How is it only Thursday?

Seriously.  This has been a very, very long week. I am not complaining, but at this point it’s never ending. 

So about the painting classes.  I have really enjoyed taking them.  I love taking a couple hours to just create something.   But the thing I love the most is how we all sit there with the same directions and the same supplies, but every single painting is just a little different.  

Jim hasn’t been feeling good- he’s down in the back.  The kids have had weird stuff going on.  Quincy turned in her notice at the nursing home and is finishing her last week there. I’ve had meetings and a few projects at work that are keeping me insanely busy.  The bus kids have been bonkers.   I wish we were going on vacation this weekend and that it wasn’t over!  But I guess the reality is I don’t get what I want -and adulthood keeps on keeping on (forever).   

Jumped back in

Jumped back into work and activities.   Tonight I took another painting class with Mallory.  We enjoyed this one.  I’m not sure PBS will be calling with a job offer to be the new Bob Ross just yet!  I do think some people are going to be awfully happy on Christmas morning with these amazing gifts I’m working on.  

Also got to see my best girls today.  I missed them!   Evie was very happy to tell me in great detail all of the things they did without me!  

We (barely) made it

Jim and I had an adventurous trip home.   We were elated that Colin and Spencer were home and could join us for lunch.  We had a nice visit with them, a great lunch where we used a gift card we have been meaning to use for a long time, and liked seeing the work they are currently doing on their house.  It was a nice break at the halfway point of our trip!  

We made it to El Dorado without incident, but then the car started running weird.  We managed to make it to Mattfield Green, where I suffered from flashbacks of the day my transmission blew out and I was stranded there for hours with my parents.  My dad was pacing and smoking so much we worried he was going to wear out his lungs or his boots. 

Basically, we were fairly certain we knew what was wrong with the car.  This vehicle has issues with the mass air flow sensor.  Last week, it died completely.  Jim cleaned the sensor and it was up and going again.  Lucky, we had thrown the can of cleaner and the screwdrivers we needed in the trunk for this trip (just in case) since it was dirty last week. Jim cleaned the sensor, and we put it back together.  I decided to drive around and around the service station to make sure it was all good, and seeing no issues, we took off again.  We made it about 30 feet or so down the turnpike when again we had problems.  I drove slowly on toward Emporia.   When we got to a place at the cattle crossings where I could pull off, we again cleaned the sensor and I called O’Reilly to see if they had a new sensor.  As we took off the second time, everything ran perfectly.   We stopped in Emporia for a few things we needed and made it home without any further incidents.  

One thing I will say - I think the flint hills are beautiful.  Not the best photos ever taken of that area, but if you have to break down, at least the scenery is pretty while you wait!

The girls did a remarkable job of keeping animals fed, house picked up and everything running smooth.   They might not admit it, but they were happy to see us too!   Jim was right, this weekend flew by and 4 days was not enough.  

This week we have to get caught back up (being gone always throws a kink in my schedule) and we have a few appointments and work issues to deal with.  Adulthood means jump back in whether you want to or not.  

I am abundantly thankful for the time we had to get away, the girls managing things on the home front, the older girls for checking in and handling a couple of minor issues.   The change of bed/pillows has left  Jim with a little bit of  cranky hip and back.  I think a good night of being home should help  (I hope), because we are back to work early tomorrow.  

More fun

Yesterday was about relaxing.  We went to see a movie I have been wanting to see - Oppenheimer.  I know historical docudrama is not Jim’s chosen genre, but like a lot of things, Jim is willing to go out of his comfort zone to make me happy.  He is a patient, amazing person who I definitely enjoy doing life with.  

The movie - I’m still digesting it.  It left me with a lot of things to think about - I am glad I saw it, but am on the fence on what  message I feel like they were trying to convey there.  One thing for sure, I don’t think I can ever like Oppenheimer, but I also feel that the nature of humanity is to destroy itself with greed and power, so it was probably inevitable.  Wait….did I say we were relaxing?   

