Who Let the Dogs Out?

Michael ran the Who Let the Dogs Out 5k today at the annual Fair on the Square.  Isabelle even got to run with him for a mile. :)

Our Day in Dallas

Ever since we have moved to Texas we have tossed around the idea of going to Medieval Times in Dallas. But every time we are in Dallas, we are zooming on through it to get to Kansas.  We have stayed in the Big D overnight just a few times (I can count them on one hand) and never have the money to splurge on Medieval Times.  We don't normally spend money on entertainment because we are old, fuddy-duddies.

Well, a few weeks ago a co-worker forwarded me an email that was offering a buy-one-get-one-free deal at Medieval Times.  That got my attention!  I decided that since it was such a good deal and since my birthday was coming up, I would see if the husband would be interested in going.  Of course he said, "sure". (I often get what I want.)  So I ordered the tickets and planned out a day trip.

Yesterday was the big day.  We went to DSW and I got 2 fabulous pairs of shoes for cheap.  I always need more shoes. Ha!  Then we headed over to NorthPark Mall and walked through that glorious, magnificent shopping world.  Sooo many wonderful stores, but not enough money in my bank account to actually buy anything.  I did fall into the Gap and found a few things on sale.  They have closed all the Gap stores anywhere near me, so I *had* to go. :)  Next we headed across the street to the Cheesecake Factory and grabbed a couple slices to go.  Then on to Medieval Times!  (By the way, I was very impressed with myself because I had studied my maps earlier in the week and never had to look up anything yesterday to find these destinations.  I drove right to them! Go me.)

Medieval Times was great fun.  We paid way too much money for some beer, skipped the overpriced souvenirs, and took our own pictures.  If you had kids and were taking them to Medieval Times, you had better empty your bank account first.  Lots of neat stuff to buy to remember your great day!  For those of you who have no clue what Medieval Times is, it is a "castle" and while you eat dinner you watch a tournament with horses and knights.  That is why the admission is so pricey.  You eat the meal without utensils for that "authentic" medieval feel, while the waitress offers you Pepsi and others are trying to sell you flashing LED necklaces.  But the food was decent and the show was entertaining.  All in all it really was a lot of fun and I wouldn't mind going again sometime.

Buzzzzzz

Have you ever watched "Billy the Exterminator"?  I remember one episode he was called out to a house with a bee problem.  He removed a section of the outer wall of the house and uncovered a 6 foot tall active bee hive.  I had a flashback to this episode last week when I came home from work.

For a few days I had been coming across random dead bees by the windows.  Sometimes the sliding door doesn't get closed all the way, so I didn't think much of it.  A bee or two must have flown in the house.  We have a ton of flowers blooming around the house at the moment.  Well, Tuesday afternoon when I came in, there were 2 bees buzzing in the dining room.  I went to the bathroom and there was one buzzing in there.  While I was in the restroom, Michael came home from work and he heard the buzzing in the wall.  Houston, we have a problem!

He went outside and saw a million quite a few bees flying in and out of a teeny, tiny hole in the brick.  I could hear the loud buzzing in the wall and started to panic, just a little. I could picture there being a huge hive in the wall and we were going to have to call Billy the Exterminator!  I wondered if he would come all the way from Louisiana, and how much that would cost.  While I was plotting how to get Billy here, Michael went outside and started spraying the hole with roach killer.  I googled bee infestatations, Michael went to the hardware store to buy wasp & hornet spray.  I told him the complicated process for removing the bees and that we were going to have honey seeping through the walls, he sprayed the hole again with the new bug killer.

The next day, there was no buzzing.  There were no bees.  There was no honey seeping through the wall.  I guess when the husband says he's "got this", he means it.  Who knew?

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Easter!  Sometimes I forget where I live until I am reminded by unexpected events.  For example, this morning Michael ran to the grocery store to get a couple items we needed to make breakfast and came back empty-handed.  Why?  It's Easter, so the store is closed.  This shouldn't have been surprising, we both had the day off on Friday since it was Good Friday.  I just forget sometimes that I live in East Texas and things are different here.

