Houston - Day 2

Sometimes the best of plans have a way of not working out.  We've made of habit of that on my trips to Houston.  Even Uncle Bruce remembers my first trip was where we coined the phrase, Plan B.  And it happened again on this trip.

The plan was to go to Kemah to visit the aquarium and feed the stingrays on Sunday.  And on Saturday night Uncle Bruce decided to investigate if the Astros were in town to catch a game.  We quickly realized we couldn't go both.  So we opted for the game - Plan B - one might say.  And when the rain began on Sunday morning, and boy did it rain!  We knew we'd made the right decision since Kemah is full of outdoor adventure, and the game was at Minute Maid Park - under the roof!

So off to the ballpark we went.  Ellie was so excited ... another stadium added to her list before the season ends.  And the Astros were playing the Rangers so it was the second game this season she's seen the Texas Rangers play!

It was a thrilling game that involved a very lively 7th inning stretch, a comeback two-run bottom of the 8th  and lots of ballpark food.  We enjoyed hot dogs, brisket sandwich, fries, snow cone, cotton candy and of course a big Coke!  It was wonderful to watch a baseball game from the 6th row AND have air conditioning.  We were definitely spoiled!

Back to the 7th inning stretch.  This used to be the part of the game that Ellie was shooting to make it until.  Now she wants to stay the whole game.  I think it's because she found out just how much fun 7th inning stretch can be!  We sang God Bless America, Take Me Out to the Ballgame AND Deep in the Heart of Texas.  So much fun .....

Its a tradition!
A photo-op of us at the ballpark to mark all the games we've attended.

Happy girl at the ball field.
Reminds of someone else I know ....

7th Inning Rally Cap
although it didn't work until the 8th - IT WORKED!

Houston - Day 1

We were thrilled to be on our way to Aunt Di and Uncle Bruce's house in Houston on Saturday morning.  It feels like we've been planning this weekend forever and its finally here!

Door to door the trip is under 4 1/2 hours .. which is a piece of cake since we're used 12-15 hour road trips!  We left our house Saturday morning about 7:30am and arrived just after noon.  Just in time for lunch, of course!

We snacked and chatted while Ellie entertained with lots of stories of school, soccer and friends. It was a relaxing afternoon as we prepared to go to dinner in downtown Houston.

One of my favorite spots that Aunt Di took me to last time I was in Houston (2000), was Ninfa's.  It was only fitting that I shared it with Bill and Ellie on this trip.  The margarita was a good as I remember and the food was even better.  Guacamole, queso, shrimp tacos, beef tacos and sopapilla for dessert!~

It was amazing!  And after dinner we rolled ourselves home and relaxed the rest of the evening!

Celebrating our arrival in Houston
with margaritas at Ninfa's

Ellie loved her dinner of shrimp and bacon tacos!
Here she's sharing a menu with Aunt Di

She wouldn't even consider missing dessert.
Sopapillas with a little vanilla ice cream and honey!

First Day of 3rd Grade

Outside of her school - Whitt Elementary

In the hallway heading to class!

Today was the day.

First day of 3rd Grade.  She didn't want to go to sleep last night she was so excited.  And she was up very early, very excited!  She loved her first day .. they did the classroom change without issue, the met their new gym teacher and had lunch with their class at a new time.  Lots and lots of changes.

And when I asked how the switching classrooms went she told me, "I liked going to Mrs Jenkins room.  There's lots of zebra print there."  And what did you do while you were there I asked?  "We learned all about expectations of us this year"

Wow, I thought, this is really something.

"And what are your expectations?" I continued.

"Just one thing Mommy.  That's it." she told me.

"Really?  Just one thing.  What is it?" I asked extremely curious.

"RESPECT.  That's it."

So of course I broke out into song, R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it means to me .... you know the song.

She didn't find me funny.  But that's happened before.

Tomorrow is another day.  I'm sure she'll have more adventures to talk about.

