Catching Up - Camp

The first weekend of November the girls went camping at Red Rock Canyon State Park with their scout troop.  There were actually a lot of troops at the park at the same time.  They had plenty of adult supervision on this trip, so I didn't go - Jerry and I got to have a date night!  We went to a fancy restaurant and had a wonderful meal.  Afterwards we went to the mall and did a little looking around until they closed.  As we left we saw the Cheesecake Factory across the parking lot, so we went and sat at the bar and ordered desserts.  Out past ten - what a night! 

The girls meanwhile were enjoying their weekend.  They had been predicting cold and rainy weather right up until that weekend, but then it all held off until after the weekend was over, so they had great fun.  Maggie thought it was still pretty cold when she rolled out of her sleeping bag (no heat in the cabins), but I'm sure it could have been much colder!

At the State Park

Plush Accommodations!

Hiking

Taking a Break

Heading back to the cabins!

 The girl's leader had great things to say about them when they got back - and they had great things to say about camping.  They were tired, but not too tired for a movie, so we went to see Wreck-It Ralph after they got home.  Some alone time, some couple time, and some family time, all in one weekend.  Who could ask for more?

Catching Up - Halloween

Gracie started off wanting to be a ninja for Halloween, but we couldn't find any ninja costumes either to buy or to make that she considered girly enough to be certain that she would not be taken for a boy.  After looking through the costume catalogs for awhile she decided to try for the opposite end of the spectrum and be Juliet, from Romeo and Juliet.  The catalog only had a large, but I thought that would be okay, so we ordered it.  Maggie chose to be a Roman princess, and of course, her costume was only available in a medium!

While we waited for the costumes to come in, I went on a search for an age-appropriate rendition of Romeo and Juliet, as Gracie is supposed to carry a copy of the book her character is from in the school's storybook parade.  I found a plain-English graphic novel geared towards young adults at the library, and picked it up.  Within the first 10 pages, I was more appreciative than ever of Shakespeare's flowery language, because plain English leaves nothing to the imagination.  I figured Gracie wouldn't understand the innuendo in plain-English any better though, and gave it to her.  I did feel compelled to tell her it was a tragedy though, and told her upfront that everyone dies.  Still, she liked it, so I have an 11-year-old lover of Shakespeare.  More like an 11-year-old lover of graphic novels, at least for now. 

So the costumes came in, and Gracie's was enormous. (Maggie's fit, a least for the next five minutes - she's growing like a weed!)  It was like Gracie was walking around in a circus tent.  After a minute of careful consideration, I knew this was beyond safety pins, and broke out the sewing machine.  I took it up at the shoulders, side-seams, and back center seam, hemmed it four inches, and then added ribbon ties on the side to gather it even further.  I was a bit nervous, but with a white t-shirt underneath, it all worked out well enough.  I got it done just in time for the girls and Jerry to head to Texas to visit Mimi and Pepaw, where they scored their first haul of Halloween candy during an event at their community.  Since Halloween itself wasn't until Wednesday, they got extra candy-gathering opportunites this year. 

On Wednesday I was in a rather melancholy mood as I watched the storybook parade at the school - the last storybook parade for us, as Gracie will be heading to middle school next year. 

After the (last) fall party, we headed home to eat dinner and get ready for a new experience for us - a trunk-or-treat put on by our church.  We got there pretty early, and it was good we did, because it was very successful, with several thousand in attendance before it was all over.  We got a chance to greet many people from our community, and several came back the next Sunday. 

The girls with our Children's pastor.  This is the perfect costume for him, because the children's program is a tightly controlled circus! 

 The girls had fun playing the games and got loads more candy.

One of the reasons we went so early was so we could keep our tradition of trick-or-treating with our neighbors down the street.  Since it was a school night, we had already warned them that we would only visit a couple of streets.  Our friends were dresses as Egyptian goddesses, and their brother was a Roman soldier.  (Maggie promptly declared him her royal guard.) 

After a quick jaunt around the neighborhood the girls sorted out their stash.

Maggie went so far as to make a written inventory of hers, which means that it will be much harder for me to sneak a piece this year - although that's probably better for my waistline! 

Catching Up - Carving Pumpkins

We got right down to the wire this year for our pumpkin carving.  The girls are pretty much big enough to carve pumpkins by themselves, as I found out last year when they practically finished before I even got in there to take a picture.  This year I headed right in, took a picture of them beginning, and then fell to carving my own pumpkin.  I had purchased four, and this year we actually managed to carve all four pumpkins!

