San Antonio, TX 2013

Since I last posted I hurt my back. I think many of you know that my back does this every now and then. I have no idea what in the world I did, but it was hurting so bad. My cousin also passed away. So we went to the funeral in Oklahoma. This was the son of the Uncle (Joe) I talk about who was in the hospital when we were down in June. So we got to see some more family. I came back and went to the Chiropractor about my back because it was getting close to my San Antonio trip. I was still hurting when we left for San Antonio, TX...but I got better after about 2 days. We had some room issues, but I will skip that and go to the good stuff.

We went to The Alamo on Josh's birthday, then to eat at a little burger restaurant and that evening we went to The Riverwalk and had dinner. Josh is very into history, so this was an awesome day for him and me too. I love seeing historical places like this.

Day 2, we went to Sea World. We were able to catch all of the shows we wanted to see and ride some rides and see all of the exhibits. It is a wonderful place!! I love Sea animals, so it was a great day. We saw Pet's Ahoy, Cannery Row Caper, One Ocean, Azul, Sea Lions Tonight and Shamu Rocks. The whales were awesome to see. I loved all of the shows. Day 3, went to Schlitterbahn waterpark. It is absolutely huge. We did a lot of fun tubing rides and water rides, but you have to walk so far and wait so long everywhere you go. It was very fun though. We had pizza afterwards and went to bed. The last day we slept in a little and then went shopping at the Premium Outlet Malls. We got Josh some things and my sisters-in-law got some things. It was fun and we ate at Garcias Mexican restaurant. It was excellent. This picture is Josh and I at the Riverwalk

We drove home on Thursday. We left at 5AM and got home around 5:30PM. I did some laundry, went to bed and did the rest of the laundry yesterday. I also met with my bus driver yesterday to get things ready for school to start. I was hoping to get to lay out this weekend, but it is cool out and I am sure the water is cold. It has been raining the entire time we were gone. I will check it later, but I think it is too cold to swim. If so, I need to go to the preschool and get cubbies ready and names on the wall. Everything else I had taken care of before we left. We start meetings on Monday and kids start on Wednesday. This has been a very fun summer for Josh and I, so I hate to see it end. I am going to post a picture of our entire group that went to San Antonio.

From left to right is my sis-in-law Karla, her son Keifer, me, Josh and my sis-in-law Kayla. We had a great time. I cannot believe school starts back in just a couple of days and summer is over. I hope you all have a great August!!

hello!!

Well let's see since I last posted Karl had his 40th birthday.

He played golf and we went to see Iron Man that night. Josh and I got him his favorite BBQ for lunch and a birthday cake. We have been swimming. It was cool here last week, so the pool got a little cold to swim in, but it is warm again and I am planning to swim today. I took Josh to Plato's Closet and to Clothes Mentor last week and we found some more clothes...those are resale shops, but they have really nice clothes. I kind of wish I would have bought more. I got 2 pairs of jeans and 2 shirts and Josh got 3 t-shirts. The 4th of July was quiet here. We did BBQ, I tried to swim, but the pool was too cold so I came back in. That night Josh and I watched fireworks outside. Karl was watching a baseball game. We watched fireworks for 3 nights I think. They are so pretty, but they scare my dogs so much. My Uncle is doing better, he has been out of the hospital for a while and just getting over the pneumonia. He is much better than he was. When he is healthy they will look at his heart. I am sure he will need surgery for that. But so far so good. My sisters-in-law and I are planning a trip with the kids to San Antonio, TX. They are doing most of the planning, but it would be before school starts back, so we are excited about that. We would be taking them to the Alamo, the River Walk, maybe Sea World, and a water park. Anyway, that is in the works, so I do not have the exact specifics. I have not been able to go on vacation with them since Orange Beach, Al several years ago. I am looking forward to it. In the meantime, I am just enjoying my workouts and swimming. It is trying to get cloudy outside again. I am hoping for a more clear day so I can swim. Have a great week and I will visit soon.

Highlights of our trip to Muskogee...

We had a great trip to Oklahoma. The first night we were able to get a hold of my Aunt and we had dinner and went shopping. I was able to find Josh a lot of clothes. I love to shop down there. I found some clothes also. The next day we did some more shopping and we went to a museum I had never even heard of. Josh does research and finds these places. The museum is on the campus of an Indian college there in Muskogee...Bacone College...it is called the Atoloa Lodge Museum. The building used to be the art building for the college and when they got a new one, this building became a museum and people donate items to it. There are many different items in there from a lot of different Indian tribes. I honestly thought the museum was going to be disappointing, but it was really good. Good job Josh on finding it. Here is a picture of Josh at the museum.

