JULY IS OVER!!

Where is the summer going so fast?  We ended the month of July by taking two of our granddaughters (8 and 10 years old--daughters of Son #2) to the beach for a few days.  We had a wonderful time, lots of laughs, some fun at the beach, swimming pool time, and great visiting!  Those two girls were so polite and well-behaved that it made our trip all that more enjoyable.

The girls wanted me to paint a picture of them like I did when we took two of the girls to the beach three years ago.  I like this shot below for the colors, the waves and the sky.  They made sure I took a bunch of pictures to use as a guide for my painting. 

The girls also enjoyed early morning walks on the beach where they gathered sea shells and sand crabs (Eew!) so they could examine their pinchers and blue eyes and then let them go again.

On the way home from the beach we stopped off to visit Son #1 and family, and then went on to visit Son #4 and family.  The cousins all had a grand time seeing each other.

And now we move into August--ALREADY!

A QUICK VISIT

We had a quick visit from Son #4 and family yesterday.  They came to town to look for a couple of items that they could not get in their small town for their new house, and also to check out the progress on our house.  I think they were pleasantly surprised to see Son #4's boyhood home in its new, altered state.

We also had time for some sidewalk art and blowing bubbles.

After that I fed everyone brownies and ice cream and Son #4 loaded the children up for their drive back home.  Sorry, Son #4.  I hope the children did not eat enough sugar to make them hyper for the trip!

SLOW WEEK!

Last weekend we met Son #1 and family at Uncle P's and the men played around with some machinery while we women shopped.  I got a good picture of the men in the family but the women thought it was way too hot and humid to even get out of the car for the picture.

This was a slow week for our house.  The electric, plumbing and a/c people put the finishing touches on their work in time for inspectors next Monday.  The roof people did a bit of work and the cornice people put more siding on the front of the house.  The front porch really looks nice now!

However, we did have a fair amount of rain this week and it slowed things down a bit and even the inspectors would not come if it is rainy.  Hopefully we will have more progress on the house next week.

The rain did not keep the fawns away.  These two were sitting on our lawn late yesterday afternoon. 

The cage beside the fawns protects a crape myrtle that the deer ate to the ground twice last year--I named the crape myrtle Lazarus because it came back each time.  Seems like those two little ones would like to have a taste!

Meanwhile, we are celebrating the 4th of July in our neighborhood.  This morning we had our annual parade and lots of the neighbors gathered on the driveway across the street for visiting, Mimosas, and picture-taking.

Some of the children in our neighborhood decorated the vehicle shown below last night and one of the dads drove them in the parade.  Looks like they were having a great time. 

Happy 4th of July to everyone!

EASTER WEEKEND

Last weekend we decided to take a break from our packing since our builder told us that we will probably have another 2-3 week wait for the building permits to be issued. We headed off for the coast where two of our boys live and had a great time catching up with them and our grandchildren.

Although the weather was foggy and drizzling part of the weekend, there was enough sunlight to enjoy the perfusion of wildflowers everywhere. I took a zillion pictures and have lots of ideas for paintings. The bluebonnets are especially gorgeous this year. I also saw the newly developed Aggie "Bluebonnet" which is maroon. You can see a few peeking out of the bluebonnet picture on the right below.

We went out for Mexican Food with Son #1 and his family. His children are growing up way too fast. We enjoyed our food and the Mariachi band that played while we were eating.

On Easter Sunday we joined Son #4 and his family at our daughter-in-law's family gathering and enjoyed watching Miss Ella Bella and Mr. Colt run around and play. Miss Ella Bella is really into posing for pictures.

And in a nearby town I found another PAT'S PLACE (bookstore), but it had recently closed.

It was a wonderful weekend away, and we came back to our half empty house all refreshed and ready to do more packing and preparing to leave our home whenever it is time.

LOTS OF CELEBRATING!

The past week we celebrated New Years, our #2 Son's birthday, their anniversary and just being together as a family and watching 5 grandchildren (ages 1 1/2 to 9). What fun we had and lots of goodies to eat also.

Granddaughter Em pouring sparkling grape juice for Miss Ella Bella who was ready to party!
Two of my sweet daughters-in-law huddled in the kitchen to compare parenting notes--or maybe recipes??

Sons #4 and #2 with their dad.

Son #2 getting ready to blow out candles on his birthday cake. How many candles are on that cake??
Miss Ella Bella next to Soph, taking a BIG bite of birthday cake.
Soph and Grandson #2 wrestling on the floor.
Son #2 unwrapping "the clock" that belonged to Mother. He was pleased to inherit "the clock" that all the grandchildren remember seeing at her house.

Learning to Wii??
Grandson #2 conked out towards the end of the celebration and I enjoyed the cuddle time.
Before we all left for home we tried to get a picture of ALL the grandchildren who gathered for the festivities. Unfortunately Grandson #2 was more interested in watching all those girls than posing for my pictures!
But the girls did pose nicely for me. Such a sweet group of girls!

