More San Antonio fun and relaxation

 We spent a bit more time in the pool and hot tub. I went on a couple of walks with Mike.

The one time he and Damian DID work on his guns in the garage, yes, it was hot. And no, they didn't come together as planned. NOthing really got done. One drilled out to far and was ruined. One wasn't done enough and didn't work. 

But we have had fun anyway. Damian worked, Ella was at school or soccer practice.

Saturday we went to a Soccer game. It was a tie and Ella had to sit out for some because her foot hurt. Tandy took us to eat at Red Lobster after. Yum! Even Ella commented on the "Boat load" of food Grandpa ate. Ha! Yep, diets have flown out the window here!! 

Sunday we went to Church. Naps. Games. 

 Monday night we went to a movie, "Fall Guy" at theater. So funny. Very action- packed, of course, since it was about stunt men. Damian was at an event that night for work-related stuff.

I did one of Tandy's LONG  walks thru the neighborhood with her one day. 3.1miles. Only once. SOOO hot and sweaty! ( I did a second walk with her the day we left-- THAT merited a long time in the pool and hot tub afterwards!!)

Tuesday we we went with Tandy to San Marcos to see Spring Lake and go on a glass-bottom boat tour. It was very nice! The sun came out for a bit, we walked though a path in some wetlands and saw turtles and birds. Nice, fun area. Very pretty. Very hot. 

Tuesday night we went out to eat at Ella's favorite taco place, Torchy's. It was good. Very good. Damian met us there after his work at a hospital.

I helped Tandy get a singing time apron made for Nursery at Church. We did laundry, she cleaned, went on walks, workouts , etc. and we played games! Mike napped. Kind of like "Goldilocks and The Three Bears" story because he cannot sleep comfortably in Braeden"s bed (too hard). The sofa's not quite right. But the guest bed in Lexis room is almost just right. Thus all the different beds and many naps-- he's tired from not sleeping well at night, poor guy.

And I got mosquito bites, as usual. We go home tonight. Late.

Mike also repaired a light for Tandy. Sort of. We didn't find the right brightness.

The beginnings of the apron. It took TWO machines to finish. Even tho I had used Tandy's machine to hem some pants for Lexi earlier, when I tried using it on this project,the tension was off and I could NOT get it to work. At all. So frustrating. I'm glad there was a back up machine. 

The cacti are in bloom, and are so pretty. As are the wildflowers everywhere.

We also stopped at Buc-ee's  on the way home from San Marcos to grab a treat for Ella. ( And for us!)

I don't know why my bug bites get SO red and enflamed.

San Marcos has a love for mermaids and statues around. Except in this park, where Tandy had to get out and go hunting for ( a missing!) statue of a mermaid.

Our pathway through the wetlands was on a boardwalk.

Lots of grasses, flowers, lilypads, etc.

 View of bombombas water plants. Or fish. Or something. The water was crystal clear. It's spring fed.

More of the pool time on Wednesday before heading to the airport that evening. 

Completed singing time apron.

Or not. They are in a shared Google Album that I can't access from my blog. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/6UJvx7zRqH6RyPD89

Maybe that will work. 

May 2, San Antonio

 Mike and I flew to San Antonio on May 1. We drove to Las Vegas, circled around til we found the correct long term parking at Terminal 3. Got in about 9 pm.

Today, Tandy and Lexi went with us to Sea World. Lexi was our guide since she worked there last summer and knew the ins and outs. 

We rode rides, got wet, watched animal programs, ate lunch, bought souvenirs, got rained on, sweated TONS, and had a MAH-VELOUS time together.

No crowds or lines, no hot sun. A good day.

Some photos! Enjoy.

The orca show was fun. We did NOT get wet, but some were soaked thoroughly.

The Wave Breaker was fun

 Steel Eel? Not so much. Only Ella and I braved THAT one in the rain. Oh, and was rough. Hard bumps and bounces. Rather jarring.  Plus rain drops to pelt ones face.

Feeding Sea Lions.

Watching Dolphins.

And Lexi with her Lili, back at home. It was study day at Texas A&M, so she spent it here and was such a great guide!

2024 Spring Fling

 Ken and Jeri Sorensen hosted the Spring Fling again this year! It was so fun to get together with a little bit of the Sorensen family.

Aunt Tuny drove down on Friday, hung out with Mom for the afternoon, and ended up NOT spending the night with us after all. I had called her and said we'd be gone around 3:00 and maybe through dinner, but I guess I wasn't clear enough that we would be home in time for her to come by after dinner with Mom and spend the night here with us. At MY house, as opposed to OUR House, or her hotel. Mike and I just left for 2 hours to go to the Home and Garden show between 3:00 and 5:00 p.m. it was fun. It's like trick or treating for adults! And I ate Candy for the first time in a while, and way too much of it apparently. I was pretty sick that evening. (It's probably good that Aunt Tuny wasn't here, with me stinking up the bathrooms. Haha)

