About That Week Before Christmas (December 16 - 22)

Dear Family and Friends,

It is with a heavy heart that I begin this blog. Our hearts grieve for the people of Newtown, Connecticut, whose lives are forever changed by the evil that occurred last week. May this holiday season give us cause to examine our hearts and minds that we may take action as a country to do everything we possibly can to stop the runaway violence in our country.

We had Jackson for the weekend and believe me, that child was held tighter than ever. His antics continually delight us and we are so grateful for that young man and his sister, Abby. Our weekend with Jackson was filled with movies from RedBox, going to see Wreck It Ralph, cuddles and flying the  balsa wood airplane with Grandad, and trips to the playground.

 Hooray for RedBox!

 Early morning cuddles with Grandad and Bear!

 Jackson loves whipped cream squirted into his mouth and topped with chocolate sauce.
Being the good Texan that he is, he calls it Whup cream, y'all.

 Who loved this more, Grandad or Jackson?

The weekend went by so fast. Soon it was Sunday and we had to return Jackson to his parents.

 My mother has hosted a Christmas luncheon for thirty years at a club in downtown Ft. Worth. We were a group of twenty eight including cousins and mother's friends. It was great to see extended family members.

 Mother poses in front of the Christmas tree with us.

 Suzanne, Mother, and sister, Sally

 Diann, their son Graham, brother Chris

 Cousins Betsy, Graham and Claire

 Santa meets Jackson

 Abby meets the Claus family

 My sister Sally's family (Betsy, Sally, Charlie, Pam and Claire)

 Our son Rob with Suzanne and their children, Jackson and Abby.

Roger and I returned to a much quieter RV and relaxed after a hectic few days. Our week before Christmas was spent seeing family and friends in the Ft. Worth/Dallas area. We look forward to our move to Kerrville, Texas on the 27th. This time Abby will ride with us and spend the week with us before her parents and brother arrive to pick her up.

Roger joins me in wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas. Thank you for checking in with us.

About That Are Those Sleigh Bells Still Ringing (December 8-14)

Dear Family and Friends,

Roger, Bear and I are now into week #4 at Grapevine Lake in Texas. This week was lots of fun beginning with a race for Roger while I took care of the grandchildren. Without a doubt, I had more fun. Abby (7) and Jackson (4) arrived on Saturday afternoon. Our daughter-in-law, Suzanne, picked Roger up and returned to Dallas because Suzanne, Roger and Rob were planning on running the Dallas Marathon (Suzanne) and Half Marathon (Roger and Rob) on Sunday morning. More about the race later.

 Abby loves anything to do with arts and crafts.

 Jackson lives in the Star Wars universe. Here, Darth Vader is battling Luke Skywalker.

 Bear loves having the children in the Tour.

Lots of puppy kisses.

 Jackson and Abby love the playground at the park where we are staying.

 Big sisters come in handy!

Sunday night we headed into downtown Grapevine where we participated in the Christmas festivities. The entire Main Street is devoted to the holidays.

 Jackson loved the mechanical elves.

 Abby and Jackson are fascinated with a display about Santa waking up for his Christmas Eve trip.

 Jackson is "rocking" the singing Christmas tree.

 Please do not touch baby Jesus, Jackson!!!

 Bronze sculptures are located throughout the town.

Sunday morning was a trip to the Gaylord Texan, a hotel and convention center that houses a huge ice display for the Christmas holidays. A team of 25 ice sculptures spend several weeks creating a themed collection of giant ice sculptures. This year it was about the Speilberg movie, Madagascar. I knew nothing about the movie, but Abby and Jackson did.

 Walking through the atrium to get to the ice show.

 This nutcracker points the way to the Ice Show.

Before going into the ice area, we don heavy outerwear. The ice sculptures are in a below freezing environment.

 Santa with Abby and Jackson. Food coloring is used to define the colors in the ice sculptures.

 Abby loved sliding down the five shoots completely made of ice.

After leaving the ice arena, we quickly returned our outerwear and went back to the atrium where we took a few more shots.

After an amazing morning, it was back to the Tour for lunch. What a fun morning with my grandchildren!

