Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Time to catch up!

So much has happened since I wrote last.  Some of that is because we have been very busy and some of it may be that it is too had to document these days that are flying by.  My last post was before my trip to Buenos Aires.  Luckily, I have not had to travel to Argentina again this year.  Instead, I have been enjoying my time here with the family.

We have attended many Cross Country meets and watched Lindsey and the rest of the Spartans compete.  Many of those meets are on Thursdays or Saturdays and in various parks in the Tulsa area.  The biggest and the best is in Stillwater, the OSU Jamboree.  This meet is HUGE!  High School, Middle School and College teams all in the same place to run!  It was fun to watch, but it also gave us another opportunity to look around campus.  We were walking to lunch and she looked at me and said "I can't wait until next year!".  It is so exciting to look forward to her new adventure with her and at the same time it makes you want to slam on the brakes!  This week marked the official end of the Cross Country year with the end of the year banquet.  The Seniors were given special t-shirts with all their names on the back.  It is a nice memory to have for years to come.  (By the way, I did NOT cry when they were presenting the senior gifts!)

These past few weeks have also marked Bixby Homecoming.  The Seniors came into the high school 4 years ago and took the other classes by storm.  They showed the whole school how Homecoming should be done.  They competed fairly with a tremendous amount of spirit and have been Grand Champions all 4 years.  The week is full of spirit dress-up days, hall decorating, pep rally, parade, dance and, of course, a football game. Jack and I took pizza up to the school one night for them to eat while putting up their hall decorations.  It was amazing.  All these kids working together for one purpose.  The school was completely crazy in all 4 hallways.  The theme this year was Board Games.  The classes each chose a game for their hallway.  The Senior really shined with their "Game Changer" theme, which was an amazing game they made up about Homecoming.  The Activity Director, Mr. Patterson, gave Jack and me a tour of the halls and with it we received a conversation filled with gratitude for the Senior class and the way they have changed the school during their 4 years. Everyone will say that their child's class is special, but when you say it about the Bixby Class of 2012, we mean it!  These kids have turned a Homecoming of hate and destruction of the other classes work into a week of fun and support of the school as a whole!

A quick list of other things that have happened since my last post...applying for OSU Residential Housing, Fall Break, a quick trip to Stillwater and OKC to practice driving and shopping, an unsupervised trip to OSU for Homecoming, acceptance to Baylor (via text message!), OASC Student Council convention, Senior Night for the Tunnel Crew, and probably other things I have missed.  Mostly, trying to spend as much time as I can with my daughter before she leaves for college!

Now, my next accomplishment has to be ordering Senior Pictures!


Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Mother/Daughter Dates

Trying to spend as much time as possible with my girl this year.  Both of us are very busy and sometimes have a hard time finding time to be alone with each other, so we have to work at it.  We went to see Keith Urban in concert a few weeks ago with her best friend and her mother.  I don't think we will ever miss a chance to see Keith Urban.  He is amazing!  We started a dance class (Adult Jazz/HipHop) together with the same friend and her mother.  Should be entertaining to see us "bust a move".  (I am pretty sure that is an out of date phrase, but don't know what else to say.)  This morning, we went on a Starbucks date.  (Yes, Pumpkin Spice Latte is back!)  I am leaving tonight for a 10 day trip to Buenos Aires and needed some excuse to spend time with her.  When I asked her last night to go to Starbucks, she looked at me and said she was going to ask me the same thing.  Like mother, like daughter.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

It's Official...

Well, an official tour of Oklahoma State University on Friday.  Let me start by saying Thursday night was "Meet the Teacher" night at Bixby High School and it was a good way to break in my emotions for the next day.  As Jack and I were walking from one class to another, he looked at me and said "Are you sad?  This is the last time we get to do this."  Of course, I was sad!  And of course, it brought tears to my eyes and I had to recover on the walk between classes.  Three of her five teachers this year are "repeats" from previous years, so not too much in the department of "Meet the Teacher".  We were finally able to meet the Student Council sponsor, who she spends a lot of time with and the principal.  All had nice things to say about Lindsey, which is reassuring to us as parents. 

