And We're Back

What a great trip...an all-around, enjoyable-for-all, good time! We left Friday around 11:00 AM headed for Frisco, Texas. I DID NOT GET LOST ON THE WAY! Amazing, I know. I'll be posting pics of the actual Celebrate Freedom event. Fun, fun, fun. We're taking all of you with us next year. So, get ready.

The beauty of this trip is that it was win/win all around. Didn't get lost, nice hotel room, awesome concert, wonderful children's entertainment, & last, but certainly not least...we stopped at Cracker Barrel for supper on our way home. Not the finest cuisine there is, but they do have some nice biscuits.
The great part of Cracker Barrel is their store. The boys & I always spend lots of time in there. We made a few purchases, but the prizes are these...




You know Dino is one of my faves! So, tonight I'm off to watch a little Colgate Comedy Hour with the boys. Tomorrow, I'll try to get up some of our pictures. Peace to each of you!

HERE WE GO!!!

I am SO excited! I can hardly wait. We leave tomorrow to go to Celebrate Freedom! Aaaah-Haaaa!!! I will have lots to post about when we get back. Watch the folks jumpin' around in these videos...that's gonna be ME & the boys! If you get the Gospel Channel, you better be watchin' for us! I gotta go pack.

Crossing Over

Some transitions are just plainly painful. This is one of those. I have been a Dr. Pepper girl for years. I remember that guy from An American Werewolf in London asking in those DP commericals, "Wouldn't you like to be a Pepper too?" I would and I am. Now, years later I'm not the stick thin person that I used to be. Maybe my metabolism isn't as high anymore. I have a few, extra, unwanted pounds.

I am not a diet-kind of person. You may have read my son's motto..."Eat Big or Go Home". This applies to the entire family. So, as a sort of step in the right direction, I thought it would be sensible to change to Diet Dr. Peppers.

I have never liked the taste of ANY diet beverages. That after-taste is a killer. My mother told me that it just takes a little getting used to. She said to just keep drinking them & the taste would grow on you. Pretty soon, you would prefer it to the regular. You would get to the point where the taste of a regular one would gag you.

Okay, I'm still gagging on the diet stuff. I took the plunge & drink only diet drinks. Yuck, yuck, & yet again, yuck. When this first started, I was tearful every time I ordered a diet Dr. Pepper. I wanted to cry...I mean really break down & sob.

I know there are great life lessons here. I am not mourning just the loss of my beloved Dr. Peppers, but also a bit of my youth. I am no longer that eat-anything-you-want-and-never-gain-a-pound girl. I'm a...mature woman. (I almost cracked up when I typed that.)

I desire to enjoy every season of this life. I'm definitely moving into another, but watch that first step...it's a doozy. I will plug along & maybe someday I will enjoy my Diet Dr. Peppers. Until then, I have my fond memories...

Somebody Said This to Me...

I bet you're a good bowler.

Celebrate Freedom

I was searching for tour dates for The David Crowder Band when I came across this. I think that it looks like a great time. Colt knew that I wanted to go see David Crowder, but when he saw Hawk Nelson on the roster, he was excited. The skateboard feature was the clincher. Rye changed his "That doesn't sound very fun." to "Can we go?!" when he saw the Family Fun Zone. Lincoln Brewster on the list with Shane & Shane confirmed my hopeful attendance. This is at the Pizza Hut Park in Frisco, Texas. Where else could you get moon bounces, monster trucks, & praise & worship all at the same venue?

Five Golden Meme

Tagged here.

The rules:
1. Post the rules of the game at the beginning.
2. Each player answers the questions about themselves.
3. At the end of the post, the player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read the player’s blog.
4. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

What were you doing five years ago?
June 2003...I was 32-years old, Colt was 10, & Rye was 3! Wow. This is definitely a time when God was dealing with me. He was bringing me to my knees. I just hadn't realized it quite yet. My entire world is on the verge of changing.

What are five things on your to-do list for today?
1. Work
2. Wal-Mart
3. School
4. Blog
5. Potting plants

What are five snacks you enjoy?
1. Ice Cream (Vanilla Milkshakes, Rusty's Vanilla Custard, Marble Slab Cheesecake with Cherries & Almonds)
2. Cherries (Any & all...fresh...or I can eat a can of cherry pie filling)
3. String Cheese
4. Hawaiian Punch Apple Sauce
5. Sno-Cone (Pink Lemon Sour, of course)

What are five things you would do if you were a billionaire?
1. Me with money? First thing, I'm gonna need to do some praying for guidance!
2. Extensive Travel! The boys would have first-hand Geography lessons!
3. Buy tiller & definitely a new riding lawn mower.
4. Build a private movie theater...showing old movies as well as the new!
5. I would love to build a community center/compound/recreation center/retreat/exercise facility. A "you name it, we have it" kind of place for our homeschool kids & family.

