To Top It All Off...

I took this picture at the grocery store a few weeks ago, knowing there was a blog post in there somewhere. However, I've wrestled with what exactly this product says to/about me. At first glance, I must admit, I thought "That's great!" I mean, honestly, who likes to eat the bottom part of the muffin anyway? I don't know why. It tastes the same, but there's just a little something different about the part that cooks in the pan as opposed to the part that rises above the cup. Am I the only one who feels this way? Don't answer that...

Anyways, my first thought was that this idea is pure genius. But then upon introspection, I began to wonder if this is what the world is coming to. I try to teach my girls life lessons such as "good things come to those who wait" that will instill in them qualities like patience. One of the ways I model this for them is in the way I eat a cupcake or muffin--the bottom part first, saving the best for last. I want them to understand the concept of delayed gratification because you can't always get what you want when you want it. The sooner we learn that in life, the happier we'll all be. If we can't even endure the bottom portion of a muffin, does that say something about our insatiable hunger for convenience and instant gratification? On a grander scale, what about the discipline of putting aside our own wants to consider someone else's needs?

I know, I know I'm reading waaaaay too much into a grocery item gimmick. I should probably just take heart knowing that someone at Eggo enjoys the top part of the muffin as much as I do.

But it did cause me to stop and think...

Weekly Pic--A Bite to Eat

Recently we went to the Dallas Zoo. I'm fascinated by turtles, so I took about a million pictures of these two guys. The reason I like turtles is because the turtle knows if he's going to get anywhere in life, he has to "stick his neck out". Corny, but true.

Weekly Pic--That's What Little Boys Are Made Of

Our little friend Charlie

Big Shoes

A father is someone we look up to no matter how tall we grow.

~Unknown

Happy Father's Day!

Daddy

Poppy

BigJoel

That's What She Said

Today we were in the car driving home from Father's Day shopping and the girls were both in a good mood, laughing and tallking, with each other, which hardly ever happens. 

Hallie was trying to impress us with her knowledge of Spanish and she said, "Sí, es verdad." To which HannahKate replied, "Yes, it's green?"  {for those not as fluent in Spanish as Hallie:  verdad=true/correct and verde=green}

Next, it was Hallie's turn to need an interpreter.  She was telling us about a classmate from this past school year, and said, "Remember?  He's the one I peenched?"  I just vaguely remembered, so I said, "Why did you pinch him?" She responded, "I didn't, I peenched him."  Evidently there is a difference between pinch and peench of which I was not aware.

And in the vein of good sportsmanship, I'll tell you my "misinterpretation mishap" this week.  A friend of mine sent me an email and asked for help.  She said, "How would you say this in Spanish:  We love you Kevin Arnold.  Thanks a million."  So I translated, "¡Le amamos Kevin Arnold! ¡Gracias un millón!"  And I added a side note explaining that sometimes expressions and idioms don't quite make the jump from one language to another, but that this particular one should be ok.  "He'll get the gist", I said.  She responded, laughing at me in all capital letters, "YOU ARE SO FUNNY!  The 'Thanks a million' part was intended for YOU!"

I guess the girls and I all three have "blonde" roots.

Our Camping Trip--Yes, I Went Camping

A few weeks ago, we had a somewhat last minute invitation to go camping with the Millards and the Scheuchzers.  I've mentioned before that I'm not exactly the outdoorsy, rough it, kinda gal...so we rented a camper.  We packed up and headed to Beaver's Bend in Broken Bow, Oklahoma.  Our traveling band included three vehicles pulling trailers, six adults, eleven children and about a hundred bicycles.  Broken Bow is only a little over two hours away from Hometown, but with an entourage like that you can imagine that it took quite a bit longer...

We arrived late on Tuesday and each family began setting up camp.  We quickly realized our

 "advantage" over the other two families:  our children are older, and we only have two.  While everyone else was trying to feed little mouths, bathe the bug spray off little bodies and put sleepy heads to bed, HannahKate and Hallie were organizing their own bunk spaces and drifting off into dreamland without so much as a "Tell me a story" or "I need a drink of water".

  

The next morning began with BigJoel making us a gourmet breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast.  We don't eat that well when we're at home!  

I have decided though, that "Oklahoma" must be the Native American word for "Really-hot-and-unbearably-humid".

The kids all had a blast riding their bikes back and forth on the road. Whenever someone would yell, "Car!" and everyone would abandon their bikes in the middle of the road and run to safety. They eventually got the idea that they needed to get the bike out of the way as well.

We all had lunch at the park's restaurant (roughing it, I know).  Again, quite the spectacle with just the sheer number of young children we had running around.  A lady from another table said to Bart, "This is going to sound crazy, but have you ever heard of the group MercyMe?  You look just like the lead singer."  It made us laugh and then our service kicked up a notch.

After lunch, we rode a little train which was nice. Then the girls decided they wanted to ride horses.  I can't really remember the last time I rode a horse, but I wasn't going to let my babies ride off into the woods alone.  We had a great time.  Hallie talked to her horse the entire time. The only problem is that now both girls want a pony for Christmas...I can't seem to make them understand the concept of city zoning laws.

Since I went on an adventure with the girls, but without Joel, I went back to the camper for a well-deserved nap.  Joel took the girls to the river to swim.  They came home laughing and telling "redneck" stories.

That night, we all cooked hot dogs and smores around the campfire.  So much fun!

The next day everyone headed to the river.  The water was frigid!  Mike was the only adult brave enough to get in with all the kids.  What a man! 

HannahKate didn't want to swim again, so she and I rented a pedal-boat.  Bart told us we'd be sorry because he'd been with a couple of the boys the day before and it was a lot of work and not much fun.  Again, what a difference a 13 year-old makes as opposed to two 7 year-olds. Hannah pulled her own weight and we had a pleasant little cruise down the river and back. 

The day was over all too soon and it was time to pack up and head back to Hometown.  So while I'm not usually the camping type, it was so much fun being with friends and family that humidity and bugs didn't bother me one bit.

  

And Just a Few More Camping Pics...

Hallie and Goldie

I told you we had a few bikes.

View from the Pedal-Boat

BigJoel "gathering" firewood.

Riding the train.  Hallie was so excited because she won the drawing from children's ticket stubs for a free cotton candy...notice how many other "children" are on the train...

And HannahKate was the only one with cell service thanks to AT&T...