~~ODNEAL FAMILY BLOG~~Port of Readlyn, Iowa

This picture is our (Helen and I) receipt from Monday night in Chicago before we went to the FINAL TAPING OF THE OPRAH SHOW! And guess what? Helen was buying blue cheese this week to stuff the oversized olives that she had for the river so that we can perfect our own "dirty martinis". Because those 3 vodkas weren't just "VODKA". They were dirty martinis with blue cheese stuffed olives. Yep and they were the best EVER!!!!  Only Helen & I can have our bar bill be more than our food. Thank you my sister in law for being my guest at the Oprah season finale show. I had a great time with you in Chicago and love you like a sister. Okay enough already. Everyone have a great weekend! Bruce and I are looking forward to the long weekend that is kind of like a mini vacation to enjoy the nice (finally and hopefully) summer weather! Happy Memorial Day weekend to all!

Today is 58 years of blissful (well for the most part right?) marriage for Jr and Joey. How amazing! At least my calendar had better be right or Helen is in trouble since she made it for me! Anways I haven't had much time at all to blog or upload photos lately (you think?) but thought I'd better get a post done for today. Especially since I beat SIL Sharon to it! Happy Anniversary Mom & Dad O.! Hope you have a nice day and a great weekend with good weather celebrating at the houseboat. We will have to toast to you when we all get to the river. Love you both! P.S.-Does this mean we need to plan a big party again in two years like we did for your 50th? I think we'd better get on that!!! I love a good reason to throw a party.

This could so be our Gizmo. She tries to be such the hunter and catch things but I really don't think she would harm anything if she did succeed. Enjoy your hump day!

One of Tyler's best friends passed away 9/16/2003 when they were all pretty little guys (8 years old), and today would have been his 16th birthday.  Bless Klay on this day and he surely is missed by all.  Tyler and some friends met Klay's Mom & Dad at his grave site to honor his birthday.  From what Ty said they were surprised to see them, but I am guessing they weren't really at all. Ty even took some lilacs to place on the grave.  Ty has never forgotten for a minute, and we have Klay's picture on our fridge always remembering him.  I cannot imagine the constant pain they go through and am so glad that the boys got to spend a little time with them at the grave and the special pond behind their house remembering their very special friend who's life ended far too soon.  Happy Birthday Klay and you are loved and missed by all!

Yes I had pigtails today at the river for Mother's Day. It was a wonderful weekend and thank you to my hubby and best friend (he is also that) for making it be just that. We had an awesome brunch for Joey (Bruce's Mom) today on the houseboat and it was really good. Bruce caught a lot of nice fish and we went mushroom hunting and failed big time. Pictures and more stories to follow this week. Track meet tomorrow night for Ty so hopefully Tuesday I can document just how great the weekend was! Everyone have a good week. Happy Monday I guess. We all know how I just love Monday's. NOT !

I saw this and just had to share! Way too cute and just plain precious.  Everyone have a great day and weekend.  I am looking forward to once again seeing my houseboat this afternoon.  Been a couple of weeks already since we were there.  Also a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my SIL Sharon today!  Hope you have an awesome day and weekend.  Celebrate!  Oh and of course have some cake and ice cream!

Finally here are some pictures that I snapped at Drake Relays last Friday with my crappy little camera. They are not the best but I did mangage to get Ty & Adam's good handoff and some of them down on the field waiting to start. We had a good time watching them and they did a good job. Not our fastest time for sure, but good handoffs and no dropped baton. Looking forward to State Track in a couple weeks if Ty runs what he has been running all year. Sometimes coaches switch people around in relays for the unknown reasons, and it looks like Ty might not be running a couple of the relays he has done very well in for most of the season. Hoping for the best for him since he has worked so hard. Track is one of his favorite sports although I am that "fair weather track Mom" and he knows it. Football of course is his first love. But I'd like to have a summer of boating first before we start thinking of football weather again! Warmer temperatures are finally hitting us in ...