A taste test - in pictures. (Because I am too lazy to try to come up with witty remarks for each picture.)

How to dress a baby.

You know if anyone out there ever needs a baby dresser or two I totally have a couple of them at my house. Here's a video showing their handiwork.

Heritage and culture...western style

We went to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Monday evening with my sister and brother-in-law. Lord have mercy it was fun. We met this cowboy as we were walking up to the entrance. I asked if I could take his picture, and he said he was just waiting for me to ask! Then he had to rope my sister to prove what a true cowboy he was. He also muttered something about people not knowing what "Ride 'em cowboy meant since that old brokeback movie came out." And we giggled. Can you tell?

First we went to the livestock show. Ah...the smell of farm animals assaulted our senses as soon as we entered the building. I seriously love that smell. I wouldn't use it as perfume or anything, but that smell comes with memories. And I love that.


We went through the breed barn where we learned the difference in Angus, Hereford, Brahman, and Longhorn bulls among others. This one is a longhorn. I know, I know. You are amazed at the knowledge I acquired.


There were also goats. Plain ol' regular ones and


Angora ones. This lovely lady, Miss Priscilla, was being very unladylike and using her horns to scratch her back. She wouldn't pose for a picture at all!

There were

brown pigs


and pink pigs.


And then there was this pig.

We also went through the Birthing Center where we saw lots of baby chicks,


a one day old calf,


and cute little suckling pigs.

We browsed the shops where you could get just about any western item you might want. Tables made of tree stumps, armadillo lamps, star shaped jewelry, and of course belts, boots, and hats.


Good cow, how I wanted a hat. And boots.


But I settled for a silver star pendant.

After the seeing, smelling, and shopping we moseyed on over to the rodeo.


Would you just look at that? Seriously. I love it.

We saw all the main rodeo events. Bareback riding, steer wrestling, team roping, tie down roping, barrel racing,


saddle bronc riding, and of course






We had so much fun that Brian and I decided that we needed to take the kids to the rodeo before it left town. We decided that they had experienced all kinds of Turkish culture, and now it was time to learn about some of their own heritage. Rodeo.

We went on Wednesday since it was a value day. This time we went early enough to enjoy the carnival as well as the livestock show and rodeo. Despite being there for hours I only managed to take three pictures.


This one


This one


And this one. Yes we tried something from this list of fried confections. Deep Fried Oreos. Now I'm not a fan of regular Oreos. They taste kind of like a burnt chocolate cookie to me. I think I would have much rather had a fried pickle or a fried Snickers. Next year...next year!

Um...what?

So I was riding on a bus yesterday. A bus from the mall parking lot to the rodeo. The rodeo I will blog about later. This blog post is dedicated to the window of the bus.


This window.


Exactly what does this sign mean?

track meets and men

Will ran in his first track meet this afternoon. This chilly, windy afternoon. After driving all over tarnation trying to figure out which school was sponsoring the meet we finally found our kid.

There he is. The shortest, blondest one in the photo.


Yes...poor kid. He is short. Much shorter than everyone else.

He didn't let that stop him though. He stretched. He prepared.

He ran.

The kid practically sprinted the full 800 meters and still came in last. After he caught his breath he said he had to run hard just to keep up with the joggers in the bunch. I was proud of him for running hard and not getting discouraged. Brian and I both had stories about how we came in last in sporting events. Once Brian came in 186th out of 185 people. Seriously. That's the place they assigned him. Once I was swimming the butterfly relay. The other relay teams had completely finished the race before I ever even dove in. I swam the length of the pool and back all by my lonesome. Last place. Will's in good company!



I do have to say I was shocked at how big some of the kids were. This is a group of 8th graders. 8TH GRADERS! Some of them looked like men. Seriously!

I'm a little winded just from watching...

Two of my kids are in elementary school. They have PE. Remember elementary school PE? We played Dodgeball. I wasn't a fan of Dodgeball. We played Bombardment. I hated Bombardment. We played Red Rover, Red Rover. Again...not my finest hour. I hated anything where balls were thrown at me. Running into peoples' arms trying to break through was also painful. Gymnastics, badminton, swimming, relay races, four square...all those were ok. My senior year of high school I actually took PE on purpose...for fun. I didn't need the PE credit, but I did need to take an elective my second semester of my senior year. I chose PE. You know who takes PE their last semester of high school? Those kids who put it off until they have absolutely no choice. Those kids who aren't in band, dance, athletics, or some other PE credit class. We did tennis, archery, and some running. For once I was one of the best athletes in the class. For once.

My kids are learning something in PE that I had never seen before. Cup stacking. Here they are showing off their talents.





And here's a video I found that just blows my mind! I totally gotta start practicing. You knew I was going to have to try this!

We're back.

We spent the last several days in Oklahoma. Exotic Oklahoma. We had a great time while we were there seeing old friends and meeting lots of new ones! We went to visit our friends Kevin and Sharon. Oh, and their four kids! Can't forget them!


Kevin and Brian...right after Kevin tried to give him a holy kiss. Brian still looks scared!


Me and Sharon. Now Brian took this picture with my new camera (yes...I got a new camera! Thanks to those wonderful friends who gave me such an awesome gift!) I have no idea if he just moved his hand or used a funny filter on it. All I know is we are fuzzy...very fuzzy.


Some new friends.


And more new friends.

While in Oklahoma we had the opportunity to speak to 60 5th graders at a local elementary school. Our subject? Turkey. We totally know about Turkey! The next day their teachers gave me a package with thank you notes from the kids in it. Last night after we got home I finally looked over those notes. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts...

"I hope you come back with more pictures and information. P.S. I even liked the pictures I saw today. They were interesting."

"I want to go to Turkey. It looks like a fashionable place."

"I especially like the part about eating lots of bread. I have only run across one kind of bread I didn't like too much."

"My favorite part about the lesson is the picture of the first president. He looked so cool with the suit on, but the mustache didn't fit him well."

"Thank you for inspiring us with the use of knowledge. One day we might have a test, and we'll ace it because of you!"

"Mrs. Dixon, you are really pretty."

All in all it was a great trip.

We are cheap

March 2009

Yeah, we finally got around to taking a decent family picture. There was no color coordination, no formal sitting, no plan. Just us in our front yard.

Our last decent family picture. Us in our backyard.

Sept. 2006

Then there was this one...

December 2007

And this one...

June 2008

Why pay for a photographer when you can get pictures like these?