On Our Way From Here

Buttons!

2012-01-03T09:36:00.002-06:00

All I have right now are these two crappy cell phone pics, but I just can't wait. I must share.

I've got this stash of vintage buttons that I've carried around for years. Most of them come from my great grandmother. I love them. It's almost irrational how much I love them. I've agonized over what to do with them for a while now. One day while perusing One Pretty Thing it hit me...

Hair Pretties!

I bought some designer fabric scraps from Etsy and got busy crafting. Some are on clips, some on bobby pins, a few are on headbands. These would also be cute as embelishments on pillows, picture frames or whatever else you can dream up.

I'll get the girls to model some of these later.

Thanksgiving in New Orleans

2011-12-14T01:03:00.001-06:00

Bright and early (ok...it was still dark) we hit the road for a long weekend in New Orleans with Morgan's friend and her mom. We pulled into town early afternoon and went straight for some food. Liuzza's by the Track was recommended.

I split a BBQ shrimp with Morgan. Even halving that thing, there were still a few shrimp left on the plate. Absolutely delicious. The bread was perfect!

Then we cruised over to New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) to take advantage of one of the best deals in town. Every Wednesday admission is free.

NOMA has such an amazing collection.

We loved this giant sparkly Warhol

Yes. I made her take a picture by the Picasso

This one reminded me of New Mexico

Another Picasso

A bust of Degas, with one of his paintings just over his shoulder

Monet

This piece made me giggle. It was titled The Domestic Life of a Rainbow

Faberge Egg

Incredible blown glass octopus

Pictures of the aftermath of Katrina. Sobering, yet beautiful

I was particularly struck by the fan blades

From NOMA we went to check into our hotel. Then we quickly freshened up and headed out into the Quarter to catch a show at Preservation Hall. We were treated to a performance by the Storyville Stringband. While it wasn't the jazz/brass sound I was hoping for, we still really enjoyed them.

Thanksgiving morning we went down to Cafe du Monde for some breakfast. Beignets and cafe au lait. Perfect

Then we headed out to the race track for opening day and some fabulous hat spotting.

His fedora was sewn paper. Pretty smooth

Yes, that is a cornucopia

The Bayou Classic is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving. We were able to catch the parade early Thursday evening and got to see 10 great marching bands, a couple floats, and catch a few beads.

Once the parade was over, we hopped in the car and headed over to Rock 'n' Bowl for a healthy dose of bowling and live zydeco. Loved it.

Friday morning we wandered the Quarter looking for food and ran across these guys and had to stop for a listen. I'm loving the suitcase turned drum.

The band's name is the Fauxbarrio Billionaires.

We then caught the streetcar out to the Garden District

And snapped some pics outside Lafayette Cemetery

Unfortunately the gates were locked, so we strolled the neighborhood while we waited for our lunch reservations at Commander's Palace.

Of course, lunch was amazing. I got the soup sampler to start. The gumbo was decent, the sweet potato soup was suprisingly good as I don't care for squash/sweet potato, and the turtle soup was just as wonderful as I remembered. Of course I finished with the bread pudding.

Morgan with her birthday hat.

Our waitress gave them all balloons on our way out.

And we strolled on down to Magazine Street for some window shopping

It was starting to get late, so we grabbed some snowballs (snowcones) and caught a ride on the streetcar back to the French Quarter. This guy was there to greet us when we got off the streetcar.

Walking down Royal, we ran into Nathan. Nathan is a missionary we had met the previous night, singing gospel and Christmas tunes. He sang Happy Birthday to Morgan, and then got them to all chime in with him on Lean on Me

After getting Belinda and the girls settled into the hotel, I went out to meet an old high school friend who lives outside New Orleans. We caught up with each other on Frenchmen Street and ended up at Maison, where the Pinnettes were playing. Love, love, love these girls and the energy they bring into a room.

Saturday it rained off and on most of the day, so I didn't take my camera out much. Highlight is probably lunch at the Camellia Grill.

Some more pictures from our wanders around the Quarter. I'm loving the Christmas decorations.

One of my favorite galleries on Royal

Our last stop before heading home Sunday was St Louis no. #3

I'm already planning our next trip. Love this city.

2011-03-30T00:07:00.002-05:00

What started out as a much needed break from editing and posting just kept getting longer and longer. I'm embarrased that it's been nearly a year since I last updated. I have a lot of making up to do! Last June, we purchased our Groupon for half off horseback riding at the Beaumont Ranch and headed south to go ride some horses. It was just myself and Kiara since the big girls were in Idaho. Did I mention it was June? And hot? Kiara wasn't too sure about the horses. She was really nervous and it took quite a bit to talk her into getting up on Diablo...the sleeping horse.

And we headed out on the trail (Holy crap it was hot!)

We found some longhorns (They were hot, too!)

And pretended we were cowboys, rounding them up. (Very, very hot cowboys and girls!)

After the ride, Kiara decided it was that bad and she really liked Diablo. Never before has a horse been so poorly named!

After getting back into Dallas, we did what thousands of other smart folks do when it's hot... we went to Aunt Stella's Sno cones. Ahhhhh!!!

There's lines like this (and longer) from May through September.

