The Evolution of Dance

I found this today on Google Video and thought it was REALLY funny and entertaining. Enjoy!

Judson Laipply's The Evolution of Dance - this is Judson dancing and you can learn more about him at www.evolutionofdance.com

Altus Speedway

Tonight Allison helped me figure out how to put video files on my blog page. I'm so excited!
We all went to the Altus Speedway on Saturday night, and I got some good racing footage. The speedway is not wonderful (it's a little more than a dirt track), but it was still great small-town fun. Paul had a blast watching the cars and cheering on the ones he liked. Most of them were all beat up and dented with cracks throughout the windshields. Some didn't even have hoods! Others had tailpipes dragging on the ground. Needless to say, these cars have seen better days. There were a few crashes and a few spin-arounds, but nothing too serious. Just enough for a little action.

Here are 2 of my videos. Sorry if they make you dizzy.




Also, check out my State Fair post again. I've added a video clip of the Mid-America String Quartet playing "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.

Quartz Mountain Picnic

Friday night Allison, Lloyd, Paul and I went to Quartz Mountain for a picnic. The weather was beautiful! Quartz Mountain is about 20 minutes away near Lake Altus and the terrain is quite different. I guess they call them mountains here, but they're really more like really large hills. There is a resort and conference center there, but we just went far enough to access some nice picnic tables near a cute little campground. Allison was our "Martha Stewart" for the night and decorated the table with a fun red and white tablecloth, candles, and fresh flowers to make the picnic pretty. She also brought some potato salad and drinks. I made deviled eggs and chess cake (a.k.a. gooey butter cake). Paul and Lloyd grilled delicious steaks...after almost blowing the place up with lighter fluid. During our dinner we saw about 6 deer no more than 50 yards away. Unfortunately, some kids scared them away.

By the way, I haven't really introduced Allison and Lloyd, who I have been referring to for the past month or so. Sorry about that. Paul and Lloyd went to college together and were roommates for a short time in Valdosta, GA. They also both went to pilot training at Columbus AFB in MS. Paul was with Lloyd when he met Allison and served as the best man in their wedding. They went back to Valdosta where Lloyd was an instructor pilot for the T-6. Miraculously, Lloyd and Paul both got assigned C-17s in Charleston, so we'll get to be with them the next 3-4 years! We are also building houses right down the street from one another, so that's convenient. Right now we all here at Altus for the guys' training. Here is a cute picture of Lloyd and Allison.

Oklahoma State Fair

I've been playing with my photos for the past few days, but I'm finally getting around to posting them. On Tuesday, Lloyd, Allison, Paul and I went to the Oklahoma State Fair in Oklahoma City. We had such a fun time! There were animals, good fair food, rides, music, entertainment, and crafts. We wanted to see a rodeo there, but couldn't go on the weekend when they were having it because of the guys schedules. We had a great time with all the other festivities.

The first thing we saw was the "Swifty Swine Racing Pigs." Now I've never seen pigs race before...but it was pretty cute! All the pigs had fun names like Porky Pig, Miss Piggy, and Wilbur, and they raced for Oreo cookies!
The crowd was divided up into 4 sections and we had to cheer on the pig we were assigned to. There were about 3 different races with a different type of pig in each class. I got a kick out of the pigs high class trailer, which was painted up nice with the words "Air-conditioned for Piggy Comfort."

Next we went to the barns to see the animals. There were beautiful Clydesdale horses, donkeys, and cows of all kinds. Paul was a little disappointed they didn't have more animals. But we did see some interesting ones in the petting zoo. The ones above are: llama, pig, wallaby, some type of Austrailian cow with the cutest big floppy ears, an imu, and I can't remember what this last one is, but he was groomed like a poodle!

For live concerts and entertainment, we saw the Wichita Mountain Bluegrass band play and sing some bluegrass and gospel bluegrass. After that the All About Irish Celtic Dance Troupe entertained us with their Irish dancing. I don't know what it is about dancing, but I enjoy watching just about any kind. I was hooked on the show "So You Think You Can Dance" when it was on a few months ago, and now "Dancing With The Stars" in on, but I've missed the first 2 episodes. It's tough now without DVR. Since we have been in the apartment, we have had to go back to old-school VHS, but I have forgotten how to use it! Sorry, I digress. Back to the State Fair. Next we saw, in our opinion, the best group to perform. It was the Mid-America String Quartet. All four of them are members of the Oklahoma City Philharmonic Orchestra. They played all types of songs including 80s rock, classic, ragtime, celtic and jazz. It was wonderful! Here is a video clip of them performing the song "Don't Stop Believing" by Journey.

