Queen for a Day

Yesterday I was queen for the day.   The staff treated me first class all the way. They were courteous, friendly, caring, gentle, and humorous.

You may wonder where I would get such royal treatment?  Well....

 I went to the dentist office.  I broke my tooth (no, it didn't hurt) and had to have it fixed.  The staff was fantastic.  They hooked me up with a new tooth (minus the nitrus oxide) because I am brave.  This fact was told to me by the six year old in the chair next to me who was begging for the nitrus oxide.  He said it 'relaxed' him when he was in the 'mean' dentists chair. 

After my new tooth was in place they whisked me away into the other room into a massage chair.  They left me there to relax and watch a little TV, or read magazines for a few minutes.  Then they came in and cleaned my teeth for me.  They gave me VIP treatment.  No extra charge!  And the bonus....My tooth was under warranty and there was no charge!  Imagine my surprise. 

 I think all dentist offices should have massage chairs (better than nitrus oxide)  and teeth under warranty.  Although if I had the opportunity to be queen for the day again I would probably choose Spa Bella.  They don't numb your face.

Winter Wonderland

It is snowing again at our home.  They are predicting about three inches of snow today.  It is beautiful as it falls from the sky.  We are enjoying it from the comfort of our home.  I know it will shut down the city again, and we will have to shovel the walks and driveway again tomorrow, but for now it is so beautiful to watch.

Our very own Texas winter wonderland.

Home Bound

It still amazes me how a little, or in this case ALOT, of snow can shut down an entire city.  Church was cancelled due to hazardous road conditions. We are enjoying another day at home reading, playing, watching movies, and enjoying one another's company!

Home bound is the place to be this week.  Good food, good times, good company.  Can't ask for more than that this Christmas!

Shovels anyone?

This morning we cannot get out of our home.  We had 8 inches of snow yesterday along with 40 mph winds and a full on blizzard.  The snow drifts are about 4-6 ft depending on where you look outside our home, and when we opened our garage the snow was up to our waists.  We cannot get our back door open at all.  Now that may not sound like alot of snow to some but...

we are not used to the white stuff around here.  We have no warm clothes or snow plows to get rid of the stuff.  Our shovel is rounded at the end and we are laughing.  The news announced they have four snow plows for the entire surrounding area which includes Oklahoma.  Yeah...we are not getting out unless the sun comes out and melts the stuff. 

It's a bit weird to look out of the windows and see so much snow.  It feels like we are in the mountains in Park City or Colorado Springs.  We are glad we have nowhere to go and are enjoying our white Christmas.

Today has been a fun day and we are thankful to be here as a family!  Now if we can just figure out how to get the dog outside....

Snow, birthday, teenager, Christmas

I woke up this morning to this…

The weather man was calling for 4-8 inches of snow.  What a nice surprise.  This is unheard of in Texas!  We woke up the birthday girl and fed her French toast and told her we ordered the snow just for her today! 

She loved it!  This was taken earlier when we only had about two inches of snow.  We now have about six inches and cannot get out of our back door. We Texans have no need for show shovels or snow plows in our neck of the woods, so we will wait for the sun to come out tomorrow and melt all the snow.

Tiger thought he had died and gone to heaven.  He loved it…for about five minutes and then decided he needed to be inside curled up by the fire!

We spent the afternoon watching Christmas movies and playing with the fun birthday gifts.  What a great family day. Good thing I keep fire wood handy for those cold, snowy, Texas days!  : )

  It was fun to induct you into the house of teens today!  Happy Birthday!  We love you!

On my mind...

I am grateful that there were no fatalities and everyone is safe.  I hope the passengers make it to their final destinations.  The crew will probably not make it home for Christmas, but my prayers and thoughts are with their families at this time. 

Fancy Nancy

This is my new favorite book this month. 

I have been giving it as birthday presents to the kids in first grade.  They love it!  (Yes, even the boys)  We all love it!  I have loved Fancy Nancy for years and Jane O’Connor writes them so well. 

Each version is illustrated so lovely and I love the vocabulary.  It reminds me of when Katie was young and would use all those ‘big’ words. 

Even though I have been sick, I have still had to go to work everyday.  Having books as fun as this to read sure makes my job more fun!

Happy Reading!!

PS- Jane O’Connor does not know who I am.  I could kick the bucket tomorrow and she would not care.  (ok, sorry for the drama) but the book is fantastic and I am promoting it even if Jane O’Connor will never know my name. :)

Sick

Been out with  pneumonia all month.  Be back soon.

Miss Congeniality

Here she is…..posing and smiling and cracking jokes….in front of one of the many horses you can find around our city. 

She just loves it when her mother takes out her camera!

Whew!

It's just badly sprained.  No dancing for two weeks.  She is heartbroken.  But there is still hope for the 'Old High'-'Rider' game in three weeks where she will dance with her dad during half-time.  The doctor will give the ok in two weeks at her checkup. 

