Do or Die

This pic is Caitlin taking a corner kick. Can you feel the intensity??

We won our third game, 7-0. We now move on to the quarter finals where it's do or die. I hope we do... not die.

A win and a loss

Our second game didn't go as we would have liked, we lost 3-2. It was a great game and our team played really well. We need to win this next game to move on to the quarter finals. I didn't take any pictures for no apparent reason, but I'm going to try and get some today. Send good vibes our way... Go Oklahoma!!

One down, many to go.

We won our first game in the regional tournament, 3-1. We are off to a good start, but our next game is going to be tough! Here's a picture of Caitlin taking a corner kick with the scoreboard behind her, showing our score when it was 1-0.

Once again, we ate dinner with the team after the game and this time it was at a little Italian restaurant called Monticello in Wilson, NC. It was very good and it was the first time that I had noticed the people around here have a very different accent.

Opening Ceremony Day

We've arrived in Raleigh for the regional tournament. All the teams from each state that one their respective State Cup (and some that weasel in) are invited to compete in this tournament. It's very competitive and takes a lot of work to get here.

The opening ceremony was nice and exactly the same as the past years except for the little girl that sang the National Anthem and brought us to tears or gave us chills. She was amazing to say the least! Here is a photo of all the teams on the lower level as they walk around and exchange our team t-shirts and try to get t-shirts from the other teams in our region. The girls love this part.

After that they gather together and have a team photo taken in their state shirts that were given to them by Oklahoma. The actual ceremony only takes about 45 minutes which is great because we've already been there for 2 hours sitting and watching the teams on the floor. That's exciting for about 10 minutes. I had a smudge on my camera while at the ceremony so a small portion of the picture looks a little wacky.

We had a team dinner afterwards at a place downtown called "Hi-5". The name of this place sounds appropriate for this day and age. (Sorry for the blurryness of this picture; that's what happens when you don't want to use flash because the flash will distort the color).

We had a good time but now it's back to business and it's time to open a can of "Shubert" on this place.

The Registrars

Here is a picture that was sent to me from the block party.

This is me with the Grand Paha as we sat at the registration table. Did I ever mention that the weather was beautiful that day? Just sayin'.

Raleigh...darling!

I've been getting things in order around the house before my trip to Raleigh, NC. Caitlin and I are going to the Regional tournament and will be gone for a week. Yes, I will have pictures, don't you worry.

So I started my day with this...











and after a quick shower, I painted these (for the first time in about two years)...











and I've been doing this all day....







But while I did all of that, this was outside doing this. I'm just glad I had some help with something around here.

Alone in my joy

I spent the weekend watching some amazing golf, thanks to Tiger Woods. I don't know how I became interested in the sport because I've never played a day in my life, except for the times when I've hit the ball around in the backyard. I don't have friends who play the game or are interested in this sport. And without anyone to share the amazing "Tiger" moments with this past weekend, I felt very alone with my excitement when he eagled a couple of holes and kept himself in the game. And when he birdied to tie the leader and force an 18 hole playoff, again I wished to share the moment with someone. But I enjoyed it all the same and I'm glad I didn't miss it. I need to find a sports bar where I can be amongst my "golf" people.

We had some terrible storms blow through Claremore last night that flooded our streets downtown and caused them to be blocked off by the emergency officials. More rain is headed our way right now, so it's not over yet.

We lost electricity during the night for a few hours and all I could think was that I hoped it came back on before the golf playoff today between Tiger and Rocco. And so far, things are looking great!!

My Dads

I have two dads in my life, my daddy and my dad that my mom was lucky enough to find and marry after my parent's divorce. They have something in common that makes me adore them.

They both have a wonderful sense of humor and are always bringing laughter to my life over and over again. Both are caring and when I was younger, they disciplined with love, never anger. I was lucky to have them when I was growing up and I'm lucky to still have them in my life today.

I love them both.

Happy Father's Day!!

