September 2015

Football season started again and, of course, we had to get all decked out for the first BYU game!

June 2014

I was shocked to realize a couple weeks ago that the boys have been out of school for over a month already...as much as this summer feels like it's dragging on (at least relating to sweet little Noodle), it's going by faster than I can keep up with!

In June, we spent a lot of time at the local library going to their various activities. The boys took 2 weeks of swimming lessons and Kimball realized he can do somersaults in the water. Cameron still hates getting his head wet but was thrilled to discover he is tall enough to stand in the pool.

Kimball had a few more t-ball games and his team won a few games. Pink is still a popular color in our house and he was excited to sport a pink helmet and bat as often as he could get his hands on them.

A friend in our ward threw me a baby shower at the beginning of June and the ladies at church spoiled our sweet little girl. Then the ladies at Dale's office threw me a surprise shower. It's been very different living where babies are uncommon and exciting, as opposed to in UT where everyone is having babies at the same time.

Dale's boss campaigned to be associate district judge and that kept Dale busy as the tech-savvy member of the team. It was fascinating seeing everything involved in a campaign from the rules for the candidates to the intensity of time/effort involved.

Cameron has been insisting on practicing to be a big brother. He spends a lot of time asking questions and trying to hold this teddy bear properly. Every day through June he would ask how much longer until July.

Kimball earned an ice cream outing with Dale so they went to Braum's...

My 10 year high school reunion came and went without me since traveling all the way to NM was out of the question. However, we did get to see Becky and Dustin as they drove through which was wonderful!

I looked into the kitchen one day to find Cam and Duke cuddling...

Dale and I celebrated our 8 year wedding anniversary. It's amazing to think that in 8 years we have 2 bachelor's degrees, 1 juris-doctorate degree, we've lived in 6 different abodes, we have 2.9 children, a dog, 5 vehicles, and so much more. We have been truly blessed and have grown so much as a couple and as a family. And the biggest blessing of all is that this is for eternity!

Chickasaw Cultural Center

The Chickasaw Nation has a large presence here and has done a lot to make sure their establishments add to the beauty of our little city. Just over 1/2 an hour away, they have a large cultural center, so we went there for a day trip during spring break in March. It was totally FREE and we learned so much about their culture.

The boys weren't terribly into the stomp dance, but afterwards, Kimball moved like a whirlwind from one station to the next, wanting to see everything they had to offer....from a skit about the Three Sisters (corn, bean and squash) which inspired our garden this year...

to skinning a hide...

to shooting a bow and arrow for the first time. This was perfect timing because Kimball had asked just days before how a bow and arrow works since we'd been reading about Nephi's bow in the Book of Mormon.

Dallas!

My mom is from Australia, which is where all of my cousins on that side of the family live, so I don't get to see them very often. The last time we went was when I was in 6th grade and now all of the cousins are grown up and having kids!

When my cousin and his wife were flying through the US on their way back to Australia after living in England for a few years, they arranged to have a day-long layover in Dallas so we could go down and hang out with them. I'm so glad they did! It was so fun spending the day talking, reaquainting, and learning about all of the cultural differences between here, England & Australia.

We stopped by the Dallas temple...

Then we went to a park and later to the Dallas Arboretum which had more pumpkins than I've ever seen...houses made of pumpkins!

They also had Chihuly statues made of glass....

And hills to roll down...

Thanks so much Cousin!

Cousins from Down Under

Last week I got to drive 8 hours with my boys (Dale had to work) to see two of my cousins who had come to America for a few weeks from Australia. I hadn't seen them in 13 or so years and it was so fun to catch up and spend a few days with them! Krystal and Esther were so great with my boys and Kimball and Cameron loved being at Grandma's house for a week :)

While we were there, we went to Bandolier National Monument where there are Native American ruins and you get to climb up ladders to get into their caves. Kimball was a monkey and loved it.

The Saturday before Memorial Day we went to the lake where both of my boys were little fish and loved the boats/water. Cameron would even jump from boat to boat nearly scaring me to death!

All in all it was a great week and I can't wait until the next time (whenever that is) that I get to see all of my cousins from Australia...and all of their spouses that I have yet to meet!

O-K-L-A-H-O-M-A Oklahoma! OK!

For the first time since my mission ended in December '04, I boarded an airplane and flew somewhere. Also for the first time since then, I left the Mountain Time Zone. It was a big week. Thanks to the generosity of my brothers, I was able to pull it all off for less than $250.

So, I was supposed to fly out Tuesday at 6:35 am, but they have this thing called freezing rain in Oklahoma that happens once every winter, and it happened on Tuesday. So, my brother and I woke up early to head to the airport, saw one flight was canceled, got scheduled for another one, and woke up a few hours later. Safely at the airport and through security, I wait only to have this flight canceled, and then another when all flights to OK were canceled for the day. I took my ticket for Wednesday at 6:35, and Judy came and got me, which was fun to spend the day with my family off of work.

Wednesday arrived and we just got me to the airport barely in time to board and I was off. I remembered that last time I flew I thought I should get some Dramamine, but by that time it was too late and the peppermint gum and ginger-ale proved ineffective, so my hopes and dreams of trying to be a missionary on the flight faded away to quiet nausea.

On the ground, the first thing I noticed was the great parking place my plane got as I was outside the airport in less than a minute from deplaning. Then I realized the airport was a whole lot smaller than Salt Lake's. The next thing that caught my eye was the John Deer tractor so diligently working to plow the ice from the roads and parking lots...a JOHN DEER as a snow plow at the airport, I knew I should have worn my Stetson! When my brother got there to pick me up, I noticed how flat it was, but the implications of this flatness would not be realized until I tried to get around on my own.

So, all of the University of Oklahoma was still closed due to the storm, so Wednesday afternoon I took advantage of my brother's connections with some current law students who had gone to BYU for their undergrads too. They were great. Dropped whatever they were doing on their unexpected free day to meet me at Borders and give me the inside scoop about Sooner law. They had lots of good things to say about the school, and not many bad things. The resounding message was that of an accessible faculty and administration that sincerely cared for each student in the school and would stop at nothing to help them succeed.

The next day, my visit to the school proved their point as I met with at least three deans who all took as much time as I wanted to talk to me and answer questions. One even did so unexpectedly during the middle of a meeting. Now, this could raise the concern about them not having anything better to do, but it did not seem so to me. The facilities were all very nice. There was a good mixture of modern style and technology with their rich heritage (Should I go, I will be in their centennial class).

Rent prices in Norman seem to be comparable to Provo, but what we're thinking is the price of housing. We could be in a $100000, 3 bedroom home for less than $600 a month, which we could then stay in, sell, or rent at the end of law school. Awesome!

All in all, OU put up a tough fight for me against other schools that may accept me (I still haven't heard back from any others that are on my first choice list). Even mighty Duke is in danger, should they choose to accept the humble author of this post and not put up a good showing on a visit there.

Now you know why I don't post very often. I'm a novelist that doesn't like writting. I can't do anything short because that just wouldn't do, and I hate writting long things. Anywho, now I ramble.