Stormy Weather

It's that time of year again... you know, thunderstorm season. I captured these clouds as they rolled towards me and then I went inside the house and closed all the windows. Smart move too because a few minutes later rain was soon coming down in sheets and the wind was blowing it sideways. I will admit sometimes the wind causes me concern, but overall I love this time of year simply because I love watching the clouds and listening to the thunder rolling across the land. The lightening's pretty too.

Silver Dollar City

Yep, my third trip to Silver Dollar City. I love this place. Today I went with my parents for the purpose of catching some of the big World Fest shows. We picked a great day to go because we had no problem getting to see everything on our list. The two main shows on our list were the Zhejiang Chinese Acrobats and Fiery Fiddles, both of which we did get to see and both of which were amazingly awesome. Of course, we also took the time to ride the Flooded Mine and see who got the highest score from shooting targets.

Roadtrip to St. Louis, continued

Today with James & Travis included the Missouri Botanical Garden, the Missouri History Museum, lunch at Talayna's Pizza (very yummy) and a trip to the St. Louis Zoo. It was so much fun and I am so glad I decided to drive up and catch up with cousin James.

St. Louis Roadtrip

This morning I was sitting around, bored, and decided I needed to do something exciting. So I got out of my recliner and drove to St. Louis to visit James and Travis. Unemployment is awesome. When I got there they told me they were gonna take me out to eat, so I dumped my overnight bag and my camera in their floor and hopped in their car. After stuffing ourselves on mongolian grilled food and sushi, the boys drove me downtown near the arch to show me a cute little park that's been created since the city has started working on cleaning up the area. Remember the part where I said I dumped my bag and camera in their floor? Yeah, you get crappy cell phone pics of downtown. But the park was awesome. The picture above is one of those water fountains that are made for you to walk through and at night it's all lit up with different colored lights. So pretty. If you're interested, here's a 1 minute video of the fountain in action.

Here's a few other random pics from my cell phone that night.

Im A Loser

I bought this ticket last Wednesday at the bowling alley, but the drawing didn't take place until Friday night. With all of my running around this weekend, I forgot all about the silly thing until today. But it was a loser, so it didn't matter.

Charlie's Birthday Party

Charlie turns 10 on April 27th, so today we had his birthday party. He got lots of really cool presents and was all smiles the whole time.

The Most Important Thing I've Done All Year

This morning Mom and I drove down to the Pinnacle Hills Mall in Rogers, AR and participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. Mom had signed up on a team with her boss from work because her boss is a breast cancer survivor. It was rainy, windy, and a bit chilly. We walked through mud and puddles of water. Our hair looked like crap, our shoes and socks were soaked. And it was totally worth it. I love doing these types of events and hope I get a chance to participate in more charity events this year.

Fun With 4 Wheelers

Tonight a bunch of us got together in Cassville for a barbecue and decided to bust out the 4 wheelers and race around recklessly. Of course the problem with that is the minute you fire them up the kids come running. So we didn't really do as much running around recklessly as we did hauling kids around slowly.

Austin

This is my cousin Sabrina's son Austin. He is so darn cute. I was at their house tonight for dinner and while outside on a smoke break I snapped this pic. There's nothing cuter than a puppy, and a cute kid holding a cute puppy is just ridiculously adorable.

Bowling League Is Over

Tonight was the last night of my bowling league. It was 35 weeks total and it seemed like a long time, but I know I'm going to miss it now that it's over. My team is thinking about signing up for a summer league, but we haven't made up our minds yet. So, I'll pack the ball away for now. But it will be back out at some point. If not for summer, then definitely next fall.

Another Cookout

More burgers and brats, more friends hanging out. I love summer. We also had a mini Dr. Who marathon. What a great night.

Car Wash

Everytime I go through the automtic car wash, this is my favorite part. The colors are so pretty.

