Hey Y'all...

I have so many stinkin' pictures to share that I can't decide who the lead off hitter should be for this post. When all else fails, you put your Rickey Henderson at the top of the line up...which in my case would be Abby. She can't compete in the stolen bases category, but I think it's a good choice, don't you?

So I have a few things on my mind to share, but I'm just feeling too overwhelmed to share it all. Not only that, but I've been looking at my Old Mill pictures so much that my mind is overstimulated by all the fabulous colors. I think at this point, I'm going to keep with my sports theme and give you like the SportsCenter highlights. Cooler than the other side of the pillow.

Tuesday:

We went to see the monstrosity that is the William J. Clinton Presidential Library. Mind you, we were not willing to pay the ridiculous admission fee to get in the building...so it was enough for us to just take in all that was outside. Interesting to say the least. The best part about this was my bridge. Yes, I was absolutely captivated by this bridge next to the library...I couldn't stop taking pictures of it.

Did you know that next to the WJCPL is the "University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service"? Uh huh... I've decided to just leave my comments at that.

Next, we checked out the Aerospace Education Center. This is 17 minutes of my life I'm never getting back. Take note...if you are in Little Rock, do not...I repeat...DO NOT see this. It was awful. The highlight of this 17 minutes actually came before we got in the building...it was seeing a Southwest airlines jet take off from the airport next door. Actually, there was another highlight from inside the building:

I encourage you to check out my batch of pictures from this days event here.

Wednesday (today):



This morning we left Little Rock, but not before getting 182 shots of The Old Mill. Here is a little fascinating tidbit about this spot:

Pugh's Mill Park [The Old Mill Park] was built in 1933 by Justin Matthews. The mill was designed to appear as if it had been built in 1800s Arkansas and features sculptures by the famous Mexican artist Senor Dionicio Rodriguez (1893-1955). The Mill is made largely from tinted concrete applied over steel and copper foundations and made to represent wood, iron, and stone. Rodriquez, who spoke no English, was very secretive about his plaster techniques. He called his art "el trabajo rustico" -- rustic work. He lived in San Antonio, TX and his work can be found throughout that city, including the pagoda-like entry gate to the Japanese Sunken Gardens, park benches and a covered foot bridge in Brackenridge Park. His San Antonio work was commissioned by Charles Baumberger, president of the San Antonio Portland Cement Company. Rodriguez also created the Crystal Shrine Grotto in Memphis. His sculptures are now considered rare works of art. Pugh's Mill can be seen briefly in the opening scenes of the 1939 movie classic Gone With The Wind. [Mark Lessing, 08/30/2003]

For the love of all things colorful, check out the pictures here.

Otherwise...we are here in Texas safe and sound. Little Rock was a wonderful way to break up our trip! Now we are looking forward to some fun with Gmama & Gpapa before heading back home in 10 days.

I sure appreciate all of you who read the Adventures. I especially love hearing from you through the various channels (comments section, email, facebook). Thanks for supporting me as I spout off about all kinds of thoughts and opinions...you are why I do it!

Much love,
k

Right this minute I'm having a little flash back to our 2 month road trip from California to Tennessee. I think it was one of the best times we had as a family. My flashback also includes our "2300 miles" days as well (for those of you remember the blog before the blog). We would pack in all the fun we could handle during the day. Then, after Abby went to sleep, I would scurry off to the corner of the hotel room to process my pictures and write about the days activities so all our family and friends could keep tabs on the adventures.

I have other flashbacks too, but I've been ordered by a court of law from writing about them.

So here I am in our hotel...Abby's asleep, Mike is looking at my pictures from the day and I am here writing to my peeps.

Little Rock, Arkansas...

I know what you're doing right now...you're snickering, aren't you? Don't be dismissin' Little Rock. Just because Bill Clinton is from here doesn't mean that it's not a happening little town. This is actually the 2nd time we've been to Little Rock (you can read about the first time here) and we've decided that we are fans.

Why Little Rock? It happens to be exactly halfway between where we live and Fort Worth, Texas (home of the Grandpapa & the Grandmama), which is where we are headed to. So we thought we'd break up the drive and spend a few days taking in "the rock". We left about 10am this morning and drove 6 hours (not including a stop for lunch and facilities) which gave us plenty of time to check in and hit the pool for some splashing around.





Of course playing in the water always stirs up a hearty appetite...so we hit the River Market district of the city and had some grub at the Flying Fish. A very cool eatery specializing in fried catfish. The ordering process is kind of like Soup Nazi meets Philly Steak shop counter. I can't speak for my familial unit, but my grilled shrimp ka-babs & veggies were fantastic. There was a small little portion of red beans & rice - enough to get you by but not enough to cause problems later if you know what I mean. So yummy.



After dinner we went walking around the River Market district - a very cool section of town on the Arkansas river. The area had very eclectic buildings and architecture, lots of little eateries and shops. We happened to be walking around just as the sun was setting...great lighting for photography (now if I only knew what I was doing!). Of course, my favorite subjects are always willing to pose for the camera. And when they are not hamming it up, they are actually are quite photogenic (in my un-biased, humbled opinion) - don't you agree?

Just a note for those of you wondering if Mike is joining the military. No...he is not. He asked his personal barber (that would be me) to give him a number 1 all the way around. I just do what I'm told, people.





Out of all the pictures I took, this one is my favorite:



Just a little shot to remind us that we ARE actually in Arkansas. Yee haw. I think the guy that drew this line may have been one taco short of a combo plate.

I encourage you to check out more photos from our Little Rock excursion at the Dropshots site.

lovies,
k

ps - Lest you think we just took off leaving Jeremiah to eat the rocks at the bottom of his tank, know that our boy is staying with friends who passed our stringent fish-sitting criteria checklist. Special thanks to The Rutledge family who is dutifully caring for the J-man. Abby said to me yesterday that when she looked over and saw his missing tank it reminded her that Jeremiah was "in good hands". Awwwwww....

Tired greetings from Little Rock, Arkansas....

Today (after several HOURS of packing our belongings) we said goodbye to Grandmama, Grandpapa and Fort Worth, Texas and jumped on the I30 towards AK.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the Dancing Bear Ranch (the nick-name of Gmama & Gpapa's home) - it was a great place to get caught up after time on the road. We had fun outings and relaxing days - we endured a few thunderstorms and 1 evening of tornado sirens. We took care of alot of preparations for TN and we watched alot of movies. We did alot of stayin' up late and alot of sleepin' in. Lots of hugs, kisses and "cozy" time. Thanks Gmama & Gpapa for a truly memorable time....we appreciate your hospitality and look forward to our next visit!