The next morning we met at Our House Assisted Living, packed mom and her stuff into Aunt Tuny's car, and we all headed to Southern California! They were going to follow behind. We had lunch at Stateline. Just fast food at Carl's jr. Traffic wasn't too terrible, and we were able to watch them in the rear view mirror. But when it came time to switch from I-15 to I-215, Aunt Tuny was watching the wrong black truck and followed it to the wrong freeway. We were separated! I was trying so hard to get them called as Mike could see they were not in the correct traffic lane to be following us off to the right. Between having a move my glasses, turn off the noisy navigation our audio book, SEE my phone, dial the number ( which is really just pushing one button, you know) , make myself be heard and understood by Mom over the phone with her new hearing aids that don't work too well in a noisy car while trying to talk to two people . . . well, Mike just watched them drive away on I-15 while we drove away on the other interstate highway. "What? Huh? We ARE on the right freeway. We are on I -15." " NO, you are supposed to be on TWO FIFTEEN. GET IN THE RIGHT LANES. MOVE OVER". 

"What? Oh, I can't hear you. What are you saying, Tuny!?" 

Well, 35 minutes or so after WE arrived in Beaumont, Mom and Tuny arrived. Via interstates 15 and 10. They were very stressed , to say the least. But they made it. It WAS a bit tricky getting them into the community and finding Ken's place, however. They did get a bit lost and flustered ("They wanted our Birth Certificate before they'd let us in!!!!" Mom said.)

We visited, ate, visited, snacked, visited. It was fun. 

In attendance:

Ken and Jeri, Kara, Jorge, Gina, Logan. Steven Sorensen plus his girlfriend Francesca and her visiting grandparents from Maine. Randy & Brenda Sorensen, their daughter Mary and Nick Bruque with their two littles Andrew and Marigold. Christi and Skully. Me and Mike, Mom and Aunt Tuny. Jorge is not in the picture for some reason.

 We missed a bunch of folks.  ☹️

Aunt Tuny revealed to us, AFTER the sun had gone down and Mom was exhausted and we were getting ready to leave the party, that she doesn't drive at night.

 Oops! 

So I drove Mom in Tuny's car, and Tuny rode with Mike, who followed me 30 minutes away to Redlands to our hotel for the night. Dynasty Suites. Two rooms, three beds, some good sleeps. A good breakfast in the morning, and then we drove our little caravan down  to Riverside to the Veterans cemetery. Aunt Tuny said she could follow us--IF we trusted her! Haha. Aunt Tuny found Uncle Gary's grave and that is where we parted ways. She was going to go get flowers and come back, and then after she'd spent some quiet time there, head on to Huntington Beach for some days. We loaded Mom up in the truck with us and headed home to Cedar City.

One stop for lunch at IHOP in Barstow, a drink and bathroom stop in Primm/ Stateline, and on home with no difficulties or major traffic, illness or discomfort. Success!!

(I actually drove from Stateline NV to home. )

Ken Sorensen

Kara and Steve Sorensen.

Skully, Christi, Mike

Kara and her dad, Randy Sorensen.

Sisters

Jeri and Brenda Sorensen

I've always loved these big rock outcroppings in the Cajon pass area. The mountains in the area were still snow-capped, the surrounding hills as green as I have EVER seen them and covered in wildflowers and beautiful flowering shrubs!!!  It really was a gorgeous drive.

Pretty roses and a pretty Mama at our Motel

There was a fountain, too. ( a few of them, actually)  And a pool, hot tub, putting green, Gazebo. Hot breakfast. "Fire" places in our rooms!

Dinner and a show

  (But first, I played pickleball with Cindy and friends in the Cedar Stake Center from 7-9 am. It was fun!)

Or, rather, a movie at the theater and then dinner afterwards at my house.

Mike and I went with Mom to see "Escape From Germany." It was really good. Really. True story of getting the Mormon Missionaries out of Germany just prior to the start of WWII. As in mere hours to spare before Poland was invaded and war was declared, borders closed, etc. 

Afterwards, we came home to a nice tender chuck roast I had cooked in the crock pot. Yummy! It was a bit early for dinner, but that's okay. 

Tomorrow, Mom and I will go in the afternoon for her pre visit for a back shot for pain. It's going to be interesting!  Her blood sugars soar with steroid injections, so we are going to try to regulate it ( her blood sugar) during the weeks that the steroid affects it. We hope!.

Also last week, Mom and I took a little drive after one of her appointments. We drove up the canyon the week prior, but only far enough to observe the Gypsum mine digs. She was curious about a white spot on the red hill at lunch time.

More recently we explored around the golf course and found the Trailhead to Thunderbird Gardens. Fun! I had no idea you could drive so close. We found lots of new apartments, enjoyed the sunshine and lovely views.

And yesterday ( Monday April 15) we had snow! Haha

 Fooled ya! Happy Spring!!

Mike and I drove up the canyon another afternoon to check out the April snowpack. Navajo lake is still covered, and Blowhard. It's not REALLY deep, but there's still lots up there.

Eclipse

 If you look hard, even thru the cloud our partial eclipse is visible. 

We used our safety glasses. It did not darken at all, but Mom and I got some good crescent shadows outside of Smiths grocery store.