A Fun (?) New Toy

This is a picture of yet another thing that I get to inject into my body now! I am such a lucky girl. Actually, I am very fortunate to have this little thing, but I have a bad attitude about it today. It is a continuous glucose monitoring system which will give me a reading on my sugar level every 5 minutes. If only it worked we would really have something. I just started using it this morning so we are still working out the kinks. For example, right now it is telling me that my sugar is 334 when it is really like 140. It is a touch off, but hopefully by Thursday we should be in business with this thing. It has a wicked syringe that you have to inject, but I am hoping that in the end it will be a great addition and will help me to control my sugar better. I am sure at this point you are all wishing that you too could be diabetic, right? Let me just say - it is a lot of fun.

Also, I wanted to post this picture I took in my garage.
This is the spider that was in my garage that I killed a few weeks ago. I had to swipe it off the ceiling with a broom and then hurry down the ladder to step on it before it could run away. It is a good thing I have catlike reflexes and that I didn't fall when trying to hurry down the ladder. The great news is that it is dead and it didn't even squish too much on my shoe Ü

I Can Wait To Get On The Road Again

I just returned from a great trip to Oklahoma to see my sister. I was able to spend 3 days with her and her family before we loaded up in the car to head back to Utah. It was great being able to spend time with her and the kids. We got to do a lot of fun things! On our first day we went to Leonardo's, which is a children's museum/playplace and we were able to pretend like we were in space. We also got to sit in the cockpit of a jet and fly! Jack loved this part, probably because that is what his dad does. Elli was mostly a fan of the helmets.
The next day we packed up the car and a picnic and headed to the Oklahoma City Zoo. It was a very spread out place and I think I sweat off about 3 lbs just walking around. Jack ate all his peanut butter sandwich for lunch and was rewarded with a train ride. He needed an adult to join him so I also got to ride the train. It was a small track and we probably went around about 35 times, but we had a great time. We could ring the bell anytime we wanted because we sat in the front car. Jack yelled out "All Aboard" before we started and it was really cute. He LOVES trains. Later that night we also rode another train at a park in Enid that was deluxe. My experience with trains has been greatly expanded in a short period of time.

Miss Elli really isn't into trains, but she is into turtles. She really enjoyed looking at these giant turtles and just kept pointing and saying "Tur-tull". She threw a fit when we left, but it didn't last too long because she was also fascinated with bats, anything that looked even remotely like a dog (bears, rhinos, wolves, you name it) or any kind of fish.
Next, we headed to downtown Oklahoma City to see the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building Memorial site. It was a neat place to visit and it was a very beautiful memorial. On a side note, Oklahoma can be very warm and moist and there are some luxuriously air conditioned bathrooms next to the museum. I wanted to sit in the bathroom for like an hour, but alas the sweating continued. The next day of our trip we didn't take any pictures. We laid around in our PJ's until 11am and then we made a donut run to Winchell's. It is probably for the best that we don't have these establishments near my home. Delicious!

We loaded up and headed out on Saturday morning. The first day was fairly uneventful. We did make some fun stops, one of which was at McDonalds (my favorite place!) where we let the kids work out some energy in the play area.

Then, we stopped at Prairie Dog Land, which is located in Oakley, Kansas - home of the world's largest prairie dog!! Below is a picture of Jack, Elli, and I in front of said prairie dog. I have wanted to do a road trip with Kelly and travel around to a bunch of "the world's largest" attractions - this stop has made me have second thoughts about such a trip.

Prairie dog land was basically a big area of dirt that was covered with prairie dog holes and the little "diggy doggies", as Elli calls them, would pop in and out of the holes ("prairie doggin' it"). There was also a "zoo" with goats, pigs, turkeys, chickens, coyotes, buffalo, bunnies, a miniature donkey, and some of the scariest cows I have ever seen.
This is not the best picture, but this cow has 6 legs. The cow never stood up, but it did roll and move around and it looked like it was pooping out a calf. There were 2 small legs and what looked like a partial torso coming out of its butt. It was sick. There were 2 more of these freak shows, but they were less disgusting than the brown one.
Needless to say, I almost ralphed. The cows were the last thing we saw and I was thinking that is was a good break from riding in the car, until I saw the cows. Oh, I forgot to mention that we were allowed to feed any or all of the animals with milkbones. Very weird. All I can say is that if I don't make it back to Kansas, I won't feel too bad about it.

The next day we drove all day and we had some melt downs, both from children and adults. We finally made it to Grandma's house at about 7 that night. I almost cried when I had to get back into the car to drive to my house later that night. It was a great trip and we had tons of fun. I also learned that the 30 cents I spent on tootsie pops at the gas station was the best money I have spent in a long time. There aren't too many things that suckers can't fix!

Missing My Mel

Well, They say absence makes the heart grow fonder, I feel like I was already pretty fond of Melanie but it's true. Melanie is in Oklahoma until sunday night and I can't wait until she gets back. I told Melanie that this is just a taste of what I am always doing to her with all of my travels...the only exception is she went on vacation whereas I go because of work. Either way, it's not fun being the one stuck at home alone.



I have been staying busy with yard work and just plain work but when I come back inside and there is no Mel there to greet me and give me a hug, it just feels kinda lonely. I can't wait until sunday night. I love you Mel.

1st Class Accommodations

Some of you may know that I am leaving for Oklahoma next week. I have really been looking forward to this trip and today I received a letter concerning my stay. I get to go and visit these two little monkeys:

Here is the letter that I received. I have decided to include it in its entirety so you can all be jealous about my 1st class accommodations Ü

Greetings Mrs. Melanie Summers!
Our records indicate you have an upcoming visit to our Enid, OK facility. In preparation for this visit we would like you to be advised of the following to maximize the enjoyment of your stay.
Our facility is located in scenic Enid, OK, the largest city in Northwestern Oklahoma. Our property is a part of Vance Air Force Base, the largest employer in Enid. The architects did a wonderful job of blending into the surroundings without disturbing the natural ecosystem too much. Therefore you can expect to see a wide variety of creatures such as bunnies, squirrels, owls, and multiple types of birds. If you have any concerns or phobias regarding any of these creatures please let management know prior to your arrival and we can work with you. Oklahoma is also known for being part of “tornado alley”. Tornado season is at its height from April to May—since your stay will be outside of this time frame, you should not be concerned about the likelihood of tornadoes. Being on an Air Force Base does create some unique concerns. If you feel you will have difficulty sleeping through the sounds of airplanes flying overhead or reveille at 7:00 AM, please bring headphones or we can supply you with some upon your arrival. (Note: there are no requirements or expectations of rising when reveille is played)

Keep in mind we are a family friendly facility and as such you can anticipate seeing small children on the premises. Be advised these children may ask you the same questions over and over or tell you the same story several times a day. One of our long standing guests has a tendency to view the movie Cars multiple times per day or act out scenes with his toy cars. We suggest you simply acknowledge his obsession without giving it too much attention or he will persist with it all day. As is often the case when you get more than one child in a room, there are often disagreements, and these altercations can get physical. If you witness one of these conflicts we appreciate if you step in and separate the children, but we understand that this sometimes makes you the target of any blows about to be delivered. We have a fully trained staff and stocked medical supply closet in case of any injuries.

We do not keep a strict schedule, but you can expect certain things to happen each day. We try to take a walk around the nearby community each day when weather permits. These walks often include a brief repose at a nearby park before we return to the facility. We have a meal together with all of the guests each evening, everyone is invited but some nights the younger guests choose not to participate. We have a Registered Dietitian on staff to take care of any of your special food needs. Please let us know what your favorite breakfast cereal is and if you have any dietary concerns. Those guests with Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (henceforth referred to as “the betes”) will need to let us know of any specific foods we can make sure to stock to handle any unexpected changes in blood sugar.

We will be scheduling a day trip to Oklahoma City where there are several interesting things to see and do. Please let your tour guide know of anything specific you would like included on this trip and we will do our best to fit it in.

Thank you for booking a stay with us and we look forward to your arrival soon.

Sincerely,

Karissa Gibbons
Director of Guest Relations

Long Time Coming

You probably think that the title to this post refers to how long it has been since I posted, but it actually refers to our yard and how well it is doing - finally! The biggest difference is the sprinklers that we put in this spring. The grass is actually green and is getting water evenly and routinely - something that has never happened before. It really shows too! Not too mention that Kelly edged the grass the other day and it is looking really sharp.

The plants that we planted nearly 2 years ago are finally flourishing. We have a big rock wall in the back yard that needed some ground cover and it is finally getting it. This is one of my favorite plants because it has so many flowers on it. They weren't really out when I took this picture because it was overcast, but you get the idea.

We also thought these flowers might not make it, but they have survived. We have said many times that anything alive in our yard right now has got to be quite hardy and will probably not die. We have had some casualties, but those that are left are the fighters!

This is a picture of my greenie beanies! I am so excited that they are sprouting through the surface right now. We should have fresh green beans to eat in about 6 weeks. We are also trying an experiment this year by growing onions. I don't know much about growing onions, but they are really doing well so I guess it isn't that hard. We planted tomatoes, jalapenos, onions, green beans, lettuce (another experiment), zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, cucumber, and a pumpkin that I think is already dead. We are keeping our fingers crossed, but it looks like our garden should do well this year.
In case you think our yard is not thriving, let me ask you this: Could we host disgusting, hairy, sickening bugs like this if it wasn't? I have no idea what this bug is, but we were sitting in the grass and it decided to join the party. I still think the nice grass is good, but hadn't really thought about the company it might attract. Oh well, what can you do? All I know is that I have been really busy supervising a lot of yardwork and it is finally paying off.