It's just shy of Midnight here at this cozy hotel in Little Rock - in some number of hours, our car (freshly detailed, plus a few dead Arkansas bugs) will complete the final leg of this 6 state tour. Our little car has put on more than 4,000 miles and hasn't parked in a place of its own in 2 months. This family is thankful for the opportunity we've had to do this road trip - it has been loads of fun and a deep bonding experience for the 3 of us. We feel blessed that Mike was able to work along the way, which enabled us to really stretch out the time and save a bit of money too. We have seen incredible sights and have a new appreciation for God's creation. Plus, we picked up a few words and phrases to add to our vocabulary, y'all.

We are excited to see our friends Michael, Bonni, Beka, Karin, Aaron & Judah (yes, that's 1 family) whom we'll be staying with until our stuff arrives (probably Thursday). Do the math people, that's 9 of us under 1 roof. The kids outnumber the adults. It should be a wild ride...stay tuned for new and exciting adventures as the Amaro's hit Murfreesboro tomorrow.

Tennessee will not know what hit them.

big little rock hugs,
k

PS: We have new cell phone numbers and mailing address...posting them here would not be wise of course, so if you're interested in the info, drop us a line using the contact email to the right and you'll get the information quicker than you can say Grand Ole Opry.

Howdy, y'all, from the great state of Texas! I think the last time I posted, I actually talked with a California accent. I'm not so sure that's the case now, having spent the last 5 weeks in Texas and Louisiana. OK...so I might not sound exactly like a rajun' cajun or a cowboy, but my choices of cuisine during this time would certainly qualify me for at least an honorary status.

There were more than a few times last week in Louisiana that I was reminded of that famous scene in Forrest Gump. You know the one...Bubba telling Forrest all of the ways to prepare shrimp..."shrimp gumbo, shrimp etouffee, grilled shrimp..." Heck, a whole chain of restaurants was founded because of it. Well, call me the Bubba Gump of crawfish! Crawfish pie, crawfish cornbread, crawfish etouffee, fried crawfish, crawfish and corn maque choux, you name it, I tried it. What can I say? If I'm in Louisiana, I'm a gonna be chompin' down the crawfish. Well, almost any crawfish...I never could bring myself to try the all-you-can-eat 3 pound boiled crawfish plates....I thought they might up and walk off the platter at any second...too creepy for my likin'...

Now Texas, that's a different story! Barbeque is the name of the game around these here parts. I live by a simple rule, I come to Texas, I eat BBQ at least once during my stay here. Our favorite place is fast becoming Red, Hot, and Blue. Great beef brisket served Memphis style (that is, with cole slaw on top) at a great price. Can't beat it, at least out here in Fort Worth. There might be a certain FCF BBQ chef that might give this place a run for its money...

So...you'd think that all I've done on this trip is eat, eat, and eat. Well, not entirely true. I've had time to ruminate on our cross-country trek many times along the way and thought I'd share a few musings and observations. Hopefully, this isn't worse than listening to a Kenny G song, but we'll soon see. I'll make sure Kristin closely monitors the number of hits this particular post gets. I'm guessing somewhere in the 300 range...as in 300 thousand. Yeah, right. Dream on.

Anyhow, enough nonsense. Almost eight weeks on the road and I must say this has been an excellent adventure so far (sorry Bill and Ted). We've been quite blessed to be able to visit family in CA, TX, and LA, making this trip seem more like an extended vacation rather than a move. We are grateful to so many friends and family that have supported and prayed for us. I can honestly say that Club Amaro has felt the effects of every single prayer that has been lifted up on our behalf. It has been absolutely amazing. Thanks!!!

Besides visiting and staying with family along the way, it has been exciting to see so much of God's splendor in creation. There are no words or pictures that can describe the majesty of the Grand Canyon or any of the other natural wonders that we've visited. Truly amazing spectacles, ones that we will remember for a long, long time. I know Kristin has already done a wonderful job of documenting our travels so far, so I won't repeat all of it here. Suffice it to say that we have had quite an experience and have enjoyed every moment of it. Well, except for that slip and fall that Kristin had a few weeks ago. Her leg is getting better, but it has been a slow recovery so far. :-(

So here we are, less than a week from traveling up to our final destination in Tennessee. As great as this trip has been, we are looking forward to finally settling down and starting a new home. It hasn't come without a price - namely, leaving friends and family behind in California. And you don't know how many times on this trip Kristin and I have looked at each other and said, "What ARE we doing?" But we trust that the Lord has led us down this path for a reason and His plan is always better than we could ever imagine. Why would we want it any other way?

I'll sign off with a verse that I've been pondering for the last few days -- Romans 12:12 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." It is my prayer for each of you...

Peace, joy, and every blessing,
M

Hey y'all. I just love sayin' y'all, y'all. Y'all know what I mean? I can't remember the last time I said, "you guys" (a term for which I constantly got ribbed for by my Louisiana kin folk).

Anyway - another day has past and I can't wait to share about what a fun day we had. Aunt Jan and Uncle Richard recently purchased a plot of land in Mer Rouge, La. on a lake...complete with a pier and fishin' poles. So, the whole family headed out to what has affectionately been named "Byrd Camp" (after Jan & Richard's last name). It was a beautiful day - although it never hit 70, there was no humidity whatsoever. There was a pretty decent breeze throughout the day, but if you caught a good patch of sun, it just didn't matter. Of course, there was a constant stream of food available all day long in case anyone began to starve...and, we had Grill Master D (sans Black Beauty tho') on hand to cook us up some tasty burgers w/ all the fixin's.


Clearly, the hottest attraction going today was the fishing. A majority of time was spent on the really cool pier that sits on Bayou Bonne Idee...all the kids really enjoyed the fishing. Us "older" cousins (me, Robyn and Ashley) recall fishing during the summers at the Scott camp, so it was neat (once again) to see history sort of repeating itself.

The most exciting moment for this mama was seeing her baby catch a fish. Abby had the biggest catch of the day (I have approval from Uncle David to say this as he oversaw most of the catches coming out of the water)!! It was a pretty little white perch and Abby roped him in ALL BY HERSELF! She went on to catch another later on as well. She was very excited...I know it will be a fond memory for her.


Other happenings at the camp were tree climbing, princess dress up, eating, losing crops (i.e. napping), bubble blowing and lots of running around. And, to top things off, we had a little fun in the bathtub. All 3 girls jumped in the over sized tub at the camp and the baby Grayson was dunked in as well. This picture of the baby Grayson is the only one I can really post since these days 3 little girls in a bathtub can get one into quite a bit of trouble. But Grayson sure didn't mind! Everyone got squeaky clean w/ new clothes and everything then headed back down to the pier for a few last minute fishing attempts.

You should really stop by the Drop Shots account and check out more pictures of the days events. More fun memories burned into the memory bank...with the Byrd Camp being only a short day's drive away, I can see more fun times are just around the corner!

