Myka, Oklahoma City, OK, United States

MamiTig


Posted Oct 27, 2011, 2:52 am
Myka is a sweet little bear, just a bit shy, who looks forward to seeing the world and experiencing new things!
MamiTig


Posted Oct 28, 2011, 5:46 am
Myka enjoyed visiting the Neosho River to see the fall foliage!
MamiTig


Posted Oct 29, 2011, 5:41 am
Myka met three little princesses on their way to a Halloween ball!
MamiTig


Posted Oct 31, 2011, 3:02 am
Myka found the No Excuses zone today, right next door to Sweet Tomatoes!
klubwerks


Posted Nov 4, 2011, 2:20 am
I made it to Oklahoma City at the same time as Charles (the bear). We got to meet several others - Toki (bunny), Masataku (panther), and Paul (sheep). I can't wait for this weekend because we're going to Kansas for the Emerald City Steampunk Expo! I am so excited!
klubwerks


Posted Nov 4, 2011, 3:10 am
My host Amelia has a memory book that she keeps various things in as a keepsake. I helped put a bunch of stuff into it and she says there will be more stuff added after this weekend once we make more memories together.

I haven't been here long, but I'm already feeling so welcome! I met Toki's bestfriends Fleece (sheep) and Mully (lion). They are about my size too! Mully is short for Mulvane. He's a pink lion who was named after the city he came from. Fleece is a pez dispenser. They are both so sweet... and funny!

I miss home, but I'm going to have a great time this weekend with my new friends.
klubwerks


Posted Nov 7, 2011, 6:10 pm
I really enjoyed the Emerald City Steampunk Expo! We were there all weekend. We took photos and attended a lot of seminars. The best part was all the people and Airship crews we met!

Cpt. Cedric Greyhawk Whittaker of Airship Isabella and Ambassador Mordecai Hale posed in a professional photo with me and the other Toyvoyagers who went to the Expo with me.

Airship Isabella are wonderful people! They make and sell really awesome Steampunk items. Not only that, but they share resources! They are more than happy to answer questions, give you advice in making your own stuff, and love seeing what you can make.

I highly recommend checking out their website and forums. They were such a highlight to meet!

The rest of the photos are of me (and the other TV's) at the convention. Cpt Amelia of Airship Horizons (our host) took the other photos.
klubwerks


Posted Nov 19, 2011, 2:48 am
We started making Steampunk Christmas Ornaments! These are turning out so cute. We made bottle caps, a bell key, some light bulbs, and some tiny baubles.

And I got to make a cute red scarf for myself! It's starting to get cold here in Oklahoma, but no snow yet.
klubwerks


Posted Nov 22, 2011, 2:03 am
I enjoyed making more Steampunk xmas ornaments for the tree! We'll be putting up the xmas this weekend, or maybe this Thursday after Thanksgiving dinner!
klubwerks


Posted Nov 25, 2011, 5:23 am
A long time ago, Pilgrims came to America, from England, to get away from religious persecution and the Native Americans helped them survive on the land and taught them many things. Religious persecution is the mistreatment of people because of their religious beliefs. The Pilgrims actually thought that this was India, which is why they called the Native Americans "Indians". There was a big feast that the Pilgrims and "Indians" had together in late November, but no one knows exactly when, so now Thanksgiving Day is on the fourth Thursday in November.

There was more history in this time including the Native Americans being forced off their land. Oklahoma is part of the Trail of Tears where Native Americans were marched into reservations and many of them died. This part of the history is quite terrible and sad. However, we still celebrate Thanksgiving Day in America and it's all about giving thanks for what you have and being with your family.

I got to enjoy Thanksgiving with my Host Amelia and several other TV's and we all helped out with making dinner...