Josh asked a lot of people in Muskogee about the Ataloa Lodge Museum and no one had heard of it. He found a hidden treasure. That night we had dinner with my Aunt again and my mom, Aunt and Josh did even more shopping. My dad and I went to the hotel to relax. Thursday I was able to get some pool time in while my dad and Josh went to visit my Uncle at the hospital. I had the pool to myself except for 30 minutes that some boys came to swim, then they left and I had it to myself again. It was a nice relaxing day. I got some sun and just a little burn on my back. My Uncle is getting better from the pneumonia, but he is also having heart arrhythmia, so when he gets over pneumonia they will place a stint in to help his heart beat normally. We did not get to see him much because he is still in ICU and visits are limited. Here is another picture from the Ataloa Museum.

These pictures are on facebook, but just on case you didn't see them. I am also going to post one that I did not post on facebook. I took a lot of pictures at the museum. I thought this one was neat. It is the dress of a male chief the head piece and there is a small vest for a child. You can click on any of the pictures to see them better. There were so many dresses and pottery. Lots of things to see here. We came home Friday and I did laundry. Saturday we rested. Sunday we went to see Man of Steel. The latest Superman movie. I really liked that movie. I had told Karl Saturday night we needed to get out and see some of these movies. I get busy and tired when I am working.

We also got our pool set up and it is about ready to swim in. I will do that this week sometime. Josh is also wanting to do some more shopping. I think he is also planning to stay with my parents sometime this week. We have some things going on anyway. Those are the highlights of our trip. It was a lot of fun. Have a nice week!!!

Packing for Oklahoma

Josh and I went to the library last Monday to return his books. He did not get anything new because of our trip. We also went to the pharmacy and to the Dollar Store for some things. Then we did not do a whole lot until Friday. Friday I decided I was going to get some things done. I shampooed the carpets, washed the windows, cleaned the bathroom and kitchen and dusted. I felt better getting something done. I also did the laundry. Tomorrow we leave for Oklahoma. Josh is spending the night with my parents tonight so they can make plans for the trip and they will pick me up in the morning. We will be back on Friday. I mostly would like to get some shopping done while we are down there. My Uncle is in the hospital with double pneumonia and in the ICU...so we will try to visit him as we are able...he cannot have many visitors. I know Josh was hoping to do more things with my Uncle, but he will enjoy seeing my Uncle and his wife. I hope he is feeling better soon. If we stay at the hotel I am hoping to swim and I want to check out the workout room. I did my walking today. I would like to cycle in Oklahoma. I do still need to start packing. Have a great week!! P.S. Darylynn...it did not flood at my house, but very close by. I was lucky. I was seeing a lot of homes on facebook with flooded yards and people saying they had 3 inches of water in their homes. There were many roads that were flooded in Springfield. My cell phone was going off all weekend with flood and thunderstorm warnings. It is still raining. There is no standing water here though. :)

Silver Dollar City

We went to Silver Dollar City on Saturday. It is an 1800's theme park here in this area and I have been going there my whole life. We had a great time. Here is a link to SDC Silver Dollar City. We got there early and rode a lot of rides and saw a show and went through the cave. I have not been through the cave since I was in high school. There are 700 steps to get down into the cave. Let's just say, the next day my calves were hurting. Here is a picture of us in Marvel Cave. It is a beautiful cave. I had every intention of taking more pictures, but it did not happen. We had a nice lunch out there and got some salt water taffy from the candy store. When we got home Karl mowed the lawn and I went to Wal-Mart for some things. Yesterday we went to Lowe's and got some new yard lights. I did not think about taking a picture of them, but I do like them. Today I took Josh to the library so he could return some books he was reading. Then we ran to the pharmacy to get some medicine, then to the Dollar Store. We are home now and I think we can rest. I do not have any plans for this week, so we may go to see my parents later this week. In any case, I may not have much to report. We are going to Oklahoma next week, so looking forward to that. Have a nice week!!