Tomorrow morning we pack up base camp and head BACK to Fort Worth, Tx. where we'll be prepping our things for the ascent to Murfreesboro. We also expect a visit to Texas this week from Uncle Steve. Perhaps there might be another Bita song coming soon!

Prayer Requests:
1. More travel mercies (good thing God never runs out!)
2. Our belongings will be packed up onto a truck on Monday, then begin their travel to TN on Wednesday...although they are just "things", they are still our things alot of which are needed, some not so much :) Please pray for protection, safe arrival and no complications for our load.

love & louisiana kisses,
k

7 weeks

It's been 7 weeks since Abby has played with other children. That's 1176 hours of "adult time". 70,560 minutes of constant adult-interaction. 4,233,600 seconds of growing up that's past without getting properly dirtied up, roughed up or princess-dressed up. It all culminated last night when we arrived in Monroe, La. and had dinner with my Uncle David and Aunt Bonnie. There Abby sat for a good chunk of time listening to 4 adults chit chat back and forth. Oh, don't worry - Abby did plenty of talking too, but towards the end you could tell that she was ready for a playground (didn't help matters any that I mentioned that her cousins would be there and I was wrong!) Abby has been looking forward to playing with her cousins all week.

As I mentioned on Little Moon yesterday, Abby announced to us prior to meeting up with her cousins, "I have my plans laid out for what I do when I see my cousins." Her plan was to run up and hug them tight. Well, she stayed true to her laid out plans and then some. We met up with my cousins Ashley and Robyn at the "Jungle Gym" to let the kids run around and play. Ashley brought her 3 kids (Addison, Emerson and the baby Grayson) as well as her niece and nephew. The niece was the first to walk in the door to the Gym and of course Abby thought she was one of her cousins so she ran right up to her and gave her a big ol squeeze! Poor kid didn't know what hit her. Anyway - she proceeded to hug all her cousins as they came in and the next thing you know, they've run off to play leaving the adults behind for some good ol catchin' up. The kids had a wonderful time gettin' all sweaty and familiar with each other. We had lunch there and just had a great time watching them have fun. After the gym, Abby got to spend the afternoon over at cousin Tori's house...Emerson came as well so the 3 girlie girls had more bonding time.

Grillin' and Chillin'

Later on, we went back to Uncle David/Aunt Bonnie's house to do what it is that us Moore's do best....visit and eat. No Moore gathering is complete without grill master D workin' his magic on Black Beauty (the smoker grill). We had smoked pork, chicken and sausage that was 'slap yo mama's hand' good; Aunt Jan's potato salad; Nana's beans; some Boudin Balls from Ray's that Jan picked up on the way to Monroe; some Texas Toast and some little weenies wrapped in bacon that Cuz Robyn made. It gets setup buffet style and you just sit where you can find you a seat. Mike and I sat at the dining room table w/ Jan, David, Ashley, Robyn and Stan (Ashley's hub) and had a good time chatting. The food was great and the family time is even better. The best though, is seeing all the kids run around screaming and giggling. I had a flashback to my childhood thinking about me, Steve, Robyn, Ashley and Jeremy running around in that same backyard while the adults were grillin and chillin. Now I get to see my daughter make those same memories with Addison, Emerson, Tori and Grayson (Kayley too, who we are missing!) How cool is that?

After hours of outdoor play, the girls spent the rest of the evening playing dress up...our little princesses - they were muy preciousa! And puttin' up with all that girlie girl stuff was sweet Addison who is ALL BOY.

He plays so well with the girls but doesn't compromise on his boyness. Although he's not the oldest cousin of this group (that honor belongs to Kayley who lives in Tx), he was the elder today and took charge when he needed to. Like when a rogue puppy dog kept running into the yard (you know they don't have fences round these here parts) scaring little Emerson, Addison was right there to chase him off his turf.


Another great attraction today was the baby Grayson...just under a year old, I think. He is a chunkster with a million dollar smile that will warm your heart. My favorite picture (to the left) shows baby boy chillin' in a super fine nap pose - complete with foot hiked up on the snack tray and thumb in mouth. Grayson even made and appearance in the blow up jumpy house with his Aunt Robyn. He is a good baby and very adaptable....you have to be in this group!

Tomorrow we head out to the "Byrd Camp" in Mer Rouge for more family fun...stay tuned.

love & miss,
k

ps: Stay up to date on the pics...there's some good ones!!

Greetings from the fabulous state of Louisiana...Sportsman's Paradise, Creole State, Child of the Mississippi, etc. Lafayette, Louisiana is the exact spot where we are at right now - visiting Aunt Jan & Uncle Richard. Our time here has been filled with fun times, good food and neateaux sights. Lots to update you on, so let me get started...

Dat Wuh Good...
Aunt Jan can handle herself in the kitchen...of course she descends from culinary fabulousness (my Nana who could probably kick the Iron Chef up one side of the street and down the other). Upon our arrival on Saturday afternoon, we were greeted with the smell of lovin' from the kitchen. Jan had prepared dinner - pan fried thin chicken breasts with a basalmic vinegar/garlicy sauce, rosemary garlic roasted potatoes (par-boiled prior to roasting - what a difference!), corn, cooked carrots with brown sugar and of course, rolls (for soppin' stuff up). A meal that would make you wanna slap yo mama's hand, fo show. Later on after dinner, we went over to see my Nana, who lives down the way from Jan. My Nana is a sweet little thing - she can't talk because about 3 years ago doctors removed her voice box. Believe me, she can write up a storm - and, her eyes light up when she sees Abby. Nana is the last of my grandparents, so I treasure the time that I can see her.

Lappin' it up, Lafayette Style.
Sunday morning we went out for brunch at the Blue Dog Cafe. Their buffet is so incredible and popular that the wait to be seated was an hour! Fortunately, we opted for patio seating (which requires extra walking to the buffet) so we were able to sit right away. All you can drink mimosas, live music and wonderful dishes like Corn & Crab Bisque, Crawfish Enchiladas and Gouda cheese grits...needless to say when we were done eating, we needed to do some walkin'.

We went down to the quad at the University of Louisiana (home of the Rajun Cajun's) and walked around. Now, please don't let your mind conjure up images of the concrete rectangle of your youth...this quad is a SWAMP! Complete with cypress trees, green water, alligators, turtles and fish that defy the laws of physics. The scenery was beautiful and the weather was perfect for strolling around. No trip around a swamp is complete with out a big ol' honken bag of dog food...yes, we took dog food with us to feed the aquatic life. The alligators were digging it and so were the turtles and fish...so, I guess that's fine, huh? (Sidebar: I'm thinking of a friend I have...one who is able to identify the origins of most mysterious animal poop....you know who you are...I'm apologizing to you for throwing processed dog food into a swamp for alligators, turtles and fish). At least I didn't throw a half of a McDonald's hamburger in the swamp for the alligator to eat (as seen in the photo to the right)...that was some dude standing next to us that did that. But boy that alli snarfed that burger up quicker than you could say Steve Irwin.


