Just Keep Swimming...

When life gets you down do you wanna know 

what you've gotta do?  Just keep swimming. 
Just keep swimming. 

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming. 

What do we do? 

We swim, swim.  
-Dory

This year I decided Zoey was going to learn to swim.  I looked into swimming lessons and the price quickly discouraged me from that idea.  As long as we're here in Midland, we have free access to the trailer park pool, and an opportunity such as this may not present itself in the future.  So since I'm not working, I decided I'd teach her myself.

Trying on goggles, with jammies.

She was on-board with the idea in theory, but the reality was a bit beyond her comprehension.  She has never enjoyed the feeling of water anywhere near her face, and the tiniest drop running towards her eyes in the bath would result in hysterical crying and an exasperated mother trying to calm the irrational child.

Fully entering a pool was equally challenging as she would tense up if she wasn't fully clinging to me; and stiffly thrash her arms and legs unwilling or unable to follow any direction from me or anybody else.  When I would try and get her to float on her back, with me supporting her; the same result, tense thrashing and refusal to put anything other than the back third of her head in the water.

With a full summer of practice available, I started her out first weekend the pool opened and started getting her accustomed to the water by going several days a week.  Our sessions were short since even if the weather was over a hundred, her little body couldn't stay warm in the cool pool and in a matter of 10-20 minutes she was shivering and her lips turned purpley-blue.

She started to relax a bit after a few weeks and was even willing to launch herself from the shallow end into my arms a couple feet away, but still no face in the water.  A low buoyancy life-jacket allowed her to start to tread water a bit, without the fear of getting anything on her face.  Then I got her a pair of goggles, which she refused to wear at first, but after much bribery, she put her face in the water, and from that moment on it was 1, 2, 3 and down she would go as long as she could. 

One month from the day we started our regular lessons, she suddenly put her face (with goggles) in the water and swam a good 4 feet to me, then raised her head to tread water.  It was as if she suddenly figured it out.  Her reward was a cute wetsuit I won on ebay, to let her stay a little warmer while swimming.

I am so proud of my little girl who now even puts her face in the water without goggles, although very briefly, and can swim.  We now can swim laps together in the pool with snorkels, unassisted by flotation and she loves get thrown to the bottom and swim to the top herself.  She still has a long way to go for me to be confident with her far from my rescuing reach, but she accomplished what we set out to do, and I couldn't be happier.

Rabbits

 “Be brave, little rabbit. Take a chance.”
― Cherise Sinclair, Breaking Free

Behind our house, in front of our house, and along the road, we see hundreds of cotton tails in our area.  Every sighting is fun and we never tire of it.  Zoey has yet to catch herself one, but I'm sure she won't stop trying.

The purchase of new shoes for school introduces another rabbit to her.  The rabbit goes around the tree and then down the hole.  I know this has been the adage for ages, but I never understood it until I was older and I don't think it makes much sense to her either; but she's got to figure it out before school starts.  Her first lace up shoes are going to be another learning experience for us both.

Texas Critters!!!!

“Don't grumble! Don't stew! 

Some critters are much-much,

Oh, ever so much-much 

So muchly much-much more unlucky than you!”  

― Dr. Seuss

 When we decided to move to Texas, I often heard concern over the critters.  'Aren't you afraid of the snakes, scorpions, and tarantulas?'  'Watch out for snakes, scorpions and tarantulas!'  'How is Zoey going to play outside with all the snakes, scorpions  and tarantulas?'  It seems people have the image that every square foot of Texas is covered in these buggers all ravenous for human flesh, but I'm here to tell you, it is not.

courtesy of Texananreview.com

Ever since I've moved to Texas, I've kept an eye out for these buggers, simply so I can check them off my 'cool experiences list'.  If you know anything about my siblings and I, you know that we don't shy away from the creepy and crawlies, in fact we love 'em, so I've been looking for my bragging rights.

The rattle snakes have alluded me, although my neighbors had one under their deck, killed it, and let Zoey play with one of the two skins it had shed while living in their shed and eating the mice (a community service if you ask me).   I think I saw a scorpion from a distance in the Kingdom Hall, but a brother squashed it before I could get a good look or picture.

