Fair Days

Time again for the Tulsa State Fair. It's been years since I've gone, but when Jeremy asked me today if I wanted to join his family for an afternoon at the Fair, it sounded like fun. First order of business was FOOD...the absolute, indisputable, BEST part of the Fair. Anything fried on a stick will do. Jacob, our picky eater, opted for the safe popcorn chicken, but I don't think he figured on sharing with Lauren, our "I'll eat anything you're eating" eater. Those stroller seats are just too close to keep the little fingers at bay. We looked all over for the mini-cini rolls, but no luck. No problem, we'll just go on to the fun stuff.

After feeding and petting the animals at the Petting Zoo, Jacob couldn't wait any longer to get on the rides. Mommy and Daddy steered him toward the kiddie rides, but he was determined to steer them to the more adventurous ones. He agreed to begin on the less-scary "Big Trucks" and Dragon roller coaster, but soon moved on to the high-flying planes, the BIG roller coaster (which even made Mommy scream) and the Sky Ride.

While Jacob was getting his thrills on the rides, Lauren took advantage of the opportunity to catch a little nap.

Jacob konked out on the way home.

Nana konked out as soon as she got home!

Accolade for the Butterfly

This is one tough butterfly. You may not recognize it, but it began as a beautiful, soft, pink crib toy. When Lauren was born, she received two of them as gifts. We apologize to the gifters, as one of them was snatched by Jeff's basset, Gracie. Trista, being kind-hearted, not to mention sanitary and protective, insisted that Gracie keep it. That was almost a year ago. Recently, my parents and I were sitting on the front porch, being entertained by the dogs wrestling with one another and playing "KeepAway" with Gracie's favorite toy--the butterfly. To our amazement, we heard the familiar "Rock-a-Bye Baby" tune as she chewed on the toy. This thing was made to last!

Speaking of the dogs....yesterday they were barking incessantly (I love to use big words when I write, cause I never use them when I talk)...so I went to see what all the fuss was about. It became clear that they had something cornered and I was a bit apprehensive about getting any closer, fearing it might be a snake. Turned out to be a HUGE tarantula. I guess they thought they were going to bark it to death, because that was the extent of their attack.

Retired?

Since I'm no longer employed outside the home, I consider myself retired. I now understand what my parents were talking about when they said they were busier now than before they retired. I'm sure I'm not alone....everyone is busy. But lately, with the return of my son, I find myself wearing many hats. Granted, Jeff has been basically on his own for the past nine years, but for some strange reason, I have reverted back to exhibiting "motherly" characteristics. He doesn't expect it....it's just a natural instinct. I know this will take some adjusting, for both of us. I'm trying not to be overly inquisitive about his schedule, what he's going to eat, whether he has clean, pressed clothes to wear. On the other hand, I don't want to have to report to him either. We are both accustomed to being on our own.

Here are just a few of my job descriptions:

Accountant: pay the bills, balance the checkbook, etc.
Investment Manager
Travel Agent: schedule and reserve all Tulsa-Houston flights
Pool Boy (girl): empty skimmer, vacuum pool, balance chemicals
Snake Handler: (see above)
Game/Wildlife Ranger: check for and report any deer spottings, figure out digital game camera and download all pics to computer, buy and scatter sunflower seeds around dove decoys, make sure deer feeder is full of corn
Grocery Shopper
Cook: Made much easier by Pass Your Plate
Housekeeper
Entertainer: for grandkids

Not to mention my volunteer work at the church and with OKMRC and time set aside each day for Bible study.

So, you say...how do you find time to blog? Guess I'm not so busy after all.