Man on a Mission

My oldest, and now most distinguished nephew, Wyatt, of the infamous Missouri Millers, came down to San Antonio to finish up training for the Marine Corps. Since it's so close, we figured we'd better get up there and hang out at least for a day. It was hot. And I would imagine especially hot if you're in uniform. But when we went around to the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park and Trader's Village, he was like a celebrity in that uniform, as former Marines and civilians like us were coming up left and right to shake his hand and thank him for his service. It's a pretty incredible thing, and we're hopeful he enjoys his time and makes the most of it. He'll be headed off to the east coast for new adventures (we know how that feels, having done it a few times ourselves), but we're glad to have had a brief moment to hang out.

 

Another school year in the books...

It's hard to believe it, but the school year is over. Summer may not officially be here, but it sure feels like it. Paul wrapped up 4th Grade and Adam finished 1st. It's incredible how fast things go by sometimes, but these kids did a lot of growing and learning this year. Here they are...

Thankfully 2028 and 2025 are still a ways away... 

And then there's Nolan... well, he's still marching to the beat of his own drum. One more year of freedom before he too begins the long road of getting himself educated!

It's Tribe time!!

There are a few advantages to living a short drive away from one of the largest metropolitan areas in the country. While I would never want to live in Houston, it's an alright place to visit from time to time. If you can get around the traffic, the crowds, the heat and humidity, and the occasional mass-casualty flood, there are some fun things to do. I've been keeping my eye out for a chance to go see an Astros game, but I'm not going to pay that much money to watch them play just anybody. So when the reigning American League Champion Cleveland Indians came to town a couple of weeks ago, we got our chance. We took the three hour drive up and caught a game at Minute Maid park. I never actually saw them serving orange juice anywhere, but it was a very nice park, especially since it has a roof and air conditioning. We may have been sitting in the nose bleeds, but we got there early enough to catch the Indians batting practice and Nolan even got an official major league baseball hit by one of the Indians!

I couldn't see who it was hitting at the time, but he lined one to left field where we were standing by the wall. When I held Nolan up to show the staff his Indians' shirt, they threw him the ball. Can't beat that.

The shirt says it all... Go Indians!! They beat the Astros 3 to 0... so all this support worked out!

The view from the top...

Twelve years and counting... what better way to celebrate our anniversary!

And before we went to the game we thought we'd pick up some water from what must be the greatest grocery store in Houston. We should have gotten a discount for being family though, maybe we'll ask next time.

That time of year again...

Spring is here. Easter came back the same way it does every year, and following our tradition of the past three years, we went back to the Fulton Mansion for an Easter egg hunt and a chance for the boys to become their best-dressed selves. This year they were surprisingly easy-going about getting their pictures taken, so it went well. We ended up with too many to choose from, but here are a few (a lot) of the good ones.

Garner State Park - Part II

We took a lot of photos during our overnight stay at Garner State Park, so it warrants a second post. The second day we took a short, steep hike up one of the other mountains to check out Crystal Cave and the view from the top. It was warm, but not as bad as it will be during the summer months. When we got back down, we checked out the Frio River and rented a paddle boat to cruise around for a while. The water was clear, but judging by the boys' chattering teeth, it was a little cold. Adam and Paul braved one of the rope swings while Nolan and I watched on from the safety of the boat. Adam's first attempt ended with more of a belly-flop face first in the water, but he recovered and gave it another more graceful attempt. Even Nolan decided he'd jump in from the boat, which he quickly regretted, going full panic mode as he clung to the side. But in the end it was all good and they had a fantastic time.

The view from the top...

Uh, I'm not brave enough to go down in there, but if you guys want to... go right ahead. And so they did.