Modern Art ?

I know each of you other Grand-mothers (and Mothers) will under-stand the sweetness of this drawing. This is grandson Max and his drawing of his Granny (me).

Hotel Business Expanding

The housing market may be down but our hotel business is growing.

Hotel housing for birds that is! Enjoying watching the birds as we do, we have several different styles of bird houses scattered about on our property. We spend a small fortune buying feed for them - but that is okay as we enjoy watching them so much.

To add to our collection this year grandson (age 3 1/2) Max gave us one. The house was put together by his dad Tony. However, all the painting and selection of colors were handled by Max.
Grandpa thought it should go in the back yard - where we could get a better view of it at all times.

Holly and Tony had made this sign for us several Christmas'es ago. We figured this would be an appropriate location for the new addition.
This picture can give you an idea as to how it looks in relation to the other things at the "Hotel".

Call soon for reservations ~ and yes, credit cards are accepted!

Moving in with Max

Well, I did move in with Max...but only for a few days. Holly and Tony were having to put in long days with the preparation of the Centennial show - so daycare was out. Time to call in the grandmothers to the rescue. Holly was off work Monday-I selected Tuesday and Wednesday for my days. Grandma Vicki got the Thursday-Friday slots.

Because I do not drive in the dark I drove up Monday afternoon. This was great as I got to spend some time with Holly...cooking, talking and just enjoying each other's company. I left Thursday morning and headed to the beauty shop before coming home.

Max and I had such fun together. These pictures only show some of the things we did.

Playing in the sandbox.
Picking leaves.
Building a tent- using several blankets/quilts and his small table.
Trying the hard task of learning to tie a shoe lace.


Side Note: Wanda Kay came up and spent Tuesday night too. That way Mr. Max got the attention of two "old ladies" who love him dearly.

Riding in a Red Car!

This is the best picture I have been able to find showing us in the parade. Holly took it as we went past her work area.

Everything that happened Sunday went by so fast. I think now why didn't I do this or why didn't I do that. Obviously, getting more pictures would have been great. But, as I mentioned before my main thought was caring for Max to the best of my ability.

"THE PARADE"

Being part of the Centennial Parade was wonderful. Of course, I really realized this when we watched it on television later in the evening. From where we were in the staging area we could only see a few of the floats, balloons, bands etc.

We had a designated place for us to park our car - which was great as it was just a few feet from the VIP center and where the staging for us took place.

Practically just as soon as we (Leon, Max and yours truly) got out of our car Lori Holliday showed up to take us to the VIP center. She was the one from OETA (channel 13) assigned to handle the people associated with Clifford, The Big Red Dog and Curious George. She was great the complete time to make sure we were comfortable and well cared for.

As with a lot of things there will be down time - and this was no exception. But to pass the time we had chairs seated around tables. Cookies of many kinds, fruit trays, and several things to drink were readily available. Plus Lori had picked up sub sandwiches - but we had eaten so we did not partake of this.

Originally we thought we would load in the old car at 1:00 - but it was changed to 2:30. This actually was better as there was really no room once we got in the car. Speaking of the car, we wound up being in a red Model T automobile. Yes, the kind that has to be cranked in the front to start it. It died several times during the course of the parade-so the owner/driver had to get it out and give it a few cranks to get the engine chugging again.

Many of the "important people" were in the room with us that were part of the parade. I was able to get a few pictures. I had camera issues for most of the time though. Once out in the parade area there was no time for pictures.

No, I did not go up and request any special pictures or autographs. My primary misson was to care for Max. Leon had already said his main objective was to care for Max and me. Which, he did very well.

Poor Max...he got tired. Little boys can only take being still so long. Look closely at this picture, that is James Garner just at the top of Max's head. Mr. Garner was the parade grand marshal. The dark haired woman (seated) is Miss Oklahoma 2007 Makenna Smith. The woman wearing the red ball cap and a red shirt (with her back to the camera) is Mr. Garner's private nurse.
This shows more of the "important people". The man in the gray suit with his back to us is football great Billy Sims. To his left is the baseball player Bobby Mercer. The blonde haired lady with red shirt is Stephanie Canada, 2007 Oklahoma Teacher of the year. Far in the back is Mr. Garner and his nurse.
These two handsome guys are my VIP's.

