Friday, September 11, 2009
Labor Day at Meme's
This past Monday was Labor Day... we went over to my mom & dad's house to hang out. Here's Mikey & Hannah having fun in the wading pool!
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Visit to Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum
Saturday we took Mikey to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum for the first time. Actually, we've been to the memorial once before; several years ago we were in OKC for something else and we stopped and saw the memorial. At the time, Mikey was old enough to understand what had happened but we weren't sure he was old enough to not get scared (and he was almost certainly not old enough to remember afterward), so we decided to wait for later. Yesterday was later! Mikey's nine years old now... plenty old enough to understand and process the information in the museum.
Most of the people who will read this already know what the memorial/museum is about, but just for anyone who wasn't as close to it as most of our family and friends were... the memorial is on the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which was destroyed in April of 1995 by two terrorists from our own country. The put 4,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate explosives into a rented Ryder truck, parked it outside of the federal building, and detonated it at 9:02am on April 19th, killing 168 people and wounding several hundred more. At the time it happened, it was the worst case of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
We arrived shortly after lunchtime. We didn't really want to go into the memorial grounds to eat our sack lunch, so we sat just outside the memorial on a bench next to the street and had our sandwiches. Cathy and I had forgotten, but we figured it out as we ate, that we were a few feet from the "survivor wall"... the only section of the destroyed building that was left standing (the building was so badly damaged by the blast that it was demolished a month after the bombing, but that one wall was left standing). The entrance to the memorial park on the side where we were is stairs only (there is a ramp on the other side, a block away), so we walked down the street twenty yards or so and entered near the "survivor tree." This tree was in the parking lot across the street from the federal building when the bomb went off. There are aerial photographs of the area from the 1920s that show this tree already there even back then, so the tree was over 70 years old at the time of the blast. The blast was so powerful that cars that were parked around the tree were demolished and caught on fire, and the building on the other side of the parking lot had its roof blown off and the bricks of the wall facing the federal building were physically separated... but the survivor tree is still there, alive today. It's quite a symbol for people who escaped with their lives that day, and the families that did not.
I won't try to tell you everything about what happened that day in 1995, and I won't even try to tell you everything about the memorial itself; you can get that information from Wikipedia, or from the memorial's own Web site. I'll tell you that the whole museum is arranged like a time line, starting at 6am, the way someone who was there that day might start the story ("It was an ordinary, beautiful spring day that morning...") and then continuing on all the way to the capture of the two perpetrators, and then through the history of the creating of the memorial and museum. The things that got me the most were the room where they have an actual audio recording of the blast (it's the taped record of a hearing that was going on at the time it happened) and the little room with the pictures of all of the people who were killed. There were some pretty amazing stories, too... a lady who was in a meeting when it happened, and all of her coworkers just disappeared from sight. A woman who walked away from the building dazed but unscathed, called herself a taxi, went to the airport, got on a plane, slept on the flight, and didn't even know what had happened until she got where she was going and saw it on the news. A doctor who saved a woman from dying in the rubble by amputating her trapped leg... with a pocketknife! Amazing stories. Hannah has no idea what was going on, but she was very good for a 21-month-old who was having to sit in a stroller for two hours. Mikey involved himself in the exhibit more than I expected; at several points he was really engrossed in a video or an exhibit. Afterward we walked across the streets to see small memorials set up by the churches on either side of the site, and then we went on home. (Hannah fell asleep in the car, so she got her nap.)
It was fun being together. It was fun learning about something new (newer to Mikey than to Cathy and me, but new nonetheless). It's not a fun subject to think about, but it was a terrific family outing. It was a great way to spend a pretty Saturday!
Most of the people who will read this already know what the memorial/museum is about, but just for anyone who wasn't as close to it as most of our family and friends were... the memorial is on the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which was destroyed in April of 1995 by two terrorists from our own country. The put 4,000 pounds of ammonium nitrate explosives into a rented Ryder truck, parked it outside of the federal building, and detonated it at 9:02am on April 19th, killing 168 people and wounding several hundred more. At the time it happened, it was the worst case of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.