Best. Sno Cones. Ever.

Memorial Day Weekend part 2

2010-06-02T21:56:00.004-05:00

Sunday afternoon we took the scenic route thru Placitas and up the mountain to Sandia Crest. It was downright chilly up there! Easily 20 degrees cooler than in town.

There was a swarm of ladybugs that kept the kids occupied for a while. Then we took them swimming and rented some movies so we could relax the rest of the night, get ready for the long drive back home.
On the ride home we stopped at the Cadillac Ranch, just west of Amarillo,

and added some of our own handywork.

Perfect pit stop. Now time to hit the road again! Only 6 more hours till we're home.

Memorial Day Weekend

2010-06-01T23:49:00.011-05:00

We spent a super short & speedy Memorial Day weekend in Albuquerque, NM. When we moved nearly two years ago, they had almost finished the Santa Fe leg of the Rail Runner, New Mexico's first commuter train. From Albuquerque, the train kind of meanders it's way along the 5o miles before emerging between the north and south bound lanes of I-25 on the way into Santa Fe. Pretty neat!

Here the kids are, patiently trying to wait...

Once in Santa Fe, we headed for the plaza. On the way there, we stopped at Rooftop Pizzeria. Greg and I let the kids & Rasha share a boring ol' cheese pizza while we devoured this amazingly good pie. It had roasted chicken, green chile, cotija & asadero cheeses, alfredo sauce, pinon, and avacado.

It. Was. Delicious.

Seeing as how we didn't even get into town until 2 a.m. Saturday (which was really 3 for us) and that we slept until just about noon, we really didn't have much time left in our day to enjoy old town. The last train of the day departed at 6:30, so we took a quick stroll around the plaza, then headed back to the depot.

On the way, we stopped so all the kiddies could get their picture made (See... I'm practicing my Texan) in front of this awesome mural. Yes, Greg is a kiddie, too!

The ride back was gorgeous! I love seeing the mountains. I miss being in the desert! The scenery just seems so much grander here! The sky is so big, the clouds seem so close, I can look out and see all the topography of the land. Oh, New Mexico, how I miss thee!

Gage kept us entertained with his whistling practice.

Looks like somebody needed to rest her eyes for a bit.

Bluebonnets and other Texas wildflowers

2010-04-25T23:09:00.005-05:00

I'm certain we're in Uncertain

2010-04-21T22:33:00.022-05:00

Last weekend we headed east of town to check out Caddo Lake and Uncertain, Texas. We had to fight traffic to get out of Dallas so we didn't get to our cabin until after 8. When you're staying in a town with a population of only 150 people finding a restaurant open is not an easy task! Luckily, Jefferson is only 15 miles away, so we went out in search of some grub.

Glory Dayz is a cute little eatery with a 50's flair that shows old movies Friday and Saturday nights. There was one playing, but I can't remember what it was.

We took our seats under an umbrella

And checked the place out

Morgan took off with my camera and took a few pictures. I like the sign in this one...

They even had a cute outdoor courtyard to eat in. Aren't these chairs the coolest?

Once our bellies were satisfied we went back to relax in our cabin. We had the great pleasure of staying at the Moonshine Cabin. Within minutes of walking in the front door, we were already planning our next trip! It was kitschy and quaint and had all the comforts of home. Beverly, the gracious hostess, had a selection of movies to choose from. We were amused to find Soggy Bottom, USA among the choices. It's a fun movie about moonshiners and airboats that was filmed on Caddo Lake.

Saturday before we cruised back over to Jefferson to stroll around and find some lunch we walked down to get a look at the lake. See those canoes? They come into play later...

View from the upper deck of the Moonglow Lodge's Moonview decks. I love how the the lake is just a giant mirror for the cypress trees.

So relaxing!

Time to head into town!

There happened to be a car show going on so we strolled around checking them out.
I don't drink soda much anymore, but when I do, you'd better believe it's a Dr. Pepper! I've even had the pleasure of having a Dublin Dr. Pepper, made with real cane sugar instead of corn syrup, made only in Texas.

The girls commented on how Grandpa sure would have enjoyed the car show. He's been working on restoring an old Desoto, hopefully when he's done with it we'll be able to do a show or two with him.

We stopped in at Joseph's Riverport Barbecue and has some fried catfish, bbq brisket sandwiches, ribs, okra, potato salad and coleslaw. I sure miss New Mexico cuisine, but some good Southern food helps me not think of all the green chili's I'm missing out on!

They left a strip of the old wallpaper exposed. Pretty cool!

After lunch and browsing just a few of Jefferson's MANY antique shops, our next destination was Caddo Lake State Park. Texas allows fishing without a license within the bounds of all state parks. Every Saturday at Caddo Lake, the park rangers host a free fishing clinic down by the boat ramps. They provide poles and bait and are there to answer whatever questions you can throw at them.

I had to tear the worms apart and bait every one's hooks for them. Yuck! Last time I went fishing with my mom a few years ago I was still making her do that for me. Well now I'm the only mom around so had to suck it up and do it. I love my mom, I wish she had come with us!