Still Haven't Gone Home To Get My Camera

So you remember how in yesterday's post I said I drove to Cassville and forgot to take my camera? Well I spent the night there so I'm still using the cell phone. And although sometimes it can take really good pics, it can also take really not so good pics. But even though the quality isn't great, I did capture these two princesses. These are my cousins Alana and Saige playing dress up. We sure do have some crazy fun at grandma's house.

Coming To A Magazine Near You

This morning my Grandma Beeson was interviewed for an upcoming article in "Connection" magazine about the Beeson Family BlueBird Trail. "Connection" is a free publication dedicated to southwest Missouri and the story is set to be published in the June edition. I don't know much about the magazine, but you can read a bit more about it here. Unfortunately I drove down to Cassville without my Nikon so one the one day I really needed it, I was stuck with my cell phone camera instead. The pic above is of reporter Lindsay Reed taking pictures of the various stages of assembly the bluebird boxes go through. She had grandma paint one for her so she could take some shots of her in action.

The Wizard Of Oz

I love to pretend I'm cultured and artsy, so of course I wanted to go see the Broadway touring production of the Wizard of Oz at the Juanita K. Hammons Center. I called up my friend Jordi and she was also interested, so we bought the cheap seats and headed out to the theater. Not instantly, of course. We totally bought the tickets in advance. But I digress. It was a beautiful (and humorous) production. And even though the seats were way worse than I expected them to be, I'm so glad I went and even more glad that I invited Jordi.

Bedroom Makeover

Today my friend Kim came over and helped me declutter, reorganize and rearrange my bedroom so that it can be a place I enjoy and utilize instead of just being somewhere I throw all my crap. I love it. Thank you so much Kim.

Cat In A Box

I did some long overdue cleaning out of the file boxes and managed to condense down from two boxes to only one. Which left one empty. And there is a cat in my house. Obviously this was bound to happen.

Bar-B-Que Time!

Ah, the return of nice weather. Winter seems to be officially over so we kicked off the barbecue season tonight by inviting some friends over for burgers and brats. I love these kinds of get togethers.

Home Improvements

This weekend Scott did some major shopping and bought curtains to replace the blanket that has been covering our sliding glass doors since we moved into the place. I love them. They make a huge difference in how the kitchen looks.

A Case Of The Lazies

I don't know what's been wrong with me lately, but even though I'm still dragging my Nikon around I find myself leaving it in the car more than I should and taking more Droid photos. Here's one of grandma with the pinhole setting.

Betting On Horses Is Addictive

Today I made my first ever trip to a horse racing track. Mom and dad took me down to Hot Springs and introduced me to Oaklawn. And I loved it. We stayed for 10 races and I won on 9 of them. It was so much fun. Of course, I was only placing $2 bets and only winning back what I bet, so it's not like I came home with tons of money. But I did get to spend all day there screaming at my horses and rubbing it into mom's face that I was a natural and she was a loser. And after spending money on food, soda, etc. I left with only $5 less than I went in with. So it was a successful day at the track. The only issue we had was that it was the last race day of Oaklawn's season and we didn't realize it. That meant it was Derby Day and the place was filled to capacity. There were so many people there, we actually ended up sitting inside and watching the races on tv instead of live from the bleachers. But honestly, I think I preferred it that way.

Silver Dollar City

I have a serious infatuation with Silver Dollar City currently. I mean, I've always loved the park and have great memories of going there absolutely hundreds of times during and since my childhood. But this year, I'm determined to enjoy the place more than I already previously have. I attended opening day this year on March 18th and today went back for my second visit. This time with Missy and Jacob. I had to take them to the giant rocking chair and get a picture. Poor little Jacob was teething, so he's not smiling as much as normal. But we spent all day there and the little guy also never fussed or cried at all. He did great in the saloon show and on the train ride, everywhere. I was so proud of him. I can't wait until he gets a bit older and gets to ride the rides.

