Baby bunnies = fluff-love!

Today my youngest daughter Eden and I drove over to Bartlesville to meet a breeder and buy some new furbabies!  They are so sweet! They're only 7 weeks old, sooner than she usually lets them go, but since we've had bunnies before and she must have liked the way we handled them she let us take them a bit early.  We have 2 little girls, a black one we named Midnight and a calico ("broken tortoiseshell") we named Emma.

Eden was in such a hurry to get a picture of me with Emma before she went into the cage for the ride home from the bunny farm that she didn't give me a chance to get her posed.



I almost caught her~~Eden was making bunny-ears behind the bunny's ears....this is Midnight:



Home at last: Before today our babies had never been out of their bunny barn, much less gone for a car ride or been handled so much.



When we're holding them they seem very content and a little curious, not really scared at all. In the cage they cuddle together and watch the world go by. These are Holland lops, a mini breed. They're young enough that their ears haven't really "lopped" yet, Midnight's are still up and Emma's kinda "flop" but they'll be droopier when they get a little older.

God-hugs

It's a bird...it's a plane...

....it's who????



This was the sight that caught our eyes in Edmond Sunday as I was taking Sabrina back to winterguard rehearsal after lunch.....a random superhero in the park, fiddling with a camera tripod and adjusting his cape. We pulled into a parking lot since for once I HAD my camera when I needed it and Sabrina caught this quick shot. And to pacify any doubters, with the aide of my ninja editing skills....



I so wish we had had the time to see what he was up to....was he going to film himself cavorting across the grassy park? Perhaps a quick flying lesson? Sadly, the world will never know.

What a hoot. Only in the big city....I hope.

Funerals, Family, and Fun Times with Teenagers

October 13, 2007:  My favorite uncle passed away.  A heart of gold and a true Ornery Snot (a title of distinction I bestow upon a privileged few) who always thought of others before himself~~our loss, Heaven's gain.  I sure do love you, Uncle Charlie.

October 17, 2007:  As often happens, funerals bring about reunions~~a happy consequence of sad times.  Left to right:  Cousin Larry the Bear Hunter (with a bow and arrow yet....many, many questions in my mind about his sanity and/or will to live! ), sister Kendra, me, and cousin Junior/Charlie....sorry guy, I'm never gonna get past calling you Junior~~I remember when Tom first met you and he asked what he should call you....your reply was "if you call me Charlie I have to bill you" and Tom shook your hand and said "great to meet you, Junior!"

On our way home we did some exploring in Greensburg, Kansas which was literally wiped out by tornadoes in April.  Eerie, sad, shocking....all the trees had their limbs ripped off but the healthy roots keep sending up life resulting in all these huge shaggy stumps.

This just hit me as ironic~~little late now:

City hall is a trailer.

All that's left of a once impressive structure: 

October 18, 2007:  4:30 a.m. call time to board charter buses, acting as chaperone for the band trip to St. Louis, Missouri.  Nine hours of travel time and then first stop was the Science Museum.  Most impressive to me was this motion structure which sent plastic balls through a series of tracks and chutes that was by far larger than my house:

Big boys still play with blocks~~our band directors attempt to construct a stable arch.  Left to right:  Ryan Lipscomb, Arlis Henegar, and Pat Kitchell:

Off to check in at our hotel, then to dinner at Hard Rock Cafe at Union Street Station, an outdoor covered mall.  Across the pond from Hard Rock was this seafood restaurant where we ended up having lunch the next day.

October 19, 2007:  Friday morning rehearsal outside our hotel~~yes, we were THAT close to the Arch.  Jubilee and Eden fighting the wind with their flags; Linda in the background looking on:

Tried to get most of the kids rehearsing with the Arch behind:

Arlis leads the percussion section:

That curly-top redhead is Jordan, his mom/my friend Camille was one of my roommates:

Sabrina and Michelle (my most recently "adopted" daughter) fighting the wind with their angel-wing flags:

The 2007 Marching Wildcats:

Saturday, October 20, 2007:  First stop, Grant's Farm~~President Ulysses S. Grant's self-built cabin:

An albino something--python?--which completely freaked me out but which I include just for YOU, Sister Dixie!

