that false advertising?

Once we returned to the Thompson Ranch, I decided to attack the last little bit of tall grass. The confidence in my newly-acquired Chopper operating abilities was soon dashed to bits, as I slid into the creek, not once, but twice. The first time I was able to drive out of the creek without any help. At this point, I should have parked the beast in the garage, but I couldn't leave well enough alone.

Pride? Maybe. Stupidity? Perhaps. Blondeness? Only my hairdresser knows for sure...

I simply HAD to make one more pass along the creek and up the hill. I started slowly going up the hill, yet found myself sliding sideways into the creek again. I ended up pointed in the exact opposite direction from where I intended to go. It all happened so quickly that I have no idea how I got stuck, or how I got completely turned around.

This time it took the "Exploder" and a chain to rescue the mower. The stuck mower was in a much worse position than what the photo reveals. After the Dixie Chopper was retrieved from the muck and the mire, I parked the slightly muddy mower in the garage, licked my wounds, and called it a day. The creek and the Chopper may have won this battle, but I'll be back.

FRIENDly Visit

2011-08-11T14:37:00.000-05:00

It was pure JOY to have Sydney visit Millie (and the rest of our family) for ten days. Those ten days were crammed full of activities and constant giggling. Yes, there was giggling that lasted well into the wee hours of the night, EVERY night. I think the girls immediately readjusted their internal clocks from the Central time zone to Pacific Daylight Time. We didn't mind the late night laughter one bit. It was welcomed indeed. If laughter is the best medicine, we were on a drug overdose. Besides, sleep is overrated.

“A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22

Aside from giggling, Millie and Sydney enjoyed an outing to Six Flags, shopped here and there, ate out a few times, went swimming, toured Ft. Worth, spent the day at a water park, and the list goes on...

A shopping trip to Sam Moon was definitely on the to-do list. Syd willingly tried this rhinestone-studded cowboy hat on for size and even allowed a photo to be taken, but she definitely didn't want to buy it. We think she makes an adorable Cali cowgirl.

Millie introduced her NorCal friend to her North TX buddy.

Whataburger! Whatafrenchfry! Whatarootbeer! Whatacoupleofsillygirls!

Although we could have opted to dine at In-N-Out, we thought it would only be fittin' to treat Sydney to an honest-to-goodness Texas burger. The girls enjoyed the hamburger, even if it wasn't a Double-Double. After lunch at Whataburger, for the remainder of the day, the girls' conversation was peppered with the usage of "whata" before almost every word.

Whatagreatvisit! All good things must come to an end, even a visit with a BFF-kind of friend.

Parting is such sweet sorrow... Although these two smiled for the camera, they were not happy. At all.

We watched as Sydney's Sacramento-bound Southwest plane loaded, taxied, and took off. The drive home was much too quiet with no giggling whatsoever.

Vacation: Mountaintop Experience

2011-07-26T22:07:00.003-05:00

There is a Chinese proverb that says, “There are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.” Actually, there was just one unpaved road that led to where we were staying, but the view was indeed always the same: SPECTACULAR!

Every day of our Colorado getaway was a mountaintop experience, literally and figuratively speaking. It is pretty incredible to wake up each morning to the freshness of a new day in the mountains. The air is so cool. And talk about quiet time -- the stillness is almost deafening. Maybe I just had a heightened awareness for God's presence since I was being still for a change. I could hear/see/feel and even taste that He is good.

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. -Psalm 34:8

The coffee was good, too. Although we did not do any scientific research on the subject, I think my early morning java even tasted better at the higher elevation. :-)

We turned off the television and radio and tuned out the stuff of life that clutters our brains. We simply unplugged. Ahhhh! We played games together, enjoyed conversations, and laughed. Our family made memories -- lots of 'em. It truly was a much-needed and ever-so-appreciated respite. R&R was just what we needed.

It was a treat to get to spend time with Mr. Smith's brother, Ed, and his wife, Jaxine, at their mountain cabin, which is really more of a resort. Ed is technically a half-brother, but we have agreed to drop that "half" thing. We are family... (I feel like breaking out in song. Thank you, Sister Sledge.)

On Wednesday afternoon, we headed down the mountain to visit with the Thruston family. It was so much fun to be reunited with our dear friends, even if it was only for one night.

Smith and Thruston kids

We left the Thruston's home on Thursday morning and headed to DIA to pick up Millie Girl's BFF, Sydney, who was flying to Denver from Sacramento.

What a sweet reunion! It had been eighteen months since these two buddies had seen one another, but they picked up right where they left off.

We made a whirlwind trip through Denver, grabbed a burger at The Cherry Cricket, and did a little shopping at Cherry Creek North before heading for the mountains. It may have rained on our parade as we were making our way back to the cabin, but nothing could dampen our spirits.

After the storm clouds passed, the view of the Spanish Peaks was glorious. It's a good thing I had my camera at the ready; batteries charged.

What a swinger!

Cozy cabin

This one-holer is no longer operational. It's merely a rustic decoration.

Love it!

Hot diggity dogs

Four-wheelin' for five = a wheel good time!

Grilled personal pizzas are always a treat.

This 'za was loaded with tasty toppings and grilled to perfection.

M. opted for making a calzone instead of a pizza. He just had to be different.

These boots are made for walkin'...

That may be, but these boots are also rather photogenic in their abandoned state.

Sadly, it was time to hit the dusty trail on Saturday morning.

Somewhere in the Texas panhandle, I took this photo of M&A as they were driving alongside our vehicle. We were both moving at 70 mph, but it looks as if they are stopped.

It's been said that kids are king at Burger King. I'm not sure if that's still true today, but that was one of BK's slogans when I was a kid. These two look like princesses to me.

Hot! Hot! Hot!
Hello, Texas. Goodbye, cool mountain air.

To entertain ourselves on the road trip back to Keller, we looked at pictures in the sky. This cloudy figure might be an alligator or an elephant. An alliphant? What do YOU see?

As we drove along U.S. Route 287, it was also entertaining to read the names for the local businesses in the small Texas Panhandle burgs. A couple of the favorites: It'll Do Motel and the Nuttin' Fancy Cafe. We resisted the temptation to stop at either one of those businesses.

Here's a photo of an interesting looking trading post we spied along the road. We didn't stop here either.

Don't look now, but I think we are being followed.

From a mountaintop you can easily see where you have been and where you are going. Although we are now back in Keller at an elevation of 709 feet, I can see that we will be going back to the cabin nestled amidst the aspen trees. We have already been invited to come back next summer. Would it be too early to start packing now?

