Schlitterbahn Water Park!

Each summer, I look forward to going to a particular water park in Texas...Schlitterbahn! There are so many different kinds of water activities for all ages. You can bring in your food and drinks and stay all day if you want! My particular favorite is the lazy river where you just float around and around! Even better is the one at this park because it has big waves in it as well. At the end of the day, the waves get bigger and bigger because there are fewer people in it! My preschooler and I sit in a double floatie and enjoy the waves for hours! This time, I left him in it and I walked/floated next to it and held on to the handles of the floatie. I also had my waterproof camera catching some of the waves! It is also the first time that my preschooler was able to be ok putting his head underwater and allowing the water to cover him without getting upset! Maybe next year, I'll get a season pass so I can go more than one day! I think I get excited and enjoy it more than the kiddos do!

Video of some of the wave river...


My daughter also went with us as well as a friend of mine. Love the memories we make each summer! Next time we return, we'll probably have my daughter and her own child with us (as she's due in January.)

My daughter with my two sons:


Me and my oldest daughter:


My preschooler after he started putting his head underwater 'like a big boy!':


My friend:

Shoes!

I spent the Fourth of July at my sister-and-law's house. My hubby loves to go there on every Fourth because it's his favorite holiday! Both he and my SIL love to shoot fireworks! Since she lives at the bay, the fireworks are done at the end and they is seen from all over. Even the neighbors sit out just to watch the display that they put together.

While waiting for the next firework to go off, my youngest son exclaimed, "Fireworks make me happy!" My SIL said that it made it her the same way! It was a good day! Here are my feet as I was sitting on top of the picnic table on the balcony of their house waiting to see the colors in the sky!


We stayed at SILs for about a week. It rained some, it was sunshining some; relatively cool for what it feels like most of the time there during the summer. My older son and hubby went swimming in the bay. It was really salty (when it rains a lot, it's less salty, and it hadn't rained much.) My younger son didn't want to swim in the water where he couldn't touch or see the bottom. He stood at the side watching them swim. He also shared some songs for me while we were watching them swim. He has a cute little voice (barely audible most of the time.)


We returned on the day of my daughter's birthday. I picked up her favorite 'birthday cake' and took it to her. Of course, it was a large chocolate chip cookie that you get at the mall that had 'Happy Birthday' to her in purple icing. While we were at her boyfriend's house (where she lives,) we hung out for a while and talked.


These past few days, it's rained and rained and rained and rained!!! It's not surprising that it rains (it will rain a little each afternoon in the summer sometimes because we live in a humid coastal area near the Gulf of Mexico.) But, lately, it's been three or four inches a day and lots of thunderstorms. My kids have been loving 'swimming' in the giant water/mud puddles. I go out and watch them a lot and take gobs of pictures! But I wear my rain boots so I don't get my feet wet. While the boys get rainboots often (because they wear them out,) this is my very first pair.

Crawfish Weekend

I realize that so many of my posts are not specifically about me, per se, but about the people in my life. I was trying to think of what to write about 'me' this week and all I got from my observations was this:

Loads of clothes that need to be folded (and the pile behind it that needs to be washed.) Cleaning and keeping things in order has never been on the top of my priority list. It should be closer than what it is though, lol!



In the meantime, last weekend was Father's Day and we all celebrated it with an afternoon of cooking crawfish and shrimp. Since both my father and my hubby's father have passed away, we didn't have that option of visiting them. Instead, we loved the blessing of others visiting us. My family helped prepare and cook all the food. My younger daughter (who refused to be photographed but I got one of her from behind anyway) helped. My older daughter and her boyfriend came over (and by that time, I had forgotten to take pictures.) My brother came by as well and it was a really great day.

Here are some pictures of our day. My little ones, aka firefighters, helped out a lot too with putting out fires!

A Wedding in Iowa

About 25 years ago, some neighbors moved in next to me. For about a decade, my kids played with their kids and we became close. Then they moved back to their home state so that the mom could help take care of her ailing mom (who had dimentia.) They've come back down to visit friends several times and we visited them one time. We've kept in touch writing letters and Christmas cards each year. Our kids had really great memories of the years they shared.

Fast forward to last year... Last summer, the mom, Kathy, and her family were in the area and we invited them over to eat and visit. At that time, Kathy mentioned that her oldest daughter was going to get married the following May and hoped we would come to the wedding. I remembered that request throughout the year and eventually, as it got closer, I had wanted to drive up there with the family. Unfortunately, it fell on a weekend in which my hubby was out of town and the kids were in their last week of school. It was going to be a 17 hour drive and I was making plans on how to keep the kids occupied. My sister-in-law offered to help pay for part of my flight as my birthday present and also to watch my younger sons while I was gone. After weighing the options, I took her up on her offer.