Love Mom,

Dear Megan,

     I know your foot may possibly have a fracture from dancing yesterday.  You must have been busting some incredible moves!  Don't worry, I have scheduled an x-ray this morning to make sure it is not broken.  I know you are worried about not being able to dance with your dad at halftime during the 'Old High'-'Rider' game.  (I am sure he is worried about not being able to dance also)  To help take your pain and worries away, I have made your favorite breakfast- Aebleskivers!  Enjoy!

Love Mom

The Thrill of Something New

Last night Michala went to the movies with her dad and me.  We went to see Cloudy With  A Chance of Meatballs.  It was in 3D.  We loved it.  Everyone should take a minute and go see this movie.  It just makes you laugh. 

My favorite part of the whole night was the two little boys sitting next to us.  They had never seen a 3D movie.  From the moment they put the glasses on their cute little faces (they were about 6 yrs old) they giggled and tried to 'catch' the characters and made hilarious comments the entire movie. 

It was such a joy to watch.  It made us stop to think about how many times in your life you get to experience something new.  Something you have never done before.  To feel that sheer joy of doing and experiencing something new and exciting. 

Aww...to be young again.  By the time you are my age, you have already experienced most things.  The thrill of seeing a rainbow in the sky, jumping in a puddle after a rain, going to Disneyland for the first time, and licking a big ol' spoonful of unsweetened chocolate when your mom told you not to. 

I think I will go find something new to experience.  I want to feel that kind of joy again today.

She’s OK, but the car is hurt.

I count my blessings that Katie wasn’t hurt in the car accident.  Nor was anyone else.  I am also grateful it wasn’t her fault.  Someone ran a stop sign and plowed into her car.  OOPS! 

Now the car looks like this….

 

I am grateful Katie doesn’t.

I count my blessings today.

Mom Should be Jealous Right Now

Because I'm in Photoshop class. :)

LOVE YOU MOM!


~Katie

Cravings

There are some things in life you just crave.  Tonight this is one of them.  Delicious, mouth watering, hot cinnamon bears.

The problem is that these are hard to find in Texas.  We have to think ahead and mail order them.  Sadly, we do not have any in the house and we did not order any.  Oh well..... We will just have to dream how wonderful they would have tasted.

And how great they would be dipped in chocolate.

See you in my dreams.

The Christmas List

Santa upgraded from snail mail to e-mail a while ago.  Smart man. 

Michala loves this fact and can send him  letters quickly.  She also loves the fact that she can revise them just as quickly.

Santa has received numerous letters this year from her.  She carbon copied them for me so I would be in the loop.  :)

Here is the latest edition.

Enjoy,

Taken By Storm

Have you ever woken up and feel as if you know what is about to happen before the day even begins? Well I felt like that this week.  It started out looking like this.  (should have been my first clue)

The storm clouds came and have been hanging around all week long.   It has been nice to get some rain.  The lake in my backyard is not so great. 

My sweet girl woke up sick and never strayed far from the ‘barf’ bowl most of the day.  Sad. 

She actually wished she was running laps with the team.  She never wishes that.  She must really be sick!

Here she is two days later trying to guard against the other team.  She still feels lousy.  The storm outside was so loud it was echoing in the gym.  The thunder and lightning became distracting to the girls.  They lost.  My sweet girl went home and crawled into bed with her barf bowl.  Too much excitement for one night.

 

Friday night we watched my other beautiful girl dance her heart out and cheer the football team.  I took a video with my phone.  She is super cute.  She was sad they did not get to dance the Hip Hop routine.  She LOVES Hip Hop.  She would dance it every waking moment. 

It feels as if I have lived this week twice.  I also have received the schedule this week and I am afraid it looks identical to the last two.  I am having the same déjà vu feeling. The rain is even going to hang around another week.  I am going to have to change it up a little bit this week.  Good thing we have piano lessons today. 

Oh wait….We do that every Monday. 

Nine Eleven

I do not talk much about nine eleven. It is a day I will never forget.  It makes my stomach sick when I think about it. Many of us will never forget where we were and what we were doing on that day.

My sister and her husband were visiting me.  I was taking my kids to school.  I went in to the office and the secretary asked if I had heard that a plane had hit the world trade center.  I had not heard.  My stomach felt sick.  I went to the car and told my sister. 

As the day continued and the events unfolded, it became clear that the world would never be the same again.  It also just happened to be my BIL birthday.  We never celebrated.  It took my sister a week to get home. 

My husband was out of town that day.  He was flying.  Two days earlier he had a layover in Manhatten.  Him and the other pilot went to the World Trade Center to do a little sightseeing.  He called me to say how fantastic it was and how he wished we were there together.  