I really wanted to see the museum of osteology, but they close so early I didn’t feel we would have enough time to really see all of it, so we chose to make a trip over to the Stockyards.  I know it will seem odd, but I liked it down there.  We saw the livestock exchange, I walked through the stockyard barns (Jim waited in the car in case I got arrested for trespassing), and we picked up a few souvenirs for the kids.  I fed my leftover lunch to a bunch of crows, and told Jim how much fun I had when I was feeding the seagulls in Biloxi last February with Cameron and the little girls.  

Because we had so much fun at the horse races on Friday, we decided to go back last night.  We went earlier and blew some money playing slots.  I wanted to play blackjack, but this casino only had slots.  We played penny slots which is my favorite. You can play for a long time on a very small amount of money if you stick with the penny or nickel  slots, which is my speed considering I am a bit of a tightwad.  And let’s face it, I am really not very lucky so hitting it big is probably not happening anyway.  Jim was happy because they had the KSU game on.  Do what you like right? 

Last night was maiden night at the track.  We had a lot of fun wagering on pretty ponies, and funny names.  If I was honest, I would tell you that I don’t even care about the wagering part. I could sit there all night and just watch. I love watching them warm up.  I love watching the antsy, young, hyped up not-quite still colts take 2 or 3 people to get them loaded. I like watching the jockeys.  The people watching - high stakes gamblers, people who think a trip to the tracks will fix their money shortage, I love all of it.  I have always loved it.  We used to go to the track with my grandma when I was a kid. She would bet money on horses we picked, because we were too young to place our own bets.   I also love watching it on TV, and one of the fondest memories I have is of Jim taking me and the kids to Churchill Downs on a vacation where I found out we were expecting Saige.  Here is a little throw back for ya.  

The 5 horse was called Grammy’s boy” seemed like a sure thing.  And I was right about him!   We left there with only about $4 less than we walked in with - a good night at the tracks after betting on every race!   We also had an amazing dinner and a lot of time to hang out together.  I am thankful for this weekend, and happy that we took this little trip together.  We are headed home today, but I am not sad about it.  I have a little too much of my father in me to ever be much of a traveler.  About 2 or 3 days and I am always ready to go home!   

We are headed home through Wichita, and I am looking forward to seeing Colin and Spencer for a little stop off to stretch our legs!   

Thirty years has flown by.  I would do it all again in a heartbeat.  Our life certainly isn’t perfect, because we aren’t perfect people, but it is perfect for us.  I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I am excited about what is to come, and forever thankful for karaoke night!  

Okc is fun

Ok so maybe the Oklahoma City bombing memorial isn’t “fun” but it is impressive.  We brought the older crowd here about 24ish years ago.  At that time they were tiny little people, and we looked at the outside memorial, but skipped the museum.  Last year, Quincy took a class at the high school where they studied events in recent history, and they drove down here and went through the memorial.  Quincy was impressed, which made me think that I should see it.  Quincy was right.  It is impressive, chaotic, filled with feeling, well thought out and we left there feeling a bit overwhelmed with emotion.  I was blown away by all of the things they have in that museum.   

From there, we visited the botanical gardens.  I was mesmerized by this as well.  They have a beautiful 15 acre park that is amazingly beautifully put together and labeled.  We also went through the conservatory.  I loved every minute of this.  Jim seemed to enjoy it as well.  

Well, except for the sent station where you could smell a corpse flower.  That was definitely not enjoyable!  

I am pretty sure I could have stayed here for days looking at all the plants, but we had to leave so we could hit Bass Pro Shop before our time slot for the haunted canal tour.  

Jim loves Bass Pro.  He wants to visit all of them!   

We were really impressed with Bricktown.  We enjoyed wine slushes (Jim had a beer) and rode the Bricktown water Taxi.  We chose the haunted historical tour.  We very much enjoyed the ghost stories and the scenic views of Bricktown as we went down the canal.  

I also talked Jim into going to the horse races.  I used to love going when they had horses in Kansas City.  We spent my birthday gambling money from Grace.  We came out $4 behind, but we gambled all night, had so much fun, and laughed a lot at the funny horse names.  

This was dang near a perfect day!  We did miss the kids though. I kept thinking they would love the stuff we were doing!