Jinny's Masataku
Mischa's Paul
Katie's Charles
Ina's Schnattchen
Xadrian's Drashuven
Mellialida's Mr.Shawn
GubbL's Kalso
Klubwerks (my host) Toki, Mulvane (Mully), Fleece, and Chico
klubwerks


Posted Nov 27, 2011, 3:31 am
As fun as it was decorating the xmas tree, we'll be doing it again. We think that a white tree will show off all the steampunk ornaments better becuase they are darker in color than traditional ornaments. Our host says she may be donating the green tree if the white one is awesome enough.
klubwerks


Posted Dec 3, 2011, 7:53 pm
I got an early Christmas present! Can you tell what it is?
klubwerks


Posted Dec 5, 2011, 12:33 am
I love the smile I got for xmas. My host put another present under the xmas tree for me. Now, I'll have a smile on my face when I open it! I am so excited!
klubwerks


Posted Dec 10, 2011, 2:21 am
My host's cat, Monster, snuck into one of my photos ha ha!

So, I met some of my host's toys today. I met Holiday (the bigger snowman) and Starshine the snowman, and then I met of bunch of black and white toys too!

Buster is a xmas panda that my host adopted from a closing sale for Block Buster, which is a place to rent videos. He has these cute little xmas gloves <3

Jesslin is a mostly black cat with a little white on her. She was named after a friend who passed away in a terrible car accident many years ago. Jesslin is best friends with Caboose the moose, who you'll see pictures of him later on.

I met Snoopy who is a cartoon celebrity. He's a cool guy. I, also, met Bessie the cow, Dave pug (a dog), Slopey penguin (named because of my slopey beak), Zhevra zebra, Marc the lemur, and Love the bulldog (who's more of an off-white color).

Kalso, another toyvoyager who is visiting, was in a photo with me too. He's the handsome penguin with gray fur.
klubwerks


Posted Dec 15, 2011, 7:05 pm
I went to work with my host today and she gave me a lolly! And this weekend we are decorating the white xmas tree. I'll post more when we are done. We might even get it finished tonight after we clean up the place.
klubwerks


Posted Dec 17, 2011, 4:28 am
Hi Mom!!

We decorated the Christmas Tree today. My host Amelia made all the ornaments herself, with the exception of a few sentimental ornaments. Tannen the Bedtime Bear ornament is one of the toys that lives here. I got to meet all of the xmas toys that live here too.

I posed in Jane's Hat, from the tv series Firefly. Then I helped make some treats called "Puppy Food". It's not really puppy food and it's really yummy!
klubwerks


Posted Dec 24, 2011, 4:22 am
The household decided to open presents early this year. They wanted plenty of time to play with thier presents over the weekend. Everyone in the house caught a terrible cold, so presents made everyone feel better too.

So, we toyvoyagers decided to open presents too! I got a pretty xmas dress that ties in the back, and some butterfly clips to make my ears look even more darling! I thought I was too small to much clothing, but this works out great for me. I love it! Thanks!

Oh, and it's supposed to snow this weekend. We'll see!
klubwerks


Posted Jan 13, 2012, 5:47 am
It's been a busy holiday season over here. Sorry, I haven't checked in for a few long days. We've been doing a lot of crafting, from sewing toys, watercolor painting, and writing.

We finally had our first snow, but it wasn't much. By the time I could get outside to get photos, the flurries had stopped. Ah well!
klubwerks


Posted Jan 13, 2012, 5:47 am
It's been a busy holiday season over here. Sorry, I haven't checked in for a few long days. We've been doing a lot of crafting, from sewing toys, watercolor painting, and writing.

We finally had our first snow, but it wasn't much. By the time I could get outside to get photos, the flurries had stopped. Ah well!
klubwerks


Posted Jan 30, 2012, 3:30 am
We played with a bunch of Steampunk stuff and we had fun! They have a more western style steampunk here in Oklahoma. They like pistols, flintlocks, and the worn "old" look... poker cards... that sort of thing. It's pretty neat!
klubwerks


Posted Mar 3, 2012, 7:05 am
I had a lot of fun today! First, we had a lobster and seafood sub for lunch, did some grocery shopping, and said goodbye to another Toyvoyager who is going to Russia.

Then later on, I met Murdock the bat who is new in the household (but not a Toyvoyager like me) and we visited a big candy store. Lots of yummies there! Then, we went out for dinner at Jazmo's. They make very yummy cajun food. I had fried calamari for an appetizer, and tried lobster bisque, lobster macaroni and cheese, and blackened catfish topped with etouffee.  I was so stuffed that I had no room for desert! Oh, and there was live music right by our table.