Another event happened earlier last week that made me remember this is a different place.  I was in the cafeteria at school and the kids were going through the line.  The lunch ladies were telling the kids that their choices were between mini corn dogs and catfish.  Yes, CATFISH!  The kids were soooo excited, and I even heard a couple of them ask if the lunch ladies could serve catfish every day.  I couldn't believe it.  If I was a kid, I would've had to skip lunch that day.  I don't do corn dogs or catfish.

Emma

I have just a few pics of my beautiful niece saved on my school laptop, and have this AutoCollage program that I thought I'd try out.  You choose the pics, and it automatically arranges them for you.  Ta-da!  Enjoy. :)

Chicken Invasion!

The past couple of days have been a true example of what it means to live in small-town Texas.  First of all, about a week ago I had one of my students ask me if I would ever be interested in purchasing some "farm-fresh eggs".  We have a couple kids this year who are entrepreneurs and are selling eggs.  I decided for $2, I could buy some eggs.  He did tell me that I should crack them in a bowl first, in case there was some blood in it.  Yummy, can't wait to try one! Haha

The very day after I brought the eggs home was April 1st...April Fools' Day.  When I dismissed the kids to PE at 10:15 in the morning, I checked my phone and saw I had a voicemail from my husband.  When I listened to the message, I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  He was saying that he went by the house to drop some things off and we had 2 "full-growed" chickens running around and squawking in our back yard.  I wasn't even thinking of it as an April Fools' joke at the time, I was just wondering who on earth would have abandoned some chickens in our yard?!  I called him and he said that there were in fact roosters in our yard and it donned on me that is was April Fools' Day and I started thinking about who I knew that had chickens.  I decided it had to have been his boss, and I just happen to work with his boss's wife.  He said he already asked his boss and of course he denied the roosters were his.  Well...I marched out of my room and found the wife and asked her and she couldn't keep a straight face!  Yep, those roosters came from them!

When I went home I didn't see or hear roosters, so I let my dogs out.  Sure enough, 2 roosters came clucking and flapping and started running around the yard!  The dogs were chasing them, and the roosters chased back.  It was total chaos!  Then one of those roosters managed to climb the chain-link fence and flapped its way over into the neighbor's yard and disappeared.  The other one disappeared too.  A few hours later we found it and caught it, and hopped in the truck and dumped it back in the yard it originally came from.  The other one we never found, but we sure did hear it at 6:15 this morning!  So there is a rooster somewhere loose in the neighborhood.  Hopefully someone will get it and eat the sucker!

Here is a picture of the one that never left the yard.  I called him Henry.  We returned him to his owner last night.  At least I feel better knowing they are stuck with him again!

Spring Break 2011

One of the perks of being a teacher is getting to have Spring Break!  This year I abandoned traveled without the husband (he was starting his new city job!) and headed north to see my family in Kansas.  I drove "The Beast", aka Michael's Dodge Ram 2500, so I could haul back the antique organ from my parents' house.  My mom is now babysitting my cousin's little boy and my niece and needed more room in their house.  I have plenty of house and couldn't bear to think of that organ being sold or given away, so I volunteered to take it! 

Anyway, I got to play with the babies a lot, saw a few old friends, visited with the family, drank green beer, did a little shopping, and even squeezed in a pedicure.  Then I got to make an unexpected (but good!) trip to Iowa when my Great-Grandma Fannie passed away.  My dad, sister, niece, and I all loaded up into the car and made the trip.  Little Emma did such a good job in the car, but we were all pooped by then end.  I have a few pictures I am going to share, including one I found today when I was going through the boxes of stuff I had stored in my grandparents' attic back in 1997, and just brought back home with me this trip.  It is a picture of my Iowa cousins and my Great-Grandma.  Enjoy!

Me and Emma Grace on St. Patrick's Day

Emma Grace and her mommy, Hannah, on St. Patrick's Day

Modeling a dress I bought for her

Emma and I in Iowa

Emma and I the morning that I left

Taylor, Mallory, Carly, Hannah, Emma, and me

My Iowa Family

This was taken the summer of 1995

This is the organ and stool I brought home.  I found the serial number under 125-year-old dust, and this was built by the Estey Organ Company between 1884-1886.