Chihuly

An evening at the Dallas Arboretum where the Dale Chihuly exhibit is throughout the grounds.  AMAZING!!  I will let the pictures speak for themselves, but to say that we were thrilled is an incredible understatement.  We arrive in late afternoon and are there for sundown and after dark as well.  So beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Family Vacation at the Beach

Yay!!!  I have been looking forward to this week all year.  To have all my children and grandchildren in one place at one time --- what sheer delight for me.  I am so thankful for this opportunity.  We start out on Monday morning driving from Dallas.  Cass helps us load the car and we are on the way with her along as her sweetie has to stay and work.  So sad that we don't have Scott along, but am thankful for the time with my "baby girl".  With only a brief stop for lunch, we arrive at the beach house and only have a few minutes to wait for it to be available.  We walk down to the beach while waiting and discover dead fish all along the high tide line and it reeks!!!

Yuck.  Found out there was a fish kill in the Gulf a couple of days ago. The water was too hot in areas, which removes the oxygen and the fish die. Matt and Becca arrive just shortly after us and so Cass, Becca, and I head into Lake Jackson to buy the groceries for the first half of the week.  It takes us a couple of hours and soon we are on our way back to the house, unload the food and put it away and then all drive down the Bluewater Highway to the Red Snapper Inn for dinner.  Yummm.   Off to bed upon return as tomorrow everyone else arrives and it will be a busy day.

Tuesday:  (and, NO, I am not going to do each day as that would be incredibly tedious, lol.)  Mister and Matt are up early and down on the beach cleaning up the dead fish in an area that they then stake out with a canopy, chairs, and umbrellas.

We have a simple breakfast and prepare for others to arrive.  The kids are already down at the beach having fun.  Amanda and family arrive around lunch and Hyrum is one happy camper now that cousins are here. Shortly thereafter, Jen and her family arrive and the house is filling up.  Rhiana had flight issues at the airport, so Mister headed into Houston that evening to pick her and the girls up (Kyle stayed home and worked, ugh) and by midnight the house was full.  There are 22 of us and this house is perfect -- with 9 bedrooms and 5 bathrooms, there is plenty of room for all.  Off to bed and looking forward to a great week.

Wednesday-Saturday:  Days are spent enjoying each other with visiting, swimming, games, cooking, eating, crab hunting, fishing, sand-castle building, etc.

What an absolutely great time for all.  The location is perfect and everyone is able to just have fun and relax.

 

We do some afternoon crafts and games with the kids during the heat of the day and they seem to enjoy them even though some make quite the mess.

 We even got to celebrate Becca, Rhiana, and Amanda's Birthdays as a shared party with ice cream cake.

I am a bit sad that I cannot swim as I am still under a doctor's care and am forbidden to lift anything or soak my tummy at all.  It does make for a restful time, but I feel a bit guilty for doing such a small amount of the work.  We all go into town on Thursday afternoon to visit the Sea Center in Lake Jackson and then Jen, Amanda, Rhiana, and Cass do the shopping for the second half of the week.


Scott is able to pop in for one evening on Saturday and it is nice to see him and we are glad he gets a chance to be in the water.  Really wonderful time -- cannot ask for anything more, except we could do without clearing dead fish that have washed onto the beach in the night.  Oh well.

I get the grands together (wearing their craft t-shirts) and the kids together for group shots. Haven't had everyone together since last summer.

Sunday:  The departures begin and by the end of the day it is just Mister and I.  We have this big old house all to ourselves and it is soooo empty.  I have shed tears several times today as I am not sure just when I will have another opportunity like this one.  The time is so treasured by me.  Mister and I spend the afternoon/evening with a walk on the jetty, a stop for a beverage, and dinner back at the Red Snapper Inn again.  What a completely wonderful evening.

Monday:  We finish cleaning out the house, pack everything into the car, and drive to Galveston for the day.  I fall in love with this little city and cannot wait to go back.  We take a "city tour" that is amazing and see the mansions, tree sculptures, and learn the history of this great city.  The day ends with a drive back to Dallas and we are sad that work starts tomorrow and this relaxing time has ended.