After dinner, we took a walk by the river and then saw a movie called Chronicle. It was a good movie, and very creative cinematography.
klubwerks


Posted Mar 11, 2012, 8:38 am
Hello!
klubwerks


Posted Mar 18, 2012, 6:23 am
I had fun celebrating Saint Patrick's Day in Bricktown (down town) Oklahoma City. My host says it's an Irish Holiday that they celebrate with getting drunk, listening to Irish music, and lots of green things and Irish flags.
klubwerks


Posted Apr 7, 2012, 10:23 pm
We went to a Steampunk event called Nightmare Machine. It was held in Jefferson Texas, which they say is the most haunted town in Texas. We were sitting in the vistors center with a frame photo on the wall fell and broke, and then a bunch of people walked in saying that the Steam Train derailed and they all had to walk back. Thankfully no one was hurt... unfortunately we didn't get to ride the train.

Still we had a lot of fun. We went camping out by a swamp lake at the Cypress Bayou RV Camp Grounds. It was so pretty out there! We saw a lot of neat things around town. We even visited some of the stores. The town itself was pretty neat because it is one of the oldest towns in Texas.

And it was moth season, because there were a lot of moth caterpillars crawling around. We brought two of them home only to find a third stow away in a bag. One of them already made himself into a cocoon (we named him Jefferson). I can't wait to see what kind of moth he ends up being!
klubwerks


Posted Apr 15, 2012, 8:47 pm
We went out to see an IMAX movie, called Tornado Alley, at the Sciene Museum. Yes, Oklahoma is part of Tornado Alley where we got lots of dangerous tornados. No, I haven't seen one yet! We went with a couple of good friends, including Miss Toki (the bunny).

When we got back to the apartment, my host's husband Dan received a new steampunk piece in the mail today. It's a replica of Malcolm Reynold's firearm - which is a tv series from some years back. Dan has a replica of his coat too! Me and Toki got a picture with it.

A third friend was late arriving and had missed the movie, so we went out to lunch with him. We went to Cajun King. They make some great authenticate cajun food, like gumbo, ettoufee, alligator, frog legs, and fried catfish -the batter is a little sweet and even if you don't like catfish, you'll love this!

Then we went out to see another movie! We watched Hunger Games which is like an American version of the Japanese film Battle Royale. It was a great movie, but very sad.

We had a fun day!
klubwerks


Posted Apr 15, 2012, 9:00 pm
I wanted to let you know that I'm okay!

Sorry about not being in the photos, I just wanted to show you the storm that was moving in. We're in "Tornado Alley" and it's Tornado season right now. My home in Kansas is also part of Tornado Alley. So, let me know you are okay mom!

There was a very dangerous "super cell" storm that passed through Oklahoma this weekend. It's been all over the news. There were several dangerous tornadoes that killed 5 people (3 were children) and injured 29 others. As exciting and beautiful tornadoes are, they are deadly and very scarey!

Don't worry, we are okay in our area of Oklahoma. The winds got really strong out, but luckily the majority of the storm went Northwest of us. 
klubwerks


Posted May 20, 2012, 8:36 pm
I had a lovely time at Aetherfest - a Steampunk Convention. The St. Anthony hotel was so beautiful! It was built in the 1880's in San Antonio, TX.

We even walked down to the Alamo! This was were Texas fought the Mexican Rebels and won, despite impossible odds. Such brave and strong soldiers! You can read more about it here: http://thealamo.org/battle/battle.php

The other TV's in the photos are Toki (my hosts' bunny), Schnattchen (duck from Germany), and Mr. Shawn (sheep). Mr. Shawn may end up adopted by my host. His mentor has been missing for a long time and several toys have been lost with her, including my hosts' toy kitty Bo. Mr. Shawn misses his mentor and maybe one day she'll come back - but he's very well loved with his host. I think Mr. Shawn will be just fine.
klubwerks


Posted May 21, 2012, 8:08 pm
Yesterday's Annular (ring) Solar Eclipse had a Ring Of Fire! This doesn't always happen and the next one won't happen again for another decade or more. The Ring Of Fire is when the moon is directly infront of the sun creating a black hole with a thin ring of light (fire) peeking around the edges of the moon. There are also crescent shaped shadows under trees too!

