Labor Day

Granna and Grandad have moved to assisted living outside of DFW. It's been a difficult change, but unfortunately, it was time because the ranch was just too isolated for their safety. All of us kids lived 2-3 hours from the ranch, with the ranch right in the middle, so if we moved them to be closer to any one of us, they would automatically be farther away from the other two. We went to visit them over Labor Day weekend. Grandad is in a really nice place close to Uncle Ken.

 

He's got a one-bedroom apartment with a patio and a lot of shared amenities, including a game room, movie room, gym, salon, and several living rooms with fireplaces. We worked on a puzzle with him and ordered off the dinner menu in a private dining room.

Granna's doctor recommended her for memory care, which threw off our plans to share the apartment together. Tragically, the facility where Grandad's apartment is did not have any openings in their memory care unit, and because it was a doctor's assessment, they could not allow Granna to stay with Grandad. Luckily, there was an opening at a place half an hour away. So we're on waitlists at several places to get them together, and hopefully that will happen soon. 

I went to visit Granna, whom we suspect is in the grips of Alzheimer's. There were moments when I could see her old self in her eyes. She recognized me and I asked her if she new my name. To my surprise, she quickly answered my first and last name! Then I remembered I was wearing a nametag, the clever dame. She introduced me to other residents as her daughter, and I kept her company while she ate some lunch. I wish they were closer, but it is what it is.

While I was with Granna, John took the kids to the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. It was a warm, sunny day and most of the airplanes were outside, but they had a good time.

There were some other exhibits inside, like this flight simulator, but apparently, it wasn't really connected to the joystick.

And Buc-cee's is always our sign that we're getting close to home on the drive back. Can't you tell that H loves to be in my pictures?

April Flowers

April was pretty quiet for us, which was nice. Owen took a break from organized sports (though he's been working on his <6.5-minute miles in PE!), and Hadley is still doing gymnastics every week, but there are no more meets planned this year, so it's just conditioning and skills practice. We've been trying to enjoy the spring weather, which has been really pleasant this month. We volunteered to help with spring planting at the church. The kids worked on this cross of sweet alyssum, made up of hundreds of tiny plants, with a couple of other volunteers, while I worked on some neighboring flower beds. I'm happy to report that most of our plantings are still alive, several weeks later, and that we saved the church $6k by not hiring landscapers!

I took the kids to check out Matilda, Jr., put on by the Junior High Theatre students. A couple of Owen's good friends were on stage, and all of the kids did such a great job! The students did everything from publicity, lighting, and costumes to stage set design and acting. Plus, it was a musical, and Owen had no idea that his friend would be singing a solo! During intermission, we went to see a 3D, black light art exhibit, done by the art students. It was also excellent! So glad their school has a strong fine arts program!

April is synonymous with the ranch for me. It's a beautiful time of year weather-wise, there are tons of wildflowers (bluebonnets!) to see on the drive up, and we celebrate Grandad's birthday and Granna and Grandad's anniversary on April 16. That happened to be a Saturday this year, so it worked out perfectly. I wish I'd gotten a picture of them, but we got Grandad a puzzle and spent most of the afternoon helping him with it. I had no idea the pieces would be so small! But we got it finished and went for a walk. Some of the flowers/weeds are almost as tall as Hadley! 

The following day was Easter! I got a picture of the kids with their baskets, but they wouldn't humor me with a picture in their Sunday finest at church later. We did several egg hunts throughout the house and ate lots of candy. They got a 4-day weekend off of school, but some of us still had to work, unfortunately.

Finally, we took in the last regular season game for the kids' future high school. Our neighbor is the catcher on the varsity team, so we wanted to show our support. It was a gorgeous evening for a baseball game, but sadly, our team lost. We accidentally sat in the visitors' section, and some of the visiting parents were less than exemplary spectators. All I can say is, I hope we beat them in the playoffs! And, "go Pete!" (our neighbor shares John's high school nickname) 😎

October Marches on the Ranch

Watch out, people! It's pumpkin month. That means that on October 1, even if you are still sweating from just being outside, you paint a pumpkin at your neighborhood food truck social event. Because we're pretending it's fall...

 

And you decorate your porch ASAP! Still not enough skeletons and creepiness for the kids though.

For a little diversion, I took the kids to a marching festival one night. It was highly entertaining and a good change of scenery. Brought back some memories, too.

Hadley's art is on display at church! That was a fun "proud parent" moment. Her origami boats and color study popsicles greet church-goers at the coffee station.

We also ventured to the ranch to celebrate Granna's birthday and get a sneak peek at the new water well they were getting started.

Owen might have a bit of his Grandad's fondness for chopping wood. He always requests to swing the axe when we're there. I try not to look...

It's also fun to take the Mule for a spin when we can. The kids have open fields to practice driving. We didn't see much wildlife, but we did startle some new calves and their moms.

They also break out the monkey bars almost every visit. These things were in our yard when I was a kid. They have a bit of rusty tinge, but seem otherwise in good condition.

Back at home, the family helped me deliver the donations we collected at a couple of our Longhorn game watches. 235 lbs of canned goods, pasta, and personal care items!

Lastly, a couple of portraits of my athletes. Back in the gym and on the field!

So long September

Well, September totally flew by. I guess that's because we've just had our noses down, adjusting to our new schedules and routines, which fill our days.

And September doesn't really feel much different from summer, other than that. The neighborhood pool is still open on weekends, and the kids still enjoy watermelon sorbet on the patio when it's under 90 degrees after dinner.

We spent some time at the ranch over Labor Day weekend with some puzzles and games.

And we did a puzzle or two at home, too. Thanks Oma!

Every once in a while, we get a day that actually feels like fall's on its way, and it inspires us.

College football helps with that fall feeling, too!

Sometimes we add more to our schedules (hello, return to gymnastics and another season of soccer)!

And sometimes we reach for the stars! Hadley for Student Council '22! We'll get 'em next year!

Easter, Celebrations, Outside

It was a pretty quiet Easter for us, but the kids had a four-day weekend, so it was nice and slow.

It seemed appropriate to make this our first in-person appearance at church. We hadn't been in-person in a year, and it felt so good to be back! We sort of decided last minute to go, so we didn't have special outfits picked out, and we had to refresh ourselves on how to get dressed up, since that hasn't happened in a while either. Good to know that we could still squeeze into some of our church clothes.

After church, we had a traditional Easter lunch and several egg hunts, both indoors and out. Owen tried to be the trickiest hider this year by burying a couple of the eggs under piles of leaves. He almost didn't remember where he'd hidden them!

Extended family gathered at the ranch the following weekend to celebrate Grandad's 80th birthday and he and Granna's 56th wedding anniversary. The weather was amazing, and we enjoyed a family pot luck BBQ and some friendly, family Can Jam (frisbee game they got for Easter) competition with front porch spectators. I wish I'd gotten some pictures of that, but one of the birthday boy will have to do.

Once again, on a beautiful weekend day, we had to get outside. We tried out the kids' new kite at a local park, and I finally convinced them that they didn't have to run to get the kite up in the air.

At another park, we brought books, snacks, and a picnic blanket to soak up the awesomeness of being outside. Then we played some frisbee tag. Owen and I continued playing frisbee, and Hadley took her book over to the swings. I love that they love to read so much! 

Lastly, I have to document this amazing feat of medicine during this crazy pandemic. The volunteerism and dedication of those involved in distribution of the vaccines is truly heart-warming. May we all see the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel...