Road Trippin'

We have been running at a busy pace the past few months, and it's just about time for us to slow down a bit. About is the operative word in that sentence. We are not there yet.

We have been making (at least) weekly trips to Enid, OK, for the past thirteen, or so, weeks. Some weeks there were two trips made. Figure 600 miles per round trip, and we have racked up at least 8,000 miles in a matter of weeks -- most of 'em on scenic I-35. In a "normal" year, we only put 10,000 miles on our car. This definitely has not been a normal year. And it's only June.

My dear mother-in-law passed away June 1st. From the time she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March, it was only a matter of weeks until her death. She made her departure from this world while Mr. Smith and I were in the car driving on I-35 trying to make it to Oklahoma to see her one last time. (We are always in the car, it seems!) We now know every little landmark along the route between here & there. When we received the phone call telling us that she was gone, we pulled off the interstate highway. That exit will always remind us of her, but remembering her is a good thing.

Now that Florence is gone, we have begun the task of sorting, organizing, sharing, donating, packing, and moving an 88-year collection of memories. We now have many of her possessions in storage here in Texas, and we will probably need to make another U-Haul trip sometime in the future.

U-Haul calls the extra space in their trucks "Mom's Attic" for a good reason.

Florence saved and valued EVERYTHING! Gifts from family and friends were especially cherished. Family heirlooms were treasured and preserved. There are numerous quilts and more glassware/china than we know what to do with. Each item has a story behind it, and my mother-in-law took the time to write details on almost every item in her home. We are enjoying a little history lesson each time we go to Enid.

We are also learning more about D's mom and the Smith/Krueger/Wehrmann/ ancestors. It is amazing how there are things we learn about a loved one's life or their character that we never knew until after they are gone. It's almost as if Florence wanted it that way. My mother-in-law was a meek, humble, kind, and generous soul. She definitely did not like to be in the spotlight. We knew that about her; however, there were some details that she never shared with us. We have learned interesting things through conversations with friends and relatives that make us value her even more than we did before. She was a REMARKABLE, godly woman and she will be missed.

The weekend before Memorial Day (May 22), we made the rounds to three cemeteries in the Enid area to decorate the family grave sites. This activity was something that Florence dearly enjoyed; unfortunately, she was too weak to accompany us. We took photos of each bedecked tombstone to show her that we covered every possible family member. Even the slideshow wore her out, but she appreciated seeing the pictures.

This photo was taken at the cemetery in Lahoma, OK, where we found markers for Kruegers, Wehrmanns, Grafs, Youngs, Schneiders, and many more German Lutheran names that I cannot even pronounce.

Memorial Day was one of Florence's favorite holidays, and we thought it was only fitting for her to politely wait until after the long weekend to begin her own "road trip." The streets she's now traveling are constructed with a higher quality paving material than we have here. And she doesn't have to worry about running on empty. Better still, there are no bug splats on her windshield. Sounds heavenly...

Permitted to Drive

Today's visit to the Department of Public Safety resulted in a 100% satisfied teenaged girl, which matches her 100% test score.


With learner's permit in hand, we headed off to the Texas Motor Speedway for some practice time behind the wheel. No, we didn't make it out on the track, but that would have been fun. The new student driver tooled around the outer perimeter of the Texas-sized complex. It is only appropriate that Liesey started her drive on Victory Circle. :-) She also did a few laps on Lone Star Circle, for good measure.



She looks pretty comfy in the driver's seat, huh?

Glad Grad

There was no cap, no gown, no pomp, no circumstance -- just one happy high school graduate. The Lone Star Christian Academy is sooooo proud of its 2010 lone star. This young man is not only the class valedictorian, Student Council President, prom king, captain of the debate team, voted "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Most Popular," but he also attained a perfect attendance record. I could go on and on, but I'll stop before it sounds as if I am boasting. HA!!!

Ah, the advantages of the home schooled! :-)

Leapin' Lizards

As Miss Millie and I were vacuuming the blinds and window sills today, we were greeted to this face looking in one of the windows. YIKES!