All good things -- even mountaintop experiences -- must come to an end, but that doesn't mean that the FUN has to end. Shortly after we arrived home, Millie and Sydney found out that the new house's staircase works pretty well for mattress surfing, just like the old California house's staircase did.

Is it my imagination, or are those crashing waves I hear? Oh, it's just the girls crashing into the wall at the bottom of the stairs. Surf's up! I think I'll go join 'em. I like the beach almost as much as the mountains. Besides, I am not quite ready for vacation to end...

Vacation: Going in Multiple Directions

2011-07-25T14:54:00.000-05:00

It's summertime. Our family has been on the road, up in the air, and most definitely on the move over the past weeks. In fact, we have been gone more than we have been home during this month, which might not be a bad thing, considering that the temperatures in North TX have been over 100 degrees every single day of July. And no relief is in sight. Let's not talk about the weather. Not now, any way.

The luggage is unpacked, dirty duds are laundered, folded, and put away, that huge pile o' mail has been opened (most of it was shredded), and vacation photos have been organized. After downloading images from two cameras and three cell phones, I think we took 562 pictures. A few deletions resulted in narrowing the pictures down to the neighborhood of 400-ish. Truth be told, only 100 photos are really worthy of sharing. Okay, okay... maybe it's more like 50, or 25. Who's counting?

I most definitely will not post 100 vacation photos. No one, not even those of us who were on this journey, want to sit through that. I will share as many pictures as I can get away with, adding supporting details, as needed.

And so it begins...

Once upon a time, Numbers One and Two Smithling flew to Portland, OR, to meet up with AJ, while the rest of us Smiths stayed put in the Texas heat.

Leaving Love Field -- the westward adventure begins!

After delays, flight changes, lost luggage, and a very late night arrival, M&A finally made it to Vancouver, WA, a few hours later than originally planned. Thank you, AJ, for your midnight shuttle service. :-) Thank you, Southwest, for a middle-of-the-night, while-everyone-was-sleeping luggage delivery.

Liesey has been looking forward to purchasing a certain little white car for quite some time, and has been saving money for even longer. The time has finally come.

The exchange was made; check for keys. Congrats, Liesey!

After spending a few days in Washington State, the summer road trip began. First stop: Roseville, California.

Raleigh Court faces are looking far too grown up.

Liesey Lou and Lauren enjoyed a much-too-brief visit. Friends are friends forever...

After a few crammed-packed days in Roseville, it was time for M&A to hit the road again.

Next stop: An overnight stay in Flagstaff, AZ, on Saturday night. Sunday's goal was to meet up with the other three Smiths in the Rockies -- sorta, kinda near (30 minutes away from) Aguilar, Colorado.

Word is that the road trip from California to Colorado was scenic and memorable.

Hmmmm... The Four Corners Squat? I'm thinkin' it was well worth the three dollar admission fee to capture that pose.

Focused indeed.

Perfect 10 and 2 hand position, too.

These two have logged a lot of miles, and smiles, over the past few days.

While #1 and #2 were driving from CA to CO, Mr. Smith, #3, and I were driving from TX to CO. Our family's situation reminded me of a dreaded mathematics problem from junior high:
Q: If one train leaves point A and another train leaves point B, they are heading towards each other, when the trains meet what will be the distance between them?
A: Getting closer, closer, closer... CRASH!

No, we didn't crash, but our family of five was reunited at elevation 9,200 ft.

There are tooo many stories to be told, but the following photos will do a pretty good job of sharing our time in the mountains.

"Oh, brother!"

Mr. Smith and his brother Ed not only look alike, they sound alike, laugh alike... and the list goes on.

Jeepin' along the Herlick provided lots of bouncing, squealing, and giggling. Thanks, Ed!

Fun & games

Our oh, so gracious host and hostess

The road to Cuchara provided scenic views...

...and opportunities for more pictures.

Millie Girl's artsy view through the lens just had to be shared on my blog.

My youngest daughter also took this picture of me as we waited for our lunch at the Dog Bar in Cuchara.

Millie found a wooden pup to pose with.

Chief Stone Face had no sense of humor whatsoever.

Downtown Cuchara

Oh, deer! This is the final photo for this particular installment; however, there is much more to share. Looks like another blog entry for another day...

Vacation: Part 2/More Hoosier Fun

2011-07-09T23:05:00.000-05:00

Something's Fishy: Hook, line, and sinker

Tasty sassafras lines the trail that leads to a well-stocked pond.

There might be a little poison ivy along the way, as well.

Row, row, row your boat...

Millie Girl was patient, but the fish were not biting.

The girls are now hooked. Thanks, Aunt Jean!

Out to Lunch: Amish style all-you-can-eat goodness

Grandpa knows how to cook!

Hoosier Turf: Day trippin' to Bloomington (a.k.a. B-Town) was actually kinda fun -- even for a couple of ol' Boilermakers.

Liesey wanted to take a look at Indiana University's campus, since IU has a great reputation for their classical ballet program. Looking is okay, but it might be a different story if she actually decides to go there. Hmmmm. Let the college tours begin...

Nice 'fro, Bro.

Footloose: In my home state, I'm in touch with my inner bumpkin.

Actually, you can find me barefoot in just about any state I'm in. It's ironic that a shoe-loving soul, like me, goes shoeless whenever possible. It surely does feel good to touch the green, green grass of home with bare tootsies.

Independence Day: Let freedom ring!

My morning bowl of patriotic mush

We had stopped at our usual fireworks stand in Joplin, MO, as we were driving from TX to IN, so we had a bountiful supply of things that go BOOM! We arrived in Indiana with all kinds of fun stuff that we'd never be allowed to use in Texas. This year, there is a ban on all fireworks in the Lone Star State, as the fire danger was/is dangerously high.

The sky lanterns were perhaps my favorite item. They are pretty and quiet.

Man's infatuation with fire just cannot be extinguished.

Ready, Set, Glow

More BANG for our buck?

Well, okay, we spent a little more than a buck on our Independence Day fireworks display. But it was worth it. Just ask the kids -- Mr. Smith included.

Oooh! Ahhh!

Vacation: Fun Flies When You're Having Time

2011-07-06T19:38:00.000-05:00

Our visit to Indiana certainly did go by much too quickly. While in the Hoosier State, we celebrated with newlyweds, one of us turned another year older, we cleaned and organized "stuff," we visited with relatives and friends, and we even shot off a few fireworks. Oh, and I've got the pictures to prove it!

Wedded Bliss: Mr. and Mrs. Young's wedding reception was at McCormick's Creek State Park on June 25th. My niece and her new hubby make a handsome pair.

Lovely!

The new Mrs. gets kisses from her grandpa.