 

Gracie had talked about wanting to carve a pumpkin with freckles all month long, and I kept trying to dissuade her, because I thought small points of light would be very hard to carve.  She nodded, but apparently not in agreement, as when I was finished with my pumpkin, she was about half-way through the freckles on hers.  She was right not to listen to her mama, because her pumpkin came out super cute - I think it looks like one of the French Peas on VeggieTales!  Mine is next in the lineup below, and then Maggie's, who drew a lot of her features on with a black marker, so it's hard to make out in the photo - hers is a puppy dog pumpkin.  Jerry went with triangle eyes to be different.  They all turned out well, I thought.

Jerry's employer has many activities for Halloween, and they encourage people to dress up - giving prizes and everything.  Each year they set a theme so that if you don't want to dress as something in particular, you can dress up as something generic.  This year it was a pirate theme.  Now, Jerry isn't much for costumes, but he hates being heckled for not dressing up too, so he came up with an idea, and I helped with the execution.

Aye, mateys!  It's the perfect pirate costume for an IT guy, don't you think?

Catching Up - Family Photo

We had the opportunity to have a family photo taken recently when our church decided to publish a new pictorial directory.  I hadn't done particularly well at coordinating our last picture, so I headed to the mall to try and find something that would work.  I had recently bought a new dress for Maggie that was blue and beige, and so I took it with me to try and find something for the rest of us.  I expected to spend all day at the mall, and I was not looking forward to it, but fate was on my side.  I walked into Sears, and the first sweater I picked up in the women's department matched, and it fit.  I walked into the men's department and picked up the first beige dress shirt that was the right color, and it was Jerry's size.  I headed up to the girl's department and walked right up to a rack of sweater tunics that were the right color, and only $10 to boot.  The only problem was that they were not very soft, and Gracie rebels at anything that is itchy, but I figured that for $10 she could wear it for an hour and it would be okay if she never wore it again.  I thought I might find a scarf to help pull it all together, but ended up finding a necklace that had been clearanced out for less than $3.00.  And the best part is that it took me less than two hours all told. I probably should have used the rest of the day to go buy a lottery ticket! 

Catching Up - Fall Break

Originally I planned to stay at home and relax for Fall Break, mostly because OU does not have a Fall Break, so I have to keep plugging away while the girls get to play.  Then we received an invitation from a friend to join her family on a trip to the nearby Great Wolf Lodge since they had gotten a great deal that included passes for seven people.  After some consideration we decided to join them, although I did not join the girls in staying at the hotel, since we decided to bring Oreo along instead of boarding her.

First step was just to get there!  We bought a seat belt harness for Oreo, and got her installed in the car:

 She was a very good traveler, looking out the window if we were stopped, and curling up and napping while we were on the go.  We made several stops, including one at our traditional highway rest stop.  I swear, we have so many of these photos, we can use it as a growth chart.  The challenge was getting the kids to stand up straight!

We probably made too many stops, as it was a bit of a hassle getting the dog in and out of the car, and she never used the opportunity to do anything except sniff around!  Finally we made it to the Lodge: 

I got the girls situated and headed through the rush-hour mid-cities traffic out to Dad and Terri's, where Oreo thought she had died and gone to heaven.  Lots of running room, and goats to chase!

The next morning I headed back to Grapevine for a full day of play.  We spent the morning at the water park, riding all the water slides.  Of course, I had my camera, but kept it safely stowed in that wet, wet environment.  At the end, on the way to the dressing rooms, I took some shots of Gracie waiting for the big water bucket to drop.  I wish I could speed up this slide show, but I think you'll get the general idea - Gracie is the kid in the orange swimsuit towards the right center of the photograph.




After lunch the girls were eager to show me their favorite part of their stay - the MagiQuest!  To play the game you have a magic wand, and you follow clues throughout the hotel to solve quests.  When you point the wand at the correct item (picture, treasure chest, statue, etc.) it give you the next clue.  The hotel was 8 stories tall, and it was often times easier to use the stairs rather than the elevators, but Oh, My, Gosh - we got a workout!  This place is definitely not a place to go if you want to get rest - there is something to do every minute of every day!  In addition to the MagiQuest, our package included glitter tattoos, coloring, ice cream, build-a-bear-ish activity, and a photo.  We were wore out by the time the day was over.  We headed to dinner at the mall with our friends to say thanks and the girls managed to eek out enough energy to ride the merry go round.  I tried to get some fun pictures, but mostly got blurs - the ride was over before I remembered how to set the camera settings to get what I wanted - typical!