Lastly is the tarantula.  This critter had alluded me too for some time, although Karlie was privileged with two sightings.  I had researched the Texas Brown Tarantula, and although it is poorly named since it is sometimes brown, black, or a combination of the two, I felt I could identify it.

Sunday evening back from Corpus Cristi, Karlie and I were recovering from our long drive back, (by sitting more of course), when Zoey runs in.  "Mom, I found a tarantula!  I just know it's a tarantula because it's huge!"  We ran outside to find a mid-sized Texas Brown Tarantula in the middle of the yard, surrounded by Zoey, a couple neighbor kids, and their squeamish mom.

I poked it with a stick and it scurried.  I poked it again and it scurried.  This was a good sign, no aggressive behavior, i.e. front legs in the air.  My neighbor, surely fearful of it's plots find it's way into her house and eat her face in her sleep,  threatened to try and maneuver her car to run it over, so I decided it needed saving; after all who else is going to eat the cockroaches?  I may be adventuruous, but I'm drawing the line there.

I carried it on the stick to the edge of the field and it still seemed docile, so I decided to try and hold it (of course).  I put my hand to the ground, as if I know exactly what I'm doing, and coaxed the spider toward my hand.  It quickly scurried across my hand and up my arm!  Aaaahhh!! I swept the little guy onto the ground as if it's his fault that I chose to hold him and he should know exactly where he is and isn't allowed to be.  Again with the stick; slowly, slowly, then... scurry across my hand.  Shaking the willies off, I managed to calm my nerves and convince him to move slowly into the palm of my hand despite the fact he was now attempting to hide in the brush.  I could barely feel it's weight and the touch of it's tiny legs.  As long as it wasn't scurrying, it was easy to hold, though I was afraid with it's speed it would find it's way once again heading toward my face; or I would drop it and shatter one of it's tiny legs.  After a little coercion and minor bullying I talked Karlie into a brief holding and then we let the little creature go into the field behind my house. 

If you ask me, I think the Texas critters and many creepy crawlies have got a bum rap.  If you are ever so privileged to see one, take some time and research it; you might just find they're not so scary.

Corpus Christi and All That

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

 -Marcel Proust

Fourth of July weekend was great!  Karlie had time off for the holiday and made plans for visiting the our friends in the Corpus Christi area.  If there's one thing I know, visiting the Lossings is a guaranteed good time!  I reluctantly left John behind (still sad about that) and happily joined Karlie for another adventure. 

Zoey got to "surf"

Corpus is a "short" 7+ hour drive if you don't stop; winding from the Big Bend area, through Hill Country, to the Gulf Coast.  We made the trip in 8 hours, cuz we just had to eat and stretch.  It's funny how a driving and distance becomes relative when you have to drive so much to get anywhere of consequence.  John averages two hours each way for work and we've averaged 2-5 hours to visit surrounding areas just for the weekend.  If we're willing to take five hours to San Antonio, Austin, or Dallas, what's another 2-3 to see old friends and the ocean?

We arrived Thursday afternoon and met up with Corey and Vanessa Lossing to head out into the Bay for a day of sun and fun; meeting up with our hosts Melissa and Trey Cross and their awesome little boys Luke(9) and Elijah(3).  The water was calm and the sun shone bright as we caught up on years apart, drank water and sipped on beer, snacked, fished, splashed, and after the sun set, spied a few bursts of fireworks across the bay.

"The Shell"

Zoey found a large spiral seashell, (I'm thinking Horse Conch but I could be wrong), and after inspection Karlie awarded it to her as her first ever found seashell. She proudly carried it around all day, holding it up to everyone's ears and claiming she could hear the ocean, (of course we were on the ocean, so hearing it was easy), then brought it home in the car.  The next morning we were belting up to go to breakfast and she let out a bloodcurdling scream.  A large hermit crab had emerged from the shell and was attempting to carry his home to a wetter location.  Sadly she returned her shell to the ocean, although glad to be rid of the dreaded creature inside.