The kids had a blast. It was the first time Kiara's ever been fishing. I showed her one time how to cast out and then BAM! She was doing it on her own like a natural! I told her what a great job she was doing and her reply was "Yeah, I've practiced a lot on the Wii before."

The ranger fishing program was over at 3:30 and we hadn't had any nibbles but the girls wanted to do more fishing so we decided to see if we could go scrounge up some bait and poles of our own.

This is the kind of picture you get when you ask your daughter to hold your camera while you go into the bait shop for some worms. She informed me that it was the stupidest thing she had ever seen and that she hates tomato soup and didn't understand why they needed so much. I figured that was funnier that telling her it was actually a propane tank.

We made a quick stop at Moonshine Cabin (I love, love, love this place!) to grab some poles.

And then headed for the canoes and out onto the lake.

After we got home and were reminiscing on our trip, the consensus was that this was our favorite part of the whole weekend.

Kiara didn't have a whole lot of trust for that canoe and was pretty nervous, as this picture suggests. Every time the canoe rocked a little from the wake of a passing boat she was unable to squelch little squeals of terror.

Once we made it through the sea of lily pads we dropped our worms into the water.
Morgan was the first to get a nibble. We were using bobbers and her pole was old and rusty and didn't reel very well so she had just dropped the line next to the boat. When I told her she had a fish she just yanked the pole up out of the water and flung the fish off the hook and across the lake.

Here's one of the little sunfish we reeled in. When we brought the first one in Deeanna said "Now what are you going to do with it?" She didn't like the cook it & eat it response so we threw 'em all back

Once we had paddled and fished to our hearts content we went back to the cabin for a little R & R. This is the screened in porch at the back of the cabin. The big girls slept out here Friday night but it was a bit too chilly Saturday.

Can you believe after all we'd done throughout the day this kid's telling me how bored she is? Oh wait, she's 8... I can believe it, too!

Morgan left her mark on the place for the next guests. Let's just pretend that there's an "e" on the end of Welcom, shall we? Deeanna fixed it before we left. That night we had went to the Uncertain General Store and Grill (we made sure to be there before 8!) where I had a yummy bowl of crawfish ettouffe and we learned how Uncertain got it's name. It had to do with when back in the day when cargo ships were delivering goods down the river and sometimes they'd have items that lost their destination labels. These goods were marked "Uncertain" and left at the last stop before crossing over into Louisianna. This stop eventually adopted the name and has held onto it to this day. I love these random, useless facts!
After dinner, we went back to the cabin and had a fire in the backyard and made 'smores. Then the kids caught frogs for a while before we settled in to watch Fried Green Tomatoes.

Sunday morning we gathered out things to leave because we had an 11 o'clock boat tour of the lake and wanted to check out the flea market before heading there and then home. Kiara went out to catch some more frogs.

At one point, she had 8 in a cup, holding a coffee filter over them, asking if she could bring them home with us. Ummm.... NO!

We scheduled a tour with John Winn of Caddo Lake Tours. He grew up on the lake and was very knowledgeable about the area. He was also an absolute pleasure to spend an hour with. Unfortunately, it started raining and had to cut our tour short, but mark my words, we WILL be back! I still managed to take some great pictures, and I also happened to learn a couple valuable lessons. Lesson # 1- If you're going out to take pictures, make sure you've deleted plenty of old pictures so that your memory card has sufficient room. Lesson # 2- If you're going to delete old pictures to make room for new picture, pay attention to what you're doing so you don't erase the 50 pictures you JUST took!

I had been teasing the kids that we were going to bigfoot country and look.... we found him!

One last stop in Jefferson at the Jefferson General Store for some souvenirs, Moody dogs & ice cream. We were walking outside and Kiara's ice cream jumped off her cone and onto the sidewalk. I almost took a picture because the diabolical side of me found humor in the scene but I figured it'd be adding insult to injury so I refrained

Here at the Bazaar

2010-04-11T19:41:00.003-05:00

I don't normally alter my pictures like this, but Saturday we were invited to join some friends down in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas for lunch and shopping at the Urban Street Bazaar so I must have come away with a little inspiration!

Our first stop was El Jordan cafe for lunch.

Then we walked the booths, oohing and aahing at all the hand made goodies.

And finally, made a stop at The Soda Gallery

There's almost 200 different kinds of soda to choose from. Some of us had a hard time deciding!

The kids sat down and tried their hand at a few rounds of dominos

I found this fabulous mirror in the restroom

One of the walls in there is covered in soda bottle labels

Kiara and our friend Ryan, bored as they waited for us to finish our browsing

The girls each came home with a bracelet they picked out, we love buttons!

Our last half a day here...

2010-04-05T22:54:00.006-05:00

Sunday we donned our dresses and Easter bonnets and headed out for the Chris Owens Easter Parade to see if we could catch some beads. Competition was tough but we managed to walk away with a few!

With the parade over, it's time to head back home. I wish we had more time here! I didn't get to just walk around and take pictures like I did last time so I don't have as many to share as I would have liked. So, I'll just point you towards some from last year here.

Happy Easter!

I love it here in NOLA!