Now for the Tribute to My Husband. Paul loves looking at antique tractors. I guess it comes from growing up on a farm, but it's in his blood. Anything having to do with farm life, he loves. These tractors are all restored and look nice and shiny. The last one in the picture is a manure spreader...he's not so shiny. He's been through a lot of crap, I guess you could say.

Of course, when you go to the fair, it's impossible to leave without cotton candy. I love this stuff. I just don't think it's something I will grow out of. It's not everyday I get it, just at fairs or the circus. Another thing you have to get at the fair is fried dough, elephant ears, or funnel cakes. Paul searched everywhere for fried dough, but this place was out and other places didn't have it. He settled on a funnel cake, which was tasty.

We also saw the Plains Indian Dancers and the Great Lakes Timber Show. The Indian dancers wore beautiful elaborate costumes and danced to the beat of the drums. They guys playing the drums also sang. The guys at the Timber show were pretty funny. They had ax throwing contests, sawing contests, timber carving, and ran on logs in the water trying to make the other guy fall off. It was entertaining.

Before we left, Allison and I snuck off to take some night shots of the lights. I didn't think mine would turn out (Allison's got a better camera than I do with lenses and everything), but I'm pretty happy with the way mine turned out. Here are my 2 favorites.

Duck, Duck....Goose!

On Friday, Paul and I went out to eat with friends at my favorite little restaurant here in Altus called The Pantry. Their main business is catering, but they're open Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays for lunch. It's run by a bunch of really cute old ladies and let me tell you...they know how to cook! The food is served buffet style and it's always good.
I love the atmosphere too. It's really quant and there are old fashioned tea pots on all the tables. This is me and my friend Allison, who I keep talking about in my Blogs. She is lots of fun to hang out with, and I'm super excited about living down the street from her in SC.

After eating a wonderful lunch at The Pantry, Allison, Lloyd, Paul and I headed to the reservoir with some bread to feed the ducks. These are some well fed ducks and geese! Some of them should really be on a diet, in my opinion. Maybe a low-carb one would be good. Anyway, they were fun to watch, feed, and listen to.

Flowers from my hubby!

Paul was so sweet last week and got me flowers for NO REASON! What a sweetheart. I love my husband! Here they are in all their beauty.

Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge

On Wednesday, Paul, Lloyd, Allison, and I went to the Wichita Mountains National Wildlife Refuge.We were hoping to see some buffalo, and we did! Just one though.
We got as close as we could to snap some good photos, then he rolled around in the dirt, got up on his feet, and stared at us. That was our cue to leave him alone.

We all tried our best not to trip over these cacti. Yikes! I can only imagine the pain!

We also saw some prairie dogs. They are so cute, but I'm sure they're a nuisance around here.

County Fair

These are definitely not great shots, but it does give you an idea of what was at the Jackson County Fair yesterday.

Altus, OK

Well, we made it to Altus, OK a week ago. The trip here was not that bad. Much of it was actually quite scenic and beautiful, especially in northwest Arkansas. We took a little detour and stayed overnight in a log cabin in the Ozark Mountains. As it turned out, we got the honeymoon cabin with a heart-shaped jacuzzi! It was only 5 days until our 2nd anniversary, so I guess it was appropriate.

Last Saturday was spent cleaning our apartment and moving in. Sunday we tried a local church, First Baptist Church of Altus, and really liked it! I was kind of surprised we'd find a church so fast, but I know the Lord is watching over us. And I know we've got a lot of people praying for us back in Illinois.

Tuesday I finally made it to the Commissary to pick up groceries. I was so sick of eating out and wanted to be able to start cooking some meals, although it has been a fun experience finding places to eat. Everyone talks about there not being any good places to eat, but we've found a few that are pretty good. And our wonderful friends Allison and Lloyd are really showing us around and recommending the best, so that has been extremely helpful. They've been here a little over a month already. We've also seen some friends here from Scott AFB. Paul played golf with some of them on Monday morning in the rain. Unfortunately they are all leaving in about a week. Thankfully Allison and Lloyd will still be here for a while.

So now we're settled in and exploring things to do. This afternoon Allison and I decided to practice our photography skills at the county fair, which turned out to be smaller than we expected. There were farm animals and kids games, but not much else. The highlight of the day was the turtle race! Basically they put several turtles with numbered stickers on their backs in the middle of a large circle, and the one who makes it out of the circle first wins. Most of the turtles lived up to their stereotype, but a few were pretty fast! I saw one or two that didn't even come out of their shells...poor guys. They must have had stage fright. Or maybe it was the pressure to perform. Anyway, Allison and I did spend a good 2.5 hours taking pictures and trying to get the settings right on our cameras. She knows more about photography than I do, so she was a great help to me. I'll post some photos when I get all my pictures downloaded.