Our reptile friend changed colors from a brownish color to a very vivid green. I think he was showing off for the camera.

We were wondering if he was a chameleon of some sort, or perhaps a gecko. "Google" to the rescue! After a few clicks, we learned that our reptilian Peeping Tom is a Carolina anole. (Anolis carolinensis) He's not a gecko at all, and not a true chameleon.

Anoles are reportedly territorial. Obviously this is HIS window, so he gets to wash it next time. Well, I'll do the inside, and he gets the outside.

TX House Update

Oh, there are so many changes taking place at the construction site this week, or so I have been told. I promised our builder, Craig, that I would not visit the "Smith Haus" until the weekend. It's sort of hard to stay away, but he wants me to be amazed with the transformation that is taking place. Light fixtures are being installed, plumbing & electrical (heating & A/C) should be checked off the list by the end of the week, and they are installing hardware (door knobs, towel bars, etc.). The house is looking more & more like a home.

There was a wee setback this week, but everything should be resolved by Friday. The cabinet maker had a problem with some of the kitchen cabinetry, so they are rebuilding one or two cabinets. A few of the upper cabinets will need to be repositioned, which will result in the kitchen backsplash having to be redone. And it looked so pretty...

The following photos are from last week, but I never did get my blog updated like I had planned. We are trying to wrap up school, and do about 100 other things all at the same time. Who has time for blogging?!


The backyard is still all dirt (sod coming next week?), but a fence now outlines our property. The sprinkler system is operational -- ready & waiting. It appears that we will have a substantial landscaping project ahead of us for the next several years, or longer.

The cabinets above the cooktop are the ones that need a little tweaking, but things are looking nice in our kitchen. The floor is covered with cardboard to protect the tile, so you will just have to wait for the unveiling of the floor. I cannot wait to cook/bake in here, but I suppose I will have to wait until they install the oven & other appliances. And we will probably want to take off the protective coating on the countertops before we get cookin'.

I love the look of pride on our tile guy's face. He was quite pleased with how his projects turned out. We are pleased, too! It took a crew of four guys all week to complete the tilework. We made sure to "oooh & ahhhh" appropriately when we visited the house while they were working. We may have a slight language barrier to overcome, but the tile crew most definitely understood that we approved of their craftsmanship. A smile is the same in any language.


Construction sites are fun! Our resident ballerina just had to balance on the barricade that is normally used to keep the contractors from parking on our driveway.

"Anything you can do, I can do better." Millie has to keep up with her big sis, or at least TRY.

As we were leaving, we were treated to this beautiful sunset. We are looking forward to seeing many more views like this from our front courtyard.

It's a Bird! It's a Plane!

It's Lone Star One!

This colorful airplane is responsible for bringing Mr. Smith home safely from his work-related travels this week. Now that's traveling in style! It may not be Air Force One, but it does have a snazzier paint job than the prez's plane. You just gotta love Southwest. I'm glad that my boy is back at home with no travel scheduled for at least a whole week.

Hard Stuff: Brick, Granite, & Tile

There were several different subcontractors working on our house today -- all at the same time. I am sure that it was cozy as brick masons, tile layers, and granite countertop guys all did their respective jobs. It is a big house, but not THAT big. The gutters were also added today, but at least that is an outside job. I would have loved to have seen all of the trucks at the end of our court. It had to be crowded.

Our builder invited me to come out to the site this morning to observe the indoor fireplace brick placement, but I opted to stay out of the way. See, they did a great job without my supervision. ;-)

It's hard to tell from this photo, but this fireplace is ENORMOUS! We are pleased with how it turned out. The hearth is 18" high, so it is a perfect height for sitting on. I cannot wait to have the opportunity to paint these walls a nice warm color. Any suggestions?

Millie and Milly the American Girl doll checked out their new room. It met with their approval.

The temptation proved to be too great. We just HAD to peel back the protective coating to peek at the granite countertops in the master bathroom. "Tropical Brown" looks oh, so tropical!

This is Mr. Smith's side of the bathroom. He gets a medicine cabinet at his sink, and I don't.

