The Gayle Gang

Art Appreciation 101

2009-10-13T15:51:00.003-05:00

Growing up as the daughter of an artist, I'm asked all the time, "Did you inherit your dad's talent?" The answer has always been, "No".

My dad is a wonderful visual artist. He has worked in all sorts of different media and styles throughout the years. His favorite would be watercolors. He is amazing, and this is a talent that I do not possess. Not only is he a brilliant painter, but he also has the talent of passing on his skills and love for art to his students. He is a wonderful teacher!

I'm so blessed to have been raised in a family where we were exposed to so many different kinds of art. I always told myself that when I had kids I wanted to expose them to many different opportunities, so that hopefully they would grow up to be well-rounded individuals. I want them to be knowledgeable about a variety of areas. I want them to know that it's okay to "think out of the box". I want them to be able to quote sports stats. one minute and be able to name which musical a song is from the next. Talk politics at the opening party of the art museum. You get my drift... I try to make sure that my boys are exposed to, and have some level of appreciation of the arts.

That being said. Every once in a while, when my dad is watching the boys during the summer, or on holiday breaks, he'll break out the paints or clay and do a mini lesson with them. This past summer Mason completed a piece that he had worked on for many hours and put a great deal of thought into. Dad suggested that we submit his work to ArtBeat Oklahoma for publication in their "Artist Showcase" section. I emailed a picture of his painting to the magazine and got an email that it was selected. They would love to include his work in their next publication! Very cool!

In addition to that email I received an email from the Owner/President of ArtBeat Oklahoma, Eric Templeton. He was inquiring about purchasing Mason's piece for his daughter. He, first of all, wanted to be sure that Mason would be willing to sell the painting. Secondly, if so, he wanted Mason to receive a fair price for his work. After talking it over with Mason, he was thrilled that someone was interested in his painting! He realized that he had spent many hours in thought and labor over this piece, and so he came back with a figure (very maturely, I might add) that sounded very reasonable for purchase. Mr. Templeton agreed, and Mason sold his very first work! We sure do hope that Samara loves this painting, and more importantly, that she grows up to appreciate and love the arts!

Is Facebook the Unforgiveable Sin?

2009-08-06T16:19:00.003-05:00

Dear, sweet, little blog,

I would first like to ask for your forgiveness, as I have ignored and all but abandoned you. You see, I gave in to temptation, I joined the Facebook community. It took over my life. In all of my spare time, it consumes me! I have thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with long lost friends, managing my little restaurant and organizing my mafia. With all of this, I have neglected you and I am truly sorry. I will do my best to write more often. Please accept my apology.

Robin

Dear, sweet readers (if any of you are left),

I ask for forgiveness from you, as well. I really never thought that my life was all that interesting, but apparently there are a few of you that checked in on me and my family to see what was going on.
I don't think that there is anyway that I can completely re-cap what has happened in the last 8 months or so without penning a novel. Therefore, I'll try to hit some highlights:
Mason's birthday
My birthday
End of School
Easton wearing contacts
Fast summer
That should take care of some of them. I make no promises, but will try my darndest to keep you up to date about the Gayle Gang and all of our excitement.
Robin

BY THE WAY... IF YOU ARE NOT A MEMBER OF THE FACEBOOK COMMUNITY, YOU SHOULD BE!

NEW ARRIVAL

2009-01-07T09:36:00.008-06:00

After a much delayed arrival, John and Jessica were blessed with the birth of Colton (Colt) Thomas Anderson. We are all so excited for them and are so in love with Colt! You can read all about their adoption experience here and especially here.

Colt was born on December 16, 2008. He weighed a whopping 9 lbs. 7 oz., and was 22" long.

Mason met Colt on the first day that we was home. He is completely enthralled with him! He wants to see him and hold him all the time. It's so precious!

Easton thinks he's pretty neat, but he's too cool to come right out and admit it. Christmas day was his first time to actually hold him.

Even Gracie thinks Colt is amazing!

I was abducted by aliens...

2009-01-07T09:13:00.011-06:00

Not really. It was just a CRAZY December!

OIM is over and Mason and I had a great time! It took up a lot of time, but it was a great experience!

Here are some pics...

Me, Mason and Aunt Renee (Mary)

Mason and Justin Attebery (Joseph)

Betcha didn't know that little boys in Bethlehem played with Gameboys too!

Sorry about some of the following pics... we had trouble coordinating the stage lighting and camera.

If you were at the show, thanks for coming! We saw lots of friends. If you didn't make it, you should try to come next year. They're not sure if they are doing One Incredible Moment again next year, but I'm sure any production they decide to do will be very uplifting.

One Incredible Moment

2008-11-19T14:41:00.006-06:00

This holiday season Mason and I will be participating in the First Presbyterian Church's (Edmond) performance of One Incredible Moment. The show is based on Max Lucado's book.

The show is directed by my high school choir director, Terry Attebery. He contacted my sister, Renee, about playing the role of Mary this year and said that anyone who wanted to could participate.

So... I thought I'd jump back on stage for a few nights and Mason decided that he wanted to do it too! We've had a ball at rehearsals, Mason's a true diva!

A couple of weeks after starting Mr. Attebery told us that he has a special part that he would like for Mason to do. In the show, Joseph sings a solo and during the song a little boy, representing boy Jesus, runs out to him and stands with him while he sings. Mr. Attebery wanted Mason to be the little boy! He was very excited and said that he would like to do that. Mason and I watched the DVD copy that we have so that he could see what he's supposed to do. After watching the video, Mason told me that he thinks he should have a microphone and sing with Joseph. I had to tell Mason that that was not the way that the song was written, and I didn't think they were planning on rewriting it as a duet. Bummer...

Anyway, the show is Dec. 12-14, 7:00 nightly. You should make plans to attend!

Calling All Turkey Cookers

2008-11-18T13:10:00.001-06:00

To brine, or not to brine? That is the question...

Killin' Time

2008-11-11T16:25:00.006-06:00

Scott has this random list posted on his blog. Yesterday was a horribly boring day at work, so I decided to fill in my own answers... Composed yesterday... posted today.

1.What time did you get up this morning?
6:00 am

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Uh, both!

3. What was the first film you saw at the cinema?
I have no idea

4. What is your favorite TV show?
I don’t watch a lot of TV. I like House, Reba and What Not To Wear

5.What do you usually have for breakfast?
coffee

6. What is your middle name?
Leigh

7. What food do you dislike?
Liver

8.What is your favorite CD at moment?
Too hard… Something different everyday

9. What kind of car do you drive?
Explorer

10. Favorite sandwich?
Ham & Swiss

11. What characteristic do you despise?
Dishonesty

12 Favorite item of clothing?
Sweats & flip-flops

13.If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?
Italy

14. Favorite brand of clothing?
affordable

15 Where would you retire to?
Oh man… that’s hard! Costa Rica, Vermont, Disneyworld… just as long as I had the means to travel and have my kids come visit me often enough! I don’t want too much, huh?

16.What was your most recent memorable birthday?
Probably the big 4-0, just because everyone else made such a huge deal about it. It was very laid back… time with friends and family!

17. Favorite sport to watch?
Football

18.Furthest place you are sending this?
Friends in France will prob. read at some point

19.Person you expect to send it back first?
Not really expecting that.

20. When is your birthday?
February 21

21. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Morning (just don’t talk to me, I'll talk to you first)

22. What is your shoe size?
8

23. Pets?
Elphie (black cat) & Gracie (gray cat)

24. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with us?
Can’t think of any that I haven’t already mentioned on here.

25. What did you want to be when you were little?
surgeon

26. How are you today?
bored (it’s Veterans Day, and I’m at work… and no one else is…)

27. What is your favorite candy?
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

28. What is your favorite flower?
Red roses

29. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to?
Christmas… always

30. What is your favorite pastime?
playing Trivial Pursuit with family

31.What are you listening to right now?
BOB FM

32. What was the last thing you ate?
A mint from Sonic

33. Do you wish on stars?
sometimes

34. If you were a crayon, what color would you be?
RED

35. How is the weather right now?
lovely

36. The first person you spoke to on the phone today?
Matt (which is rare… we’re usually IMing. I HATE talking on the phone)

37. Favorite soft drink?
Coke Zero

38 Favorite restaurant?
Another hard one… I love to eat (as if you couldn’t tell). Bravo & Iron Starr (for the fancy mac 'n cheese) to name a couple

39. Real hair color?
Dark Brown

40 What was your favorite toy as a child?
Tie between Ms. Beasley and Drowsy

41 Summer or winter?
summer

42. Hugs or kisses?
Uh, both

43. Chocolate or Vanilla?
Chocolate

44. Coffee or tea?
Coffee

45. Do you want your friends to email you back?
Depends on if I’m asking for a response from them

46. When was the last time you cried?
at a funeral a couple of weeks ago

47. What is under your bed?
Wrapping paper stuff, prob. a cat, leaves for the dining room table

48. What did you do last night?
Vegged in front of the TV. Honest… that is SO very rare!

49. What are you afraid of?
Bad influences on my kids

50. Salty or sweet
Both

51.How many keys on your key ring?
3

52. How many years at your current job?
9.5

53. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday

54. How many towns have you lived in?
4

55. Do you make friends easily?
I’d prob. have to say “not really”

56. How many people will you send this to?
N/A

57. How many will respond?
N/A

58. How do you drive? Grandma or lead foot?
Lead foot (AKA Mario, by my husband)

Tooting the Horn

2008-11-11T10:33:00.004-06:00

Have to brag on Easton a little bit!

He was bummed over the weekend to have to miss his first youth group retreat. He had to stay back and go to his audition for CODA.

I didn't really know what CODA was, but from talking to some folks and researching a little bit, I found out that it's pretty much the equivalent of what was called "All-State" back in my day. We went to All-State choir, or All-State band, etc...

Anyway, he's been working on the audition pieces since the beginning of school, and last Sat. was the audition.

It's so interesting for me to watch Easton at things like this. It amazes me! I have such a hard time comprehending what is going on in his little head. What it must be like for people with ADHD. How they process the day, as opposed to how I process what's going on. It's intriguing.

We got there a few minutes early for a 9:30 audition time. We ran into another guy from the youth group who was monitoring a room. I didn't know who he was, but he greeted Easton and told us where to find our room.

We checked in and had about 20 min. until his turn. I asked if he wanted to go warm-up and he wasn't interested in that. He was too busy looking for other people he might know, begging for money for the vending machines, and going back to "ask Alex a question". I had to find out all the pertinent information for him. They had the music posted outside the room with any changes marked on it. It was all I could do to get him to come over and look at it and note the changes. He was "excited". He finally took out his horn and sat on the floor and waited to be called. I stood out of view and didn't say much to him at that point.

He went in and I refrained from being "that" mom that stood outside the door and listened. It didn't take long and he was back. He wasn't carrying a pink card, and that meant that his audition was over. He would not move on to the second room. I asked how it went and he said, "okay" and that was about it. He was ready to go. He packed the horn. No discussion... no self evaluation... just "what's next"? At that point the monitor walked around the corner and handed him his pink card back. He had left the room so quickly, he hadn't given the judges time to pass the card back. We were moving on to the second room! He had made a "call back"! Yippee!

We had to take the card to the second room and sign in there. They gave us an approx. time to be back to play in there. In this room he would have to sight read. (I always hated sight reading at contest. At least in choir you were in sections, and could confer with everyone else as to the notes, tempo, etc... I guess we church of Christ kids always did have a leg up in that department. I remember choir teachers loving us because we knew how to sight read! Singing a capella every Sunday of our lives helped out with that!) Anyway... we listened outside the door of the second room and discovered that he would play the three pieces again AND sight read (by himself). After a long wait because of monitoring glitches he was called in. I couldn't resist, and this time, listened outside the door. He did awesome on his pieces! I, of course, being a choir geek, had no idea if what he was playing for the sight reading was on or not.

We were then done. We talked to some of the other Oakdale kids that were there and then continued on with our Saturday.