We got to see the very beginning, but that was it. The clouds covered the sun. We had a lot of storms that day. But we still had a lot of fun outside and taking photos. Then when we got back inside, we watched a live stream of the eclipse.
klubwerks


Posted May 25, 2012, 8:00 am
The other TV's and I helped our host write an article about taking photos for toyvoyagers.com and it turned out pretty good! She's hoping this will be useful to other hosts. More than anything, it was just good fun. As part of the project, we had lunch at a diner called Freddy's and then stopped to smell the flowers. Here are the photos we took while getting photos prepared for the article... but only the really good ones. You can see the article here: Article
klubwerks


Posted May 27, 2012, 5:04 am
We took the bus down to Bricktown (downtown Oklahoma city). First we had lunch at La Luna's mexican restaurant. I had yummy Chile Relleno and some chips with queso and salsa. There was a lot of neat decore on the walls, and the staff was really nice. Then we went to the Myriad Botanical Gardens. It was wet and hot and a lot of walking... but it was so pretty there! They had waterfalls, exotic flowers, and some cactus. After that, we took the bus to Hooters, which is a restaraunt that serves wings. We only had the fried pickles for a snack before we took a taxi back home.

I am not in every single photo from the Gardens, because I really wanted you to get a good look at some of the plants and scenery. It was SO BEAUTIFUL in there!
klubwerks


Posted Jun 2, 2012, 10:37 pm
Stormy Weather!
klubwerks


Posted Jun 3, 2012, 8:59 am
As my mentor knows, the next US Holiday is Independence Day (4th of July). Everyone wears the colors of the American Flag - red, white, and blue. There's fireworks and general festivities. We put red and blue stars on my ears for celebration for when we go out on the 4th.

How do I look?
klubwerks


Posted Jun 30, 2012, 7:53 pm
I went to Soonercon, which is a local scifi and comic convention here in Oklahoma. I was busy helping my host sell toys at their vending table, but I did take time away to meet Peter Beagle, the author of The Last Unicorn!
klubwerks


Posted Jun 30, 2012, 8:01 pm
There's a Vietnamese restaurant across the street from where my host lives. They have a lot of noodle soups and seafoods. It was very tasty.
klubwerks


Posted Jul 28, 2012, 2:48 am
I went to Ama-con in Amarillo Texas. It was there first comic convention and it was only one day, but was fantastic. My hosts were there as Airship Horizons, a steampunk crew, selling handmade toys, modified nerf guns, and some leather stuff. They sold a lot of merchandise! It was a lot of fun!
klubwerks


Posted Aug 31, 2012, 6:06 pm
We tried to view the Transit of Venus but it was too cloudy outside.
klubwerks


Posted Aug 31, 2012, 6:25 pm
We went to Arklatex, a comic convention in Texarkana Texas. It was a rather small convention, but it was fun! And we're going to another convention, an Anime convention, on the 1st too!
klubwerks


Posted Aug 31, 2012, 7:05 pm
It's Toki's Birthday today!! We helped make her some cute birthday accessories. Then we enjoyed thai food for dinner. We had the pork pad thai and it was really good.

We got mini red velvet cupcakes. Instead of candles, we put two lollipops in her cupcake, because she's two years old now! After the lollipops, we also had some strawberries!
klubwerks


Posted Sep 21, 2012, 11:41 pm
We went to AnimeFest in Dallas, TX and we had a blast!!! <3
klubwerks


Posted Sep 22, 2012, 12:50 am
We went to the Sky Commodore's Autumn Masquerade Ball! It is a Steampunk ball.

I got a new dress just for the ball!
I got this lovely scarf to wear to the ball!