So, last weekend, I took a trip, saw a beautiful wedding and visited with old friends. It was a very nice get-away! What was so awesome were the stories we shared during our down-time. One of Kathy's sons mentioned how he could always tell when 'Grandpa' was awake because he could smell his pipe. I had forgotten that they shared my history and my past as well. It was SO nice to be able to 'remember' my father and my life a long time ago with other people. Right after he mentioned that particular memory, I told how I would keep a small amount of my father's favorite pipe tobacco in my drawer at work for those days I really missed him after his death....and then I couldn't keep the tears from flowing. Yes, it was just one of the great moments. There are some people who come and go in your life...and there are those who come and stay for a very long time. This family is one of the latter.

A barn in Iowa (many counties participate in 'barn quilts' on barns older than 50 years old.)



My friend Kathy is on the left. Her husband has just walked her daughter down the aisle.



And of course, while going to get ice from the nearby store, I noticed across the street the world's largest popcorn ball!

Mother's Day, in retrospect

Mother's Day wasn't the one I expected. Of course, I had hoped my adult daughters would have done something nice or treated the day as special as I did when my mother was alive to share it with her. But somewhere along with way, they didn't 'get' that. My boys were excited to have made stuff in school and brought it home (which I thoroughly enjoyed.) Around lunch, I threw a picnic lunch together and packed the boys in the car and we headed down to the beach to enjoy the sand and the waves. My hubby was at away at work so we spent hours with our feet in the water and climbing up and down in the sand piles as well as looking at shells. It turned out fine! Apparently, my younger daughter send me an invitation on FaceBook to lunch (which I didn't see.) It was a lack of communication but it also turned out fine. However, what made this one different from the rest? The night before, my oldest daughter (she'll be 27 soon)came over talking about certain symptoms that you automatically think 'pregnancy' when you hear them. She went to the store and came back and threw the box in my lap. There were two (closed and used) tests which read 'positive.' Yep, I'll be a grandmother. While being pregnant right now is not in her plans, it was quite a shock nonetheless. Everything will change for her if it hasn't already. My daughter who sleeps late, smokes, drinks wine in the evenings, takes something to help her sleep and lives for herself has returned to the one I knew long ago... This one I've seen in the past week has absolutely quit smoking, hasn't drunk or taken anything, and has reached inside for the motivation, determination and will-power that I had thought was gone forever. She's already seen the doctor and has an ultrasound scheduled in a few days. It's amazing how someone with such a lifestyle changed their behavior the exact same day, within hours, of finding out they were now responsible for someone else. She's tried to stop smoking in the past with little success but now, she's been a 'non-smoker' for practically a week. It seems like she is already started being a mother, putting the importance of what's best for your child, ahead of her own indulgences. I love seeing that she's learned and remembered this from somewhere. Now I see...this was the perfect Mother's Day Present...

A Holiday Away from Home

Last weekend, we went to my SIL's for Easter. We went to their farm where my hubby and first grader would prefer to live permanently, lol! It was nice and not too hot! We only saw two live scorpions and one dead rattlesnake. While we were driving down there, we passed by a farm. I had hubby turn around so I could step out and take some pictures. The white poppy type flowers were gorgeous! This is the entrance from a distance.


Of course, I had to crawl through the fence to see the flowers up close! As far as you could see, they were everywhere!






This is the road leading up to their property.


Along the way (and all over in the county) are drilling rigs. Here in TX and LA, there are many places where oil and natural gas are drilled (all over!)


Right across the street are lots of cows mooing!


Every morning, we took a walk with the dogs down to the pond. My BIL is feeding their fish. They're hoping that next year, they could fish in it.



My SIL made a birthday/Easter cake for my preschooler. We celebrated his birthday at home with family the night before we left but there's always an excuse to eat cake! She let my first grader decorate the bunny's face.


Photo opp!


During the walks, I would see this! A big smile as my preschooler asks me to pick him up and carry him back to the house!


And, of course, our eggs after dying them! We have gone away for Thanksgiving before (camping, usually with my brother and nephew) but this is the first time we've celebrated another holiday away from home. It wasn't as scary as I had imagined. Not to self: if bringing chocolate somewhere, don't store it in the trunk or in the back of a truck when the trip takes four or five hours.

Bluebonnets

I live in Texas. The state flower is the bluebonnet (which usually only blooms about now.) They're not easy to grow but if you plant them, they'll usually come back every year. In certain parts of TX, they're all over. Where I live, they're only on the sides of some highways (thanks to the highway department for planting them.) Of course, the 'thing' to do is to stop and take a picture with them. I don't know why. It's somethings I (and many other people) do. So, on the way back from a trip a couple of weeks ago, we stopped and took a couple pics. Only one decent one came out, lol! I love the color of the bluebonnets!



I saw a picture on my brother's facebook page with this lovely picture of bluebonnets and grabbed it to share as well.

21

My hubby had a conference out of town and since it was spring break, the family went too! My younger daughter followed us in her vehicle because she wasn't going to stay as long as we were. We stayed about two and a half days. While there, we celebrated her 21st birthday. We had a really enjoyable experience overall. I took lots of pictures too. This is my favorite. We were walking to a market/restaurant and she was carrying my youngest across the street and then just continued carrying him.

