Summer's End

Yeesh... I haven't updated the blog in ages.

It was great to see everyone back in Southern California in July! We had a splendid time being with y'all commingling and visiting. Yes, we finally got another family photo:

We most definitely enjoyed your weather, even though we missed a cool wave back in Oklahoma. Mom and Dad took advantage of the climate with long walks throughout Irvine and Newport Beach. We also enjoyed meals at our favorite restaurants not available in Oklahoma (shout out to Souplantation/Sweet Tomatoes and Ebisu Ramen Restaurant, among others).

We also visited Seaworld San Diego since we were in the area. Quite enjoyed ourselves, in fact, since it wasn't too hot and the park wasn't too busy. (Click the image to visit the album.)

On the way back to Oklahoma, we visited the Petrified Forest. Other than the fact that it was quite warm, it was an interesting place to visit.

Since our return, things have been slow. Just prepping to gear up for school, hard to believe that it starts this Tuesday. I'll try to update this blog more frequently during the school year.

Back from the Isles

Well, we came back from Hawaii. It was exciting, eventful and frustrating. Confused?

The family is all well, and we got to see some folks who we hadn't seen for quite a while. We also got to see some pretty neat sights as well.

If you want more pictures, you can check out the photos on Google+. Aircraft pictures are available here, pictures from around the island are available here.

Our car log registered a total of 48 hours of driving... out of 9 effective days. Honolulu traffic seems to get worse by the minute. The weather was nice and balmy... not too hot, not too cold, not too many bugs, but meh on the humidity. It was quite enjoyable for us, even if it doesn't sound like a dream for the standard tourist. We mostly had fun, although there were some bumps along the way. Now that we're back home... its hard to believe that the weather is so different. We had the luck to connect through LAX, although we weren't able to stay long, though it was long enough to remind us of what we're missing.

What'll be next for us this summer? Stay tuned to find out.

We're Off to Hawaii

So we survived the storms this past week. According to NewsOK/the Oklahoman, the closest tornado to us was an EF1 that went up a major street near commercial businesses about 5 miles away. It knocked out power lines all the way up the street, causing tieups and road closures, but nothing major like the Moore tornado about 20 miles south of us.

Efforts to recover and cleanup have been overwhelming, with emergency responders and relief organizers requesting that people stay home and allow those already on site to assist as quickly as possible. The tornado was eventually determined to be an EF5 and 1.7 miles wide at its strongest point, hitting multiple businesses and elementary schools along its 17 mile path. According to the National Weather Service, Monday's tornado was the ninth deadliest in state history with 24 fatalities.

Hail from Acadia Lake Area