Texas Trip!

Over Labor Day weekend we headed south to deliver John & Lindsey's household goods. Seth and Noah accompanied us. They were a bit nervous because Uncle John had warned them that just any old boots may not get them across the state line but they would definately need a 'Texas' hat. Before we left Jeff & Steph took the boys to the local farm store to get them ready for the trip. It is important to fit in when you are visiting new places. To commemorate this historic crossing we woke them up about 2 a.m. (make that we woke Seth up - just like his Mom Noah was bound and determined to stay awake) to take their picture by this subtle stateline marker.
We stopped outside of Hempstead to get the boys outfitted in both the hats and boots. Pat had rehearsed a "Texas swagger" with them, since Wisconsin boys know how to do that sort of thing, but Noah lost all composure at seeing his girl Lindsey.


John and Lindsey were very impressed with the hats and boots in spite of the comfy sweats the boys were wearing. The farmhouse John & Lindsey live in is located on acerage that has been in John's family for some time. It was used as a country retreat by John's grandparents, especially his much loved 'Pops' whose picture hangs over the fireplace. The hats located in the corner were also his. As you can see the house has a character all its own and it fits it perfectly.

This is the living room with the photo taken from the dining area. Directly behind the photographer and the dining area is the kitchen.

Here is a picture of Lindsey's Texas guys.
And, once they figured out the timer on the camera one with Lindsey also!

This picture is just too cute - it should be on a stamp or something .....

John proved his worth as an uncle when he pulled out two huge rubbermaid bins of Lego toys. I believe he also had a huge bag of some others. Countless battles were won and lost in the sun room - also known as the 'new room' since it was built in the 70s! Here is a video of the most epic battle which turned into a lego bath once the stuffed animals got involved. They just look warm and fuzzy.

On Saturday morning we went with Tom & Kay (John's folks), and John & Lindsey to met with Aunt Ann and John's brother, Rob. We had a wonderful breakfast at a favorite local breakfast place called "The Snowflake". Besides great doughnuts they had something called a Kalachi (am I right John?) which is a flaky dough wrapped around a sausage. Lots of coffee, conversation and calories.

This picture was taken Sunday morning before church on Tom & Kay's front patio. They built a lovely new home just a stone's throw from John & Lindsey.

Surpise!! We found airplanes! After church we went to the Brenham airport where they have a fifties diner complete with girls in poodle skirts and saddle shoes. John's Uncle Charlie, Pat and Noah were checking out the airplane they were selling $50 chances to.

The boys posed for us in their cowboy best - we had been warned by their Mom not to come back without a proper Texas picture in proper Texas attire.

Tom has a full-time job in the fall feeding hummingbirds. We didn't realize they migrate through Texas towards the Gulf and actually fly across the Gulf to South America. At times there were up to 20 or more literally diving for food. One of the best airshows I've seen.

Remember when you were a kid and summer vacation or Christmas or something made you so happy and excited you could NOT contain yourself?? Well, here it is on film. You may think the video is about Seth but watch Noah. We would like to point out he did not actually go down the slide but the possibility of it made him dance and, ummm, apparently cool off.

Can you sing with me? He ain't heavy, he's my brother . . . . .

Sometimes a cowboy just has to take time to walk and think about . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . being in Texas!

Thank you John & Lindsey, Tom & Kay, Charlie & Ann - we had a wonderful time!

Grandparents Day & Birthday Sunday

On Friday Steph, Audrey & I went to lunch at the local eatery. Afterwards we went to Noah's grandparent day. The kids did a great job.

Noah, of course, was the cutest kid there. The teachers and the principal were thrilled to see Audrey.

I think Noah was pretty excited to have his big sister there.

We didn't have the best seats but I managed to get this short video of the grandparent's song. Noah actually did the hand movements this time!!

We did our September birthdays today (Sunday) although just having Audrey there was gift enough for all of us. She is doing great and gets started on all her PT & OT therapy next week. Steph has a schedule that would blow your mind. Anyway - back to birthdays. We'll start with the Saturday night bath (whether you need it or not). Caleb thinks his big sister is pretty darn talented.

On Sunday morning Jeff, Steph, Audrey & Noah arrived about 10 a.m. Seth was with his troup selling popcorn for the scouts. Joy warmed up the golf cart and took everyone for a trip around the yard. Notice Audrey waving with her left arm.