The line to get inside took 45 minutes! It was a huge line. We didn't expect it to be a packed as it was. We got to see Marquis Of Vaudeville and steam Powered Giraffe perform. A group called the Circus Freaks were performing out in the crowd all night too. The Ball was held at the Dallas Flight Museum. We got to see a bunch of really cool airplane stuff! It was only one night, but it was so much fun!

Then on the way home the next morning, we stopped by a small diner called Original Market Diner. Even though the diner was packed, it only took 15 minutes to get a seat. The food was SO GOOD! My hosts wish they had one in Oklahoma. They had some cute decore that was my size!
klubwerks


Posted Sep 22, 2012, 2:43 am
I helped Toki finish building and decorating her house today!
klubwerks


Posted Sep 29, 2012, 7:43 am
We ate at a taco place called Fuzzy's. I tried the tempura shrimp tacos with cheese, tomatoes, cilantro, feta cheese, and garlic sauce. It sounds weird, and it is weird, but it was surprisingly tastey! The feta was finely chopped and the garlic sauce was just subtle enough. Very good. I also had a peach frozen marguerita.

Then we went for a ride on the river boat. Everything was so pretty, but it was too dark to take very many good photoes.

After all that, we saw the movie Loopers. It was a nice night!
klubwerks


Posted Oct 13, 2012, 10:11 pm
I went to the local Steampunk convention called Octopodicon. It was fun!
klubwerks


Posted Oct 18, 2012, 3:12 am
Like my new clothes? I do! <3
klubwerks


Posted Oct 25, 2012, 6:44 pm
I helped put up Halloween decorations on Toki's house. It looks pretty good! I also tried on some Halloween hats but they were all too big for me.
klubwerks


Posted Oct 25, 2012, 6:45 pm
We held a TV memorial for KCrawfish who passed away. We are all wearing pink flowers for Breast Cancer Awareness. Also, Dulac the Tarantula hangs out at work with our host during Halloween and he made a lovely pink flower memorial wreath for Kate too. We will miss you Kate! Our love and best wishes to all of your family!
klubwerks


Posted Nov 23, 2012, 6:41 pm
Happy Halloween!
klubwerks


Posted Nov 23, 2012, 6:42 pm
Happy Thanksgiving Day!
klubwerks


Posted Dec 29, 2012, 1:50 am
It snowed on Christmas day! We watched A Christmas Story which plays in a marathon every year since my host was a little girl, Hogfather by Terry Pratchet, and the Doctor Who Christmas special. My host drew some reindeer parts for her poses, parts, and how to gallery. We also ate some dinner and had a lovely holiday!

Merry Christmas!
klubwerks


Posted Dec 30, 2012, 9:14 pm
This Holiday was sad for our hosts. Eight years ago they lost a close friend, named Greg, on Thanksgivings day. Greg was the most generous guy they had ever known. He played a big part in how my hosts became the coupld they are today. Greg was so sweet and kind, and he was an amazing friend.

So Thanksgiving is always a little sad. However, this year, a second good friend died in an accident on the same day... Thanksgivings Day. A long time ago, my host Michelle got really sick and almost died. She had two emergency surgeries. Her fiance (now husband) lost his job while trying to be with her in the hospital. It was a mess and their friends Chazz and Carrie offered to help them. They moved from Ohio to Oklahoma, which is way up north to down south (a long distance). At that time, Chazz and Carrie was struggling financially too, but they took care of our hosts. There was no rush or pressure to get a job or help out... it was all about helping Michelle recover. It took months to recover and she did eventually get on her feet. My hosts helped clean the house and cooked and did whatever they could to make things eaiser for their friends while they were there. Today, my hosts are healthy, on their feet, and doing so very well! When Chazz passed away this Thanksgiving, it made November 22nd extra sad.

Our hosts is thankful for everything Greg and Chazz (and Carrie, who is still alive and well) they did for them.

In early December, our hosts moved into a nicer apartment. Wally, my hosts fish, died during the move. She was very upset about this. Wally may have just been a pleco fish, but Michelle loved him very much. It was just hard loosing a pet on top of losing a good friend.

