B~Family Adventures

A lot has happened since I last posted.  We have been super busy & haven't had any real interesting news to share so I have forgotten to post on a regular basis.  We finally got moved to a place for the winter last weekend.  We had been staying at the lake, but $18 per night adds up way too fast. 

God has such a wonderful way of providing for us if we trust Him to do it in His time.  We had three "sure" places lined up and wouldn't you know it, all three of them fell through!  We were at the laundrymat here in Edmond last week & were talking to the owner & kind of stumbled into a place.  Heath asked if he knew of any place available that wasn't in the middle of town & he just happened to have a place.  We got moved in Sunday amid being sick. 

We are a few miles north of Edmond out in the country.  It's an old homestead that has some cool history to it according to the land owner.  The house foundation behind our camper was built right after the land rush by the people who claimed this land.  It's been used as a pasture around it for the past few years, so it's pretty much like living in a pasture, which is perfectly fine with us!  It's certainly not a place most people would want to live, but as most of you know, we aren't most people.

We aren't totally set up yet, we still need to insulate around it with straw bales, but we are in the process of getting that accomplished...much too slowly for as cold as it is! I did get 7 or 8 bales around the north side to shield some of the wind from the water lines.

Here is a picture showing out to the road. 

This is the view from the "front porch"  It's especially nice when the cattle

are out grazing.

Since today was so beautifully sunny, we spend some time outside playing.  Yes, it was below freezing & the wind was pretty cold, but we had a great time.  Even Cyler had fun playing around.  I have an old heated blanket that I took out & plugged in for him to lay on.  He played for a while then fell asleep.  I did check, and yes, he was plenty warm!

Alia was too busy playing to have her picture taken she said, so I didn't get

any cute ones of her bundled up.

These next two pictures are not really related to the post, but the kids wanted them added.  This first picture is just down the road a ways from here & really does look pretty neat.  Of course, the kids can't figure out why I won't decorate a tree like that! 

Decorated tree down the road from us.

This picture is of the Pops bottle decorated up for Christmas.  What we thought were just plain white bars are so much more.  I posted some pictures of it awhile back too.  The lights change colors and move up and down the bottle.  We all had fun stopping by again.  We happened to stop in on a night they had burgers for $2 so we got an extra treat.

Pops lit up for Christmas

We spent last week in the Oklahoma City area once again.  We had the pleasure of staying at one of the nicest (and most expensive!) lakes in the area.  We stayed at Arcadia Lake in Edmond, http://edmondok.com/parks/arcadialake.  It was a beautiful place, very secluded and quiet.  It was great being somewhere there was plenty of wildlife to see.  There were full hookups at each site where we were and there were two playgrounds within walking distance.  They had a bunch of great hiking trails that the kids loved.

Staying here would make us very happy except for one small detail, $200

per week is the fee, and that is with the 7th day free!

We didn't have a lot of time to check out places to stay as Heath worked late every evening.  We did get the chance to meet with a couple of people who had places for rent.  The first place we went was out of the question.  The lot itself was great, but the neighborhood was questionable at best, scary at worst.  There was no way I would have felt safe there w/ the kids. 

The second place we looked at might just be "the one".  It was near Arcadia, which is less about 5 miles from Edmond and about 15 miles or so from OKC.  Arcadia seems like a great little town, just from driving though. (http://www.townofarcadia.com/)  We do still need to look for a place on the south side of town, as that is where his boss would like him to be, but this may work for now. It is out in the country on 10 acres, so we have plenty of room to play, ride 4 wheelers and all that fun stuff. They plan on putting the place up for sale in the spring, so the temporary situation would work well for all parties involved.  It was a charming place that we would help take care of, sort of like workcamping. 

About a mile from the property is the best gas station, Pops (http://www.pops66.com/). It looks a little like something futuristic, but it has cases and cases full of glass bottled pop. They also serve great food. If you ever come to visit us, this is the one place we will have to take you. They have so many choices of pop, both normal and weird, we'll never get them all tasted, but we will certainly try We ate lunch there Sunday out on the patio in the perfect weather.

