Latest Painting Project

Recently a lady I know through church asked me if she could hire me to paint some whimsical butterflies and dragonflies for her soon-to-be-born granddaughter's nursery. I have no new photos or happenings to post so you get to see what I've been doing in what spare time I can find between the hours of midnight and 3:00 am. :0)

The Friday Night Lights Didn't Shine So Bright...

The Mats suffered another defeat. The Austin High Maroons went away with a 31-7 victory. It wasn't as fun to watch this game as it is when we're on a winning streak!!!

Before the half time show I went down to where the dancers go warm up. This is the dance teacher (Cathy's) daughter Micayla. She loves the Starsteppers and was warming up with them. Isn't she cute!!!

Here is Heather with a Color Guard mom, Drew, who adores Heather and wants her to come work with her during school holidays and summer breaks.

Micayla and Cathy huddled with the team for prayer before the halftime show.

Heather.

Heather is in the back, in the center.

Back in the stands, Starsteppers Jenalee (left) and Cleary (in front)

This is my friend Rajeana's daugther Tessa, an officer of the dance team and a member of the Color Guard.

After the game the band performed its entire winning show routine.



Better luck next week, Mats!!!

You Gotta Laugh!

Marty called me at work a few days ago to tell me he'd bought me a car. I said, "What? What kind of car?" Apparently his boss' brother had bought an old car, repaired it and was selling it. Cheap. And it's supposed to get good gas mileage....as opposed to the gas guzzler I now drive. And since I live about 12 miles from town and make at least 2 trips to town and back every day, that gas guzzler is costing more than I want to spend to drive! Part of me was afraid of what I'd find when I drove into town to look at the car. I didn't know whether to expect a multi-color car with dents and dings, headliner hanging down, bald tires, torn seats, etc. I was prepared for the worst, especially for the price he paid. But I kept telling myself, "it's a means to an end. It's temporary then you can hand the car over to Heather. It won't matter if it's ugly, Heather can still learn to drive in it." You get the idea.



You'll have to wait until tomorrow for me to post a picture of it. It's too dark outside to get one. But, it's not near as bad as what I'd pictured. It's dirty and needs cleaned up and there are a couple of small tears in the front seats but the back seats look great. It's a small 4 door car, a Chevy Corsica. And it's RED!!!! I love red!!! (Well, it's more burgandy...but still that's almost red!) And there are several things I'll have to get used to doing without....like my cd player, my tape player, my temperature guage, my compass, my power windows and power seats.....I think I was spoiled! I think I will miss my cd player the most! I really can't stand commercials on radio stations and am constantly changing stations when a commercial does air, so I mostly listen to cd's. I guess I won't be in this car. I think Heather has a bet going to see how long before I buy a new stereo for the car! I'm sure she's hoping it happens before the car is hers!

I drove into town today to pick up the car and take it to get inspected. It smells like it's overheating and the driver's window has serious issues when you roll it down. It's very hard to roll back up because it jumps out of its track. This is going to make drive thru very interesting!

Before heading to another side job to help our friend Billy with his garage, Marty drove over to the high school to check on the car because I'd told him it was getting hot and smelled like it was overheating. He said the fluids look fine, to just keep an eye on it when I drive it again. Okey dokey!

I worked at the concession stand tonight for a football game so it was dark when Heather and I headed out again. Note to self: when driving an unfamiliar car....familiarize yourself with where everything is BEFORE it gets dark!!! But it did make for a funny drive home. The first thing Heather did was to pull out the cup holder that's a tray that slides out of the dash. And it promplty fell out of the dash and into her hand. She said, "Turn on the lights so I can see how to put it back." Of course I had to find the light switch first! Then the dome light inside was burned out so it still didn't help her see very well. She finally managed to get it put back together. Then she wanted to go through drive through.
Me: "Can't."
Heather: "Why?"
Me: "Because the window doesn't roll up once it's rolled down."
At this point Heather is not very thrilled that in a few months this will be her car!
We finally get moving down the road and I called Marty to let him know we were heading out. I then called him again to tell him I have to stop for gas because the gas gauge began dropping very quickly and it was sitting on E, whereas when I began I had a half a tank! I called him right back to let him know the headlights went out and would only come on when the brights were on. At this point Heather and I were laughing so hard at everything going wrong, and wondering "what next??" At least we found it funny and could laugh at the situation. What else can you do?

