Jamie's family

Last weekend I went from Oklahoma City to Springdale, Ark. to meet up with Jamie and his relatives.

Uncle Corvin kept giving his cousin JoAnne a hard time about looking just like their grandma and trying to get a picture of her without her teeth.

Sand Hill Cemetery in Yardell, Ark., near Hasty, Harrison and Walnut Grove.

We met extended family from all over the country in Walnut Grove, more cousins of Jamie's grandpa, Uncle Corvin and Aunt Joan.

Cousin Leon was a hoot. A few choice quotes:

"Oh, you're pretty. You'll be my girlfriend before the end a the day."

"I'm not too good at math, but I know my guzentas...2 goes inta 4 twice, 4 goes inta 8 twice. You gotta know you're guzentas."

"you come back! We'll treat ya so many ways you're bound to like one a 'em."

Grandma Lora, Jamie (rockin' the Star Trek shirt for his mom), Aunt Joan, Aunt Dorothy and Uncle Corvin

Babies

Last weekend was a whirlwind of family. Here are the kids I love in Moore, OK.

Presley and Ashlyn play in the curtain at Mom's.

Malory, Weston and I try to avoid the blob. (Photo and blob by Thomas.)

Weston heads out to save the day.

Malory pretends to be shy.

Presley and Thomas share a moment.

Ashlyn is such a sweetie, just like her momma.

Chicken Trap

Fairelyn, Mike and 4-year-old Jordan came over for dinner the other night. "Can I pet a chicken?" Jordan asked. "If you can catch one," I answered. She tried for about an hour, until her dad suggested a trap, like on Scooby-Doo.

Nate helps set up the "ACME arsenal."

Jordan hides behind the chair to wait.

She's going for it!

Goldie is caught!

In her excitement, Jordan leaps onto Roseann's lap.

Jordan finally gets to pet a chicken.

Joplin tornado aftermath

Photographing the devastation in Joplin was the toughest assignment I've had yet. My friend and coworker Roseann Moring put it into words better than I can, but all of our words and pictures just can't convey the overwhelming destruction and sorrow there.

Roger Dedick walks down 18th St. in Joplin, Mo., where his home was destroyed the previous evening by an EF5 tornado that razed about 30 percent of the city.

Carolyn Hall salvages a photo from her home at 2822 E. 18th St. in Joplin, as her sons Chase, 15, left, and Zach, 13, sort through the rubble on Monday, May 23, 2011.

Angela Harris (facing camera) hugs Michelle Trolinger on New Hampshire Ave. near 20th St. in Joplin on Monday, May 23, 2011.

Joplin firefighters pause their recovery efforts to take shelter from a thunderstorm inside the tornado-damaged Great Plains Federal Credit Union in Joplin on Monday, May 23, 2011.

Coworkers Cindy Albers, left, and Kim Hoosier hug on 20th Street near New Hampshire Ave in Joplin on Monday, May 23, 2011.

Richard Bashor looks for salvageable books at his home just south of Joplin High School on Wednesday, May 25, 2011.

An aerial view of tornado damage in Joplin on Tuesday, May 24, 2011.

Jason Boswell, left, and Leif Anderson watch Caleb Smith secure a flag to a tree branch at 24th and Iowa Streets in Joplin on Wednesday, May 25, 2011. "We're getting ready for Obama," Anderson said.

features

I'll post some photos of the Joplin tornado soon. I just haven't felt like looking through them again yet. For now, here are a couple of featurey photos I've been meaning to post for a while. Both are from May 22, tornado day.

At the Andy Dalton shooting range, this little girl slept right through the din of gunfire.

After the storm that ravaged Joplin passed, Springfield got a double rainbow.