Coupon Gripe

I clip coupons on Sunday, but don't usually print them off the computer or drive all around town following sale fliers. But today when I got a coupon in the mail that said, "$5 off a $20 purchase," I got excited -- that's like, spend $15 get $5 free! I thought that was worth a trip to Dollar Gen'ral. So I took my weekly WM list there, and carefully walked up and down the aisles looking for things on my list that wouldn't cost more than at Wally World, adding in my head until I got to at least $20, and got in line. Imagine my surprise when my sweet cashier Patience scanned my coupon and nothing happened. So she scanned it again. And again. And one more time. Then she told me it expired today. *Note: re-read sentence #2!* I got it today!!! Patience must have read the distress in my eyes, because she hollered out, "Nancy! I got a question!" She excused herself and went to ask Nancy for mercy for me, and came back. At which point she informed me that the coupon is only good at the Waldo store. Waldo, for those who don't know, is a "town" 7 miles from here that makes Magnolia look like a metropolis. I was NOT driving to Waldo. I just took my stuff and went home. I tried to be careful, so I guess I didn't waste any money, but I did waste a lot of time and peace of mind. Next week I'm sticking to Mr. Sam.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is, the weather cooled off quite a bit for the mother/daughter date Jessica and I had today at the Arboretum in El Dorado!

I wish this was clearer--I loved the way the pine needles hung from the branches of this small tree underneath.

I also loved these ferns growing all over the forest floor.

But they made Jessica think of "The Spiderwick Chronicles" and get all creeped out.

The ivy was pretty, too.

The prettiest sight of all

This is the only "wildlife" we saw--a teeny, tiny frog!

The bad news is, we had walked about half the circular trail when... the sky opened up! It POURED on us! We ran (until I tuckered out) to the pavilion by the entrance gate, laughing so hard. We were soaked!

But it was definitely a bonding experience! Followed up with ice cream sundaes at Baskin Robbins. :)

Fun Summer Fotos (title block?)

Swimming lessons! She can go in the deep end now.

 Rainy day!

Playing in the sprinkler...

Some things never change...:)

New haircut!

Mom helped me make blackberry jelly. mmm

Painting the living room--no more battleship gray!!

That's all for now--4 weeks left!

We survived...

...but I deceived you about the temperature.
It was actually 102.
My mom got to experience a truly Texan weekend with me. The reception was at an event center that was surrounded by ranches in the hill country--I kept expecting to see cowboys riding up in ten-gallon hats. And we got to eat Tex-Mex fajitas the first night, then BBQ brisket with pickles, Mrs. Baird's white bread, and sweet tea at the reception, and chicken strips with white gravy at Whataburger on the way home! But best of all: kolaches from the Czech Stop in West! I love those things! I still remember the first one I tasted at the teacher inservice at my school in Fort Worth. Aaaah, sweet memories! In case you don't know, these

 are kolaches. (What is left of our dozen and a half!)
They don't have meat in them. If they do, they're pigs-in-a-blanket falsely labeled.

So here are some pictures from the reception, and it really wasn't that bad--there was a breeze blowing, and shade under the live oaks, and of course, good company.

Praying before the meal

The caterers shirts said, "Horrifying vegetarians since 1978!"

Mom and Sylvia

Dan and Valerie watching the bride and groom dance

Rachel was about 7 when Dan and Valerie got married. Dan and Rachel danced "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" then, and again at Rachel's wedding. Sweet!

Then Sylvia got to dance with her new daddy.

I didn't dance, but I did feel cute in the new red sundress my Mama bought me that morning :) And we had a really good time.

Wedding Fun!

Mom and I are in Austin for my cousin Valerie's daughter's wedding. I only have 2 first cousins, Valerie and Buddy, and Valerie is just 6 months older than me. When we were little she came to visit and my Mom had made us matching outfits--oh, I loved it! Here are some pictures:

Rachel, the beautiful bride

Isn't Carl handsome!

The adorable one in the middle is Sylvia, Rachel's daughter.

The whole family! Can you see me hiding behind my mom? I just wish Valerie's mom and my dad had been there. But I know they're rejoicing in heaven! And maybe even filling it with laughter--

Mom and her baby brother, my Uncle Billy (Valerie's dad)

Valerie's son Jordan

Now Mom and I are leaving for the reception...at a ranch...outside. It's 100 degrees. If you don't hear from me soon, you'll know we melted.