What are five of your bad habits?
1. See snack list
2. Lack of punctuality
3. Procrastination
4. Lack of exercise
5. Staying up late

What are five places where you have lived?
1. Newberry, Michigan
2. Countyline, Oklahoma
3. Marlow, Oklahoma
4. Velma, Oklahoma
5. Pruitt City, Oklahoma

What are five jobs you’ve had?
1. Started working as a teenager for Uncle Nub...oil business...went full time after graduation.
2. United States Postal Service...city carrier, clerk, distribution, bulk mail, any other place they could work me.
3. Worked at a convenience store for 2 weeks.
4. Accounting, Law, & Oilfield...clerical
5. The most challenging & rewarding...Mother/Homemaker. Yes, it is a full time job.

Five people I tag:
Science Geek
Sea-Gal
Mr. E
Punk Princess
Campfire Stories

I Know What I Want!

Yes, it's HOT outside. What to do? Any ideas? Get a sno-cone!

My children have a dominant sno-cone gene & a recessive ice cream gene. They clash with me because of my dominant ice cream gene. Although, a sno-cone is a satisfactory substitute for a frozen treat. So, we stop at more sno-cone stands than ice cream places. I'm not in complete agreement with this, but I am democratic on a few issues. They do outnumber me on this one.

OK, sno-cones it is. So, give me a Pink Lemon Sour! As Rachel would say...Yumm-o! This particular flavor is like pink lemonade with a bit more tanginess. I do love the citrus!

This is where the real problems start. You shall witness a mother's sacrifice for her offspring. I ALWAYS order Pink Lemon Sour. Not so of the boys with the goofy flavor ideas. They might order some flavor like Roadkill Sewer Surprise. Alright, maybe not that bad, but you get the idea.

Now, let me be clear. I am ALL for flavor exploration. Try something new! Let's just be real. You may not like the outcome. You may be rewarded for your adventurous choice, but you might be sorely disappointed. Or should I say "I" might be sorely disappointed?

Yes, the Mother gets the taste rejects. When the choice results in "ews" & "yucks", my beautiful children get Pink Lemon Sour & I get Transylvanian Teriyaki Tornado. The flavor-sacrificing Matriarch gets the Muddy Monkey Mix or maybe the Green Hairy Beast.

I have tried, not by personal choice of course, Dragon's Breath...it was a bit like red-hot candies...not bad, but not Pink Lemon Sour. Other rejects...Beetle Juice...thankfully not as bad as it sounds. One time they thought Salty Dog sounded grand. That was a definite assault on my taste buds. Nectar sounded good...but wasn't. All this time, I'm thinking of Pink Lemon Sour & getting something altogether different.

It's obvious to me that kids are gonna choose their sno-cones by cool & catchy names. I guess the sno-cone places know this, because they are loaded with Frog in a Blender (Colt likes this one), Superman (Rye likes this one), Ninja Turtle, Purple Poison, the list goes on & on.

How do you know what Superman is supposed to taste like? Kryptonite? Steel? I think all flavor choices should be fully explained, in detail. The boys maybe could make more accurate decisions.

Colt wants me to be clear that he has traded with me a couple times, but that Riley is the repeat offender. I will agree, but there is no longer any need. The last trip to the sno-cone stand resulted in harsh, new rules. You get it, you eat it! I'm getting Pink Lemon Sour AND I'm eating it! You can get WHATEVER you want, but it's YOURS to keep.

Why don't you just get Pink Lemon Sour? You know you like it.

Party Crasher

Crashing
Down
Down
Down
Plunge, smash, fatal hit.

Automatous ailment,
Contaminated contraption,
Diseased device,
Gadgetry gout,
Instrument infirmity,
Malignant machinery,
Mechanical malady,
Pathogenic processor,
Terminal technology,
Viral invasion?

I have spent the better part of today backing up all my important files. Actually, my only important files are my pictures. I feel a computer crash coming on. Until I find out what is up with my computer, I wanted to make sure my digital photos are not lost. So, now I can begin my witch hunt. If you don't hear from me soon, you'll know the zombie killed me. Or perhaps I finally succumbed to the virus. Has a computer ever died of worms? I'll have to get in my time machine because my computer went back to 2002!

And Time Stood Still...

I am having computer issues. The blogs that are saved to my favorites are stuck on Friday. There aren't any posts that show up after that day. I didn't know this until I checked it on another computer today. Weird. I thought everybody was in a writing slump. Let's see if this shows up...