Closer to Christmas, there was another loss. One of Michelle's childhood friends had a little sister named Dannielle. Back then, as Michelle and Rachel were growing up as teens, Dannielle was 10 years younger. My host remembers babysitting with her group of friends. At the age of only 22, Dannielle died in an accident. Rachel was her friend, but Dannielle was still a part of their childhood memories. Michelle mournes with her friend from so far away.

Despite all this sadness, our hosts did enjoy the holidays. They went to a live perforance of Dralion (Cirque Du Soleil) and then had a lazy dinner around the house on xmas day. Unfortunately, they are really super strict about taking photos at the show and we couldn't even have our phones. So no photos... it was a great show though!

So, here's some pictures of the new apartment! When you first walk in the door, there is Toki's house (and Toki's family), and the cat stuff. The livingroom is nice and comfy. They like to bring out different toys every week or so to hang out on the coffee table and couch (Chelle has a lot of toys). That's Brambles (ox) and Shayla (owl) on the coffee table. There's Dottie (ladybug pillow pet), Guy (pirate skull pillow), Chico (mouse), and Cuddlewitz (bear) on the douch. Chico is Chelle's first and oldest toy that her mother gave her. The original Cuddlewitz was lost a long time ago and was a xmas gift from her grandmother. It took my hosts over 7 years to track down a bear this new Cuddlewitz. The bear was called a Wurble in the 1980's - her nose lights up and she makes noises. You can still find Wurbles, but this particular color of wurble is extremely difficult to find. So, Chico and Cuddlewitz are always out in the livingroom. They also have a big old recliner.

There's the pretty hang bag that we toyvoyagers ride in when she takes us out anywhere. Chelle keeps a little lent roller in the bag so we can clean ourselves up before taking photos. Isn't that thoughtful?
klubwerks


Posted Jan 27, 2013, 4:42 am
My host has a Projector that they watch on the wall, instead of a TV. They also have a media player called a Boxee Box that they can watch stuff on. It's pretty neat! They can even watch netflix on it.

Also, I had some vanilla icecream with shell chocolate on top!
klubwerks


Posted Feb 17, 2013, 10:22 pm
We celebrated my hosts' birthday on Groundhog's Day. It's a folklore holiday that says if the groundhog sees his shadow, we'll have 6 more weeks of winter. He did not see his shadow this year. Anyways, we had cupcakes and Chinese New Year goodies. We didn't like most of the Chinese candies, but it was fun to try and funny to see each others reactions! The cupcakes, on the other hand, were fantastic!

I met Clara the tentacle kitty and Tonakai the custom reindeer, whom are the newest toys in the house. Clara is a very unique softie and she's super cuddly. Tonakai was colored and brought to life that night. They were both pretty cool toys.

We also eat dinner from Buffalo Wild Wings, played cards, and watched a UFC match on tv. We didn't pictures of all that because we were having so much fun we didn't think about it! It was a lot of fun.
klubwerks


Posted Mar 10, 2013, 1:36 am
I went to the Underground Monster Carnival, which was a one day event. In the past there were old low-budget movies that were badly made, poor props, and usually bad acting... but they were fun! These movies are called B-Movies, and there were a lot of horror B-Movies. The event was horror themed and very B-Movie! I had a lot of fun!
klubwerks


Posted Mar 24, 2013, 11:05 pm
For St. Patrick's Day, I went to the Museum of Osteology. It's a museum filled with bones. It was a small museum but it was pretty cool! I got to see panda and bear skeletons.
klubwerks


Posted Apr 4, 2013, 3:09 am
My host helped me make a tiny green panda for Easter! I love it <3
klubwerks


Posted Apr 26, 2013, 4:13 am
I went to Planet Comicon in Kansas City MO. It was a fun convention. We actually got stuck 5 hours from Oklahoma City, in Emporia Kansas, because the car died. The car had to be junked completely. We rented a car home and then got a new car. It was very frustrating, but at the same time, we have more comfortable car to travel in now!
klubwerks