Friday was filled with brunch in an art gallery overlooking the water and meeting up with Miki Amlin, and a brief tour of Corpus.  Melissa and the boys then treated us to a small water-park, Hurricane Alley, where the Zoey challenged herself to even go on a slide that splashed her in the face.
Evening was spent dining on great food at a Hampton's Landing, a breezy-all-deck restaurant perched above a small marina, and enjoying the company of Melissa and Elijah as the older boys fished.  We topped off the evening at Greg and Gail's house, enjoying some good laughs and stories as Zoey and Elijah played like old friends.

Karlie leaping on the beach!!!

Saturday was a treat as it was Zoey's first trip to the ocean to experience real sand waves and where we were privileged to meet some of their friends from the area.  The beach was packed with people enjoying the holiday weekend, and many flew kites-making the beach beautifully festive.  Karlie and I made sure to play like kids, swimming out and riding the wavers, making the best of our beach time.  Zoey said she wanted to build sandcastles and made a small attempt, but found searching for shells and sand-dollars to be much more fun.  She's always been whiny about water in her face, so I didn't think she'd really enjoy the waves.  WRONG!!  She loved it, laughing when the largest waves overtook us and hollering "in-coming" at every decent sized swell.  She had so much fun she lost her voice by the end of the day.

Me and my ocean hair.

Melissa and Trey have some great kids and were amazing hosts.  (They were there,  but I stink at taking pictures when I'm having fun.)  We loved catching up with their family and friends, and making new friends.  Karlie and I agree, we're going to have to visit again, maybe permanently.

A Year And A Half Later...

 “If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” 

~ Anthony Robbins

Morning sun through my bedroom window.

 We've lived in Texas, in an RV, for a year-and-a-half and to some it may seem genius, to most a bit of craziness.  Sometimes I feel it's a bit of both.  There's a lot of give and take when you undergo such a change in lifestyle, but we feel what we have given up has all been worth it.

I've often written about the changes, but with another year under foot, I feel the need to write up another list. (Sorry list haters.) So here it goes; the positives and negatives of selling everything, moving halfway across the country for better employment, and moving 3 into an RV:

Zoey and the neighbor Courtlyn.

Positive aspects:

Zoey, Savannah, Tessa, Sara, and friend :)

• Cut out the Fat -We own very few possessions and cannot purchase more unless something goes.  It keeps things concise.
• Fewer bills - We've cut out the unnecessary including a mortgage.
• No More Plastic!! -Bye-Bye credit card debt....I hope to never see you again.
• Vacations!!!- Now we can afford to take a vacation without breaking the bank or putting it on credit.
• Being a mom - Zoey starts school next year and I'm savoring the moments with her.
• New Friends- We have friends at the hall and Zoey has made a good friend with the 3 year old neighbor girl, so I feel more comfortable when she wants to play outside knowing she's not alone.  (Zoey says this is the best part of moving to Texas.)
• Realizing our dream - We are well on our way to someplace exotic!!

Everything must fit in there.

Negative aspects:

• Long Hours - John's work schedule can be crazy long hours, and I miss him often...temporary life upset.
• Midland, TX - I hate to be such a downer on Midland, but....I keep saying temporary. (Zoey says we need to find "a place with just the right hot and cold.")
• Bad Bathroom Setup - We knew this when we bought our RV, but finding  an affordable RV with space for 2 bedrooms; limits options.  The bathroom/bedroom combo gets a bit tight and chaotic....not our forever home=temporary.
• Limited Space - As I said no unnecessary purchases, but I LOVE to shop and find a great deal.  So sometimes I bring something home, a toy, dress or shirt, and find there's no space....grrrr.
• Organizing - Part of this is my fault, I've never been good at keeping things tidy, but I feel I'm organizing this place allllllll the time and it still needs work!

Fun little craft projects are great in the RV.

My sister-in-law, Jessica, asked me when we were last in Idaho if the RV ever really felt like home?  The answer is: Yes, it is home.  It's amazing how easily a completely different environment, especially a nontraditional one, can become a home.

 In the end, things get to me at times when we can't find much to do or get any customer service in this town, or when I shove another shirt into an overflowing drawer and reorganize an entire cabinet to fit a box of cereal.  When I feel whiny, I think of all the progress we've made, the stresses we left behind, the fun we're enjoying now, and the dreams we're realizing; and I remember the little inconveniences are worth it.  Everything in life has positives and negatives, the trick is finding an imbalance between the two.  For us the positives of our change vastly outweigh the negatives.  It's good to be imbalanced.

