Fun Family Times

The past week has been one big party! Last Thursday, my dad celebrated his birthday . . . HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!! We celebrated by going to lunch with my Papa Joe (dad's dad) and then going to see the new Indiana Jones movie that evening.

After the movie, it was time for homemade pecan pie and presents - YAY!! :~)

Friday, we left for the Piney Woods for my "little brother's" wedding rehearsal. He arrived back in Texas from Twenty 9 Palms in California (Marine Base) late Thursday night. What a special honor to be a part of this happy time in their lives. I used to keep Sean (the groom) and his little brother . . . talk about making me feel OLD seeing him back from Iraq and getting married!!!! We got to visit with some great friends from Livingston over the weekend.

Sunday morning, we got up early, went to an early service, and then headed to the ballpark . . . Go 'stros!!

I didn't get around to taking our group picture (oops), but I did get my ice cream in a helmet! Unfortunately, not all ballparks (ie The Rangers' Ballpark in Arlington :P ) are offering the helmet of ice cream this year. The Astros have the traditional black helmet with the red star, but they also offer a red & black helmet this year. YAY!! These will be nice additions to my helmet collection. :~)

After the game ended (very poorly for my 'stros, by the way), we had some supper and went further south to Galveston to walk along the beach.

We were going to ride the ferry, but it got too late. Maybe next time. :-) Monday morning, we went to Johnson Space Center. I had NO idea how much there was to see and do there! We got there when the doors opened, and we left 6 hours later . . . exhausted, and still having not seen everything there!

Mom, Papa Joe, and me waiting to board the tram ride.

This is Old Mission Control. It's the room they used for all the Apollo missions. It's the room where they received those 2 VERY famous messages from space: "That's one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind." (Neil Armstrong) and "Hey Houston, we've had a problem here." (James A. Lovell, Jr.) The picture's a little blurry, but you can see what limited technology they had to work with. Obviously, no email was available, so they used the same type of tube system that bank drive thrus use to get information spread quickly. It amazes me what they were able to accomplish!!

This ball was used for the 1st pitch of the 2002 World Series Game. The players from the All Star Game that year signed the ball before shipping it to space to be used for the World Series. An astronaut (Peggy Whitson) threw it while up in the International Space Station as the "1st pitch". How cool is that?!?

After we left Space Center Houston, we came back home and collapsed. It was a busy and fun several days! I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend, too! :-)

Thank You . . .

"all gave some, . . .

and some gave all"

Spoiled & Sunburned

Dad, Me, and Papa Joe at Game 1 of the Lone Star Series

So, Friday afternoon, the three of us headed west to Arlington for some fun with the boys of summer! Have I mentioned that I LOVE BASEBALL?!?!?!? :~) These intrastate rivalries are always the best because there's so much passion among the fans in the stands . . . Are you an 'astro' or 'ranger'? It was rather obvious by the team jersey's, hats, pants, etc. As you can see by our picture, we were a house divided. Growing up in the Dallas area, we mostly went to Rangers' games - back in the good ol' days with Nolan Ryan pitching, Steve Buechele, Ruben Sierra, & Pete O'Brien knocking them out of the park, and Pudge steady behind home plate.

But, for the last 15 years or so, I've been more aligned with the Astros - mostly because they're National League. I think everyone should have to at least try to hit the ball with the bat. After all, they are being paid MILLIONS to play a game for a living! :~) (please excuse the rant!) What I've decided to do with this "split" in my thought process is that I root, root, root for the home team . . . whichever ballpark I might be in for these games.

This worked well for me last weekend since the Ranges gave the Astros a rather large loss on Friday night. This means my team won!! It was an amazing game. We had just about everything you can have during a game in those 8 1/2 innings, and the Rangers came out on the happy end of the 16-8 score. YEA!!

During the National Anthem, we had a helicopter flyby since Armed Forces Day was on Saturday. There were 4 helicopters, and this was the last of them leaving the stadium.

This may sound strange to you, but I've always enjoyed watching the grounds' crews at baseball parks. It amazes me how they mow patterns into into the fields. (especially the huge socks at Fenway) So, I usually snap a picture or two of them smoothing out the sand with their chains or watering down the field. A fresh ballpark is SO pretty!

Now, to the title of this post. . . the "spoiled" part. I don't think I've ever mowed the lawn. Growing up, Saturday morning chore time consisted of my sister and I doing our individual lists, my mom doing the stuff we couldn't, and my dad doing the yard work. The extent of my yard work was when I planted a garden back in junior high. My parents bought the supplies, tilled the earth, took care of the plants, and picked the harvest. I'm pretty sure all I did was put the seeds in the ground. Not the most difficult part of gardening! Like I said . . . spoiled.

All this to say, Saturday morning I actually MOWED the lawn!!!! At least part of it. (Sorry, no pictures of that memorable moment) I learned a couple things about mowing: concentric circles aren't as easy as they look, mowing on a slope . . . a little scary!, and it's DIRTY work when the wind is blowing the cut grass back on you. YUCK!! Let me just say, I have a WHOLE new respect for the grounds' crews at the ballparks! :-)

Being a pasty white (i.e. Burn & Peel rather than tan) skinned person, I have avoided direct sunlight without MUCH sunblock for most of my life. After my lawn-mowing debut, we washed our cars since it was such a gorgeous day. (which, by the way, seems to be the most effective rain dance EVER . . . yeah, it rained most of the evening) To my surprise, my sunblock washed off my arms - apparently fairly early on during the car washing marathon. Needless to say, my arms are glowing!! :-) Oh well, it was a fun day in spite of the painful aftermath.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

Yeah, I realize it's Tuesday and not Sunday. Oh well. :~) If you're a mom and reading this, I hope you had a very relaxing day being celebrated. If you're not a mom, I hope you were able to honor and celebrate your mom in a special way. We had a busy and fun weekend . . . here goes:

Friday night, some of our good friends from Livingston, Danny & Bea, came up to spend the night so we could all go to their future daughter-in-law's college graduation on Saturday morning. It's always so much fun to be able to just sit and visit/swap stories with them! As an added treat, their youngest son, Kris, came in later that night! I hadn't seen him since Sean got back from Iraq last fall, so that was fun. Saturday morning, after a HUGE breakfast (thanks mom & dad!), we all got ready and went to TJC for Lindzi's graduation.