Painting at the Bisque...

Monday afternoon, the 4 girls (that would be me, Jan, Abby and Nana) headed off to Clayfish Bisque, a place where you can paint naked pottery (not to be confused with paint pottery naked) and then pick it up a few days later after it has been fired up in a kiln. We had the BEST time! We all picked our pieces, then picked our paint colors and went to town creating our masterpieces. Mike actually joined us a little later after he got off work - he was able to supervise and ensure that all that feminine pulchritude didn't get too out of hand. We were all very happy with our pieces - we'll see how well they turned out when we pick them up in a few days. Jan did a cute little tile with crawfish, using all 4 of our thumb and finger prints as the crawfish heads and claws. Nana did a tile with a Fleur de lis design. Abby did 2 figurines (a dino and a dog that she painted "dalmatian" style) and I chose a pencil cup and did a moon face on the front with a Genesis 1:1 bible verse on the back.

On Monday evening, it was time to bite tail and suck head (that is code for eating crawfish, or "mud bugs" as I like to refer to them as). I still haven't gotten to the point where I can order even a 3 lb (let alone a 5lb or all you can eat!) platter of the little freshwater crustaceans, I just like to watch other people do it (exhibit A - this picture, Uncle Richard eats a small 3 lb portion of crawfish). It's a messy ordeal and when all is said and done, you get a little more than a handful of crawfish. But, people eating it look like they are having fun. Who can resist holding the little buggers up and making them dance and talk? Anyway, we went to a place in Breaux Bridge (which by the way calls itself the Crawfish Capitol of the world) called, "Crazy 'bout Crawfish" (what a good name, huh?). A cute little place with lots of fun decor all around to look at. Mike and I went for the Crawfish platter which had little samplings of all kinds of crawfish delicacies. Abby had the critters basket which had shrimp and crawfish. Abby gave it "91 thumbs up" (a phrase coined by the little critter herself) and so did we.

Seaux HOT!
Today we headed to Opelousas to a dive (and I mean that in every sense of the word) called Billy & Rays. What prompted the 25 mile drive you ask? Boudin Balls, baby. For those of you that don't know what the heck I'm talking about, Boudin Balls are made from Cajun boudin sausage (a blend of rice, pork, and spices). The sausage mixture is made into little balls, coated with stuff and fried. You eat them warm, plain or spread on a cracker. These balls were good... This place also sells cracklin's, which is something I can't even bring myself to talk about. Quite frankly, it's where I draw the line in my dining choices. Seaux nasty.

After our short stop in Opelousas, we headed back the other direction and continued on until we hit Avery Island, home of the Tabasco plant! Everyone's favorite pepper sauce is made right here in the state of Louisiana. We took a tour of the facility and got to see the machines and workers in action. We learned about the process that a pepper goes through before it's bottled. Did you know that the pepper mash is left to age and ferment for up to 3 years? The mash is stored in white oak barrels that come from Jack Daniels. JD is only able to use the barrel once for their distilling process. Once the mash is ready, vinegar is added and it's stirred for 28 days! I hope you will now appreciate your little bottle of Tabasco...alot of time went into the making of it!

After the tour, we spent some time in the country store. One of the best parts of the Tabasco country store is the samples. They have all their products there to taste (using pretzel sticks) AND, they ask visitors to review new products they are working on. Today, we got to give our opinion on a Raspberry Chipotle dipping sauce (I gave it a thumbs up), as well as Tobasco Soda. Yes, that sounds gross, I know - but it's surprisingly good! It basically tastes like Coke with a kick...my Aunt (who likes her bloody mary's SPICY) did not care for it one bit. We'll see if Tabasco puts out these 2 products soon... Another fun treat we experienced was sweet and spicy ice cream. I would guess it was vanilla ice cream with red peppers blended in. Again - something that I would normally turn my nose up at! After we had our sample, we actually decided to plunk down a buck and get a full serving of it. A taste sensation!

Well, this post has turned out to be probably way too long...I hope you stuck with me. For those of you wondering what's up with my knee - well, it still hurts. I'm able to walk fine, but sleeping is tough and it's hard to sit with my leg in one place for awhile. I started out strong with the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) but now the best I can do is Red Beans and Rice. Come on, I'm in Cajun Country!

By the way - I've got a bunch of great pics for you to see of our time here in Lafayette...head on over to the Drop Shots account and check them out!

We have a few more days here in Lafayette, then we head north to Monroe to visit more family...stay tuned for more fun-filled Club Amaro adventures.

Seaux long...
k

Yes, I know that is a completely meaningless title...but, my only other option was, "Let me recapitulate - oh wait, I never capitulated in the first place". That doesn't even makes sense...so, I went with funny.


It's been almost a week since my last post and I know millions of people are chomping at the bit to know what we've been up to! Well, I can tell you that although we've been having alot of fun, there's nothing that's too blog-worthy.

I did take a rather nasty fall on the bathroom tile on Wednesday. I was barefoot and the floor was freshly mopped...a recipe for disaster. Although I was a gymnast for a number of years back in the day, my ability to do the splits has been completely lost...and even if there was a small chance that I could do the splits, the area where I fell was small, and not designed for gymnastic activity. In case you were wondering, I can tell you with 100% certainty that ones knee is not supposed to bend left and right, but it will in a forced situation (like doing the splits in a confined space on a freshly mopped tile floor with bare feet). In other words, I started into the splits, and then my knee buckled the wrong way and hyper-extended. Yes, it hurt. Yes, I said bad words. I've been trying to nurse it back to health with RICE and it's feeling better unless I move it.

We've also enjoyed a few spring thunderstorms here. I remember each year growing up we would spend a few weeks in Louisiana (of course it was always in the hottest and humidist 2 weeks of the year). One of my favorite memories was the summer thunderstorm. It would be lik 85 degrees out, pooring rain....the thunder and lightning would make your knees shake. Unless of course you knew the counting rule: the more seconds you count between the thunder and lightning, the farther away the lightning was and the less you had to worry. As a kid, that's a comfort. Especially at night, sleeping in the room of a thousand windows (that would be the living room at my Nana & Papa's house). I would lay there, listen for the thunder...then count, "one one thousand, two two thousand, three.........whew!! it was a 7!" Anything over a 4 or 5 was like...no worries. Anyway - the room we are in here in Texas has a big window that's perfect for viewing storms....one woke me up in the middle of the night, so I got up, opened the blinds and just laid there watching the rain and lightning and listening to those huge claps of thunder. I love it!!

Tomorrow morning, we are off to Lafayette, La. to visit Aunt Jan and Uncle Richard and then we're off to Monroe to visit the rest of the family....Abby will FINALLY have some kids to play with! Poor Abby has gone over a month without proper child's play. She will have all her little cousins (well, they're technically 2nd cousins) to hang out with....she's very excited! I'm also going to make sure that Mike gets his first proper serving of mudbugs...here's a little picture of some of my family eating a "proper" serving of mudbugs:



Yeah...yum.

One other item of note before I sign off...we have an official arrival date for Murfreesboro. April 21st. Exactly 15 years and 2 days after the date I officially arrived in the Bay Area from San Diego. Our moving guys have a 6 to 12 day delivery spread, so although we arrive on the 21st, our stuff could be there as late as April 27th.

A few prayer concerns:
1. For protection for our belongings as they make their way out from California to TN...and, that the delivery spread would be closer to the 6 day and not the 12 day.
2. For traveling mercies - to and from Louisiana
3. For speedy and full recovery for my knee injury

love and won tons,
k

Yee haw...I'm back with another adventure for ya! We hit the stockyards again tonight but this time we put out cowboy hats on and saddled up for our first rodeo - complete with bull riding, barrel racing, bucking broncos and calf ropin'. This ain't yer grandpa's fair rodeo...this was legitimate professional competition y'all.

Upon arrival to the yards, we hooked ourselves up with some good Tex-mex grub. Then we mosied on over to the ring and secured our front row seats. The seats were great, although I was half expectin' to eat a little dirt - especially after the buckin' broncos competition. Abby was sittin' purdy on Grandpapa's lap with her pink cowgirl hat...we were buckled in for a rootin' tootin' good time.

I think it's rodeo law that any event MUST begin with a playing of Lee Greenwood's, "I'm Proud to be an American". Someone is going to the slammer if they screw that one up. They played it even before the National Anthem! Call me a patriot - I always get choked up when I hear that Greenwood song...especially that part where it all builds up to the climactic chorus at the end...poignant, but I digress.



Some of the highlights of the rodeo...first off, the bull riding was incredible. Those bulls are just madder than a junkyard dog! It just ain't natural to be ridin' one. As Randy pointed out to us, all the competitions are legitimate ranchin' duties except for bull ridin'. None of the cowboys made it past eight seconds (which by the way seems like an eternity!)...but, it was impressive none-the-less.

Another cool highlight - one of those cowboys roped himself a calf in just under 11 seconds. It was very impressive...'specially since more than half those cowpokes couldn't even git their darn rope round the little guy. I was so conflicted watching the calf ropin'...on the one hand, I was cheerin' for the cowboy to do the thing, then, when he did the thing, I was madder than a wet hen to see it and I wanted to go rescue the little calfaroonie.

More on the hilarious side was the part of the show where they let all the older kids in the ring, release a calf with a ribbon tied on it's tail and let it fly. The kids run around the ring tryin' to get that ribbon...poor little calf - I feel so bad for 'em. Another time they let the kids 5 and under (sans Abigial Susan Amaro) chase a sheep with a ribbon on its tail. Kids from the city and barnyard animals are not a good combination. I think I'll write a letter to somebody.

If you get a chance, check out the cool video I got of the bucking bronco - it starts off slow...but keep watchin' - it gets buck wild. As well, there are some rodeo photos - they were pretty hard to get as the action was fast and my camera is old. But, if you look real hard you'll see a few cool things.

Well - things are great here in the Lone Star state...we are enjoying our time at the Bashford residence and looking forward to some time in Luzy-anna next week.

Hold on to yer hat and sharpen yer spurs kids...more adventures are on the way!

love and calf freedom,
k

Yee haw and greetings from Fort Worth! We've been blessed with some incredible weather the last few days. Couple that with the fact that Gpapa has had 2 vacation days from the saltmines and you've got a recipe for fun.

Monday, Gmama & Gpapa gave Mike and I the old "see ya later" and took Abby out for lunch and a day at the zoo. They were gone so long that I was beginning to wonder if the zoo didn't capture them and put them in the monkey exhibit. Upon return back to base camp, Mike and I listened to countless stories of animals antics. It was nice to hear they had such a great time because Mike and I were carrying out far less interesting tasks like work, laundry, grocery shopping and the like. Later on that evening we all ate dinner in the living room (gasp!) and watched Charlotte's Web (the OLD one, not the new!). La dee dah.




Today was another beautiful day - that temperature gauge was reaching all day long to touch that 80 mark and finally did later in the afternoon. Mike was able to finish work a little early so we headed out to the Fort Worth Stockyards. There is alot of history behind the Stockyards - it was the last major stop for South Texas drovers herding cattle up to the railheads in Kansas. When the railroad finally arrived in 1876, Fort Worth became a major shipping point for livestock. These days, although there is still plenty of livestock around, it's filled with shopping and dining attractions, a rodeo, a human maze and other fun frivolities. Every day at 11:30 and 4pm they have a "cattle drive" right down the middle of the main street!


This wasn't the first time Mike and I had visited the stockyards, but it was Abby's first time. As soon as we got out of the car, she was already petting a horse! We mosied around for awhile checking out the attractions and then headed for dinner at Risky's Steakhouse. Although an order of "calf fries" was very tempting, we "steered" clear and "herded" ourselves over to the steak menu. Everyone enjoyed steak, except for Abby who went with the the chicken fingers...

By the way, Risky's has the 2nd best peach cobbler ever . The 1st best honor goes to my Aunt Bonnie whose peach cobbler won my heart so many years ago before I could comprehend how fattening it was to add 2 sticks of butter to one pan.

Oh yeah, an interesting tidbit - on our way to the stockyards, we witnessed (and were literally 2 feet from getting hit by) a high speed car chase on the I-35!! It was a VERY scary moment... The car being chased was the one that almost hit us, then not far behind was the cop chasing him. If Mike had started his lane change one second earlier, I would probably not be writing this post right now!!

Well, that's all for now...we enjoyed our day at the yards and are hoping to go back and catch a rodeo before we leave. Yee haw... One more thing - you can see more pictures of zoo day and stockyards at the Dropshots site - just click here.

love & calf fries,
k

Don't worry, the adventures are still happening! Here in Fort Worth, we've actually fallen into a routine that resembles something normal. Although for some reason, I keep forgetting to set an alarm at night and end up waking up at 9:30 or 10 in the morning. OH DARN! I know, I'll have to come back to reality one of these days.

So - I'm here to update you on some highlights of the last few days...actually, most of them are concentrated around events of today. Randy's Dad (Connie, aka Great Grandpa, aka GGpa), stepmom (Betty, aka Great Grandma, aka GGma) and nephew (Jake, no aka) drove down from Cameron, Missouri to visit with us this Easter weekend (that's a good 12 hour day driving!). They arrived late in the evening on Friday, so we didn't get to see them until this morning. Unfortunately, Randy had to work all day long today (makin' those jet airplanes is a big job)...but we set out to have a fun day despite his absence.