He didn't really say much more about the audition. His brain was ready for the next activity, next adventure. Why talk about, speculate, analyze, or re-live what had already happened? That's not how Easton works... not at all!

Later Sat. afternoon I received a message from Mr. Scott that Easton had made 1st Alternate! So... out of about 80, 7th grade trumpeters, they took 12. He was number 13! If one of the others is unable to perform, or gets sick, or is struck across the knee with a metal bar, etc... he will step into their place! Yeah!

I'm so VERY proud of him! God shows me again just how different and special he is!

I'm so completely different in my way of thinking. I would have gone to the warm-up room, for crying outloud! Probably more than once... I would have gone over every note in my head numerous times... I would have stressed about the sight reading.... I would have compared my playing to the others I heard... I would have obsessed...

Why do I feel frustrated when Easton doesn't act that way, or feel those things?! Why do I care? Why haven't I already learned that this is not the way that Easton "rolls"? God just has to keep on showing me!

For Easton, it's simple. Just show up and play... what more do I need to do?! Hakuna Matata...

Season's over. No "S".

2008-11-11T10:28:00.002-06:00

Bless their hearts. The Saints finished the season as the _aints. Didn't win one game... not one.

It wasn't for lack of trying, or lack of coaching... don't really know what the problem was, but a win sure would have lifted some spirits.

Mason had a great time playing! He says he wants to play again next year... we'll see when that time rolls around.

By the way, THANKS to Uncle John for coaching! I think he had almost as much fun as the 2nd graders did!

Halloween

2008-11-11T10:21:00.002-06:00

It came... and it went...

That's pretty much it! We don't really get "into" Halloween like some folks do. I don't know why. It's not because of religious reasons, and we LOVE candy just as much as the next guy! It's just a holiday that I let sneak up on me and then it's too late to do anything about.

Anyway... Mason dressed in a cheap, store-bought, Iron Man costume and Easton didn't dress up. He, of course, wanted to tag along and trick-or-treat with Mason. Some folks I guess felt sorry for him standing in the background and gave him some candy too. We went in my parents' neighborhood again. For such an older neighborhood, they still have tons of kids that go around and the people still turn their porch lights on and hand out candy.

Sorry... I don't even have pictures.

Saints Football

2008-10-24T15:07:00.003-05:00

Thanks to Uncle John and his new camcorder, we have some video from last night's game.

Too bad the entire other team tackled him... he might have done something productive.

Tagged

2008-10-24T15:02:00.003-05:00

Audrey tagged everyone...

Here is my 6th picture in my 6th folder.

Exciting, huh?!

Definitely not as precious as Miss Kerrigan!

Now I tag all of my readers... you two get at it!

Running, running, running...

2008-10-17T12:54:00.010-05:00

Can you keep up with us?!

The boys have been doing lots of racing lately. On Sat. Oct. 4th, Easton and I participated in the Race for the Cure. Easton ran the 5k and I walked the 1 mile. Wish I could say that I could run, but the old hip won't allow that!

He did a great job! He came in 539th out of about 1386 men and placed 9th in his age division. Yippee!

This past Tuesday I accompanied the Oakdale cross country team to their state meet at Lake Tenkiller. This was the ORES (Organization of Rural Elementary Schools) State meet. Oakdale, I suppose because of the small size, is a member and competes in their division in many sports. Easton did a good job. Prob. not as well as at some of the other meets this year, but still put in a good time!

Oakdale had a great inaugural season of cross country and Easton loved it! Says he'll do it again next year for sure!

On Wednesday, the boys participated in the Oakdale Rocket Run. This annual event is one that they always look forward to. Mason's grade runs the 1 mile and Easton runs the 2 Mile.

FYI... this is also one of Oakdale's fund raising efforts. The Rocket Run, along with the spring auction, are the ways that the foundation raises money for the school. We don't peddle candy, or wrapping paper, or anything else... just give us a little money and we'll run for you!

Matt attended this event and said they did an awesome job. Final results are not in yet... we'll keep you posted!

On your mark...

Get Set...

GO!

OKLAHOMA ART EDUCATOR OF THE YEAR

2008-10-17T12:37:00.004-05:00

Yep... that's MY dad! We are so proud that my dad, Arni Anderson, has been awarded this honor! We've always known that he's the best art teacher around and this year the organization chose to honor him.

A few weeks ago, my mom, sister and I went to Tahlequah for the awards ceremony. Here are some pics!

Answered Prayers

2008-10-05T16:55:00.002-05:00

I am so excited to be writing this post! Major prayers, from many people have been answered this week, on John and Jessica's behalf.

Last Thursday, John and Jess received "The Call". They have been chosen to be the parents of a baby boy to be born around the first part of December!

I am going to be an aunt for the first time!!! Can't wait to spoil another little boy!

You can check out and keep up with John and Jess here and here.

Please continue to pray for them, and especially for the young birth mother and precious baby boy!

Gotta run now... baby shopping to do!

Proud as a Peacock

2008-10-01T21:22:00.005-05:00

My boys have been doing awesome with their sports lately. Last week I left work and went straight to a cross country meet that Easton was running in. It's the first that I've made it to this year. He's been doing great at the previous ones, so I was excited to get to see him in action.

This was a huge group. About 280 6th, 7th and 8th grade boys running a two mile race. He came in 56th! His time was 13:59. He was the 2nd fastest Oakdale boy (an 8th grader was 1st). He still has yet to bring home a trophy or medal and I've had to explain that it's okay... not everyone will get those. They are usually given to the top 20 in the race. I keep telling him that this is his first year to compete and that he's only a 7th grader... his day is coming!

I'm still amazed that he's such a good runner. His coaches say that he's a natural runner. He definitely doesn't get it from my side of the family... must be a Gayle trait. I don't run... unless something or someone really mean is chasing me!

Mason has been kicking butt and taking names on the football field! He is absolutely loving football! Even though his team are still the "_aints", they get out there and hustle and give it their all. Even the refs. at the games say that they are the most improved team they've seen out there.

Mason is the smallest on his team, but he doesn't let that stop him. He's not afraid to get in there and mix it up with the big boys.

He had a very special night on Monday, he scored a touchdown AND got the two point conversion! Of course, I was jumping up and down on the sidelines yelling like a banshee WITHOUT my camera! I'm the best. mom. ever! I'll be sure to have it at the next game!

Side note... Mason's touchdown was only the second one scored on the other team this season! Woo Hoo! Way to go little buddy!

Can you see how proud I am of these fellas?

Race for the Cure

2008-09-23T14:03:00.004-05:00

On October 4th Easton and I will be participating in the Race for the Cure. If you are interested in joining us you can register under our church team. Just let me know and I'll tell you how! If you are not able to participate, but would like to make a donation on our behalf, let me know and I can guide you to where you can do that.

Great Rejoicing!

2008-09-13T15:11:00.006-05:00

Easton has initiated quite a few discussions over the past few months regarding baptism. With the help and resources of folks at church, and much prayer he decided, last week, that he was ready to become a Christian!

He asked Matt if he would baptize him, and, of course, Matt was honored. Although, being up in front of people is not his forte', he was excited to baptize him. Easton was scared of being up in front of lots of folks too. I tried to explain to him that all the people that would be witnessing it, are just as happy for him and rejoicing along with us. Still, he decided that he only wanted family and close friends.

Yesterday, we all met at the church building and watched as Easton made the most important decision of his life. Just as mentioned in Luke 15:10; "...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

CONGRATULATIONS, Easton!! We are so very proud of you, and will pray that God blesses you everyday of your life!

The "S" was silent

2008-09-13T14:26:00.006-05:00

Mason had his very first tackle football game on Thursday night. He's number 1, if you can pick him out in the pics. Everyone on the team was so excited! All of their eyes were as big as saucers as they lined up for the kick-off.

Even though they gave it their all, a win was just not in the cards for the Saints. Unfortunately, the Saints were more like the aints. They did a great job, but just not as great as their opponents.

They are excited to get back out there and try again. Next time, I think they'll have all of their first game jitters gone.

Do you have clear skin?

2008-09-04T14:02:00.001-05:00

Last night, as I'm watching the amazing speech by Sarah Palin, I am also trying to explain politics to Mason. Boy... never really thought it would be that hard. Trying to name the major players, explain issues, how to pronounce O-BOM-A, instead of BO-BOM-A. Hard stuff for a seven year old.

Anyway, as we're watching and listening to Gov. Palin deliver her address, Mason asks, "She looks like she might be around 50 or so?" (Years old, he means). I said, "Actually, she's 44." "Huh", he says, "Her skin looks pretty clear." (Meaning, no wrinkles) Keep it up, Sarah, Mason thinks you're doing a great job with your skincare!

By the way Rudy, if you're reading this... way to lay the smack down last night!

New and Updated

2008-09-03T13:05:00.003-05:00

Are you digging my new layout?! Saw the link on Audrey's blog and checked it out. Adorable templates... and FREE! After much wrangling, finally got it to work for me. Not because of any problems with the template, because I hadn't upgraded to the latest version of the template on Blogger. Blah, blah, blah...

Anyway, here it is! WAAAYYYY Cute! Check out the LeeLou link on the page.

Also, be sure to check out Mason and Easton's blogs. I'm going to try, very diligently, to get them to write on them at least once a week! Hone those creative writing skills!

Too much talkie, talkie

2008-08-26T15:56:00.002-05:00

I attended Oakdale's open house last night. I primarily attended for Mason, since Easton's is "old hat", especially since he's in middle school now.

Mason is in Mrs. Rice's class this year. She is a new to Oakdale teacher this year. I believe she was a 2nd grade aide last year, and this year she's full-fledged.

It was pretty much the same stuff you hear from year to year. "Send healthy snacks"... "sign up to help with parties"... "read, read, read"... The usual stuff.

After her monologue I waited my turn to talk to her and find out how the first four days of school had been so far (with Mason).

She said that things had been going fine so far, except that he likes to talk to his neighbors. (Guess he is my kid, huh?) I asked if he was staying in his seat, because typically he likes to mingle as he talks! Doesn't want to leave anyone out! So far, he's just getting to know those in his immediate vicinity.

On the way out the door this morning, I told him, "No more talkie, talkie!"

Obligatory First Day of School Pics

2008-08-20T14:26:00.007-05:00

Here they are...

I picked out Mason's clothes, and Easton chose his own this morning. That's his favorite, new t-shirt and he paired it with camo. shorts. Not sure of the busy-ness of it all, but that's what he wanted.

By the way... the shoes are their new school shoes that Mimi got for them. They designed their own Chucks. Funky, huh?

Easton - 7th grade
Mason - 2nd grade

Annual Church Golf Tournament Blog Entry

2008-08-19T12:04:00.007-05:00

Well, another year has come and gone for the Edmond Church of Christ Family Golf Tournament.

Easton

This year the team consisted of: John Anderson, Matt Gayle, Easton Gayle and myself. We were assisted by Mason Gayle (basically because I didn't want to pony up for a babysitter). We let him take some shots, but, I promise we obeyed the rules and didn't count any of his shots, even though there were a couple that we would have liked to.

John

We all did our part and ended at -5. Not too shabby! We were actually tied to come in 2nd in the second flight (which would have included a bobble-head trophy), however, the tie break hole they use is one that we bogeyed and the other team parred. I'm not crying, "It's not fair!"... I'm just saying that a 12 and 7 year old would have enjoyed a bobble-head trophy more than a group of old men! Take it for what it's worth...

I'd also like to brag a little bit, if I may. Standing on the tee box on #3 I'm preparing to go for the Longest Women's Drive competition. My brother says, "Here, try my driver." "Nah", I say... "Mine will be fine." He convinces me to try his. Don't know if it was because of the brand name on the bottom of his (Calloway), or the fact I had an audience watching from the #1 green, or what, but I stepped up and SPANKED it, straight down the fairway! Yes... I celebrated a little. I was able to put my name on the little sign marking the "Womens Longest Drive"! At least until the other 4 women made it around to hole #3. No... really... I was proud of my shot. It was sweet!