2010-04-05T20:24:00.007-05:00

We pulled into New Orleans about 9:30 Friday night and were in the parking garage of the hotel unloading all our necessary junk when somehow Deeanna smashed her finger in the hatchback. I was not allowed to console her because she was trying her darndest to maintain some semblance of composure and said that if I were to hug her she would only break down more. Honestly, all I could see was blood dripping from the middle of her nail and I was convinced that she had ripped the nail halfway off, but I didn't want to tell her that! So we had to wait for the elevator, then wait in line in the lobby to get our room and some bandaids. We got up to our room and got it washed off and luckily it's just like a cut across her nail. We iced her up and gave her some Advil. She was worried about being able to play her sax the next morning but was determined to give it a shot.

Once we got her a makeshift bag of ice, we set out to go find something to eat. Unfortunatly by then so many restaurants were closed so we just went to Cafe du Monde for some hot chocolate and beignets. Oh yeah, powdered sugar for dinner.

Last June when we were in New Orleans and strolling the Quarter we happened upon the New Orleans Jazz National Historic Park. There was some great sounding music coming from inside so we went on in to investigate. How shocked we were to see a stage full of kids! Every Saturday from 11-noon children are invited to bring their own instruments and participate with members of the Storyville Stompers Brass Band in an effort to keep the local music alive. Ever since then she's been dying to go down and join them.

After the Jazz Park we perused the aisles of the French Market, looking for trinkets we just HAD to have. I must say, we were quite successful. Morgan picked this hat out for herself and Deeanna didn't get the memo that it wasn't hers. Silly girl!

By this time, Morgan's not amused and just wants her hat back! Not to worry, we stopped and got D a white one of her own before we left town.

Kiara sporting her French Market mask, and cheese pizza. I've tried telling this one that we're only allowed to eat local food, stuff we can't get back home, but she just ain't having it.
Crawfish Chicken over rice at the Corner Oyster bar, right next to Jackson Square.
Oh yeah, I finished it. However, I stopped short of licking the plate.
On the way back to the hotel we got distracted for a moment by a street magician.

After this, I met up with an old friend from high school that I haven't seen in 13 years! We picked up just like no time had passed, it was so nice to see her! We wandered around the Quarter, weaved in and out of Bourbon Street, made a stop at the Old Absinthe House (nasty! someting I will never need to try again!) We finally ended up at the Clover Grill for some killer malts and build your own omlettes before calling it a night.

Here in Nackahuh?

2010-04-05T01:28:00.009-05:00

Natchitoches
Pronouned "NACK-uh-tish" for all you nonlocals, such as myself, is a quaint little Louisanna town halfway from Dallas to New Orleans filled with Bed & Breakfast Inns, including the site where Steel Magnolias. As it is the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase, it is also filled with history. After breakfast Friday morning we went out in seach of some of that history. We choose to tour the Melrose Plantation, just outside of town. Melrose flowerpot cat.

I love this picture... 'cause every one needs a little cat butt with their family pic!
Deeanna quickly made friends with this Melrose kitty while we waited for the tour to begin. The other one bit Kiara. She got too close.

The African House. Because of the way it was built, it never gets hotter than 89 degrees, even in the dead of summer, and in Louisanna, the dead of summer is HOT!

These are the murals on the upper floor of the African House where Clementine Harris depicted her views of live on the plantation.

Then it was time to head into the big house.

A few of Clementine Harris' paintings that were hanging in the big house.

I love touring plantation homes. I wish we could have stopped at a few more. Oh well, it's on the list of things to do. The long, long list!

After the tour was over we strolled around the grounds, taking in the beautiful day, beautiful sights and beautiful smells.

This magnificient Oak is over 300 years old! I want one in my yard!

St. Augustine church was built by the same man who built Melrose. It is the oldest African American Catholic church in America. It is also the location of the wedding scene from Steel Magnolias. Clementine Harris is buried in the grave yard behind the church. We walked around back there for a minute, but the girls think it's creepy. I find the juxtaposition of 250 year old grave markers next to one that's only 10 years fascinating. I've been dying to take them to the St Louis cemeteries in New Orleans, but they want no part of it.

Yet.

I had read online that Lasyones was the place to go for the famous Natchitoches meat pie. Unfortunatly, they were only open until 3 p.m. and we happened to have strolled up at 3:05. 5 minutes late, story of my life!
Seeing as how I was determined to try one of Louisiana's state foods, we chatted up some locals at a gift shop to see if they could point us in the right direction. They sent us on our way to Papa's, which is conveniently located right next to Mama's.
Dinner salad, dirty rice, and Natchitoches Meat Pie. Yum.
We rested out feet for a while along the Cane River Lake. This body of water used to be a river, connecting the town and area's plantations with the mighty Mississippi, but Mother Nature shifted the course of the river and left in it's stead this 33 mile long winding lake.
I love the hanging flower baskets added to this city's lovely lamp posts.
Kiara's checking out some tulips. She'll swear she wasn't posing for this one, but don't believe it! After this pic we loaded into the car and headed on in to New Orleans.

It's definately Spring here in Dallas!

2010-04-02T01:05:00.018-05:00

Last weekend we went and saw the Dallas Blooms at the Dallas Arboretum. (Thanks Melissa & Steve!) Aside from the wind, it was a beautiful day. The tulips were out in full force, spring has definatly sprung!