It's been raining...

...a lot! The ground is slushy!!! The water has nowhere to go and I've forgotten what this feels like. Last year at this time, there was draught. My kiddos have been in heaven! They go out and play in the mud, the holes and slide/jump in water everywhere! I've quit stressin' about it and let them have their fun. As they come in, they take off the muddy clothes and then run to the tub. It'll happen a couple more times a day at the least. Yesterday afternoon, my yard looked like this.


And just now, I snapped a picture of the 'mud monster' as he was trying to break in! Notice the huge pile of clothes that have accumulated over the day (or two, lol!) I've gotten some Fizzy Tub Colors that I drop in the water as they bathe making it even more fun. It reminds me of coloring easter eggs as the water turns colors!

Moving up to the front of the line...

Someone started chatting with me on facebook last night and let me know that my former neighbor, MeeMaw, was in a hospice. My neighbor had lived near me for decades...until last year when she moved in with her with of her kids and their family. She's in her late sixties and is currently 'eaten up with cancer.' I immediately went up to see her today and brought flowers. My mother used to always say to bring her flowers while she was alive to enjoy them, not when she's dead (usually in a conversation about someone's funeral.) Of course, I brought my mom lots of flowers (daisies) while she was alive and when she died, I didn't. ...I made sure I brought pretty happy flowers to my neighbor. I told her that I knew she liked narcissis (because we always brought her handfuls from our backyard when she lived next door) but since they weren't in season, I got different ones. She was unrecognizable. Emaciated. Weak. It's only a matter of time. I really like her and still miss her being next door. :(

On the way out, her son talked with us and I had a couple of questions that I didn't want to ask while I was in her room. The plan is to make her as comfortable as possible, possibly let her return to her daughter's home...to die. Her son joked with us (we love using humor in uncomfortable situations) about how many other people he has seen that he knows in this hospice and how many pass away each day. As we are getting older, and so many people are passing away, he joked that we were moving up to the front of the line, so to speak.

My neighbor quit smoking five years ago (after several decades of smoking) and started walking. How unfair that she (and everyone who has cancer) don't have cures yet and that technology hasn't yet caught up with all the cancers of the world.

In addition, a very good aquaintance died this week as well (I didn't actually think of the consequences of joining the Red Hat Ladies that they would actually pass away.) Evelyn was 88 (but didn't look that old at all!)

Of course, I'm thinking of how precious life is and how much I need to savor each day.

My MIL and SIL (a cancer survivor)
Two women I've admired throughout the years.

Building a treefort!

For many years, I've wanted to build a treehouse or a treefort for my kiddos. I had collected plan after plan for seasons on end. When I moved four years ago, I tossed them because I figured I would never get around to eventually doing it. A couple of years ago, my younger brother put a piece of plywood on a couple of limbs of a tree (that I helped plant when I was a little girl.) He and my kiddos climbed up the swimming pool ladder and sat on top of the board and loved it. However, I was afraid that one of them would fall off backwards and get seriously injured or die. So, I needed to rectify that or take the board down. After some long indepth browsing on pinterest, I decided on what I wanted up in the tree (even though I wasn't really the carpenter type.)

So a couple weekends ago, we started the treefort project. First we had to cut down some limbs (which led to cutting down other limbs that were dead and needed to be taken down as well.) The piece of plyboard can be seen in this picture (I forgot to take a 'before' picture.)


Then we cut the limbs into smaller pieces and hauled them out to the road.


Making sure the plyboard was level.


We made the frames for each side. Since the plywood was a 4x8, I put the middle boards 2 foot across. Note to self, if you splurge on a nail gun, spend the extra money to get a really good one (ours kept jamming and took so much extra time between each nailing of each nail.) We learned our lesson.


Then we clamped each side down until we nailed them down (and made sure they all fit snugly.)


In addition to nailing down the frames, we also used these things to secore the frames to the bottom.


All four sides are now up. We left a gap on the side closest to the tree to allow room for the ladder (to get up and down) as well as the kiddos to climb out onto the limb (when they're older.)


We used a compressor to use for the nail gun. The only issue was the weather. It was cold and it took a long time to get the compressor going (and stay going.)


We bought picket fence boards to put along the sides. However, we needed them a certain length and had to cut each of the 48 boards. Of course, it was a labor of love.


Starting the sides. Luckily those Christmas hardware store giftcards came in handy! We got all the clamps and most of the boards with them (we had a stash of them!) It was definitely a family project.



Halfway done.


There were a couple of places where the boards didn't fit exactly. We also cut the length of the picket boards to fit in those places. We didn't know what to use between each board either and used a pencil to mark each space inbetween them.


View from one side of the finished project.


And from the other side. We let my son decide how big the space was going to be. He also determined the height of the picket boards themselves. He gave us a lot of input and was a great help the whole way through.