Once we arrived home Marty said, "let's go back into town and get your Suburban (where I'd left it temporarily) so you can PARK this car until I can fix it." I just laughed and said, "we can go get the Suburban and bring it home, but I'm still going to drive this car. I'm tired of putting gas in the other one!" He did figure out a way to get the lights to come on and we headed back into town. I hopped in the driver's seat and he proceeded to crawl into the passenger seat. He made a comment about not planning to ever ride in "this sardine can" and pulled out the cup holder to put his soda in. Of course it pulled all the way out and fell. I cracked up and I'm sure despite the darkness of the interior I saw him look at me like I'd lost my marbles!

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As promised here are pictures of the new-to-me car. Our cat George has already laid claim to the hood. Or course he jumped off as soon as I went outside. Cheap car.....or expensive cat bed???

Like Mother...Like Daughter???

I have one daughter, Heather, and she's sixteen. I don't have gray hair yet, but I'm sure I will before she's seventeen if things continue the way they have lately!




We've always been told she looks like me, which I think she has always hated. Fortunately for her, I think she looks much better than I do, or ever did for that matter. Someone even once asked if we were sisters. Sometimes I think she likes that, but not lately. Lately she doesn't like her mom very much. I'm told that's a good thing, very normal, and that I will get a lot smarter in a few years. Hmmm....it's going to be a long few years I'm afraid.




Although she is in trouble with me right now, there are still so many things for which I can be proud. She's a very talented young lady, both in dance and in band. I'm very proud of many of her accomplishments.




When she is misbehaving she loves to tell me "our children are our truest reflections." Where does she get this stuff??? Although in some ways I wish she were more like me, there are also differences I celebrate.





I was always very shy and introverted. Heather has always been much less shy and much more outgoing than I ever was. Whereas I was always likely to say what I thought someone wanted to hear...Heather's never been afraid to speak her mind. I've always admired that about her. Getting up in front of people always has terrified me (and still does!!!). Not Heather. She's danced on stages in front of crowds since she was six years old. I was more nervous for her every single time. Before each performance, I always asked "are you nervous?" I always got the same response....this look that said "are you kidding?" and she'd say, "No, I'm not nervous." And she'd go dance before the judges like she was born to do it. She never ceased to amaze me.






I have always been squeemish around creepy, crawly things...not Heather. She has always loved catching worms, lizards, frogs, etc. Ick! Thankfully she knew not to bring them to me! The only thing I had to make sure her pockets were empty of were rocks. She was always gathering rocks and putting them in her pockets, in her backpack or wherever else she could find to stash them. There is still a small stack of rocks on the back porch that she moved to Texas from Missouri. She's much more like my sister Regina as far as the creepy/crawlies go....and she gets the rock collecting from my mom!





Although there are some similarities...I'm seeing more and more differences in us as time goes by. I'm thankful for that in many ways. In other ways it terrifies me because I don't know the best way to reach her sometimes. Because what may have worked for me....won't necessarily work for her. When things are trying, my friends will say, "at least you only have to go through this once!" I smile and say, "yeah....but look at it this way....I have only one chance to screw it up, or do it right." Heather for your sake, I hope I'm not screwing it up! I love you, even when things are this rocky! Hang in there and we'll get through this together.

Me, at 8 months. Heather at 3 months.

Heather and me, spring 2001 (backstage before a dance recital)

Heather and me this summer.

Marty's Family Meets My Family

Each year Marty's family has a reunion during the summer for a weekend in Wyoming. In 2004 Billie (my mother in law) suggested that the family consider coming to Texas for a week for the reunion. Although everyone couldn't make the trip, there were several who did, including some of my family members. What fun we all had showing them the fun that can be had in South Texas!




