Off we went to Texas Thursday night after I got off of work. We made the trip in 6 hours because we stopped for dinner in Marietta, OK just North of Thackerville and the Winstar Casino . We also ran into one heck of a thunderstorm just this side of Ardmore. Otherwise it's a 5 hour drive if we go down to Dallas and over to East Texas. This way we had 2 full days and a partial day with family.The weekend was full, a graduation from High School on Friday night for Dillon, J's Nephew. Saturday was J's 31st birthday and Sunday was the last baby shower for Baby Noah. Friday was spent cleaning and sprucing up the house. We cleaned surfaces and got lots of crosses and pictures hung. Everything looked nice. I know the kids appreciated all the help. Dave worked on planting flowers and pulling weeds. Heather, Christie and I (when my back was not killing me) worked on cleaning the floors and carpets, bathrooms, kitchen and getting the nursery ready to present to the guests. 
The graduating class Friday night consisted of a total of 8 students, 4 boys and 4 girls. The kids had been together since Kindergarten and they were like one big family, their slide show was a testament to that. I have been to quite a few graduations but I truly think this one beat them all. It was so intimate and personal. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house. At the end of the ceremony each of the graduates gathered roses and went to their families and handed out roses to all the mother, grandmothers, aunts and people that meant something to them. It was so touching. Dillon heads off to college in the fall, I know he is excited and he will do well. We went out to the family home for a graduation after-party and lots of food and merriment was had by all.
J had a great birthday on Saturday. We got him a Marvel poster by his favorite artist and a Marvel Chess Set. He also got a Sam's club membership. There was a huge crowd out at Robert and Shara's house. We had lots of food and some went swimming and got a good sunburn. 
There's nothing like a fun time in the ole pool.
J loves Marvel anything. I think Spiderman is his favorite character. When a new Marvel movie comes out they always see it on the first day. We were down in Texas when Iron Man 2 came out and we were there along with Heather and J on the first day. I will say this...Iron Man 2 was good!
The baby shower on Sunday was wonderful. These two kids have so many people who love them. They were showered from all sides. I swear there were at least 35+ people in their house. Some of the ladies even drove in from Texarkana to celebrate the anticipated arrival of Noah. I think they are pretty well set now and can just relax and wait for Baby Noah to arrive. J's mom Irene, made her famous chicken salad croissants, deviled eggs along with her potato salad and guacamole and a mango-papaya chutney with cream cheese. J carved a fruit basket out of a watermelon and did melon balls with a honeydew melon, cantaloupe and watermelon. He also made his favorite...Onion Dip with wavy potato chips. One of the hostesses brought a veggie tray and another hostess brought a fruit punch made of Raspberry Gator aid with Seven-up. And last but not least there was a cake. All of it was really good. 
What was funny about the whole day was the neighbor across the street was having a baby shower for a friend of hers at the same time. So pink balloons on one side of the street and blue balloons on the other side of the street. It was quite a sight with all the cars lining the street.
I on the other hand was somewhat down and out for the festivities. Earlier in the week I had somehow put a rib out and it caused an asthma attack to which I had to get some really expensive meds to treat it. On Friday morning I had to have Christie do an adjustment on me and then spend a lot of my time on a heating pad, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory pills. By Sunday I think the worst was over and was able to make it all day without any medication.
We found the cutest baby bedding set on Overstock.com decided that it would go with their theme of red, white and blue, so it is in transit now. His Auntie Shara is going to paint Spiderman on a sheet and then put it up on a wall as a big mural. She is an accomplished artist and teaches art at the school where Dillon graduated from. She is also one of the schools drama teachers. That's the thing about small schools you have to be a teacher and able to juggle many hats. I really admire her and all that she has accomplished. 
Auntie's Stephanie and Shara, Cousin's Abbie and Dillon and Uncle Jamie. 
We are now placing bets on how long Heather will last. Christie says two weeks I say three but no more than that.Sunday evening found us on the road heading home at about 7:35 and we arrived home at 12:45 with a 15 minute stop just outside of Dallas to take a quick break and get some coffee. Coming home was uneventful and Christie drove the whole way. The dogs were good travelers and slept most of the way.
Today was a bit tiring but it was a good day and went fast as I was training our new student.
We are now on BABY WATCH!!!
Happy Trails....
After a 5 year wait and an odyssey to get here, Baby Noah Alexander arrived this morning via a C-section at 9:25, weighing in at a whopping 10 lbs and 20 inches long and he's two weeks early. Can you imagine what he would have weighed if he had gone to term? 
