Spontaneous Zoo Trip

A couple of weekends ago we were headed to Edmond to run some errands (living in a town without a Costco, Target, Sam's, or World Market sometimes requires road trips).  It was really nice out so we decided to make a detour and go to the OKC zoo.  It was a great experience! We were only there about 2 hours, but we were there pretty close to closing time so they were feeding a lot of the animals.  We got to see a lot of animals that normally hide (we saw way more big cats than we've ever seen before). We didn't take that many pictures for some reason, but here are a few.  If you are in the area, I highly recommend the OKC zoo.  It is really nice.  And, that's from someone with pretty high zoo standards!

 The petting zoo.

 The lorikeets.

The tram ride.

Our other child

While this blog is almost entirely dedicated to the happenings in Margaux's life, it should also be known that we have an older child named Fergus.  Fergus is 9 1/2 and a lot furrier than Margaux. He's the family dog.  For the first time in his life, Fergus ran away over the weekend.  Mike's dad had the misfortune of being on duty when Fergus decided to make a break for it.  And, wouldn't you know it, Fergus decided to go walkabout on the coldest nights of the year.  He was missing for 3 nights.  We cried, called the animal shelter, posted signs, visited all the vets in town, and cried some more.  Where was this lovely guy who usually laid on the couch all day in our warm living room?  Finally, after much agony and worry, the phone rang!  A man was driving to his office downtown and saw one of our signs.  A few miles down the road he saw a black schnauzer like the one described in the sign drinking from a broken water main near the library.  He got Fergus in his car and went back to the sign so he could get our number.  When I answered, he said he had a black schnauzer in his car and asked if I was missing one.  Yes! Yes, I was! He was about a block away when he called so he drove Fergus straight to our house.  I was crying so hard, I am not sure I even remembered to thank the man.  I did get his name, so I plan to write him a note. The good deed he did that day made our family complete again.  A few interesting details from this saga.  First, the man who found him said he knew no dog with a Nantucket collar should be drinking from the water main.  That cracked me up.  The second thing, which is really weird, is that someone obviously had Fergus for at least part of the time because his beard, eyebrows, and eyelashes had been cut.  The person clearly wasn’t in the dog grooming business because he looked pretty crazy when we got him back.  Last, the library where he was found is over 4 miles away. I am super impressed that Fergus survived.  It was 20 degrees out on those nights!  I would have taken Fergus for more “Lady” and less “Tramp,” but I guess I was wrong.  As I write this, he’s back on the couch where he should be.  Oh, and he went to the groomer today, she was able to make him look like he does in this picture.   

Christmas Baking

To me, one of the best things about the holiday season is the opportunity to get into the kitchen and bake.  I love the whole process of baking (well, maybe not the clean-up part) and am thrilled that Margaux is eager to join me in the kitchen.  If I'm making cookies or pie, you can be sure that Margaux is right there with me.  I love this because it is something I shared with my Mom and now I can see this family ritual being carried forward.  I always feel closest to my mom when I am in the kitchen "stirring," as she used to say.  There are so many times when I can actually hear my mom's voice telling me what to do or why a certain part of the baking process is done a particular way.  I'm so grateful that she created a wonderful recipe book and gave it to me when Mike and I got married.  The best part is that she made notes on almost every recipe on where it came from or why it is special in our family.  This holiday season, I am making some recipes from that book that I have never tried before, and I can't wait to see how they turn out.  In the meantime, I'm teaching Margaux the basics, like making chocolate chip cookies.  I hope that when she is my age, she'll hear the echos of my voice guiding her through the baking process.  Here are some pictures of our fun in the kitchen this past weekend.  

Jumping in leaves!

Tis the season

Margaux and I made our first-ever gingerbread house this past weekend.  

Tooth news

What you see below is a before (top) and after (bottom) shot from lunch one day last week.  Margaux had a very loose tooth, and it came out while we were eating lunch at McKinley's in Fort Worth.  She was very impressed that the tooth fairy found her in Texas.  Another tooth is loose, so there may be more news on this front before long.  In addition to the teeth, you might also notice that Margaux is pretty banged up in these pictures.  She took a spill at school.  The only funny thing about that is that whenever anyone asks her what happened, she just looks at them and says, "Face plant." Her face is already looking much better, though.  Kids heal so quickly!  I'm thankful for that because I was beginning to think our Christmas card picture was going to look like an ad for Child Protective Services.

Halloween pics

Margaux and I carved pumpkins Sunday afternoon. 

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She helped by scooping out the seeds, meat, and pulp.

She particularly liked "the slimy stuff."

Here are our finished products! The small pumpkin was one they gave her at school. She insisted that the big pumpkin be smiling and that the little one look spooky. She named the little one "Baby Face" and the big one "Earl." Make of these facts what you will.

This is her Halloween costume this year...a bat!