We arrived shortly after lunchtime. We didn't really want to go into the memorial grounds to eat our sack lunch, so we sat just outside the memorial on a bench next to the street and had our sandwiches. Cathy and I had forgotten, but we figured it out as we ate, that we were a few feet from the "survivor wall"... the only section of the destroyed building that was left standing (the building was so badly damaged by the blast that it was demolished a month after the bombing, but that one wall was left standing). The entrance to the memorial park on the side where we were is stairs only (there is a ramp on the other side, a block away), so we walked down the street twenty yards or so and entered near the "survivor tree." This tree was in the parking lot across the street from the federal building when the bomb went off. There are aerial photographs of the area from the 1920s that show this tree already there even back then, so the tree was over 70 years old at the time of the blast. The blast was so powerful that cars that were parked around the tree were demolished and caught on fire, and the building on the other side of the parking lot had its roof blown off and the bricks of the wall facing the federal building were physically separated... but the survivor tree is still there, alive today. It's quite a symbol for people who escaped with their lives that day, and the families that did not.
I won't try to tell you everything about what happened that day in 1995, and I won't even try to tell you everything about the memorial itself; you can get that information from Wikipedia, or from the memorial's own Web site. I'll tell you that the whole museum is arranged like a time line, starting at 6am, the way someone who was there that day might start the story ("It was an ordinary, beautiful spring day that morning...") and then continuing on all the way to the capture of the two perpetrators, and then through the history of the creating of the memorial and museum. The things that got me the most were the room where they have an actual audio recording of the blast (it's the taped record of a hearing that was going on at the time it happened) and the little room with the pictures of all of the people who were killed. There were some pretty amazing stories, too... a lady who was in a meeting when it happened, and all of her coworkers just disappeared from sight. A woman who walked away from the building dazed but unscathed, called herself a taxi, went to the airport, got on a plane, slept on the flight, and didn't even know what had happened until she got where she was going and saw it on the news. A doctor who saved a woman from dying in the rubble by amputating her trapped leg... with a pocketknife! Amazing stories. Hannah has no idea what was going on, but she was very good for a 21-month-old who was having to sit in a stroller for two hours. Mikey involved himself in the exhibit more than I expected; at several points he was really engrossed in a video or an exhibit. Afterward we walked across the streets to see small memorials set up by the churches on either side of the site, and then we went on home. (Hannah fell asleep in the car, so she got her nap.)
It was fun being together. It was fun learning about something new (newer to Mikey than to Cathy and me, but new nonetheless). It's not a fun subject to think about, but it was a terrific family outing. It was a great way to spend a pretty Saturday!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Safari's Sanctuary
This month the Joneses have discovered Safari's Wildlife Sanctuary. On the first, Mikey and Michael went with Pack 137 for a service project, cleaning out an old wolf habitat to get it ready for new animals:
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(more pictures right here)
Today Mikey is out of town visiting his cousins, but Cathy and I took Hannah out there to see the animals:
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(more pictures right here)
Both times we had a blast! Safari's is a place where they rescue exotic animals that are in danger of being euthanized, discarded, whatever. As you can see from the pictures, you get to get VERY close to the animals!
Big change for the Jones family
Some of our friends know this already and some don't, but I want to make sure everyone gets word so people don't find out secondhand and wonder what's going on. This week Cathy and I decided to say goodbye to Grace Church as "home" and shop around for a new church. A few more details are in this post on my other blog, and if you're interested please look over there, but I do want to make it clear that we're not angry at anyone. We have taken this action with a lot of prayer and with peace in our hearts. We love our friends at Grace and will miss you VERY much, so email us or call us or write on our Facebook wall or whatever, and say hi!
Don't miss that other blog post if you're still curious.
Don't miss that other blog post if you're still curious.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Michael's song at the ice cream social
Tonight I sang an original song about Hannah at the Grace Church Ice Cream Social. The performance of the song was... problematic. There was a technical difficulty with the guitar (we still don't actually know what the problem was) that had Jimmy distracted at the beginning, so the first verse and chorus were weird. And I was enough distracted by that, that I flubbed the words on the chorus once. But we got it together on the second verse and it was awesome for that verse and chorus, and then we went into the bridge, which was Robert on harmonica, and he did an AWESOME solo (I was very impressed with what he was doing, actually) but then at like the very last measure of his solo, he misjudged the distance to his mic stand and dropped the microphone! Fortunately he was just about done anyway and I just went right into the last chorus. So it was far from a picture-perfect performance, but afterward a number of people came up to either me or Cathy and told us how much they enjoyed the song! Apparently we did a good enough job to communicate the message of the song, which is a daddy's love for his little girl. So in the final tally, it was a successful performance, if not a "perfect" one.
