Saturday the 15th. SA

 Relaxing morning. Late breakfast. Volleyball for Hayden and Ella with friends. They played from noon to 4 pm+.  Such energy of youth. We dropped by to take a few photos. Tandy had a lunch date with a friend. Mike and I tried the local Whataburger hamburger place. It's a burger joint. They believe in mustard! Plus onions and tomatoes and lettuce, so after we added ketchup, it wasn't too bad. It was big, too. Nice soft bun, which I needed for my sore roof of mouth that's still healing from an injury of some kind.

Mike and I spent time in the pool later in afternoon. 

Oh, the WIND was HOWLING all the day and into the night. Over 20 mph gusts which seemed much stronger. We picked up the patio furniture cushions more than once. They flew over the deck railing and into the yard below. Crazy strong winds. But the pool still felt warm ( because it is!), and the air temps were cooler today--only in 70's most of the day I think.

Tandy made some delicious crepes for dinner, Savory ones filled with egg, sausage, bacon and cheese; sweet ones with a creamy fluffy sauce and fresh fruit. Yum!!

Damian and Alexa arrived after 10 from their week long drive trip to Honduras. Lexi had jelly fish larval stings all over her hands and arms she was treating with vinegar and alcohol. They just unpacked lots of dirty laundry straight into the washer. Ha. So we had a brief visit with them before heading off to bed. Mike didn't sleep really well Friday night, so we tried Benadryl. Success! We slept great. And long.

Friday in San Antonio

 We had such a good sleep! Tandy's and Damian's home is so comfortable. After a breakfast of whatever we wanted ( eggs for Tandy and Mike, oats for me, Cold Cereal for Ella and Hayden), we headed to the "Animal World and Snake Farm Zoo" out by New Braunfels. For a small place that started as a little roadside attraction, we were pretty impressed. It IS Spring break around here, but going early helped. It was way more crowded when we left close to noon!  Hayden and Tandy hate snakes, but there were other reptiles, all had good exhibits. There were large cats, plus just big ones. Ha. White Lions, apes, cougar, bison, camels, leopard, warthogs, birds, monkeys, all kinds of stuff with educational presentations. They are a certified zoo, too.  They are making continual improvements, so in spite of being small and stinky, it was kind of fun!

 One's nose gets used to it, the gibbons were hilarious, the peacocks beautiful, the alligators were huge, and the gift shop well-stocked. I bought a magnet. Ha.

Next stop: Buc-ee's. That's where we got lunch and goodies, but it was very crowded and we were rushed, so we will return. 

Too much traffic on the ride home. And I was sooo sleepy! Glad I wasn't driving! I immediately took a nap upon arrival.

Tandy and Ella had a date with friends to shop for prom dresses. Two girls, two Moms. All afternoon and evening. The three of us had a good swim in the pool and soak in the hot tub, showers, dinner ( I just made us some sandwiches), basketball game on TV for Mike ( his beloved BYU Cougar team was pummeled by Houston. Again.)

And some card games.

Zoo photos and more:

There a squirrel monkey back there.

And the lion with his young hanging out.

Below, Hayden and Ella and Mike are listening to the presentation about the lions. I actually learned some stuff.

Petting a dwarf crocodile.

Mike and Hayden enjoying the peacock and peahen.

Buc-ee's!!

Thursday in San Antonio

 Another day of arising VERY early, as we had a 6:30 a.m. flight out of Denver to San Antonio. Katie drove the three of us to the airport. It's about 40 min away from their home, so she just dressed and prepped for work and would be there at her work 30 minutes early and planned to nap in her car for that long before her very busy day started. She also had Physical Therapy for her knee after work AND parent teacher conferences with twins after school. 

Our flight was okay. The Denver airport did have and event later that morning where an American Airlines plane caught fire near the terminal. Looked like it was at the gate. Kind of scary. But ours was uneventful. We like those. Didn't sit adjacent on the Southwest flight, but close. We all mostly snoozed thru the 1 hour 45 min flight. 

Got our rental car without too much trouble. We fit it it with all our bags. Got to Damian and Tandy's. Ella and Tandy were cleaning in the yard. They have a huge yard, the pool requires a lot of work and cleaning, the cover blew off and was ruined recently. But it looks lovely and inviting! Damian and Alexa are actually not here right now. They are scuba diving in Honduras! 

We were hungry upon arrival, so Tandy fed us a late breakfast/brunch of avocado toast with egg. A first for Hayden( and he liked it!)  And we were tired, so we rested a bit.  Ella had appointments in the afternoon, Tandy went for a long 5 mile walk, so the three amigos got brave a little bit later and tried for the near downtown area by "The Pearl" and tried to find 1) Parking, and 2) The Grotto.  We Succeeded, but only just. The actual carved and interesting area of "The Grotto" on the river walk  was blocked off for construction and repairs. The parking lot started charging at 3 p.m.  and I couldn't figure out how to pay. Then Tandy or Ella called and said we could eat at Lupe's tonight, so that's what we did. Early. And had a game of cards back at Tandy's . Ella had a late evening practice for her Arsenal Soccer team. 8:30 to 10:00 pm, and in a neighborhood not her own-- a 30 min+ drive away. Mike and I actually conked out at 9 pm. I guess Hayden did, too. 