This was Chataqua (sp) weekend here so a number of us went to the craft show. This year they had some wonderful artists and craftsmen. Pat, Jeff & Ryan worked on the arbor and the weather was so beautiful we decided to open gifts on the back patio. Katie was so cute whenever I opened jewelry - she would gasp and study it. I'm so proud!!

Enjoying the back patio.

Notice a theme? Ryan is getting ready to open a creeper so he can start doing some oil changes and maintenance a bit easier. The engine block in front is actually a cooler.

Getting Katie's opinion on how my new earrings look. Noah just thinks we're strange.

Noah trying on Dad's new suspenders for his tool belt.

Designed to prevent tush fatigue at the countless little league games.
A beautiful new planter to go on my 'new' patio. I love the color.

A change from the automotive project theme to a woodworking project theme!

Hmmm, Steph is wondering how soon before she gets her hands on Jeff's new shirt.

Wonderful birthday cakes, pies and cheescake - and not a calorie in one of them.

Unfortunately with every party comes the dreaded clean-up. When you have a group that lets the rootbeer flow like we do it takes some time to get everything in order. But we should be able to get it done in time to start again as soon as possible.

Homecoming!!

This is a bit of a long video but that's OK. I had to be there when Audrey got home so you guys could be there too. It took her a few minutes to descend from her 'limo' but considering what the prognosis was - the wait was heavenly!

Pastor Kirk kept Audrey's kittens fed while Jeff & Steph were in the hospital 24 hours. I hope he sees this shot of Audrey applauding her kittens. How wonderful to see BOTH our girls smiling in this picture!

The wind was really blowing but we managed to get this picture without the balloons beating Audrey up!

Notice the left hand working as Audrey reads a card.

Interview

When Audrey got home she had to visit her kittens, of course, but she picked up speed when she got into the house. She ran (yes ran) into the living room and flopped onto the couch with a huge smile. She then got up and, holding her arms out, slowly twirled several times with the most blissful smile on her face. She finally quit touching things long enough to give me an 'interview'.

Too often all we hear are snide comments from the media regarding 'mainline' churches. Lawson Baptist puts that on its' ear! These folks practice the love they teach - they have consistently brought food, visited the hospital, fed a little girl's kittens and even kicked off a garage raising for Jeff! Most importantly, like so many others, they have lifted the entire Walter's family in prayer. I had to get this video on my way to Lawson the day Audrey came home.

My Sunday

My good friend Gail called me last week and asked if I wanted to go on a 'Water Garden' tour in the Kansas City area. It sounded wonderful and it was! We toured gardens all over the greater Kansas City area and got a lot of great ideas. So many people opened their homes and shared their visions with the public. Below are just a few of the places we saw - enjoy!

This one was a tiny suburban back yard off of a busy road. These home owners had planted tons of bamboo and created a huge water fall over stone. It was surrounded with plants, flowers and statues. You could not hear any road noise. It was a tropical paradise in KC.

This one was an example of a 'good woman'. You could see her touch in the stunning flowers and statuary. She had one of the most beautiful garden benches I have ever seen. You could see her husband's in the train tracks with broken cars, the 'semi-hidden' piles of train stuff etc. etc. There were trains running all over the place and you will see a picture of what looks like Aphrodite towering over a Swiss village. They also had a mama peacock with three babies. I had never seen baby peacocks before. In the picture below you can see one of them hotfooting it into the grasses. The whole thing made for quite an unusual display.

Beautiful Flowers

I think this is a hibiscus - the color was so soft.
I think this is called Plumera

Gorgeous lotus blossom

Look at the size of this flower!!

This zinnia patch reminds me of my Grandma Wescott's flower garden.

The zinnia was almost electric in color.

A butterfly bush doing exactly what it is supposed to do.

Can anybody identify the plant below?

The canna lilys were really beautiful this year - guess I should have planted some!

Performing Koi

You won't believe this fish!! This water feature had a huge plastic globe on legs with an opening in the bottom. It works by filling the globe with water and the fish can swim up in the globe and 'look around'. This fish was the largest in the pond and his favorite thing to do when people are there is to swim around and around the globe 'people watching'. As soon as we walked away you could see him looking around a few times and then sliding down and out the opening. The conversation in the background is around where you can find or purchase the globe.