Water Tower Town Sweetheart

Raise your hand if you are from a water tower town? 

You know, the towns where the tallest structure smack in the middle of town can be seen for miles around is the water tower. Hopefully it doesn't boast Billy Bob loves Charlene in the color John Deere Green, or show signs of any other graffiti.  And if it does, that just adds flavor and originality, right?

I am from one of those water tower towns. 

Wilson, OK.

We have the one above, which has been there forever, and two skinny blue ones which are near my parents home. This particular tower holds a few memories.

One memory I was recently reminded of on the Facebook page "You know you're from Wilson, OK if..."

One of my classmates brother climbed that old water tower, I believe he had a BB gun with him. He was only a few years older than myself. I think the entire town went down to watch, scared that he would jump. He didn't and now has a wife and kids.

Season 10 American Idol winner, Scotty McCreery sings the following song about a water tower town. 

I think it stands true, at least for my hometown. 

What do you think?

Oh, and should I petition the mayor and city council of Wilson to put my name on the tower also?

I'm thinking the crown and pink are a nice added touch.

Water Tower Town

In a water tower town everybody waves,
Church doors are the only thing that's open on Sundays
Word travels fast, wheels turn slow
Yeah workin' hard and livin' right is the only life we know

Friday night football is king
Sweet tea goes good with anything
The fireflies come out when the sun goes down.
Nobody eats 'til you say amen
And everybody knows your mom and them
You can see who loves who for miles around
In a water tower town.

Where your friend's a friend and your word's your word
And our pickup trucks, they ain't for looks, they're made for work
Corn grows high, crime stays low
There's little towns everywhere where everybody knows

Friday night football is king
Sweet tea goes good with anything
And the girls come out when the sun goes down.
Nobody eats 'til you say amen
And everybody knows your mom and them
You can see who loves who for miles around
In a water tower town.

Yeah, Friday night football is king
Sweet tea goes good with anything
Peace and quiet make such a beautiful sound.
Nobody eats 'til you say amen
And everybody knows your mom and them
You can see who loves who for miles around
In a water tower town.
Yeah, in a water tower town.

♥Mrs. Hart♥

Guest Post: Our Summer Bucket List

Please welcome today's guest post author - Valerie!
When I think of what a Real Housewife of Oklahoma is, Valerie is on the top of that list.  She makes the rest of us look bad.  You can't help but love her anyway.
If you haven't checked out her blog My Own Crafty Wonderland before then you need to go look at her blog today.  But wait to look after you read this post and leave a comment, k?
Happy Thursday!
~ Mrs. Priss

*****

OUR SUMMER BUCKET LIST

(alternately titled "How NOT to Kill Your Kids in 80 Days" or "80 Days CAN Go Quicker Than Watching Paint Dry On the Wall")

Hi.  I'm Valerie.

I'm a real housewife.  Oh yeah, I am.  I got me some real big piles of laundry to prove it, real kids, real pets, a real husband, several real jobs, and I really do live smack dab in Oklahoma where right now it is REAL hot.  That's right -- I'm a real born and raised Oklahoma housewife that can dodge tornadoes while whipping up some fried chicken with the best of 'em. (Not really.  I haven't yet mastered the fine art of fried chicken unless you count breezing through the drive-thru line at KFC.)  But I do love my state somethin' fierce, yes I do, and I am proud to be a Real Housewife of Oklahoma.

A couple months ago I went from one to three kids, pretty much overnight.  The Great State of Oklahoma matched my little family o' three up with two brothers who were in need of a family, and here we are, a great big family of five.  The transition itself has been way smoother than I ever anticipated, but I cannot lie as there has been one big thing I've been dreading, something looming ominously over my head these past two months.  You might have already guessed it: 

Summertime with three kids.  80 DAYS worth of summertime with three kids, to be exact.

What in the heck was I gonna do with three kids all summer?