CONGRATS, LINDZI!!!!

We went to early church Sunday morning, where we got to see baby dedications . . . my FAVORITE!! I love seeing the little ones all dressed up and their parents pledging to raise them in the Lord. After church, we went to my aunt's house in Forney to have our celebration with Granny (my mom's mom).

Don't they make a cute picture?!? We had a great time visiting with each other that afternoon while eating way too much food! Three of Granny's four children were able to come that afternoon, so we got a picture. (shocking, I know, that I'd have my camera poised and ready!)

By the way, congratulations, Jason, on your new job! I hope you're loving it!!

Finally, that night, we came home to celebrate my mom and let her open her cards & gifts. She's a great mom!! :~) I got her the latest book from our favorite author. And yes, there's a little ulterior motive in that gift . . . I get to borrow it when she's done!!

Amy and Ronnie were feeling under the weather, so they weren't able to join us on Sunday. But, they sent mom a gorgeous bouquet at work earlier during the week. It's still SO pretty sitting on our kitchen table.

Finally, that evening, we went out in Dad's wood shop and made Mom a birdhouse. Now, my mom is a bird lover . . . hence the bird bath and bird feeders. But, she's not a lover of the birds that try to build nests on our patios and then make poopy messes all over the concrete! :~) So, my dad got online and found the plans to build a house for this particular type of bird. We made it and finished painting it last night. (That's the real reason I'm late in getting this posted. I wanted a picture of the finished project - not just because I was being lazy yesterday.) :) Hopefully we'll get it up on a pole soon and get rid of the poop mess soon!!

Just a side note: I've had to delay my departure to Virginia for a while due to some health issues, but it's looking like I'll get out there after a few more weeks. YEA! That's why there've been no road trip posts recently. :~) On the plus side, being home longer has allowed me to celebrate mother's day at home and will give me the chance to spend my dad's birthday with him, too! I'll keep you posted . . . no pun intended! :~) [Go ahead and groan; it was a bad one!]

Completely Unrelated

These two thoughts have absolutely nothing to do with each other. I just wanted to share them and am too lazy to post them separately. :~)



First thought:


I forgot one picture from the Arboretum the other day. While walking around, my dad and I ran across a little 'village' area . . . complete with stick ponies!! Of course, I had to get my picture on one of them.

If only I was about 2 feet shorter, it would have been perfect!! :D

Second thought:

My wonderful friend, Melissa, told me about a blog that I should read called Bring the Rain. It's authored by the wife of Todd Smith, Angie. Todd is one of the members of the Christian Music group Selah (one of my FAVORITES!). The blog is dedicated to their 4th daughter, Audrey. It's beautifully written to glorify God while being real with the emotional trials they face. I deal with parents going through this type of excruciating agony at work, and it's always such an inspiration for me to be shown a family facing unbelievable hardships with continued faith in our Christ!

I HIGHLY recommend this blog! It really has a way of putting day to day trials into perspective. But, be warned . . . it's a long, and VERY emotional read! Have kleenex handy!!

Week in Review

Last week was full, but it was fun! I got back from the Houston/Galveston area Monday afternoon. Tuesday, I baked almost ALL day!! :~) (one of my FAVORITE things to do!) My mom's birthday was on Wednesday, and she had mentioned wanting some homemade pumpkin bread for her birthday. So, I set out to make some bread . . . YUMMY!!!! Then, I baked some chocolate cookies for some of my parents' new neighbors. What a FUN day!!

Wednesday, I spent the day getting ready for my mom's "party" that night - putting the finishing touches on her presents and baking her pie. (no, not from scratch . . . from box) We went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse, and then came home for dessert and presents.

This is mom posing with her 3 new trees - a white dogwood, a pink dogwood, and a sweet olive tree. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!!!!

Thursday evening, my dad and I drove up to Dallas to spend the night since I had an early test on Friday morning up there. Friday, after that was finished, we went to the Dallas Arboretum to walk around for a while. What a GORGEOUS day!!

After walking around for a while (and taking LOTS of pictures) :-), we met Amy & Ronnie at our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant, Posado's, in the Dallas area. That night, we met up with my mom and Papa Joe at my cousin's rehearsal dinner in Duncanville. Joe David and Jenni were going to begin their new life together on Saturday afternoon!! YEA!!!!

Aren't they are cute couple?!? Below, is Joe David dancing with Jenna, Jenni's daughter.

Saturday morning at breakfast, Jenna kept telling me about her TWO dresses for the day: the gold, sparkly one for the wedding made her look like Ariel coming out of the water, and her brown one for the reception has a flower that can be taken off if I don't want to wear it. And finally, she told me ALL about her high heel shoes that make me look 10!!!! (by the way, she's a "full of life" 5 year old) How precious!

After the happy couple had left, headed to NYC, all the Poe's that were able to be there huddled up and decided where to go for dinner before heading back to our respective homes. Pappadeaux's was the winner - or however they considered themselves having a large group of Poe People to feed. :-)

Our sweet waitress took the group picture of the full-tummied Poe family. She was a great sport to deal with all of us!

A wonderful week!! I hope you had a great one, too!!