OK, back to the official tour.  School was out on Friday, so we decided to take the "official" tour.  Even though the school allows you to miss a couple of days of school for college tours, Lindsey has 5 AP classes and really can't afford to miss them at all.  So, we took advantage of a free day.  She choose to tour the Honors College and the dorms, as well as the official campus tour.  Jack had been to OSU, but never for a real tour.  He said he was impressed which is good since Dad has to feel comfortable about where his little girl is going to live for the next few years.  We started out at the Honors College.  For former OSU students, the Honors College is located in Old Central (which was boarded up, back in my day).  Old Central has been completely renovated to it's original condition and houses the offices and a few classrooms.  The director let Lindsey ring the bell in the Old Central tower, which was fun to hear it ring.  We moved on to the campus tour, which starts off in the Conoco-Phillips Alumni Center.  They made a presentation and showed a video about OSU.  Believe it or not, Dr. Manzer is still teaching at OSU and was the professor interviewed in the video.  He doesn't have much hair these days, but I was able to say I knew him back when he did and that his daughter was in my Tri Delt pledge class.  After the video, we toured the campus in 100 plus degree temperatures.  It brought back some great memories, the campus not the heat!  It was a great day for the tour.  It was Friday.  It was Orange Friday (so everyone was wearing orange).  It was the Friday before the first OSU football game.  The students were very excited and a little crazy.  It really made for a great atmosphere for the tour.  We had lunch at Eskimo Joes and then met with the academic counselor.  We now know what she is majoring in (Allied Health which is the pre-requisite for Occupational Therapy), what classes are required, what classes she has already tested out of and what she still has the chance to test out of this year.  It was a very full day!

So, back to the sadness.  My baby is going to leave me to go away to college.  Luckily, she won't be far away.  I am actually glad we did the tour so early in her Senior year because I can still say "Oh, that is a whole year away".  Deep down, I know the year will fly by and it will seem like it only lasted a week or so.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Senior Pictures - The Heat is On

Our second try at Senior Pictures was successful!  Our first appointment was cancelled due to the fact that it was 115 degrees outside.  Sunday's high was 100 degrees.  Apparently, 100 is OK, but 115 is not!  It was hot, but she managed to look beautiful in all of them.  I was in Argentina on business last week and returned home on Saturday.  She decided she didn't want to wear two of the three outfits we had picked out and wanted to go shopping.  So, off to the mall for a zombie (Argentina is an overnight 11 1/2 hour flight) shopping spree.  We found a shirt (we both liked) and a dress (she liked).  We still agreed on the remaining dress.  She had an employee meeting at work prior to our photo shoot, so we headed out with the clothes, some makeup and a freshly cut sunflower from the backyard for the pictures.  While she was in her meeting, I bought some yellow gerber daisies.  I was afraid the sunflower would wilt (which it did, but the sunflower still made it into a few of the pictures).  After the meeting, we headed out to Gilcrease Museum.  Jesse was ready and waiting for us.  The three of us hiked down to the location and the session began.  We finished our session at a typical urban warehouse.  Obviously, I am biased, but she looked beautiful.  I was even happy with the pictures in the dress I didn't particularly like the day before.  At one point, I pictured an 11 x 14, framed and hanging somewhere in my house.  I even began to imagine having to replace it someday with a bridal portrait.  I know there will be many years and memories between the two pictures, but couldn't help thinking about the day when she will belong to someone else and we will have to share her.  Until then, she is ours.  We are lucky and blessed to have such an amazing and beautiful (inside and out) daughter. 

Enjoy some of the pictures I took during her photo shoot.






Tuesday, August 16, 2011

The past and the future

We have survived the first few days of school and are already into the 2nd week.  She finally bought her school supplies last night which totaled $0.17.  Two folders.  That's it.  I remember the days when we shopped for hours and tried to find the cutest folders and spiral notebooks.  I remember going to Limited Too for the perfect Back-to-School outfit.  I remember checking to make sure the lunchbox was still acceptable.  Those days are over.  Pull out the old backpack, throw on shorts and a shirt, make sure there is gas in the car and off she goes.  How things have changed.  Bring back my little girl with the new backpack and new bow in her hair waiting outside Darnaby Elementary and taking pictures with Carlie by the school sign!

Lots of talk around the house the past few days about college and dorms.  As all her recently graduated friends head off for their new college lives, sorority rush and the dorms, she has been thinking and talking about next year.  Can we leave it for next year?  Do we have to start planning now?  There are still 365 days  before she has to move.  Can't she wait until then?

And speaking of Carlie...next year, do I get to take a picture of Lindsey and Carlie standing in their dorm room or standing by the Oklahoma State University sign?  I sure hope so.


Thursday, August 11, 2011

The beginning of the end

Today is monumental and bittersweet.  My one and only daughter, Lindsey, started her first day of her senior year of high school.  Is this the beginning or the end?  Should I be happy or sad?  Do I sit back and watch or do I try to insert myself in all that I can?  Do I cry or laugh?  Obviously, I am not sure how to handle this upcoming year of my life! 

I volunteered at Bixby High School this morning and handed out schedules to the students.  Lindsey also volunteered as Student Council President and helped with the students.  We drove to school in separate cars, but parked beside each other.  As we walked in together, I looked at her and said "Are you embarrassed that I am walking you into the school on your first day of your senior year?".  She looked me in the eye and said "No, but 2 years ago I would have been mad!".  I secretly melted inside and knowing that she loves me.  Next year this time, we will be moving her into her dorm room.  Thankfully, just for today, she was still my little girl and let me walk her into the school.