Senseless talk

Is it sad when you've reached that stage in life when you look forward to going to bed and going poo? I was talking to a friend and telling her that those were my two favorite things to do. When did those items get to the top of my list?

Rainfall

I heard on the news that since April, Tulsa has received over 24 inches of rain. Isn't that incredible? 24 inches... just since April!

I think they said we are double our normal amount of rainfall for this time of year. No wonder they call it Green Country.

Self Improvement is a good idea for everyone

I was watching 3 famous dads on the Today show and was really struck by what one of them had to say about making that effort to be a loving dad to his children.

He said that men are bigger, stronger and have deeper voices and when he speaks to his children he does so almost like a whisper. He also said that he is very aware that when something doesn't work well with his kids, he never does that again. He always tries to improve his dad skills. He is a best dad of the year.

I've seen some dads who tower over their children and point in their faces to make their point. As if their stature wasn't threatening enough. The look on those kids faces is just sad. There is a word for those people... bullies.

I'm glad to see these dads getting the word out about how to be a better dad when we've always seen mothers sharing what they have learned.

Happy Father's Day to all those great dads out there!!

We don't need another

This is how my morning started.

Caitlin: Good morning, Madre. Isn't it the most beautiful morning ever?

Me: What's up... is it bad?

Anytime that sweet words come singing out of the mouth of one of my children, before 8:00am in the morning, it's a sure sign that something is up.

This sure sign came in a furry package.

Anyone need a cat?

Yahoo Cody

I'm not sure why Cody keeps me updated on Yahoo news but this has become a regular thing.

Cody: You know the I-Phone?
Me: Yeah
Cody: Well now it has a GPS and the price has gone down.


Cody: Jessica Alba and her husband named their baby.
Me: oh, ok.


Cody: Gas prices are $4 now.
Me: wow.


Cody: There's something on the internet about how not to waste gas.
Me: I've seen that before.


Cody: They have this thing that helps your car to save gas.
Me: I saw that on tv this morning.


Cody: Anyway, it said on the news, that Evil Knievel’s son jumped 21 Hummers.
Me: Oh yeah, I saw that.


Cody: This girl died when she was 115 years old and her brain was perfectly healthy.
Me: that's amazing.


Gotta love him!

Raining Cats and Dogs

We had thunderstorms show up during the night and the rain did not stop until about 30 minutes ago. The pool looks like an overflowing toilet, but it makes it easier for the pets to get a drink with it filled up to the rim. The storm poured 5 inches of rain onto our town and that's a good deep soaking for the plants in all the beds. I hope Mother Nature doesn't think she can dump this huge gullywash on us at one time and then forget about us in the next couple of months. You know how that goes.

Song clip

This is a little "sumthin', sumthin'" from the block party. This song is long and repetitive and the sound isn't good because of my camera, but I like the ending because some of the neighborhood kids really enjoyed participating in it.

He loves to help

Laundry is his favorite task.

River Ranch knows how to party

Our annual block party was worth the wait. We missed the first one last year because of soccer so we've been waiting an entire year to experience the fun that we only heard about from all of our neighbors. We started the night off with a Fun Run for the kids.

And since they were hot and sweaty after the run, we moved on to the water balloon toss.

How could it be a fun time without sack races?

Once the kids' events were over, it was time to get this event going. The band was great and they played a mix of music consisting of country, rock, and pop from the 70's, 80's and on.

The grills were smoking hot and hard at work.

It didn't take long before everyone was kickin' back and enjoying good music, good food, and good friends. And lets not forget the karaoke and dancing.


Caitlin and Caleb seemed to enjoy the evening as well.

Block Party

Today is the day of our 2nd Annual Block Party. Or as we affectionately like to call it, the PAHA party (People against Housing Associations). The party starts tonight at 6:00 and I'm sure to have pictures of the extravaganza for you to see later.



Neighbors are pitching in to get things set up and....

the band is making it's final adjustments to the sound system.

This is the person who helped get this all started last year and we like to call him our Grand PAHA.