We all had a good time again this year and, as usual, have talked about how we need to play more throughout the year. We'll see if we can make it happen this time!

Football... already?!

2008-08-07T16:03:00.004-05:00

Well, it's official, I suppose. My baby is going to be playing football. Here he is in his practice attire. The game jersey and pants have to be ordered. I'm sure I'll post lots of pics. of those this fall!

Lyric Camp

2008-08-07T15:49:00.006-05:00

As mentioned previously, Mason attended theater camp at Lyric last week. He was only there for 2 hours a day and his group worked on a couple of songs from Mary Poppins.

On Friday they had their showcase and performed their numbers for an audience. Sorry the pictures are so yucky looking. They're taken without the flash.

Cutest little chimney sweep in the bunch, he is! Oh... cute story... Mom called me at work on Friday morning before the showcase and gave me a "heads up". Apparently the following is how the conversation went between Mason and my dad that morning.

PAPA: Are you excited about this afternoon? You know, MiMi is going to come see you perform this afternoon.

MASON: Is she going to bring me flowers?!

The thought had not even crossed my mind! He remembers how we take or send flowers to Aunt Renee when she's in shows and I guess he just thought that this was his opportunity to receive some flowers! Smart kid... stupid mom. Thanks to the "heads up" from my mom, though... guess what I did on my lunch hour?!

Cats and Saints and Sweeps... oh my!

2008-07-31T15:46:00.002-05:00

We have, of course, been crazy busy lately.

Easton has been attending basketball camp this week at OC. It's from 8 to 8 each day and he comes home exhausted! He's having a great time even if his team doesn't win all the time.

He's done so much growing up this summer and I hope it carries over into the school year.

Mason has started football! Last year he begged and begged to play football, however, by the time I found out that some Oakdale parents had formed a team it was too late for registering. A couple of weeks ago, on the way home from church, he mentioned that Mason (Roberts) had told him about needing players for his football team. He begged to play. I talked it over with Mason's mom and, sure enough, they were looking for more players. Mason is now a member of the Saints football team. This team is comprised mostly of OCS kids, but that's okay... he knows Mason Roberts and is quick to make friends with the new boys. Tonight he will have his second practice. At the first practice they worked them hard, and he learned quite a bit! This should be very interesting and have an element of humor as well. They will be playing tackle football. This is the first year that they've opened this league to 2nd graders. Mason is so excited... he wanted to play tackle and not boring ole' flag football! Just say a quick prayer that we stay far, far away from the ER this fall! I've actually watched some video of 2nd graders playing tackle football and it is quite humorous! They look so top heavy running around with their pads and helmets on.

In addition to beginning football, Mason has also been going to theater camp this week. For 2 hours a day he has been going to Lyric and learning a couple of songs from Mary Poppins. They will present their showcase tomorrow for the parents. Just a couple of songs in costume, of course. He will be the cutest chimney sweep on the stage! I won't be able to take pics during the performance, but will be sure to get some posed pics before and after!

Other than that, Matt and I have been working and shuttling kids! AHHH... I need a nap!

My Friend, Staci

2008-07-17T14:58:00.005-05:00

This is about my friend from high school, Staci Lisman McAuley. She's the one right in the middle wearing the white t-shirt. She is so talented! In school she was one of the "band geeks". She played a mean flute. She started dating David Mowry (my Sr. show choir partner), and was somehow recruited over to be a "vocal geek". She has a beautiful voice and was Eliza Doolittle in our production of My Fair Lady. She went on to get her degree in Music Education and taught along side Mr. Attebery at Memorial for a time. Incredible lady...

I'd like for you to add Staci to your prayer list.

She has battled breast cancer in the past and is now battling a brain tumor. She is married and has two little girls. At the first of the year she had the Gamma Knife procedure done and they did not get the results they had hoped for. The tumor has grown and week before last she had surgery to remove it. Her husband, Rob, says that she seems to be recovering nicely and that they will meet with Drs. soon to see what will be next in the treatment. She fell a few days before surgery and has no functionality on the right side of her body. They're not sure, at this point, if she'll walk again. It is so hard for me to wrap my brain around what she has dealt with and is going through now. You can see from her blog, especially the entry from April 15th, that she has figured it out to the best of her ability.

I keep up with her through her blog and the emails that her husband sends. She's been in my thoughts a lot lately and I thought I would introduce her to you, so that you can be a prayer warrior for her, too!

Fond Memories of "Mom"

2008-07-15T13:26:00.007-05:00

On July 5th I went to my high school, drama teacher's retirement party. She hadn't taught Drama for the past few years, but instead had been teaching English.

I have so many wonderful memories of my high school days. Many times I hear people say that they wouldn't go back to that time in their lives for anything. I would in a heart beat! Don't get me wrong... I have a most blessed life right now, and always have for that matter. However, the fun times I had in high school were some of the best!

I first met Ms. Mary Jane Bartley when I was auditioning for the Oklahoma Show Choir in the Spring of 1984. She and Terry Attebery sort of came as a "package deal" if you were involved in the performing arts program at Edmond High School (Memorial). Where I focused more on the singing aspect, everyone was equally involved in all aspects of the productions.

If I didn't have a role in a show, I was tech., make-up, dresser, asst. or all of the above. You "lived" with these folks most of the week. We saw them more waking hours during the week than we prob. saw our own parents. Hence the nicknames, "Mom and Dad".

Those of us that attended Memorial from the late '70s through the mid '90s were unbelievably lucky to have been under the tutelage of these two great people! The performing arts program was untouchable and more professional than some "professional" theaters that are around.

Thanks so much Ms. Bartley, Mom, Bart and Mr. Attebery , Dad, Terry Don for all that you imparted on us!

Mon bon ami, Scott

2008-07-09T15:49:00.005-05:00

I'd like for you to meet my good friend, Scott Campbell. Actually, he is one of my BFFs from high school. Scott and I met when I was a lowly freshman in high school and he was a sophomore. We were show choir partners. (However, I do remember switching partners every now and then.)

Anyway, Scott and I hit it off and are friends for life!

Even though we have lost touch with each other over the years, and have both confessed to not being great at keeping in touch with folks, we have managed, somehow, to keep up with each other.

His mom is awesome at keeping abreast of what's going on with lots of folks, and she, in turn, will email my mom, and I'll hear about people that way.

Once again, the wonderful memories of high school and Scott flood my brain:

*The shows we were in together.
*Scott's worshipping of Steve Perry and Journey.
*Riding around town in his convertible, white, '74 Corvette (which I think he might have let me drive 1 time.)
*Dogsitting his dog, Booger.
*Swimming in his indoor pool.
*Being in OK Show Choir and touring England and Scotland with him.

After he graduated high school he went to OU (Norman) for his first semester. His mom had moved away by that point. (His dad, I hardly knew, because he had already moved with his job. Scott's mom stayed in Edmond so he could finish school.) Many weekends he would come back to Edmond and stay with us, his "foster" family. I looked forward to seeing him and hearing about his Astronomy class. He seemed to like it a lot. I think I remember him transferring to OSU (Stillwater) for second semester. I vaguely recall visiting him up there once. I'm not sure he was as happy up there.

One of the best things he ever did was come back and take me to my Senior prom. My boyfriend had dumped me three weeks before prom and so my "big brother" stepped up and escorted me. THANKS!

I'm thinking there maybe a little mullet action happening with Scott's hair! Of course, I had the "big" hair going on.

He and his wife, Mentanna, with their two boys, Wyatt (5) and Will (3) live in Marseilles, France now. They/ She is the French Fried Texan in my blog list. Actually, I believe the Texan part comes more from Mentanna than from Scott. Even though he attended seminary in TX, I'm not sure he can be labeled a full blown "Texan". Mentanna, on the other hand, hails from Amarillo.

Last week, Scott and the boys were in Oklahoma visiting his sister, Tambri, who still lives in OKC. His parents were here visiting, too! We were so excited to have everyone over for a cook-out! We talked about old times and listened to Scott and the boys parler vous francais.

Ms. Sharon, Scott, Wyatt and Will

We had such a good time and was sorry that Mentanna wasn't with them. She was spending some extra time with her dad; camping in Wyoming!

I sure do hope that we can stay in touch on a more consistent basis, and of course, I'd love to be able to visit them in their home!

Thanks for the memories Campbell family! You guys are the best!

Happy Fourth!

2008-07-09T15:35:00.005-05:00

Thursday night, July 3rd, Easton had a youth/ family party at the "King Ranch". We always love hanging out at the King's house for big events. They know how to do it up right!

I'd say, without using a counter, that there were 150 people or so. Lots of good food, fellowship and fireworks!

LAX in LibertyFest '08

2008-07-08T15:09:00.004-05:00

As if I haven't lost my mind completely, I was in charge of the LAX entry in this year's LibertyFest parade.

Now... parading isn't my most favorite thing in the world. As a matter of fact, I gave up fighting the crowds to go to Edmond's 4th of July parade years ago.

However... I opened my big mouth at a committee meeting a couple of months ago and mentioned that I thought the parade could provide some great exposure for the program! Congratulations, Robin... you've earned yourself the role of coordinator!

It really wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. Jim Bowlin, at Edmond Park and Rec. was a HUGE help. He and the park and rec. guys basically did our entry. I won't go so far as to call it an actual "float", but we did pull and flatbed that they covered with outdoor carpeting and put a goal on. They also hung banners on the sides and back of the trailer. It really looked great! THANKS Jim and Park and Rec. guys!

I just fielded phone calls and made a list of participants and told them when and where to come. They did their part and everything turned out super!

We had 27 participants that ranged from the little guys up to the middle schoolers and also quite a few girls! I think everyone had a good time getting the crowd riled up as our entry passed by!

Mason chillin' on the float.

By the way... if you're looking for a fast paced, fun, sport for your child to play, keep lacrosse in mind. We will begin registering for next Spring's season in January. Watch the paper and ads. for reminders.

Alabama Roadtrip

2008-07-08T14:36:00.008-05:00

At the end of June I had a couple of days off to stay with the boys because Dad was headed to Alabama to visit relates and set up an art show.

Mom and I decided that we would use those couple of days off and take the boys and go for a visit.

We left Wed. around noon and spent the night in Memphis. The boys really did a pretty good job traveling. It had been a while since they'd been on a long roadtrip. OH... I forgot to mention that CoCo, my mom's chihuahua, went with us too. She was a fine little traveler as well.

We left Memphis and headed onto Huntsville, AL for the next couple of days. On the way we passed this establishment

We passed on the "slugburger" and opted for Subway.

Dad's show opening was Thursday evening, so we had time to make it to the hotel, change clothes and then head over to the show.

I got to meet a lot of my dad's old friends. I'm talking about the little kids that he grew up with and were his neighbors. They've stayed in touch or reconnected with each other over the years and it's great to see them reminiscence.

My dad's siblings all came into town too. Aunt Carlene, Uncle Bob and Uncle Gail. See any resemblance?

Open your eyes, Aunt Carlene.

We had a good time hanging out by the pool and catching up with everyone. Oh, yeah, the boys and I did go to Scottsboro Friday morning. Wouldn't want to miss the Unclaimed Baggage store.

No, it wasn't my birthday, but my Cousin Justin thought it would be funny to tell the folks at Olive Garden that it was so they could come and sing and embarrass me. I did get a cake though!

All Star Lacrosse Camp

2008-06-16T13:28:00.002-05:00

Easton returned from his first year of lacrosse camp this weekend. He spent a few days in Dallas with some of his teammates. They attended the All Star Lacrosse Camp. They went to classes and clinics during the day and had scrimmages in evenings. He came home extremely exhausted, and quite "gamey" smelling. What is it with boys and not showering?!

Ribbit, ribbit

2008-06-13T15:52:00.004-05:00

We have four, yes four, new tenants in our house. Mason came home with these lovely little creatures yesterday. As best as I've Googled, these appear to be Southern Leopard Frogs. Could be completely wrong though. He has named them: Joe, Bob, Bobby Joe and Princess. Princess was decided upon after I said, "Don't you think that at least one of them could be a girl?"

