O Christmas Three

Crafting, Goodwill, and

Trips!

I got this pretty one this summer at the Saturday Market in Eugene. I look at him and think about shopping with Katrina and Chelsea, and the beach, and hiking, and talking, and friends.

This little crab is from the trip we took to Baltimore when Anna was 6 months old, for the Foreign Language teachers convention. I think of the aquarium, and the Thanksgiving Parade on Anna's 6 month birthday, and Anna and Matthew exploring the town together.

I got this one on my big Southern road trip with Katrina, on a morning of trying to stay out of the sun because got such a sunburn the day before. What? Glitter sunscreen not that effective?

This one is from one of my running away trips with Anna, when we went to Dorothy's house last year. I remember parks and playing and laughing together.

Christmas ornaments are my favorite souvenirs.

U2360

We got to see U2 and The Black Eyed Peas in Norman on Sunday night. Oh my, it was wonderful. Unfortunately all of my pictures are blurry and my videos also include my enthusiastic singing along, which I am NOT going to post. :)

I was sick sick sick, but the adrenaline and excitement pulled me through. (When I got home I made it to the Dr... Two ear infections and a sinus infection. Now that's a fan!)

My friends Sarah and Jenny (I'm linking to facebook here, don't know if it will work) both have lovely pictures from the concert, but I never can manage that demure smile...

OSU homecoming

Once in Oklahoma, we enjoyed the one of the best things about visiting Margaret...doing whatever they do.

So we all dressed up in Orange and went to the OSU homecoming parade. Did you know they say O...S...U...Go pokes!? It was very strange and felt a little odd for this KSU girl.

Anna had a great time, especially because she got to snuggle with Lainey.

Garth Brooks...and two other people (I know, it's terrible I can't even remember who they were! They were also famous) were the Parade Marshalls.

A quest

Remember how a few weeks ago we went to Oklahoma?

At the very last minute (I was actually in the car, all packed, setting up the GPS) Matthew called to say the corn was too wet to cut and he could come too.



So we did a little exploring together for a change.

First we stopped in Cimarron for Ice Cream at Clark Pharmacy. Very fun and tasty.

Then we stopped in Meade for some dinner and some play time. I was not brave enough to walk on the highest of the balance beams, but Matthew was.


The park in Meade is outstanding! Two play areas, one new and neat and one old and neat. It was there that I hit upon Anna's Quest (Kansas Explorers have quests, things that they try to do in every county in KS).

We're going to play on a playground in every county in Kansas.

I'm excited.

After my own heart

On the way to Osborne last weekend, I asked Anna what she was working on.

"A puppet"

At the gas station, I turned around to see.

Made out of her chip bag. Of course.

When she was done she told me: "It's kind of a greasy puppet."

First Concert

Anna's been to lots of band concerts and symphonies and plays and music in the park, but this was her first big deal show, with lots of people, and a famous performer.

Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, and Jimmy Wayne.

We got pretty cheap seats, dinner included! (A hot dog and a drink for each of us)


She stayed awake through the two opening acts, and then fell asleep for Brad. Poor girl. And poor adults! We had lawn seats, surrounded by stumbling young-uns, so we couldn't lay her down on the grass. 40 lbs of dead weight is heavy!

It was still a great show. Brad's always fun to see.

The next day we asked Anna how she liked the concert, and she said it was great, her favorite part was "sleeping!".

We went back the next day so we could see Daddy a little bit before we had to get back to the real world.

Quinter

We spent the night in Quinter, at their only motel. They didn't advertise having wireless Internet, but the owner put me in the room that was closest to the lobby, and I had no trouble. I love small motels.

We woke up early for a change and went for a drive through Quinter. Found an estate sale! We wanted to buy all of the boxes of fabric, but settled for just one. (Coming soon, a post full of gushing about cute old fabrics)

Then we hit the road to see Castle Rock. This drive was not designed with Lady in mind. We were stuck for one or two panic-filled minutes, and then got out and decided to hike up and see it from a distance.

It was a really nice view on a pretty morning.

About 8 miles down the road is Park, KS. You can see the spire of the Catholic Church from the interstate. Go ahead and take Exit 99, it won't take that long, and it's worth it.

My pictures don't do it justice, it's full of stained glass windows depicting the saints, and usually unlocked.

We had a lovely visit, talking about saints and stained glass and saying prayers.

Runaways, 2009

There must be something about September that makes me want to run. Anna and I took the long way around to Denver last weekend, taking an extra day to wander and find something fun.

One of the rules of running away from home is that you must stop and play at many playgrounds.

This is a great time to practice taking photos. It's a good idea to stop at that "golden hour" when all of the pictures are beautiful. I missed it by a little on this trip, it was almost too dark.

But then it's fun to play with color levels.

More to come...