So our neighborhood is having a Christmas lights contest and, since ours is relatively tasteful, one can be assured we will not win. At any rate, I thought it would be a good time to learn how to use my Nikon D90 and get some pictures of the lights. My hubby is a very experienced photographer so he tried patiently to explain ISO and shutter speed to me. It still doesn’t quite make sense but here goes: ISO goes as high as your camera will go - I set mine at 3200. Interestingly enough, the shutter speed varied - some pictures came out good at 1/10, some at 1/8 and some at 1/25 and lastly, be sure that the camera is in manual mode and the flash is off. We found the interior tree pictures came out best if surrounding lights were turned off, too. It was fun to change the speed and see what happened. Now if I could only figure out how to get the dang camera on and off the tripod…I’m pretty much hopeless when it comes to photography! If composition were the only factor, I’d have it made.
Anybody else’s kids come home with this many pebbles in their shoes? It doesn’t matter what KIND of shoes Ben wears, either. He’s managed this with his tennis shoes as well. On another note, I had a wonderful phone conversation with a very good friend from Houston and she told me that her 9 year old girl refuses to get rid of a stick that my boys carved for her (we moved 7 months ago now). I think that’s pretty cute. Rocks. Sticks. {Sigh} Boys.
So while I was sick (and clearly not in my right mind), I volunteered to cook turkey and make gravy for the Kindergarten classes. It was worth it to see all those pilgrims and Indians enjoying their meal.
The kitchen looks so nice when it’s clean. I quickly sewed a couple of muslin slipcovers to go over our blue chairs since only two of the new kitchen chairs that I ordered had arrived by Thanksgiving! Gotta make do, right…they have unfinished hems but I have a fantastic idea for hemming them. Info and pics to come. Also, I need to share the tape method Cole helped me with to make the custom pattern for them - it helped so much when it came to sewing them from scratch. And if the resident sewing newbie (me) can do it, anybody can!
Our island could fit 6 to 8 places comfortably but since we already had one bench and one stool from another home we lived in, I gave up my idea for new seating completely and just ordered another small stool to flank the bench. I think it looks pretty good for using what we’ve got!
I never thought I’d say this but I love that stupid freezer on the bottom that I resisted for so long. Now if I could just remember to not kick and shove it to close the thing!
While we were grateful for a small Thanksgiving gathering this year with new friends, we did miss being with family. We are kind of travel-ed out so I think for the holidays this year we will be staying put. Never fear, though, we ate like kings. Today (the day AFTER Thanksgiving), we all had pie for breakfast. What more could signify a successful holiday? We are thankful for many things: the gospel of Jesus Christ, jobs, home, family and friends…and technology.
Hubby drove it into this barn 20 years ago — the summer before we were married. It’s about time it was rescued! Lost cattle got into the barn and used it as toilet paper and added a few dings to the body but otherwise, it’s in great condition, except for the interior. I don’t envy Don this restoration job but he sure seems to be excited by it and I hope the boys will get lots of quality time with their dad.
The boys have stain in their newly acquired, adorable haircuts. I timed that wrong! Well, I hope they learned some sort of life-enhancing lesson through all that work! The interior of the fence is done. Hooray!
So we got “poo-ed” by a couple of skittish ghosts running from our front porch. So cute! The bag included all sorts of poo: vampire poo (hot tamales), skeleton poo (skeleton bones: mini marshmallows on pretzel sticks dipped in white bark), bat poo (chocolate covered raisins), spider poo (cotton candy), and clown poo (skittles). Very clever! A fun idea to pass along a church group and/or neighborhood.
Another favorite quote sign that I have hanging in my home (a Goodwill find!): “Write it on your heart that the ones you love are life’s most precious gifts.”
We created a cute vampire-fang-monster-mouth car decoration for the open back of a car at our trunk or treat. This was in 2009 - weren’t those boys so cute? They look so small to me when looking back just two years later. We had just moved to Houston in this picture and it was HOT for Halloween. The fangs were easy to create - a quick tip to make it even easier: we used an old, giant sticky note presentation board so they just stuck and we didn’t even have to tape them on anywhere to the car! Easy! Cute!
