2 Weeks in a Nutshell

July came in with a bang and the month is only half over.  A slowdown doesn't look like it will happen any time soon.

My mom came to visit at the end of June.  It was pretty weather when she arrived.  We drove to Austin so she could meet her Great Granddaughter Chloe and see Josh's home.  It was a quick trip but all went well.

The next day the feeder bands from Hurricane Alex started delivering rain to the Houston area.  We were spared the hurricane but got some much needed rain.  Rain is always welcome but then you have to deal with the mosquitoes and they are terrible!!!

My mom's flight was due to leave on Friday but many planes were delayed and/or grounded in other places so her plane didn't make it so she was rescheduled for Saturday (wish the airline would have told us before we got her and her luggage checked).  She did make it home safe and sound.

On Sunday the 4th, we had a few of Craig's work comrades and their wives over plus 2 couples Craig knows from other functions plus our dear friends/travel buddies Albert and Laurie.  Everyone swam, ate and swam some more.  Craig out did himself by smoking ribs and brisket for the event. They were delicious!  I think everyone had a good time. 

The next weekend one of Craig's work buddies call to say he had caught a bunch of saltwater trout and wanted to know if Craig would fry them up.  We had 2 couples over for the fish fry which was the perfect for the amount of fish.  We didn't get to enjoy the outdoors because by now the mosquitoes have taken over so we sat inside under the air conditioner.

This week I made a move in my Real Estate business.  I switched to a new broker.  I am now with TEXdot  Realtors.  I am very excited and can't wait to get my business up and running again; new website, new email, new signs, new business cards, everything.  It will take a while to get it all organized but it won't take long...hopefully.

Finally, our son Josh has taken a new position with the company he works for and will be moving back to Houston.  Josh and I have spent the past 2 days looking for a place for him to lease.  We were successful.  He has found a very nice townhouse and will be moving in a week.  Now all we have to do is get the house he owns leased.

That's it...the past 2 weeks in a nutshell.

Weekend with Chloe

This past weekend our son-in-law Mark had a lacrosse tournament in Houston.  We were thrilled to find out Kimberly, Mark and Chloe would be coming for a weekend visit. 

While Mark played in the hot and humid weather, the rest of us just relaxed around the house.

Chloe already has her Pop wrapped around her finger.

Look at those big blue eyes.

Enjoying a quiet evening by the pool with Shorty and Pop.

Chloe's first "dip" in the pool. 

Don't worry the pool is 92 degrees.

This photo reminds me of Kimberly. 

Long Overdue Updates

May rushed by in a flash.  Many exciting events took place.


1.  I celebrated by 50th birthday on the 9th.  Craig surprised me with a gift I had wanted for a long time; ballroom dance lessons. We now have our own Monday night version of Dancing with the Longcors. We have learned the Foxtrot and are now working on the Rumba. The best thing about the lessons and the one Craig is most excited about is I no longer lead. Craig has learned to lead on the dance floor and I have learned to follow. Both are big steps for us.



2.  Craig and I celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary on the 24th.   We had already celebrated with our cruise in April but Craig surprised me with flowers, dinner and dancing.

3.  Our Granddaughter Chloe was born on the 28th.  I spent a week at Kimberly and Mark's helping out.  I enjoyed every minute of it and tried real hard not to be in the way.  They really didn't need my help, they are very relaxed first time parents but I'm glad I was there.

4.  Our "grandparent" names have been chosen.  Craig is Pop and I am Shorty.  Unique names were chosen because there is already a Grandma, Granny, Grammy, Nana, Granddad and Grampy in the family.  In the grand scheme of things I know I'm not that short but in this family I am the shorty;  Craig-6'1", Kimberly-5'9", Joshua-6'3", Mark-6'3", Me 5'3". So as you can see Shorty is appropiate and the kids and Craig will call me shorty when I ask them to get something off the top shelf.  Of course I will ultimately be named by Chloe.  When she get old enough to talk who knows what our name will end up being.

Introducing...

Our Granddaughter  

Chloe Diane

born May 28, 2010

7 lbs. 3 oz.

20 1/2 in.

The Weather Man Said What???

We all get aggravated at the non-existent weather forecast.  Local weathermen seem to be the worst at predicting what is happening or going to happen.  Seems like they should just open a window and look out to give a more accurate forecast. 

Recently one of Houston's local weathermen gave a forecast where he stated...

"Houston and the surrounding area may or may not get rain today."

What...did I hear that correctly?   Makes no sense to me but I guess he covered his bases.

Celebrating 30 a Little Early

***WARNING***

This will be a very long and photo filled post.