Another neat little place in Arcadia.  There were RV hookups next to this

place, but it didn't look as though they had been used in quite some time.

I know, I'm a weird dreamer, but I think it would be neat to run a B&B here.

It's on historic Route 66, so if ran right, it could be a fun little adventure.

Today was my 28th birthday!  I don't want to brag on me by any means, but I have to tell you about my wonderful family.  My dear hubby took off early from work so we could have an afternoon full of fun on this beautiful day.  I got a dozen rozes and a card w/ my babies singing me happy birthday to me along w/ a sweet card from hubby. 

 My mom picked up Cyler and took him home with her so the rest of us could go four wheeling for a while.  We rode down to the pumpkin patch and met mom & Cyler there. 

We picked up a few pumpkins and gourds for Halloween and

headed back home. 

We rode off into the sunset & enjoyed looking out over the

Arkansas River at sunset. 

Looking out over the Arkansas River The only thing that would

have made this picture better would have been Cyler being in it

also.

This was a perfect day in every way. The weather was great and

we had a blast. I couldn't ask for more.

After we got back, we picked up Cyler & headed to town to eat Wendy's (my choice) and Braums for dessert!  In my excitement I forgot my camera, so my pictures are from my cell phone.  The ones of the sunset aren't great as I'm trying to drive the four wheeler, shift gears, keep it throttled & take pictures all at once.  I will have pictures of the pumpkin patch at a later time.

I received this via email from a friend of mine who spends a lot of time researching "things" that are happening in our country right now.  I did remove the signature from the letter because there is no proof of who actually wrote it.  I have read and researched this through many different sources and truely believe this with every ounce of my being.  I have never been so afraid of what the future holds for us and our children. 

I plan on becoming more informed and actually DOING something rather than just reading and agreeing with things.  If each of us sit and do nothing, we will be overran. 

Don't worry, I don't plan on using my blog for this on an everyday basis, I'll stick to my facebook for that, so please don't leave thinking I"m going to start posting political stuff all the time!  If you are interested in learning more, please let me know, I have some awesome resources that literally spend their days researching & advocating.

History Unfolding

I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books on history that have been published in six languages, and I have studied history all my life. I have come to think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is simply a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes these exist, but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus.

Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about ten to fifteen years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two.

We demand and then codify into law the requirement that our banks make massive loans to people we know they can never pay back? Why?

We learned just days ago that the Federal Reserve, which has little or no real oversight by anyone, has "loaned" two trillion dollars (that is $2,000,000,000,000) over the past few months, but will not tell us to whom or why or disclose the terms. That is our money. Yours and mine. And that is three times the $700 billion we all argued about so strenuously just this past September. Who has this money? Why do they have it? Why are the terms unavailable to us? Who asked for it? Who authorized it? I thought this was a government of "we the people," who loaned our powers to our elected leaders. Apparently not.

We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy.. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, school boards continue to back mediocrity.. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it simply wants marriage to remain defined as between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?) We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, social security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and I know precisely what I am talking about) - the list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth.. It is potentially 1929 x ten...And we are at war with an enemy we cannot even name for fear of offending people of the same religion, who, in turn, cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And finally, we have elected a man that no one really knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. Sarah Palin's pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe are more important.)

Mr. Obama's winning platform can be boiled down to one word: Change. Why?

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now.

This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never, ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure. Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again.

And that is only the beginning...

As a serious student of history, I thought I would never come to experience what the ordinary, moral German must have felt in the mid-1930s In those times, the "savior" was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing. What they should have known was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory. Conservative "losers" read it right now.

And there were the promises. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and frowned and waved a lot. And people, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his "brown shirts" would bully and beat them into submission. Which they did - regularly. And then, he was duly elected to office, while a full-throttled economic crisis bloomed at hand - the Great Depression. Slowly, but surely he seized the controls of government power, person by person, department by department,

bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The children of German citizens were at first, encouraged to join a Youth Movement in his name where they were taught exactly what to think.. Later, they were required to do so. No Jews of course,

How did he get people on his side? He did it by promising jobs to the jobless, money to the money-less, and rewards for the military-industrial complex He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe, and across the world. He did it with a compliant media - did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and ... . change. And the people surely got what they voted for.