We made a trip to Petsmart last night to purchase them a habitat, and for the time being they seem to be perfectly happy. We'll see how long they hang around...

The Gayle Gang

2008-06-13T15:11:00.001-05:00

Cruising Alaksa

2008-06-13T13:14:00.007-05:00

At the end of May, John and Jessica, Mom and Dad and Matt and I went on an Alaskan cruise.

It was an awesome experience! I will try to recap as best I can, without writing a novel. You can also read a day by day account at Jessica's blog.

We flew into Seattle and spent the night. We did a little bit of site seeing when we got there. We stayed downtown, so it was easy access to many places. We stayed at the Hotel Max. Very uber chic establishment. Quite eclectic... Of course, we walked down to Pike Place Market, but since it was evening, they weren't tossing the fish. We had a nice stroll and then went to eat. We ate at The Crab Pot. Awesome FRESH seafood! The kind of stuff you don't get around here.

The next morning, before we boarded the ship, John, Jessica, Matt and I went to Top Pot Doughnuts for breakfast. Very yummy! We walked back to the hotel to get our bags and head for the ship.

We got there early, but they were going ahead and letting people on. Check-in went smoothly and soon we were in our cabin. Jessica and I went to the spa tour they were offering and I booked a hot stone massage for later that day. They were offering a discount if you booked for that day, so I thought, "why not"? I went to my massage (very relaxing) and when it was over, the masseuse tried to push products on me. Are you kidding me!? I'm on a cruise ship and booked this purely for relaxation. I'm not looking to invest in lotions, oils, or any other crap! Totally hacked me off! I let them know about it on my comment card. "Please do not try to sell me products when I booked a massage on a cruise ship..." I have people at home that take care of this stuff when you're not around, I don't need to purchase $300 worth of your products! Anyway... moving right along...

We set sail from Seattle to Ketchikan, AK. We were at sea all day Monday and took advantage of the wonderful views from the ship, as well as the gorgeous ship itself.

May as well start talking about food right off the bat. I'll try to cover it all here, and not digress as I type about other things. Of course, we ate at the buffet. It's open 24/7 and has just about anything you can want. If you'd like a little something "nicer" for breakfast or lunch you can eat at one of the other 2 restaurants onboard. Here, you order from a menu and are waited on. FYI... the eggs (for breakfast) are better at the restaurants than at the buffet. For dinner, we had second seating and we ate in there every night except one. Here you are assigned a table and have the same waiters each night. Our exceptional waiters were Adisak and J.P. They did a fantastic job catering to our each and every need and whim. In the meantime, if you don't want a sit down meal, there are many other things you can choose from. They have an ice cream shop, a pizza counter and hamburger and fries counter. In the middle of the day when we needed something to hold us over 'til dinner we'd hit the counters. They were awesome! Tasty pizza and burgers, with the best fries ever! We called them crack fries! There were two formal nights on this sailing. That means on those assigned nights you dress up and go to dinner. We didn't take all the fancy stuff to wear like we did last time, but we looked nice and were told that it was no big deal in the dining room. On the last formal night (Friday) this sailing does their signature dessert... Baked Alaska, of course. I love Baked Alaska. I've always wanted to make one, but never have. I definitely need to give it a try. Toward the end of the meal, they turn off the lights in the dining room and parade the Baked Alaska through with candles in them. Really neat! It was very tasty and rich. The sugar in the meringue, however, was too grainy. Don't know if it just didn't get whipped well enough or what. I wasn't going to complain to the chef though; like a lady on the galley tour did. Uh, hello... are you really complaining to the chef and telling him that his soups are too salty?! Unbelievable! Okay, I think that covers meals and food on the ship. It was terrific!

Tuesday we were in Ketchikan. Matt and I had booked a zipline excursion for that afternoon. Beforehand, we had some time to walk around the little town and do some shopping. Ketchikan is a quaint little place with neat shops and houses on the hillsides. I bought a Christmas ornament, and some chocolate covered blueberries to snack on on the ride to the other side of the mountain to zipline. This was our first time to zipline. It was a lot of fun! The views from the platforms in the trees was spectacular! Gorgeous! We were hoping to see some bears while we were on this excursion. They told us that during the past few days they had seen a momma and baby cubs in a clearing. We were hoping... but, alas, no bears! Comparing ziplining to parasailing, I think I prefer parasailing. At least with parasailing, you are suspended above the water and have time to just hang out up there and take everything in. With ziplining it's over after just a few seconds. The longest zipline ride we had was about 25 seconds between trees. Short exhilarating rides with great views!

Wednesday was probably my favorite day of the vacation. Our port was Juneau. One of my dad's former college students and her husband live in Juneau and own a fishing charter. They agreed to take us all out on their boat for a cut rate price, which couldn't be beat for the trip we got! It was INCREDIBLE! Because we had our "in", they not only took us fishing, but before we dropped the lines in we went looking for whales. Some of the other boat captains had been talking on the radios about the places that they had seen whales that day. We headed to where they suggested, and were not disappointed. We saw lots of humpbacks and harbor seals. They were all relatively close to the boat. Absolutely amazing! I can't imagine what it's like to live and work up there and see things like that on a daily basis. This excursion made Matt want to pack it all up and head to the "last frontier". Not sure I'm ready to do that, but some days it doesn't sound so bad! After we found whales we headed back to the fishing grounds. I had hoped that we were fishing for halibut that day, but we weren't. To fish for halibut you have to go further out in the waters and it would have taken too long. I'll just have to deal with fishing for salmon. Why halibut instead of salmon? I don't eat salmon... don't care for it. I like mild, white fish (halibut). If I'm going to go fishing, I want it to be the kind of fish I'd like to eat. We dropped lines and waited for a bite. Waited... and waited... and waited. Finally! "Fish on!" My mom hurried out to be the one to reel it in. After a couple minutes of fighting, she reeled in her, flounder?! We're not fishing for flounder... back you go, buddy! Back to waiting for more, and better, fish to bite. In the meantime, another boat was coming back into the docks from their trip, they had been throwing their extra bait overboard and it had attracted quite a number of Bald Eagles. We had enjoyed seeing eagles throughout the trip, but only from a distance. Capt. Kevin told us that they weren't supposed to be doing that. It'll make the eagles dependent, and the rangers don't want that. After a few more minutes of no fishing he decided, "why not"? We started throwing some of our extra herring overboard. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by about 9 or 10 eagles. Right at the boat, we prob. could have hand feed them, if we wanted to lose our fingers to some talons! It was incredible! Then, back to more waiting... finally, "fish on!" Matt was the first one back this time. After much reeling, he produced a King Salmon! Now that's what we're talking about! (If I can't have halibut.) It weighed 25+ lbs, and I guess looked as pretty as a fish can look! Matt was so proud! We had that sucker filleted, steaked and shipped home. Guess Matt will enjoy LOTS of salmon! I also ordered some halibut for me! If you're ever in Juneau and want to do some fishing, be sure to call Kevin and Cindy. They'd love to take you! I think Kevin was just as giddy about the catch as Matt was!

Thursday was our day in Skagway, AK. Mom, Dad, Matt and I went on the White Pass Summit Railroad excursion with a side of gold panning. The first 3 hours was pretty much the train ride up to the summit and back down. Beautiful views and very relaxing! When we got back to town we took a short bus ride to go pan for gold. Dad was sure he was going to strike it rich! With all of our gold flakes put together, we had approx. $50 worth. The picture with dad and his pan full of gold is "doctored". He found one of the workers there that had some big gold nuggets and asked if he could use them. Of course, they didn't let him keep them. That would have been nice with the price of gold these days! After train riding and panning for gold we headed back to the little town and did some shopping. Skagway is a small little place, and we figured out the cruise line/ tourism business is ALL they have. When it's not tourist season, this place basically shuts down. There is one store in town. Just a few students at the school and the medical facility doesn't have a full time staff, much less a doctor. They have a nurse that sees people and a dentist that visits every few months. If some one is very ill, or if there's an emergency, the person is flown to Juneau or Whitehorse, B.C. Almost positive Matt couldn't talk me into moving there.

Most of the day on Friday we were at sea. Once again, lots of whale and nature watching, and lounging around doing nothing (that's my kind of vacation). On our way into Victoria, B.C. we had the opportunity to see Orcas, or killer whales. You know, the pretty kind, like Shamu. Jessica was fortunate to see some, but the rest of us were either on the other side of the boat, or napping, or in the casino, or playing Bingo... who knows? We did spot a Canadian submarine which had surfaced and the Coast Guard was checking it out too. We got into Victoria around 5:00 Friday night. We got off the ship, went into town for some shopping and sightseeing. Victoria is a beautiful city and I'd love to go back and spend more than 3 hours there.

Saturday was spent sailing back to Seattle. Alas, our vacation is almost over. We had an absolutely AWESOME time. What a great experience! This is one I can't wait to take the boys on. Maybe in a few more years... when they will really retain what all they are experiencing.

Visit the "Last Frontier" if you haven't... Enjoy the show!

MAC goes under the knife

2008-06-13T12:36:00.005-05:00

Wow, did I have a busy May?! Work, end of school, Childrens' Bible Hour, Vacation, skin cancer...

Oh, guess I haven't mentioned my little skin cancer that was discovered last month.

It all started when I took Easton in to the dermatologist to have a wart taken off. While I was there I decided that it was time for a mole on my chin to come off, so I scheduled an appt. to have the mole removed.

Before the doctor proceeded with the mole removal she asked if I had any other places that I'd like for her to look at. I mentioned another spot on my cheek that had been there for at least a year or two. Who knows?! Why should I keep up with something like?! It's not some big, unsightly mass on my face. As a matter of fact, for many of you, you prob. never even noticed it.

It was a spot about the size of a pencil eraser, slightly raised, and "skin" colored. It wasn't brown, didn't bleed or hurt... so why worry about it?

She looked at it and didn't really like the shape of it, thought it was a little odd. She wasn't really quite sure what it was, and asked if she could biopsy it when she took the mole off. I said, "sure".

We deadened everything and took the mole off... breeze! Deadened the "spot" and tried to shave off a little sample to send to the lab. She was having trouble shaving anything off... it was hard, and she couldn't cut through it. Also, bleeding like a stuck pig! She ended up having to "punch" it out. For those of you familiar with mole removal; you can either shave the mole off at the surface, or have it punched out. She had to punch this area just to get a sample.

She called the next week with the news that the mole came back as "just a mole". Good news. However, the lovely little afterthought on my cheek was actually a Microcystic Adnexal Carcinoma. We called him MAC for short! Leave it up to me to get some rare funk on my face!

Anyway, a simple surgical procedure was scheduled for the next week (she wouldn't let me wait until after my vacation). The doctor came in after the first attempt and said that he had gotten it all in the first try. Yippee!

This lovely little place that I ignored has left me with this beautiful 1 1/2" scar right on top of my right cheek. Folks say that they can't even tell unless they're really looking for it. (That's so nice of y'all) Make-up does wonders at covering it up! I will go back in about 4 weeks to have him check the healing and determine if I/we want to, or need to have any plastic surgery done on the scar. He tells me that it should heal to a flat, very pale, white line. As of yet (5 1/2 weeks out), I can't tell that it's making rapid progress. The scar is still somewhat raised and a little pink. Hopefully the next few weeks will bring on the healing!

This is a pic. of it taken one week after the surgery (with make-up). Sorry about the CLOSE-UP! Need to trim my nose hairs next time... GROSS!

Moral of the story, kids, is this: WEAR YOUR SUNSCREEN! Who really knows how and why this appeared... I can speculate that living outside in my swimming pool every summer growing up had something to do with it. Could also be the many years of "fake baking" I did in tanning beds. Anyway, this lovely reminder I have on my face now makes me paranoid and obsessive about using sunscreen! Slather up!

Spring Concert

2008-05-15T15:02:00.003-05:00

While Matt and Mason were at scout crossover, Easton and I were at his Spring Band concert.

I continue to be impressed with what a great job these 5th - 8th graders do. It's amazing! I didn't have to camera with video capabilities, so unfortunately I didn't get any recordings.