When in Texas ...

You're not really living in Texas until you drive a truck.  A Ford F-150, of course!  What a vehicle this one is .... roomy, power and A TRUCK!

Bill has been talking about a truck for a while now.  And on Saturday while Ellie and I had her playdate, he made his way to the Ford dealership 'just to look' and came home with this brand new truck.

Don't ask him about the color!

It's not white.  It's 3-way sparkle tinted intermingled fusion white-tone.  I know that's not the real name of the color, but I'm just warning you, DON'T CALL IT WHITE.  Cause there's a whole lecture that goes with that mistake!

We took it out for a ride to IKEA this morning .. and it is a really nice ride.  There's room in back for Ellie.  No, not in the bed of the truck.  In the back seat.  He told her it would be like riding in a limo with all that room.  Of course she corrected him, "Daddy if it was a limo there would be more seats." Always the last word.

In any event our family now owns a truck.  A pick up truck.

Go figure!

Play Date Saturday

Ellie and Kalayna working on their puzzle

Ellie's friend, Kalayna, came for a play date today.  They are both starting third grade on Monday - although different classrooms, they're glad to know each other will be there.  You may recall she and her family live around the corner from us and frequent the pool with us.

The layout of this house makes for a great playdate.  Upstairs is the game room .. with Wii, couch, high table and chairs for games and lots and lots of games and toys.  And it's open to downstairs .. to be within an earshot.

They played for a little while upstairs, had snacks and drinks .. and found their way downstairs on the kitchen table with a big jigsaw puzzle.  We put on music and they chatted eagerly as they put together the puzzle.

When they were in need of a little help, Ellie called out, "Mom, can you help us?'  Which wasn't the usual, "MOMMY!" so maybe things change in 3rd grade or was it just a play date?  In any event, they moved from puzzle to Uno with an easy transition of giggles and drink refills.

I can hear them making plans to talk both sets of parents into going to the pool this afternoon so they can meet up again.  And that is a serious possibility at this point ....

Corn Fields in Texas

When we lived in the midwest we grew to love the sight of corn fields.  We learned which fields would be rotated each season as to not repeat corn in the same field as the year before.  We saw them till, plant and harvest for several years.  The corn would emerge from the ground as a weed-like stalk and grow each summer into healthy, tall rows of corn!

Who would have thought we'd move to Dallas and live across from a corn field!?  And driving by I couldn't resist snapping a shot of the big machinery out in the field ready to take it down.  What a sight!  It brought back good memories for me.

Yes, that row of houses is in our neighborhood!
We're really THAT close to a corn field....

Meet Your Teacher Night

Mrs. Hunter and Ellie - 3rd Grade
Yes, she looks young!  This is actually her 11th year teaching!

Thursday night is meet your teacher night at Wylie School District.  From 4 - 6pm the entire school shows up to drop off school supplies, get the classroom information and most importantly, meet your new teacher.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how very much we loved Grove Elementary School in Bloomington. We loved her teachers, the principal, the students and the way everything just worked.  What I needed to remind myself when we left Illinois is that - Grove is the only experience we've ever had.  Hmmm, big breath ... and so it might be just as wonderful other places too?!

Since the parking lot overflowed at Whitt Elementary School on Thursday evening at 5pm, we decided to walk from our house.  The school is literally around the corner.  It was 100 degrees, but we walked anyway.

Lots of parents and kids were drifting in and out.  As we got through the front doors Mrs. Shermer, the principal came right over and said, "Hi Ellie - welcome back!  Third grade, right?"  WOW!  She has a tremendous memory - and Ellie must have left a good impression on her for only having been in school for the month of May to end the school year!

On to the classroom - Mrs. Hunter is Ellie's 3rd grade teacher.  This year they will have team teachers.  Mrs. Jenkins is where she'll spend part of her day ... Math and Science.  And back in Mrs. Hunter's room she'll focus on Reading, Writing and Social Studies.