I saw this idea in a magazine and didn’t have access to the supplies they suggested so when I hit Lowe’s for some fence stain, I grabbed a 6′ x 8′ indoor/outdoor rug for $17 in black and cut it into two halves. One half I made into a round spider web and the other half I made into a very large oval spider web. We painted the lines on the round one with all-weather silicone caulking. I am afraid it isn’t going to stick very well or could be pulled off, so I’m going to get some white fabric paint and do the second rug (and re-do the white lines on the first one). It turned out really cute and it was cheap and easy! It’s a great way to fill a large porch with a custom sized rug and my Kindergartner enjoyed helping me draw the lines as we marked them out with a white crayon (we didn’t have any chalk on hand!) and it worked perfectly. He could easily help and follow the ruler — it was a fun, cheap, and quick family activity! Highly recommend!
Here is one of Ben — at first he held the yardstick while I drew the lines with a white crayon. Then, he begged and begged so I held the yardstick and he drew the lines perfectly fine! He’s a kindergartner, so if he can do it — anyone can! I truly is a cheap, easy family project for Halloween.
Just for fun, here is my all-time favorite Halloween decoration. At our house, the witch is ALWAYS in!!!
We love Oklahoma. We were all riding in the car and Ben piped up with the 2nd verse about his honeylamb so I figured I needed to get it on tape. We all stared at him in amazement since none of us knew all of those words! Apparently, this is what they teach in Kindergarten in Oklahoma and that’s OK by us!
One busy final weekend before school began. We made a one-night trip and did so many things! Yes, only one night but we were able to stop outside of Springfield, MO and visit a Wildlife Safari that was some of the best fun we’ve had in awhile! There were zebras, cows, bison, bears, tigers, a giraffe, etc., and you could feed most everything. The boys had an absolute blast and the bus ride was well worth the extra cost. Highly recommend for a fun, quick adventure. Then, we went to Bass Pro in Springfield and drove on to Branson to spend the night. We ate at Lambert’s Cafe (our second time ever) and we will always drive out of the way to stop there if we are near the Ozarks. Love that place! Enjoy the pics.
A little smoochie with the hubs. I thought it was funny that two teenage girls were cleaning out the panther area and the bus drive said the display was for man-eaters. Cole took pictures. {Sigh} Teenagers.
Great video below of the tigers being fed chicken. The white one gets tired of giving the orange one chances and ends up taking it.
We had a great drive a couple of weeks ago — it’s about 79 miles away but so, very worth it. We left on a Saturday around 3 p.m. which we thought might be too late to do anything but we had the nicest evening at this little Oklahoma swimming hole. It was $10 per car load and the water was so clear you could see minnows and tadpoles. We had a really fun time and stayed until closing, which was 8 p.m. I highly recommend it! It was 8 miles east of the town of Salina, Oklahoma near Kenwood. Just go to Salina and ask at the gas station — they’ll point you in the right direction! Great short drive. We can’t wait to go again!
So we had a great time in Tulsa at the Oklahoma Aquarium — AFTER we found it! The directions to get there are a little strange and since 75 South is closed in a section of downtown Tulsa and we didn’t have Lole, our beloved GPS, we were a little lost but managed to get there. We got to go on a behind-the-scenes shark tank tour full of bull sharks and it was really fun and fascinating, although I was afraid one of the boys would fall in! Now that the kids are back in school, I hope to be able to post more about what we’re doing and what we’ve done.
The boys waiting for the shark tour.
Cole took some great pics and this is a neat one of a special kind of jellyfish.
The boys are taking a Shotokan Karate / Mixed Martial Arts class here in Bartlesville. Cole went tonight and made the other teenagers (and instructor) gasp when he did his self defense techniques. I am so proud of him. Nobody wanted to volunteer to “attack” him after his very first demo. It’s a great dojo and it will take quite a bit of adjustment for him to learn their style, etc., but if anyone can do it, I know it’s Cole. I’m hoping it’s like learning a foreign language and the old will come naturally to him - I don’t ever want him to forget the instruction he’s received in Gretna and Taekwondo. Mr. Staack and his crew were the best teachers I have ever met and we miss them terribly! Cole has been so lucky to study under that organization.
This last pic is Benjamin sampling the cake balls that Cole made today. Thanks to Aunt Lili for the great Christmas present last year. They are so fun to eat - the kids just love ‘em!