Also... you can see that Easton was being a poop and kept his stand raised the whole time so that all you can see is a tuft of hair. Anyway... here's a pic. of his tuft.

See the percussion guy standing in the back with the red shirt? Easton is right in front of him.

Crossover

2008-05-15T14:56:00.004-05:00

Tuesday night Matt took Mason to his scout crossover ceremony. This is where he officially becomes a Wolf. He's no longer a Tiger. Here are some pics from the evening.

Excuse Me

2008-04-29T16:20:00.001-05:00

I don't recall receiving your contribution to my monthly mortgage!

Who's getting under my pillow?!

2008-04-24T08:58:00.002-05:00

Last night Mason had a visitor under his pillow. The toothfairy! He has waited a LONG, LONG time for this day to arrive. I think he may the last of his class to lose their first tooth.

Yesterday in Art class he asked my dad if he would pull it for him and dad checked it and told him that it wasn't quite ready, keep messing with it and it'll come out soon. Later in class, Mason brought dad the tooth. The little squirt had twisted and messed with it enough that he was able to finally get it out himself.

Motivation? Money, of course! The sooner I get it out, the sooner the toothfairy will visit and leave me some cash!

Rockin' With Jon (Bon Jovi, that is)

2008-04-23T15:01:00.005-05:00

While Mason was at scouts, cuddling up with alligators, Matt, the Bonds and I were rockin' with Daughtry and Bon Jovi!

No one took their cameras, so this is about the best shot Terry could get of one of the screens with his cell phone.

Of course, it does absolutely no justice to Jon, sorry...

First Grade Program

2008-04-23T14:51:00.005-05:00

Mason had his program the other night. We got there in plenty of time, however, still got lousy seats. I couldn't see Mason at all. Luckily our friend Nino took some pics for us. Thanks, Nino.

The program was about plants, gardening, etc... He was supposed to dress as a farmer. We don't really have much "farmin' attire" at our house, seein' as how none of us are farmers. So... he wore jeans, an un-tucked plaidish shirt and boots. He looked just fine!

"Second star to the right and straight on 'til morning."

2008-04-21T16:24:00.004-05:00

I wanted give a plug for my sister's show. Renee is so excited to be performing her role of a lifetime, Peter Pan!

You simply must get your tickets and see the show. It's awesome! It runs the next three weekends, so you still have plenty of time!

Here's a sneak peek!

Check out this video: Peter Pan

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Of course, you can see that that clip was from a rehearsal...

Crocodile Rocking

2008-04-21T15:26:00.004-05:00

Okay, okay... so this is an alligator, the title sounded better using Elton's song title.

Mason had a fun time at scouts Pack meeting last Tuesday night. A group from here, brought all kinds of exciting wild animals that the kids could "play" with! Here are Mason and his buddy Gabe holding one of the cuddly creatures. (sorry, but I don't know who the little girl is)

Sweet Georgia Brown!

2008-04-18T15:04:00.003-05:00

A couple of months ago I happened to be flipping the channels on the boob tube and stopped on a Harlem Globetrotters game. Now, I did not grow up watching the Globetrotters (unlike my husband; according to him). Of course, I knew who they were and knew what kind of basketball they played, but I did not follow them faithfully.

I watched for a few mins. and called the boys in to see them. They were rolling on the floor laughing. They thought they were so funny! I had to explain to them what kind of team they were... how they're "allowed" to get away with the kind of ball they play.

The next day I looked them up and realized that they would be making their annual trip to OKC in April! YEAH!!! What a neat Easter surprise! I ordered tix and put them in their eggs in the baskets.

Last Sunday was the game. Here are some highlights! They both had the time of their lives! We might have to make this an annual event.

PermaSmile

Meanwhile... Back in Oklahoma

2008-04-18T14:46:00.004-05:00

While I was enjoying my roadtrip I was missing my boys. I left very detailed instructions with the biggest boy (Matt) about where everyone needed to be and what time, etc... I think they made it to all of the scheduled events with the exception of church Sunday morning. Didn't make it there...?

Anyway, the biggest thing I missed was this...

Easton auditioned for and made the Mid-Del Honor Band this year! He played with other Oakdale kids and kids from the Midwest City and Del City middle schools. I think they sound terrific! Just in case you're looking for him, he's so very hard to see. He's on the far left, front, in the dark polo shirt with white stripes. Playing the trumpet. (Note: teach Dad how to use the Zoom function on the camera)

This is the main reason I left the camera at home. Matt was instructed to take it to this event in particular! Glad he captured that moment.

Alabama Roadtrip

2008-04-18T14:05:00.009-05:00

A few weeks ago Mom, Dad, John and I set out on a roadtrip to Alabama to go to my cousin, Justin's wedding.

We left on a Thursday after work and made it to Tunica by 12:30 or so. We got a few hours of sleep, had a brunch buffet and I won $55 before we got back on the road to Birmingham.

Nothing like fried pork skins and boiled peanuts in the Wal-Mart parking lot in Fulton, MS!

This was my first time to go to Birmingham. We got into town around 4:00 and I was shocked at the DFW Metroplex type traffic! I guess I'm truly spoiled living and driving where I do daily. It was BAD! Finally made it to the hotel around 5:00, changed and ran out the door to get back on the road for another hour and half because the wedding was in Jasper.

We got to the church with about 10 min. to spare. Said a quick "hello" to family and were seated.

The Anderson Family

Crazy cousins, Cathy and Lynsi

Hanging out at the reception

Sat. morning we got up and went to my Uncle Gail and Aunt Sandie's house (where other family members had stayed) and visited with them. They moved back to "Dixie" from CA a few months ago. They have a nice house with a lot of land. I'm thinking the boys should be shipped off there this summer to play.

We left there and headed to Aberdeen, MS (my birthplace). I don't think I had been back to Aberdeen since grandma passed away, seven years ago. We checked into the hotel and then went for a drive around town. Boy, have things changed! A lot of the same stores are there, but a lot are gone. There a couple of new ones, along with a hip looking little coffee shop. We'll see how they do... One of the major highlights of the weekend was eating at the Friendship House. Okies just don't understand what real catfish is.

Getting my grub on!

You've never had anything like catfish at the FH, right out of the pond behind the restaurant. It's unbelievable! This is the only place I can think of that you can get fried catfish on the bone. No, not those curled up little fillets like we're used to around here. I'm talking about having to clean the meat off the bone (tastes SO much better)!

Poor Fishy...

Dad had emailed a bunch of our friends and told them we were going to be there for fish that night, however, the ball was dropped and so only a few made it. We enjoyed visiting with our friends Anna and Edna and their families.

Sunday morning we went to church and saw lot of old friends. My first BFF, Jennifer, still lives there and it was great seeing her. It's almost like we can pick up right where we left off, even when we haven't seen each other in years! She has two boys, Jeremy and Jacob, and they are HUGE southern boys! I can't believe how they've grown. The picture on the Christmas card each year doesn't do them justice.

We hit the road immediately after church and headed back home. Was in pouring ran most of the way to Little Rock, but cleared up the last few hours of the drive.

It was a lot of fun reconnecting with family and friends that you don't see very often, and makes you want to plan special things in order to stay connected with them!

THE BIG 4-OH......

2008-03-13T15:39:00.002-05:00

That right folks, I may as well go ahead and mention it. On February 21st I turned 40 years old! Sorry, don't have any pics of me blowing out candles, getting blown by a toilet paper blower or anything quite that exciting.

Matt took me out for a very nice dinner! Thanks, hon., and then on Sat. night the rest of my family and the Bonds came over for burgers and cake.

Think I entered 40 rather gracefully...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BIG ONE!

2008-03-12T16:02:00.008-05:00

This year we celebrated Easton's 12th birthday with friends and family. We went bowling and then back to the house for some Wii fun. I think everyone had a good time!

Thanks to Aunt Jessica for the pics. Once again... Mom forgot her camera.

Mason Tastes LAX

2008-03-11T15:02:00.003-05:00

Mason is so excited that this year he gets to play lacrosse. Last year he had fun going to Easton's games, wearing his equipment and playing catch on the sidelines.

This year he's right in the middle of it all. He's playing with the 7-11 year olds. I know... that's a huge bracket. They did it that way because of the number of kids that signed up. Needless to say, he's one of the smallest, if not the smallest, player on his team, but he doesn't let that stop him. He gets right in there and mixes it up with the big guys. No Fear! His coach seems quite impressed and is encouraging us to move to the east coast. Don't think we're quite that ready to pack up, but it's fun watching him play and have fun with the big boys.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, LITTLE ONE!

2008-03-11T12:49:00.009-05:00

We started February off by celebrating Mason's 7th birthday! He decided that he wanted to celebrate at Laser Quest this year. Here are a few pics. from the party.

By the way, let me get on my "Sidenote Soapbox"... please, please, please folks RSVP! It's as simple as picking up the phone, or even shooting off an email these days. You really don't even need to worry about making up some lame excuse not to attend a child's party. Just call and give me a "YEA" or "NAY". I expect it, I count on it... so I will know how many I'm feeding... how many I'm paying for... how many goodie bags I'll need... JUST RSVP!!! Okay, stepping off now.

Anyway, those that showed up had a ball! I even played a round. Kicked some butt, if I do say so myself!

Here's the gang being goofy. L to R: Zacary, Parker, Brighton, Mason, Gabe and Tucker.

At Laser Quest, on your birthday, they call you up and announce that it's your birthday and then "spray" you with a toilet paper blower. All the kids think that's funny!

Happy 2008!

2008-01-30T15:28:00.000-06:00

Well, here it is 2008! I just really don't have any brilliant excuses for not posting. There's always the usual busy excuse, and it would be the truth. However, I've had the time, just haven't been in the mood to say anything.

We finished out 2007 with a wonderful holiday season! Attended company parties, family events, etc... Santa was good to everyone. He left a Wii for the family and the boys got what they ask for too. Mason got an Air-Soft gun and Easton got a remote control helicopter. NO paintball!

Now that it's a new year, it's a new diet! Yikes, I was grossed out by how much weight I gained during '07. Shame, shame... Back on WW and hitting it hard! Doing okay so far. A few of us are in a competition to help keep each other motivated. Whoever loses the greatest percentage each quarter will receive a gift card or their choosing with contributions made by the others. Should be pretty fun... I guess as much fun as dieting can be.

The boys were eager to go back to school. They miss their friends during all the breaks. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated Easton's 12th birthday! I can hardly believe that my baby is that old. Brings tears to my eyes. We had a family and special friends party at the bowling alley. Just the family and the Bonds. Pretty low key... the kind I like.

In a couple of more weeks, we'll celebrate Mason's 7th birthday. Holy cow! How am I going to deal with this?!

Anyway, that's our story. Nothing too exciting to report. I'll try to post on here more often.

POWER BLOGGING... Here we go...

2007-12-07T15:58:00.000-06:00

Oh Deer! We Have Guests!

2007-12-07T15:42:00.000-06:00

We are so excited about our new neighbors!

Mason has been keeping deer corn out in our backyard in hopes of enticing our neighbors to come for dinner.

Last Sunday morning they showed up for breakfast! We all were excited!

Come Again Soon!

Is This Any Way to Watch Saturday Afternoon Football?

2007-12-07T15:36:00.000-06:00

You bet!

VIVA LAS VEGAS!!

2007-12-07T15:21:00.000-06:00

Matt's mom stayed on so that she could stay the week with the boys while Matt and I went with my parents to Las Vegas. Mom and Dad had been wanting to go and so invited us to join them.

We stayed at Paris, right across the strip from The Bellagio (sans George and Brad, unfortunately). PERFECT location! The hotel was gorgeous.

I was sort of, kind of getting sick over the weekend and I guess the flight made it kick right on in. I was sick most all week. Not the kind that kept me bed-bound (however, I did get in lots of nice naps), but just the kind that made me exhausted and feeling "yucky". I did get out and about quite a bit. Did lots of sight-seeing and relaxed a lot. A much needed vacation! We had an awesome time!