Check out this sign and it's officialness. I didn't say it was fancy... but it's sure to be fun.

Strike A Pose!

The passion vine that I bought this spring has been causing me some concern. I check it often to see how it's growing and although there are some changes, the changes are very small. I don't know if I have it planted in a bad spot so I'm going to try and find it a new home if it doesn't have a growth spurt soon.

I noticed earlier this week that it had developed a few buds, so although the leaves aren't spreading out in abundance, it is doing something.

And look!! I saw this today and just had to snap a photo. Isn't it a fascinating plant? If you want to see one that I think looks like a sea creature, then look at Tanya's passion vine. Be sure and click on the picture for a close up look. They certainly are not ordinary.

Four Foods

This week's theme for Four Foods is "the movies".

#1. What snacks do you eat at the movies? Do you buy them there or bring your own?
I buy a drink and bring my own candy if that's my mood for that day. But sometimes the day calls for popcorn or nachos. Yummmm.

#2. What’s your favorite food movie, or movie that shows a lot of food?
This one is hard. The only thing that comes to mind is "When Harry Met Sally", the scene where they are becoming friends for the first time and they are having salads. They look delicious.

#3. What food or meal do you wish was available at the movies and why?
I wish they had smaller servings of candy so that it was less expensive.

#4. What’s your most favorite way to make popcorn? Hot, cold, buttered, air, microwave, chocolate, caramel, you get it.
We only buy "Microwave Extra Butter" popcorn. Nothing better.

Gust with a chance of wind

We are having one of those days where the wind is so bad that you decide to hide away indoors all day and ignore it because it's horrible and scary.

As I go about my dailyness(yes, it must be a word!), I hear it. I hear it at the back door, and I hear it blowing past the chimney top. And when it starts shaking the window screen, I can't help but stop what I'm doing and look. Look to see if it's just the wind or something more.

I hate the wind.

Colin Firth

Yum. Who else thinks he's delicious?

He's doing grown up things.

My oldest son is going to boot camp in a few months and preparation for the Air Force has already started. He meets one Tuesday of every month to learn marching skills and memorizing things that need to be memorized.

He's already had his physical and taken the ASVAB test and because he scored well, an officer called yesterday to let him know they want him to take a programmer test because they have a slot open. So he's headed back to MEPS(Military Entrance Processing Station) today. I hope he does well because he really wants to go this direction.

Yesterday he had gone to work out and called from the store to find out if I needed him to bring home anything. He also wanted to know if my favorite snack was still peanut clusters. He ended up bringing a treat home for everyone in the family. So sweet! This was a side of him that we don't get to see often, if ever. If he keeps this up, I'm going to miss him more than I would have normally once he's gone to bootcamp.

It's just a day at the beach

So we are in Houston this weekend for a showcase tournament and we've had some extra time on our hands in between our first and second games. So we decided to head to Galveston to spend the day at the beach. We went with another soccer family and her family that lives in the area.

We rode the ferry over to a less populated beach and if you've never done this before, then it's quite fun. We had a loaf of bread that we used to feed the seagulls and then we spotted dolphins jumping about behind the ferry.

My friend's cousin's car had a bit of trouble once we crossed to the other side and so we left the car parked near a school to let it cool off and assess the situation later.

We continued in my car to the beach where we enjoyed the sun, hermit crabs and playing in the sand.

As for the car trouble, after a call to AAA and an hour of waiting for a tow, we found out the car only needed fuel.

Alan

Cody, who is 10 years old, went with me to the store and on the way home we were talking.


Cody: "When I grow up I want to be like Alan."

Me: "What is it about Alan that makes you want to be like him?"

Cody: "He's funny."

Me: "Well I think he's a good person to aspire to be like because he's always making people laugh, in a good mood and fun to be around."


That Tanya is a lucky woman and I can't help but be a little jealous.

You want some of this?

Do you want to know what takes place in between soccer games at the tournaments that we frequently travel to on weekends?

Wrestlemania!!

