Lavendar Hill

We visited the Lavendar Hill Farm & Winery today ... a beautiful little craft fair and lots of nature was just the thing to help me breathe in some relaxation today!

Golfers, and Family, and Caves ... OH MY!

We FINALLY made it to Branson ... and I'll spare you the details, but it was a feat! Time with family was short but very sweet. There were spouses and children to meet. Even my own little Miss M was a newcomer to almost all of them! I think it had been at least 10 years since we had seen most everyone, which is AMAZING. It's hard to believe it has been that long. I wish we could have had more time to spend with everyone. Unfortunately, life is too demanding at present. So I count the time as very, very precious. Every single person was a delight! Click on the album below for the highlights.

Dietz Family in Branson

Accidental Detours

This isn't the toll road! After being delayed by illness and the domino effect of the day, my tired brain missed the turnpike and we found ourselves winding around crazy roads to find our way back. But I have to admit it was on the wonderful side of accidental!
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Not to mention the boy mowing the lawn ... Now that's a Mother's Day gift!
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My Mother's Day

Still working, of course, but at least in a hammock with a little girl swinging nearby!
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Proud Poster Girl

This week we had an interesting encounter with a woman saying to little M, "You look SO familiar to me!" She couldn't quite place her finger on it, but she KNEW she knew her face. Of course, neither of us could figure out any connection (and I didn't mention this signage at the airport - I hate to feel like I'm bragging) but it sure makes me wonder! Little M whispered to me later something about telling her she's on the billboard at the airport. LOL. She is so proud!

By the way, this interesting encounter also happened to be just before a very interesting event. It was the first time I have been "caught" in a store when the tornado sirens sounded. We just picked up our McD's food and were suddenly rushed to the back of Wal-Mart! It felt like we spent our whole evening against the back wall. Just today I found out that a tornado indeed touched down a block away! It was a weak one, but all the same, a tornado! As I hear from so many people, "Welcome to springtime in Oklahoma!"

I think I will call this one "HOPE" ... it was my moment of beauty today.

Curious Friends at Safari's Zoo

We were adopted by this goose. It ate right from M's hand! The girls just giggled and giggled. We could even pet it. It followed us through the petting zoo after this.


One of my favorites? The zebra! It seemed curious enough about us as well ... but we couldn't feed it because the snacks make the zebra sick. Poor zebra! Everyone else gets treats!

We found out about this place (Safari's Zoo) from someone I met through work last week. He and his wife rescue wolves and he's also a big cat handler for this place. They are all volunteers and the admission goes to feed the animals. Little M now has a blog and put the video of her feeding a liger (yes, LIGER! hehehe) online.

Dominique Dawes and her chauffeur ...

OK ... so I hate being on my own blog, but c'mon! This is Dominique Dawes! I had the pleasure of picking her up at the airport along with little Miss M. We waited and waited and waited, and after I couldn't stand it any more, I snuck off to the bathroom and left my daughter by the security guard holding a sign that said "DOMINIQUE DAWES" (and wearing her renaissance costume from her gifted program that day). It was a cute sight! Of course, Dominique arrives in that moment. By the time I returned, little M had told her about a plethora of life events and Dominique knew more details about our family and life in Tulsa, Oklahoma than most!

I will have to try and capture the portion of Dominique's speech from our luncheon because she mentioned little M! I wish I would have taken photos of our personal afternoon with Dominique before her Q&A session at the Council office (for Girl Scouts who wrote essays and some of our outreach girls). A couple of the girls there were gymnasts ... one in particular cited Dominique as her inspiration. Even though she was too young to be aware of it at the time, she later grew up watching video tapes of the Olympic Games and Dominique Dawes. What an amazing opportunity for her to sit in a room with 25 girls and Dominique!!!

Lights ... Cameras ... FREEZE!

Every once-in-a-while, I realize my kids are growing up way too fast. I have them freeze-framed in my mind as a few years younger than they really are. I have to remind myself that my oldest is ready to learn how to drive and my youngest is becoming a social butterfly.

Little Dancer

I have to make sure I'm in the front row for Parents Night so I can snap away while the little ones rehearse. The big show is coming up next month!