My three boys have been in school.  That's right -- I've had a good seven hours or so to myself Monday through Friday to get things done.  The idea of transitioning from that to 24/7 of good ol' fashioned "togetherness" was a bit daunting.  To top it all off, my "original" kid just so happened to be aging out of our church's Mother's Day Out summer program, so the "go-to" answer for giving myself a break a few days a week was not even an option anymore.  And my two newest guys are also too old for the Mother's Day Out summer program.  It was enough to almost send this mama over the edge.

Enter the "summer bucket list".

Never heard of it, you say?  Let me enlighten you.

Last year I stole this idea from a very clever blogger.  If you haven't already heard of Meg, I'm guessin' you'll soon be clicking on over to check her out, and I'm pretty sure you'll be adding her blog to your Google Reader.  Girlfriend has got all sorts of great ideas goin' on, but in my opinion, this one is one of her best.

Basically, it's the same idea as any other bucket list (just like the movie with Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson).  You make up a list of all sorts of fun ideas that you and your kiddies can check off over the summer.  Wake up one morning and have no plans?  Voila!  The Bucket List can give you an idea.  Got kids whining and complaining about being bored?  Boy howdy!  The Bucket List can fix them up in a jiff. (Well, unless you live in my house, that is.  Whining and complaining only lands you quality time on your bed.  Ha.)

I'm not going to lie.  A LOT of the things on our bucket list are things that we already had planned to do this summer.  And some of them might be things that don't sound all that fun until you slap them up there on the posterboard in rainbow colors with a box to check off -- and it's like magic.  All of a sudden, it's fun and challenging.  Who cares if you already go to Sonic Happy Hour every day -- stick it up on the list anyway!  Heck, I wouldn't even be past sneaking a few chores in on there to make them look a little more appealing.  (I do that all the time.  In fact, the other day I told the boys if they were REALLY GOOD they might get to help us clean up the yard.  Be jealous because it worked.)  I also tried on our bucket list to put up a good variety of things -- some easy, some more challenging, some cheap or free, some that cost more, some that take little or no time, and some that require planning in advance.  But I am bound and determined that we might actually be able to check every single one of them off before the summer's end.  Last year one of the only ones we didn't end up checking off was the "drive-in movie" box.  I thought I'd be all clever and wait until summer's end (and the hopefully cooler temperatures) to do that one, and then our local drive-in burned to a crisp.  No joke.

My friends have gotten a kick out of some of the ideas on our list, especially the one titled "Ears 'n Beers".  Ah yes, we give our kids beer.  (For reals, people, you think we would really do that??)  It's a little annual party we do with our neighbors every summer, grilling up "ears" of corn, making several gourmet butters and such to dress them with, lots of side dishes and desserts, and then "beers" for the adults and root beers for the kiddos.  (It's a big hit with all the Southern Baptists.)  And some of the things on my list I put very generic descriptions of for good reason.  For example: "science museum" and "water park".  There's a couple of science museums in our state we could choose from, so honestly, whichever ends up being the most convenient is going to be the winner.  I cannot lie -- I am not a big fan of our local water park, so if it ends up with find a suitable alternative elsewhere, we can still check that baby off the list.  Yep, that's how I roll.

I mentioned before that I love our state somethin' fierce, so it is important to me that my kids grow up to love and appreciate it as well.  Both last year's list and this year's list included visits to fun places that are found only in our great state:  The Blue Hole just east of Salina, the Kiddie Park in Bartlesville, Pawnee Bill's Wild West Show in Pawnee (you'd better hurry on that one though as it is only in the month of June), Pop's in Arcadia, and the Lego Store in Oklahoma City.  (Okay, okay, that last one is not really a state attraction, but my three boys would certainly argue otherwise!)  Last year we also visited the Blue Whale in Catoosa, Ed Galloway's Totem Pole Park in Foyil, and the Tallgrass Prairie just north of Pawhuska.  There are so many more attractions in Oklahoma that I could've listed, but I figure we've got  plenty of summers in our future to add those to the list.  Oklahoma may not be an exciting vacation destination as New York or California, but where else are you gonna find a big metal whale floating in a murky pond or some concrete totem poles?  Not in New York City!  I can't encourage you enough to get out there on the road and explore all that our state has to offer, the impressive as well as the oddball.  Your kids will love it.