The Happy Newlyweds

RJ, UJ and the 3 Smithlings

Here are a couple of not-so-newlyweds... :-)

My daddy danced with his girls -- well, most of 'em, any way. We were missing the bride and Molly.

Another Kodak Moment

Birthdaze: My b-day and our 282nd monthiversary were on June 27th. Both events are worthy of a celebration, but combining them is even better!

I started out my birthday by grabbing a shower. It was no big deal -- business as usual; however, as I exited the bathroom, I saw something very unusual. All of my relatives were waiting for me to join them in a feast of birthday doughnuts... AND they all were donning bath towel turbans, just like I was! Let's get this party started! This might be one of those "you-had-to-be-there" moments, but I thought it was very funny! It definitely was a great way to start the day.

See, doughnuts are not just for eating.

The "Birds" had fun picking out "black" fruit for my 49th birthday celebration. I'm not over the hill yet, but I'm getting closer, I suppose. I liked their fruity idea better than being given black roses or black balloons. What good taste...

While Liesey enjoyed a snuggle with the best granddad she's ever had, I was able to capture this photo without the two of them even knowing I was there.

Mama's got a brand new bag.

My mister gave me a beautiful Mary Frances handbag that is quite a work of art. He picked this gift out all by his big boy self, and I love it! My new bag has turquoise, yellow jasper, and other semi-precious gemstone beading. Snazzy, indeed!

Beautiful Birthday Bouquet

After we returned to TX, I took a photo of all of my b-day loot. In addition to the aforementioned bejeweled bag, I received many nice cards, original Millie artwork, very artsy champagne flutes, a Nordie$ gift card, and Roman glass jewelry. Spoilage, indeed! And how could I forgot about that million dollar bill that was in one of my cards?

Feeling Friendly: We met our friends Todd and Becky in Indy for dinner. Although we may have opted for lighter fare, we indulged liberally in conversation and laughter -- and Starbucks coffee!

Oh, I'd definitely pick Becky as a friend again... We've known one another since junior high, and that's a l-o-n-g time. It appears that we are behaving like silly middle school-aged kids in this photo. Love it!!!

Odds & Ends: Mostly odd.

Nope. No evil.
Boys are silly. 'Nuf said.

Wigged out?

Oh, My! This entry has gotten to be tooo long, so I will wrap it up for now. Stay tuned for Vacation: Part 2/More Hoosier Fun -- or perhaps it should be entitled More Bang for Your Buck. :-)

Dad's Day

2011-06-20T14:33:00.002-05:00

While it might not have been the ideal afternoon to go to an amusement park, the three Six Flags season pass holders in our house thought it would be amusing to take their dad for roller coaster rides for Dad's Day. It's convenient that the park is only about 30 minutes away from our house. Best of all, Mr. Smith and I had free admission for the day, so it seemed like a good, inexpensive idea, despite the warmish temperatures and the thousands of others who obviously had the same notion of how to spend Father's Day afternoon.

We even bumped into some of our neighbors at the park. They looked just as hot and sweaty as we felt. Six Flags may not be the "happiest place on earth," but it just might qualify as the hottest place on earth. Crowded, too. It's a good thing that there was a breeze.

The Smithlings' main objective was to get their dad to ride the Shock Wave roller coaster, as it had been about 30 years since he had last ridden it. The wait was not terribly long, and Mr. Smith enjoyed the ride -- with hands in the air, of course -- down memory lane. I happily waited in the shade with a bottle of cold water.

Next, the kids hoped to get their father to ride the iPhone4 eating Texas Giant coaster, but the queue was 90+ minutes long. The 3 Smithlings had just been at Six Flags on Monday with a group of friends, so they didn't care about riding lots of rides. This was their dad's day, after all, so they let their father pick what he wanted to ride. Mr. Smith opted not to wait for this one.

I just had to share a photo of what the Texas Giant can do to a cell phone. During the kids' visit on Monday, our son's cell phone slipped out of the pocket of his pants and was devoured by the "Giant." Ouch. This phone was pretty much gutted. Thankfully, the SIM card was still inside, so it wasn't a total loss. (I'm always the optimist.)

Papa Smith will just have to wait until another not-so-crowded day to ride the TX Giant. And all cell phones will be safely stowed.

Q: Can you name the six flags that have flown over Texas soil?

A: Spain, France, Mexico, Texas Republic, Confederate, and United States

The Five Smiths?

Park Admission: $0

Water from the water fountain: $0

Waiting in line: Forever

Temperature: 102º F

Time with Dad on Father's Day: Priceless!

"There are some things money can't buy."

After waiting in seemingly endless lines for the better part of the afternoon, and only getting to ride a few rides, we decided to leave Six Flags in search of food. We treated Papa Smith to a yummy dinner at Pappasito's Cantina. Funny how Mr. Smith was the one who paid the bill. Happy Father's Day, huh?
"For everything else, there's MasterCard."

Here, Kitty Kitty!

2011-06-14T23:14:00.000-05:00

Apparently there is a Scottish superstition that says, "A strange black cat on your porch brings prosperity."

If this superstition is true, then I'm rich! This adorable black kitty wasn't on my porch, it was inside my house, so I am sure I get extra bonus points for that.

Oh, but isn't there yet another superstition that mentions something about having a black cat cross your path that is supposed to bring bad luck? Now I'm really confused.

The confusion has been cleared, and I can attest that the whole notion of bad luck and black cats being linked is merely a myth. This beautiful black cat crossed my path, and I am blessed indeed! As for that Scottish belief about black cats, we'll wait and see how that prosperity part works out.

> ^. .^ <

I love it when our youngest Smithling does something unexpected, silly, and creative -- which is pretty much all of the time. On this purr-ticular afternoon, Millie wanted to try to copy the makeup from her favorite "CATS" character; however, she soon learned that my makeup drawer offered a rather limited supply of theatrical makeup. None, actually. She improvised with eye liner and eye shadow to create her fantastic feline face.

The Glamour Puss

"A thing of beauty, strength, and grace lies behind that whiskered face."

"Cats are so unpredictable. You just never know how they'll ignore you next."

So now you know what goes on at our house when the temps hit the century mark, and it's too hot to play outdoors. I think I'd better go buy some more makeup.

Sleepy Saturday

2011-06-12T21:00:00.001-05:00

On Saturday evening, we saw a bluebird wearing pointe shoes, two dancing cats, a lovely princess, oversized vermin, a wicked fairy, and beautiful, kind, talented, fairies. Were we asleep? Was it a bad dream? No, we were in the audience at North Central Ballet's production of The Sleeping Beauty. Napping was not allowed, despite the name of the ballet. It was a treat to see all the weeks of hard work come together in one terrific show.