Four Foods on Friday

Barbecue is the topic for this week's Four Foods on Friday.

#1. What is your favorite food that is cooked on the barbeque?
I love smoked sausage the best. But everything is good cooked on a grill.

#2. What veggies, if any, do you cook on the barbeque?
The only time we barbecue vegetables is when I make shish-ka-bobs. I prefer squash, tomatoes, and onion.

#3. Tell us a little about your barbeque habits. Who grills, how often, what months, etc.
We grill about once a month and it's the hubby who does most of the cooking. Usually in the summer because it's just too darn cold in the winter.

#4. Share a barbeque recipe.
I'm stumped on this one. I have no barbecue recipes. But I did post a recipe for pulled pork on an earlier FFOF. You can check it out here.

State Champs!

Here are the state pictures from this past weekend. I posted these last year as well, so I thought I should continue the tradition.

Summer memories

During the last day of the Oklahoma State Cup, a friend and I sat in our chairs, in the shade that was provided by their portable awning, for hours watching soccer. In the midst of our small talk, we got on the topic of critters that we played with when we were wee little children. And when I say critters, I'm not talking about our cute pets we had when growing up that posed no threat. I'm talking about those that you find creeping and crawling around the outside of your house, or in a field, hiding in the dirt and under plants.

We probably happened onto this topic because our own children kept coming up to us with a new creature for us to observe and shoving it inches from our eyes, because children believe that their parents have reached that hard of seeing stage straight out of the womb.

So we shared stories of how we played with insects, toads or whatever we could find to entertain us during our summers as children. And then how we stopped playing with nature's little toys once we were bit, poked or spat at.

My memories of growing up in West Texas include playing with "horny toads" that we would round up from a nearby empty lot and place our findings in a shoe box so that we could determine which was the father, mother and the babies. We would mark the mother with a dab of nail polish (yes, I know this was wrong, but at the time, I was just too young to know better). And how did we know this was the mother, you ask? Simple, she was the medium sized one.

We always let our creatures go at the end of the day, but I'll never forget the time that I placed one of the horny toads on the ledge of a vent that went underneath a house and as soon as I let go of him he went into that vent through a hole that shouldn't have been there. He had no way out, at least as far as I knew. I worried about that little guy for a long time and as you can see, never forgot him. My days of playing with these toads came to an abrupt halt when one of them spat blood at me. This story consisted of a girl, her sister, her dog and an empty lot. A story to be told at another time, but an incident I'll never forget.

As for other creatures that entertained me as a child, who didn't love finding those small depressions in the dirt knowing it contained a doodle bug. We would squat down low and with our finger or a stick, move the dirt around and watch to see if the dirt would move on it's own. How exciting this was to watch intently and be rewarded by this movement. Can you believe we played near something so horrifyingly ugly?

And what about those noisy locust that sat up high in the trees and made that annoying screeching sound. We would catch them when they landed low on the bark of trees and hold them by their wings and watch them vibrate as they tried to fly away. I never played with locust after one tried to extract sap from my finger, but before that, finding the baby locust in the grass was amazingly fun!

What interesting critters did you enjoy as a child?

Ever consuming life of soccer

Ok, last week was a terrible week for blogging. But I'm going to do better this week. Things have been really busy and we've been out of town for the past two weekends. Caitlin and Hayden were in the Oklahoma State Cup and we finished that up today. Both of their teams won the State Championship. Caitlin's team will now head to Raleigh, North Carolina for Regionals in about 3 weeks. But next weekend we will be in Houston for the Texas Shootout Showcase. Once we get past June, things will calm down a bit.

For now, I need a shower and a good night's rest.

Four Foods on Friday

This week's Four Foods topic is about foods that are white. So here goes.

#1. What’s your favorite white beverage? If you don’t have one, what’s your favorite beverage with something white in it?
My favorite white beverage has white in it but isn't white... a chocolate shake.

