Holding On for One More Week

At the OKC zoo with "Blaze"

We have one more week here in western OK, then we're headed south (and east, I guess). We're enjoying the time here with family. The kids are keeping busy with farm life and kid life, spending time with their grandparents and their cousins. They've made tents, visited the zoo, played at the park and generally been kids in summer-time - carefree and crazy. If you care and want to see pictures of some of these events, they're on the other blog- you know, the one that mostly has pictures of my children and tales of their exploits, and is not updated nearly as often as it used to be.

Lunch with the Barn Crew

Aaron has been very busy as well. Now that the truck is finished (see previous post) he has more time to help his father. The Thiessen building crew (Aaron, his dad, and a sister) have been putting up a barn. We take them lunches and watch the miraculous progress on the barn day by day.

Aaron Proves He Can Handle Heights

Aaron has also been practicing his handy man skills on the RV, fixing the A/C leak, (it still doesn't actually cool anything, but it doesn't spray water anymore) and building a bookshelf and a new bed. Yea! More storage!!

A New Bed! Yea!

Now we've just got to finish packing and make sure the RV is ready for the cross-country trek. We have a window unit to rig to our trailer, then dismantle for the traveling. The kids and I have sorted through all the toys, books, and clothes, so that shouldn't take too much more work. We all have about one foot of hanging space and three drawers each for all our clothes. Let's just say it's a challenge.

Next time I post, we'll probably be in Florida. Internet access might be spotty, but I will do my best. We're excited to begin the work there, and I look forward to sharing more details after we've arrived.

Vimes and Nobby Restored and Explained

Vimes, the pickup, is almost ready to be back out on the road again. He can make the trips now, but without his right side mirror it probably wouldn't be legal, so we're waiting for the final detail before we call him healed. (My brother-in-law took all the but the last of these pictures. Ask a man if you want pictures of automobile work. Thanks C!)

Aaron has worked and worked on this truck, and since almost everything he did was a "first time" it has taken a while. He said, "It's a good thing you aren't relying on my being a body mechanic for our household income." I'm sure it would be a lot faster the second time, though.

The bottom body panel was pretty smashed up on the right side, so Aaron found a salvage yard with a good donor truck for the two passenger-side doors and the bottom half of the ridiculously named bottom body panel. He, with some help from his father and brother, got the new parts installed and pulled dents and deformities out of the remaining bits.

He decided to paint it black instead of matching the existing blue. The top and hood still looked nice, though, so those will remain the original color. Which means, of course, that our little pickup is now literally "black and blue". I think it's fitting. After all, the pickup is named after Commander Sir Samuel Vimes from the Discworld universe of the recently deceased Terry Pratchett.

Vimes is a man has been through some rough times, but is essentially a good, honest, hard-working cop, just trying to bring justice to the city and serve the law. He gets a little beat up sometimes, but he always comes back because there's a job to do, and he knows he's the man to do it.

The RV, on the other hand, is named Nobby. I won't go into the details of that character, but if you're familiar with the world of Vimes, you'll know that Nobby isn't as...well respected...in the minds of all and sundry. I'll just leave that there. Suffice is to say that he is still a good guy, still a member of the team, and always faithful, more or less, to the cause.

One More Month as Okies

For everyone who has been worried, yes, we're all fine out here in the weather-wilds of western Oklahoma. The rain has been incredible these last two months, with "flood" being the word of the season. We've watched the sky for severe threats more evenings than not, but so far it's just been lots of rain and some thunder and lightning thrown in for good measure.

Look! Water on the Farm!

After years and years of drought, this is actually a blessing, but it brings its own difficulties. Every town around here is dealing with sinkholes and flooding, but nothing too drastic. (Not like those poor folks in Texas.) Meanwhile, the kids are enjoying any moments of sunshine they can find. We all walk out on Grandparents' T's farm, and in town with Grandparents C when we can.

Working in the "Potion Shop"

Our RV is parked with Aaron's folks, so we're settling into farm life for the time being. Grandpa's pond is finally full, (He built it in the first year of the drought - an act of faith.) and Grandma's garden is growing well, although we haven't been able to weed it as we planned because it's just mud, mud, mud.

We visit my folks in Cordell each week as well, enjoying the luxuries of town life, like being able to walk to the grocery store and the library. (...when it isn't raining.) The kids raid Grandpa C's art supplies and paint maps and still lifes (still lives?) They build forts in the parlor and have tea parties when Aunt C is home for a visit at the same time. It's the simple pleasures in life that are the most profound.

We have one more month here before we point ourselves towards Florida. We're having a great time visiting with family, and also looking forward to the new adventures that lie ahead. Living in the moment is our current concern, but it's that kind of "in the moment" where you still spend a significant amount of time preparing for the future, as we all must I suppose.