Family and treats in Oklahoma

For those who follow consistently, (special shout out to my dear cousin Heather who has wrapped me with support towards continuing these notes. Your enthusiasm rejuvenates me!) you’ll notice I took a holiday from blogging as I enjoyed time “off the map” with my family in Oklahoma.

Family can bring out all kinds of emotions and perspectives in ones life and mine doesn’t fall short of this. I find myself being reminded of the irreplaceable comfort that loved ones can provide. We laugh until the stomach aches, bringing distorted faces in the midst of tears that come in between each gasp of breath struggling to regain control. We remeness of the old days over a cup of hot coffee and indulge in what I consider “down home cookin”.
Here, words like “fixin” (preparing or planning on), “big-ol” (describing the size of any object larger than small) and “ya’ll” (referring to a group of people more than one) are commonly used.

I’ll start off with the first handstand picture! These are my adorable siblings, Joseph, Hannah, Benjamin, Sarah and Rachel.

This time of year brings fun crafts, sweet treats, and quality time around the table. Here are some of the festivities!

Homemade pizza! Notice the happy face?

Rice Crispy Treat Creatures!

Popcorn balls and pretzel sticks!

Lets not forget about the gingerbread houses and trucks…and grumpy man blocks that happens to resemble it’s creator.

I didn’t capture every cousin (don’t know it’s even possible all in one trip), but here are a few!

The gentleman on the right is family in which I had no idea lived near me in California. He’s also traveled to Malaysia and Japan with plans to continue his traveling adventures. I feel this was not the last time I connect with Ryan away from home!

To wrap up this trip, here’s a handstand shot in the airport with Roger. Who’s Roger? A friendly smile that I spotted doing acrobatics… who would ever do such a thing in an airport? (Enter mischievous sarcastic laugh here). Check him and his wife out at www.offthegroundcircus.com .