#2. What’s your favorite white gravy, sauce, condiment, dressing or topping?
I love white gravy that's made from chicken fried steak. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

#3. What’s your favorite white item from the refrigerated section?
I've recently been eating cream cheese, like it's going out of style, with Red pepper jelly and wheat thins. Try it if you haven't.

#4. Share a recipe for something white.

Pop Corn Balls
1 C sugar
½ C water
1 t vinegar
¼ C karo syrup
½ t vanilla
popcorn

Cook about 3 minutes or until thickens. Pour over bowl of popcorn and stir around. With very well buttered hands, form into balls.

Prepositions

My birthday was last week and Tanya sent me a birthday card that we all enjoyed. She and I were talking not long ago about sentences that end in a preposition. Sometimes it's hard to say what you want to say any other way.

State Cup in Edmond

We had fun this weekend in Edmond, OK at the Oklahoma State Cup. Both of the kids' soccer teams won all their games and will be in playing in the finals next weekend.

Our hotel had an interesting feature that we couldn't quite figure out, so we had fun taking pictures of this mysterious door.

Not for sensitive stomachs

Earlier this week, I was taking the kids to school. Hayden was sitting in the front and Cody was obliviously playing his Nintendo DS in the back. As we drove down the road, Hayden and I silently noticed that we were approaching a buzzard in the middle of the road eating a fresh road kill. This was nothing new but the next few seconds made us squeal a bit.

As my car approached the bird, he started to take flight as all birds usually do in the presence of oncoming traffic. This bird however was not willing to leave his breakfast behind so had grabbed a hold of it and flew up giving Hayden and I a view of a 2 foot long stringy "somethin' another" with a wad of a "thingy majig" dangling at the end of it. As it dangled over the hood of my car, I watched to see if this mass of guts was going to plop onto my bright shiny white car.

We made it past this horrific scene without incident but couldn't believe what we had just witnessed, and so early after breakfast. Hayden and I had been shreaking "ewwwws" as this took place, but after it had passed and I looked over at Hayden in that "Can you believe that just happened?" kind of way, he held his hand in the air in a way to ask for that congratulatory high five. He thought that was way cool! Cody missed it all.

Four Foods on Friday

I know it's not usually Friday when I post this because I've become a procrastinator as of late. If you want to join in and participate on this Friday activity, go visit Fun, Crafts and Recipes. Val will post a new recipe almost everyday if not everyday.

#1. What’s your favorite beverage containing chocolate or chocolate flavoring?
I don't usually drink a chocolate beverage but I have to say that good ole chocolate milk is the best. Although I've also recently discovered a chocolate chip ice cream type drink at Starbucks which is quite delicious.

#2. What’s your favorite chocolate bar? OR Share a pic of your favorite candy, chocolate or otherwise.
I love Dove dark chocolate. It's scrumptious!

#3. What’s the most unusual thing you’ve ever eaten that had chocolate in it?
I don't recall anything that I've eaten as unusual, much less with chocolate. But I find chocolate cereal a little unusual.

#4. Share a recipe using chocolate.
Who doesn't love "Puppy Chow" or as I've also heard it called... "white trash"?

Puppy Chow

9 cups Chex cereal (any variety)
1 t. vanilla
1 c. semisweet chocolate chips
½ c. peanut butter
¼ c. butter or margarine
1 ½ c. powdered sugar

Into large bowl, measure cereal; set aside. In 1-quart microwavable bowl, stir together chocolate chips, peanut butter and butter. Microwave uncovered on High 1 minute; stir. Microwave about 30 seconds longer or until mixture can be stirred smooth. Stir in vanilla. Pour mixture over cereal, stirring until evenly coated. Pour into 2-gallon resealable food-storage plastic bag.
Add powdered sugar. Seal bag; shake until well coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

I love my kids!

My Mother's Day was nice this year. It started off when I was in the kitchen getting myself some coffee and Caitlin came in bearing a rose and my favorite chocolate. She's so thoughtful and just the best daughter that I could imagine having. Probably because her and I share the same positive outlook on life and she's incredibly funny.