So, can you guess what aforementioned category my beautiful, kind, and talented ballerina was in?

I could go on and on about all of the beauteous ballerinas (one in particular!), but I will not bore you with tutu many details. Instead, I will simply share several photos from the ballet and add commentary where needed.

King Florenstan XXIV, the Queen, and "babydoll" Aurora

The fairies give gifts of of beauty, grace, prosperity, and song to Princess Aurora.

Our ballerina girl portrayed the Fairy of the Crystal Fountain who bestows the gift of beauty. Of course, we (her proud and certainly unbiased parents) think she kept a bit of that beauty for herself. :-)

The wicked Carabosse

Princess Aurora a.k.a. Olivia

Olivia isn't dead; she's merely napping... for 100 years!

Although I didn't include any photos of the next scenes, I'll fill you in on what takes place: The prince finds the snoozin' princess, plants a big smooch on her lips, Aurora awakens, then the Prince and Princess immediately decide to get hitched. Pretty realistic, huh?

Now comes the wedding scene and the dancing cat part of the show... That's totally believable, too. I like cats, so this is good stuff.

The White Cat and Puss in Boots, minus the boots

Liesey as the Gold Fairy

And they lived happily ever after!

Right in Our Backyard

2011-06-02T11:54:00.000-05:00

We were in the car (again!) on Memorial Day as we took a short 1 hour drive north of Fort Worth to visit the Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland. This place was hard to find, that's for sure. And we couldn't help but chuckle when we finally saw the welcome sign, which was not much larger than a standard sheet of printer paper.

We felt so welcomed.

We found some grass on the land, so it truly is a grassland.

Perhaps we should stop mowing our lawn and get it registered as a grassland. I can get a sign printed up in no time at all. Oh, and we don't need to call it a "national" grassland, just a "regional" or "neighborhood" designation will do. ;-) Just think how much water we will conserve from not having to water the lawn, not to mention all of the time we will save by not having to mow the grass every week. I am sure that our HOA would love this idea. Not!

We pretty much had the place to ourselves.

We found a shady location to enjoy our lunch. We didn't have to fight anyone else for a picnic table, except for a few ants and lots of flies.

We found a nice hiking trail to walk off our lunch, but decided that a 1.5 mile trek was far enough to go since it was 93º outside.

On the drive back to Keller, we stopped for a few minutes in the little burg of Decatur. It is a small and quaint city, and will require a future trip for further investigation.

The Wise County Courthouse is an architectural beauty, despite the fact that the clocks cannot agree upon the correct time of day. Neither timepiece is displaying the correct time. I'm not sure about the other two. Does anybody really know what time it is? Does anybody care (about time)?

"El Castile" is an amazing limestone mansion that was built in 1883.

We plan to go back to Decatur sometime soon for breakfast at the Whistle Stop Cafe. We've heard that this small roadside diner has some of the best home cookin' around. The biscuits and gravy get rave reviews, and it's right next to the Petrified Wood Gas Station, right here in our "backyard." Who could ask for anything more?
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/13034

Memorial Tour

2011-06-01T10:33:00.000-05:00

The holiday weekend found our family in the car once again; this time we were Oklahoma-bound. Our "little" boy didn't join in on our journey since he was headed to Joplin, MO, with our church to assist with disaster relief efforts. We missed having our son with us, but are thankful that he can go lend a helping hand. (I might have to share some of his Joplin photos and stories at a later date, if he allows me to do so.)

On this trip, Mr. Smith was surrounded by girls -- four of 'em! Mr. Smith's cousin, Linda, flew to DFW from SFO to join in on our Enid excursion. The destination? Three cemeteries in the greater Enid, OK, area were on our "must see" list. Would it be in poor taste to say it was a grave experience? Hmmmm. Actually, it was a rather cheerful outing. No somber moods were allowed. :-)

To honor my mother-in-law, we happily carried on her tradition of decorating each and every family member's grave site. Our car was loaded with flowers and American flags (Thank you, Hobby Lobby!) and a tasty picnic lunch (Thank you, Mr. Smith!).

It doesn't seem like it's been a year since we said our goodbyes to Grandma Florence. She is missed.

One of the highlights of the Memorial Tour was getting to visit Zion Lutheran Church in Lahoma, OK. The church was built over 100 years ago. The Krueger side of the family has worshiped here for as long as the church has been in existence. Mr. Smith & Cousin Linda found many interesting photos of relatives, and learned more about their Okie ancestors.

Although this is a picture of a picture, it shows what the church looked like in 1908.

Things look pretty much the same today; only in color.

This family photo of Mr. Smith's great grandparents and their offspring was hanging on the wall inside the church. Millie observed that these people just don't look happy. I guess toothy grins were not fashionable during this era. Or perhaps the photographer made everyone grumpy. Just for fun, I'd like to try out my Photoshop skills and add in some smiles, but that's a project for another day.

No visit to the Smith/Krueger/Wehrmann "motherland" is complete without also visiting the Krueger family farm in Lahoma. Our city slicker girly-girls actually like getting out and exploring with their cousins. Both of our girls had dirty feet and contented smiles after tromping through the fields.

OK wheatfield -- almost ready for harvest

I had fun "shooting" the cousins -- Millie, Suzanna, Liesey, and Rebecca.

Outstanding in their field? Or out standing in their field?

This field is growing beautiful young ladies in addition to wheat. Looks like the harvest is plentiful.

Cousin Linda posed with her cousin Eugene.

It is always a pleasure to visit with friends and family in Oklahoma, but there just doesn't seem to be enough time to get everything fit into one weekend. It's a good thing we live relatively close. And it's a good thing we like taking road trips. We'll be back. Gotta keep those wheels rolling.

On The Road Again

2011-05-31T20:36:00.000-05:00

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

2011-05-20T18:46:00.000-05:00

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?

2011-05-09T12:59:00.000-05:00

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 & 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...

2011-05-03T16:00:00.000-05:00

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

Pittsburgh, PA
Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY
Omaha, NE/Council Bluffs, IA
Fort Worth-Arlington, TX
Austin-Round Rock, TX
Des Monies-West Des Moines, IA
Madison, WI
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN
Denver-Aurora, CO
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...

Windy Festivals & Dusty Trails

2011-04-20T14:53:00.000-05:00

Despite being a bit wind blown, we thoroughly enjoyed our outing Friday afternoon in downtown Ft. W. for the 26th annual arts festival. There was no shortage of gusty breezes (clocked at 40+ mph) or artsy items offered up for sale; the vendor booths stretched for seven blocks along Main Street.