If you think I am exaggerating, look it up. It's all there in the history books.

So read your history books. Many people of conscience objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and ridiculed. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though. And the world came to regret that he was not listened to...

Do not forget that Germany was the most educated, the most cultured country in Europe. It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And yet, in less than six years (a shorter time span than just two terms of the U. S. presidency) it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors.. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.

As a practical thinker, one not overly prone to emotional decisions, I have a choice: I can either believe what the objective pieces of evidence tell me (even if they make me cringe with disgust); I can believe what history is shouting to me from across the chasm of seven decades; or I can hope I am wrong by closing my eyes, having another latte, and ignoring what is transpiring around me...

I choose to believe the evidence. No doubt some people will scoff at me, others laugh, or think I am foolish, naive, or both. To some degr ee, perhaps I am. But I have never been afraid to look people in the eye and tell them exactly what I believe-and why I believe it.

I pray I am wrong. I do not think I am. Perhaps the only hope is our vote in the next elections.

We spent Wednesday through Sunday last week 4 wheeling near Chadwick Missouri. It was a long awaited trip, as we have been invited every 6 months for about the past 10 years. Everything finally came together this year so we could go. It was everything we had hoped it would be.

Our trip started out a little slow, but all ended well. We had wanted to leave town around 9am Wed morning so we could stop by the big RV Salvage in Joplin, but didn?t get headed out until a little after noon. We went to shut the slide outs, and they wouldn?t budge! We think our battery just doesn?t have enough juice to run them?.we are hoping. With a couple of jacks, tugging and a lot of strong words, we got them closed. The winds were really whipping Wed, and with the extra weight, it was slow moving. We averaged between 45 & 55mph until we got east of Joplin. Once we got in behind more trees we were able to get up to around 60. Cameron, Amy and Breanna were in front of us most of the way, so they showed us the way, thank goodness, because we wouldn?t ever have found it in the dark.

We got to camp (Cobb Ridge, Mark Twain Natl. Forrest, Chadwick Missouri) around 10:30pm. Kyle & Alondra left town at 5:30, and they pulled in behind us about 5 min after we got here, must be nice to drive that fast. ? Between all of us, we got the camper backed perfectly in the dark. We waited up for Bob & Lori to help them park and set up camp. They got there about 1:30, so it was a short night, but with all the excitement, we had extra energy.

The whole place is beautiful, with wonderful trees, awesome trails for all riding levels and pretty darn good camping spots.

I didn?t get to take as many pictures as I would like to have as most of my riding was done at night. Since we have Cyler, we have to take turns going out, and somehow I ended up with the night shift every time! I learned one valuable lesson. It?s not always in your best interest to follow your leader, sometimes they like to try the more difficult trails. I mistakenly followed Shane up one such trail. It was a pretty nasty one, but I figured he knew best, so I followed blindly along! I got over half way up before I got stuck, and I was stuck good. There was a jump directly in front of me, a cliff on one side, and trees on the other. I gave it my best go, but I couldn?t get up the large rocks and ended up letting Shane take my 4 wheeler the rest of the way up.

I did get to start out one trip in the daylight, but it got dark before we reached our destination, Rattlesnake Cave. I promise to get pictures of this place the next time we visit; it looks like a scene out of an Indiana Jones movie. The trail down to it is stone ?puzzle pieces? laid into a very narrow trail on the side of a cliff. Alia was on in front of me, so it was one of the more scary moments of my trip.

The cave was awesome, I wish we had made it in time to have looked around a bit more. We did go back into it quite a ways before turning around.

*Note to self*  Next time we go on a cave adventure, make sure we have more than one working flashlight among us!

By the way, I'm loving my new camera. It?s thanks to it I got some great pictures of us in the dark cave.

