From Wonderful Highs to....

Thursday afternoon June 30th, we left for Dallas to pick up our daughter at DFW airport. If you have never been there it's a maze of terminals, ramps, parking lots and confusing signs. Her flight from Atlanta arrived at 9:04 p.m., she made it to the car at 9:25 p.m., after we got her loaded, off to Longview, TX we headed. Her doggies were very happy to see her even if they did bark at her as she approached the car. The drive was rather uneventful and we pulled in a little after 1:00 a.m. After a brief stop out in the boonies to grab a bite to eat at a Sonic around 11:30 p.m., we piled into the house as quietly as possible with three dogs that had been pent up since 5:30 the previous day, J's sister JeriAnn was asleep in the dinning room. She was up from Austin,TX to help J's mom Irene do some painting on her house that is in the process of being remodeled and new sections being added on.


We were in Texas for our Grandson Noah's first birthday party to be held late Saturday afternoon. There was so much going on that time went by in a blur. Friday was spent shopping and getting last minute things for the party. Dave and J worked on the yard all day long as the party was to be a backyard Ducky Splish Splash Party for the little tykes to enjoy while lots of parents socialized. At noon I hopped into the car and headed over to Golden Chick to pick up a family pack of food, it was good as usual. Balloon's were bought to go on the mail box. Twigs were picked up where the pools were to be placed. We had to pace ourselves as the heat was terrible. By the time evening came we were spent with lots of things still to do. J even found fun music to be played at the party.

Christie our youngest even found time to do a Skype interview with Indiana University for an internship they had in Athletic Academic Counseling. However Cleveland State University in Ohio beat them to the punch and offered her an internship in Compliance which is an area she is highly interested in. So I guess Dave will be going over to Atlanta to move her to Cleveland, OH at the end of the month. She is excited to say the least.

Saturday morning arrived and there was still lots to do. J and Dave sat up the three pools, one for the babies, one for the toddlers, and one for the older kids. J found a great deal on a canopy at Wally World for $79.00, so that went up for the purpose of shading the food. Shara, J's sister made the birthday cake for Noah. She had to bring it in pieces to be assembled at the house, the head was Nerf ball as the rice crispy ball was too heavy and kept falling off. Noah even had a little cake of his own.


For the menu there were hot dogs for the older kids and adults, duck shaped peanut butter sandwiches, duck shaped rice crispy treats, duck shaped cheese to go with snack crackers. Irene brought her famous chicken salad sandwiches on croissants and a veggie tray. There were lots of refreshing drinks and tea to go around.


The guests started arriving around 4:00 p.m. and things got underway. Kids in pools, hot dogs being cooked, food being set out, people eating, drinks being grabbed and everyone having a grand time. It was so fun to sit back and observe the party. I think my daughter should go into party planning for a business. The splish splash party was a hit. Around 6:00 p.m. everyone gathered to sing happy birthday to the guest of honor, who was starting to nod off. Cake? What is that? You could see the expression on his face as the little eyelids were getting heavier and heavier. Everyone was going to have to shoot their pictures fast as Birthday Boy was going down for the count. We retreated to the cool of the house for present opening and the whole shabang was over at 6:30 p.m., and on time I might add. Noah got lots of fun things...trucks, musical instruments, a doctors kit, books, blocks, clothes, a plethora of balls and the big noise maker, a drum with all kinds of instruments packed inside. We were all spent and dinner was a light affair of leftover chicken.


Sunday morning we made it to Church and spent the rest of the day relaxing. Christie and I went to the mall to Bath and Body Works so I could take advantage of their Semi-Annual sale which ended Sunday. I was pleased with my purchase but my poor feet were taking a beating. I had been on some new medication for an infection and it was making my feet swell and it hurt to walk around. So I tried to stay as quiet as possible after our outing.


Monday arrived and the festivities began around town, as it was the 4th of July. We stayed home out of the heat watching movies. Later that day we headed over to Jefferson Texas , which is rich in history and haunted houses, to watch the fireworks display. On the way over we ran into a powerful rain storm. The wind was blowing so hard that the rain was moving sideways. The winds were clocked at 72 mph, tree limbs were falling onto the highway and you couldn't see two car lengths in front of you, this lasted for a good 20 minutes or more.


The fireworks in Jefferson are some of the best around and a grand time was had by everyone. There were 15 of us in our party. We all stopped at the Jefferson General Store and got ice cream which was yummy. The fireworks started off via a cannon shot with a big American flag being lit up with sparklers not to mention Noah being scared out of his mind until Heather was able to calm him down where he then slept through the rest of the show. Then the big boys were shot off, we got some great pictures of the display. The drive home was uneventful and we rolled into bed around midnight.


Tuesday was a day for running around and doing some shopping. Irene, J's mom had been informing me of the dangers of soy. She had really done her homework on Soy as something that kept making her sick. Once soy was out of her diet not only did she get well she starting dropping the pounds. To date she's lost 50lbs. If you start looking at labels you will find that soy is in almost everything we eat. There have been studies about Soy and ADHD and Autism and the problems it can cause in infants and adults. Soy also can effect the colon as well. It can also cause you to gain weight.

So guess what...I'm reading labels and taking soy and salt out of my diet. I picked up the following at the store, Coconut Oil which is a good fat for you, Kefir a drink very much like buttermilk and very yummy with lots of probiotics in it and unsweetened chocolate almond milk. Since I started looking at my diet and soy, I have not changed how I'm eating but what I'm eating and have lost 4 lbs without trying. I'm eating more avocados, olives, nuts and purchased some agave nectar as that is better for you than honey if you have a high chance of getting diabetes.

Wednesday we starting packing to go home. We had a wonderful time with the kids and wished we could stay longer. Noah is such a delight to be around and a good baby to boot.

The rock bottom low for the week came around noon. I got a phone call from the wife of my former Director at the University asking if I had heard about my former boss and friend, Joan Howeth? I told her "no" to which she said "the whole university was talking about it". Sadly and unexpectedly, I found out that my friend had drowned in a rafting accident the day before in Colorado. I was devastated to hear the news. Joan was a great person to work for and I will truly miss her. She and her husband retired early and had been on the road full-time in their motor home seeing the country. They loved the RV lifestyle.

Later that afternoon we went out to J's mom's renovated house to see all that had been done. It was coming along and I know they will love it when it is finished. Afterwards we went to the Butcher Shop for dinner, as usual it was very good. The trip home, only taking 5 1/2 hours seemed to take forever. I really don't like driving at night but Dave does.

Yesterday and today have been quiet around here. I finally have a computer again and can start getting some (a lot of) paperwork done. Tomorrow Christie and I tackle the kitchen and closets...fun! Then back to work for me on Monday. I have enjoyed my week off, just wish it was longer.

Happy trails...Pictures coming soon

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