The granite in the kitchen, butler's pantry, wine grotto, and guest bathroom is Uba Tuba. It, too, is all covered in white plastic, except for where I just HAD to look. This granite is very similar to what we had in our Roseville kitchen, so we should feel right at home.

The tile crew was still working as the Smithlings and I dropped by for our evening inspection. They didn't mind our being there, and they most certainly welcomed our words of approval.

M's shower is XL-sized!

The tile guys worked on all four showers, completely completing the girls' shower surround. They will probably be adding the grout in a couple of days, and what a difference that will make.

The master bedroom shower is a walk-in shower. There is no glass to squeegee dry every morning, but plenty of tile to wipe down. The floor is now in place -- walls tomorrow.
The countertops in the kids' bathrooms are all cultured marble. This is Millie's vanity. She will have a big mirror to make faces at. :-P

Finding a roll of TP near one of the bathrooms is somewhat disturbing, especially since there are no toilets installed in the house at this phase of construction. There is a porta-potty on the construction site, but it appeared that the workmen have not made the l-o-n-g walk outside to take care of business. Hmmmm... The kids and I all agreed that there was a peculiar (urine-ish) odor emanating from one of the bathrooms. Tomorrow morning, our builder will be hearing about this latest smelly discovery during our "weekly" phone update. Our phone conversations occur DAILY at this point of the game, so he & I laugh about the fact that we are only supposed to have to talk once a week. Yeah, right.

So far, there are only four houses on our block, but there is room for three more. Who else wants to be our neighbor?

Construction Update

There has been a great deal of progress with the construction of our new house. We have to make almost daily visits to keep up with the latest developments. It's really convenient that Liesey's ballet studio is only a few miles from the new 'hood. When I drop her off for class, I head for the house, camera at the ready. The painters and carpenters certainly recognize me by now.

Over the weekend, we were able to take Mom, Dad, and AJ on the new house tour. They are among the first relatives to see the project, and thankfully, they approve!



The cabinets are in, and have been sanded, stained, and varnished.

The walls and ceilings have been painted a nice, basic white. White chip, to be exact. (Ahhhh, an empty canvas awaits!)
The stair railings and newel post have been finished.
The baseboards, crown moulding, and interior doors are painted.



Our yard is looking more like a yard! Sod and fencing will be coming soon...

Current scheduled house completion: June 14th
Anticipated Closing Date: June 28th

Good, Better, Best?

Okay, so "everything might be better with Blue Bonnet on it," but how are things or even people if they are near Bluebonnets? Beside Bluebonnets? Is there a marked improvement? Inquiring minds want to know.

The Bluebonnet is the state flower of the Lone Star State, and it's in its FULL glory right now.


Our two "testers" went out for a bike ride. (Thankfully, they had the camera along purely for research purposes.) While they were out enjoying the lovely spring weather, they conducted a field survey. See what you think their research reveals.

Good?

Better?

These two Smithlings look pretty good to me, but are they really BETTER? Hmmm.... I dunno.

BEST!

Califoreigners no more...

The third time's a charm, or so it has been said.

It only took three visits to the Department of Public Safety before the drivers in the Smith family had the correct documentation to be able to apply for a Texas driver's license.

M. had to have the following items to be able to get his license:

1. A current/valid driver license to surrender

2. Completion certificate for the classroom segment of driver's ed.

3. Proof of completion of behind-the-wheel instruction

4. Social Security card

5. Birth certificate

6. Official grade transcript

7. Additional documentation that he is currently a student

8. Application filled out in black ink only

9. Ca$h (No credit cards -- checks are okay)

10. A nice cheesy smile for the photo shoot

11. Lots of patience!

Fewer items were required to prove that Mr. Smith & I were legit., but the process for all of us was akin to obtaining high level security clearance. :-) We will have to wait three to five weeks to see the finished laminated ID, but in the meantime, M., Mr. Smith, and I have temporary licenses that are printed on 8.5" X 11" sheets of paper. What a perfect fit for billfolds & wallets, eh?