Craig and I went on a 7 day Royal Caribbean cruise to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary.  We went a month early since our Granddaughter Chloe is due in May.

We flew in to San Juan, Puerto Rico on Friday before our cruise.  We had been there before but just at the airport so it was nice to get to see the city.

We stayed in the area known as Old San Juan.  It was very clean and we enjoyed walking around looking at the old fort and beautiful bronze fountain.  It had a plaque explaining what all the different statues represented but my high school spanish is a little rusty so I understood very little of what I tried to read.  (I guess I should probably brush up on my spanish sometime.)

We walked along the pier on Old San Juan and found one of Craig's favorite "hangouts"...Senior Frog's.   Just kidding we didn't even go in.

I like the way the frog is peeking out over the top of the building.

Saturday morning we had breakfast at the local Subway sandwich shop.  It was quite the adventure.  A homeless lady asked Craig to buy her breakfast but the Subway employees said it would cause problems because she would always come back and pester the patrons.  He felt bad until this lady just "went off", yelling at the Subway employees  and screaming in spanish but slipping a few english words in..."Yankee go home".  Everyone in the place was laughing at her and she finally left when the police were called.

When we arrived on board, I was surprised with a bottle of champagne, bouquet of flowers and vanilla bean cupcakes.  Craig had arranged for them to be waiting. 

Our first stop was Curacao.  It is a Dutch island just of the coast off Venezuela.  The colors of paints they use are really unique and beautiful.  The island is also very friendly.

Our excursion was a dune buggy ride through the streets to an old fort and to a beach.

Here we are with one of the towers of the old fort in the background. (We want to point out how "proud" our kids are of us for wearing fanny packs.)

After the ride we walked around the plaza.

We came across this 3-D mural in one of the alleys.  If you followed the mural you came to a lovely little bistro.

Next stop was Aruba.  The island is also a Dutch island with unique architecture and bright colors although not as bright as Curacao.

We took a sail from the dock past beautiful white sand beaches and the clearest water you can imagine.  We had an hour to swim and enjoy the beach before sailing back to the dock.  We spent the rest of the day walking around the town.

Our third stop was Dominica. (pronounced dom e ni ka)

The island is a British island centered around a dormant volcano.  The greenery and mountains were beautiful.  It was however the least favorite of our stops as far as hospitality.

Craig and I chose to do a river innertub ride for our shore excursion.  As you can see we were required to wear "safety" gear; crash helmets, life jackets and also carry a paddle.  Not too sure the need for any of the equipment since the water was no more than 3 feet deep in most places but they do make a certain fashion statement.

As we had our lazy float we discovered why you need a helmet...falling mangos.  Craig had a little chuckle when one fell about a foot from him and made a big splash.

There were a few rapids to speed things up.

Final stop was St. Thomas which is a US Virgin Island.  We have been to this island before and loved it.  This time we arrived during Carnival which means everything in the city was closed for the celebration.  The big celebration had been the night before so we didn't get to see the party. 

Our excursion on St. Thomas was a power-cat ride to St. John for snorkeling and swimming.  We saw a dog fish.

A parrot fish.

And a sting ray.  The dark spots on the bottom are sea urchin.  There were hundreds of sea urchin but you don't want to touch them.  They are the oceans equivelant of a porcupine.

After our excursion we decided to walk to town just to see if we could find anything open.  Retail shops were closed but we did find Coconuts sports bar, if you could call it a  sports bar.  It had a bar with about 6 stools, 4 tables, 2 tvs and a Texas Tech flag.  Craig and I split a hamburger for lunch and it was delicious.

On our first day of the cruise we met a couple who we had seen at the motel in San Juan.  Norman and Jeri Scott are originally from the Carolina's and have a home in Jackson Hole Wyoming.  Right now they live in Barbados due to Norman's job assignment.  We all went to the Mystery Dinner Theater on the ship and we enjoyed meeting them each evening for a little visiting and a strawberry daiquiri.

That is a recap of our trip; loved every minute of the trip but it is nice to be home.

Baby Shower #1

Last weekend Kimberly's good friends Stephanie and Katie hosted a baby shower in honor of Kimberly and Chloe.

It was a beautiful shower with lots of games and wonderful food.  Everyone had a blast.

Mom to be

Stephanie showing her domestic skills.

Katie and Kim doing their best "Pillsbury dough boy".

Kimberly and me. 

Don't have any idea what Chloe is going to call me.  Craig will be called Pop, Mark's Mom is Nana, Mark's Dad is Doc but I can't decide. 

I'm open to suggestions.

I'm thinking either MeMaw, GanD, GranD or D-da.