Unreal... more snow.

2010-03-20T22:09:00.001-05:00

First day of Spring in Texas. Go figure!

Ms. Morgan's Island

2010-03-19T20:04:00.003-05:00

So life seems to have a way of kicking butt an taking names lately. I'm not complaining or anything, merely recognizing that I am not always the one in control and am usually playing catch up. Case in point: Morgan's Survivor Island. She had a big project due for her Pre AP geography class a while back and due to various life events I'm just now getting around to sharing it. Basically, she had to create a themed island with 10 geographical features. She chose to do an island in the shape of a flower.
Here is her finished project. It was very specific in terms of what was required. Had to have a legend, compass, latitude & longitude, name of the ocean, etc. She spent many hours shaping, painting, and adding details to this project and I am very proud of her for seeing it all the way through, as well as having the vision in her mind to work towards. Ultimatly she divided the island into 5 distinct "petal regions" and the beach stem (made with sand we collected in Florida). Her regions are the town, farmland, forrest, flower fields, and volcano/mountains with a lake in the middle.

The base is the top of a styrofoam cooler from work. The island is made from a mixture of water, glue and toilet paper that she molded into her desired shape, allowed to dry, then painted.

The water is tissue paper and my favorite... Mod Podge

The houses are simply pieces of cardboard cut into squares with the "roofs" colored by markers.

I may have a slightly biased opinion, but I think she really deserved that 100% she got on this project! Very proud of my Morgan! Job well done, my dear!

We made a new friend!

2010-02-12T09:16:00.006-06:00

I thought we left our "Record Snow Days" back in Wyoming and Colorado... Guess not! 12.5 inches during Dallas' 24 hour snow fall. I will say, though, that I much prefer gobs of snow when it only happens once in a while! It is so beautiful outside and the kids and I really had fun out there!

We kinda improvised on the snowman... no carrots so we used an orange cup. The eyes are pretzel balls, the mouth is apple chips, and the buttons are actually cheeseballs. I guess my girls know how to work with what they got!

Here they are posing for the neighbor.

All I know is she better not lob that snow ball at me!

"But I don't wanna make a snowman, Mom!"

Snow?

2009-12-25T21:26:00.004-06:00

In Texas?

On Christmas?

And it stuck?

And it was 72 degrees the day before?

WOW!

Merry Christmas!

Not so Manic Monday...

2009-12-21T23:50:00.002-06:00

With the big girls visiting their dad and the little one at her friend's house, I had some quiet time to myself this evening. I probably should have done laundry or wrapped presents but I didn't. Instead, I made magnet clippy thingys for the fridge... out of clothespins, paper and buttons.

They're the perfect thing for holding up a note like this one!

Winter Birthday crafts

2009-12-17T22:57:00.005-06:00

Ms Morgan had a birthday earlier this month so we had some girls over and made some fun winter birthday crafts.

Snowflake wreath

These fun glittery ornaments are the easiest!
And the girls each made a bottle of snow necklace.

Fun party!
Happy Birthday Morgan!

On our way to San Antonio!

2009-11-29T21:51:00.006-06:00

My dad came to visit for Thanksgiving and took us down to San Antonio for a long weekend.

First stop... The Alamo. Apparently I was taking lopsided pictures that day...

We just got here and she's already protesting me taking her picture!

These are the looks you get when you say "1, 2, 3, ok, whatever you do, DON'T smile!"

We went for a stroll down the riverwalk,

...And around downtown. Not sure what's going on here, goofy girls!

Kiara in front of the Cathedral.

See that naughty teenager in green?
She's up to no good!
We walked over to the Tower of the Americas to check out the view

Friday we found our seats along the river for the Christmas Lighting Ceremony and Parade. I still haven't quite figured out my camera's settings so all my night pics didn't really turn out great.
Santa!
After the parade we headed back over to the Tower of the Americas so we could view the city's night lights.

The view from our hotel's 4th floor outdoor pool. 3 days before December and the kids are swimming outside. I love Texas!
View down the river from our hotel- The Westin. See that needle in the distance? That's the Tower of the Americas!
Saturday we went to Sea World. It was beautifully decorated for Christmas. After going to
Sea World Orlando a few summers ago we weren't too impressed with Sea World San Antonio. But, we still had a good day. I even got the two big girls to ride the roller coasters with me. Morgan says never again, though!

We watched the sea lion show,

We checked out the penguins,
The girls fed the dolphins

And we finished it off with the great Shamu

One last walk down the river before it's time to head home in the morning...

Here's my crafty girl!

2009-11-01T21:57:00.002-06:00

I found these cute wooden letters in the clearance section at Micheal's.

Morgan got busy with some paper and Mod Podge (I love Mod Podge!)
And turned them in to these... the best part? They're magnets! Perfect for her locker at shcool!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-01T21:50:00.001-06:00

Here at the Patch...

2009-11-01T21:18:00.004-06:00

Last weekend we took a trip to the pumpkin patch with some friends.
Deeanna carried around a little pink poodle,

Morgan gave the pink poodle a pumpkin that was just her size...

then she practiced her balancing...

So of course Kiara had to try too!