The artists generally do not allow people to take photos of their work; however, I was able to shoot pictures of some of the bigger pieces of sculpture without violating any rules. Mr. Smith, the girls, and I did not spend any $$$ on artwork, but we certainly had fun window shopping. The only items that I liked were too big, too expensive, and would require approval from our HOA to go in our 'hood.

My favorite artist at the fair is a sculptor from Seattle named Andrew Carson. His sculptures are colorful and whimsical. http://windsculpture.com/index.html There are multiple moving parts on these pieces that the Texas breezes put into motion -- these pieces are a fusion of art and engineering. Prices ranged from $3,500 for a small sculpture to $8,000 for a larger one.

Mr. Smith's office is in downtown Ft. W. at 7th and Main, so he is all too familiar with this part of town. He normally works at home on Fridays, so it was rather cruel of us to have him take us to Sundance Square on his afternoon away from the office. We even saw several of Mr. S's coworkers at the festival. A highlight of the afternoon was being treated to a late lunch at one of the favorite workday eateries.

After a tasty yet "tad bit" breezy meal on the patio, we watched a few amazing feats performed by the Acrobats of Hebei China.

Ooooh!

Ahhhh!

Before we left the fair, I just had to shoot pics of a few more sculptures that definitely make a statement. These metal pieces have multiple moving parts, are colorful, and completely frivolous. I cannot imagine where I'd put this rooster if I were to buy it -- not that I would want to! He reminds me of a more vivid version of Cornelius, a.k.a. Corny, of Kellogg's Corn Flakes fame. He is kinda cute...

Longhorn and Longhairs

Much to Millie's dismay, we swung by the Justin Boot Outlet in Fort Worth before heading back to the ranch. Boy, howdy! The colorful array of western footwear lining the shelves was a feast for the eyes. It was a veritable "art festival" of boots!

Now that we have been in TX for over a year, three out of five Smiths agree that it is time to own a pair of honest-to-goodness western boots. My Okie husband has a pair of Justin lizard skin boots collecting dust in the closet. He's owned these boots for years; however, they are really pointy-toed and they just are not that comfortable. It was time for an updated look, any way.

We found just what we were looking for: fashion and comfort! And great prices.

These boots are made for walkin'...

It didn't take long to find the perfect pairs, but try as we might, we just couldn't convince Millie Girl that she looked adorable wearing cowgirl boots. She'll come around. Maybe.

Mr. Smith ended up with "real cowboy" stirrup-friendly, full-quill ostrich boots. Yee-Ha! These beauties are even approved by the AQHA (American Quarter Horse Assoc.), so now all my big buckaroo needs is a horse to go with the boots. Liesey opted for high-heeled, "city-slicker" cowgirl boots, and I chose a stylish black and teal pair. No cowboy hats this time around. We're gonna have to ease into this western wear thing slowly.

Our salesman told us that we needed to go walk around in the dust and dirt before wearing our boots in public so the double-stitched welt doesn't look so clean, white, and conspicuously NEW! He ought to know about how to get the right look, as he shared with us that he's a rancher who owns over 100 pairs of cowboy boots. He works part-time at Justin just so he gets a discount on his boots. Maybe his corral is really filled with boots, not cattle...

I'm off to find that dusty trail. (I hope it's not windy.)

A Virtual Success

2011-04-11T16:55:00.000-05:00

On April 18th, my niece, Rachel, will tie the knot! This is a pretty big deal since she is our first niece or nephew to say, "I do!"

My niece currently resides in Pennsylvania, and the rest of the relatives are scattered from here to there, and all points in between. It would have been a logistical nightmare to try to get Rachel's mom, grandma, cousins, and all of the aunties in one central location to shower the bride-to-be. On the day of the bridal shower, the party attendees were located in the following states: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin.

What was the solution to get everyone together? My resourceful and clever sister came up with the idea of hosting a virtual shower -- we are certain that this is a first-ever kind of event. Thanks to Skype, we were able to have up to ten video connections; however, we only needed nine.

Weeks before the scheduled event, the guests were instructed to purchase gifts and have them shipped to the bride's residence. Rachel was on the honor system as to whether or not she peeked in the packages as UPS, USPS, and FedEx delivered the boxes to her doorstep. Word has it that she resisted temptation.

My party-plannin' sister, AJ, had asked if Rachel wanted a specific theme to her shower, and the reply was that the bride wanted a "thong" party. That response was a joke, but my sister was off and running. In the 1970s, flip-flops were called thongs. I am not sure that "thongs" as we know them today even existed back then! AJ was able to find adorable party glasses and napkins with a flip-flop design. The flip-flop theme was perfect since Rachel and Chris will be getting married on the beach in Aruba.

Party favor bags were shipped out to each of the attendees, who also were not supposed to open the bag until shower time. The bag included one party cup, one See's truffle, a flip-flop key ring, and a thong! A theme's a theme. (No thong shots...)

Key Lime & Lemon truffles -- YUM!

Party bags were lovingly assembled & ready to be shipped to various states.

The soon-to-be-Mrs. posed with her unopened gifts.

Our girl is all ready to be showered by her relatives.

Here are a couple of screen shots of the party attendees. Isn't technology wonderful?

It's especially wonderful when it works! And it did; however, it's virtually impossible to get twelve people in nine different locations to all smile for the camera at the same time.

It looks as if somebody is going to be cooking up a storm.

There is an old saying about marriage that says, "Kissin' don't last, cookin' do." Here's hoping that both last a long, long time! We are soooo happy for you, Rachel and Chris!

Having a Ball

2011-04-01T17:26:00.000-05:00

If the shoe fits, wear it... Our "Cinderella" had a fairy tale weekend, and

here are a few photos to show you the show. ;-)

We think these two are related... they certainly look and act alike!

Mr. Smith and I both cried tears of joy as we watched the performances. It was a wonderful production, despite the assessment by our ballerina girl who claims that it was simply awful. Over the years, we have learned that all ballerinas are required to say that they did a terrible job, no matter what the ballet is or how good, bad, or ugly it was or wasn't. It's a "ballerina code" kind of thing. We saw the ballet with our own eyes, and it was NOT terrible, horrible, or awful. (Spoken like a proud parent...)

Our neighborhood princesses came to support the arts -- smiles all around.

The Thomson girls and Millie posed with Cindy-Lou.

The ballerinas in Liesey's company have had a couple days off to recover, but rehearsals are already underway for the next production. Sleeping Beauty is on the calendar for June. Despite blistered heels, sore muscles, and bruises, the show must go on.