We bought her t-shirts for Spirt Day and found the Girl Scout information that we knew would be here.  It was fun for her to see friends she met last year, and even one of her team mates from Soccer is in her classroom!

We're all looking forward to school starting on Monday!  Cannot believe the summer is winding to a close - and yet we've so much to look forward to in the next few weeks!

Change of Plans

Sometimes things don't go exactly as planned.  And using mother's intuition, I know to trust my gut when something doesn't feel right.

We attended one practice of Ellie's new soccer team and it just didn't feel right.  And when Ellie got in the car afterward and said, "I don't want to play soccer any more," I knew to trust my gut.

Texas takes their sports very seriously.  Apparently training them young for travel teams and committing to YOUR sport before middle school.  Yet, as parents, Bill and I still have choices.

The coach was a drill sergeant, he including his two high school-aged sons - and one was obnoxious and made fun of the girls.  And there were 3 practices a week in the Texas heat.  Our goal was to ensure she continued to learn how to work as a team, develop good skills and enhance her love of the sport.

I gave it a couple days and then asked her at the dinner table, "What would Coach Frank want you to do?"  She said, "to keep playing..." And then I said, "What if I found a way for you to keep playing, but with a different team?"  Her eyes lit up.

Wednesday night was her first practice with the new team.  So she went from Tiger Lilies in Bloomington to this new team called, Pink Sprinkles ... immediately she told me the team name was not fierce enough!  Well what the name lacks in toughness will have to be made up on the field, I told her!

There's a lot of pink in this league.  Apparently all little girls are supposed to like pink.  Ellie doesn't. She'd prefer black and white, and purple occasionally.  But not pink.  All the teams have pink.  Oh dear.

The practice on Wednesday went great.  Husband and wife team, Tony and Shonda are a great team.  Ellie recognized two girls from school - Hannah and Grace.  Whew - crisis averted!

Sometimes a change of plans works out exactly the way its supposed to work!

S'mores!

One of the nights during our weekend Ellie and I found a way to mark National S'mores Day without Bill being home to turn on the grill.  We're very resourceful girls ... and we used chop sticks to hold the marshmallow and roasted them at the gas stove.

She had a ball!  Just one of the funny things we do to celebrate in our house.

As we were all in the kitchen this morning getting ready to leave Bill said, "Uhff, today is going to be hard."  He was referring to his first day back at work after his desk has been relocated to a different part of the building and he's been out for the past few days.  I understood, adjustments can be hard.

Ellie said, "Daddy, you know Mommy always tells me that if you believe it's going to be okay - it will be."  We all looked at each other and she continued, "You have to enjoy things while they're happening and not be sad when they're over."

"And Daddy, you can do this!"

I was overjoyed.

And I wasn't sure if I was so thrilled because she does actually listen to me, or that she knew exactly what to say what I have been saying to her.

She's a gem, that one!  And a smart one at that.

Those were the days ..

As close to our first date as you'll get that's captured in a photo!
At the St. Peter's Church picnic - August 2001

Many of you may recall that Bill and I continue to mark the date, August 18th by celebrating the anniversary of our first date.  It was quite memorable to us - and truth be told, long overdue!  We're happy today to recognize that 13 years ago we went on our first date ... an afternoon at the track followed by dinner at Graham's on Putnam Street.

Dates turned into weeks, into months - 9/11, Las Vegas, engagement, Christmas, New Year, wedding planning ... fast forward all these years and we still mark the day that we first went on a date!  Beginnings are exciting, endings are hard ... but it's all the rest in the middle that matters.

It's the dash.

2001 - Present.

The dash is all the days, weeks, years, memories in between that matter.

I like to remember where we started to remind us where it began and how far we've come.  On this road we share and call a life.  It's ours and we own it.  And today we celebrate it!

