We Miss You Annie!

Ok, I got an E-mail from a friend the other day asking if I was ok because I hadn’t posted anything in awhile. I am fine, I just haven’t posted anything in awhile because it was so close to the time Annie was to go home for the summer that I didn’t feel like writing it down in words that it was time for her to go. It was hard enough watching each day slip by. I tried to keep myself busy to make it easier. I put in a driveway for my truck so Lori and I don’t have to park behind one another. I replaced all the wood on the outside eves of the house and painted the house. We put in a big garden because we like that and food is so expensive. All things that needed to be done but were also done in part to occupy my mind. I knew it was going to be hard on me when she left for the summer, because I have grown so attached to her. I have looked after, loved, and parented this child like she was ours for the passed year. I was doing fine with her going home for the summer because she would get to see her parents who must miss her something terrible. Also I took comfort in the fact she was coming back for her first year of college, we got her into college here last year. Now we don’t know if she is going to get to come back or not. Annie has relatives in another state that are trying to get her into college there. While I can understand why they want her to go to collage where they live. Who wouldn't want such a wonderful child in their lives. Annie wants to come back here for her first year then she can go to another university near them for the remaing 11 years to become a doctor. Only time will tell if she gets to come here for university or not. We should know in about 2 months. I told her before she left that if she didn’t get to come back for college here that we wanted her to come when school let out for a long break. Even in her absence when me and Lori think of Annie and the funny things she would say or do she makes us laugh. On a happy note we are getting to know our great nephew Robbie (pictured above with Annie, who "just loves babies") and his mother Amanda. They will be visiting us for probably about a month before they move on to an apartment close to Robbies Dad who is in training in the military.

We Miss You Annie, Hopefully we will see you soon.
Glen

Oh, sweet Girl your package is on the way.

We sent another package off to Ginger in the mail the other day. When Lori and I are out during the week we see small things we think she might need or like and pick them up for her. This last package I went a little overboard on the candy because we found a hard case with all sorts of Easter candy in it. I did tell Ginger she will have to brush her teeth really good after eating some of it and we sent her a tooth brush for good measure. We also sent some more socks and another warm blanket, coloring books and pencils.
A letter and photos from her should be on the way. We got a photo of the letter by email that’s on the way the other day, if that doesn’t melt your heart you either need to see the Wizard or you’re already dead.
Glen

MT. FUJI Japanese Restaurant

We went to MT. FUJI to try some sushi to see what we think of it. I thought it was ok but it is not something I will seek out as a favorite. Lori and Annie liked it. Brandon didn’t care for it to much. And Lori’s dad made us all laugh when he got some of this HOT green stuff (wasabi)on his ginger slices, cleared his sinuses right up.
You can see it in the secound photo, it is behind the rice. It may be small but it is powerful!

There is a new sushi place that just open up in our town we will have to try.
Glen

Wrist bands O' fun

We have been doing a lot of activities with the kids’ while they have been off for spring break.
One of the fun things we did is go to Gator Park and buy wrist bands for $14.00 dollars that aloud us to do 4 things at the park. I know, they say five but they mark 2 off on your first thing you do so it is actually four, anyway for the money it was still a lot of fun. We got to play minature golf, drive go-carts on a racetrack, go to the batting cages, and drive go-carts on a slick track that is similar to driving on solid ice. We all had a wonderful time and afterwards we had a picnic lunch at the “Big Dam Bridge”. Only in Arkansas will they name a bridge that.
Glen

Actual Wrist Band O' Fun

Annie and Glen getting a run down of the rules for the "Slick Track".

Annie in the batting cages. She kept going back in for more. We may have found her sport.

Brandon and Lori in the batting cages.

Brandon using his signature Elvis move for hitting the ball.

Deep in concentration.

Annie leading the pack at the go kart track.

Annie's laughing at Glen because he told me to wait till he could suck in his stomach before I took the picture.

Blanchard Springs Caverns

Those little dots behind the sign are Annie and Brandon.

This is the site where all of the water that drains down into the cave exits.

Brandon doing his best to get a cell phone signal.

Inside the Dripstone Tour portion of the caverns.

Glen and Brandon

Brandon climbed up behind where the water empties the caves and found this little creek.

Heifer International Center,Clinton Library

This is the new Heifer International building in Little Rock, they do good work around the world by teaching people how to help themselves and their villages.

Lori and I went to the restaurant that is located in the bottom of the Clinton Library call 42 for Easter brunch with some good friends. It was fabulous, the food was great, there were more things to eat than you had room in your stomach to try and of course, as always, any outing with Mike and Melissa is more fun than a barrel of monkeys.
Glen

Easter Eggs of fun.

Well we all went over to Lori's parents for Easter where we dyed Easter eggs, had an egg race with our eggs put in spoons and had an egg toss.


When we all picked out our spoons Brandon choose a ladle.


Here we are lined up for the Easter Egg race. I won but was called a cheater because my egg was stuck to my spoon by the Easter Egg dye. (It IS, of course cheating when you do this on purpose before the race - Lori)


The winners of the Easter Egg toss. Me and Annie.

Cooking up a storm.

We have been trying to cook some new Chinese dishes around here, we love the taste of Chinese food but have had trouble in the past replicating the taste of Chinese food that has been prepared well, With all the right ingredients and spices.
Lori picked up some egg roll raps the other day and I was interested in trying to make some egg rolls so after work I ran to the store to gathering all the ingredients we would need for them. Got most of what I would need at one store but could not find bean sprouts.
So I am standing in line at store #2 with my bean sprouts proud of my successful hunting and gartering when Lori calls and says “hey Hun thought we would make the egg roll tonight just left the store they had everything we needed except bean sprouts”. Ha we have plenty of green onions let me tell you, oh well we were able to use it and it inspired us to try to make some more dishes the next night. The dishes turned out to tastes wonderful you could not taste the difference from my kitchen to one of the best Chinese restaurants we go to. Although I will say I need to get better at taking my vegetables off the heat before they are all the way cooked because they continue to cook awhile after you remove them from the heat.
Oh yea and Annie made a Pie in her Pi shirt that girl cracks us up all the time.
She helped me put the filling in the won ton wraps, then wile I was cooking Annie would come into the kitchen smell, and look at what I was doing. Annie kept telling me I was an amazing, she really like cooking,
She seems fascinated with the fact that she can put raw ingredients together and have a cake in the end.

So in Closing three Good things in life are
family, compliments, and yummy food!

Glen

Egg drop soup

Meaty egg rolls

Dinner #1

Won ton soup & Sture fry I hadn’t added the bean sprouts yet they go in last.

Dinner #2