Posted Apr 26, 2013, 4:17 am
My host was born and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana, which is where Cyphacon was held. It was really nice seeing my hosts home town. It was a beautiful place! The food was fantastic! The convention was also a lot of fun. It was a small convention with very friendly people.
klubwerks


Posted Apr 26, 2013, 4:18 am
These photos are from the home of my hosts father. Isn't it beautiful here?
klubwerks


Posted Apr 26, 2013, 4:20 am
We stopped by the New Orleans french quarter before heading back to Oklahoma, too!
klubwerks


Posted May 10, 2013, 7:09 pm
My host is part of a Steampunk crew called Airship Horizons, and they make stuff to sell. She worked for months on figuring out how to make Steampunk toy goggles. She went through a lot of prototypes and finally got one that worked. She made a mold of the goggles in the regular size and in a tiny size - so they'll fit us smaller toys! She paints them and wraps them in a fabric to finish them. Mine are gold painted with velvet green fabric.
klubwerks


Posted May 21, 2013, 2:11 am
I wanted to let you know that me and host are safe a well! We had a devastating tornado that has killed many people today (it's all over the news). Thankfully my host and I are safe and with power. Please keep our friends in your thoughts!
klubwerks


Posted Jun 2, 2013, 2:30 am
WARNING! This post is about the devastation we've experienced in Oklahoma recently.

On May 20th, there was a devastating tornado that destroyed schools and homes in Moore, Oklahoma. That tornado kill 24 people, which included 9 children, and many more where injured. Teachers put themselves on top of children to save their lives. My hosts co-worker Jeff was the first person to get to Briarwood Elementary, which was completely destroyed by the tornado. He saved several children and teachers and his daughter was thankfully among the rescued! Jeff broke both his arms saving lives that day. It was a horrible experience for a a lot of people... it was devastating. Thankfully, myself and my host and her loved are alive and well! My host and I cried a lot that day, as it was a very emotional experience.

Jeff on the news!

Interactive images that shows the amount of damage the tornado caused.

On May 23rd, the first funerals were held where parents buried their children. If this wasn't enough, the Westboro Baptist Church tried to protest the funeral. They are a radical religious group that is pretty awful. They said that God hates us and killed the children in the storm because we are all sinners. It was a very hateful thing to do and they were arrested - it's illegal to protest funerals in Oklahoma.

And then there was yesterday - May 31st. We were in the middle of a tornado. It was a powerful storm and it was very scarey given what had just happened a week ago. The tornado was a lot bigger than the one last week. We were in the middle of the circulation, but we all came out alive and well! When the storm first hit, it was a lot of rain and high winds. Then the hail started to beat at the walls. The sirens were sounding outside for about an hour. It seemed like the hail and rain wouldn't stop. We were huddled in the bathroom (the bathtub is the safest place in the house) and we listened to the news telling us about the tornados that were coming for us. When the power went out and the internet dropped, and the cell reception died... we could no longer know where the tornadoes were. It was like being blind and hunted. It was frightening.

100,000 people, including us, were without power. We lost power around 6pm and then didn't get it back until today around 1:30pm. Cell phone reception is still down. Luckily, the fridge and freezer kept cold and our food didn't spoil. This afternoon, we learned that 5 people died and more than 70 people are in the hospital. Luckily, the tornado that was coming right at us, decided to "hop" over our apartment complex and went south of us!

Out here in the states, we have Storm Chasers, which are people who make a living chasing storms and tornados. They provide valuable information during the storms that helps to saves lives. One of the crews got too close to a multi-vortex tornado and the vehicle was destroyed. The ones in the car survived, but two other storm chasers died in this tornado. And they got some amazing video of the tornado that passed through El Reno, OK - yes there were several tornadoes yesterday.

Here's the video!

Here's a photo of the destroyed vehicle.

Aside from the tornados and hail, there was lots of flooding. We braved the rain and hail around midnight and ate at a diner called IHOP where they had power. We spent some time in comfort with a friend, and it was a nice way to relax after an intense evening.

And now for the pictures!! Look closely, because there are photos of downed power lines that are live. We had to be very careful there taking photos. I couldn't be in every photo, but I thought you might like to see the photos anyway!

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