Saturdays Girls' Play

As you can imagine Saturday was full of lots of fun things for us girls to continue to do for our girls' weekend.  It was over 100 degrees so we kept our activities indoors - and still managed to find plenty to do!  I promised Ellie a visit to the pool - until the thunderstorms rolled into town!

After a quick trip to our brand new Walmart a mile and a half away, we set sail for a visit to my office.  Saturday at work we call 'Game Day'!  It is when the majority of the phone reps are present and ready to take calls because some agents' office are closed on Saturdays AND it is the day lots of people buy new cars and need auto insurance on the spot!  In a word - its the busiest day of the week.

Ellie was thrilled to be able to meet all my friends, have many of the people make a fuss over her, give her treats and show her their pictures.  There was a promotion this weekend to help with the excitement.  Ellie practiced saying, "Get a Bind, Ring the Gong, Get a Snack" for two days.  And throughout the floor of several hundred phone reps we had stations set up with gongs and snacks!  One very nice young man came up to ring the gong and said, "I don't eat snacks - will your Mom let you have mine?"  So she lit up like a Christmas tree!

Enough snacks behind us, sitting at my desk and writing on my white board - and we were done.  We were off to Whole Foods to visit the salad bar.  Our plan was to pick up lunch and bring home to await the afternoon delivery of our dining room table.  Good plan.  Except Ellie wasn't hungry for lunch after all her snacks!

We managed to get all that done, a little rest and travel back out to Michael's to get the weaving loom she was asking for to make squares.  One of her friends, Laryn at Lighthouse had given her one that she treasures so now she wants to make more.

As you can see, lots of fun and excitement for the girls when Bill is away!

In Mommy's office - she likes the chair because it spins around!
Oh, the simple joys of office life ....

Drawing on my white board.
Lots of sports references - soccer, hockey, bowling, baseball, football ...

Lunch from Whole Foods salad bar.

Ellie's weaving project
(She took this photo herself to text to Bill)

Sweet and Sassy!

We decided to start our Girls' Weekend off with a little spa time for Ellie.  There is an adorable - mainly pink and sparkly little girl's hair and nail place in Firewheel called Sweet and Sassy.  Its really about the experience rather than the quality of the spa services.

Ellie was able to enjoy a manicure and a pedicure - choosing not only her color, but also the scent of her foot soak and lotion as well!  She was princess for the evening with all those sparkles!

Enjoying the leg massage with vanilla scented lotion.

Awaiting her manicure

So much glitter polish in one place - oh boy!

Purple and Blue on her toes
And a flower nail art in the center of those nails too

Yogurtland treat after her spa treatments!

Friday was full of anticipation!

When Ellie left for Lighthouse this morning she could barely contain herself.  It was her last day at the Wylie location, as she is moving to the new Sachse location on Monday.  This will give her some time to play with all the new stuff before school starts a week from Monday.

In celebration of it being her last day her friends, Lauryn, Natasha, Faith and Laryn planned a party for her complete with gifts and party favors.  Such a celebration that she asked if she could wear a dress as this was a big day!  And of course a little lip gloss for an added sparkly touch!

She was so excited!  And her day went so well too .. when I picked her up it took 10 minutes to hug all her friends.  First the 5 of them hugged in a circle and then one by one people - boys and girls came up to hug her good-bye.  You'd have thought it was a high school graduation.

There were a few tears as well.  Not Ellie's, but those of her friends who wrote adorable letters telling her they'd miss her and thanking her for all she'd done for them.  One of the notes even said, "Ellie I'll miss you so much.  You made my life complete."  When I asked what she'd done for all these friends, she told me, "Mommy, I'm just nice to them."  Apparently that works pretty well for her!

Here's some shots of her first thing this morning!

Happy in her tank dress and hair pulled back to keep her cool!

She's agreed to braids as her hair grows.
It's cooler and it keeps it off her face.
AND she likes it!

Happy Birthday Baby Sister

Today is my sister, Maureen's birthday ... we've celebrated a lot of those together growing up.  Because her birthday is in August it usually involved a visit to the track ... whether she liked it or not.  Many summers we'd go and Poppy would walk up to the window with us as we chose our horse for that race.