Happy Fall!

2009-09-23T00:17:00.002-05:00

We've been busy with school and work and life lately so I haven't posted much but this beautiful flower deserves to be seen.

Here's Fred...

2009-09-22T22:56:00.003-05:00

Well, at least I think that's what we've decided to name him, thanks to a friend's suggestion. Fred was a stray.

That is until I learned he was looking for a home.

He's had time to explore a bit...

And play with Miss Lulu...

I think they're going to be good friends!

iHeartTheseFaces!

2009-08-19T00:00:00.004-05:00

I found this really neat photography blog that sponsors weekly photo challenges as well as provides all kinds of resources and tips.

Here are my three favorite faces!

I can't wait to see what the new challenge is tomorrow! I'm really excited to join this online community, to be inspired, to learn more about photography and to take tons of pictures of these great faces!

Ahhhh... Balloons!

2009-08-14T18:14:00.002-05:00

It won't be too long before the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is once again upon us. This year the festival will run from October 3rd thru the 11th and we will be there! I can't wait to take my new camera and get some great shots. We attended the 5 years we lived there and I know I took oodles of pictures but between computers crashing and misplacing stuff during moves I'm left with very few.

If you want to get the full fiesta experience, waking up at an ungodly hour is key. Dawn patrol starts before the sun comes up and it's so cool to see the balloons up in the night sky when they light their burners. Looks like candles in the air.

One of the really neat things about this festival is that it all takes place on a large grassy field and spectators are free to roam around and see the entire process of laying the balloons out, filling them with air and take off! The pilots and crew are very interactive and will often ask for assistance from the crowd. My girls once helped with getting a balloon packed up after a flight, they loved it. The Mass Ascensions are an amazing sight to behold. Done in two "waves" 750 balloons take flight. I can't wait to sit with my hot chocolate and green chili breakfast burrito and take it all in!

Another great part of the fiesta is the balloon glows... our favorite is the special shapes Glodeo. All of the balloons are tethered and right around dusk it's magical to walk around when they're all light up. Can't forget the great fireworks show afterwards!

It's no wonder that this is considered the most photographed event in the world... impossible to take a bad picture!

On a side note... I cannot wait to go get me some Wecks! There's one here but I'm telling ya, the green chili is just not the same!

Here in Texas & I'm missing the mountains!

2009-08-03T00:44:00.001-05:00

One of my biggest complaints about living here in Texas is the lack of scenery. I grew up around mountains my entire life and I miss them so much! I haven't seen a great sunset in a year now because it's so darn flat here. Not to mention the fact that my sense of direction without that visual help really stinks! Now I've heard that the hill country and around San Antonio & Austin is nice. Unfortunatly that's not where I live but will be venturing down there to check it out at some point.

Here's one of the kids jumping off that rock at some lake in New Mexico... not sure which one it is. Wish I could remember what lake that was. North of Albuquerque, it'll probably come to me in the middle of the night.

St. Alban's Chapel in the Snowy Range mountains of Wyoming, southwest of Laramie. How's that for getting close to God?

Marie Lake, Wyoming

Secret fishing hole, Wyoming. Seriously, it's secret! I don't know if the rule still stands but growing up my mom forbid me from sharing it's location with anyone! I went back there 2 years ago with her and the fishing was still fantastic! We caught 18 fish in 3 hours! At one point my mom set her camera on a stump behind us and set it on the record function. It captured me snagging 3 fish in under 10 minutes. I have another picture somewhere that shows how the beetles have ravaged the trees in recent years, it looks very sad and brown... a fire just waiting to happen.

I found the pictures of that same lake, stitched together to form a panoramic shot of the beetles' destruction. Go ahead, click on it!

Two of my sweeties in the mountains north of Durango, Colorado.

I can't seem to find any pictures of one of my favorite mountains... the Sandia's of New Mexico, immediatly east of Albuquerque. I truely loved seeing them every day for the 5 years I was there. The way the sun would peek out behind them in the early morning hours, the way they would turn pink when the sun was going down, the way the clouds would gather above when it got stormy. Ahhh, I miss it so...

2009-07-17T19:46:00.000-05:00

I've got some more older pictures here from our trip to Arizona in 2007. Again, we went with my dad. Here we are looking over the Painted Desert.

Then we drove through the Petrified Forest. There are some very cool land forms along that drive!

Miss Kiara at Pueblo Puerco ruins. Looking over the stash of pictures I took on this trip I had to laugh... in so many of them she has these cute little poses. Sometimes it's her hands set out like in this one, sometimes she's got a hand on her hip, sometimes bends her knee. Cute!

We stayed the night in Flagstaff and took the train up to the Grand Canyon. What a neat ride it was!

Once we got there we walked around, took pictures and had a late lunch.

On the train ride back in to town we spotted some "train robbers" out our windows...

They even got onboard and demanded all our valuables...

Next stop on our trip was Slide Rock, where I lost my sunglasses sliding down the rocks and dipping into one of the pools. Those rocks were so slippery my dad and I wondered why they didn't just have ambulances lined up in the parking lot!

On our way back home...