That's the world's largest chocolate fountain!

By the way... Matt came home with the beginnings of what would turn into what I had all week. You're welcome.

Where Have You Been?!

2007-12-07T15:12:00.000-06:00

Oh, you mean me? I'm here... crazy, crazy busy!

Let's see, about a week after my conference in October Matt was gone for about a week to his annual conference. It switches every other year between OKC and Tulsa. This year was OKC and even though it's in town he still stays downtown at the hotel. Easier for him. I went down one night for the entertainment. My sister and her boyfriend Todd did a jazz set on Thursday night that I went to hear.

It was also his birthday that Friday night. He was home by then so we got to spend some time with him on his "big day".

His folks came in town for the weekend to help celebrate. They brought separate vehicles so that his mom could stay in town... which leads to the above post...

Busy Fall

2007-11-26T21:46:00.000-06:00

This fall has been outta control! So many things going on...

The end of October I had a conference that my company hosted. The whole month was crazy trying to get ready for it. It went over without a hitch. Here are some pics...

The "girls": Diana, Jill, Cheryl, Me, Teresa & Jamie

The whole OAMIC gang: Me, Isaac, Phil, Diana, Bill, Jill, Teresa, Jamie & Cheryl.

Golf Tournament '07

2007-10-22T09:34:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday was the church golf tournament. While dad, Mason and mom manned the garage sale Matt, Easton, John and I played in the tournament. We had a great time! This year it was at Coffee Creek as opposed to one of the courses up in Guthrie where it usually is.

Beautiful weather added to the day! Matt can't remember the last time he played and the last time I remember is when Easton and I played with John last year. Of course John plays all the time, so he was our "ringer".

Actually, for not having played in ages, we all did our part and played pretty well. Well enough to place 10th overall and take 2nd place in C flight! Whoo Hoo! We had an awesome time and are looking forward to next year.

Garage Sale

2007-10-22T09:28:00.000-05:00

The sale went pretty well on Saturday. Very steady traffic all day. It probably didn't hurt that OC was a having an indoor sale on campus and so we caught a lot of that traffic! We still have a lot of stuff, so we boxed it back up and will move it over the Bond's sale in a couple of weeks. We still have quite a bit of big furniture left. Full size bedroom suite, desk, extra long twin bunk beds and buffet. I'm sure I've left something out. These are older pieces, some pushing antique age. If interested let me know and I'll email you some pics. and details. Otherwise, plan to attend Garage Sale, Part II in a couple of weeks!

I've completely lost my mind

2007-10-22T09:19:00.000-05:00

Meet the newest member of the Gayle family.

I went with my mom to Petsmart the other day to get dog food and wandered over to see the cats up for adoption. I kind of liked this one and thought I needed to have her. They had her listed as a Russian Blue, but she's really not, that's just what they used to describe her color. It's a very pretty gray. I went home and told Matt about her and he just rolled his eyes. That is not a "NO" I took him back the next day to see her. He held her and said, "Whatever..."

Anyway, now she's at the house and we're seeing how she and Elphie are going to get along. So far, Elphie pretty much doesn't like the idea one bit! She is still hissing and growling when she gets close enough. We'll give it a couple more days and see what happens. We've gone ahead and given her a name, Gracie, but we don't want to get too attached in case she needs to go back to the agency. We'll see...

He's a Bobcat now... GGRRRRR

2007-10-18T15:08:00.000-05:00

Mason had his Bobcat ceremony at Cub Scouts pack meeting on Tuesday night. Enjoy the pics... it was quite an exciting ceremony as you can see from the expressions.

After the ceremony they had a carnival with lots of games. We stayed for that and he had a blast. He was able to do some of the games multiple times and therefore receive multiple trinkets! Exciting... I know!

They also did the usual drawing for desserts. We usually are not lucky enough to win a dessert, however, this month we did! Yippee! Mason made his way over to the table to select from the goodies. Most of these goodies are made by the lovely elves at the Walmart bakery. Very rarely will you find something homemade. (By the way... what's up with that?! Whatever happened to HOMEMADE?! Another entry, another time...) He is investigating all of his options while Matt and I are standing back observing. I say, "Wonder what he'll pick? I hope it's something good. Please don't pick those bright yellow cupcakes." Matt says, "Why don't you go over there and help him?" Nah! Why would I want to infringe on his right to choose his dessert that he just won?! He's a big boy and can pick whatever he wants! He made an awesome choice! A pan of brownies. They're even HOMEMADE! One of the few items on the table that was.

Been a while

2007-10-16T13:54:00.000-05:00

Guess it has been a while since I posted last. We've just been all kinds of busy lately! Matt is still umpiring, ugh... This Friday will be his last night for the Bickham league and then he does Sunday evenings in Mustang for the next few weeks. It'll be really nice having him home more. We just seem to make small dents in getting the house together. It moves so much quicker with both of us there to move and make decisions.

This weekend we are having a HUGE garage sale at mom and dad's. We're still sorting through boxes and getting stuff priced to go over there. Basically we're getting rid of a TON of stuff that we've been hauling from place to place. Tired of doing that and want it gone! Stop by if you get a chance... While dad and Mason are "manning" the garage sale, Matt, Easton and I will be playing in the church golf tournament. We're all very excited! Matt and I haven't played in ages and this will only be Easton's second time to play. We're playing with my brother, so hopefully he'll carry us all!

Work has been horribly busy for me this month. End of next week our company is hosting a large conference. It's been pretty hectic around the office for some of us. This month Matt and I are Childrens' Bible Hour leaders at church... what in the world was I thinking when I picked October?!

Anyway... give us a few more weeks... finish up projects at church and work and then we're off for a week of rest! Yippee! Viva Las Vegas!

The Cat's In The Cradle

2007-09-26T16:23:00.000-05:00

Crib, Hood, House... whatever you want to call it. She's home! She won't divulge where she's been, but she's back and seems to be in good shape. Perhaps dropped a couple of pounds, but couldn't we all afford that?

While we were still at my parents, Matt came home from umpiring late on Thursday night. He began calling for her on his way up to the door. We had all been doing that since she went missing. Calling for her when we got out of the car... taking the long way through the neighborhood, hoping to spot her. Anyway, when he called for her he heard a faint meow. He called again and found her under my mom's car. She wouldn't come out for him, but was receptive when he reached under to get her.

She walked around and meowed most of the night, guess she had to get reacquainted with her surroundings. She seems happy to be back home, but still seems curious about the "outside" too. Curiousity just might end up killing this one!

Settling In...?

2007-09-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

Or are we? We have now spent four nights in the new house! Last night I think I actually got a couple of hours of sleep!

It's all so overwhelming. There are boxes everywhere, we still have a few things at my parents' house and there are still a few things at the storage shed. When will all of this be in its right place? Who knows?!

With all of the things that we have going on in the evenings, it's going to be slow going. I'm managing to unpack approx. two boxes each evening. Doing at least one load of laundry and one load of dishes each night too.

The boys, bless their hearts, aren't really much of a help. We try to get homework done right off the bat and then if there's extra time before showers they head upstairs to play with whatever toys they've managed to find in whatever box they could get to. At least their not vegging in front of the TV. We have yet to set one up. Actually that's not true, Matt hooked up the little one that we used to use in our car. They gathered around it the other night to watch a Star Wars DVD. Cox is scheduled for tomorrow, so we might be able to have some more choices. In truth, it's been nice not having one. Perhaps we'll put off setting another up for a few more days.

I fully intend on posting lots of pics. when the house is in order... just don't know when that might be. In the meantime, pray for our sanity, muscles and joints!

LOST CAT

2007-09-18T16:19:00.001-05:00

Yes, Elphie is missing. Remember me writing about how she likes to try and escape? Apparently this time she has been successful.

She was discovered missing yesterday morning approximately 6:00 AM. Everyone remembers seeing her Sunday night around 9:30 when she was reclining on the back of the sofa. So, somewhere between 9:30 PM Sunday night and 6:00 AM Monday she made it out of the door undetected.

If anyone sees a black cat with green eyes wandering around OC or Smiling Hills, please let us know!

Can I just mention again how stressful our week has been?

Popcorn Time Again!

2007-09-18T16:11:00.001-05:00

I now have a Tiger Cub in the house!

Mason has joined Cub Scouts this year and is so excited. Tonight is our first Pack meeting. We went last week and bought his shirt, belt, neckerchief and patches. The patches aren't on the shirt yet (don't know when that'll happen) but he is still excited to get to wear his uniform to school today and the meeting tonight!

If anyone is interested in buying BSA popcorn this year, don't buy it from some strange little boy outside of Wal-Mart. Buy it from my Tiger Cub! Just let me know what you'd like and how many!

By the way, here is a pic. that my Dad took this morning before school. How could you say "no" to this adorable face?!

Okay, so I just noticed just how HUGE that shirt is on him. I bought it big on purpose just in case he decides to continue with scouts after this year. He'll need this blue shirt for three years. Look at that collar! It's as big as his head! HAHA!

No... Time....

2007-09-18T15:57:00.000-05:00

Need... more... hours... in... the... day...

Yes, we closed Friday on the house! Yeah! There are still a few minor things that need to be done and fixed, so we still have folks in and out.

We began moving stuff from the shed to the house. We have WAY TOO MUCH JUNK! I've probably said this with every move that we've made, (which really hasn't been all that many) but this time I'm bound and determined to get rid of crap! It's going to a garage sale or the dump this time. It's just ridiculous to keep hauling this stuff from place to place when some of it holds absolutely no sentimental value whatsoever. There are a few things already stacked in the house, but most of the stuff is in the garage; which brings me to the next topic.

We are SO very appreciative of the Shipmans letting us use their storage container to keep our house in for almost the past year. The bad news is that moisture got in the container. There is not a lot of water damage, because it never really flooded, the main problem we have is mold! EEWWW. It's not like everything is covered thick with it, but most of the exposed items have some. Now, I'm in the process of figuring out what to replace and what to restore. HEADACHE!!! That is why a lot of the stuff is still sitting in the garage. Not sure what to do with it quite yet, but I know I don't want to introduce mold to the interior of my new house.

Anyway, we're the proud owners of a new house, but have not yet spent the night there yet. There are still a few things in the container that we need to retrieve and we're busy every night this week until Friday. UGH! Hopefully I'll be able to make it over a little this week at some point to maybe unpack a couple of boxes. We'll see. We're not in a hurry...

Once everything is settled and we're in, I'll take pics and get them posted!

Sixth Grade is KILLING Me

2007-09-06T15:28:00.000-05:00

It's probably pretty hard on him too.

Boy howdy... they just throw you right on in and it's pretty much "sink or swim". At this point we're treading water and barely keeping our heads above the surface.

For those that don't know, Easton is still at Oakdale. It's one of the few schools around here that is still K-8. Even though he is still around the same kids, same adults (even teachers) and same surroundings "they" (the school people) want the sixth graders to understand that they are on a different playing field beginning this year.

He's only been in school 3 weeks and so far we've had our fair share of homework, assignments and grades dispensed.

Last night we had four subjects of homework! Spelling and Geography were to finish worksheets that were sent home at the first of the week. We finished the Spelling sheet that we had already started and didn't even get to Geography. It's due tomorrow, so that's definitely on the agenda for tonight! Math hadn't even been started while at school and English had been started, but needed some extra tutoring from Mimi and finishing. I'm (I mean we're) completely exhausted by the time it's shower and bedtime; not to mention the fact that church was not attended last night.

Next Friday we have five projects due for Social Studies. Five visuals dealing with the Mesopotamian region and culture. Luckily, my Dad has "volunteered" to help out with this. I believe we have one done already.

I am able, through a wonderful program, to check his assignments and grades online and what I saw earlier this week was not a pretty sight! YIKES... I'll spare you the details. Anyway... something needs to happen and I'm still trying to figure out how to make this sixth grade experience a positive one.