Before we headed back home we had some lessons from Nana on how to show goats.  She's hosting a goat show next month, and the girls are going to help show her goats, since she'll be busy with running the show.  Luckily there's a weekend in between now and the show, because I need a break from my break!  

Catching Up - Oreo's Obedience

The girls and I were not the only family members headed to school this fall.  We signed Oreo up for obedience lessons at the local Petsmart.  We attended as a family so that she would learn to respond to all of us.  At least, that was the theory.  I think the kids were more interested in playing with all the other dogs in the class, rather than in working with Oreo!

Oreo was already pretty well behaved when we started.  She had been fostered by a kennel that offered dog training, and I am sure she got some training there.  I had checked out the ASPCA-recommended book The Power of Positive Dog Training and had worked with her a bit on the basics, so she did pretty well in class, right up until the "final exam," where she proceeded to ignore all our commands, eat the "leave it" treats, but still manage to pass the class.  We still have to work on greeting strangers (she acts like a big meanie) and loose-leash walking (she pulls your arm off.)  She was not very  cooperative for her graduation photos - dogs weren't meant to wear hats!

We still have some work to do.

Catching Up - State Fair

Sometimes it feels like we've lived in Oklahoma forever.  When I think of all the times we've been to the State Fair, it feels like a bunch, but really, this was only our fifth time to go (we skipped the year where the Disney on Ice show was Hannah Montana.)  You know, I think I've now attended the Oklahoma State Fair more times than I ever attended the Texas State Fair, and to be honest, I think I prefer the one in Oklahoma.  It has a better layout, better midway, and the neighborhood around it isn't nearly as scary.  Sometimes it amazes me that my kids will not learn Texas history, but will know all about the Oklahoma Land Run.  Who'da thunk? 

This year the Disney on Ice show was Tangled and Cinderella.  It was Dad and Terri's turn to join us for the fair, so they came up that weekend and we headed out.  What a mess!  We got a late start, just because no one was in a hurry, and that was a mistake.  There had been rain for the few days before, and we forgot how many of the parking lots at the fair are dirt, or, after a rain, mud.  It took us almost a full trip around the area before we could find a lot that we could get into. 

We hit the midway, and the girls wanted to ride all their old favorites.  Nana is a state fair junkie - she loves the rides, the food, everything - so I didn't have to get to ride the rides this year.   Sadly, neither of the girls wanted to ride a burlap sack down the big slide.  I guess we have outgrown that. 

The girls still loved the Disney on Ice show - how many more years will they think this is "cool" to do with their parents and grandparents?  Don't answer - I don't really want to know.  I'm not ready to be outgrown with the slides!  

Catching Up - Scrapbooking

I have been a scrapbooker since 2001, due in no small part to the persistence of my girlfriend Gina.  She pestered and badgered me for years, until I gave in, and did so in a big way.  Several years ago I decided to make the leap into digital scrapbooking, and it works well for me.  I like it because I don't have to get a lot of stuff out, and I can pause and come back to it whenever I need to.  In addition, it's cheaper, and I can get many more pages done in the same amount of time.

At least once every year I get together with Gina and whoever else I can persuade, and go to a crop - think quilting bee for scrapbookers.  This year I was lucky and did two in a relatively short period - one with my sister Amy in Round Rock, Texas, and a large one in Arlington put on by Creative Memories, where Amy and Gina joined me.

