Deep In the Heart of Texas

In our totally unpredictable, predictable life we made a quick trip to the great state of Texas—and I mean the GREAT state-- this week to see Jessica. Friday evening, Steve informed me he had an appointment there and had grabbed an extra ticket for me, so that we could drive over and see John, Jessica and of course, not such a baby anymore, James. The time went much too fast, but I feel much more comfortable now seeing where Jessica has built her nest. It was a lovely trip and made me feel proud to have so much Texan blood flowing through my veins (it is its very own country down there you quickly discover)!

James all grown up!

It was so fun seeing her house and the beautiful neighborhood that surrounds it!

It is all coming together with all the designer touches--and for anyone who was worried, the red entranceway is a must and totally blends with the look of the rest of the house--pictures can never do the workmanship and uniqueness of this house justice!

Not only does she design--She cooks! Jessica has become quite the gourmet in her new kitchen. With some guidance from the natives she has found her inner TexMexan! I should have brought home the leftovers!

There is only one way to endure the heat-lots of H2O

According to the Ten o'clock news--It was the hottest day EVER! Did you get that EVER! It wasn't just me thinking it was the hottest day EVER! The gauge actually hit 113 at a few times during the day. (Remember this isn't "a dry heat")

So the business part of the trip turned out to be much more "pleasure" than "business," as we were the guests at a WNBA game in a lovely box seat--good food, good company and Dog Day at the NBA (no joke everyone brought their dogs--I can't in my wildest imagination think Luke would have sat there!)

With a few hours to kill, we made the pilgrimage to The Alamo to honor our own Texas history and the Crockett relations!

It is a moving place--even on the outside--what an interesting piece of family history!

And finally, with temperatures dropping into the low 100's, we spent the evening at the famous River Walk--it stretches for miles as restaurants, shops and gardens weave through the city--this town had one imaginative city planner indeed! Now with three hours sleep under my belt--and a sore neck from trying to grab a couple more on the plane--it is Monday morning and back to my real life!

Happy Happy Birthday, Jessica Dear!

It seems like this picture captures it all--Jessica has always been "Mom's helper" whether it is doing the dishes, looking out for Andy or running an errand, she was always there as my right hand--making it possible to raise a large family. Now that she is a Mom herself, she is still my helper lifting my spirits with her blogs while the world seems to spiral downward, continuing to look out for her siblings and encouraging me to "expand" my horizons and develop my talents. I have thought of you often this week, Jessica. Happy Birthday to you!

I love, love, love this picture!!

Men at Work!

Men at Play!

Thanks for your help guys...

My Dad is da Bomb!

My Dad is da Bomb--posted by Jacob Down while in NYC this week!

Happy Birthday Steve!!

Looking through my IPhoto, I realize how few and far between pictures of Steve have been, mainly because few and far between have been sightings of Steve this past year. Here and there, off in the distance, we caught a few glimpses. Wishing him a Happy Birthday the past two years has been something we do by cell phone and FaceBook. If I was more on top of things, like Grandma Carol, I would send him a card. Anyway, I guess this little post will have to do to let him know how much we are thinking of him and how very much he is loved from far away and how much he is loved when he is home and up close and personal. Everyone is our family knows what a hard worker he is and how every day and every moment his family is at the center of everything he does. We are the recipients of far more than his frequent flyer miles. So whereever you are today, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge, catching a taxi or burning incense to that bull on Wall Street and praying the guys in D.C. get their #$%^ together, know that we are thinking of you this entire weekend.

Love,

The Whole D%^n Fam

Recent Sightings

Only leave a comment if you read my other post this weekend--on Peace, Love and Rock'nRoll--you know how sensitive we all are around here!

For Heather

It has been a weekend filled with water fights, fireworks, Pokemon, The Incredible Hulk, bumper cars, sugar coated cereal, late nights, farting dogs and a couple of bandaides....poor Vivienne, now she has to tame them for Sunday!

(Zac found the picture album of when he was three--they were twinners)

Draper Days!!

This post is for Jessica and Trevor because we missed you....

The chairs have been out for a record two weeks--the anticipation has been building. The new thing on the block is the number of motorhomes staking out spots. My neighbor tried to keep a sense of humor when two families parked their motor homes on her lawn, but we all felt that building a campfire the night before was crossing the line!

Heather and the boys came the night before and we all headed to the park-thank goodness for the new extension of the Porter Rockwell Trail, it is a perfectly straight shot!

Little boys--frogs and snails and puppy dog tails!

And girls are still sugar and spice and everything nice!

The full moon could not be captured on film but it was certainly spectacular!

As Dad likes to point out.. the parade is Groundhog day--same spot, same treats, same floats, same Alta Cheerleaders, same neighbors, same politicians....I just love having something constant in my life!

Look at this picture with the little boy right above Katelyn's head. Katelyn said when the parade was over and everyone was gathering their things, the mother was instructing her children on what they should do if they ever got lost. She asked the little boy, "What do you say when someone asks you where you are from?" "Africa?" he replied. "No" she said, "Riverton!"

Swimming

Napping

And a couple oldie, goldie bands at the park, fireworks and a very late party with Zac and his Draper Dragon friends and another Draper Days has come and gone. I wonder if we need to put the chairs out for next year?

I think that I shall never see, a poem as lovely as a tree...

I will always remember this summer as the summer of the pine tree! Last March, when the snow had begun to melt I was walking around the yard and discovered to my dismay that many of my pine trees appeared to have died over the winter. In the spring, an arborist came over and analyzed the situation. My trees had been plagued with scale, often called the white blight, a deadly conifer insect invasion. I often tell people that we bought the property on New Hope for the trees and were lucky to have the house come with it. I love my trees and this news was devastating. Mr. Tree Man, though, gave me hope that for a measley $6,000 dollars he may be able to save them. Knowing that it would cost that much to remove them, we took the risk and put all summer plans on hold. Needless to say, I have intertwined my life with the health of my trees the past few months. I have prayed for my trees, sung to my trees, watered my trees, talked to my trees and learned several lessons from my trees. Maybe it was not a coincidence that during the same period, I have had to begin again and recover from a few of my own "blights."

An interesting thing about struggling plants is that during stressful times such as a drought, they put forth an over abundance of seed, insuring that should they die new life will still spring forth. This spring saw a proliferation of pine cones. As I watched my trees, giving it their all, I was reminded rather that give up it was time to give it my all too. We had to fertilize regularly this year and try to replace many of the lost nutrients that the bugs had sucked from the trees needles. Fertilize regularly I remind myself--a more in depth discussion of this is on my blog colleendown.com. I have spent a great deal of my vacation time this summer sitting under a tree with gratitude for the shade and beauty they provide--I hope they feel my vibes. Things are looking up around here. I see life every time I circle the yard and as I have become more mindful, I have also seen life in the branches. Our large risky investment seems to be paying off, both for my trees and myself. It will be a vacation to remember!