Her birthday also marked a time when we began to get ready for back-to-school.  And certainly she must still think that as she still prepares for going back to the classroom each year.

I like how we don't celebrate the numbers any more, she and I.  We just mark the years ...

Here's a few shots of Maureen over the years ... I used this first one for Throwback Thursday as it's one of the few grown up photos of just Maureen and I.  We were at our cousin, Tricia's wedding.  Its truly a lifetime ago.  We weren't married to Tony or Bill, we weren't moms to Gianni and Ellie.  What we remain from yesterday into today is sisters ... although today we are 1,000 miles apart!

Here's to sisters and celebrating birthdays over the years!

1998
Maureen and Jude
at Tricia's wedding in Rochester

Jude and Maureen
1982
Maureen's school play

Danny and Trey Roohan with Maureen
Looks like Fifth Avenue House so likely 1986-ish?

Laughter & Lessons

Robin Williams
1951 - 2014

We really love to laugh in our house.  We take special pride in making each other laugh.  So when Bill & I heard of Robin Williams untimely death it truly caused us pause.

The characters he brought to life through his movies have brought laughter and lessons to our life.  We've watched some of those movies over and over - Good Will Hunting and Mrs Doubtfire.  Others just a few times over the years - Dead Poet's Society, Patch Adams and License to Wed.

For decades he was a constant.  Watching his movies we appreciated the comedic genius he brought to a role.  We knew him only through those characters.  We didn't really know him.  Or what he was going through.

Maybe there's lots of people who are going through the same sadness that he was suffering.  My prayer for them is that someone notices before it's too late.  That they realize through the loss of this famous comedian that they have choices.  Help could be right around the corner.

If there is an opportunity for others to learn from this loss, let that start right now.  No one should be in that kind of pain.  The kind of pain that leads to take an action that is irreversible.

We'll remember him for his laughter.

We'll also remember that his life ended too soon.

Smile.  Be kind.  Always remember that everyone is fighting a battle that no one else sees.  Fact.

All work and no play ...

Loving her Peach Green Iced Tea at Starbucks with her name on it!

Let's be clear, as hot and exhausted as Ellie can get from the swimming, soccer and play dates ... there is plenty of time to sit back and enjoy the ride too!

Sunday was a day of rest we decided.  We did manage a couple errands, but mostly we enjoyed the cool house and some indoor activities.  We played games and watched a movie.

In the morning Bill and Ellie got an early swim in at the pool while I got the groceries done.   And just to balance things out - Ellie and I escaped the afternoon for a bit of girl-time!  We picked up a couple things at Michael's and treated ourselves to Starbuck's ice tea!  You can see from the photo, she is loving her big girl treat!

Working her latest obsession.
Kinetic Sand!

Concentrating on creating her masterpiece

Texas Soccer

In moving to Texas we wanted to be able to offer Ellie the same type of activities she had been accustomed to when we lived in Bloomington.  Those three years were all in Elementary school and had a structure and pattern.  Finding similar activities in an area that is much more spread out and need I mention, diverse, has been a challenge!

Recently we found out through a neighbor that the sign-up for outdoor soccer in Wylie had an upcoming deadline.  So I quickly signed her up ... for the team with the same age girls.

Her first practice was last night at a nearby elementary school.  I apologize upfront if I mention more than once how hot it was .... the group, that we'd never met before was led by Fernando Morales.  He sent the email detailing the day/time/need for a check to order her uniform and to bring ball, water bottle and soccer shoes.

We complied with all the requests.  Fernando and  his wife were leading the charge.  They have a daughter, Grace that is Ellie's age on the team.  Fernando also has two high school age sons who helped with practice.  It was very organized and very regimented.

It was 100 degrees at 6pm.