We filled up my house, Billie's house and 2 campers with all our guests for the week. We took them to the beach to camp for a few days. While we were there we enjoyed playing in the waves, a chartered fishing boat trip, dinner at our favorite Cajun restaurant, walking on the beach, and just relaxing and visiting. Any time Marty's Uncle Jim is around there is ice cream to be had so a trip to the Ice Cream shop in Port Aransas was on the agenda as well. I don't know anyone who likes ice cream as much as Uncle Jim!




We also made a trip to Goliad to tour a mission there, to San Antonio to tour the Alamo and the RiverWalk where we enjoyed a boat ride and time was also spent just hanging out in Billie's back yard and enjoying her pool.

One of our group's tables at the "Crazy Cajun"

Jacob, Josh and Jolene waiting for permission to jump into Billie's pool.

(Josh and Jolene are Marty's cousin Jenny's kids. Jacob is Marty's cousin Amanda's son)

Marty and Uncle Murph enjoying their watermelon.

(Uncle Murph is the brother of Billie's late husband Bob.)

Marty's Uncle Gary, Uncle Murph and Aunt Kathy.

(Gary (Billie's brother in law) lives in Worland, Wyoming

and Murph and Kathy live in Nebraska)

Uncle Jim and Aunt Jo Ellen enjoying the boat ride on the RiverWalk.

(Jim (Billie's brother) and Jo live in Gillette, Wyoming)

Late one evening my aunt ("Nana"), Mom, my sister Lacey and I went down to the beach to build sand castles.

My aunt flew to Missouri to drive to Texas with my mom, my sister and my cousin Jennifer's kids Cheyenne and Joey (Nana's grandchildren).

Lacey and me playing in the sand.

Jolene adores Heather! She referred to her once as that girl with those long, long, long, long, long legs!

The Mission at Goliad.

Lacey and me roasting hot dogs in Billie's back yard.

Uncle Gary fishing with his grandsons Jacob and Josh.

Heather fishing.

Aunt Kathy (Nebraska), Billie, Bob's Aunt Isabelle (Cheyenne, Wyoming) , Uncle Murph (Nebraska) , and Bob's sister Ruth (Torrington, Wyoming).

Heather and Uncle Murph.

Front: Heather, Cheyenne & Joey (West Plains, Missouri) and Nana (Virginia Beach, Virginia).

Back: Marty, Mom (West Plains, Missouri), Lacey (Springfield, Missouri), and me.

Marty and Uncle Gary.

We missed you on the fishing trip Uncle Gene, Aunt Susie and Aunt LolliPop!!!

The marina at Port Aransas.

We are looking forward to getting together with family again. A trip to Missouri is in the works for Christmas (the first since Christmas 1999!) and a trip to Wyoming is planned for next summer (time for Marty's 20th high school reunion!). See you all then!!!

Davy

I have introduced you to my siblings (Lacey, Levi, and Regina), and now I'm introducing you to my older brother Davy. Davy is one year, two weeks, and one day older than I am. I've never been quite as close to Davy as my other siblings. It's not that we don't get along, we do. We just don't have as much in common as he and the others do. I love him dearly and always will. I'm sure I puzzle him just as much as he does me! :0)






I remember once when we were in elementary school and one of his buddies was giving me a hard time. I was so surprised when Davy went up to his friend and let him know I was his sister and he'd better not mess with me. He'd never done anything like that before and I was so impressed he did then.







Some of my fondest memories of Davy are when we'd have snow days and we'd track each other in the snow. He was always the best at that game and he'd often lose us by swinging on the grape vines and we wouldn't be able to find where his tracks had disappeared to! Too bad those tracking skills didn't come in handy the winter he and my brother in law Greg got lost in the woods in the "Devil's Backbone" wilderness of the Mark Twain National Forest! That was years ago, but it is still brought up from time to time for a chuckle. Of course at the time of the search, no part of it was funny. Now that I think about it, it's just so wrong that the men in my family have a tendency to give us girls a hard time about our lack of a good sense of direction. I know my sisters and I have never had a search party looking for us! Marty once even got lost in the woods behind my mom's house when we lived there. And he's the worst about giving me a hard time about my sense of direction! I'm thinking the next time he or Davy has something to say about that, I'll have to remind them of their rescues!







