So I Was Just Thinking

...That's what I love about my creative girl. She is smart and funny and pretty. But most of all, she's unique. When I was in high school, we would have special dress up days where you wore kooky clothes or dressed to a theme. I was so unsure of myself back then that, often, I would take the kooky outfit in my bag and change at school when I saw that everyone else was doing it, too. But Caitlin?? Not this girl. She goes all out. I wish I had the sense to photograph them all but you will have to settle for two. Back in October, the school had a special day to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness. If they paid a dollar they could wear a hat and then one of the clubs sold pink accessories, but you could also win a prize if you were dressed in the most pink. Can you believe she didn't win? Her pink shoes were still on the moving van. Then, this week, the band had their annual banquet. Now don't start dreaming of ball gowns and tuxedos. The band director told t...

...for our children. Today is the Blue Springs Fall Festival. Caitlin's band marched in the parade. It didn't start until 10, but she had to be at the high school, in her place by 8 a.m. So on a Saturday morning, I woke up at 6:45 to make sure she was fed, dressed and out the door by 7:30. Gas is not cheap. Caitlin's school is over 10 miles away. Parking at festivals and parades is in short supply. With these givens, it was decided that the entire family would load up into the car and drive together and stay in Blue Springs (we don't live in Blue Springs) until the parade started. This meant hanging around for 2 hours. Normally this would not be a bad thing. You can wander around, look at booths, admire the town and do a little exploring. Unfortunately, this morning it was 45F and misty. What does one do when she is from a warmer clime and ill prepared clothing-wise? You sit in the car for two hours. The time was not wasted, however. We ate breakfast. We listened ...

I decided today, I would play catch up with you all and share some of the little things we have been doing that keep us busy. On Palm Sunday, we went to church. As usual after church, we made our way to our regular breakfast spot. When we got there, however, it was packed to the point that their parking lot and banks parking lot were full. When this diner is too full, they don't have the best service so we decided to go somewhere else. That somewhere else turned out to be The Cracker Barrel. We had a good time and good food. Mom likes Cracker barrel, but it is too far to go every week. James is not sure about this hair style. Cait looks like she was wondering when we were leaving. After breakfast we rushed home to get Caitlin ready for dance photos. Her group is dancing to a song called the heaven hop where they come on stage dressed as nuns. Part of the way into the song they remove the habits and show off their sparkly angel dresses. Before we went to the dance studio, I took he...

I live in a very strange place as many of you know. I drive through field artillery ranges that have free range cattle roaming through it. There have been more than a few times when I have had to stop to let a cow wander across the road. I was fortunate enough to have my camera and the time to stop to snap a picture. Today was Caitlin's band concert. Five junior high bands, some better than others, played their way through some traditional and not so traditional Christmas tunes the oddest being what the band director described as a Puerto Rican tune entitled "Winter Fiesta." What would my Puerto Rican counterparts know about winter other than it begins December 21st? When my grandfather came to visit me in Alaska in 1973, he had never seen or felt snow before. I know that the information superhighway has made such knowledge available to anyone with computer access, but really! How could they write a song about a Winter Fiesta? But I digress, as I am prone to do. The next...