Outside on a beautiful fall day in Oklahoma...

Nature...but mostly a silly kitten...

A monarch butterfly on wild, OK yellow flower on our place.

The kids call this kitten "Tiger Face".  One of the seven kittens that were born at our place.

Darn it! That's a very realistic-looking plastic bird...and now I'm stuck!

4-wheeling cuties...

...don't tell them I said that:0).  JB got a new 4-wheeler, so his got handed down to Gloria, Gloria's got handed down to Benaiah and they all had a blast tearing around on their new wheels.  Evelyn's not quite ready although she does take rides on the 4-wheeler with Mommy sometimes.

Dove Hunting as a Family

Max and  I had been together in Altus, OK 3 or 4 times before for 3-4 months at a time for training in the KC-135.  The first time we were in Altus together when Max was learning to fly the tanker was before we had any kids so we went hunting as a couple.  Who says there's nothing to do in Altus, OK?  This dove hunt as a family was the first time we did that and it actually worked out well and was fun.  Evelyn sat in the Suburban on the other side of the road, close by, watching DVDs and was perfectly happy.  Max, JB, and I had shot guns to shoot at birds.  We eat the doves when we have about 20 or so after Max marinates them, wraps them in jalapeno halves and bacon, then grills them...very tasty!

At the Rodeo Back in August

How much better can it get than a tractor on either side of you...at least for a 4-year-old boy obsessed with tractors...and the color green...

Benaiah was checking the level of JB and Gloria's feet to make sure he wasn't standing any higher than they were.  Obeying his Daddy.

I can't decide if Benaiah looks really sleepy or like a macho cowboy.

I think this was our 4th or 5th time at this rodeo in Altus.  We always have a good time even though it's usually hot.  It gets more fun to take the kids as they get older. 

Happy 7th Birthday to Gloria...

Tea anyone?

Gloria using and sharing her new china tea set from China!  Gramma Shell got it for Gloria a while ago during the Beijing Olympics in 2008.  She was waiting for Gloria to be mature enough for it.  Now if we could just get her to wash her face and don a little more formal attire....  As you can see, she got to swim on her 7th birthday!  I actually kinda think the disheveled look is kinda cute in this picture.  This is what tea time looks like in our household..:).

Gloria's first present opened on her 7th birthday...

This is after unwrapping her long-awaited birthday gift from Gramma Shell.  She was on speakerphone with Gramma Shell when she opened it.  Gloria loves it and takes good care of it.

All I want for Chrithmas...

...to lose the other tooth now!

Pretzel Initials

They were yummy!
Evelyn got her cute little diapered self in the top pic...