Branson Trip

Ron and I at the Eiffel Tower... in Paris, TX. Yes, we just had to.

One down...

Traveling... Ron did most o the driving this trip. And I was sick! 

But kept up with my drugs, and still had a great time :)

At the Hollywood Wax museum. I mean, being rescued by Indie in a scary cave!

Ron, chatting up 007 with an imaginary drink to match.

Well, we headed to the deep south. Sort of. Branson, MO, actually :) Andy's show choir was playing there and we got to go see him (and surprise him and mom!) which was a lot of fun. Along the way we found an old friend. Yes, we own several seasons of the good old Dukes.

Family in Branson! 

Fire and water show put to music down on the Landing. It was fun to watch, Ron was mesmerized by the fire :)

me and my favorite man. 

Our first impression of Arkansas, which we'd never been to. We missed the gas pump the first time. The lady inside was really friendly and we liked this small town of Chester, pop. 99. Ron was chatting the lady running the mercantile, and she said that have of that population was dogs :)

for the India Burchells

Just talked with Nate and Joie and Will and Annie. It was good to see their faces and chat for a bit. Just wanted them to know again how much I wish I could be a part of their daily lives. They appreciate the simple things, the most beautiful things. I know that Ron and I would love to stroll up to their cottage and make some chai tea with them, play with Will and Annie and their blocks and tractor... Let Nate read us some poetry or sit around the kitchen table telling stories, watching the kids... I love you India Burchells. I'm glad to be able to see your faces and we should skype a bit more, I'm thinking. love, love, love.

turtles.

Yesterday I was driving to work and swerved to miss hitting a big turtle who was casually trucking himself across the highway. I thought, wow... I don't think I've ever nearly hit a turtle. About two miles down the road, I swerved to miss hitting a little baby turtle that had inherited the same bad instincts about highways. 

I ask you, has anyone, in the course of a few minutes of highway driving, nearly hit two turtles? Now I can count myself among the few. They were adorable, and later when I was on my way home, I watched the road carefully. I think they made it safely across. Go turtles. 

can walk photos

This is one of the houses we pass on our walks. We like 

how the trees are allowed to grow through the roof :)

Texas Longhorns

Ron on one of our can walks. He looks like a sweet little farmer.

Ron with one days' take from the can walk. He is proud.

Another proud picture. After my mixer breaks, Ron saves the day!

date night

Is happening right now, we just got back from the Red Lobster. Ah, yes. The memories. We had a lovely time out today with a few friends (or people that are becoming our friends) from Ron's work. We went bowling with them and then parted ways to spend quality time with each other and some coconut shrimp. It was all delicious, but even more delicious is this next bit of news. Ron would not want to brag on himself to everyone, but I have to say how proud I am of him. Some of the people that Ron works closely with at the site, some of the craft, have noticed how hard Ron has been working. He puts in some long hours and goes into work on Saturdays sometimes even when he doesn't have to. Oh, we work it out at home and still get time together :) But they gave us a gift card for the dinner tonight, they all pooled in for Ron because he does so much for them on the job. So, while dinner was great, it was really great knowing that Ron is doing all the right things around the site and that it is appreciated. We are blessed, and I am blessed with a hard working husband (who also know when to come home).

Back to date night, I think I'm about to destroy Ron in checkers. 

a new post!

Seems like I'm behind in the family blogging scene. I just looked through everyone's now old blogs and realize why people have been hounding me to write more. It's because all of you give such nice little updates on a very consistent basis. It's very nice to see the photos of the kids, Joie, they have grown so much! So I will attempt to be a better blogger... too bad my name isn't betty botter, i think I could could have a nice little ditty there. 

Today is Valentine's Day, and Ron is working :( but he will be back in the afternoon. I flipped out a little last night because Ron and I have not had a solid day together in about 3 weeks or so. I don't do well on very little Ron time. So I'm going to soak it up tonight and tomorrow. We missed each other while I was in Boston, though I had a wonderful time there! 

I really like Boston. I loved the quaint New England architecture, Paffy the tourguide, taking long unhurried walks, and soaking up all the fun historical things (although, Will, I still have yet to sit on an ancient stone elephant). Mostly, I loved seeing family. I loved meeting Claire. She's so beautiful and interactive. Since I had just seen pictures and few of her more quiet moments when we were skyping, it was exciting when she was right in front of me, giggling or smiling that big smile of hers. It was also a lot of fun to carry her around Boston while Mom took pictures of her. Look, heres Claire at Paul Revere's House. Look, here's Claire on the Freedom Trail. Look, here's Claire with Benjamin Franklin. We had a fun time with that and Mom and I were both reminded of the little lawn ornament that was stolen, followed by pictures in the mail of this same lawn ornament all over the world. Don't worry, Claire, you are way cuter than a lawn ornament :) And carting around a baby all afternoon made me think... I should get one sometime soon... This is not an announcement. 

Today Ron and I are going to take down our Christmas tree. I know. Sometimes we wonder if we have too many redneck instances, but I refuse to actually use that word to describe us. We are slow people sometimes. Taking our time, content with life almost to a fault. I need to get better at just getting things DONE. Next on the list of organizing our lives is to set up a nice filing system for all our papers. We just became adults, and we already have so much to file! (actually, I must be in denial, we've been adults a little bit now) But I love when we actually are organized, so I'm looking forward to finishing that project. Right now it's like this: 

Ron: Honey, where is all the stuff for our taxes? 

Jo: Oh, I made sure to put all of those envelopes on the piano so we know where they are. 

nice. Well, I'm off to get some cleaning done and work out and maybe get the grocery shopping in before Ron comes home. Tonight we're going to the Olive Garden to celebrate our love. I just thank God for blessing me with a wonderful husband that loves me and protects me and will care for me for the rest of my days. He is a treasure to my heart. 

the living room

This is just some before/after shots of our living room. These shots cannot possibly show you how awful it was before, and all the sin we covered up. Still working on decorating :)

painting painting painting. That's all we did FOREVER.

the "before" walls. Reminiscent of a 1970s fishermen's cabin...

minus the mess, look at the walls! Soooo much better!!