Amarillo by Morning...

"Amarillo by morning, Amarillo's on my mind."

 -George Strait

It was time again to pack our bags, don our finest dresses, and clip on our badges for the convention.  In years past I was assigned to Ogden, Utah, but this year my cross-country move had adjusted our assignment to Amarillo, TX; another first. (Click on title for musical accompaniment in another window, skip ad)

Growing up, going to Ogden, Utah each summer was a treat.  We would go a day early to avail ourselves of the many offerings in the area:  water-slides at Cherry Hill, Lagoon amusement park, and the Salt Lake Zoo.  The convention site, the Dee Events Center, is large and accommodating to the massive five to seven thousand in attendance with well cushioned seating.  Women's restrooms were always in high demand (Honestly what are you ladies doing in there that takes so long!) , parking although adequate was a pain to negotiate out of, the massive center tended to get a bit warm, and the hotels were at times quite a distance away.  There are positives and negatives and I loved the place.  So this year I was a bit saddened, although curious to be going to Amarillo this year.

Karlie and I had asked around as to what to expect, and the area was given low reviews:

"We call it Cowtown because it smells like cows."

"It's just like Midland."

"We'd rather go anywhere else."

Therefore,  our expectations were low, which I think always helps you enjoy a place.  Low expectations lead to little surprises.

It was a four hour drive from Midland, but the terrain and scenery changed little on the drive over.  We found our way to the Amarillo Zoo  which had a low, $4 adult entrance fee.  They had Lions, Tigers and Bears oh-my; lemurs, foxes, parrots, and snakes; even a Long-horn cow, horses, goats, and sheep...not exactly your normal zoo residents.  It was small, odd, a little sad and certainly a $4 zoo.  Afterwards we strolled by a stinky (there's that cow smell we were told of) duck pond, then found our way just out of town on I-40 to the Cadillac Ranch.

Cadillac Ranch is a public art installation with tailfin Cadillacs ages 1949 through 1963 planted nose first in a field west of Amarillo.   Having seen it on the Travel Channel, I had planned on this visit as soon as I found we were headed that way.  

After a brief visit by what I'm sure is the top-selling-in-spray-paint Home Depot in the nation, we met up with our friend Reuben and wandered through  the fence bordering the property.  Graffiti nuts had started their tagging well before the actual exhibit, decorating the dumpster, fence posts, even the barbed wire around the field.  A careful circle was plowed around the path and the cars to discourage people from wandering into the arid field.  Spray-paint cans and lids littered the area, noisily rolling about in the wind.  Graffiti is encouraged and embraced.  After a few hesitant sprays to test our colors, we went to work making our temporary art.

We labored for the better part of an hour, I think, under the Amarillo (yellow in Spanish) sun.  Our art was great, but short lived.  Many of our pieces were already covered by other enthusiastic tourists before we had finished.  Years of this practice left the cars drippy, looking like they were melting in the hot sun.  With Silver, Blue and Purple finger tips and satisfied with our experience, I gathered as many paint cans as I could carry in my little bag and we left the place a little cleaner than when we arrived.

Zoey's personalized graffiti.

Reuben and I.

Karlie climbing for art.

Melissa hanging out a windshield.

Lastly that day we ventured to the Big Texan Opry,  an outlandish display of all things Texan:  big steaks, big hats, big chairs, big boots and creepy hologram pictures on the wall (not sure how that's Texan, but amusing nonetheless).   Dinner there was a bit overpriced so after out self-guided tour,  we ventured out and enjoyed our meals elsewhere.

Oh and big Cows!

 The next day we arrived at the convention site, parked across the the street from the site and made the short walk into the Cal Farley Civic Center.  To our surprise, the majority of the seating was already taken as the stadium seating only holds 4,987.  Additional seating was on the floor, but we still ended up behind the stage staring at a curtain for the first half; but the second half, we had front row seats to the drama as they took down the curtain for the presentation.