We gave all our information, our check, size and request for number on the jersey.  Six of the 12 team members were there since this was for the 'new girls' only.  We were new.

And then the practice began.  Fernando mentioned for this age group the league allowed 1 1/2 hour practices.  And I thought, 'but not in this heat, I hope!"  You've likely heard about how seriously they take football in Texas.  And soccer is known in most of the world as football  - so this is how seriously they take soccer in this league.

And it's still 100 degrees at 6:30pm when practice starts.

They line up to stretch, they run 4 laps, and then being the drills.  Kicking, passing, ball control and repeat.  Water breaks were allowed thank goodness.  And when Fernando said, "girls take a little rest," one of his sons said, 'Dad, they can rest when they get home.  They're here to practice!"

They practiced until 7:30pm.  And you guessed it, still 100 degrees.

She was wiped out, sweaty and tired.  A nice shower and clean pjs and she was proud of her tough practice.  I'm glad since they were also told they'll practice 3 times a week until the season starts.  What the?  Seriously?  They are 8.  They are still little girls and this isn't World Cup.

Yet, she's up for the challenge.  My only hope is that it isn't always 100 degrees.  And if it is we'll be prepared - a cooler with ice this time, chairs to sit in and lots and lots of water!

Drills, and more drills.
Ellie is in all blue.  Her uniform from Bloomington, of course!

Open Weekend = Possibility

Yesterday we didn't really have plans for the weekend, and yet we knew things would fall into place.  Bill wanted to get his new grill, we had the Open House at Ellie's new childcare place and the rest was still up in the air.

And then Friday night came and we filled up our calendar for Saturday.  With the first part of the day complete, it's already been a great day!

Early visit to Children's Lighthouse to visit their newest location, much closer to home in Sachse!  Ellie will finish out the summer program at her current location in Wylie, and move to the new one the first day of school.

It was gorgeous, and we were overwhelmed by the number of hugs that Ellie got during the visit.  And that was from the TEACHERS!  She is a popular girl apparently!  Not many kids that she knew during our visit, but the school-agers room is gorgeous and she can't wait to start!

From there we had an awesome lunch at Frankie's - literally next door to Lighthouse.  All that accomplished in time for Ellie's playdate with a new friend from the pool last evening.  The Cooper family live around the corner from us and Calena is also 8 and going into 3rd grade at Whitt with Ellie.  They recognized each other from school last year and struck up a friendship at the pool.  Her parents are awesome, and her siblings - Lydia (13), Garrett (10) and Landon (6) are all part of the friendship package.

She stayed for two hours and they played games, did puzzles and used kinetic sand - which was new to us!  What a great family - the Dad (Brian) is an exec at a medical company, and Mom (Natalie) stays home with the kids - moved from IL about 5 years ago.  Originally from Seattle - with a stop in Phoenix en route here.  And their kids love the pool too.  So we'll be seeing a lot of them.

After a light dinner we head to the soccer field for Ellie's first team meet and practice.  I say we didn't have all these plans yesterday because the email arrived about 6pm last night announcing this first meeting.  She has so much to be excited about she can barely contain herself!

Here's a few photos to mark some of our adventures today ...

Ellie in the school ager room with a huge safari mural and lifelike tree!

Checking out the outdoor play area.
Best part is the huge awning over the entire playset.

Ellie and her Taco Plate!

Frankie's Mexican Restaurant for lunch.
Ellie is the photographer!

Summer pleasures

In Texas our summer is longer than we've known in the past.  It was in the 90's in May and I understand it will still be summer until the end of September ... ahhhh, summer!

We all have memories we associate with summer.  Swimming, laughter, campfires, s'mores, back-to-school shopping and of course, ice cream.  It's in these reminders that we mark the times we've shared, the times we've celebrated.

We do a lot of that at our house still today.  We celebrate.  Whether we mark an event with a special meal or treat, we like to celebrate.  We have fun, and love to laugh.  Especially when we're all laughing at the same thing!  Not at each other ....