First on the list was an Egg hunt at Grandmama & Grandpapa's church. Gmama wasn't really sure what to expect, but we figured it would be worth the 3 minute drive to check it out. So Mike, Abby, Gmama, GGma, Jake and I set out to hunt eggs. The church did a real good job on the pre-hunt warm up (songs, story, prayer). However, upon arrival to the egg-hunting "field" we were all disappointed to find about 2000 eggs just laying on the grass. I mean, what's up with that? Doesn't 'hunt' sort of assume that there's work involved? Anyway - there was a "ready, set, go". Then chaos ensued as about 20 or so 5-12 year olds were unleashed into the field to indulge their every egg hunt desire. Regardless of the setup, we didn't want to miss out on our piece of the pie...so, Jake and Abby came up with their strategy and took off at the appointed moment. They decided to run as fast as possible to the END of the field and work their way back while the other kids got greedy right there at the beginning.


I am probably making this egg hunt to sound like a battle out of the movie Braveheart...in fact, it was quite civil. The kids who got more were even sharing with those who didn't get much - warm and fuzzy, you know. Abby and Jake made out pretty good with the candy-filled eggs (although much to my hormonally-induced chagrin, there was no stinkin' chocolate. whad up with that?) Abby shared alot of her candy with Jake since he was a good helper.

Once we got home though, Jake took matters into his own hands and took all the eggs out to the backyard and hid them for Abby to find. Now THAT was alot more fun! Of course Abby had to have a turn at hiding the eggs for Jake as well...


We had a great time visiting with the Greats (and Jake) today. We'll get to spend tomorrow with them as well...the whole family will be able to attend Resurrection Day service at Gmama & Gpapa's church. I just loaded about 4 days worth of pictures, so don't forget to check them out by clicking here.

Lastly, Mike and I had the opportunity to attend and incredible Good Friday service at a local church here in Fort Worth. Most Good Friday services are the same no matter where you go - dark lighting, candles, an old rugged cross propped up somewhere on stage, communion and the old hymns that talk about Jesus on the cross. This service wasn't any different, but somehow it was nice to just be "anonymous" somewhere while we took some time to remember the price that was paid for all of us.

I remember having gone to church for quite awhile before I truly understood what Resurrection Day meant. I couldn't understand why Jesus had to die at all...if God is God then why couldn't he just forgive us and be done with it (didn't seem like a good plan to me - and I know everything). It was Easter - probably 1999 or maybe 2000 when I had that "Damascus Road" sort of moment and the revelation of what transpired on the cross was revealed to me. We were having our "Come and See" group on the cozy couches of Fireside Court when a man named Lee answered my "why" question....very simply he said, "well, what else could God do to show you how much He loves you?" It's not rocket science, but for some reason when Lee said that, it all made sense. Of course there's alot of theology that goes along with the meaning of cross - but, hey - I can't argue with the "sky parting" moment that I had when Lee spoke his simple words to me. Jesus loves me - and the way he showed me is by enduring the cross to pay my sin bill, in full, forever. And, I'm not sure what more he could have done than that.

Enjoy your Resurrection Day!

He is risen,
k

Just a quick update to let you know that we are in like Flynn. Our application was approved and as of April 15th (or so) we will be tenants at "Vintage at the Parke". We are very excited to know that there will be a place there waiting for us when we arrive. At this point we are not sure what the future holds for home purchasing, but this will be a good place to hang our hat while we are scouting out the land there in Murfreesboro.

Thanks again for the prayer support ~~

love & miss,
k

We are enjoying our stay at the Bashford Suites here in Fort Worth, Tx. Here's a little update for ya on what's going on.

March 17th is not only known as St. Paddy's day around this house - it also happens to be Randy's birthday (Randy - aka, Grandpapa). Although he had to work, he came home to birthday party festivities. Us girls cooked the birthday meal and got the present zone ready...then we all enjoyed a great home cooked meal (in the "fancy" dining room!), present opening and dessert! Abby had hand-picked some goodies from the gift shop at the air museum we visited just a few days before. A book about the F-14 Tomcat, a rubber band propelled P-51 Mustang and some sort of foam plane (a banshee) that gets SERIOUS air lift! If we would have known how much fun that foam plane was, we would have bought many more! Another year in the books for Grandpapa, and we pray many more ahead!

A living arrangement update - we had requested prayer a few posts back for our living situation once we arrived in Tennessee. Mike, Abby and I have been praying each night on our road trip that God would already be preparing our living arrangements for our arrival in TN sometime in late April. We found an apartment complex that seemed just right for us (we had our friend Bonni visit the complex and meet with the leasing person - she gave it thumbs up). However, the likelihood was low that the specific floor plan we needed would come up exactly at the right time.

Well today I spoke with the leasing agent at the complex - it turns out, there is one apartment (the exact floor plan we are looking for) coming available on April 15th. Not only that, but it's a previous "model apartment" - so there is nobody living next door to this particular unit. It also is very close to the pool (not sure if you knew this or not, but it gets HOT there in the summer!) and has a nice grassy area behind the unit - perfect for kids. The best part is they are running a special this month - your first month of rent is free, and they waive the application fee! So today I worked on filling out the application and getting the supporting documentation over to the leasing office. They have no problem with us not physically being there, and are agreeable to handing the keys over to Bonni until we officially arrive. We will know for sure tomorrow after they process the application and check our details. It would be great to have this little detail secured this early in the game - I figured it might be a little more trouble than this.... I'll keep you posted. By the way, the floor plan that we are looking at is a 3 bedroom/2 bath and is 1216 sq. feet - just 31 sq. feet shy of the square footage that we had on Charlotte. The rent is $965. They also have 6 month leases (we thought it would be a year) so we are hoping that in the fall we will be ready to buy a house.

Well, we are soaked to the gills out here in Fort Worth! It has been raining cats and dogs...we've heard rumors of tornado warnings, flood watches and 2 inch hail - but right here in Mom & Randy's hood, we just have alot of wind and rain. They are blessed to live in this little nook of a county that just seems to stay out of the way of tornadoes. We are so thankful that our whole trip we've experienced such great weather - now that we have some place cozy to hunker down at, we are fine with the rain. It's quite impressive rain, too I might add - some of it goes horizontal!

It's been nice to cook and clean (good grief, I can't believe I actually said that) and not have to tip a waiter. There's a lot of fun that goes along with traveling and eating out....but I've been craving a home cooked meal and a messy kitchen to clean. Of course, check back next week when I might be singing a different tune like, "I want my baby back baby back baby back, I want my baby back baby back baby back....Chili's baby back ribs" or something along those lines :) Just kiddin around.

All for now...

k

Here's a phrase we don't have to hear for awhile, "check out time is 11am".

