Luck of 3

Yesterday afternoon = not so good.

The day started out as a typical summer day. Kids woke up on their own time. Played video games. Did a little reading. I have a Monday routine of taking the kids to the library to get a fresh book selection for them to read over the next week. When we were leaving the library my van hesitated to start. I'm thinking no it will make it, there won't be a problem. We proceeded on to my aunt's house for my kids to have their first ever piano lesson. (Thanks again Cindy.) Lesson was over and kids loaded into van. ERRrr ERrr Errr. This isn't good. Luckily my uncle was able to jump start the van and I made it home. By now I am think it was about 2:30 (notice the time). I left the van running and figured I would move the RV so that DH would have access to the garage or tools while he checked it out. Next problem I wasn't able to start the RV. I am a little ashamed of this but I was little relieved because I wasn' t looking forward to backing that behemoth out of the drive using just the mirrors. So maybe just maybe it saved me from wrecking our future travel plans. Yep, that's it. That is why the RV didn't start. So instead I squeezed the van next to the RV so that DH could now check out both vehicles. UGH! Then about 3:15 I received a text. DH is getting furloughed. After consistently working over time he is now going to be limited to 32 hours a week! YIKES! Thank God I recently worked to reduce our monthly bills. Maybe that will get us through this. We were just beginning to catch our breath and looking forward to have a little to spend on other necessities like clothes and hair cuts (those just got bumped down again). So if you were keeping track that was three blows in less than an hour!

BTW the truck that you can barely see behind the RV it has needed a new radiator for the last year. That is another project back on hold. Does it ever end?

Something new?

Today we went with my FIL to a Chinese buffet type restaurant. My dear dear darling little girl was feeling a brave. She decided that she would try these two not so normal everyday dishes for our little corner of the world. In her right hand she is holding a crawdad and in her left an octopus. Just getting her to hold these was quite the entertainment value. She had poked at the crawdad a bit and had gotten past its wierdness but the octopus. She couldn't get past the fact that the head was still attached. She dropped it almost as fast as I placed it in her hand.



I think she began to think the crawdad just might be a friend. I showed her how to get the tail out after she had been poking at it for awhile. I was suprised she actually ate it. First it was a little nibble then she went for it. She didn't think it was bad but for some reason she didn't want another one. Hmmmmm



Next was the octopus. She wasn't about to eat the head. I ended up breaking off one of the legs for her to try. The expressions that went across her face were priceless. I wish I had videoed that. Then she suprised me again and ate a second leg. After that she was done and wanted dessert. I'm really impressed with her. While I have had crawdads a long long time ago I don't think I could eat octopus in that form. Maybe battered and fried and disguised but definately not that way.

Ghosts, Giggles and a 9th B-day

This last weekend we celebrated my little girls 9th Birthday by visiting Fort Reno. I was looking through one of the state tourism books and found out that they offered ghost tours occasionally and it just so happened that there was one on my daughters b-day. She got really excited. So the plans were made that we would go on the ghost tour from 8pm-11pm and spend the night in the RV at Lake El Reno. My daughter ended up with two friends attending as well as her 15 year old cousin (whom walks on water I will have you to know).

We registered at the visitors center it started to rain. First they took us through the visitors center and we heard our first ghost story. The rain subsided then we were waiting out side for the other groups. We were treated to one of the most beautiful sun sets I have seen in a while. The picture above does not do it enough justice. Then we were divided into groups of about 30 for the tour of the different buildings of the Fort. Wouldn't you know we were teamed up with a couple of teen boys. I suddenly was not so worried about the younger kids as I was about my niece. They teased and flirted with her the entire time. It was so cute when her and I were talking. It was really obvious that the dark haired boy liked her. So I took the opportunity to point out to her that his friend liked her as well. She told me that she thought so but wasn't sure. I explained that he was following the "man code" of not making it obvious because his friend was. I am so glad I'm not her parent they are going to have their hands full. She is so cute. Anyway, the kids had a great time listening to the different tales. At the end of touring the Fort all the groups met up together so that those who wanted to could go to the "CEMETERY!" (Insert creapy music.) What is a night of ghosts without a cemetery? So of course we followed. We listened to the guide tell a few more stories. At the very end she challenged the under 10 year old kids. They had to go into the POW part of the cemetery and touch the headstone of the man whose grave had been robbed and his head is missing. Isn't that a great way to end a ghost tour. After a lot of persuading the girls finally touched the stone. They all ran back over the stone wall as fast as their little legs would carry them. What a hoot.

We arrived at the RV about midnight and proceeded to do the traditional cake and presents thing. The girls had the front half of the RV while I tried to stay in my own little world in the back. They all watched Ghostbusters but then only two of them made it through The Princess Bride. By then it was about 5am. When I finally got up at about 9:30ish this is what I saw.



Notice anything here. There are only the three younger girls. Because this is where the 15 year old was.


That is MY bed! It is only a twin size and I would say almost to small for just myself much less both of us. So after she had fallen a sleep. I snuck into the cab over for a little rest. The morning sun came sooner than I was ready for but then when doesn't it for a sleep over. We headed back to the city and returned everyone home.

I think over all this was one of my better birthday party ideas yet!