Wedding Time

Thursday:  We are off to Montana to celebrate and photograph my niece's wedding in Bigfork.  I am not even a week out of surgery and so am moving slowly but off we go.  The first flight out of Dallas goes well and we are able to hop on, but once we get to Denver, we must go our separate ways and so Mister heads to Missoula while I wait for the flight to Kalispell.  He arrives first and so picks up our rental car and drives 2 hours to get me.  Well, at least we are here.  We head down to my mom's house and I just kind of fall in a heap -- I am shot.  Mister takes a drive out to the wedding location to scope things out while I just rest and prepare for the next two days.  Visits with my sister, mom, and niece are fun since it has been awhile since I have been up here.

Friday:  After breakfast, we go out to the farm location for the wedding and help with setting up the tables for the reception.  Then it is rehearsal time with the rehearsal dinner following out in Somers at Vista Linda.



We even are able to get a quick 4 generation picture snapped.

We manage to make several wrong turns in getting to the dinner, but arrive with plenty of time to spare and enjoy a nice evening.  Rhiana and family arrived during the rehearsal and so are there for dinner with us and we love the time with them so much.  Elena is such a doll and so very well behaved at the restaurant and she shares many "tales"  with us while enjoying ice as much as her Gammy does.


After dinner, we go back down to Mom's and after Rhiana puts the kids down for the night, we take over and babysit to give them a night out in Bigfork.

Saturday:  Wedding Day!!  We are up early and pick up flowers and Jill and head into town to the salon to start documenting the day with pictures.  From the salon, we go out to the farm and the rest of the day is spent photographing anyone we can get to stand still for a few minutes (ha ha) and the wedding and reception.

It turns out great and we get to sit down and relax long enough to eat and visit with Rhiana and family for a few minutes.  I have learned so much today from Mister and we are both so hoping that these pictures will be wonderful.  The reception winds down and we are blessed by an impromptu performance by Elena who has taken over the drums during a break in the band -- she surprises us all and is soon playing and singing and drawing a crowd (which she chastises to be quiet and listen to her).

What a great end to a truly great day.  However, I have been on way too many pain pills and am crashing quickly -- time to go to bed.

Sunday:  Rhiana and Kyle are leaving first thing this morning so we join them for an early breakfast at the grill before they get on their way.  It is so nice to spend time visiting with them and we are loving seeing Malea again as she has grown oh so very much since we saw her in the hospital.  What a couple of sweethearts the girls are.  After breakfast, we say our good-byes to them and go into Bigfork to the Festival of the Arts.

It is just starting up for the day and so not many crowds and we enjoy walking the booths and seeing the local art.  We find a couple of "collage" pictures to take home and are soon on our way down the lakeshore to my sister's house for a gathering to watch Jill and Brock open their wedding gifts and take more pictures.

After a few hours, I am toast again and head down to Mom's to curl into a little ball and sleep off the meds.

Monday:  Travel day and we head to Kalispell for me to try and catch a flight out, but alas, nope.  So, down the highway to Missoula where we are both able to get out on different flights and work our way home.  I arrive much earlier than Mister, so hang out in the airport with Cassie waiting for him and then off to home we go -- arriving around 2 in the morning -- OMG - now to crash for a few days and try to recover from the surgery and the trip.

A post of Gratitude!!

After two days of doctors appointments, I am truly grateful today.  Although there are still some issues to be worked out -- all tumors were benign and to me that is a most wonderful word.  I cannot state strongly enough how incredibly fortunate I am to be blessed with the love of an amazingly supportive husband who has seen me through this with exactly what I needed --- love, understanding, and a listening ear when I was just plain afraid.  He didn't say -- "everything will be okay" and try to alleviate my worry -- he let me be real and that was needed.  I cannot ever express to him exactly how much I love him and am truly aware of how much I need him as well.  I Love You Mister.