Looks Good Enough to Eat

2011-03-23T16:04:00.000-05:00

We purchase/cook/consume enough oats at the Smith Haus to choke a horse. Okay, so that may not the best idiom selection since horses actually eat oats, but I suppose a horse could get choked if it ate too many oats too quickly. I am not horsing around when I say that our family consumes a LOT of oats. At least we are not sowing any wild oats, or feeling one's oats; we are ingesting 'em. Our family devours oats in the form of homemade granola, bread, waffles, cookies, and ho-hum-eat-it-every-morning-of-the-week porridge. Plain rolled oats are tasty right out of the box, too.

It's a good thing that Costco stocks mass quantities of this old fashioned rolled goodness. We also enjoy steel-cut oats, but since preparation takes 30+ minutes, they are more of a weekend treat. With all of the cholesterol-lowering grains that are consumed 'round here, our total cholesterol & LDL numbers should be at the right level.

We prepare our morning oatmeal with any milk other than cow's milk -- Soy, Almond, Coconut, Rice, or a combination of any of these. Over time, we have come up with a "recipe" of roughly 50% milk to 50% water. No salt. A dash of vanilla extract, the pure stuff, not the artificial flavoring kind, creates the perfect gruel. Adding flax seed to the mix is yet another option. The oatmeal may appear bland & colorless, but it is oh, so "colorful" in flavor, with or without any tasty topper add-ons.

To keep boredom from creeping into our breakfast bowl, we mix it up as to what we put on top of our favorite soluble fiber. The photo above is a new favorite topper. Looks like ordinary nuts & raisins, huh? Not so. These walnuts have a homemade honey glazing. They can stand alone or are most excellent when paired up with Sun-Maid Mixed Jumbo Raisins. This type of raisin may cost a bit more, but it is well worth the added expense. YUM!

That ho-hum dish of plain oatmeal becomes an oatmeal sundae, of sorts. Other favorite "sundae" toppings include fresh or frozen fruit, chopped dates, dried blueberries or any dried fruit, granola, yogurt, brown sugar, pure maple syrup, pecans, honey, agave nectar, chocolate chips, pecans, Nutella, peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, Smuckers Simply Fruit, cinnamon, a dollop of whipped cream, and a cherry on top! The list of options goes on and on. There is a delicate balance of not adding too much of a good thing or too many different toppings at once -- it has to be just the right amount to enhance the flavor of the 'meal, yet not overwhelm it. Send me any ideas for toppings that you think we should try. (No gummy bears, please & thank you.)

Mr. Smith and I really look forward to our morning mush; the options are seemingly limitless as to how to dress up our oatmeal. We have even been known to eat our oatmeal naked -- the oatmeal is naked, not us! Although I might be on to something there... Food for thought?

Violet Thoughts

2011-03-16T17:18:00.000-05:00

Springtime is definitely my favorite season. I love the freshness, the rebirth, the leaping greenly spirits of trees, and the vivid display of color. Spring provides a sense of hope. And it smells good! The only negative is having to "spring forward." My sleep cycle is still goofed up!

My favorite spring flowers are violets. This is an easy choice. There are many flowers that I love, but violets are special. I am especially fond of the heart-shaped leaves and the flower's delicate scent.

When I was a litte girl, I would frequently gather large bunches of wild violets from the field near our house. The field didn't belong to my parents, so I suppose I was trespassing. And stealing! I find it interesting that the thought of "trespassing & stealing" has never occurred to me, until now. Hmmmm.... (It is far too late to apologize to the field's owners, Mr. and Mrs. Trueblood, for my past trangressions, especially since neither Harold nor Mary is still living. I am sure they knew what I was up to and allowed it to happen.)

After picking as many blossoms as I could find, I would eagerly run to our back door, bouquet hidden behind my back, knock, then wait for my mother to answer the door. Mom was never out of sorts that I had interrupted whatever activity she was involved with. With great joy, I would present my floral offering of love and affection. Hugs and kisses were exchanged -- all part of the "ritual" that I highly anticipated. Sometimes I would see tears in my mother's eyes, and as a youngster, I couldn't understand why or how violets would produce tears.

Mom would select the perfect vase & arrange the blossoms as if they were a priceless treasure. The violet bouquet was always placed on the window ledge just above the kitchen sink. I suppose this location was chosen due to the fact that Mom spent many hours each day at the sink as she prepared food and washed dishes for our large-ish family. She wanted her flowers to be in plain view at all times. She would not discard the bouquet until the last blossom withered. An empty vase was my cue to get back out to the field.

Last June, as I was visiting my parents, I was able to find enough violets to make a decent bouquet. I held the violets behind my back and was instantly transported to being about eight years old...

My parents have not lived in the house near the field of "free" flowers for twenty-some years. Violets grow in one of their flower beds, so I didn't have to beg, borrow, or steal the blossoms that made up my last bouquet. I guess that I felt compelled to share that detail, in an effort to ameliorate the trespassing/flower-stealing reputation I seem to have acquired.

It warms my heart that at least one of the three Smithlings still carries on the tradition of being a violet picker/deliverer. The "hidden-behind-the-back" bouquet thing just comes naturally, I guess. I didn't even have to tell my kids the story of how I used to pick flowers for my mom in an effort to drop hints that I, too, would like to be the recipient of a bunch of flowers, given with love. Over the years, all three Smith kids have delivered their fair share of bouquets comprised of violets, dandelions, and other unidentifiable things. I will always cherish those memories.

My twelve-year-old might be getting too old to bring me freshly-picked blossoms, but I am hoping to get at least one more spring delivery of violets this year. No stealing or borrowing is required, as I planted violets in my garden last week. Hint! Hint!

See the above photo? Those violets are happily growing in my garden; that is, until they get picked.

Lap Cat

2011-03-14T19:06:00.000-05:00

Mr. Smith and I are currently taking a class at our church that covers the basics of the Christian faith. It's a great study. Although a lot of the material is "review," we are learning new things. And we are meeting new friends as an added bonus! It has also challenged us to be more diligent to have a daily quiet time (DQT).

One of the people in our class suggested that we all have a location for morning prayer/devotional time where there are two chairs. (I have heard this suggestion before, but it is always good to hear it again.) The two chairs serve as a reminder that God is sitting, patiently waiting for us to join him in conversation. One chair is His, the other one is mine.