Last night, in the midst of tears, he told me that he's concerned because his locker is unorganized. I don't really know exactly what this has to do with grades, however, for a child with ADHD, that thrives on structure, I suppose, for him, this is a really big deal. While he was working on Math last night I worked on organizing his binder. Hopefully this will help with the organization somewhat. Perhaps tomorrow after work I can go up to the school and help give him some tips about how his locker needs to be organized in order to be more effective.

Before school started I had an achy feeling about Easton and this new adventure. It's hard not to hold his hand every step of the way, however, I know that there are many things that he's just not capable of reasoning out and following through with. He craves the structure so much, but just doesn't know how to obtain it. His poor little brain is on overload at the moment (as is mine). Soon, I hope that we can get some structure back in there and things will become easier for him at school and at home. Keep us all in your prayers!

Reliving those High School Days

2007-08-24T14:46:00.000-05:00

Saw this on the Ross's blog and Matt and I thought we'd play along.

1. Who was your best friend?

Matt: Chad Williamson and Tommy “Farm” Parker were the guys that I was closest to. Chad was even the best man in my wedding.

Robin: I had lots of wonderful friends: Gayla, Kim, Debi, Vicky…

2. Did you play any sports?

Matt: I played football for three years, played baseball for four years and basketball for four years. I was the captain of the baseball and basketball teams for three years.

Robin: No

3. What kind of car did you drive?

Matt: My first car was a '78 grey five speed Mustang. Then during my senior year I got a Toyota pick-up.

Robin: I didn’t have a car in high school; bummed rides off friends

4. It’s Friday night. Where were you?

Matt: I was either playing sports or watching them.

Robin: Probably in a show or rehearsal for a show. Occasional football game.

5. Were you a party animal?

Matt: Not really.

Robin: Nope

6. Were you considered a flirt?

Matt: Sometimes.

Robin: Nope

7. Were you in the band, orchestra or choir?

Matt: No way.

Robin: Choir every year

8. Were you a nerd?

Matt: Nope

Robin: In some ways, yes, I suppose.

9. Were you ever suspended or expelled?

Matt: Nope my coaches would have killed me.

Robin: Never even got close.

10. Can you sing the fight song?

Matt: I would have to think about it, but maybe.

Robin: Sure can!

11. Who was your favorite teacher?

Matt: Coach Thomas was like a second dad to me.

Robin: Lots: Mr. Attebery, Ms. Bartley, Mrs. Looper, Madame Sevier

12. What was your school mascot?

Matt: Cougars

Robin: Bulldogs

13. Did you go to the Prom?

Matt: Junior and Senior

Robin: Junior and Senior

14. If you could go back, would you?

Matt: In a heartbeat

Robin: In a heartbeat

15. What do you remember most about graduation?

Matt: I didn’t go to graduation; I was invited to go play basketball in Europe for a month or so. We left the day before graduation.

Robin: Long… and I was on the front row. “Anderson”

16. Where were you on Senior Skip Day?

Matt: At school, again the coaches would have killed me for not being at school.

Robin: At school… really wasn’t a big deal.

17. Did you have a job your senior year?

Matt: I didn’t work during school, during the summer I roofed houses for my dad’s construction company at the time.

Robin: No, just babysitting on occasion.

18. Where did you go most often for lunch?

Matt: We had a closed campus, so I ate in the cafeteria.

Robin: McDonald’s, Arby’s, Taco Bell

19. Have you gained weight since then?

Matt: Some but not that bad

Robin: Heavens to Betsy, hasn't everyone?

20. What did you do after graduation?

Matt: Played basketball in Europe. When I got back Chad and I just bummed around all summer. Rangers games and rodeos every night we could. Rangers game bleacher seat $4.

Robin: Went to a party at David's house.

21. What year did you graduate?

Matt: 1989

Robin: 1986

22. Who was your Senior Prom Date?

Matt: Jenny “Red” Shepard

Robin: Scott Campbell

23. Are you going/did you go to your 10 year reunion?

Matt: I didn’t go. I might go to the 20th.

Robin: I didn’t go, but our old youth group from church got together. Didn’t go to my 20th either, but went to two other separate events that corresponded.

Answered Prayers

2007-08-24T09:53:00.001-05:00

A prayer has been answered at our house! Mason had homework last night!! YIPPEE!! He was very excited that he had something specific to do outside of school. It was to read one of his decodable books out loud 3 times to someone, have them sign the book and bring it back today. It was done in the car as soon as I picked him up yesterday. He was a little disappointed that the assignment wasn't something with more substance. After all, he had these to read last year!

I think his next prayer may be for something that requires the use of a protractor, Pythagorean theorem or diagraming the Declaration of Independence.

Funny Stuff...

2007-08-24T09:48:00.000-05:00

This morning I was surfing through my usual list of blogs and I came across this funny read! So far I'm entertained and I think I'll add her to my list that I read. I prob. should add some of the others that I read as well. Perhaps some of my readers would like to see what others are writing too!

Audrey's blog led me to this link that got it all started!

Funny and relatable read! ENJOY!!

Praying for Homework?

2007-08-22T16:26:00.000-05:00

That's what we're doing at our house. Well... hang on... at least the first grader is.

Bless his heart, he's so naive. Little does he realize that it'll be just a few short years, maybe even months, until he'll curse the idea of homework. As for now, however, we're wishin' and hopin' and prayin' that Mrs. Morrison will send homework home.

Sixth grader vs. homework? Doesn't like it, doesn't want it, praying it won't be assigned. Bless his heart...

House Pics

2007-08-20T16:37:00.001-05:00

From last week... please excuse the mess!

First Day of School

2007-08-20T16:24:00.000-05:00

It's finally arrived! The first day of school! My kids were so excited about today. They love going back each year and seeing all of their friends. Easton is in 6th grade this year and looking forward to getting a locker. Mason is in 1st grade and looking forward to the ginormous amounts of homework he's sure that he'll receive. Here is a pic. from this morning.

Yes, Mason's hair is spiked up... that's how he wanted it.

House Update

2007-08-15T14:25:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I've talked about the house. Unfortunately, I don't have any recent pics, I'll try to get over there tonight and take a few.

We're due to close in 30 days, so I might as well just save them up 'til everything is complete. We'll see...

The big news is that we have AC!!! YIPPEE! It was so miserably hot when we went over there after work each day. Now, it feels awesome.

This week the landscaping was done and the sprinkler system installed. Sod will hopefully go in soon. They still need to get the guy with the big equip. in to clear some more trees from the tree-line on the south side of the house. Looks awful!

Most all of the lights are in and working. My entry "chandelier" is on back order until the end of August, so we'll have to wait on that one. Matt and I went on Sunday to talk to my friend Andy about the pendant light globes over the island. Hopefully they'll look terrific. I'm sure Andy will do an awesome job, guess I won't be sure about our color selection until we see the finished product. He said it would take him about 2-3 weeks.

Most of the hardware is installed... just a few pieces here and there that need to be put on.

I guess that's all I can think of at the moment. I'll try to get a few pics. up tomorrow.

Another Reunion

2007-08-06T16:19:00.000-05:00

This past Saturday I attended a reunion of music and drama people from my high school days.

This reunion was to encompass anyone and everyone that was ever involved in ACT II or Musical Productions at Edmond Memorial. I was the oldest alum. in attendance and the only one from my class. Kind of sad... I sure do wish a lot of others from around that time would have come. I know there are quite a few that still live in the area.

I sort of tagged along with my sister (8 years younger than me) and a couple of her friends. It was neat to see some of the younger ones that I remembered. Also, I knew a lot of her friends because they were always around, so it was good to see them too.

I especially enjoyed seeing my old music teacher Mr. Attebery and drama teacher, Ms. Bartley. I'm so glad they were able to be there! Hopefully, if events are planned in the future we can get a HUGE group there.

Me and Ms. Bartley (Mom, Bart)

Me and Mr. Attebery (Dad, Terry Don)

Cage Camp '07

2007-08-06T16:13:00.000-05:00

Easton attended Cage Camp at OC last week. Much to his dismay I did not allow him to stay overnight again this year. We're both not ready for that quite yet. We dropped him off at 8:00 every morning and picked him up at 8:00 every night. That made for quite a long day for him.

His team only played one night game, on Thursday night. I was able to go to that. They played very well! Creamed the other team 50 something to 20 something I believe... (good thing I'm not a statistician, huh?) Anyway, they went on to tie for first in their division. UNDEFEATED!!

Easton had a good time and he seems to be improving everytime I see him play. He met some new guys this year and also reconnected with a couple from last year. We was very excited when one of his new buddies was visiting at church Sunday night. They've just moved here because his mom is the new Vice President of Academic Affairs at OC. Perhaps Noah will end up being a friend at church too!

Pomp & Circumstance

2007-08-06T15:59:00.000-05:00

That was Sunday, July 26th.

Mason had his Kindergarten Church Graduation after service. We all enjoyed a great lunch and watching the kids "sharpen the sword", recite the books of the Bible, the 12 apostles, 12 sons of Israel and then on to receive their diplomas. Here are some pics and a video.

I Got a Little Tail Last Night

2007-07-26T11:40:00.000-05:00

No, seriously... I did!

Our cat, Elphie, is strictly an indoor cat, however, she enjoys trying to sneak outside. This is foreign to us. Many of you know that we are "cat people" and this is our second cat that we've had. RIP, Delta. Anyway, Delta NEVER tried to sneak outside. As a matter of fact, she would back up across the room to make sure she wasn't near the door when it was opened. Not Elphie, she's all about watching, waiting and darting. It's weird because once outside she walks about three feet and then flops down, rolls around and stretches.

Last night I was walking out to my car to get something and she pulled her trick. Basically came from nowhere, because I didn't see her lying in wait. It all happened so fast... door opens, she darts, I close and following are the results...

About 1/2 an inch of her tail was pretty much scalped off. Once the door was closed I could see it sticking through on my side, but I couldn't get the door open before she had already broken loose, leaving part of her tail behind. Once loose she continued outside to roll around until I went to get her. Weird cat! It bled for a few minutes, but not really that bad. It's not like it broke off, it just scalped it.

I called the Emergency Vet Hospital and they told me just to watch it and if it bled more to bring her on in. It quit bleeding and she seems to be fine. Just sore... duh!

Anyway... we'll see if she learned her lesson from this experience! I wouldn't bet on it, she is a cat after all! That's why we love them! By the way, does anyone know if hair will grow back at that spot?

Happy Birthday, Gramps!

2007-07-23T16:03:00.000-05:00

This past weekend we went to Dallas to help Matt's grandad celebrate his 90th birthday!

Matt's mom had planned a big party for her father-in-law and I would say it was a big success! There were about 30-40 people, I'd say. Many were relatives and friends that he had not seen in many, many years; decades perhaps. Everyone had a good time reconnecting and he was thrilled!

Here are some just a couple of pics...

The Boys

Betty Lou, Noel (birthday boy), Matt and boys

I don't think he looks like he's ninety, do you?

Redhawks Game

2007-07-14T17:49:00.000-05:00

Last weekend we went to a Redhawks game. My dad was the winning bidder at the OCA auction for tickets and use of the Sonic suite for a Redhawks game. Sixteen of us went and had a great time!

Here is the end of the good old standard Take Me Out to the Ballgame, as sung by the highly intoxicated gentlemen in the box next to ours. As annoying as he was it was really quite entertaining to watch him throughout the evening! If you'd like to see the first part of the song link to the Bonds' blog.

Easton had a great time doing the Chicken Dance. The first few seconds show the doofus next door, but then pans to Easton.

Matt Gayle; Quotable?

2007-07-09T12:55:00.000-05:00

We made the The Oklahoman this past Saturday!

Coffee

2007-07-05T15:12:00.000-05:00

Following Scott's lead, I too, have filled out the little survey to see if I will qualify to receive a relatively free little Senseo coffee maker. I don't think I'll hold my breath, but it would be pretty handy to have around since we're not HUGE coffee drinkers anyway.

Updating

2007-07-05T14:48:00.000-05:00

Let's see...

The boys were gone last week. Monday I went with the "girls" to see Ocean's 13. Good flick. All of the boys are still looking mighty fine. I think I prefer the original (Ocean's 11) still, however, good movie.