Glamour Shots

M&S had a little bit of an adventure today as I tried to play with the lights and backdrop I ordered for some Girl Scout events. M was uncannily "Top Modelesque" and S was an endless stream of entertaining poses for almost 200 shots! Of course, Daisy couldn't escape the glamour and patiently endured the fashion divas and their costume changes.

Senior Photos

Getting my cousin's son to smile was a rare moment ... accidental, actually! Isn't he handsome? It's hard to believe these kids grow up so fast. True to form, even though we were hiking all over to take his photos, the girls weren't far behind (and I had to snap a photo). It just makes me laugh!

Sister Scouts

Sister Scouts ... a whole troop of Brownies being introduced to camping by their older "sister" Girl Scouts. It was a beautiful overnight and I don't think any of the girls wanted to go home!

Favorite Things

Seuss is a favorite of ours ... so we didn't pass up the opportunity to enjoy Who Cakes and Beezlenut Splash!

Eggeriffic!

Easter is special all on its own ... but being able to stay up late and make Easter Eggs with grandparents is priceless!

Bocce Ball!

A rousing game of Bocce Ball ... a perfect evening, an easy family game, and a few quiet moments at a picnic table for mom. WHEW!

Women's Legislative Day

It was my first trip to the Capitol of Oklahoma with the Oklahoma Women's Legislative Coalition. I was surprisingly comfortable for being out of my element! I found that the issues presented clicked with me and easily energized my thoughts. Next year, I'll be able to be more involved and hopefully generate some good press! Although, I have to admit I'm proud to say that I garnered an on-site interview for our CEO with Oklahoma Public TV.

Yep ... typical photo.

Picture of the day ... serious J and fun-finding M. Today we experienced history, science, physics, and even sports. Who can forget the treasures at the end of the day ... GO TIGES!

Bomb Threat in the Chicago Airport

It's always interesting when I find myself in situations like this where I am not allowed to be somewhere, but I can still snoop with my camera! Originally, I was looking for a quiet place to sit and hopefully take photos out the windows. I didn't know all this was going on and was on the other side of the phone booths. I got chased out!


Of course, I couldn't resist using my telephoto and watching things a little more close up. I could read the paperwork after I took a photo of it ... a bomb threat!

Winter Art in my Winter Windy City

This was something new ... art in ice! Today's art adventure involved ice sculpture, art in the ice rink (yes, we even skated), the art museum, an artsy lunch and dinner, and Wicked. That's what I call a wonderful Valentine's trip!

My goofy valentines ...

Selling Girl Scout Cookies

As I look at my white board after my daughter visited my office last week, I recall a line from my grandmother's poem ... "Annette and Ingrid have orderly minds and even make lists when they play." My daughter seems to have inherited my love of lists!

She will probably inherit my schedule as well, which right now is very demanding and the reason why I have not kept up with kid photos on the blog! But I'm taking a moment today because I wanted to help my little Brownie with her "sell cookies" goal. Last year she wanted to do a super-fun video, and we made it happen with music and photos. This year she wanted to get a Girl Scout "build a bear" outfit and have a photo shoot with her bear selling cookies. UNFORTUNATELY we might be too busy this weekend, which is the last weekend to take orders. Hopefully I'll have some photos to share, but just in case, I wanted family and friends to know that you can comment here or email me (or littls M) and she can tell you all about the cookies and her goals, etc.

I'm so proud of her ... if weather warms up, she and our neighbor will be going out together to sell cookies. They have become good friends and since my daughter is a big talker and our neighbor is in speech therapy and has a very difficult time speaking, it will be a great thing for both of them. I'm imagining Moses & Aaron wearing Girl Scout sashes! LOL!

And just so everyone knows, the Girl Scout Cookie Sale in Magic Empire Council starts with individual order taking January 19-February 3. Booth sales happen in March, and girls can still take individual orders until then (and fill the orders with booth cookies). This year I have recruited help on the post office side of things so cookies will go out right away in March!!

OH ... and guess who was on TV? Click here to find out!

First Chess Tournament

What a girl! I didn't even know she REALLY knew how to play, so I was trying to make sure she understood the announcements. Not only did she understand, but she explained to me what they were talking about!