Sarah got this learning globe for Christmas, has this setting called,
"free for all" where you have to put the pointer on the country/capital, whatever it tells you. It's rather challenging. She beat me 12-10. Argh. And this is Miss Carlin, before she departed for the long trip back to Jacksonville. Miss her!

Bob isn't usually around to allow himself to be photographed, so I
caught a chance and grabbed a few shots of him before he escaped up the tree to the top of the house.

This began as Sarah's Easter puzzle, though was finished by the adults. We had a wonderful Easter - though, I keep telling Scott that - Jesus doesn't like people who hide the corner pieces of the puzzle in their pockets.

Well, the time in shamrock was great, the trip home - ehh, not so good. My route was Amarillo - Houston - Atlanta - Tampa. To make the 8 am flight in Amarillo I had to leave Mom's house around 5 am, and I didn't go to sleep until 4 or so, and then, I wasn't really sleeping for that hour. We arrive in Houston to a storm, of course. With 38 minutes to make it to the next gate and check in, etc, since it's a partner codeshare flight and I *have* to check in, it's a race to the other gate which of course, is on the opposite side of huge ass Intercontinental Airport. Finally made it to the gate and got check in, only to find that apparently there're tornados in Atlanta and we're not leaving ontime. Immediately I panic, cause that's what I do, knowing full well
I only have a 45 minute layover in Atlanta (just enough time to make it to the other gate and pee) --- SO. Everyone's standing around without any answers, so I call Delta and they assure me, they'll have another flight for me out of Atlanta (in 2 days, because, apparently, it's spring break in florida.) SO. We finally leave Houston and have the worst flight (up til that point in time) in the history of man.. turbulence, people crying, etc. The cabin of the plane was mostly black due to the clouds we were in - very very ominous views from the window, and the guy next to me kept saying, "Oh well, I'm ready to die, I'm right with God."

Arrival in Atlanta on this tiny ass plane, the Embraer 45, or something,
very small, seats about 40 people - literally during the flight, I kept
thinking we'd be swept away by the finger of God if He chose to dispose
of any of the nuts on the plane. So, in Atlanta, because of the
tailwind or some miraculous happening, there was actually a possibility
of making my connection had it not been cancelled. So on the other side
of the city (the grounds are HUGE) I get in this line of 80 or so people
who're wanting to know what's gonna happen with the connection to
Tampa.. we find out we're gonna leave around 5. 5 turned into 6 and 6
into 7 or so.. so around 7 or so, we board a 757. The original flight
was one of the giant jumbo things that seats around 300 people I guess..
so when our "equipment was downgraded due to weather quality and
rescheduling demands" some of the people booked, obviously weren't
getting a seat. Delta's pretty good about bumping people, rather,
compensating the bumped ones - so I didn't hurry to get in line - but
somehow they gave me a boarding pass - and so we board this 757. Every
tired, hungry, messy, screaming toddler in Atlanta was on this plane,
btw. So we sit there, taxi'ing, supposedly -- and all of a sudden
there's a HUGE LOUD BOOM and a flash of white light from the right side
of the plane, followed by a complete blackout of power, followed by
screaming, crying, and basically just mass panic. I, however, remained
calm. The "captain" came on the intercom and wanted us to know the
"static discharge" we possibly saw on the wing of the plane, wasn't
harmful, but that we should all close our windows and wait for
instruction from ATC. At this point, I'm starting to think to myself..
oh well, I'm ready to die. I was lucky enough this time to be seated
next to the highest hippie on the face of the earth who began meditating
shortly after the "static discharge." There was a big burly lookin
Auburn fan seated in front of us who announced, "I'm a gal-durn
engineer, and that was lightning!!" Meanwhile, the storm outside is
just raging. So needless to say, we turned around and unboarded. Back
inside the terminal, our home at gate A18, the group of us started to
really believe we weren't ever going home. People were shouting at
eachother, children were plotting wars against their parents, I just
kept calling Mom and Bighead, saying, "well, I'm still in Atlanta" . I
met this really nice set of people from England, Feng Shui consultants
who're working on a house for a happy young couple that recently bought
a home on Long Boat Key. Who hires a consultant to come and tell them
which direction the bed should face in the room? And there was this
other family who kept eating Cinnabons, like, one after another, all of
them. The English girl and I decided we were hungry too, and she talked
me into some weirdo chicken curry and sprouts wrap thing from one of the
delis, I never knew I'd like curry. Finally - Delta alerted us there
was a group coming in from Las Vegas and that we'd get that plane,
applause and sheer joy erupted for a short moment until the agent said,
that, again, this would be a smaller plane and not everyone would have a
seat. I got a seat, I made it home, I'm alive. I'd like to say the
story ended there - and perhaps I should end it there, there was more
drama with my luggage when I arrived in Tampa which likely could have
gotten me arrested, but thankfully Bighead was there to greet me and
keep me somewhat quiet. I'd been awake for close to 35 hours minus the
lil one hour nap, so mostly all I wanted to do was get home, get in my
bed, with the clean sheets, no smoke, no yelling, no children screaming
at the top of their lungs - just home with my cats and my air
conditioning. (And the humidity.)

this was 125$

crazymom and matt and tamara's children: trystan, delian and hunter

1. AJ Squared -- this is Aunt Judy and Aunt Joyce
2. Jase marching in the 59th Annual St Pat's parade.
3. This is cousin Joe (that's just moved in with my Mom) and cousin Calley (aka, Caliente!)