There were others in the room that carry an important status. Among them were Eddie Sutton, Josh White and Steve Owens - all from the sports field. Bryan White, a up and coming country music star sang some while we waiting. Leon said olympic star Shannon Miller was also in the room as well.

We have heard the number of people that viewed the parade along the streets ranged from 175,000 to 220,000. I know from first hand experience there were many.

PS: Hopefully, I can get a picture of us in the parade from Holly as I know she took a couple when we went by her work tent.

Centennial Parade

Many things are up in the air now...but it appears I will be in the Oklahoma Centennial parade next Sunday afternoon in Oklahoma City. I will be riding along with grandson Max in a convertible. Also "Clifford, the Big Red Dog" (the PBS cartoon character) will be in the car too. It is scheduled to last two hours...so that means there will be many many entries.

Holly and Tony are both working the parade. Holly's title is line producer (don't know exactly all her job duties) and Tony will be one of the camera men.

The parade will be shown live at 2:00 on channel 13. It may be carried on other stations too...I just don't know at this time.

This is really all I know right now...hopefully I will get more data as the week progresses.

Guess I should go practice my "wave" technique..ha-ha!

Happy Meal

This "Happy Meal" is not the kind from McDonalds as one would think. This one was a meal we got to share with Max and his parents this past Saturday. On a spur of the moment trip to OKC we went by the Emig home for a short visit. Since we did not give them much notice we were coming it was only fair to take them out to eat - especially since we arrived at lunch time. Leon was wanting breakfast so he selected IHOP...that was okay with everyone as the menu covers a wide area of food items.

Max and I gave the camera a big grin as we were coloring the child's menu.
Max ordered the "Happy Face" pancake.

Granny's Little Gardener

Grandson Max paid us a visit this past Saturday. Part of the time we spent it outside in the back yard. As you can tell from these pictures he helped with the watering. Now, I ask you, "Can a Granny ask for any better help than that?".

Sifting, Shoveling and Shaking Sand

Leon decided some time ago a sandbox was just what Max "needed" for his 3rd birthday. Of course, we cleared this through Holly and Tony first. Yes, we are several weeks away from his birthday - but thats okay too!

A few days ago we made a trip to Lowe's for lumber and hardware. Then stopped at Atwoods for the tarp to cover the top. Last Monday the building began. Worked on it on Tuesday and finished it off on Wednesday. Some of the hardware did not work as Leon had pictured in his mind on Tuesday so he made a trip into Tecumseh for the proper items. Didn't get enough so made another trip in the afternoon. Things like this happens when you are building something for the first time.

It is made from 4 x 4 pressure treated landscape posts. These are stacked three deep .The bottom is outdoor type plywood. Size is 4 x 8. The canvas top is a water proof style. Weight wise - probably 300 pounds (without sand).This is the way it looked at the beginning.Leon and Tony preparing to move the sandbox from the back of our pickup to the chosen location in the back yard. After moving it they went to Home Depot to get the sand. Put in 30 sacks - which comes out to 1,500 pounds. By this time both Tony and Leon were some what pooped! Max enjoying this new plaything. He already had his dumptrucks, but I "had "to buy him shovels, a rake, and bucket to complete the needed playthings.

Loading up the big dumptruck!
Max is taking a short break from all the sand hauling.
Leon viewing our handiwork and his grandson having so much fun!

A VISIT WITH MAX

Earlier this week Wanda Kay (my sister) and I went to Oklahoma City for a variety of reasons. We both have birthdays in February- so this was a way of celebrating us growing older. We went shopping (found a few good bargains) and ate lunch. Later in the afternoon we went to Holly's house and waited until they came home. Best part of this trip was getting to see that sweet adorable grandson! Grandpa Leon had bought him a grain trailer to go with the John Deere tractor he had bought him back in December. Of course, Max was excited when I gave it to him.

Max loaded all sorts of things in the trailer.

One thing was decided is that next time we go we are going to keep Max out of day care for the day so we can spend more time playing with him. We just did not have enough time on this trip.