Once we got packed up Sunday, we headed to Lambert?s, home of the throwed rolls (http://www.throwedrolls.com/ we went to the one in Ozark). They always stop here on the way home from Chadwick, and I?m sure glad we got to go this time! It was great. The portions of food were HUGE, and the atmosphere was so much fun. They offer ?pass arounds? which are people coming around with pots of different foods, fried okra, fried potatoes, black eyed peas, and macaroni & tomatoes that they just keep scooping up. Of course, they also throw the rolls (big ol? delicious ones) to you and they bring around molasses. They also have very large cups of ice cold sweet tea, as my legs found out. Dear sweet Cyler pulled my cup over almost as soon as I got it. It was very refreshing!

The trip home went much quicker, we got to drive about 65mph the whole way and made it back in about half the time.

Here are a few pictures of the camper in use. We still have a lot to do, but it?s sure improving!

One last mystery picture.  Can anyone (who hasn't been told) please tell us what this is a picture of?

Kansas

Oklahoma

Kansas

Nebraska

Kansas

Oklahoma

Kansas

Are you confused yet?  That's a summary of our last 3 days travels!  The kids and I left Wichita at

noon on Wednesday for Oklahoma City to pick Heath up from work.  We ate at a little BBQ place in

Guthrie called Johnny's Original Rib Shack that was awesome!  Everything they had was good as

were the prices. 

The pictures aren't great, I had my camera packed under everything in the trunk, so I took them with

my cell phone.  The decor was a lot of fun, holstine cow print walls & wood picnic bench tables &

chairs.  If you get a chace, give it a try and let me know what you think.

We headed for Nebraska for Heath's interview with Union Pacific.  We arrived in Grand Island about

2am Thurs. morning.  Heath had to be at the interview at 7:15am so we didn't get much sleep.  I

forgot the pack and play, so having Cyler sleep with us didn't help us get any sleep. 

Sadly, the job wasn't meant to be, Heath was back in the hotel room before 10am.  As soon as they

explained the details, Heath was done.  Union Pacific doesn't allow email or phone questions about

any job posting, you just have to show up and see what it's about.  This one ended up being one

where he had to travel alone, we wouldn't be allowed to go with him, for several months at a time

among several other negative factors.  It cost us about $600 to find out the job wouldn't work for us,

but it was a good experience nonetheless. 

The upside to this is we had all day to get back to Oklahoma City so we got to do some sightseeing. 

Before we left town we took a look around and ate lunch.  We ended up at another little BBQ joint. 

Savory's in Grand Island didn't look like much, but was pretty good.  They bosted on their chicken strips,

which did look great.  They didn't taste too good, but the rest of the food was amazing.  I had chicken

strips, BBQ sausage, onion rings and baked beans.  Everyone else had chicken strips and sides. 

Heath's potato salad was great, with a creamy white sause & bacon.  I would love to find the recipe. 

At this place, not only do you get to choose your sides, but you can mix & match your meat too.  1/2 lb

of meat and 2 sides for $9 or 3/4 lb of meat and 2 sides for $11. 

Cyler is in the seat, just too short to be seen!

We headed south of town and came to a neat little town that a friend of mine might reconize.

Jen~This one is for you!

Can anyone name this town?   It is a perfect example of small town America.

We actually didn't realize there were any neat places to see along the way, bu were lucky

enough to stumble upon not only one, but two very unique sites.  The first one was the Center

of the United States.  We knew it was in kansas, but didn't really know where.  It is located a

bit northwest of Lebanon in northcentral Kansas.  There is one thing that really stood out to us. 

There was of course the statue showing the actual center, but then there was a very small

church and several crosses.  We believe this means our great nation is truly Centered on Christ.

Seeing this place was a very unique geograpy lesson that we all enjoyed.  It is surrounded

by farm & ranch land and is such a great, quiet spot and is a perfect glimpse of rural America.

Here is the sweet little church there.  There are 4 single seats on each side of the building.

The next place we came to was Cawker City, home of the world's largest ball of twine.  There

were also some cool old tractors that Heath & Britt went gaga over.

That's a big ball of twine!! 

We love seeing all these off the beaten path sights.  We think this is what traveling is all about. 

Once we actually get on the road, we plan to check out all of these types of sights we can.  The

different places our country offers is so interesting.

