Our school year ended in mid-May so I was able to travel to McKinney, TX while my grandkids were still in school. I visited Lily's school and had lunch with her, saw her classroom and met the infamous, Mrs. B. I made Misty take me all over McKinney, Frisco and Allen shopping (it was a lot more looking, than buying). I had a lot of fun spending time with her. Misty and I have a very close mother/daughter relationship and I cherish the time that I spend with her. Reid and I worked on his letters and numbers. He is such a funny kid. Drew is at the age where he spends most of his time in his room on his phone or laptop but I still managed to steal some time to have conversations with him. We discussed his life over McDonalds food while Lily and Reid played in the McDonalds Playhouse. I hope he never gets to mature to have conversations with Nana.
Much to soon my week in Texas ended and I had other functions on the horizon. First up was my 40th class reunion. We had quickly put together an informal reunion and thanks to Facebook we were able to contact most of the Class of '73. We met at the Yellville City Park, had a potluck/grill meal and a wonderful time. It was so good to see everyone. We made some plans for future reunions and are now actively working on a fund raising endeavor to replace our senior sidewalk. Many of our class members attended all 12 years together and it seems as if we are more family than just friends. Sadly, the week of our reunion we lost a classmate. We have lost 7 guys and no girls, as far as I know.
The day after the reunion brought another event. My stepson, Curtis', wedding. The wedding was a lot of fun. I don't know when I've laughed as much as I did at the reception. JC has a big, fun-loving family and we danced the night away. We love our new daughter-in-law, Heather. She is so down-to-earth and "real." We also gained a new granddaughter, Joi-Lynn. Curtis has two kiddos, Christian and Julihanna. They live in Odessa, TX so we don't get to see them very much. We have enjoyed having them here this summer. Christian is the "spittin'" image of JC when he was that age. It makes me laugh just to look at him and Papa JC together.
Once the kids got back from their honeymoon we had a bbq for their family, JC's brother, Donald and his wife, Sue, and their kids and grandkids. We smoked ribs and just had a great meal. It was the night of the super moon so after dinner, we all headed down to the water to watch it come up over the lake. Thanks to technology, Donald was able to use his phone and pinpoint the exact location and time that the moon would come up so we could be ready with our cameras. Since we wouldn't be with JC's grandkids over the 4th we shot off fireworks early. Such a fun night.
Two weeks later we had a second wedding to attend. JC's neice, Audrea, got married at Hammond's Camp. This is a very old camp that has a church, a meeting room/kitchen, and cabins. It's a really cool place out in the woods. They had a nice wedding and once again, we did a lot of laughing and dancing.
Our vacation took us, once again, to Port Aransas, TX. This is the second summer that we have vacationed with Misty's family. This year, prior to meeting us in Port Aransas, the kid's went to San Antonio to Sea World, the Alamo, and the Riverwalk. JC and I spent two days sightseeing around Texas and happened onto Ledbetter, TX, population 76. Once we all arrived in Port A we unloaded our stuff at the rental cabana and headed to the beach. My grandkids love the beach - they love body boarding, playing in the waves and sand. Our days were spent just having fun on the beach, eating great seafood, and watching fireworks. All too quickly our time at the beach ended. We are already making plans for next year though.
We had bbq number 2 after we returned home from TX. No ribs this time, chicken and burgers. We had a great visit and Papa JC took the kiddos for a jeep ride in the dark. The kiddos have to return to Odessa this weekend so we won't see them again until Christmas.
All too soon I have to return to school and there won't be as much time for fun. I hope to rent a cabin in Oklahoma on an October weekend so that Misty's family can meet us there. If not, it will be Christmas before we see them again.
I hope everyone enjoys their summer. Pause from your busy schedules and take the time to light a sparkler, kick off your flip flops, and enjoy the moment.