I said Mike was tired:

Mike with Hayden and Ella at Lupe Tortilla. It's one of Ella's favorites. Both kids had enchilada. Tandy and I shared fajitas. Mike had tacos, but had a hiatal hernia episode that kind of interrupted his enjoyment of the meal. And his taco meat wasn't near the perfect yummy quality of the steak in our fajitas. So much food. Again. 

This is a bus stop near the Grotto. Lots of artsy stuff through here.

The main carvings and points of interest are across the river, but not accessible this time. They are taped off

But we DID see turtles (on the boat ramp wall by the waterline) big and small, ducks, fish. Water lilies, too!

It was kind of hot, and Mike was tired of walking. We'd been up a long time, so dinner sounded really good after this walk. 

After dinner at Lupe's, ( and it was SO noisy and busy there!) Tandy dropped everyone at home and I went with her to the grocery store. HEB

Ella went to soccer practice, hoping she wouldn't throw up after eating so much. Ha. ( She didn't).

Grandparent Trip--Hayden

 Mike and I drove to Denver, CO on Wednesday, March 13. We happened to both be awake at 3:30, so we got up, dressed, were fed, packed and out the door by 5:30. A few potty stops later, a picnic lunch somewhere in the Rockies, a bit of Caffeine and a few cat-naps by the NON- Drivers, and we made it to Parker, Colorado and Legend High School where Hayden participated in  his first ever track meet. He only told Katie a few weeks ago that he'd like to try out and do this. She was surprised, since he'd never had any interest in sports activities of any kind. Track is such a good one, so she hoped he'd do well and have a good experience. And he did! 

It was a Junior Varsity invitational meet, about six high schools from the area were there. Katie came and joined Mike and I in the stands. It was a perfect day, weather-wise. 60's, sunny.  We did end up wearing our jackets toward the end. It lasted about 3 hours since Hayden ran in the very last event. From 3 to 6 pm. He was so happy with the results. He ran the mile which is 4 times around the track. He told me that he'd only done it due practice in about 7 minutes. He ran it at the meet in 5 minutes 49 seconds. The other event was the 4 by 400 relay. There were only two teams and theirs almost won. It was very very close. He ran the third leg, received and passed the baton successfully, and ran his 100 meters in very close to 1 minute! 

  First full track meet for all of us. We were kind of lost and didn't know what events all were called. They alternated girls and boys teams. . . Or combined, line the 3200 meters which was 8 times around the track. One girl and about 5 boys did that. Anyway, Hayden did REALLY well!

We were so glad to have been there!

To celebrate, we had dinner at Olive Garden together. Ate too much, but took home left overs so Katie wouldn't have to cook, as long as they remembered to eat the pasta and bread sticks.

It was quite a long drive to and from the restaurant. It's NOT in Castle Rock where they live. There was a traffic jam on the I-25 freeway, so we got off, but didn't turn when we should have and drove home a longer way. With the twins, who were fading fast on a school night.  And Hayden still had to do some laundry and pack for an early departure on Thursday.

Not very much snow (NONE!)on many of the south-facing Rocky Mountains. 

This was Hayden's mile run. Four times around the track.  He's at the last of the group ( maroon shirt).

But, at the end, he moved up into about fifth place and passed some runners.

At the Olive Garden. Corbin's birthday is on Saturday. He will be 14. Got braces and his mouth was really sore.

And we always enjoy eating here. Family made it way fun. 

Ending February

 We did a few exciting things to finish out the month.

It's been warm and dry, so we did a little yard clean up. 

Some daffodils popped up! 

Just two, so far. We hope more to come.

I posted this on Facebook with the caption, "Oh Edvard! It's the last Pumpkin!" It's in reference to Ed and Muench's fairly famous and well-known painting, "The Scream". Just me being silly.

I got one more Grandma Autrey quilt FINISHED. Binding and all.

Just a few more to go. Yay!

Mike is going to be working on some tile backsplashes at Boyd and Carol Fife's home in New Harmony. This is the view from their bedroom window.  It's the five fingers of Kolob.

I truly love this view.

We said goodbye to our little Red Mitsubishi Outlander Sport.

Traded it in for a white Subaru Outback. Far less miles, way newer.

This Sunday, we will be praying for snow in our record low snowfall, extremely dry southern  mountains. We need moisture SO badly!

Mom had a fall late Tuesday night, early Wednesday. But she's okay! Here she is playing cards we me and Mike on Friday after dinner at our house. Not "Our House."