Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Monday, October 20, 2008
Camping Photos
We Survived Our First Camping Trip!
We decided it was time to take the kids on their first camping trip. Although Kevin and I had camped before, we wanted to wait until the kids were older to go camping. After acquiring all the necessary equipment, choosing the site and packing up - we headed out to take the kids tent camping!
With so many state parks in the state of Oklahoma, we finally decided to head to Arrowhead State Park on Lake Eufaula. On the first day, we set up camp, let the kids run around for a while, had dinner and then sat around the campfire and roasted marshmallows. It was a fairly typical camping experience for that first day!
The hardest part about camping was sleeping in the tent. Although it was nice during the day and in the 70s, it got down into the mid 40s the first night! We dressed the kids in layers and put them in their sleeping bags with an extra blanket. Jackson slept great - but the girls were bothered more by the cold.
On our second day camping, we drove to another state park called Robbers Cave State Park for the annual fall festival there and to climb the rocks at Robbers Cave. The kids enjoyed the carnival games and the cotton candy and snow cones at the festival.
But if you were to ask them, they would all agree that visiting Robbers Cave was the most fun. My kids love to climb rocks and go hiking on trails!
For our second night at the campsite, we had some visitors! A very determined raccoon spent the evening seeing how close he could get to our campsite. In fact, he got within a few feet of the girls sitting around the campfire! Our fierce little dog Rudy let us know the raccoon was out there and kept growling at him. The raccoon finally gave up. Later, as Kevin and I were walking over to the bathrooms we saw a skunk! We quickly turned around and decided to head towards the other bathrooms. I wasn't going to chance an encounter with a skunk!
We had a good time camping. It was a fun experience for the kids. I can see us camping again next spring and summer!
With so many state parks in the state of Oklahoma, we finally decided to head to Arrowhead State Park on Lake Eufaula. On the first day, we set up camp, let the kids run around for a while, had dinner and then sat around the campfire and roasted marshmallows. It was a fairly typical camping experience for that first day!
The hardest part about camping was sleeping in the tent. Although it was nice during the day and in the 70s, it got down into the mid 40s the first night! We dressed the kids in layers and put them in their sleeping bags with an extra blanket. Jackson slept great - but the girls were bothered more by the cold.
On our second day camping, we drove to another state park called Robbers Cave State Park for the annual fall festival there and to climb the rocks at Robbers Cave. The kids enjoyed the carnival games and the cotton candy and snow cones at the festival.
But if you were to ask them, they would all agree that visiting Robbers Cave was the most fun. My kids love to climb rocks and go hiking on trails!
For our second night at the campsite, we had some visitors! A very determined raccoon spent the evening seeing how close he could get to our campsite. In fact, he got within a few feet of the girls sitting around the campfire! Our fierce little dog Rudy let us know the raccoon was out there and kept growling at him. The raccoon finally gave up. Later, as Kevin and I were walking over to the bathrooms we saw a skunk! We quickly turned around and decided to head towards the other bathrooms. I wasn't going to chance an encounter with a skunk!
We had a good time camping. It was a fun experience for the kids. I can see us camping again next spring and summer!
Monday, October 13, 2008
Pool construction
Jackson's favorite part of the pool construction has been digging in the dirt!
After it was all dug out and before the concrete was poured.
This is the pool with the concrete poured, the coping and the tile work done.
The new concrete decking around the pool - plenty of spots for sunbathing!
A close up look at the tile and coping.
Pool construction has gone quickly here at the Hill homestead. They started digging mid September and have completed 80% of the work by mid October. All that is left now is getting the pool components hooked up to electricity, the plastering and a little more decorative tile work. We are looking at having the entire project done by Halloween! Of course, the kids might want us to kick on the heater and get it warmed up just enough so they can jump in before winter comes!
If anyone wants to know where we'll be next summer, you'll probably find us by the pool. No big vacations for us probably anytime soon! We'll be vacationing in the backyard. So of course, we welcome anyone who will want to come to Oklahoma and take a swim with us!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Connie Hill; 1936-2008
Connie and Katelyn (3 1/2) Dec. 2003
Connie, Katelyn (4) and Brittany (2) Dec 2004
Connie and Jackson (2) February 2007
Kevin's mother, Connie Hill, passed away on September 26, 2008.
Connie Hill was born Constance Laing in Fettercairn, Scotland,April 1936, to Alexander and Mary Laing. Her father, Alexander, worked at the local whiskey distillary. Connie grew up in Edzell, Scotland, where she later worked at the US Military Base there. She met Kevin's father at the base,where he was stationed, and they married in the late 1960s. They moved to the states shortly afterwards.
Connie had two children, Pamela and Kevin. (Pamela is 5 years older than Kevin). After Paul retired from the military; the family moved first to Indiana, then to Iowa and finally settled in Blue Springs, Missouri in 1987.
I first met Kevin's mother in 1994, when Kevin and I started dating. She had recently suffered from a stroke and was stil rehabilitating from it. Kevin always told me that I should have known his mother before the stroke, because of course, a stroke can change a person. The one thing Connie's stroke could not change was her love and admiration for her son. It was apparent right away that Kevin's mother thought Kevin hung the moon! She took pride in everything Kevin did, especially his success in school and his success on the baseball field.
A few years later, Kevin and I got married and Connie became my mother-in-law. After Kevin's dad (Paul) retired from his job at the Lake City Armory (located near Blue Springs), Paul and Connie moved around quite a bit. They lived near us twice, the first time when we lived in Houston and the second time here in Edmond. I know it was enjoyable for Connie to be close to Kevin and her grandchildren. By the time they moved to Edmond in November of 2004, we were aware of Connie's diagnosis with Alzheimer's.
I am thankful Connie was able to be near us, even if it was a short time. I know she loved seeing Kevin and her eyes always lit up whenever Kevin came over. In the fall of 2006, Connie had to be moved to a nursing home. She lived in the Lutheran Home in Cape Girardeau for about 2 years. Kevin's sister Pamela, who resides in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, visited her daily and cared for her at the nursing home those last 2 years.
Even with Connie's passing, she will always live on. Kevin looks so much like his mother. And Katelyn has Connie's eyes. We are saddened now that she is gone but also relieved that her suffering is over. As we grieve for Connie, we are reminded that she is in heaven with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And that helps make this process a little easier.
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