Next came Cody with a hug, card and a chocolate donut on a plate. He loves to bring me things or take things from me to go put away. I would hope he would always be this helpful, but from my experience, kids lose those wonderful traits as they become teenagers. I don't expect this child to be any different, but for now, I love how helpful he is.

Hayden was next with a hug and a Mother's Day wish. The card that Cody brought in was also from Hayden so that was covered earlier. Hayden is a bit of an entertainer and always has been, even though he never really meant it to be that way. He tells stories about school and friends in such way that it will make you laugh.

Later, we all headed out to a soccer game of our friend's youngest son. It was the Championship game in a local tournament and it was worth being there. The game was very exciting and it was fun being there to support such a cute kid. We always have a good time with this family and today was no exception.

I didn't talk to Dylan until after we left the soccer fields, when I called to see if he wanted to join us for dinner out. He immediately wished me "Happy Mother's Day" but declined the invitation since he had to work later. He keeps to himself for the most part but if you catch him on a good day, he's very talkative. He's signing up to go into the Air Force this summer so I spend much of my time worrying about where his life is taking him and hoping that this will make him happy. I've spent a lot of my online time looking up as much information on basic training and what to expect as a parent.

Except for the fact that I had to make a grocery store run, Mother's Day was pretty good.

And today.... well today is my birthday.

Can Drive

The annual Stamp Out Hunger food drive is taking place this Saturday so I've filled my sack with non-perishables, some of which is pictured here. Anything that I had multiple items of was placed in the sack and will be left by my mailbox on May 1oth.

Saturday, I'll be a giver.

Beef and Broccoli

I bought about 28 packs of assorted cuts of meat not too long ago from Reasors when they were having their big meat sale that they have only twice a year. Tonight I made stir fry and I'll probably be making this dish quite a bit in the next couple of months.

Not seen too often if ever

This is something you don't see everyday. An uneaten banana on the road.

Not only do you NOT see an uneaten banana in the road everyday, you don't see a banana lying face up.

Coffee and Rain....priceless

It's a beautiful morning here in Oklahoma. I realize that storms should not be considered a good thing, but when the temps are moderate, it's overcast, rainy, and you have a great cup of coffee to top it off.. what could be better?

What would Friday be without Four Foods on Friday

I love this meme. Every week is a different set of questions and anyone can participate in Four Foods on Friday. This week is no different.

#1. How do you make chicken salad?
I love my chicken salad if I can say so. It's made with green onions, eggs, mayo, almonds and plenty of seasoned pepper.

#2. Fast food chicken. What fast food restaurant makes the best chicken?
Chick-fil-A. Duh!!

#3. What’s your favorite way to eat chicken?
Everything taste good fried, right? But I also love baked chicken because it's so tender and delicious. Not to mention, it's a healthier version but doesn't taste like it.

#4. Share a recipe using chicken or take a picture of a chicken dish.
I like this recipe because it's so easy and taste great. Hope you enjoy

Chicken and Pasta Dish
1 lg pkg. Extra wide egg noodles
1 can cr. of chicken
1 can cr. of mushroom
1 can bnls chicken
english peas and carrots (cook until soft)
celery
onion
1 ½ can small carnation milk
velveeta cheese slices

Saute celery and onion. Mix all ingredients and lay cheese on top. Cover and bake @ 350 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes.

Done with planting... for now.

I went shopping for a tropical palm this week and also found this Tiny Ghost Asiatic Lily. I think it also looks tropical and the red color is beautiful.


Before the most "hell-atious" wind arrived to ruin what could have been two beautiful days, I was able to finish up my landscaping project this week. I took a lot of time deciding exactly where each plant belonged so I hope I haven't made any mistakes. I hate when I do that. Notice the "joysticks" up front and center. It was a roundabout recommendation from Tanya. And once she mentioned it was an evergreen, I was sold.

I was able to plant the last azalea that I've had waiting patiently while I worked up some "want to".

I'm finished landscaping around the pool. Now all that is left is to keep it alive.