Blue & Gold Pack 90 2009

Thunder Buffalo

or shiny!

. . . . but the guy that's inside is talented.

kinda like my buffalo man .... .see pics below :)

Rocktown outside climb

warm weather makes nice climb weather @ rocktown OKC.

The outside routes are a lot of fun. There's something great about watching the kids' confidence bloom each time the make it to the top of a route.

Savannah or North Texas

So, we went down from Frederick to Wichita Falls, TX. We hit the hot spots like the Davidson Cemetary and then we have a family race on the old Red River Bridge. All 1.216 miles. So it is a race From OK to TX and back. Good times. Then we just screw around 287 on our way to Wichy. We saw these camels and this one had just been born judging by the belly button on it. Then we saw some jets practicing landing at Sheppard AFB. So, we found the sweet spot underneath thier landing pattern so we could get our gourds blown away by the jet engines. I am sure the pilot was happy to see a big blue van that kept intersecting its path and 4 people running out underneath it on its approach pattern..

wow.

These shots are not very good - they are from my phone. I had to take Raven & Luke to school this AM unexpectedly & didn't have my camera with me.These 2 are from Kelly looking into Oak Tree.


These 3 are from Waterloo looking north. As the crow flies or tornado rolls, this is about 1 mile from the house.


This is looking behind (north) IB's. You can kinda see the destruction behind the sign. When we passed this way on the way to school, Raven commented that those people sure were blessed. She knew from the news that no one was hurt, just property damage. She's such a precious soul :)

Bigger than a Tootsie Roll Pop!

I snatched the kids from school right after they blew the tornado sirens in Edmond. I was leaving the library - the drive from the library to their school never seemed to long! When Gary England said that a tornado was on the ground at Kelly & Sorgum Mill, we were almost in our neighorhood. We made haste to the cellar! There were a lot of prayers sent up and they were heard. We are all safe & sound with no damage at our house.

After the "all clear", we went out to assess the scene and collect some evidence.

Here's some of our collection of hail stones. They were loud on the metal door of the cellar!

When the excitement of the day was nearly over, JB decided that we needed to go get gas in the FJ. He burned up what was in the tank flying home. He said that he took full advantage of his vehicles capabilities! Many of the surrounding roads were closed or traffic backed up as far as the eye could see.

Raven & Luke were ready with their "proper percautions" for the storms and knew that their prayers were answered when they saw how near the tornado was to our home.

Akin Friday Night in the BIg Town

First off - Luke got his glasses this day. He was so excited! It was 2 days in between the Dr appointment to get his eyes tested & receiving his glasses. He asked about them constantly for the 2 days. He woke up in the mornings asking if the glasses store had called over night. So when we were able to go pick them up before going downtown for the afternoon/evening - He couldn't have been happier! He put them on and exclaimed "WOW! So this is what I have been missing! This is how I am supposed to see!" That was followed by reading store, restaurant and street signs the rest of the way to the city. So now he can see well and looks very hansom in his glasses to boot!

So we expored the south-Mexican side of OKC after picking up JB from work. We went to a grocery store, El Mariachi Super Mercado, and it was like being in Mexico - well sorta - not like a boarder town or anything - or even like in Juarez city area, really. They just had great and unique produce, real Mexican dairy and spices. I was happy! I was wishing that there was one just like it with the same prieces nearer to me! I would only shop there. (almost)
And - oh by the way - if you normally watch channel 30 here in OKC (Telemundo channel, I think) The Newsman & camera guy were there getting "Hi whoever" shots & filmed Raven & Luke. Random, I know.
We spend a few hours climbing at Rocktown before the Thunder game. We all did better this time. We all climbed or attempted to climb the "chimney".
At the game, Luke was thrilled to be able to see the score board! Normally he had to ask for the score - this time he was able to keep up. He has always had fun at the games, but I think this was the best one yet for him! Again, we had really good seats (Thank You, SandRidge!).
We had a fun AkinAdventure Family Night - Life is good :)

it's official

I have a family of monkeys! Luke's taken to climbing like walking. I guess it's in his blood. Raven has the most confidence in the bouldering room. I guess it is the padded floor? She's not trusting the ropes yet.
Even on a day that's about 60 degrees - the inside of the climbing gym is cold. Albeit this was the week that didn't get above freezing for 4 days.

Buffalo Man

JB is making good progress on tanning the buffalo hide. We have had it since the end of October. It has gone through the drying process on the side of our house. Starting this past weekend, JB began the natural and chemical process of tanning the hide.
I have avoided having to chew the hide - he got an attachment for his drill to help him with this. The hide is soft and processed enough for him to wrap up in it. Mind you - it does still stink. Thus -it will not be in the house for some time yet.

Paper or Plastic?

NEITHER.

Raven has this answer down pat.

I LOVE my ESRI bag that JB brought home to me this summer from a conference - I just can't find another like it though is the only bad thing.

Here's some good finds & sites:

• reusablebags.com
• small changes for a big impact
• stupid question
• Brown to Earth Bag Co

(BEBC worked with me on bags for my GS Troop)



and oh by the way .. . . speaking of my GS Troop - if you need cookies, Raven is your girl to get your yearly supply! Just let us know