The best part for me was that I got to have some real fun making music with friends. I'm certainly glad that our message got across to the people in the audience, and I would have preferred a stellar performance, but I regret nothing. And I'm so thankful to Jimmy and Robert for helping me make it happen.
UPDATE: Here's the video, warts and all!
Here's a picture of my sunshine that I snapped while she was getting ready for church that Sunday morning:
The best part for me was that I got to have some real fun making music with friends. I'm certainly glad that our message got across to the people in the audience, and I would have preferred a stellar performance, but I regret nothing. And I'm so thankful to Jimmy and Robert for helping me make it happen.
UPDATE: Here's the video, warts and all!
Here's a picture of my sunshine that I snapped while she was getting ready for church that Sunday morning:
Thursday, August 13, 2009
The Window Ninja Saga
In downtown Tulsa, sometimes strange things happen. Even in perfectly normal, peaceful office environments. A few days ago, the peace was shattered by a sudden, unprovoked attack by Window Ninjas! Read on for the play-by-play (which occurred, 2009-style, on Twitter).
The first sign of danger:
Aug 10, 8:41am. Protective cover over sidewalk next to BOk building. I expect window ninjas later today.
Later, tee_dub reported:
Aug 10, 11:20am. Window ninjas are hanging from my building.
I was frightened:
Aug. 10, 11:57am. D'OH do you mean to tell me that the ninjas are ATTACKING??
Then, tee_dub reported:
Aug 10, 1:36pm. I captured a window ninja!
I was ecstatic!
Aug 10, 1:44pm. WOAH!!! THAT'S A SCARY ONE!!!!
But soon it was clear to me that the Window Ninja that had been captured was not alone:
Aug 10, 4:39pm. AAAAAAAAH! THE WINDOW NINJA IS OUTSIDE MY WINDOW!!!!!!!!
Apparently I was not spotted:
Aug 10, 4:44pm. Whew... he left.
The next day I assumed I was safe. THAT didn't last long! To my horror, I realized that a Window Ninja was in my very own office, just inside the window!
Aug 11, 2:18pm. OH! MY! GOSH! THE WINDOW NINJAS ARE ATTACKING!!!
But with the help of some friends, the Ninja was contained:
Aug 11, 4:52pm. Pirates capture the Window Ninja and force him to walk the plank!
The pirates did not, however, act alone:
Aug 11, 5:14pm. The REAL muscle behind the pirates' capture of Window Ninja was... Bumblebee!
Future installments of the Window Ninja saga may appear on my Twitter. Follow me!
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Riverwalk with the Cousins
This afternoon we packed up Mikey and three of his cousins and went down to the Jenks Riverwalk for some fun!
First stop:
Gina & Guiseppe's for some of the yummiest pizza in town. All of the usual suspects were there:
It took a while for the pizza to come, but BOY was it worth it! Before:
After (oh, the humanity!):
Then we walked down to the "splash pad" which is a fountain that kids are welcome to play in:
When the kids got tired, they dried off and we went into Fun House to play some games. The kids earned some tickets and picked out some little toys:
Afterward we went home to watch some movies on the DVR!
Catch That Kid and Ella Enchanted, anyone?
(Take a look at the rest of the pictures here!)
First stop:
Gina & Guiseppe's for some of the yummiest pizza in town. All of the usual suspects were there:
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It took a while for the pizza to come, but BOY was it worth it! Before:
After (oh, the humanity!):
Then we walked down to the "splash pad" which is a fountain that kids are welcome to play in:
When the kids got tired, they dried off and we went into Fun House to play some games. The kids earned some tickets and picked out some little toys:
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Afterward we went home to watch some movies on the DVR!
Catch That Kid and Ella Enchanted, anyone?
(Take a look at the rest of the pictures here!)
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