Summer in Texas is really just like summer other places, only longer and hotter.  So that's something to celebrate, right?

As you know Ellie loves her ice cream, and we find many ways and many days to celebrate that fact with her.  We're counting down the days until school starts ... and all the new things she's going to learn.  But that's not for a few weeks.

In the meantime we'll continue to celebrate summer.  And what's a better way to do that than by having ice cream!

August is a month of memories

There was a time when August was just another month in the summer.  To me, August meant that Saratoga was busy and crowded.  It was hot and almost back-to-school time.  As you can see, it wasn't anything particularly special to me.

And then things changed.  I moved (back) to Saratoga in early 1999 and had the most charming apartment on Union Ave.  It was smack dab in the middle of all of the "August Place to Be" and I either had to learn to love it or be miserable until the crowd left town.

Trina, who lived across the hall from my apartment, and I had a challenge that year to find one thing everyday that was unique to each of us that made Saratoga the August place to be.  I would write that one thing everyday on the calendar in my kitchen.  You might think it sounds like a gratitude journal ... and yet it was different.  We created memories that summer.  We went to SPAC and sat on the lawn for a concert, we dressed up and attended garden parties and benefits, we tried something different to drink - like Mandarin Orange Vodka and Club soda ... and it felt like a do-over.

August then became the time when Bill came into my life, and stayed.  We created August memories year and after year with family and friends, with visits to the track, and later with Ellie and her picture in front of the fire hydrant.

I now look back on those Augusts, full of memories with such fondness.  No regret for letting them pass by - because I refocused on the good stuff.  Its easier to just accept what it is, but it is immensely more rewarding to look for the good stuff.

Here's a old photo of Bill and his Dad.  It is what memories are made of ... and when I see it I realize that is a moment long before he became my husband.  It captures happiness and love.  The beginning of it all ....

We are Family ...

After the morning full of time apart - me at the grocery store and Bill and Ellie getting the oil changed and car washed .. we spent the entire afternoon at the pool with friends, Dan and Annette.  They are two houses down from us and are originally from Illinois.  No, they're not with State Farm, they moved to Texas five years ago to be closer to Annette's brother who lives in nearby.

Annette played with Ellie for a long time with the water toys - squirter, rings, football and water balls.  They had a ball together!  They are just a tad older than we are, with a daughter, Katie who is a junior in college in Peoria, IL.

What a nice afternoon we had chatted, sitting in the sun and playing in the pool.  That's exactly what I had hoped for - to be able to meet our neighbors when the pool opened.  And we have ....

Water break!

We all scream for Ice Cream!

Tonight after dinner Bill said he wanted to go for a ride.  So we piled into the car and found ourselves at a new ice cream place, Braum's on Route 544 near our house.  We got two cones and a sundae for less than $6 ... we were shocked!  And Ellie said it was the best ice cream she ever had ... might have something to do with the fact that it was BLUE!

Birthday Cake flavor ice cream after a day in the pool!

August Place to Be

Papa sent me a note to tell me how much he liked the last post with the three photos of us at ballparks the past couple  years.  He reminded me of the pictures we have taken over the years of Ellie at the fire hydrant at Saratoga Race Course .... who knew that since we started that series of photos at 18 months old that she's have moved to VA, IL and now TX and taking a quick photo each August would have become difficult.

We never know what the future holds for us.  There's truly no way to predict how things will turn out, how other people will respond and in the end isn't that better?  I tell Ellie all the time, we have to 'smile because it happened, don't cry because it's over."  It helps us enjoy the moment!

Here's a few photos of Ellie's recent trip to Saratoga for Josh's graduation.  The racetrack wasn't open yet - so there are no photos next to the hydrant.

Maybe next year ...

The 'other' famous shot of Ellie and Papa walking away ...

Photo Op - outside the church together

Truly she'll will stand for a picture with just about any one!
Papa, Ellie and Father Chevalier