Catching up...Part 2

Josh was saved when he was 5 years old, but he never did get baptized. I did not want to push him and make him feel uncomfortable. The last day of school Josh tells me..."I talked to Pastor and I am getting baptized June 2nd". I was so excited for him. Here is a picture. The rest are on facebook. I am glad I never pushed him to get baptized and that it was able to be his decision. It just means more that way. I cried and was so proud of him. The Grandparents were there and one of Josh's Aunt's...Karl's sister Kayla. Afterwards we went to Pizza Hut to eat. It was a nice night. My parents also had their 50th wedding anniversary in April. We have been busy. We took them out to eat and had a great time with them. I did not get any great pictures of that because my dad is having trouble walking (his weight) and so he was off to the car before I could even snap a picture. He is suffering from Alzheimer's now and my mom has Parkinson's. They are doing ok for what they are going through for now. So yesterday Josh and I decided to go to the Japanese Stroll Garden here in Springfield. We went there and then we had a bite to eat at Burger King. Last night we went to Branson for dogfood at Petco and I got to check-out the new Ulta make-up store. We had fun. The stroll garden was so peaceful and pretty. It is in a big park, so we went there also and saw the Botanical Gardens and the Butterfly House. My phone died at the Japanese Garden I took so many pictures, so I did not get any pictures of the Botanical Garden or the Butterfly House. Josh did, but I haven't seen them yet. Here is a photo of Josh at the Japanese Stroll Garden. I think I am caught up on the important stuff now. Tomorrow we plan to go to Silver Dollar City...a theme park here in the area, so I will make a post about that on Monday. Have a great weekend!!

Catching up...Part 1

I will have to make a couple of posts to catch you all up since I have not posted since January. I am still trying to workout. I have had some pains here and there and I was sick a LOT in May, but I am hanging in there. My goal is to lose some weight and I am going to have to walk/jog longer to make that happen. I enjoy my treadmill and especially when I was working I enjoyed coming home and walk/jogging to clear my head. This has been a rough year at the preschool for a lot of reasons. I will not get into it, but so glad it is summer. I recently got some new shoes to help me with my aches and pains. They are Saucony Cohesion 6. Here is a picture and this is the color I have too. I said I was sick in May. I mean I was sick back to back weeks. I had the flu one week for 2 days and the very next week I had a BAD cold I actually had to leave work and come home and sleep. I felt better when I woke up and was able to go back the next day. It was crazy, but I kind of needed some time off and I have plenty of sick days, so it was kind if a nice break even though I was sick. I got a lot of sleep. I also took off because Josh was sick at one point. I was off a lot in May. Josh had the flu also. Well, Josh graduated from 8th grade. I know if you follow facebook, you have seen the pictures. I am going to share a picture I did not post. It is of his awards. He won an award for best History and Reading grade and A Honor Roll one semester and A/B honor roll the second semester. He had some other awards, but I was so proud of his reading awards because the school wanted to retain him in 4th grade because of his reading level, so we pulled him out of public school for the year...had him do homeschool and then sent him to middle school the next year. He was caught up when he went back and now has all of these academic awards. I know I am bragging, but I am so proud of him. He has been beat down and had no confidence for so long. He is doing so good in school now. Here is the picture of his awards...one is his promotion certificate. Ok, well this is getting long. I have much more to share, but I will do that another day. I am looking forward to getting caught up with blogs!! See you soon.

guess who...

I have not posted since November, so since then we had a nice Christmas. My parents came to be here with us and we had a nice time. I got a treadmill for Christmas and I am finally going to try to get some of this weight off. I gained a lot of weight...well last year after student teaching. We got stressed out at the preschool and ate everything in sight. One of my co-workers has already lost her weight and the other two of us are working on it. This is a much more difficult year at the preschool, so I am not sure what got into us last year. I have been walking everyday and for right now, I am still trying to get stronger to work myself to a faster walking rate. I have been walking faster and more each week, but I haven't checked my weight. I do not really feel like I have lost any weight yet. I have not worked out since I started going to college and now that is over I can focus. It has been a busy month at the preschool and I will not get into it except to say that time is going fast. Things are also going well. Last weekend since it was a long one, Karl, Josh and I took off to Lake of the Ozarks. I was wanting Josh to see something new and it is pretty there but they have built up since I was there last and it turned out to be not a big deal...not like I remembered it. The lake is beautiful of course, but we went on to Jefferson City instead...the capital of Missouri. Josh wanted to see the capital building and we had the most fun there. I think all of my pictures are on my phone and hopefully most of you were able to see them on facebook since I have nothing to share here. It was nice to get away for the day and have some fun. We are all fine. Karl is working in Joplin, which is about at hour away, but hey it is work. He drives back and forth everyday, so he is here with us at night. Josh is doing well in school and work is going good for me. I plan to keep up my workouts and hopefully I will start seeing some results soon. I also got the app on my phone my fitness buddy and it helps me watch my calories. Well, I better go. There is not a lot going on here, just tired at night. I wanted to update for those of you who do check on me and I appreciate it!! I miss you all and think of you often. Glad facebook is there to see many of you. If you are not on my facebook, find me...Lori Burkett Ray. It is easier to keep up with me there. I am keeping my blog because you guys know I post the most in the summer when I am not working. I hope you are all well and the flu has not found you. Have a great weekend!!