The most amazing part of this place is how they involved the whole town in the fun.  They have

painted a yellow trail of twine that winds all around town.  They start at the ball and go up and

down both sides of main street.  Each business window has a mural painted on it.  You are

invited to follow the string around town and find the piece of twine in each picture.  We didn't

have time to do it this trip, but we want to make a day trip and do it sometime soon.

Right next to the ball of twine is a little place that had some great old tractors.  Heath wants

to go back just to talk to the owner of them. 

This isn't a tractor from there, but it's the one we traded in on the camper.  I just had to include

it because I have never seen a more happy little redneck!  Isn't he a cutie? 

We made it back to the hotel in Oklahoma City around 11pm Thurs. night.  Heath got up and

went to work on Friday and the kids and I headed back home.  We went to Wichita to run a few

errands.  I got a $148 ticket for an illegal U-turn.  It wasn't marked and I honestly didn't know it

was illegal.  The wonderful state trooper not only was very rude, but informed me it wasn't

HIS job to give directions when I explained we were lost.  He went ahead and gave me a ticket. 

Heath made it home about midnight Friday night so we are all home safe for a while.  We can't

wait to get on the road! 

Goodbye until next time. 

I came across a recipe the other day and adjusted it to our taste. This recipe has so many ways it could be used, the possibilities are endless!

Taco Biscuit Cups

Items needed:

1 Roll of biscuits (I use Pillsbury flaky 8 count)

1 Lb hamburger

1 Taco Seasoning pack

9 slices American Cheese (folded into 4 squares)

Pam or oil spray

Muffin Tin & paper muffin cups (mine has 12 cupsso this is what the item amounts are based on)

Skillet

Spoon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In skillet brown hamburger, add taco seasoning and cook according to directions. Drain hamburger well.

Line muffin tin w/ paper cups, spray each cup well. Split each biscuit in half to make 2 biscuits. (like you are opening it to butter it) Place each 1/2 biscuit into cup and press to make a cup. In the bottom of each biscuit cup put in one square, top with a scoop of taco mix & place two squares of cheese on top of taco mix.

Bake for approx 10 min or until biscuits are brown on edges and cheese is melted.

These are great for snacks or for the main dish.

I have done different trials and so far all have been great.

Mix all my pizza toppings up and brown them & use different cheese

Sausage or bacon & scrambled eggs (these are great w/ the honey butter biscuits)

fruit, coconut and yogurt (these are great w/ the honey butter biscuits , bake just the biscuit cups then scoop in the fruit mixture)

ice cream & toppings (these are great w/ the honey butter biscuits, just bake the biscuits)

Pie filling (these are great w/ the honey butter biscuits)

These are so cheap, quick & easy they can be used for pretty much any occasion.

What are you having for dinner tomorrow night?

Last week we made a 3 day trip to Oklahoma City for Heath to work.  We didn't do much because we were planning on going back for a week around the first of September (plans changed on that though)  His company treated us to the Marriott which was made for a pretty nice stay.  It wasn't as nice as the Best Western Suite in Joplin though  

Build A Bear

Of course, I got a much later start heading down there than Heath did, so we hung out at a local mall on Wednesday.  The kids had been wanting to make Cyler a Build A Bear, so they finally got a chance to do that.  They made him a turkey named Cooter.  Alia even added a voice box that sings Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and says I love you Cyler.  It's the cutiest thing ever.  Britt was too shy to talk on the box so it was just Alia.

Alia & Britt giving the turkey an air bath

Cyler with his new Turkey  

Natural History Museum

Thursday we went to the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History on the OU campus (www.snomnh.ou.edu).  *OU has a beautiful campus!*  These museums are one of our favorite venues to check out whenever we visit a city that has one.  We went to the one in Denver (www.dmns.org) last fall and fell in love with them.  The kids learn so much from each visit. 

We love learning about different cultures and life throughout history.  We do little projects & papers on what we learn while there. 