2009-07-13T19:08:00.000-05:00

I still miss my Grandma tremendously. I think of her nearly every day. She was perhaps the kindest person I have ever known. She was stunningly beautiful, inside and out. She loved her family and forgave everyone of their faults. She had an amazing smile. I miss talking to her.

Here are some older pics...

2009-07-12T17:07:00.000-05:00

I haven't taken any pictures lately so I decided to dig into the stash that's been builing up over the years and nobody's seen...

Two years ago we went spent a weekend in Carlsbad, New Mexico. We took a boat ride up the Pecos River, which is spring fed and very calm. There are beautiful homes on either side. Sometime I'd like to go back for Christmas on the Pecos. There's a nice little park the girls played at...

HAPPY

SAD
GOOFY

We also went to Carlsbad Caverns and made the steep 1 1/4 walk down into the cave. Here the girls are at the entrance to the cave. This is where every evening nearly 400,000 bats exit the cave to feast on insects. As adventurous as we may be, this was not something any of us wanted to see! I did have to laugh when I was gathering pictures for this post today and I noticed thier shirts... "Royal Pain" "Blame my Sister" and "I didn't do it"

Down in the cave... Kiara made me stop at every one of those darn signs and read it to her.

We also went to The Living Desert Zoo and Gardens but apparently I neglected to take any pictures. They have a black bear there, Maggie, who has taken a liking to painting. Unfortunatly, the day we were there it was super hot and she had taken refuge in the shade so we didn't get to see her at work.

2009-07-09T22:29:00.000-05:00

I am so excited! Jason Mraz announced the 2nd leg of his tour on Monday. He'll be making a stop here in Dallas, as well as one at Red Rocks! Sooo... I've decided to forgo the trip I was previously planning for the second Mile High Music Festival in Denver and attend both Jason shows. Fan presale was yesterday and I got incredible tickets! Row 12 in Dallas and row 4 for Red Rocks! Now I have to patiently wait 2 months... that shouldn't be too hard, right?

Here's a few pics from Jason's MHMF show last year...

And just for fun... check out this super cool site where you can put all kinds of neat affects on your pics!

Here Alone!

2009-07-09T21:09:00.000-05:00

I've been a huge procrastinator since we got home from vacation and I still have so many pictures left to post! The big girls are in Idaho visiting their Dad and little miss Kiara went to New Mexico to see cousins and Grandma. My house is ooohhhhh so very quiet! I may as well take advantage of all this free time and get back into the posting habit.

First, I want to say

To my dad for taking us on another fantastic vacation and to my great (and wonderful) auntie LeOra for welcoming us into her lovely home again.

We absolutely loved Manasota Beach!

Kiara had fun on the boogey board

Even though I love being out there on the sand this...

just makes my skin crawl! Even the thought of all that sand under my fingernails gives me a shiver straight down the spine!

Even Lulu enjoyed herself!

Surrounded here by history!

2009-06-13T22:04:00.000-05:00

Today we went to the Vicksburg National Military Park. The park pays tribute to the campaign, siege, and defense of Vicksburg. There are over 1,340 monuments, along the 16-mile tour road.

The U.S.S. Cairo, a Union ironclad ship sunk north of Vicksburg in 1862 when it struck 2 underwater torpedoes (today called mines). Preserved by mud and silt, Cairo sat on the bottom of the Yazoo River for 102 years. It was raised in 1964, and later restored. The ironclad is now on display in the park.

View from inside a strategic Union tunnel

Look! She's learning!

The Illinois Memorial: the Roman Pantheon replica honoring more than 36,000 Illinois soldiers who fought in the Vicksburg Campaign. This is the most ornate of the memorials in the park

The view from inside, looking up.

Vicksburg National Cemetery. 17,077 Union soldiers are buried here.

2009-06-13T08:02:00.000-05:00

Yesterday we pulled in to Vicksburg, Mississippi. I took the kids down to the river's edge, refered to as "Catfish Row" They had a spray fountain for the kids to play in but they thought it was too cold...

We walked along the historical mural painted along the river and learned some of the history of this quaint little town

We then took a drive aroung the historic district. I find the difference between the homes that have been kept up and treasured and the ones that haven't to be amazing. These two houses are practically across the street from eachother!

And of course, the Mississippi River Bridges...

Here with the Mermaids!

2009-06-12T20:10:00.000-05:00

Thursday we went to Weeki Wachee. I made the kids pose for pictures

Morgan found a peacock

And we took a leisurly ride down the spring fed river

Before seeing the mermaids do their thing

It was one of the cheesiest things I've done in a long time, but I really enjoyed myself. I think Kiara did, too... she looks pretty enthralled.

After that we went and played in Buccaneer Bay, the spring fed water park.

Look at all the Dolphins here!

2009-06-10T23:25:00.000-05:00

Today we drove down to Sanibel Island so we could take a cruise on the Sanibel Thriller. What a neat ride!

We went by the lighthouse,

And saw a manatee right away.

The dolphins like "catching a ride" on the wake of the boat.

This dolphin is affectionatly named Chip by the locals

Awesome, Awesome day!

Here in Florida!