I seldom talk to Davy. He stays pretty busy between taking care of his place, working construction and various other jobs, and farming. And FISHING. I think fishing is his life. Literally. Thankfully he has a wife who encourages his enthusiasm for the sport. Imagine my surprise when I arrived home this evening to a message on my voice mail from Davy! He's finally coming to Texas....to go fishing in Del Rio. I always knew the only way I'd see him in Texas was if he was coming to go fishing! Apparently he'll be in Del Rio for his birthday and wants us to go to Del Rio to take him out for his birthday. We've been looking at the calendar and it looks like it may just work out!!!

Davy and Lis, at their wedding a few years ago.

Davy is all "Country Boy" and he and Lis roasted marshmallows on their first date. So...they wanted to roast marshmallows at their wedding too.

Davy and me when I was 8 months old.

Several years ago, when Marty and I still lived in Missouri, most of my family attended the same little church where my parents were married. My sister Regina directed an Easter pageant and Davy portrayed Jesus.

Davy and Heather when Heather was 3 months old. This is the first time my family met Heather. She and I flew from Phoenix to Missouri to spend Thanksgiving with my family. Dad sent us plane tickets so he could "see that baby!" The next time we flew in for a visit she cried when most of the male relatives held her. But she liked for Davy and my Uncle Bobby to hold her! We figured it was because they had long hair like her daddy had at the time!

Davy hitched a ride with Mom, Dad, Levi and Lacey when they came to visit us in Arizona. Here are Levi, Marty and Davy when Marty was showing them around the farm where he worked. The steer, a Watussi, is "Beauregard," a pet of the dairy farm's owner. Beauregard had been to obedience school and part of Marty's job was to continue his training each day.

Guadalupe County Fair....Finale

We spent almost all of today at the fair. Our church sponsored a series of mini gospel concerts at the fair and teams were needed to be on hand throughout the day to pass out free bottles of water, etc. We decided to just be there for the whole day. It did make for a long day, but we had fun and I rode some rides while we were there (imagine that!). My father in law Freddie rode a couple of rides with me then when Jason was through with his turn passing out water he rode the Cliff Hanger with me. Once again Heather was absent so I had to look for people who liked to ride rides. (Heather spent the day at another band competition and they did excellent!)

When Marty and I were wondering around the fair we spent some time enjoying the Alpacas. They are beautiful animals and really fascinating. My favorite is the one on the left! They are soooo soft!

When my mother in law and father in law finished their turn passing out water bottles Freddie went on a couple of rides with me. First we went on The Storm, which spins round and round very very fast. Freddie was so funny on this one, acting so goofy!!!

I know...what a flattering shot! Thanks, Marty! The force of the ride was so strong I could hardly move my head!

Next we rode The Tornado. I think Freddie thought if he spun it fast enough he'd make me sick. Wrong! Guess who felt ill after this ride and wouldn't ride anymore? Right! Freddie!

Soon after, Jason arrived and rode the Cliff Hanger with me. Here we're ready for take off. Notice my shoes in my hands. I was afraid if I left them on my feet, I'd lose them so the carnival worker decided I should just hold them. Jason looks as if he's praying here!

"Hey, Jason, is this what it feels like to be Superman you think?"

Here are Mathew, his friend Beau, and Cameron riding the Cliff Hanger.

Erica, we sure missed you today!!!

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Here are the results of my entries in the photography exhibition at the fair I posted about here:

The photo I entered in the people category placed 3rd and the butterly picture I entered in the wildlife category also placed 3rd. My pastor entered a photo he'd taken of a turtle underwater and placed 2nd.