This time Britt's favorite fact was learning about the largest skull of any land animal ever  found.  (Of course I have misplaced my paper with the info on this dinosaur)

Alia enjoyed learning about the Native American Indian culture.  She thought it was amazing that little indian girls played dress up with dolls just like she does.  Of course, now she wants me to get her some dolls and clothes that look like the indian ones on display

As you can tell, the kids just love posing with statues!  They

beg me to take pictures of them with just about every statue

they come across.

Oklahoma City Zoo

We spent Friday at the Oklahoma City Zoo (www.okczoo.com)  We had a great time as we always do at different zoos.  Their favorite part was the Oklahoma Trails habitat where they learned about the different natural life zones of Oklahoma. 

My little dinosaurs.  ALia liked being eaten

How many monkeys do you spot in the picture?

I always new my kids were wild, this proves it!

Cyler and I enjoyed the zoo as much as Alia & Britt did.  Cyler

loved getting a close up look at the apes (the non-related ones).

This was by the hotel pool, totally unrelated, but so cute I had to

share it with you.

Toby Keith's I Love this Bar & Grill

&

Bricktown Riverwalk

We had accidently ended up in Bricktown in downtown OKC (www.bricktownokc.com) on Wednesday night while looking for a good place to eat.  They had a beautiful riverwalk & many neat things to see so we decided to make an evening visit for dinner before leaving on Friday.  We ate at Toby Keith's I Love this Bar & Grill (http://www.tobykeithsbar.com/restaurant-locations/oklahoma-city-bricktown).  They have awesome food and a great laid back atmosphere.  We all loved the pickup tailgate seats. 

Our awesome waiter was kind enough to take a family picture.

We walked along the riverwalk to see all the sites.  Of course on a Friday night with all the new college kids in town, we didn't spend much time there!  We didn't have time to check out Bass Pro Shop but we will next trip!  They have a wonderful, huge land rush memorial there that is just amazing.  If you ever get down there, you have to check it out. 

I just happened to catch this photo and realized how well Alia fit

into the photo.

This is sort of an overview of the riverwalk, landrush monument &

skyline.  It was a beautiful view.

We had a great time and if you ever make it down there, they have so many neat things to see and do.  Hopefully next time we will have more time to see things.

Love ya,

All of us

Hi from OKC!  I'll be posting about this last minute trip in a few days, but now for our last two events.

Neither of these are really an adventure but the kids wanted to have their pictures posted from their "favorite" events of the year. The first weekend in August is our local county fair. This is always a special time of year for us. Not only is it the best chance to catch up with all our friends that we don't see often, but it is actually where Heath and I first met in 1999. We had several mutual friends who introduced us...and the rest is history. The Chris LeDoux song "County Fair" pretty much tells our story. (http://www.lyrics007.com/Chris%20Ledoux%20Lyrics/County%20Fair%20Lyrics.html)

The kids rode sheep Thurs. night in the mutton bustin’ part of the JR Rodeo. They didn’t win, but it was certainly an experience. Alia freaked out when her sheep got rowdy in the chute and didn’t want to ride. After she fell off, she was mad because she didn’t win the money, she pouted for over an hour. So much for sportsmanship there! Britt LOVED it. He held on like a champ, but didn’t make his 8 second ride. He jumped up and was ready to ride again.

I think Alia's expression pretty much sums up how she felt about the whole situation.  I had

neglected to explain the part about they would fall off at some point in the game   so neither

kid was impressed.  After spending $30 per kid to ride, I didn't want them to chicken out. 

What kind of mom does that make me?

Sunday night the kids rode rides all evening. Heath & I did ride a couple with them, but at $20 per bracelet & $3 per ticket to ride single rides, we didn’t join them on most rides. My favorite was riding the music fest with Alia; she was one solid giggle the entire ride. The joy on her face & that sweet giggle was worth every penny (and we spent A LOT of pennies) we spent at the whole fair. They rode most of the rides with McKenzie & Cody and a few with Noah, Caleb & Elijah. Here are a few pictures of their fun.

Alia, McKenzie & Britt

McKenzie, Britt & Alia (We had to bribe Britt to let go once he go to the top.

The girls had no problems with it!