Tuesday, Matt and I were going to go out to eat and spend some time together, but I came home from work just feeling yucky, so he went and picked up dinner and then I went to bed early.

Wednesday, I still wasn't feeling too well. I came early from work and did some laundry and just lay around being a bum. Matt entertained himself with a trip to Remington. Actually... if the truth be told, he was there Monday and Tuesday evenings as well.

Thursday morning I picked Easton up from Camp Impact and we were headed straight to Oakdale so he could perform with the summer band program kids. It was POURING rain. It was a quick and easy pick up, he was waiting for me, but just the run into and out of the building SOAKED us through and through. And yes, I had an umbrella. We decided to go back to the house and the kids could live without one trumpet at this performance. I started washing all of his clothes and we got changed into dry ones. We ran some errands. Grocery store, lunch, church bldg. to get pills from Brenda that he forgot. That night Matt, Easton and I went out for a nice dinner at Outback. Hadn't been there in quite a while.

Friday morning the three of us set out for Ardmore. We met Elaine, her friend Peggy and Mason at Braum's. He had a great time in Texas with GiGi. It was kind of a bummer because they didn't get to go and do as much as they would have liked. They were getting just as much rain as we were and that put a damper on a few things. We left Ardmore and headed straight back to catch Ratatouille. Very good movie! We'll have to own this one when it comes out. Friday night Mason was supposed to attend a birthday party for one of his best friends from school. I sent Matt and Mason on their way and I was on my way to Bunko. Matt called shortly after they left and said that no one was at the location listed on the invitation. It was a pool party, however, it wasn't raining... weird. I called their house and come to find out. They had postponed the party. I figure what had happened is they called their list according the school directory. Yep... we're no longer at that number. If you call it, you'll get a message from a person with a foreign accent. I guess I didn't realize that they would reissue that same number so soon. Anyway, he was disappointed but we reassured him that they would reschedule and let us know.

The weekend was pretty normal.

Back to work on Monday, but only for 4 days this week! Yippee! Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July! We didn't do anything all that spectactular. Just relaxed.

The house is coming along nicely. The stair banisters and railings are in and hopefully the island is being installed today. We meet tomorrow with the concrete guys to go over the driveway, walkways, etc...

That's about it... looking forward to this weekend!

Do you see the header?

2007-06-26T16:12:00.000-05:00

John helped me out today with trying to recover my header... is it working now? THANKS John! You're the best!

Chef's Academy

2007-06-26T13:59:00.000-05:00

Last Saturday the Young Chef's Academy had a Ratatouille open house party. Mason had ho hummed around all week about whether or not he wanted to go and finally decided Friday night that he guessed he would.

Mom and I took him Saturday morning. They were showing previews of the movie, having door prize drawings and preparing food.

In the first room they were making crepes. He mixed the ingredients for the chocolate creme filling. One of the adults was cooking the crepes. He tasted it and wasn't too thrilled with it. The filling was a little odd, I thought. It was made with ricotta cheese. I think a simple fruit filling would have tasted better, but then I suppose the kids wouldn't have had the opportunity to be quite as "hands on".

In the second room they were practicing using a rolling pin by rolling out puff pasty dough. They were also chopping veggies for the ratatouille. Here are some pics of him chopping. He really enjoyed that! Mimi bought him one of the cool cutters they use, and their neat measuring spoons.

After we chopped the veggies we were able to taste the ratatouille that they already had going on the stove. I gave him a little intro. about what to expect and he, of course, knew most the ingredients since he had just chopped some. He popped a big bite in his mouth and started chewing... and chewing... and chewing... We could tell that he really wasn't too fond of it and he didn't want to swallow it or spew it on the walls. I told him to very discreetly spit it out into a napkin and throw it away. That's what he did. I was, however, very proud of the fact that he was so willing to try it and not just snub it. We told him that even chefs sometimes cook food that they don't particularly like eating.

It's such a neat program they have there and I wish that he was more interested in going to some of their classes and workshops. He loves to help out in the kitchen! He just doesn't seem interested in attending anything they have. He tells me that he already knows how to cook so he doesn't need to take classes.

KIDS ARE GONE!

2007-06-25T16:00:00.000-05:00

This week it's just Mom, Matt and me at the homestead. Dad is in Alabama for the annual Anderson Reunion. Easton has gone to Camp Impact at OC (right across the street) and Mason is in Texas at "Camp GiGi".

I've already got a couple of things planned to do with my time! Tonight Mom, Jessica, Cheryl and I are going to see Ocean's Thirteen! I ask you... what could be better than buttered popcorn and Brad Pitt?!

Tomorrow is actually free at the moment... oh my!

Wednesday night I'm working the desk at Impact.

Thursday and Friday I'm taking off work to play with Easton. I'll pick him up from Impact Thursday morning and take him directly to his band performance at Oakdale. We'll run around and do something Thursday before I have an appt. and then have to go do some website testing for a friend. Thursday evening are our tickets to Oklahoma starring Kelli O'Hara. Kelli is a friend of Renee's and someone we always hook up with when we visit NY. Can't wait to see that!

Friday we'll meet Elaine in Ardmore and pick Mason up. He has a birthday party Friday night and I have Bunko. I'd like to be able to fit in Ratatouille, but we'll just have to see.

So much to do...!

Where's My Header?!

2007-06-25T15:58:00.001-05:00

Have no idea what happened to the header on this template, but another person's blog that I know uses this same template... their's is gone too. Guess I need to beg John (Husted) for some guidance.

Inside Pictures

2007-06-25T15:50:00.001-05:00

Entrance/Foyer

Kitchen Cabinets... not a lot of work space. Not to worry... the HUGE island hasn't been built and installed yet.

Fireplace

Master Shower

Laundry room

Computer Nook... it's really not a "nook". It's more than a nook, but not a full blown stuffy, fancy study.

House update

2007-06-19T11:35:00.000-05:00

Things are still moving smoothly and swiftly.

We met with one of the trim carpenters yesterday at lunch to go over the closets. We went back over last night to do some measuring, etc... and noticed that the majority of the cabinets (bathrooms and kitchen) had been delivered and were in the garage. Yippee! Matt went by on his way to work this morning to see if the carpenters were there yet. They were there and already installing! He also talked to them about the boys doors into their bathroom. We noticed yesterday that they weren't hung to open the right way. Anyway, they're going to switch and reverse those so that it won't cause a problem in the vanity areas.

The stained concrete looks awesome! Even Matt says so. The color turned out how I wanted it and I'm pleased! After what I thought was going to be a real issue with the concrete guy and all... it worked out great!

I suppose we're still on schedule for middle of Sept. I haven't heard otherwise. Hopefully they'll keep clipping right along and we'll be able to move that up!

Forgotten pics

2007-06-19T11:27:00.000-05:00

Here are some pics that I forgot I had and forgot to post.

Easton's lacrosse picture.

Team Picture. Easton's front and center.

Easton's 5th grade Spring school picture. I just love this picture! I typically don't buy school pictures twice in one year. (They do Fall and Spring) I bought both boys last fall, but I just really liked this one of Easton so I couldn't pass it up. Maybe because in this one he doesn't have a mop-top.

Six Flags

2007-06-12T15:41:00.000-05:00

Mission Six Flags accomplished.

Matt dropped Easton off at the church bldg. around 5:30 AM yesterday morning. He said that he had no longer come to a complete stop than Easton was already out of the Jeep and onto the bus. I asked who all was there, and did he remind Easton of the ground rules, etc... He said that he saw Evan and Levi and that was about it. Easton might have said, "See ya", but he wasn't sure.

I had told Easton on Sunday night that he needed to stay with Paige, Sheridan and Tanner and that he was NOT allowed to play any games at Six Flags. He had better not come home with some fuzzy, furry, zebra print pimp hat. "Is that clear?!" He had better to use the money I sent to buy food only. Happy to report, no pimp hat!

The girls had their cell phone with them, so Cheryl and I talked to them a couple of times throughout the day. Tried to get enough info. to satisfy us and make sure they were doing alright, without cramping their style having moms call to check up on them. They got back to the church around 10:30 or so last night. Easton was exhausted! He fell right into bed and was asleep in no time.

This morning I probed him for more details. It was exhausting for me trying to get him up and at 'em this morning. It would have been nice to let him/them sleep in, but that wasn't an option, sorry. He finally stumbled into the kitchen and grumbily (is that a word?) answered a few questions. He hung out with Paige, Sheridan, Tanner and Jeff. Didn't get to ride all of the rides he wanted because not everyone wanted to ride certain ones. He is sporting some new bling, however. Some sort of necklace with a dragon pendant on it! SWEET!

When Cheryl got to work today I got some more info. from the girls point of view. Easton did a really good job. He wanted to play a couple of games, but when Sheridan reminded him that I was only a phone call away, he shoved his money back into his sock! HHHAAAAA HHHAAA (evil laugh) The girls didn't buy any bling, but apparently were entertained watching the three boys shop for it! All in all he had a great time and reports are that he was well behaved.

House Update

2007-06-07T15:37:00.000-05:00

Last week we had meetings with the carpenter and concrete guy.

I get very excited talking about and thinking about the carpentry work. I sure do hope it turns out as beautiful in reality as I picture it in my head! Matt got a call from the carpenter with a minor glitch in the kitchen island plan. Hopefully have that worked out now and everything will be peachy!

The concrete guy, on the other hand. ARGH!!! Very hard to get a hold of, very laid back when you do get a hold of him.... seems to want to do things "his" way instead of "my(the homeowners)" way. Not so good. Anyway... after a few conversations this week with him and the builder, it stands as, "just do what we told you. Nothing more, nothing less."

This whole stained concrete/carpet thing I knew was going to be an issue, but wasn't prepared to make some of the decisions this early... thought I still had a while. Last week was the week from, well you know, at work. One girl was gone, so I did her job too. Making huge decisions about the house... it all just about kicked my butt! Anyway... I'm better this week and hopefully all of the contractors are on MY page now!

School's Out!

2007-06-07T15:24:00.000-05:00

School is officially out and I officially have a 6th grader and a 1st grader! WOW! They are excited that PaPa is going to watch them this summer. I'm a bit nervous... I love him dearly, but it's almost like a teenage boy that will let them get away with anything, watching them.

He was almost just as excited about getting a Frontier City and White Water pass as they were!

Last week they went to a movie (which is unheard of for my dad). He really enjoyed it, he said.

This week and next Dad is doing his Art Camp. The boys are going to that with him each day. They are making masks, doing pottery, etching glass... all sorts of fun stuff! For an hour each morning, Easton goes to the band room for Summer Band Camp. This will be during the whole month of June. Three days this week Mason has gone to Jr. Hoops Basketball Camp at OC. He has had a ball and been absolutely exhausted by bedtime! Today was his last day... haven't gotten the update yet.

Next Monday Easton is going with the church youth group to Six Flags. He is very excited about that! This will be the first time they've ever taken the 5th/6th graders. We'll see how it goes. Mason hasn't been officially informed of Easton's trip, so when news breaks it'll be interesting... many tears, I'm sure. Perhaps when Mason gets to go to GiGi's camp in a couple of weeks, that'll be one of her "field trips"! If that's the case, Matt and I just might be off the hook for our annual Six Flags family extravaganza this year! Yippee for us!

At the end of the month Easton is going to his 3rd year at Camp Impact. He loves going each year and has a great time. Dad will be gone to Alabama that week, so I'm taking off to run around and do fun things with Mason. We may even volunteer to go up and help with Impact a bit.

Whew!!! What a busy June... I'm sure it'll fly by...

Vase

2007-06-07T15:17:00.001-05:00

When cooled the base is clear. He is shaping the base of the vase.

Dad and Ronny

2007-06-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

Ronny is a spitting image (or should I say, spittin' image) of Larry the Cable Guy! Dresses like him, talks like him, funny...

Flashing

2007-06-07T15:14:00.000-05:00

Dad "flashing" the vase. Moving it in and out of the fire.