Traffic

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! We get to start the celebrating today, though. Bring on the turkey! We are in Oklahoma, enjoying the coat weather, our family time and seeing good friends. On our drive here, Dave and I noticed some big differences between Bartlesville/Oklahoma and Houston/Texas traffic. I thought I'd share a few with you.

1. In OK, u-turns are outlawed everywhere. In TX, u-turns are seemingly encouraged.

2. In OK, it costs $2 in turnpike tolls to get across the state. In Houston, it costs us more the $2 just to get to church.

3.  Rush hour in Houston equals most of the morning, most of the afternoon, the lunch hour, Friday evenings, and sometimes Saturday afternoons. In Bartlesville, people think they have a rush hour at lunch and that Christmas traffic in Tulsa is bad. It's not bad.
4. In Houston, you can easily get into a wreck if someone cuts you off too close. In Bartlesville, people just stop right in front of you while they figure out where they are trying to go.
5. In Houston, if you turn on your blinker, people speed up to keep you from getting over. In Bartlesville, they sort of move forward, but they give in easily when you start driving like someone who drives in Houston.

6. In Texas, there are people on the highways at all times of the day-- including the middle of the night. In Oklahoma, the roads get pretty deserted at about 8:00 p.m.

7. In Houston, you can slowly inch forward at a stop light while watching the light change from red to green, red to green, red to green....I've waited almost 10 minutes at one stop light in Houston. When I lived in Bartlesville, I used to get a little put out if I'd been waiting more than 2 minutes to get through an intersection.

8. I bet there are more drivers on 6-10, at any given time of the day, than there are drivers in the whole state of Ok!

Sorry I've been late in getting posts up this month. I really did write this the day before our wonderful turkey day, but couldn't get it posted because I didn't have time to finish it or a computer on which I really could finish it. Pictures and happenings of our fun trip to Bartlesville and Branson will be coming soon! Love, Amber

I know I'm wierd,

But I'd rather....

...spend time with family in front of a glowing fireplace while sipping hot drinks while it snows outside than sit on a hot beach.

...talk on the phone than sit on facetime. Video talking is awesome when you want to see how kiddos are growing or how a house improvement is going, but just sitting, talking face to face with another adult is a tiny bit awkward. (Especially when there is a small video of you in the corner.) On a regular basis, I don't sit with my face super close to someone else's while we talk. It's also awkward if you can't stop checking out your complexion in the small side box.

...drink coffee from a small, locally owned coffeehouse than from a large franchise coffeehouse.

...be with family over the holidays than go to the bahamas or even Europe. I'd rather go to those places at some other time.

...put up Christmas decor too early than too late.

...have a ton of pretty sterling silver or costume jewelry than one small diamond necklace. (Not that it wouldn't be nice to have a diamond necklace someday!)

...read a good book than watch a scary movie.

...dance with my daughters than watch Dancing with the Stars.

...listen to Christmas music than just about any other music.

...have peace and quiet from time to time than constant noise/music/television. (This has definitely changed from when I was in highschool.)

...buy a house that needs paint and a little restoration than a house that needs no work at all.

...eat at home than eat fast food.

...have a sentimental Christmas with no gifts than get everything I've ever wanted and be alone.

...look out my window and see snowy mountain tops than just about any other landscape known to man.

...live in a small to medium size town than a huge metropolis.

...Dave be happy at his job than make a ton of money. 

...my kids memorize scripture than 100,000 facts about other things. (But my kids are smart. They'll probably be able to do both.)

...dream up fun adventures with my family than become bitter and crotchety.

...learn to let go and have a crazy-messy house than have my kids remember me as someone who cared more about having the house clean than about them. (But I can't wait 'til the girls start real chores start around here.)

...have spontaneous fun with family and friends than plan the rest of my life out. -- Even though I love a plan.

...experience life through the eyes of a child, than the way most adults do.

...lose some sleep than go several days with out a quiet time.

These are a few of my "I'd rathers" I'm sure there are more. But, right now, I'd rather get dinner on the table, and feel like a good wife than keep thinking of "I'd rathers". I would love to hear some of yours, though. I'm curious what yours are, even if they conflict with mine. Tootles, and Happy Thanksgiving to you!!! More holiday blogs to come! :) -Amber

Costumes, Candy and Chaos

This weekend was filled with fun and craziness. We were "busy bees", and I have the pictures to prove it! We went to a birthday party and a block party on Saturday. We went to church on Sunday, and then to First Fest followed by Trick-or-Treating on Monday.

I didn't buy costumes this year. I actually had some stowed away. I think most of them were given to us by people whose kids had grown out of them, but I'd totally forgotten I had them. I laid out what we had, and let the girls choose.

My Bumble Bee and My Hula Dancer

Bumbelicious!

Luau Ready!

A friend's birthday party on Saturday

 So there's a story that goes with that pinata picture. (Don't worry, the little boy is not injured. He was moved before Julia started swinging.) Julia went first to hit the pinata because she was outside, and ready to whack the cute little Minnie face. (She went without a blind fold the first time.) So, she hit the pinata, and it broke. They taped the pinata up with all the candy back inside because no one else had a chance to go, not even the little birthday girl. Julia was dieing to go again but, I kept telling her she needed to wait until last. They let her go before the two older girls got a chance to go though, and even blindfolded, she whacked the pinata and broke it open again. I felt bad that not everyone got to go before the candy was spilled. :( Maybe I should get her in t-ball?

This was at our neighborhood block party.

A bumble bee with her glow stick.

 Lydia won best costume in her age group at the block party. Julia, of course, was in Lydia's age group, and did not win. This brought Julia to tears, but she got over it pretty quickly. I tried to encourage her to be happy for her sister when she wins, but I think in the end, it was the bajillionith peice of candy that someone at the party offered to her that made her feel better.

My girls on Sunday- goin' to Church!

Petting Zoo at First Fest

 First Fest is our Church's outreach on Halloween. There is so much to do, and it's tons of fun. There is a preschool area, inflatables, food, pony rides, live music, and obviously, a petting zoo.

I'm not sure if it's 'cause she didn't win at the block party or what, but Julia decided to switch to an OU cheerleader for Monday's fun.

Julia got to sing with her little choir at First Fest. Julia kept telling me, "Mom, on Halloween, we have to be at First Fest at 5:00." If she told me once, she told me 1,000 times! The choir was so cute and did such a great job.

Lydia can't wait to be in choir next year, and loves the choir teacher, Miss Star, almost as much as Julia does. Tonight, we were eating dinner at our church cafeteria, and Lydia said, "Mom, that's Miss Star! HAAAAA, she eats too?" Miss Star is definitely celebrity status to my little ones!

I hope that you all had a fun and safe Halloween, whether you stayed in, dressed up, or partied 'til the cows came home. Enjoy whatever candy came your way.

Blessings, Amber