The above photo shows my DQT spot in the kitchen. I have intended to use these chairs for the purpose of having a quiet time ever since we moved in the Smith Haus. These chairs, from the early 1900s, were from the Krueger family farm in Lahoma, OK. They are old, but very comfy, and built to last. This is a perfect location for morning devotions, as the morning sunshine streams through the windows. And I even have a place to put my coffee. ;-)

Over the past months, or even the past year, my DQT has been hit and miss. More miss than hit. There's really no excuse. My daily routine has been anything but routine, so many days "my" chair sits empty. I often get too busy with important stuff. My intentions are good, but I somehow never find the opportunity to sit, read, reflect, and pray once all the Smithlings are up for the day. There are many things vying for my attention. I guess I am not good at prioritizing.

I have been spending time here every morning for the past week, and I truly like having this quiet start to the day. Without fail, Jemima jumps up in the "empty" chair as I am reading or praying in my rocker. I guess she likes to curl up in Father God's lap, too.

Silly Snaps

2011-02-24T09:08:00.000-06:00

Every few months, I enjoy downloading the photos on my phone just to see what's there. Miss Millie seems to get most of the credit (or blame?!) for many of the images on my phone, camera, or "Photo Booth," as she has the most free time on her hands. At least she documents what she's fiddling around with, so I do not have to ask quite so many questions. I also downloaded the pics from her iPod Touch; there are some real gems!

I hope that she doesn't mind my sharing some of my favorite pics from the past few months.

The World as Viewed Through Millie's iPod Camera:

Silly Bands = A Silly Snapshot

'Lina & Millie

New PINK Shoes

View from the top floor
(Denver Embassy Suites)

Bartholomew, up close & personal

Self-portrait w/a dash o' 'tude

Photo Booth Images/Home:

Self-inflicted Manicure

What narrative could I possibly add to this one?

Moody Blues & Greens?

My Phone's Snapshots/Landscapes:

Hoosier sunset -- December 2010

Same Indiana trees covered with white stuff

Who says that big kids cannot play in the snow?

Downtown Ft. Worth in December

Mobile Images/Playing with our Food:

OK McD's

We didn't stop, even though this is reported to be the largest McDonald's in the universe!

I love how Hors d'œuvres is spelled phonetically on this menu -- only in a TX restaurant!

"Mr. Carrot Pants" was created after we discovered a mutant carrot with one top & two taproots. This photo was taken before he sprouted a really cool looking cilantro 'fro. For the record, Mr. C.P. was quite tasty.

Homemade chicken pot pie is always photogenic.

V-Day treats

More Cell Phone Pics/On The Road:

We must be close to home.

This lock in a public restroom is just begging to have a "Sharpie" smile added to its "face." Although tempted, we did not deface public property. :-)

We returned from a trip to the store to find an Audi twin parked nose-to-nose with our car. Awww...

Millie took this photo from the back seat of the car as we were breezing through St. Louis on the way to Indiana. It looks like I-70 now takes a detour through the Gateway Arch!

We laughed at the sign over the door at an OK gas stop -- in neon, no less.

The Canon Shoots Artsy Stuff:

I am so proud of Millie's handiwork! :-)

Unfinished artwork, but still worth sharing...

Millie had to draw this dragon in her art class, but she felt it was kind of a "boyish" assignment. I love how she added heart-shaped clouds to "girlify" her drawing! She claims she didn't do that on purpose -- it just sort of happened.

My camera batteries are fully charged & ready to go.

Mile High Weekend

2011-02-21T18:24:00.000-06:00

Five lovely ballerinas from North Central Ballet put their best foot forward at the Youth America Grand Prix competition in Denver this past weekend. Although none of "our" girls placed in the top twelve, they all did very well. There are hundreds of competitors, and the talent pool runs deep. Considering this was the first ballet competition for these girls, we could not have hoped for a better outcome. The joy was in the journey.

The competitions were held on Friday and Saturday. Ballet classes were on the schedule for Sunday at Colorado Ballet.

Since photography is not allowed at the actual YAGP competition, we had a mini photo shoot after Saturday morning's rehearsal. Through connections, our director secured a studio for rehearsal that is a historic church building in downtown Denver.

http://www.cleoparkerdance.org/ensemble.html

Cleo Parker Robinson Dance's stage proved to be the ideal location for perfecting pirouettes. The dancers also had to learn how to control their breathing at the higher altitude. Several of the CPRD company dancers came in to watch during their lunch break -- their kind support of our girls was appreciated. And their tip to drink LOTS of water helped with the breathing issues.

The tutus are gorgeous...

...and so are the girls!

(I might be somewhat biased.)

John, of J&K Costumes, gets the credit for creating all of these lovely tutus. Our ballerina's tutu is not quite finished, but we had to take it to Denver "as-is." There will reportedly be more Swarovski crystals here, there, and everywhere for added glitz. I think there are going to be some additional gold scrolls, as well. We think that our Cinderella will get to use this costume for the upcoming production of Cinderella, so it should be 100% complete by the show.

I could make some corny remark here about there being two too many tutus on either side of my daughter, but I won't. Oh, dear! I just did.

As I was trying to take a photo of Liesey with her two teachers/coaches, a not-so-observant lady walked right in front of the camera as I clicked away. She apologized profusely, but was grabbed by the arm & yanked back for a second photo. :-) That seems like something that I would do. Must be a blonde thing.

Our dancer got ready for the awards ceremony...

Mr. Smith & I didn't look this pretty, so there are no pics of us!

Tori, Olivia, Liesey, Les, Jana, and Alaina

Thankfully, ballet did not completely dominate our schedule while we were in Denver, so the Smiths met up with the "Jones" family on Friday night. It had been way toooo long since we had seen T&T. (Three years?!)

We enjoyed tasty Italian fare, a nice bottle o' red, wonderful conversation, and lots of laughs (and tears!) with our dear friends. It's a good thing the restaurant wasn't really busy, as we were at our table for a few hours. We then grabbed a cup of coffee & "yacked" some more at a nearby Starbucks. We stayed until the barista politely reminded us that they would be closing in five minutes. Time flies when you're havin' fun -- it's true!

For an encore, we enjoyed yet another S-bucks break on Saturday morning. Mrs. Jones and I visited for a few more hours, and we still are not quite up-to-date. I am not sure that we would ever run out of things to discuss. Coffee & conversation are two of my favorite things -- especially when shared with a good friend!

As if a weekend filled with tutus and old friends was not enough fun, as an added bonus, Mr. Smith & I had about five hours to ourselves on Sunday afternoon to explore Denver. No kids! During our outing, my "boyfriend" treated me to a decaf. latte made with 1% milk at Peet's Coffee in Denver. YUM! It was a tasty reminder of California.

Deliciousness -- good to the last drop!

I guess this latte kind of represents our weekend in Colorado -- it was a treat that we savored, but it was gone much too quickly. Sigh!