10 on the Tenth

This month I'm taking part in Meredith's "10 on the Tenth"  by listing 10 things I enjoyed about our week at the Arkansas Baptist Assembly in Siloam Springs.
1. Stopping to visit my family on the way. We had pizza and played Scattergories with my brother and his family Saturday night, then got up Sunday a.m. and went to our old church, where Mom still goes. Their choir always sings a salute to the armed forces which makes me cry. My dad always looked so handsome standing for the Navy anthem in his dress whites. Then we ate Chinese food for lunch, and sat around talking and waiting (im)patiently for it to get dark enough to set off fireworks. I love watching the fireworks and eating burgers and watermelon and "whole-made" ice cream! (as my nephew used to call it)

2. Scenery. As we drove up, I loved seeing the beautiful, green, rolling Ozark Mountains-covered in trees and wildflowers, with rock bluffs peeking out here and there.
3. Cooler weather. It was amazing how much cooler it was 6 hours north!
4. Worship. When we go to this camp, Mike is there mainly to steer future college students to the BCM. So aside from the pizza party for the seniors, there's nothing we're "required" to do or go to. Rebecca has always gone to her "pre-camp," as they call it, and loves it. She's had the same sweet teacher every year. The first time we went, Jessica and Mikayla went to the kids' camp, but since they're not with a group and don't know anyone, it's not a lot of fun. Jessica stayed with my mom this year, so the only part of kids' camp Mikayla went to was the nightly worship a couple of nights. Both there and at the youth camp I enjoyed the worship music--the Siloam band rocks! My favorite new (to me?) song was "Say, Say." Click here to listen.

5. The Snack Shack. Just kidding. That was the girls' favorite.
6. The cafeteria. But definitely NOT because of the food. I just enjoyed not having to cook or clean up!
7. The Dayspring Outlet. Every year I LOVE going to the Dayspring Outlet!! I stock up on a year's supply of greeting cards, and sometimes get some nice little gifts or decorations. This year they were having Christmas in July--all Christmas items were buy one get one free!!
8. Wild Wilderness Drive-Thru Safari. The camp has a new executive director, and he told us about this place 10 miles north of the camp. We drove through acres looking at animals. My favorites were the peacocks, the baby zebras, and the monkey that jumped on our van. We couldn't get it off! Parts of it made me sad--it was a far cry from the total freedom of Kruger or Yellowstone. All the predators and a lot of the primates were in cages, either pacing or sleeping. But at the end of the driving tour there were petting areas--I got to hold a monkey and pet a baby tiger, baby wolves, and kangaroos!! It was soooo cool. I have decided I don't like monkeys anymore, though. When I was a little girl I thought I'd love a pet monkey, like Curious George. But when we were at Kruger with Angie's hubby Charlie, the monkeys made me nervous, especially at night. I was afraid they would jump on my head. At Wild Wilderness, I went in the monkey cage and was talking to the monkey I saw, trying to get it to come to me, when another one jumped on my head!!! I gave the camera to Mike to get him to take a picture, but then it jumped on him! I left the cage when one bit Mike on the leg. (It didn't hurt, but still.) The feeling of it swinging from me to him by its tail around my arm was pretty cool, but I'm done with monkeys. But it was literally thrilling petting the kangaroos. They were so soft. I even liked when it jumped away with my hand on it's back!

Mikayla wasn't overly fond of the monkeys either. Especially when this one put his hand in her mouth!!

9. Swimming. We swam at an indoor pool at the Jones Center for Families. What a cool place--pool with a water slide, ice rink, playground, food court, chapel. It was amazing. It was cheap. And the best part was, we were there with...

I'm guessing the sun may have been bright in their eyes.

10. Old friends! We met my friend Holly and her 2 kids at the Center. Kate and Rebecca used to be best buds, and they picked up right where they left off. Holly and I didn't need any help talking, either. It was great spending time with them and catching up.
If you'd like to see more pictures of this week, I'll be putting some on facebook soon!

Flashback

I never blogged about our CMT retreat and anniversary trip! (That's "Collegiate Ministry Team," not "Country Music Television.")
I have always LOVED our CMT retreats, even when they weren't called that. In the Northwest, we went to Cannon Beach, Oregon, and walked on the windy beach and shopped and ate salt water taffy. Here, we go to Branson, Missouri, and go to Silver Dollar City and shop and swim at the hotel pool. But in both cases, my favorite part is talking to the other wives, and now that we have kids, watching our kids interact. Arkansas has the family retreat every 3 years, and when we finally get together it's as if being around people who have similar ministries and goals and lives opens a dam and we cram 3 years of conversations into 3 days. We laughed, we cried, we prayed. Every child met at least one friend their age, and they fell right into best buddies. I guess that's what "family of God" means!

The Arkansas Convention gives a birthday party for the kids at each family retreat. Pizza, cake, ice cream, and even presents!! It's so much fun.

This year we were also able to see some friends/former students from Idaho who now live in Missouri. We went to see "Noah: The Musical," went out for ice cream, swam at their hotel pool, and got caught up.

When we left Branson we stopped in Conway to see my family for a few days.

And Mike and I left the kids with my Mom and spent the night at the Red Apple Inn in Heber Springs. It's up in the Ozarks, in a beautiful setting. It was a nice little get-away.