Which Camera?

My daughter and her family made it to SC for their visit and I got to spend some time with them on Friday night and Saturday. As a result, I finally traded cameras with my daughter and I have enjoyed seeing all the pictures I took in El Paso, then left behind when I picked up the wrong camera (hers). I'll post some of the pictures here, but first, Jen and I spent a couple of hours Saturday looking at cameras in WalMart and Best Buy. I wanted a smaller camera with a better zoom. But it looks like in order to get a better zoom, I'll have to get a camera as big or bigger than the one I have. Jen wants better pictures in low light situations. We think that has something to do with the ISO number, but we're not really sure. Anyway, there were so many options that we felt more confused after looking around. The only thing we were sure of is that the prices at the two stores were the same. Guess I need to spend some time researching online before I spend my money. I'm actually pretty happy with the camera I have, or maybe I just dread learning all the features of a new camera. It seems like every camera I looked at had twice as many buttons and dials as the camera I've got. Whatever we do, I'm sure nothing I have now will be useful anymore, including the software I use to download my pictures to the computer. Unless I get another Kodak camera maybe? Anyway, here are some of the El Paso pictures.

Here's Maverick enjoying the new swings his Daddy and his Pop hung on the back patio.


I think Bailey is checking to make sure the swings are hung on good strong hooks so they won't fall down while he's enjoying them.

This is the look of terror on their faces when Pop is "coming to get them". I think they are trying to get Mommy to hide them, but she's not helping much.

Random Facts

Some of the blogs I read have been posting seven random facts about themselves, so I thought I'd give it a try.

1. I'm loud. It's a blessing and a curse. I think when I was young we didn't have microphones at church, so we all had to learn to talk loud enough for the back row to hear us. Not a problem for me. I talk loud and I sing loud.

2. I love to shop. I don't mean that I enjoy an occasional shopping trip. I mean that I can go into any store (Hardware, Pet Supplies, it doesn't matter) and I can walk around and look at everything in the store with no intention of buying anything, and I often walk out without buying anything. I just love to window shop inside the store!!

3. I drive a big truck. An 18 wheeler. With a big stainless steel tanker behind it. I haul chemicals all over the country. And I shop in every town where we stop long enough to shop.

4. I have a dead toe. Well, not dead, more like in a vegetative state. I stepped on a piece of glass in the shower (back when shampoo bottles were glass) when I was in Jr. High and cut the muscle or something. It looks pretty normal, but I can't move it. It's the middle toe on my left foot.

5. I drive a Dodge Caravan. That doesn't seem unusual, but this is my 4th one. So when I say I drive a Dodge Caravan, I really mean it. When I trade cars, I buy another Dodge Caravan. I already want the new one with the table in the back, but I'm still paying for the one with the electric doors all around, so the table one will have to wait.

6. I read romance novels. I love historical romances. The ones where the British Lord falls in love with the serving maid, but they can never be together because she's from the lower class. Or the ones where the woman is ruined by scandalous gossip and some Duke has to marry her in order to protect her virtue. Of course, if you have enough money (and they always do) you can fix all the problems and live happily ever after.

7. I don't like cell phones. It's hard to talk on a cell phone. I can't hold them with my shoulder like a good old fashioned rotary phone. I can't keep those hands free things in my ears. And I can't keep a signal for more than 5 minutes. I think there is something about my hairspray that interfers with the signal. Can you hear me now? The answer is usually "no." But call me anyway. I'll just call you back over and over until we finish our conversation, or until we give up and use email instead.

MY TWO DADS

I told my sister I was going to call this post, "My two dads" and she was sure people would get the wrong idea. So, just to set the record straight, this is not a post about alternative lifestyles!!

My father, Sponcil Elkins, died in 1996 and I still miss him every single day. He left a workshop full of odds and ends, some of them things I don't even recognize. I sometimes go out there and just look through little boxes of wrist watch parts or dig through drill bits. He could (and did) fix anything that broke. Mom once said that if it could be fixed, he could fix it, and if it couldn't be fixed, it would take him a little longer. One of my favorite stories, and one that says so much about my dad's character, was when the church tried to borrow money from the bank. Daddy was a church trustee, and the banker told him that the loan committee was going to turn the church down until they saw his name on the papers. They knew that if he signed for the church, they didn't have to worry about the loan being repaid. I was very blessed to have this man of God for my father and as a grandfather to my kids. Best of all, he treated my mother like a queen.

Although she never thought it would happen, in 2001, my mother married another wonderful man. Bennie Sellards had been a neighbor and friend for many years, and his kids grew up with me and my sisters, so we almost felt like family already. We have spent the last 6 years going to church, going on vacations, and generally laughing ourselves silly with Bennie. He had the best sense of humor and loved to laugh at himself. He was such a loving step-father, always willing to do things for us, and always including us in whatever he and my mother were busy with. He fought in the Pacific during WWII and of course, had funny stories to tell about himself and his life jacket. He didn't trust the little air bottle, so he blew it up himself, then pulled the air bottle cord, which caused the life jacket to explode, all during one of the worst sea battles of WWII. And on top of all that, I'm happy to say, he treated my mother like a queen.

Bennie passed away this week after a short illness. We will all miss him so much. I hope everyone reading this post is fortunate enough to have a great dad, but I have been blessed with two.