2009-06-09T23:42:00.000-05:00

Today we went to Myakka State Park in Sarasota Florida. We took an airboat tour of the lake, lookin' for gators...and managed to find a few!We then walked along the Nature Trailand went across the Canopy WalkwayThen up the tower above the treesIt's a rule...if you go up you must also come downOnce we got back to Leora's we walked down to the beach. This was along the way... can you find the ant?Then we playedTill the sun came down!

Here's some of the things I love about New Orleans...

2009-06-08T20:48:00.000-05:00

Beautiful flowers

Beads

Jackson Square and St. Louis Cathedral

Mississippi River

A plethora of plantlife

Cafe Du Monde

Balconies

Riverfront Streetcar

Canal Streetcar

Windows everywhere

Street lamps

Voodoo

Shutters

Wrought iron

Where's Ignatius?

2009-06-06T00:07:00.000-05:00

The day went as I suspected it would... too many things to do, not enough time. I finally got everyone up and fed & we took off on our travels. The Creole Nature Trail took us south to the coast. Interesting area. Still lots of hurricane damage & evidence, will write more about it later. Stopped at Gulf Breeze Beach to stretch our legs, then headed back up to I-10. Then it was onto Breaux Bridgs and Gumbo & fried aligator @ Mulates. I was able to get all the girls to try it. Deeanna was the one that protested the most and she was the one that liked it the most! One of these days she'll realize that I'll never steer her wrong!

We continued on through Baton Rouge then headed on to Old River Road. Unfortunatly we were out of luck since the plantations stop giving tours by 5 pm and we showed up at 5:30. Ah well, the girls still got to see the area, cross the Mississippi a few times, and see the Big House through the grand lines of oaks.

We pulled up to our hotel at 7:30. We're staying at the Lamothe House on Esplanade. Very cool place. We're not in the main house, but directly behind in one of the buildings facing the pool. We have a 2 bedroom suite, one has a king bed and the other is double twins. There's also an entry way sitting room and balconies front and back. The ceilings in here must be 20 feet high. I love it. Basically the moment we got here Kiara and Morgan jumped in the pool. I let them swim until they started asking if we could order in a pizza. With some of the best Creole & Cajun food mere steps from our temporary front door? No way are we having "normal food"! So they got dressed and we hoofed it down towards Jefferson Square. Deeanna was able to get herself a very cool personalized piece of art from one of the street venders, I'll post a picture later. She was thrilled, didn't stop beaming the rest of the evening. We ate at the Corner Oyster Bar & Grill, right across from the square. I ordered the Crawfish Chicken which was basically a seasoned chicken breast on a bed of rice smothered in Crawfish Ettouffe. It was AMAZING! There was a small little part of me that wanted to lick the plate clean.

I'm off to wake the kids. This morning we're walking down to get some biegnets & chicory coffee at Cafe Dumonde shop the French Market and walk around the Quarter till our feet fall off. As soon as I find the appropriate cord I'll upload some pictures!

Here We Go!

2009-06-05T07:10:00.000-05:00

Today is the first full day of vacation!!! We left the house last night @ 4:52 and only had to turn around & go back to the house once (I forgot the map!) Driving thru Dallas wasn't as bad as I had feared. Even though we were in the car once we got to Houston we could feel the humidity change in the air, started feeling sticky. That feeling only got worse as we headed into Louisiana. I had estimated that we would make it to Lake Charles by midnight & I was close, 11:50 we pulled up the hotel. I have concerns about today's time estimates though. Especially since everyone is still sleeping! Lulu keeps trying to wake them. Any noise & she's up barking.

Today we will be driving the Creole Nature Trail. The kids are loaded up with binoculars & I want to go take some pictures! So after we finish the loop we'll be heading to New Orleans. I've been instructed to stop at Mulates in Breaux Bridge for some amazing cajun food. I had wanted to be there by lunch but if these lazybones don't get out of bed we may just have to go to the one in the Warehouse District. I also wanted to drive down the Old River Road and take the kids on a plantation tour. I've been torn between Oak Alley and Laura but at this point I'm wondering if we'll have time today.

Ok, that's it... I've showered and dressed and blogged, I'm waking these lazy daisies NOW!!!

2009-05-26T22:03:00.000-05:00

After the wildflower walk we were invited back to Jojo's to have lunch and play in the pool. The kids ate these funky looking Octodogs with mac & cheese.

Then the real fun began!

All in all, a perfectly wonderful day. Thanks Jojo!

2009-05-25T10:12:00.000-05:00

The girls and I were invited to join one of my co-workers at the Connemara Conservancy to go on a guided walk and learn about the spring wildflowers on the meadow. What a wonderful oppurtunity to practice with my new Canon Rebel DSLR camera I got for Mother's Day! (Thanks babe!)

According to our guide most people come away from one of the walks only remembering one flower name. I was able to retain Milkweed, Kisses, Queen Ann's Lace and Firewheel so I guess I'm not doing too bad!

Who says you can't get there from here?

2009-05-25T09:53:00.000-05:00

I say you've got to start somewhere so why not here? I've been allowing my brain to churn over the idea of starting a blog for a while now. The problem is I'm a master procrastinator and have been putting off this first post until I had what I wanted to say "just right". Reality is I will never get THERE unless I start HERE!