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

We are off to baby sit a couple of our grandchildren for New Year's Eve, so I will probably have more pictures soon. Tomorrow we go to help celebrate Son #2's birthday (which is really today) and that will ensure MORE pictures!

Meanwhile, I liked this meditation from Richard Rohr for the New Year:
When we celebrate New Year’s Day, we celebrate the rebirth of time.
We wait for our God to do new things.
We wait for who we are, and who we are to become.
We wait for the coming of grace, for the unfolding of Mystery.
We wait for the always bigger Truth.
We wait for the vision of the Whole.
But we cannot just wait. We must pray. Our prayers then start naming and defining us. When we hear our own prayers in our own ears and our own heart, we start choosing our deepest identity, our biggest future, and our best selves.

CHRISTMAS FUN!

We had Son #1 and family here for Christmas and we had lots of fun! Son #1 has two of the sweetest, most polite, gentle teenagers I have met in a long time. It is so rewarding to see my own children raising such wonderful children.

Son #1 with Grandson #1, waiting for everyone to gather for opening presents.

Granddaughter #1, all ready for unwrapping presents.

Son #1 obliged by wearing the reindeer antlers--so cute!

Daughter-in-Law #1 looks pretty in her antlers with the pretty white bow!

And one of the best presents of all is that Son #1 helped Hubby finish rewiring for my new washing machine and it is all hooked up and being very much appreciated! I am not sure THEY enjoyed that part of Christmas evening, but I was very grateful!

I was sorry to see everyone leave this morning, but now my new washing machine is buzzing away with all the sheets and towels being washed, thanks to my sweet daughter-in-law who stripped the beds and gathered up all the towels before they left!

VISITING THE KIDS

We have started our visits with our children and grandchildren for the holidays. On Thursday we went to visit Son #4 who has been a firefighter and see him graduate from an academy (he is the tall on in the back. We are not sure where he got his height but we can always spot him because he stands out in a crowd!) and be sworn in as a fire and arson investigator.

We were very proud of him and enjoyed seeing that Miss Ella Bella is in good health and her little brother is growing up way too fast!

We are very proud of Son #4 and now we are on the way to the Panhandle to celebrate with Sons #2 and 3.

AN EXCITING DAY TOMORROW!

I am going to Amarillo to record a story from my book, Growing Up in the Texas Panhandle, for NPR. A woman contacted me about a month ago and wanted permission to have someone record a story for her and, after much thought, I volunteered to be the reader for the recording.

I am excited about the trip because:

• I will have a new experience of being in a recording studio and reading one of my stories for lots of people to hear.
• I will also get to spend the weekend with my #2 Son and his family with three of my granddaughters.
• AND I will get to see Son #2 participate in a triathlon for the first time.
• I will also get to visit and have lunch with my good friends at Amarillo National Bank--these people are the greatest!!

TRAVELING & FAMILY

We have had family visiting, we went on a short trip and we went to help our youngest grandson celebrate his 1st birthday. Now I seem to be having trouble getting back into the routine around here.

I thought I might share some pictures of the grandchildren and our travels with you. First our daughter-in-law, Kara, brought her three girls for the weekend and we had a great time for a couple of days. We gave them a bit of introduction to the heat before she headed farther south in Texas. Here I am with the three girls:

The girls also had a nice visit with Great-Gram.

And I had time to read a story or two.

After the girls from the Panhandle left, my husband and I packed up and went to South Padre Island for several days so he could attend a conference and I could wander on the beach and watch the waves from our marvelous room overlooking the water.

I LOVED getting up each morning and walking on the beach while I watched the sunrise. It was beautiful and serene with only a few other people walking along at the same time. It was wonderful to let the water lap over my feet as I walked.

We went on a Dolphin Watch/Ecology ride one afternoon and it was most interesting as one of the crew showed us some of the many creatures from the bay and told us how they live, what they eat and even showed us a couple that were dangerous. My favorites were the starfish. I don't think I have ever been that close to a starfish!

We came home from the beach, dumped the sand out of our suitcases and drove to Son #4's home to help celebrate our #2 grandson's FIRST birthday. He found that the balloons were fun to play with as Son #2 looks on.

Son #2 and Son #4 visited in the shade while the cousins enjoyed some pool time. I believe the thermometer behind Son #2 was registering 104 in the shade!!

And then it was time for cake. The individual cake for the birthday boy was a small fire truck and the rest of the guests got cupcakes with dog prints, fire hoses or fire ladders on top.

The guests and cousins helped test out the new toys as they were unwrapped.

Finally, before everyone headed home that evening, Miss Ella Bella insisted that she and her cousins take a ride in her little pink jeep. It was a wild ride with Miss Ella Bella at the wheel, but Little One was having a wonderful time--watch out for the tree!!

What a wild and wonderful clan we have!