The snow that shut down Oklahoma

Here are photos of our terrible snow and ice storm. You can read some of the local coverage here. Our readers from the colder places of the country are probably going to laugh at us! We were lucky to not get socked like other parts of the country and hope that all is working out well for those who may not have power...

Anyway, the girls' school got canceled and they got to play, so all was happy in the Shea house.

We saw them travel to the south pole and become "penguins," made a trip to the north pole -- as "penguins" to see some Polar Bears, and helped Phil shovel the driveway and walks. It's amazing the amount of play they can get in for not seeing much snow. The girls did their playing and their work and got nice rewarding cups of hot chocolate to finish the day.

When I grow up...

Dora (on TV) asked the girls today what they want to be when they grow up. Here were their responses:

Claire: Cowgirl! Or maybe a police.

Maddie: Doc-kor! (that's Maddie-speak for doctor).

Then Claire asked me, "Mama, what do you want to be when... when... well, when you're done doing what you're doing?"

After my day today, getting ready for a dinner get-together (grocery shopping with 2 kids, organizing while they dis-organize, tidying while they untidy, sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, cleaning both bathrooms, folding laundry, and regular mom-duties like keeping the kids from beating each other) I think I'd like to be retired when I'm done doing what I'm doing!

The gamer

Our little 4 year-old has already started down the path toward becoming a gamer. She'd play Leapster all day long if we let her (which we don't, and this is a major bone of contention for her), and Christmas brought a few more game-type toys. Surely she's learning important things like hand-eye coordination from this, right?

Happy Birthday Phil

Phil had his 33rd birthday! It was a pretty low-key celebration, but the girls did get together and make a delicious choco-strawberry cake with homemade buttercream frosting!

That was the highlight of the big 33!

Gramma and Pawpaw

Right after Christmas this year my parents hopped into their minivan and drove all the way down here to see us. Well, OK, it was probably mostly to see their rapidly-growing grandkids. Anyway, we had a wonderful, relaxing visit. Gramma and Pawpaw brought a gingerbread house to work on with the girls and Gramma helped them each string a necklace and bracelet to wear. It was so nice having them here - we sure do miss them when they have to head back home! My uncle Brian and his family drove up from Dallas for an afternoon too, so we got to see lots of family! Here are a few highlights from the week (clickable for more):

Oh give me a home...

...where the buffalo roam...



On my parents' last full day here when we decided to be a little adventurous so we all loaded into their minivan and checked out the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge. It's only about a half hour from our house but we had never gone to see it.

It was really neat (for Altus, anyway). We were lucky enough to spot some roaming longhorn cattle, ducks, a skunk, buffalo (bison?), and a bunch of prairie dogs. We climbed a mountain (OK, we drove to the top and then stepped up three steps to the viewing platform). We ate longhorn burgers at the historic Meers Store and Restaurant. And we saw the Holy City of Lawton, which was a highlight for the girls because they thought the buildings were all castles.

Anyway, we sure had fun with Gramma and Pawpaw and we miss them now that they had to go back to Illinois. We'll see them next month, though, along with Grammy and Grampy, in Puerto Vallarta!