Just so you know, this idea can be adapted to all types of families.  No kids at your house?  After congratulating yourself on having oodles of free time and a whine-free casa this summer, make up your own bucket list of things you'd like to accomplish this summer.  No husband?  Dang, girlfriend, fill it UP with all sorts of girly fun!  You can't imagine the thrills that come with checking off accomplishments with rainbow-hued washable markers. Although, don't ask my boys about the markers -- they might complain that their mama hoards the markers so she can get the satisfaction of checking the boxes herself.  Hmmmm, not little ol' me, I would NEVER do that.  Never.  Hmmmm...

Happy Summer from this real housewife to you.

Valerie


Entertaining the kids like...

Fun Facts about Oklahoma

Since we are The RHOK ~ Real Housewives of Oklahoma, I thought it would be fun to share some interesting facts about our great state. Some of these I knew, but a lot of them I didn't. I do know that there is nothing to be ashamed about when you say you are an Okie!

1. The bread twist tie was invented in Maysville, OK.
2. The shopping cart was invented in Ardmore in 1936.
3. The nation's first parking meter was installed in Oklahoma City in 1935.
4. The first Girl Scout Cookie was sold in Muskogee in 1917.
5. Cimarron County, located in the Oklahoma Panhandle, is the only county in the U.S. bordered by 4 separate states — Texas, New Mexico, Colorado & Kansas . (I've actually stood on all those state lines!)
6. The Oklahoma State Capital is the only capital in the U.S. with working oil wells on its grounds.
7. Boise City , OK, was the only city in the United States to be bombed during World War II. On Monday, July 5, 1943, at 12:30am., a B-17 Bomber based at Dalhart Army Air Base, Texas, dropped six practice bombs on the sleeping town, mistaking the city lights as target lights.
8. WKY Radio in Oklahoma City was the first radio station transmitting west of the Mississippi River .
9. The nation's first "tornado warning" was issued March 25, 1948 in Oklahoma City minutes before a devastating tornado. Because of the warning, no lives were lost.
10. Oklahoma has the largest Native American population of any state in the U.S.
11. The name ' Oklahoma ' comes from two Choctaw words — okla meaning "people" and homa meaning "red." So the name means, "Red People." The name was approved in 1890.
12. Oklahoma has produced more astronauts than any other state.
13. Oklahoma has more man-made lakes than any other state.
14. During the "Land Rush," Oklahoma City and Guthrie went from vast, open prairie to cities of over 10,000 in a single day.
15. The nation's first "Yield" traffic sign was erected in Tulsa on a trial basis.
16. The Pensacola Dam on Grand Lake is the longest multi-arched dam in the world at 6,565 feet.
17. The Port of Catoosa (just north of Tulsa ) is the largest inland port in America.
18. The aerosol can was invented in Bartlesville.
19. Per square mile, Oklahoma has more tornadoes than any other place in the world.
20. 
    The highest wind speed ever recorded on earth was in Moore Okla. , on May 3, 1999 during the Oklahoma City F-5 tornado. Wind speed was clocked at 318 mph. (My husband almost lost his cousin and cousin's two girls in this tornado.)
21. The Will Rogers World Airport and the Wiley Post Airport are both named after two famous Oklahomans, both killed in the same airplane crash.