As a pilots wife you get to experience emotions you never knew existed.  When you hear there are multiple airplanes hitting buildings you tend to have a panic attack.  Especially when they are your husbands airplanes. 

Amazingly, I was calm, because I knew my husband was safe.  He called me.  I felt blessed.  Then an amazing thing happened.  I am not surprised.  I have seen it happen many times before.  Pilots wives stick together.  We protect each other. 

We are like mother hens who watch over the nests.  We will always look out for one another.  That was one of those times.  My phone rang off the hook all day.  It was like an unofficial phone tree of every pilot I have ever known checking on me.  In between calls, I was calling other wives.  We gave each other updates on who we had talked to and who was safe.  We gave each other moral support.  Many were home alone because their spouse was out flying a trip. 

By the end of the day, I knew where everyone was.  In fact, I think I talked to everyone I  have ever known in my life. 

Over the years I have had plenty of friends, and known plenty of people who have died in plane crashes, or have lived to tell some incredible stories of surviving plane crashes.  It is the nature of the job.  The chosen profession of my spouse.  This is why I keep 18,000 bottles of antacid tablets in my home. 

Even now, when he takes off on a trip, I worry.  I worry that some crazy fool will do something to his airplane and I will never see him again.  I know it sounds crazy, but call me crazy.   Today, as I watch and listen, and teach the events of nine eleven, I can't help but feel sad, proud, and respectful of all those who participated in the service of that day. 

I know the families who lost loved ones wanted this day to be a day of national service.   How great is that.  We are taught everyday that we need to be charitable to others.  "Charity Never Faileth" is the motto I have heard all my life.  It is nice that the nation is finally publicizing it today.  Thank you to the families for putting a face on service.

Here is a tribute that I enjoyed eight years ago.  May you enjoy it again now.

God Bless.

Teenagers

These four teenagers have known each other since they were just little kids.  We have never lived anywhere long enough to have known someone that long.  This is what it makes it fun for my girls.  They can actually say, “I have known you since I was two years old.”

Every time we get together with these boys, they have a ton of fun together.   The two youngest are always planning our next visit together.
Our trips to Dallas have to include a visit with these boys.

 
Mom, it wouldn’t be fun unless we did something with the boys!  We have to CALL them.

So, in all my wisdom, we call, we play, we have fun, and we keep the friendships going. 

I mean really.  Look at these boys.  They are fantastic!  I love them.  I love their personalities! I love their quirks!  I love the fact that they put up with my quirky girls and think they are cool!

I figure I would have arranged their marriages anyway.  And since we do not do that (seriously, who does that anyway).  It is way more fun to watch from the sidelines!

Volleyball Girl

Saturday was extremely busy.  We started the day heading towards Oklahoma for my girls volleyball tournament.  We ended the day in Dallas at the football game.  LOTS of DRIVING in the OPPOSITE directions!

 

My girl is #45.  She loves to have a cool number like that.  How do I know that?  She told me. 

 

 

Here is my girl serving for her life.  She won 11 of the 15 points this game for her team.  Way to go!

 

 

Here she is making a dive for the ball.  It ended up out of bounds and I missed taking a picture of the dive.  (I didn’t think she would actually do it.  What do I know anyway)

 

Now you have to know that my girls mother got ‘The Most Feminine Fullback’ award.  She comes by things naturally.  Here she is with all of her teammates watching the game and she is the only one crossing her legs.  Very feminine and cute if you ask me.  Always dainty.  At least she makes dives for the ball.  (her mom wouldn’t get dirty)

 

 

She is a little irritated by the camera and so is her friend.  They have now gone to making faces at me.  I have many with the team making faces at me.  They HATE the camera.  They think I am the paparazzi.  Hey…..you will love it when you get your picture in the yearbook!!

 

Here she is at the end of the tournament.  Her team won second place.  Go Zundy!

Can you guess what we are doing today?

BYU-Oklahoma Game

GO BYU!!

Rich and I went to the game on Saturday night.  WOW!  What an exciting game.  First off, can I just say that the stadium was incredible.  Jerry Jones went all out on this thing.  The 'jumbotron' was amazing and when you looked around the stadium, it seemed all eyes were watching the 'big screen' instead of the game.  Funny how people come to watch the game 'live' and then end up watching it on the tv anyway.  Of course if your TV was the size of a football field you'd watch it too.


The funniest part of the whole night (and I didn't get a picture darn it) was when the big computer crashed across the stadium.  It kept flashing system failed, reboot.  All that money and the system crashes at the beginning of the game.  I can imagine there were some pretty stressed out people in the sound booths.  But, they managed to reboot and get the advertisers back online and everything else went off with out a hitch.

We had great seats.  We were on the goal line about 20 seats up from the field.  Here is the set up for the winning touchdown right in front of us.  OUTSTANDING!

It doesn't get better than this.

Rich almost lost his voice yelling so loud.  The stadium was loud!  But thank goodness it was airconditioned!

