The letter X is hard!

Thinking of words that start with X is more than my little brain wants to do this morning. So - I am cheating a bit - cuz we all know that eXample does not start with X - but this is my blog and I make the rules - so today I am going to show you some Xamples of weird or odd behavior at our house this week! We toured the prison in Deer Lodge - it is actually one of our favorite tourist sites in Montana - see, we are an odd family! It is an old stone prison they used until 1979 - which still astounds me. Anyway - the girls couldn't wait to be inside a cell.

Poor Chica - yes, she is tortured endlessly around here - but heck she is so darn fun to torture! Sean made her run around and give "monkey" a horseback ride.

My mom found this at a garage sale - not sure it is weird, but I can tell you this - I will NOT be ready to see this in real life for a long time to come!

This is me, of course you knew that, I am inside one of the cells in the women's wing. It was pretty bad - they repeatedly were asked to close it down due to conditions, but never did. They continued to use it until the prison was moved in "79. I am certainly glad I could just play and open that door whenever I felt like it - something the women that were truly in there could not do.

OUCH! We floated the river and I did use sunscreen. I should have used more though - or reapplied.

This is my mother drinking out of a bowl like a cat. This was her challenge in the game "would you rather" !! I am gonna keep this one and bribe her with it later - hear that mom?

Here is Belle chewing on one of her favorite things - the toilet brush - GROSS!! She absconds with them every chance she gets!!!

And here is the BAD dog chewing on my sandal - actually this is more common than any of us would like - If you like your shoes - do not leave them on the floor or they are fair game!

Y is for Yo Yo!

We went to the fair this week - 3 days of fair going actually - and those of you who know my story realize what a gift that was! We had a blast - ate lots of junk fun, spent too much money, and just had fun! BUT to Lizzie the fair meant the Yo Yo ride!! She rode this several times every single day! She was pretty excited. This was her first carnival - since I was physically unable to do things that this until just recently. Poor sheltered little thing!!

She finally got brave and raised her hands - even if it was for a brief second!

I love this one - this was her first time on it - see the terror on her face and the death grip on the chains?!

I want to also use Y to apologize to YOU - that Z you all commented on last week - was left over from the Z of the week before - was very convenient for me! :) but realize I cheated a bit... thanks for loving me anyway - and hey - Cassie never even noticed, she thought she had read it somewhere else before!! Cassie - I love you dear!!! that made my day!!

Road Trip!

My mom loves baseball. I mean LOVES baseball - me - not so much. Mom and three of her buddies planned a road trip to Seattle to watch the Mariners. The week of the trip one of her friends ended up having to work - so I was recruited. I can still plainly remember when I had to take Valium just to leave my house and drive to Bozeman - 5 miles away. What a blessing to be able to get into a car with no fear and drive to Seattle!! The game was really fun. Seattle won - woo hoo!! This is me, mom, and our good friend, Mary. What a grin she has! We ate too much junk food and enjoyed ourselves thoroughly!! It was really fun. And guess what - ssshhh - don't tell my mom - but I might have just caught a bit of the baseball bug! I would go back in a heartbeat - IF we do it in 5 days instead of 4 - because driving every day got really old! I am not a big car person.

I am just so grateful to God for all the healing He has done in my life. I never have to go back to that dark, lonely place I used to live in and I am very grateful for that. Praise God for health, family, friends and BASEBALL!!!

Z is for Zombies!!

I have tried to raise my kids right - taken them to church since they were small - prayed with them - taught them there are no such thing as "monsters". This is one of my son's favorite books. He has read it many times and will still pick it up occasionally. I know more about surviving Zombies than I hope to ever need to know. "mom, the safest place to go is to the end of a dock and then remove the wood in between you and the land because Zombies don't like water." Me - "Jake, there are no such thing as Zombies." Jake - *big grin* Jake - "mom - NEVER hide anywhere with a lot of other people. Zombies are attracted to noise." Me - "Jake, there really are NO zombies." Jake - *Laughs out Loud* * hysterically*

Have you heard of this book yet - It is Pride and Prejudice re-written and Zombies are added in! The original P and P is one of Reagan's favorite books. This was the first MUST read book of the summer for her. I just think it is weird. Of course, I had trouble getting through the regular P and P - all those weird ways they say things - I never really knew what was going on anyway. Then throw in Zombies and AAARRRGGHHHHH!! NOT for me - but she enjoyed it very much.

And last but not least - Lizzie - sweet adorable Lizzie - she LOVES Scooby Doo and all their Zombie chasing adventures... Zoinks!! what is a Mother to do???