See all those folks behind us?  There's over 500 people there with us, all working on their books.  While I could do digital at these events and just pack a laptop, I have begun a long-awaited project.  See, I started scrapbooking in 2001 - a year AFTER Maggie was born.  My situation is the opposite from everyone else in the world - my second child is fully documented, but my first child doesn't have a book.  Maggie would look up at me and say in the most pitiful voice, "Why does Gracie's book have pretty stickers and papers, and mine only has pictures?"  The guilt was enormous.  In addition, so is the pile of stuff I have in my crafting closet, because I bought the albums for her book a long, long time ago when I was a CM consultant.  I even had them engraved, so I'm pretty much locked in here.  So, at these events I have started Maggie's book.  It's been fun, but hard, as I didn't write much down in my new-mom sleep deprivation.  I'm sure I'll muddle through though, with the help of my AWESOME new CM Consultant.  Here we are:
 

While Gina, Amy, and I were scrapbooking, Jerry and the girls were back at home.  Maggie is taking FACS, or what we called "Home Ec" this semester.  She can earn extra credit if she cooks us something she learned to make in class for us at home.  Jerry and Gracie were the lucky first recipients of an extra-credit attempt while I was gone -- Cinnamon Toast!   

I was kind of hoping they'd learn how to make Beef Wellington before the semester ended, but no such luck.  We did have scrambled eggs, pancakes, and homemade pizza before the class ended, and it was all very good.  We have a budding chef on our hands! 

Catching Up - A Birthday Party

You know, one of these years I am really going to get my act together and do something great for Gracie's birthday.  Not that she's ever complained, but as a person with a late summer birthday, I remember often being disappointing that end-of-summer activities got in the way of birthday celebrations, and as a result, I always fret about Gracie's birthday.

Gracie's actual birthday was spent (again!) at church camp.  At first she wanted to go to camp.  Then she did an about-face and said she didn't want to go to camp.  When I asked why, she said it was because she didn't want to ride the birthday "throne"(potty chair) to dinner on her birthday.  "It's EMBARRASSING!" she wailed.  I assured her that she would not have to ride if she didn't want to, so camp was all good again.  Fast forward to camp.  The day before her birthday I double-checked with her.

"Okay, I told Pastor Charles that you didn't want to ride the birthday throne for your birthday.  That's what you want, right?"  I asked.

"Well, I suppose I could ride in the chair.  It would be good for me to learn how to deal with being embarrassed," she replied in her most  wise, knowing voice.

I relayed the message to Pastor Charles, who was impressed with her desire to build her character.

Doesn't she look like she's despising this moment?

Once we got home we had swim meets for two weekends, followed by a trip to Texas, and then BOOM, school started, so it was a full month past Gracie's birthday before we were able to gather the friends she wanted and have a small (but feisty) sleepover.

Gracie's party theme was "water."  We played water games, although I think the favorite game by far was trying to soak Daddy.  That's what he gets for being a little too enthusiastic with the water balloons!

I did my best to make an underwater cake, copying a dolphin off a greeting card, and the rest off of a google search for "Ocean Cakes". 

Maggie provided the instrumentals for a rousing rendition of "Happy Birthday", and then the girls settled in for a movie (or two.  Not sure.  I went to bed.) 

 

As usual, the girls had a good time.  I suppose birthday sleepovers fall under the adage, "Better late than never!"  

Catching Up - Back to School

This summer really seemed to fly by.  I was looking forward to having the summer off, and it was wonderful, but it just seemed to be over so soon! 

The girls started back to school just a few days before I did.  Both girls got up bright and early, even though their buses come almost an hour apart.  Maggie let me walk her to the bus stop, although once everyone started to show up, she let me know that it was perfectly okay if I wanted to head back down the street.  I stayed out of sight in our yard, blocked from view by the neighbor's tree, but still popped out to get the bus picture - thank goodness for zoom lenses! 

Gracie let me know that it was fine if I walked her to the bus stop this morning.  And every morning.  For the rest of her life.  Because she will ALWAYS love me.  I just smiled, and let her know that someday, she too, will want me to am-scray, and that's okay.  I am raising these two to leave me one day, not to stay with me forever, as much as it tugs on my heartstrings to watch them getting more grownup in every first-day picture.

 

Whatever, mom!  See ya!  

The first day, it was just these three at the bus stop - old friends that have been with us since we moved here.  The second day I decided to take the dog with us to the bus stop, with a plan to continue on our way once the kids have been picked up.  Well, the second day there were about sixteen kids at the bus stop - most of them kindergartners or first graders.  The border collie in Oreo came out - she wanted to herd those kids so bad! 

My first day of school went well - after reviewing my syllabus, I'm thinking it seems too easy.  Both courses are practical, with no big research papers.  I keep waiting for someone to say, oh, by the way, there will be a 50 page final paper due at the end of the semester.  It just seems too good to be true!