We left Midland, Texas this morning at 9am and arrived in Fort Worth sometime around 3pm (with 2 leisurely pit stops somewhere in between). We came in just in the nick of time because a storm is making its way through Texas as I write this... Once again, I can't say enough how blessed we've been through this entire trip - the weather has been fabulous (not one drop of rain the entire time). In addition - on the days where we've had to drive long distances, the time flew by so quickly! I don't know how that happens other than we know that people are praying for these things specifically. Your prayers are being answered - thanks!!

Randy and Mike unloaded the 1000 lbs that we've been carrying around in the car while I proceed to explode it all into our bedroom and other areas of the house. Settled in for 3 weeks. By the way, it is very strange driving our Camry round these parts - seeing our car parked in my Mom's garage!

At this point, we hope to settle into a somewhat normal routine....Mike will be working in his "office" for the next 3 weeks and I will be doing a bit of AFH work myself as well as helping with cooking and shopping. I will also be pursuing some living arrangements in TN and negotiating with the Van Lines on the shipping of our "stuff". We also look forward to visiting family in Louisiana the first week of April!!


Now don't go bailing on me - I will keep the blog updated (probably not on a daily basis, but as I feel led to) as well as our pictures. By the way - have you seen the option to sign up for these blog updates via email? Look over at the top right hand side of the blog where it says, "Subscribe"....put your email address there, then go through the verification process (which is a snap) and then you'll get these blogs delivered to your email the next day. That way, you won't have to remember to come back (and we don't want you to forget about us!).


Lastly - here's a little laughable tidbit....we just got some of our mail here in Texas (delivered from our mailbox in TN). And guess what? Mike has JURY DUTY!! I wonder if Contra Costa County will pay for his plane ticket? What's even more funny is the hoops he has to go through to get himself "disqualified".

Mmmmwhaaw!
k

Well folks, I'm back - first off, I'd like to thank Mike for a fabulous post last night...and just so you know, I encourage him frequently to post, but he insists that I do it. Please feel free to encourage more of Mike on this blog by shooting him an email.

So I was chatting with my stepdad, Randy on the phone a few weeks ago about driving routes. I had mentioned that we really needed a stop between El Paso and Fort Worth because the driving distance was too long. Usually, I would try to find places to stop where there was some local sightseeing in order to increase our fun quotient. When I asked him about stopping in west TX somewhere, he said to me, "well...God didn't spend too much time on West Texas". The comment made me chuckle at the time, but I've come to realize that truer words have not been spoken! Mike was right on in his post - there is a whole lot of nothing going on around these parts.

We decided to by pass the city of El Paso (which we now refer to as By Paso) because we had more than a few occasions to hear what a stinky little town it is. So, we thought instead to make a really long travel day (Albuquerque to Midland), get to Midland late in the eve then have a "day off" the next day to ramp up for another travel day to Fort Worth. So we slept in and had a leisurely morning getting ready and hanging out. About noon, we decided to see if there was anything to do in this town - or if it was in fact just a "mid-way" point between By Paso and Ft. Worth.

So Mike was in charge of mapping out a little sightseeing. Our expectations were low to begin with - but, we did want to give the city a chance. We ended up at the American Airpower Heritage Museum. Entering through the doors we found ourselves in the museum gift shop. The price of admission made both Mike and I scoff. I wondered if for that price I would get to ride in a B-52 or something. I mean, really...scoff, scoff (or should I say, squeek, squeek).

We decided to go for it anyway - and we are so glad that we did.

Now I will be honest with you - I wasn't terribly excited about spending the afternoon in a airpower heritage museum...there are a few hundred other things that I could think of that would be more fun for me. But hey, that's what us gals do for our men, right? I sacrifice many a chick-flick to cuddle up and watch "Band of Brothers" with Mike (to be honest, though it's a favorite in our DVD collection). I go out of my way to put war movies in the Netflix queue because I know that Mike will enjoy them. (In Mike's defense, he will gladly suffer through a chick-flick if I really want to see it). So, I pulled up my boot straps and walked on in to the museum.


WOW....this museum was so well done. Although there were some Vietnam era planes, the entire museum (all 40,000 square feet of it) was dedicated to the history of WWII airpower. There were incredible exhibits, mini-movies, artifacts, memorabilia, hands-on equipment as well as a research library and conservation lab. There were actual airplanes to see as well - including a B-29 Superfortress affectionately named "Fifi" (whose wheels were taller than Abby).

We spent quite awhile checking out this museum and we recommend it to anyone who finds themselves in Midland, Tx. Please check out more photos of the museum by clicking here.

Later on in the eve, we decided we wanted to find another reason to like Midland. Mike was on the case again - this time, his goal was to find a local eatery that would serve up some BBQ.
"Sam's BBQ" on Scharbauer Dr. was selected for our dining pleasure. Once again, Mike hit a homerun. Although, there a moment of trepidation as well pulled up to the joint. It just seemed shabby and run down. Mike turned off the car and we sort of sat there a minute - the unspoken words flying back and forth. I saw a sign in the door that said, "smoking allowed" - that's my out, I thought to myself! I mentioned it to Mike (who is almost allergic to cigarette smoke)...."OHHH Noooo..." he said. "We should go somewhere else"...."Well, no...let's just go here"...."Well, if you really want to"...."Should we?". You know the drill...

Finally Mike just opened the door - I could almost hear Abby say, "Finally" under her breath. We stepped inside Sam's and the smell of mesquite filled our nostrils. OH YEAH. The place was just about as toe up on the inside as it was on the outside...but at this point our eyes were blinded by the lovely smells that were making their way into our noses. We sat down in a booth whose vinyl was duct taped together. We were handed a laminated piece of paper with a handful of choices (no kid menu and crayons here, baby). Nothing seemed to matter - we were in a mesquite-induced trance. We ordered - and in no time plates of food appeared before us. Let me just say this....there was no family chatter going on at this table. Just eating. It was good bbq.

We came to the register to pay and the waitress asked us if we enjoyed our meal. I couldn't help myself - I said to the waitress, "Well, as my Aunt Jan would say, 'it was so good it made me want to slap my mama's hand'". Not only did I say that, but I said it in my best southern accent. So it came out more like this, "it wuh so good it made me wana slap my mamas hayen"
Praise the Lord that the waitress thought that was funny because that could have been an awkward moment. It already was for Mike...

So - there you have it. Saturday in Midland, Tx. - in the books. Tomorrow we are off to Fort Worth for a much needed travel respite. We will be there for 3 weeks, then we have some more traveling planned. Don't stop checking the blog though - you can count on me for more meaningless commentary.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. Praise: We can't believe how quickly the travel time goes - we feel this is an answer to prayer - thank you for those that are praying - it does make a difference!