Oklahoma towns offer it all:

Love the summer?
~Poolville, OK
~Sunray, OK

Want something to eat?
~Cookieville, OK
~Corn, OK
~Grainola, OK
~Hominy, OK
~Olive, OK
~South Coffeeville, OK
~Sweetwater, OK

Why travel to other cities? Oklahoma has them all:
~Cleveland, OK
~Orlando, OK
~Miami, OK
~Pittsburgh, OK
~Sante Fe, OK
~St. Louis, OK
~Chattanooga, OK
~Peoria, OK
~Burbank, OK
~Fargo, OK

Don't forget the wildlife!
~Bison, OK
~Buffalo, OK
~Deer Creek, OK
~Eagle, OK
~Elk City, OK
~Fox, OK
~Wolfe, OK

There's a town named after a number:
~Forty-one, OK

A town whose letters don't spell anything:
~IXL, OK

For the sportsman who wants to get away from it all:
~Fisherman's Paradise, OK

We Even Have A City Named After Earth's Only Satellite!
~Moon, OK

A City Named After Our State!
~Oklahoma City, OK

Feeling a bit chilly?
~Cold Springs, OK
~Slick, OK
~Snow, OK

Oklahoma is full of LOVE:
~Bigheart, OK
~Lovedale, OK
~Loveland, OK
~Lovell, OK
~Loyal, OK

We even have our fair share of presidents:
~Adams, OK
~Carter, OK
~Clinton, OK
~Fillmore, OK
~Grant, OK
~Jefferson, OK
~Johnson, OK
~Lincoln, OK
~Reagan, OK
~Roosevelt, OK
~Taft, OK
~Taylor, OK
~Washington, OK
~Wilson, OK (This is where our very own Mrs. Hart is from.)

Just a smidgeling of songs about Oklahoma towns or the state:
~"Does the Wind Still Blow in Oklahoma?" – Reba McEntire & Ronnie Dunn (2007)
~"Home Sweet Oklahoma" – Leon Russell
~"I Heard Oklahoma Calling Me" – David Allan Coe
~"Never Been to Spain" – Sung by Three Dog Night, written by Hoyt Axton, an Oklahoman.
~"Okie from Muskogee" – Merle Haggard (1969) — 58th on the Top 500 Country Music Songs list.
~"Tulsa Time" – Danny Flowers, recorded by Don Williams, Eric Clapton, Reba McEntire, among others.     Flowers was the guitarist in the Williams band; the Williams and Clapton recordings were both released in 1978.
~"You're the Reason God Made Oklahoma" – writers: Sandy Pinkard, Larry Collins, Felice and Boudleaux Bryant, recorded by David Frizzell and Shelly West, 1981.
~"Idabel Blues" – Red Dirt Rangers. Later recorded by Stoney LaRue. (I've seen Stoney LaRue perform this one. If you haven't listened to Stoney LaRue, you should!)

And, the big one that everyone knows is:
~ "Oklahoma" is the title song from, and the finale to, the Broadway musical Oklahoma!, named for the setting of the musical play. The state of Oklahoma officially adopted the song as its state song in 1953. State Representative George Nigh, who later served as the state's Governor, was the principal author of the legislation designating the state song.

Other city names that will make you smile:
~Bowlegs, OK
~Bugtussle, OK
~Bushyhead, OK
~Frogville, OK
~Hooker, OK (I actually lived in Hooker for a very short time. It's in the panhandle.)
~Loco, OK
~Slapout, OK (If you blink your eyes, you'll miss this little town if you are driving towards the panhandle.)
~Slaughterville, OK (This is south of Norman.)

And regardless of what side of the fence you're on......
~Gay, OK
~Straight, OK

There will be a Oklahoma history quiz next week! I expect you all to pass with flying colors!

~Mrs. Albright

Vacations NOT on YOUR Bucketlist

The Albright family has not had what most people consider to be a vacation for about 4 years. If you are wondering why not, there are a couple of reasons. We have a 3-year-old daughter who hasn't been a good traveler, and this housewife has a hard time separating from her babies to go very far or be very long away. And, then of course, there's the money issue. Economy at the Albright home is much like economy elsewhere; therefore, we have been trying to save money. So what's a poor housewife to do?

She gets creative; that's what! 

We plan on having a lot of day trips to Blue Hole in Salina, OK.  I grew up going to Blue Hole. It's a spring-fed creek and, let me tell you, it is C O L D!!  Where the water is deep it is bluer and it's the coldest! Brrrrr! But, when it's Oklahoma hot in July, it feels pretty refreshing.

