Universal Islands of Adventure!

As the sign sez, the Adventure Begins! This is what I call my "Attempt to Take Memory Preserving Photos of My Two Oldest Children While They Adamantly Resist" adventure. Oh, and we went to Islands of Adventure, where paying your entrance fee is simply not enough; they want it ALL.

We hurried over to Dueling Dragons, walked right in with only a 5 minute wait, had one to go before we were next, and it broke down. We decided to have lunch. I packed a lunch! Next time, I'll invest the $60.00 it would take for all of us to eat all day at certain restaurants. For $20.00 per person to eat from 9:00 to 8:00, it would have been quite a deal! I just didn't have the money. So, here we are, eating lunch.

"Ok, pretend I'm not even here. Just act naturally." Naturally, Kelly hams it up. Tyler was probably still waking up at this point.

Waiting in line at Spiderman. It broke down. We came back later and I'm SO glad we did! It's the most amazing 3-D ride you'll ever experience!

On the Dr. Seuss Island, they had all sorts of Cat in the Hat things. I thought of Miz Booshay over at It Coulda' Been Worse when I saw this one!

You've got that right. Tyler was so embarrassed to have to take this picture. Kelly barely humored me. I'm sure EVERYONE does it! There were certainly enough people who bought the shirts!

We headed over to the Popeye ride and became thoroughly SOAKED. It helped cool us off for the rest of the day, so it was a good plan. It was HOT, people! After we went on the Hulk (outstanding!) rollercoaster, I was feeling a bit nauseous and drained. Getting soaked helped, but this helped even more . . .

Icees!!!! Cool, delicious, $7.63 for two of them Icees! Worth every penny and they know it, the B . . .usiness people.

I love these next photos, just a candid moment between brother and sister.

"Your Icee tastes like Nyquil. How can you drink that blue stuff?"

"What are you talking about? Yours is the cherry Nyquil, not mine."

I, of course, stole sips from both of them. Himself's mother used to buy candybars for each of the 5 kids and say she wanted a bite from each of them. Himself would run to the end of the line and cram as much of the candybar into his mouth as he could so he didn't have to share. I started to see some of the same greediness with the Icees in his children, but fortunately there's only two of them on this day and I'm pretty fast!


One thiing about Universal; they know you're going to be standing in hot lines for a long time, so they make it as interesting as possible. This was the Lost Island, where they have a bunch of greek stuff. Here, we're going into Poisidon's Temple to watch a show.

I figured out that the best way to get fuss-free pictures was to take them as they were walking ahead of me.

It looked like Ancient Greece. It felt like Ancient Greece. It was certainly HOT like Ancient Greece!

Don't those rocks look like they're going to fall on your head at any moment?

Sorry these are so washed out. That's the trident in the background there.

We didn't go on this ride. We were starting to dry off and didn't want to get soaked again. The entire island had eerie noises everywhere and dinosaur heads sticking out of the bushes. I took a picture of the sign, then remembered pictures are more interesting if you put people in them. I tried to get the kids over . . . .

"Would you just cooperate and get over here? You're just making it last longer. We could be finished by now."

This is a little picture I like to refer to as "Jurassic Sarcastic."

A highlight was when they each decided to get a temporary tattoo. This is Amanda. She's nice enough. She did a pretty good job with Ty's.

Non-toxic! Lasts up to 5 days! They had henna ones there, but Ty declared the brown to look gross. I tended to agree with him. It looked like someone played with a brown marker.

The Welsh Lion! How appropriate!

Took a little longer for Kelly to decide. Do I want green? Do I want black? Amanda helped her out by making it mostly black with green in the center.

A little brushing of powder. . .. .

The girl's going Irish on me! Well, she IS half-Irish. I guess we all have our crosses to bear. . . .

We saw that Dueling Dragons was working again, but by this time we had gone on Hulk again and I was DEFINITELY sitting this one out.


"What are you taking a picture of?"