2. Please pray for - yet again - safe travel...this time to Ft. Worth.

3. We have been praying for housing arrangements for our arrival in Tn. There are not alot of apartment complexes in TN...at least in the area where we are targeting. There is one complex that fits our criteria - but not sure if the one we are looking at would be available at the right time. Please pray that God would be preparing our place even now and that it would be clear to us which place is right (and that we would be open to whatever it is).

Lastly - I just want to say how much we love hearing from "home"....your emails and comments from the blog are bringing us joy on the road. We miss you guys and look forward to our next visit to CA.

Love you so much it makes me wanna slap my mama's hand.
(Hey Mom - it's just a figure of speech, ok?)

k

OK, I figured it was about time for me to chime in on this here blog thing. Now don't expect me to live up to that superstar wife of mine in the blogging department. She is in a class all by herself so I am not even going to try to match up with her. But even superstars need an occasional day off....so, lucky readers, you get stuck with me for this post...yeah, yeah, life is unfair, deal with it. The good news is that as soon as Kristin reads this, my blogging rights will be immediately rescinded...

Anyhow, I digress. Today was travel day which is probably why I am sitting here blogging this experience instead of Kristin. But there are silver linings in every cloud and today was no exception. Our digital camera got a much needed day off after being severely taxed to the limit the last 5 days or so. That's not to say there wasn't any scenery on today's drive...if small green shrubs, a whole lot of dust, and tumbleweeds are your idea of scenery. Compared to what we've seen and experienced earlier this week, today's 460 mile drive from Albuquerque, NM to Midland, TX (mostly along US Route 285) was about as appealing as watching paint dry. Well, maybe it wasn't all boring. After all, we did drive thru Roswell, NM...yes, the Roswell of UFOs, little green men, and government conspiracies. And it was sadly apparent that alien artifacts were about the only thing keeping this town going. Amazing what 60 years of myths will do for a city...

Another "highlight" from today was the incredibly fierce winds and dust that was flying everywhere as a result. We pretty much got buffeted the entire trip into TX and it never really let up. Pretty bizarre to see 50 mph winds with 86 degree temperatures. To make matters worse, I've had that old Kansas song "Dust In the Wind" on my mind all day. Oh, the horror!

But in the end, I can't complain. We had another safe day of travelling and we had a great time all along the way just being goofy as we Amaros tend to be from time to time. And, you really can't ask for more than that, can you?

Today was our last full day in New Mexico...and we decided we would make it count!


We woke up bright and early and headed out to find a beautiful day in Albuquerque. Our first stop was Target to get rid of a gift card that was burning a hole in our pocket. After that stop, we drove to our next destination - an aquarium called, "Albuquerque Aquarium" (wow, someone really used some brain cells to come up with that name). Coming from the Bay Area (and originally being from San Diego), zoos and aquariums are usually a big let down for me. But this one was nicely done - not so big that you can't see everything and not so small that you feel cheated. Just right, really...


We got to see a very large variety of fish, sting rays, sharks, jelly fish and even 3 birds that were part of the ray exhibit (which I initially thought were fake until one of them took a jump into the water!) Speaking of stingrays, we got to watch one of the workers there feed the small sharks that were in the ray exhibit...

There was a model boat exhibit as well - also, an outdoor exhibit that included a real shrimpin' boat (I of course was not impressed with this since I saw tons of these almost every summer visiting in Louisiana). They had a nice theater that continuously ran documentaries. We happened to catch the one about Rio Grande - it was quite fascinating!

After exhausting ourselves at the aquarium, we headed over to the Rio Grande Botanic Garden. This was a really, really cool place - made especially cool because the weather was incredible! As you walk in the park, you are immediately drawn to a pathway that led to "Children's Fantasy Garden". This is a well put together exhibit where you, the visitor are made to feel the size of an ant! There is a fun maze, little nooks to explore, beautiful landscaping and even a fun slide. Lots of photo opportunities in this little mini wonderland (by the way, that's a shameless plug to encourage you to click here to see the pictures! ) Here's one of Abby hiding in the carrot patch (notice the ant off in the background):

After the botanical garden - our tanks needed a fill up. We hit a diner on Route 66 called, "Route 66 Malt Shop and Grill". This is one of those places where you first drive up and ask yourself, "do I really want to eat here?" It's a tad shabby on the outside - and small! We decided to take a chance on it and we are SO glad that we did. We sat at the soda fountain counter and chatted up the owner, Eric, most of the time. Mike and I each had a hamburger - and my opinion is that it's probably the best burger ever. Everything in the cafe is old school - they even sell phosphates, which are the original sodas (you mix a little syrup w/ plain soda water). They also make their own root beer which has won awards on a national level. We had quite a lengthy discussion with Eric about politics, cheeseburgers and music. The place was a definite gem - I would highly recommend it.

After lunch, we headed to base camp for some much needed resting and indoor activities.

For dinner - we opted for another local eatery called, "Rudy's 'Country Store' & BBQ". The food was incredible - only this time, we didn't quite have the warm, friendly atmosphere that we did at Route 66. Actually, I would compare it more to Seinfeld's soup nazi. You ever go to a place where you've never been before and have this weird feeling like you're supposed to do some odd ritual to get your grub? Well, that's kind of how we felt. I had to go to the counter and ask the gal what we were supposed to do to order. She seemed all spun out about my query - clearly they were not in need of my business because the place was packed with lots of people who knew what they were supposed to do! Anyway - it wasn't that big of a production after all, but the fact that I had to ask meant that now everyone behind the counter knew we were "not local". So - we wait in line and, as luck would have it, the register we wind up at is the same gal from before. NOW I had to ask her how I should order for my peeps because the menu is basically just a list of meat and prices. Again with the spinning out. Well, ok - she wasn't that bad...but she broke it down kind of fast, which made me all flustered. I just picked a few things and she rang it up. Can you believe that this family of 3 walked out of the place fairly full for $16?

Anyway - the whole serving process is kind of different. First, she put down this crate looking thing (they are the plastic holders that soda delivery guys bring cases of soda in). Then, she lines it with butcher paper. Then, she turns and gets the meat from the meat cutting guy and throws it on some more butcher paper. They give you more butcher paper to use as plates. And, the gal throws a bunch of wonder bread on top of everything and sends you on your way. The tables are set up family style and they are covered in red checked table clothes. Once we got settled on the table, started putting all the pieces together and actually ate the food, we decided it was WELL worth the cost of humiliation.

So - that's our day in a nutshell...

A few prayer items:

PRAISE: I can't believe the weather we've experienced....it's been truly beautiful everywhere we've gone, this has been a huge answer to prayer for us!

Please pray for our upcoming travels - tomorrow (Friday) is a long travel day (500 miles) and the routes that are available to take all have high wind (50mph) advisories. Traveling mercies are requested as well as some kind of time warping to make the trip go by fast :) We are headed off to Midland for a few days, then on to Fort Worth for an extended stay.

kisses, hugs, trout and pancakes,

k