Cinderella

2011-02-16T10:00:00.000-06:00

It's my blog, so I get to brag whenever I want! Well, I am not really bragging, I'm just proud of our resident ballerina. :-) Her hard work and dedication has paid off.

Liesey landed the role of Cinderella in an upcoming production of Cinderella! We always suspected that we had a princess in our midst. Now it is confirmed.

Although rehearsals for the production have been underway for several weeks, our dancer has perhaps been more focused on preparing for a ballet competition. Most of our family will be in Denver this weekend for Youth America Grand Prix -- the world's largest student ballet competition. http://www.yagp.org/eng/index.php Then it will be back to TX for weeks and weeks of rehearsal before Cinderella.

Well, we think we will be in Denver this weekend. The tutu for the competition is still not completed, and we are having a hard time getting pointe shoes that were ordered at least 9 weeks ago. It's just so much more exciting to wait until the last minute... Oh, if only we had a fairy godmother to attend to these details.

Snow Days/Snow Daze

2011-02-09T13:39:00.000-06:00

It's snowing again today in Keller. After last week's sleet, ice, snow, and bitterly cold temperatures -- which kept us in the house for three days -- I am quite finished with this walking in a winter wonderland business. I thought February was supposed to bring 50+ degree temps to North Texas. It's currently 17° at lunchtime, and we are heading for a low of 12° overnight. Brrrr!

It was nice to experience warmer temperatures last weekend, but as for today, it's back into the deep freeze. Saturday is supposed to be back to 58° temps & sunshine. Ahhh!

Classes at Univ. TX - Arlington were canceled again today. Our resident collegian had four snow days last week, and one today. M is surely liking this revised class schedule, as it allows him to sleep in!

The downside to homeschooling is that there are never any snow days for the Smith girls. Millie is having a very difficult time focusing on her assignments, and quite honestly, so am I. It is much more fun to play in the snow, or nap, or bake, or curl up with a good book, or blog, or... the list of better alternatives is endless.

“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers

from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”

The junk mail MUST be delivered!

It may be picturesque, but underneath all that beautiful snow there was about an inch of ice. It was not impossible to drive on the streets, but stopping proved to be the bigger challenge.

It has been said that Maine Coons are equipped with snowshoe feet, perfectly designed for traversing the winter terrain of the northeastern US; however, we cannot get our coon cats to cross over the threshold...

...unless we force the issue.

These "kittens" don't mind the snow!

Jemima appears to have a fretful look on her face. It's almost as if she's concerned that she will be plunked down in the snow to see "if" those snowshoe feet really do work.

Her worst fears were realized.

We are bad pet owners.

Or really bored.

Or both.

Here's a view of our snowy neighborhood.

Our back patio is definitely not a place to sit & relax on a day like today. Warmer days are coming. :-)

The neighbor girls trudged through the snow to pay a visit. Liesey got lots of hugs -- especially when she baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies for our guests.

Those are all of the photos for now, so that means that my blogging is done for today. What's next? A nap? No, I think I'll curl up with that good book. Wait! It's a school day. :-( I'd better help Millie with math. That's a good book, right?

Milestones

2011-01-25T10:47:00.000-06:00

The Smiths have now lived in Keller, TX, for a little over a year.
Mr. Smith and I are approaching our 277th monthiversary on the 27th. For those of you trying to figure this out, that's 23 years of wedded bliss plus one month.
I have successfully made it to the five-year mark for being cancer-free. Yippee!

These are all blog-worthy milestones, I suppose.

KELLER

Okay, so "technically," we arrived in TX on January 2, 2010. That means that we have been in the Lone Star State for 390 days. I am just a little slow with getting anything written to commemorate the anniversary of the big move. This past year has been full, to say the least. We'll leave it at that.

We really do like living in Texas. Surprised?! I think that we are all a little surprised by this, too. Keller has a small town feel, yet is large enough to offer many nice amenities. And it is close enough to both Ft. Worth and Dallas that we can go to a big city, yet retreat to our "little" city.

Living in Keller is not that much different from living in Roseville. Really. Well, I cannot view the Sierra Nevada from my 2nd story windows, and the wine country and Pacific Ocean are not just a couple of hours away... Sigh! While there are some differences, there are many similarities between our old and new cities. They both are great places to raise a family. :-)

We are supposed to see In-N-Out come to our area later this year, and that will make TX even better in our kids' opinions. Me? I want a Peet's Coffee in my 'hood. A Double-Double does sound pretty good, but perhaps a bit too filling. I'd think I'd prefer the cup o' Joe, or should I say, "a cup o' Peet" ???

Keller was recently listed as one of the fastest growing cities in the US -- #3 to be exact. See the full report: http://www.gadberry.net/GG%2010from2010.cfm

Four Texas cities made the 2010 list. Keller's neighbor, Haslet, TX, made it to the #2 spot, and Katy, TX, (where my brother & his family live) topped the list. The southwestern part of the US is where it is happenin', I guess! I do have to add that Lincoln, our old neighboring city in CA, also made the top ten.

We certainly saw rapid growth in Roseville during the ten years that we lived there, and we are seeing some of the same things in our new location. Either we are trend setters, or Mr. Smith just happens to be in a line of work that requires him to live near high growth areas. It is more likely the latter option. :-) We Smiths have never been known to set ANY trends.

MONTHIVERSARY

Yes, I realize that "monthiversary" is not a real word. Don't bother looking in Webster's. It's not there.

Our friend Karl gets the credit for coining that beloved term 23 years ago. Mr. Smith & I were married on December 27, 1987, and the first "monthiversary" celebration was on January 27, 1988. We have only forgotten/missed one of the 277. We are oh, sooo romantic!

I am not sure what we will do to celebrate this one, but we had better think fast.

The big "300" will be here before we know it. (FYI, that'll be our 25th anniversary in a mere 23 months.)

FREE!

I can now profess that I have arrived at the five-year mark of being free from cancer! While the five-year mark can be considered a major milestone, it doesn't mean that the risk of recurrence is completely gone. My odds just got better. Now I will look forward to celebrating my cancer-free anniversary at the ten-year mark, fifteen-year mark, twenty-year mark... :-)

Since cancer has claimed the lives of so many loved ones, especially this past year, it does feel good to be able to kick cancer in the keister for a change.

In some ways, it feels as if I just completed the last radiation treatment days ago. It is all still fresh in my mind. Other days, it is a far, distant memory. I still have a hard time thinking of myself as a cancer survivor, but I guess that is what I am.

I'm still here, so I guess that means that God is not finished with me just yet. (Thankfully!)

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28