The 4th and a Trip North

It seems anymore like every summer we're on the road. I guess that's what happens when you live at the southern tip of Texas and everyone else in the family lives way up above us on the map. Even if we were just going across this state it would be a long drive. But that's alright, we really don't mind the drive, especially if we can break it up and see something we haven't seen along the way. Of course, that may become more difficult over the years, but for now, there's still a lot to see. This time we stayed in Lubbock the first night and attempted to see the fireworks show for the Fourth of July. Unfortunately, we just ended up getting lost in the hood (but did see some of the locals' street fireworks) and then when we made it to the park, the cops told us to leave because the storm of the century was moving in. So we celebrated Independence Day in the pouring rain at a Fuddruckers in northern Texas. The boys did get to dress the part anyway...

Who needs fireworks when you have three 24-hour noisemakers? As long as they don't blow anything up or burn anything down, we're good.

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.