Last summer I finally took my family. We went several times and always took friends with us. The mommas and papas lounge around drinking sunbathing and the kids swim, explore and catch minnows! Everyone who goes has a great time.

Another vacation we have planned is to go four-wheeling at Little Sahara State Park in Waynoka, OK. (Click on the link to find information about why Oklahoma has sand dunes and to see more pictures.) We used to go all the time before I got pregnant with my youngest daughter. 

This little booger has kept me from going too far from home. And, she hasn't liked four-wheelers until recently. However, after a recent trip to Appalachia Bay at Keystone Lake she has become a little rider too! WooHoo! 

Little Sahara is the BEST place in the state of Oklahoma to ride four-wheelers. It's 4 hours from Tulsa, being just about an hour on the other side of Enid. 

It's hard to describe Little Sahara because it's almost desert-like and we Oklahomans know there are no deserts in our state. 

My husband grew up going to Little Sahara with his family. The first time he took me, I was just in awe of the fact that Oklahoma has sand dunes. BIG sand dunes. 

Everyone on my husband's side of the family has four-wheelers. We have 3 ourselves. There's nothing like night riding with 6 - 10 four-wheelers trailing each other with their headlights on. It really is spectacular.

We used to have a toy hauler. A toy hauler is basically a camper that you can tote your four-wheelers in. Buuuuut, when I found out I was pregnant we sold ours because we knew we wouldn't be getting much use out of it for a few years. Brett's parents and friends have them so we can either stay with them or rent a house while we are there. Rent a house, you say?! Yes! Since Little Sahara is a riding town, the folks there cater to visitors. You can rent houses that are completely furnished, right down to the silverware! Riders can even drive their ATVs in town. And, since this housewife does NOT camp in a tent, it's the way we roll.

If you have four-wheelers and have questions about Little Sahara, or if you have questions about Blue Hole (or want to meet us there sometime) you can just email me, Mrs. Albright.

EAT MY DUST!

MckLinky Monday: Where I Come From

The welcome sign- every town has theirs, right?

Where I come from, everyone knows my name. Those who don't, moved into town after I left 18 years ago but chances are can call my daddy by his first name! I grew up in Carter County, OK in a little town located 17 miles west of Ardmore named Wilson. The 2000 census showed the population at 1,584. Yes, we may be small, but we have a claim to fame -- Chuck Norris.

Chuck Norris and yours truly-1990

When I graduated high school in 1992 and went off to college, I couldn't wait to get out of that town and swore I would never live there again. I was born for the city life. One grocery store, one flower shop, and one main street to drag wasn't going to cut it for me! Needless to say, you should never say never. Not many people know this, but from 2000-2002, I was a part of that census number.

You see I needed my hometown during that time, more importantly I needed my family in that small town. Even in the smallest of small towns you CAN stay hidden from the prying eyes and gossip-filled mouths. Only the people I wanted to know, knew I was there and why I was there. The company I worked for downsized management and rather than take a demotion, I chose a severance package, sold my home in Edmond, and had a brand new, beautiful baby boy. Yes, I played the role of single mother during this time period and could not have done it without the loving support of my family.

Hometowns are there for a purpose. Mine served as a great shelter for me during a very difficult time of my life. I still call it home. I try to visit home at least once a month to visit my parents. It is important to me that my children visit their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins who all still live in my hometown or nearby. I want my kids to know and love where I come from just like I do!

Main Street Wilson

Where do you come from?

The Real Housewives of Oklahoma want to know what your hometown means to you?

The Rules:

1. Answer the question on your blog (or in the comments section if you haven't a blog).

2. If you answer on the question on your blog, add your name to MckLinky so that we all can discover the brilliance that is your mind.

3. Grab our button from the sidebar and post it either in your reply post or on your blog.

♥ Mrs. Hart ♥