American Bald Eagle~~they always take my breath away:

The Tiergarten:

We were fortunate to be there the same day as a troupe of traveling German dancers....who recruited a bunch of our kids for the Chicken Dance~~what good sports they are!

The Farm was thoroughly decorated for Halloween which makes for a rather icky background for these beautiful birds:

I've never seen one this beautiful peach color before!

Next stop, Six Flags St. Louis~~and the Clone of Rock and Roll:

Lack of sleep does interesting things do your decision-making abilities~I got a tattoo!  ....    Okay, so it's a henna tattoo, and will be gone in a couple of weeks~~that's the only kind I would really want anyway.

Looking down from the top of an 18-story Ferris wheel:

Sunday, October 21, 2007:  The Gateway to the West:

Views from the top of the Arch:

The shadow of the Arch:

Old Man River:

See that little thing on the edge of that square dock?  That's a helicopter....we're up pretty high!

Linda, Eden, and Laurie at the top of the Arch:

St. Louis Cardinals stadium

I know, but this angle will look GREAT in a scrapbook:

Band and chaperones:

Boarding the riverboat Tom Sawyer:

Sun and scenes from the top of the boat:

Sabrina taking in the sights:

Moms just LOVE zoom lenses:

A horse-drawn carriage giving rides along the river~~if only we'd had the time!

Shortly after we loaded for our long drive home~~thanks for sharing our journey!

Chapter 9~~May 14, 2007: Last Day

We chose to spend today quietly, we've been on the go almost non-stop and have a full day of travel ahead of us tomorrow.  Tom and I slept in and started packing.  We walked over for a late lunch at The Bramshill Hunt, a pub near Dwight and Marty's neighborhood.  The food was great, very traditional British decor:

And inside that very British pub, the music was.....very old, very BAD disco.    What the heck?!  ~~  Afterwards we walked over to the little market to pick up a few things for dinner, enjoying our last look at the English gardens and architecture.

We met and made friends with a beautiful black German Shepherd--neither of us had ever seen one that color.  He was a sweetheart.

Funky British car:

Oh I LOVE these signs, can I post one on MY street??

Teensy little flowers, intensely bright:

Tom and Dwight walked over to the Abingdon military museum:

Guys....cars....need I say more? 

Smart Cars--made to park nose first in a regular parallel parking space.  Very fuel efficient, but I sure wouldn't want to get hit in one!

Tom made chili for dinner while I finished packing.  Tom had tried to explain rodeo and noodling to Catherine (from Kenya), so I went online and found some videos for her to watch.  I think we pretty well convinced her that Oklahomans are crazy people. ***  We started watching Casino Royale, and then Marty arrived home with Dwight's 22-year-old cousin Gabriella from Switzerland and her 2 friends Adriana and (another) Gabriella.  All 3 girls are law students who were taking a break from school to come and shop in London.  We enjoyed getting acquainted with the girls, and later finished our movie before turning in.

May 15, 2007:  Departure.

How do you thank someone for making your wildest dream possible?  For months of planning, endless emails educating the travel-challenged, overseas phone calls to share the excitement, boundless generosity and matchless hospitality?  For the thousand thoughtful preparations?  Marty and Dwight, you have blessed us beyond imagination in so many ways, and we will treasure these memories forever.  We love you both so much and are so grateful for everything you have done.

Our flight was delayed leaving Heathrow for over an hour due to a problem with the hydraulics.  This caused us to miss our connection in Washington, DC, but we were able to get on the next flight into Denver in plenty of time for our connection to Wichita.  Especially since the Denver-Wichita flight was delayed by a couple of hours....  By the time we landed in Wichita we had been up for over 24 hours.  Cousin Toni who kept our van while we were away picked us up at the airport.  After we dropped her off at home, we took turns driving until we reached home around 1 a.m.  Hugged the girlies and got tucked into bed, very happy to be home.

~~Thanks for sharing our adventure!!~~