We took a picture just in case we were attacked in the parking lot by the 60,000 Oklahoma fans that were irate BYU won and hurt their star quarterback.  Rough night for OU fans.  But, in the end they were gracious and very nice to all of us.  I love Football!

 

We even made OU friends.  These girls sat right behind us.  Had us laughing the whole time.  Thanks for making the game that much more fun.  We hope to see you the next time!

Friday Nights Live

Megan had her first Football game Friday night.  She had a blast.  She danced half time with the Raiderettes Dance team.  She is the cutest girl on the team, of course!  She is in the center moving her hips like crazy.  Her cute little body moves in ways I never knew it could, and she is darling. 

Wait..... is that allowed?  I am having second thoughts now about her being on this team.  She is too cute and she dances way too well.  Maybe I should lock her up until she is maybe......30??

Here she goes again shaking those hips.  Smiling all cute.  What's a mom to do?

When the game was all over she was still smiling and happy.  I love Megan.

Here is the scoreboard at the end of the game.  You have to laugh.  We are the Raiders.  So much for the game, but Megan had the best time!

Shades of Brown

Tiger has some checkerboard effects left over from his surgery.  He now sports a 'coat with shades of brown'.  His scar looks great and has healed great.  He uses this to his advantage, as he has noticed that if he stands just the right way, he gets more attention than usual.  He has become a Rock Star of sorts with the massive scar cascading down his side.  

He has even starting greeting people with a handshake.

"All I have to do is look at them with big 'ol brown puppy eyes, and I have them eating out of my paws every time!"

"It's amazing what humans will fall for.  Can I have a bone now?"

Photoshop Fun

Just having fun with photoshop.  I sorta enjoyed scrapbooking, but it was never my favorite.  The mess is what turned me off.  My house was always turned upside down when creating scrapbooks.  Now....

I can create all day with NO MESS!!!

I can undo, redo, play, and just have fun.  I can leave and come back and it is all still there.  The kids can not even mess it up.  In fact, they can create their own layouts and there is no mess. 

Michala just created her biography for school over the weekend in photoshop.  It was fantastic!  She did it all herself and it looks so professional I hope her teacher does not think her mother did her homework.

Did I tell you how much I love my photoshop?

Outtakes

A wonderful thing happened today. My girls got attitude! The only thing I asked for was ONE normal picture that we could use for christmas and this was the reaction I received.

Attitude times three

Just as the camera clicked everyone went wild and I was the lone woman with the smile acting like we were a normal family. WHAT..... (sigh as all my dreams and hopes of a normal picture fly out the window) So I do the next best thing.....

I join them in the next picture. This folks, is the one I am having blown up and put on my family room wall. Who says you have to have a sweet picture in your home. This is my family on a daily basis. Just keeping it real.

This was just fun. I do look a little posessed, but I come by it naturally. What can I say.

Rich took a picture with each of the girls and here is what I got with Megan. Power and Muscles.

And here is my favorite. At the end of the photo shoot, when we did not know the photographer was taking pictures, she caught Rich sharing a moment with me.

Did I tell you how much I love photo shoots with my family? I do. They are my favorite.

Toll Roads

I spent yesterday in Oklahoma City. I love Oklahoma City. It has an airport that is named after Will Rogers. It has acres and acres of cotton and corn fields. It has cattle ranches with horses grazing in the fields. The wind is constantly blowing, and as you drive through Oklahoma, you watch the prairie grasses blowing like crazy. The prairie grasses are my favorite. The rolling hills are beautiful and green and it is serene and peaceful.

The one question I have for Okalahoma is about the toll roads. You spend the day driving the highways and spend $25 on tolls. That part is alright because the views are spectacular, and like I said before, I love Oklahoma City. But...

The highways are horrible. I mean potholes, bumpy, tar pits, etc. If everyone is driving on the roads and paying tolls shouldn't that money be spent on keeping up those roads? I'm just saying...Where does all that money go?

With that said, I still love you Oklahoma!

Tops In Blue

Tonight I had the opportunity to take my family to see Tops in Blue. The Air Force puts on a great show every year with this group and they travel the world putting on shows. They just recently returned from overseas and will be touring bases around the US for a few weeks before heading out to the Middle East. The performers are military members who do one tour of duty (one year) with the group before returning to their regular military job. Competition is fierce to get in and it is a prestigious tour of duty. They are amazing and always entertaining to watch.


This man was my favorite this year. I will simply call him "Orkin Man." His duty in the Air Force is Pest Management Craftsman. He was funny, entertaining, sang amazing, and stole the show. I don't know why I thought it funny he killed bugs in the military. All bugs need to be disposed of in the proper manner. Maybe a talent scout will come to the show and he will eventually end up on Broadway.

Here is the group at the end of the show singing the token, traditional song "Proud to be an American."