Redbuds In Bloom

I am becoming very addicted to taking pictures with my Droid. I seriously have to force myself not to post too many Droid pics on this blog and to pick up my Nikon to do some shooting. I use the app "Camera FX" on the Droid and it has different filters and effects you can apply to the photo as you take it. I'm having a lot of fun playing around with it. And since it's a 5 MP camera it takes really decent pictures. I snapped this one today in the parking lot of Lola's Pasteries & Eatery in Nixa as I was meeting some of my old co-workers for lunch. I parked right next to this redbud and thought it was so pretty.

I also took a second shot with a different filter.

Bowling League Is Almost Over

The league I've been bowling in is coming to an end. I believe there are only 2 weeks left. Tonight was the last night Tom is going to be with us. He is moving back to Kansas City and will miss our final weeks. So, I had to take in the camera and get some pictures of him before he leaves us. Even though I was unwillingly decieved and tricked into joining this league, I've really enjoyed it and had a blast. Tom was a big part of the reason it was so much fun. We'll miss ya buddy.

Changsha Is Yummy

Changsha is the name of a little chinese restaurant tucked behind Pizza Hut here in Republic. The kind of place that does Cashew Chicken, Sweet & Sour Chicken, and various fried rices REALLY WELL. Which means that they're no competition to the bigger, fancier places when you want to enjoy an evening out of fine Chinese dining. But when you're sitting at home and are having trouble deciding what to prepare for supper... it's Changsha to the rescue. They deliver (pretty quickly too) and they're cheap. And it's super yummy. Scott and I can both eat for around $14. You get a huge serving (I usually save half for lunch the next day) and each meal comes with an egg roll and a crab rangoon. And for the price and the convenience it's absolutely fantastic. The egg rolls are so crispy. The food is always hot and fresh. I love this place. They have a buffet if you dine in, so if you live in the Republic area I recommend you check it out.

Scott's Easter Basket

So yesterday was Easter and you probably noticed that I didn't post any Easter pics. Which is a shame because I love taking pics of Easter Egg hunts. The bright colors, the excitement, the beautiful spring weather. I always look forward to an Easter celebration. But this year I spent Easter in the ER with Chuck. The poor guy was sicker than sick. He'd been really sick for a few days already, but Sunday brought a fever of over 103. Turned out to be a severe kidney infection. He had a couple of IV's in the hospital to re-hydrate him and to get some antibiotics in him. Poor guy. I felt really bad for him.

So anyway, I missed Easter. No big deal, I'm not complaining because I was more worried about Chuck than anything else. But when I got home late last night I was glad to see that Scott had an Easter basket from his mom sitting out on the table. Not because I needed the candy, but because I had some of the bright Easter colors to photograph.

Rock Slide

This morning dad drove me about 3 miles down Butler Hollow to see the spot of the massive rock slide that happened this winter. One of the bluffs above the road just finally broke loose and rocks the size of small cars came tumbling down. So naturally, we climbed all over it.

It's Fishing Season

I am so glad the warm weather is here. Now we can go trout fishing again. Today I went down below Roaring River park with mom (who is hidden behind everyone), Ruthie, Charlie and Jessica. No one caught any trout, we only got a few bites. But it was so relaxing just to be out there fishing.

Summer Hair

I used to color my hair all the time. I would highlight it, bleach it, become a red head and even (in my late 20's) have blue, fire red and purple hair at different times. But sadly I got old enough I was forced by society to act more my age so my hair has been it's natural color for about 5 years now. But I got tired of it and decided to lighten it up again and shorten it a bit for summer. I love the way the color turned out. I think I may keep it this way for a while.

And She Wins The Game

This is Jessica's first year playing volleyball (she's in 7th grade) and though the season started off rough, the girls have really made a lot of improvement. They are winning games pretty easily now and tonight I watched Jessica spike the ball for a point, dive for the ball to make a point and serve for several points. Including the serve pictured above. It was the one that won the game for them. Great job, Jess. I'm proud of you.

Here's a shot of another point she scored earlier.