"I'm getting a picture of the dragons!" (And YOU, heh heh)

After this, we were pretty much done. We headed out to Chili's, drank an entire pitcher of water each, then went home. I was exhausted and barely made it into the shower before bed. Ty and Kelly showered, then headed off to see friends! I don't know that I ever had that much energy.

It was a thoroughly enjoyable, hot, exhausting, good day.

Happy Birthday, Kelly!

This beautiful girl is 15 today! Her hair isn't even that long anymore, but I'm in a hurry, so I grabbed this photo.

Kelly, Tyler and I are heading out to Universal's Islands of Adventure. John can't go because of his back. Glenna isn't rollercoaster friendly yet, so she has to wait a few years (she's a total sport about this). I LOVE rollercoasters!!!! I can't wait!

I should be figuring out exactly what and where I'm going to teach my two English classes tomorrow, but Tomorrow's Another Day!

Because it Wants To

Internet was down. I didn't get to post today and it looks like I'll be busy until. . . .oh. . . Thursday? I have some great pictures to post and stories to tell, so we'll see what happens.

Hope you guys have a great weekend! School starts for us on Monday . . . pray for me and I'll pray for you!

Writers Must Write

A quote from Kate Braestrup, from Book Page, America's Book Review:

". . . writers write. Writers are so compelled to write that they'll keep scribbling away about nothing at all, just to watch the words line up across the page. It has nothing to do with talent. . . . if you're a writer, you'll know it because you can't not write."

Yeah, that about sums it up.

Once when I was working at Arby's, I took one of the paper liners we use for the commercial-sized baking sheets and filled the entire thing with a letter to my friend, BT. I would stop and put it away every time the drive-thru bell went off. I probably wrote about nothing and everything, but that satisfaction of filling the entire paper was so great.

Anyone else ever feel like this?

These are From New Mexico

Himself and I have really been pining for home lately. We miss the desert. We particularly miss New Mexico, which is strange, since we've never actually lived there. Once he married me, however, Himself has made the trip to NM every two years or so to visit family. It's a place that definitely grows on you.

In Florida, my biggest complaint is that I can't get my head above the trees. I can't "see" where I am or where I'm going! The above picture shows how you can see for miles in NM, and this was on a day when there were many fires so it was a bit hazy.

When you come up to a sign in NM, you actually read it. Another may not appear again for quite a while, so you have plenty of time to ponder whatever was just read.

What I love most about New Mexico is how unchanging it is. Bigger cities like Albuquerque have changed and grown, but there are still places even in Albuquerque that have been the same my entire life. I think this is what gives it the most "home" feeling to me. I can come back to things and they're still there.

While I now live on the east coast where much of our nation's history first took place, I have found it's a very commercialized history. It's fenced in, museum'd and fee'd. A tour guide will give his perspective of the event as he knows it, or as it has been carefully recorded for him in tour guide school.

In New Mexico, history is everywhere and it's largely untouched. Above is an old water pump that actually isn't that old, but it does speak volumes. Who used it? Why did they place it exactly here? What is that rusted vat doing behind it instead of where the water pours out? how long did it take to string all that barbed wire?

Does anyone know what these are? I'm guessing some kind of wheel thing, for some kind of equipment thing.


These are leaning on the wall at the hotel Mom works at once in a while. It's the only one in town that I know of, so it stays pretty busy! I think they're beautiful . . . actual iron-rimmed wheels from an actual wagon. These are nothing like the one Glenna was given from Walmart to decorate her western room!

Most people drive through New Mexico and see a dry, barren place. I say, get out of the car and look more closely.

Geronimo used to ride through this area all the time. If these canyon walls could speak . . . .