Zoey in her princess dress!

The average attendance was between 3,500 and 4,000 making it a much smaller crowd than the conventions in Ogden.  The site had the opposite positive and negatives of the Dee Events Center:  hard seats, tight seating, and too much A/C, were offset by great parking that is easy to get out of, close hotels, and adequate restrooms. We arrived much earlier the next two days to ensure better seating, although we slipped behind the stage at noon on Sunday to position ourselves in front of the drama once again.  Zoey declared the Sunday drama to be the best play she had ever seen.

Our afternoons were short, but we managed to see the premier of Man of Steel (not the best, in my opinion), and experience a few local eateries.  Our favorite dinner was at Sava!, an Italian restaurant which made their own cheese!!!  The three of us split three dishes and desert and loved every bite.

Overall, I'd have to say my experience of Amarillo was good.  Not exactly a vacation destination, but if ya'll find you'self in Amarillo by Morning, Ah believe y'all 'll have a giddy-up time.

Desert Oasis

 

“In the desert, the only god is a well.”
― Vera Nazarian, Dreams of the Compass Rose

We live in a desert, and like all deserts, there are oases.  All of the oases in Midland are man-made, slippery slime coated ponds unfit for even the ducks who frequent them or local highly chlorinated pools where every soul for miles retreats during the summer 100° temperatures.  Last weekend Karlie, Melissa, Zoey and I decided to make the trek to find a pool a little less chlorinated and whole lot more beautiful; Balmorhea.

Balmorhea State Park was created under Roosevelt's New Deal program in the 1930's during the great depression.  The program cemented in an area of wetlands to create a 3.5 million gallon freshwater swimming pool, complete with a shallow area for kids and 25 ft deep "natural"  (term used loosely) area with rocky bottom.  Many people bring their snorkel and scuba gear to view the various underwater mosses, fish, snails, and the occasional turtle (from what I hear).  All of this bad for the habitat, but good for a fresh dip.

We arrived early since the park limits entrance to the number of parking spaces and made full use of the crystal clear waters.  Zoey is practicing her swimming abilities, ie thrashing, so she donned a cute little whale fin life jacket for the adventure (I think it's a shark, but I guess sharks aren't cute enough for her). Zoey spent a lot of time in and out of the pool because the 70° pool was just too cold for her skinny little body to endure for too long, but she enjoyed every minute nonetheless. 

The kids in adult bodies, Karlie, Melissa and I, took turns snorkeling and improving deep water diving skills.  Once as I floating along I viewed a man scuba-diving nearby.  I waved and he waved back, then rose from the bottom extending his spare regulator towards me.  I was not going to pass this up despite the little thought of what other slobber may be on the regulator.  So I quickly dove to meet him, and grabbed the regulator, shoved the possible germ infested piece into my mouth, purged the water (this can be done by pushing the purge on the back of the regulator...a little trick I learned during a short lesson 13 years ago scuba-diving through Sandals Resorts in Jamaica) and off we went along the bottom of the pool.  It was a blast, and upon surfacing I am convinced I need to get certified.

Midway through our day we walked to the source of the water, where, in the 90's, efforts have been made to rehabilitate a fraction of the wetlands that were destroyed during the construction of the pool. As in the pool there were several large black Headwater Catfish, Mexican Tetras, and Comanche Springs pupfish(an endangered species specific to the area).  We sat on a dock tossing bread crumbs to the fish,glimpsed a garter snake slither throughing the water, and lured Red-eared slider and Texas spiny soft-shelled turtles to the surface with our delectable white bread, not fit for human or animal consumption.

A little bit sun baked and a whole lot tired, we left around 3pm for a quick glimpse of the Balmorhea Lake then on the road again, Zoey was out like a light and slept the entire 2 hour drive back to Midland.  Along the way we took a few moments to photograph one of the many cool old farm buildings supposedly abandoned when farmers and ranchers became rich from the oil under the land they once worked.

The trip was a great outing for the weekend and was reminiscent of  the cool although not so clear waters of Dierkes Lake I had grown up with.  I think we'll have to go back sometime, perhaps next time we'll drag John along, even if it isn't his cup of tea.