Big Changes for the Rhodes House

I wish this post was all about my new re-designed kitchen. I'm still working on that. We plan to move some cabinets around and build a bar that acts as a semi-island in my U shaped kitchen. But, alas, my plans are on hold for a few weeks while we take care of some other issues.

The big change (i.e. the kitchen killing issue) is that my step-son, who was born with spinabifida and is in a wheelchair, has come back home. He has been living in a group home/assisted living center for two years, but he's having some medical problems that are too much for the group home situation to handle. So we have put him back in his old room at our house, and my husband's brother will be staying here with him for a few months until we get him back on his feet. That was my first thought when I was typing then I realized how funny it was to get someone back on his feet who is in a wheelchair. He's a good kid (if 23 is still a kid). He once told us he wanted to be the first "sit down comedian." At the hospital one of the nurses asked him if he was a midget. His legs are short compared to the rest of his body, but that's just because of his spinal problems. Anyway, he answered her by saying, "Yes, I am, but I'm not registered."

He is always coming up with the craziest things like that off the top of his head. We were watching boats from out balcony at the beach once with binoculars (that's almost a tongue twister) and we were trying to read the name on the side of one of the boats. Rusty took the binoculars and said "It says Seafood Rescue." We laughed about that and asked "what do you rescue seafood from?" His answer, "tartar sauce."

Tomorrow I'm going to hang my new plate racks and plates in my some day to be re-designed kitchen. I'll be sure to post some pictures.

Wonderful Visit with the 'Boys!

Here's Maverick wearing Pop's hat. More about that later.

Pop and I arrived in El Paso Saturday morning about 10 am and Jake and Bailey came to pick us up at the K-Mart parking lot. We had lunch at Chick-Fil-A so Bailey could run and play on the playground while we enjoyed our meal. Maverick helped Pop finish off a strawberry shake so the only sound we heard from him through the whole meal was "mmmmmm". Then we made a trip to Toys R Us for Bailey's belated birthday gifts. We had already decided to get swings to attach to their back pergola (open beamed patio cover). We looked at other toys, but when I saw the little scooters I thought that was the toy for Bailey because for some reason he has an aversion to pedals. Sure enough, the swings and the scooter were big hits when we got them home.

While the boys were napping, Jen and I got to spend some quality time together shopping! Thanks Daddy and Pop for babysitting. Jen found a dress and I got a purse. We also found some decorative plates for my kitchen, so it was a good trip.

Of course, we finished the day with Rudy's BBQ. Jen and I brought it home so we didn't have to try to enjoy our meal and chase two boys through a restaurant at the same time. I still like the cream style corn and the new potatoes, along with some turkey and/or sausage. Jen introduced us to the peach cobbler and all I can say is we didn't get a big enough order of it!!!

After a couple more hours of playing with Grammy and Pop, and watching UNC play basketball, and working some puzzles, and fighting over the scooter, it was time for bed. I took Maverick upstairs first and got to snuggle him a little before putting him in his crib. He didn't fuss at all. Then it was time to read a story to Bailey. We both got in the Thomas the Train bed and I soon realized it was hard to read Horton Hatches an Egg without my reading glasses, but if I missed any words, he didn't complain. Just before the egg finally hatched, he was sound asleep, but I read the last few pages to him anyway. I wasn't ready for the day to end, but I tucked up his covers and gave him lots of kisses and told him to dream about me and Pop.

We will get to see them again in a few weeks when they come to SC to visit, but I am so glad we got to spend a special day with them. Eventually, I'll have pictures from our day, but I left my camera behind and accidently picked up Jen's camera by mistake (we have the same camera except for the duct tape on mine - it got dropped one time too many). Anyway, the only pictures on Jen's camera were of Bailey stealing Pop's hat. He loved being chased by Pop, and he and Maverick took turns wearing the hat. It was so cute. So, here's Bailey stealing the hat and then wearing the prize.

Lynwood, CA, I love you!!!

It's been a while since I posted anything, but I have a good excuse. Kirby and I have both had the flu. I guess it was some kind of flu? It starts with a tickle in your throat that soon becomes a case of heavy coughing and sore chest and ribs, plus a headache and some chills and fever thrown in for fun. It takes about 5 days to get better, and for those 5 days you just want to lay on the couch and moan. Anyway, it was the first time in years that we actually had to call our job and say we couldn't work. We stayed home for about 10 days, and I couldn't even enjoy getting on the computer because it hurt my eyes so much and made my headache worse.

Anyway, we are all better now and we are back on the road. We told our dispatcher a few weeks ago that we needed to go to California real bad because our grandson was having a birthday in El Paso and we just had to get to see him so we could take him to Toys R Us. Well, yesterday, even though we have been sick, and we have been out on the road for 8 days and usually only stay out 10 days at a time, he called us and said, "Do you want to go home or go to California?" Without hesitation, we said we would take the Lynwood, California load.

I called my daughter, Jen, and told her to let Bailey start thinking about what he wanted for his birthday (he turned 3 on March 22) because Pop is coming and he's bringing a credit card!! I think Bailey is going to get some kind of swing for his back porch, but we'll have to wait and see what he picks.

Ready or not, grandboys, here we come!!!! See you Saturday!!! Get those little necks ready for lots of sugar kisses!!