How to watch a movie

1. Make sure the dogs have water and food.

2. Take the dogs outside.

3. Fight for the best spot on the couch.

4. Pull rank if you don't win the best spot.

5. Get youngest child to put movie in.

6. Wrestle remote from oldest daughter. Laugh.

7. Stop dogs from wrestling and being LOUD.

8. Holler for oldest child, tell him movie is going to start.

9. Stop dogs from wrestling and being LOUD.

10. Oldest child says he's not watching this one. Spread out on couch because we don't need to save a place for him.

11. Put one of the dogs in their kennel. Blessed peace at last!

12. Tell girls to go to the bathroom because BY GOLLY we're not stopping the movie for that.

13. Put all phones within reach.

14. Push play.

Toothpaste Trajectories

I've been fighting with my wireless connection. It's winning. I'm stuck plugged in again and feeling like a spoiled child! 40 minutes on the phone resulted only in a transfer to another system and their computer eventually hanging up on me. Even Tyler's tekkie friends couldn't help me out.

Will went home today. I went into his bedroom to change the sheets and clean the guest bathroom.

About the only Eddie Murphy movie I enjoyed was Daddy Daycare. There's this one scene where a little boy comes out of the bathroom, shrugs his shoulders and says, "I missed."

Eddie Murphy goes into the bathroom. The music from "Pshycho" begins to play in the background. Eddies eyes get bigger and his horror increases as he looks at the toilet, the sink, the walls, even the ceiling . . . he can't believe that much mess came out of one little boy!

I can believe it.

I had no idea toothpaste could travel so far. I'll spare you the details on the toilet.

Mind you, this bathroom is in Himself's office as well. He came home from a road trip today, walked into the bathroom, walked back out and practically fell at my feet because I had cleaned it.

Happy Birthday, Mom/Ya-Ya!!!

This is my Mom. Yes, I look just like my Mom, and I'm so glad! I mean, look at that smile! Today is her **** birthday (can't post the age without her permission). In this picture, we had stopped at a restaurant in Socorro, NM, for some Mexican food. Since we were traveling most of the day, I didn't wear make-up. But, by golly, I'm wearing the turquoise! This was taken last year when the girls and I went for a visit. You can see the contentment on my face . . . I was with my Mom, and that's one of my favorite places to be!

I've written about this onery cowboy before. He puts a smile on Mom's face, but he does make her grit her teeth in frustration, too! Still, I'm so thankful they have each other.


Mom is finally living the life she's always wanted . . . on a ranch in New Mexico. Himself and I wish we were living the same life! She has her horses, her animals, her cowboy, and her beloved New Mexico. Life is never a dull moment between the dogs, cats, predators, snow, and wind.

I love these two so much. I pray they have found peace at last, and are enjoying every minute of their lives on the ranch together. My birthday prayer for Mom is for her to continue to grow closer to God, Dad, and ME!!! ;-D

Glenna's Birthday!

Last Sunday (29th) was Glenna's 11th birthday! She invited a few friends over for lunch, cake, and ice cream. Missing is Rachel, the co-owner of Hobbs. However, she called on the phone and made Glenna's day!

This is Bekah. She'll hate this picture of her. I think it's adorable. She's laughing so hard! Honestly, one need only to bring a camera and the laughter begins.

This is Natalie. She's laughing for the same reason. Either that, or Himself said something hysterical.

This is Grace and Glenna. Grace is a party pooper. She really hates that it's Glenna's birthday and not hers.

Not really! The camera just happened to catch her like that. Honest! This is how she usually looks. :-)

We had hot dogs, mac n cheese (homemade, of course), and green beans. Hey, it's what I already had on hand, and it IS Kid Friendly. At least we used the nice white plates.

Here Glenna's opening some gifts from her family. Will's making a face because I asked him to quit putting his napkin in front of it and ruining the pictures. Maybe I should have let him keep the napkin there! :-D See? I told you Grace was usually smiling.

These are the birthday girl's parents. Himself is wearing his "cheesy grin" face. I'm wearing the "That's how we roll" face. I'm also wearing earrings BT gave me for my 21st birthday. They're still my favorite, and they're my kids' favorite, too! They love when I wear them. What can I say? BT has excellent taste.

Happy 11th birthday, Glenna! You are our treasure, you are loved, and you will always be the BABY. Hah!