Alia & Daddy enjoying the slide.  I wish they had these on a bigger

scale, I love the slides!

Britt & Me, he was much more confident going down with Mommy!

Melissa, Cody, (little boy) Britt, McKenzie & Alia

Having a baby is a perfect excuse for not joining everyone on the

rides that make my head spin

Cyler & Alia~She is an awesome big sis who loves to dote on Cyler

The kids rode many other great rides, but my pictures didn't turn out too well, I really need a better camera.  Mine doesn't do too well on moving targets.

The tractor show was this past weekend, and is, of course, Heath’s favorite time of the year. He took his John Deere 95 Combine down to share with all. Many people enjoyed chatting with him about old farm equipment. The best part of the show is the tractor rodeo, it gets pretty wild! Each day there is a parade that the kids love riding in. They had a blast riding the combine through the parade.

Britt was in heaven and spent the whole weekend smiling. They both had some money from selling their horses and had been saving it to spend there. Britt bought a remote control tractor and had a blast playing with it and showing it to everyone.

Toy Farmer~He is so proud of the toy HE bought with HIS  money.

3 Amigos

Cody (my step-dad's grandson) and Britt

Bill (my step-dad) and one of his many tractors

My baby is growing up way, way too fast!  He enjoyed the tractor show

as much as the rest of us I think.  He was a happy boy all weekend.

I did have the scariest moment of my life on Sunday afternoon. We were up watching the Antique Tractor Pull when Alia and I left the grandstands for a while for a break. Unknown to me, Britt followed behind us, but didn’t find us. Alia and I looked at the crafts for at least 10 min before heading back up to the stands. When everyone asked where Britt was I panicked! I didn’t know this old fat woman could move so fast! I looked around the midway area and then ran back up to the stands to have everyone come help me look (the whole family was there). As we were heading back down the steps, here comes Britt b-bopping back up the midway toward us with a smile on his face. He had walked all the way to the camper (clear back by the river (maybe ¼-1/3 mile away), across 4 roads with tractors and pickups going every which way and when he didn’t find us, he walked back. He wasn’t at all bothered or worried about it. He just said, “Mommy, where did you go, I couldn’t find you.” I managed to make it to the bathroom before I lost it totally. I have never been so panicked in all my life. Heath said it was the best place it could have happened and at least we know he is responsible. I am very proud of the way he handled himself like such a big man, but still sick at the thought of what if… I made very clear that when he got down to the midway and he didn’t see me, he should have turned right around and went back to Daddy.

I'll be posting before, during & after pictures of our camper "rebuild" project.  The kids are sooo excited and just don't get the fact that we have a lot to do before we actually hit the road. 

We found this camper on Craig's List near Joplin MO in early July.  We got an awesome deal on it because it is a "salvage" vehicle.  The previous owners bought it from an insurance pool.  It had a fire inside it, NOT in the camper itself, but the dryer caught fire.  The entire camper was damaged by the heat and smoke.  When the firefighters entered, they sprayed the entire inside down which ruined doors that were particle board. 

Here is a list of what needed or still needs done to it:

1.  Repaint entire enterior (done by previous owner)

2.  Replace all cabnet doors (done by previous owner)

3.  Replace bathroom sink, toilet, walls & shower (done by previous owner)

4.  Replace all light fixtures and outlets throughout camper

5.  Replace both air conditioners

6.  Replace refridgerator

7.  Replace carpet

8.  Replace all screen, curtains & mattresses

9  Put on an awning on

The previous owner has done the big, hard and time consuming jobs, so we just have mostly little stuff left to do.  Here are a few pictures I took when we first looked at it to purchase.  The outside is in awesome condition and once we get done, we will have a perfect camper.

Outside from back

Dining area from living room

Up to bathroom & master bedroom

Bathroom storage, shower, cabnets & where the toilet will go

Bathroom sink

 Storage in master bedroom

Kitchen area

 Living room left side of camper

Living room area right side

Entryway, fridge & pantry

Washer/dryer storage area

Kids' bedroom, bed & storage on left side

Kids' bedroom storage area

Other bed in the kids' bedroom