Meanwhile, in Dallas:

Roger had been preparing to run the half marathon for 6 months. To have the opportunity to run with our son Rob, was a dream come true. After carbo loading on Saturday night, Roger and Rob started the Half-Marathon at 8 o'clock. Their time was 1:57. Roger was 13th in the 60 - 64 age group.

After the race

The rest of the week flew by in a hurry! We had lots of fun with family and friends. Nancy (a friend from elementary) and Sally (a friend from middle school) met me in downtown Ft. Worth for a quick bite and a lot of catching up. We were so busy talking that I forgot to get a picture. They both look great and it was a thrill to have the opportunity to see them.

Jackson spent Friday night with us so be prepared for more family pics next week. Thank you for checking in with us. 

About That "Sleigh Bells Ringing... (December 2 - 8)

Dear Family and Friends,

It is hard to believe that Roger, Bear and I have been in Texas for three weeks! It has continued to be so much fun catching up with family and friends. This week has been no exception.

Saturday night we were invited to my brother and sister-in-law's home for dinner. No one does Christmas like Diann and we were "in the Christmas spirit" within moments of arriving. Chris and Diann's son, Graham, was there, so it was great to see our nephew. Thank you for the delicious dinner!

 Diann, Graham and Chris

On Sunday my mother, sister and niece drove out to Grapevine Lake for us to go shopping in Grapevine. This little town has become the Christmas Capital of Texas. We had such fun touring the Main Street boutiques and enjoying the decorations.

Mom, Claire (niece) and Sally

While I stayed in Grapevine on Sunday and Monday, Roger drove to Keesler Air Force Base to deliver a stain glass window of the shield of the 81st Tactical Fighter Wing. I gave the stain glass to Roger as a Christmas present twenty-one years ago, when he was commander of the wing. At that time, the 81st was located at Bentwaters, England. Roger wanted to donate the stain glass to the 81st Training Wing that is now located at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi. The wing was thrilled to get it and will display it at the wing headquarters.

 A picture of the stain glass hanging in Roger's office of the then 81st TFW at RAF Bentwaters, England. This is what we donated to Keesler Air Force Base. The stain glass depicts the shield of the 81st TFW and was created by a very talented Air Force wife.

 Current wing commander, Brig Gen Brad Spacy and Roger

The 81st is now a Training Wing. Notice the shield above.

We had a great week in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. We have been busy with family and friends. The grandchildren will be staying with me while Roger, Rob and Suzanne run the Dallas Half and full Marathon on Sunday morning. See you next week for a full report of the run and fun with the grandchildren. Thanks for checking in with us.

About Those Sleigh Bells Ringing (November 25 - December 1)

Dear Family and Friends,

Our son Rob and his family returned from a Thanksgiving vacation on Sunday. It was great to see them!

Roger, Bear and I are staying at The Vineyards in Grapevine, Texas. This campground sits on Grapevine Lake. The city of Grapevine owns and operates this beautiful facility. Our location is 25 miles from our children in Dallas and about the same from my family in Ft. Worth.

The entrance to the campground

The Tour sits directly on the lake. This picture was taken closer to the entrance of the park.

Tuesday was "Take Your Big Sister To Work Day." My brother Chris picked me up at the Vineyards in the morning and we spent the day making deliveries to collision centers located in the Ft. Worth/Dallas area. Chris works for American Auto Salvage in Ft. Worth. We drove over 150 miles before Chris dropped me off and then he collected about 25 more for the day. He averages 200 miles a day.

Chris is giving me a thumbs up as he arrived to pick me up.

Doors to be delivered.

Thank you Chris for a great day.

Another highlight of the week was going to Karate on Friday night. Abby tested for her orange belt and I caught a few shots of this event. 

 Little brother Jackson plays Angry Birds while waiting for Abby to test.

 Abby takes Karate very seriously.

 Abby and her partner practice

Congratulations to Abby for getting her orange belt. Grandad and I are so proud of you.

It was a great week in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. I cannot believe we have been here for two weeks. Thank you for checking in with us. We appreciate your interest in our travels.