Mimi has been keeping me busy ever since she arrived! We have visited with the twins (last post) but we have also been busy looking at retirement apartments, cottages and houses. She finally walked into a house she loves and is now in the process of purchasing it. We also made a trip to the Galleria so I could visit with the Texas Retired Teachers Association webmaster who was attending the TRTA conference there. It was really a snap, easy and free parking, Mom walked Macy's while I found the hotel conference area, was able to get into the vendor area to see the webmaster without having to pay registration, spent 15 minutes with him and learned all I needed to know. Then I met Mom and we went to the Daily Grill in the Galleria for lunch. Upscale food and service, and leftovers for dinner that night. The next day I took the Miata for a road trip to Round Top to reconnect with an old friend, Sharon. She was a student of mine the first year of teaching and coaching in Austin, and we maintained a friendship for several years after that. I lost contact with her for nearly 30 years, but thanks to fb we found each other again. She now lives in Pennsylvania and was in Round Top setting up for the big spring Antique Shows there. We sat in front of her truck and trailer amidst her display of sale items and talked, had lunch, and caught up on each other's lives. It was great to renew the acquaintance and I look forward to keeping up with her and her family. Mom and I went to her new house-to-be yesterday for the inspection and measured walls for potential furniture placement. Then we met Bill for dinner at Salt Grass, including dessert with a candle in it to celebrate my birthday a week early. There will be a bigger party (turning 60!) in a few weeks with the rest of the family including a bounce house for all the grandchildren and other kids to play in. And here are just a few pictures of John and Taylor in the bluebonnets. I got them from Ashley's blog, and I look forward to seeing these kids in person at my party.
Spring is here and I have been dressing up the courtyard and the pool patio with fresh plants. There was also a surprise engagement party for my nephew Blaine and fiance Erin at Grimaldi's. Spring also means income tax time, and this year Jeremy did my taxes while I played with the twins. A real hardship :) We ate breakfast on the new patio.Mimi has arrived in Texas with the intention of finding a place to live and move here. We spent a full week looking at various retirement facilities, apartments, and even houses. After serious input from the family financial experts (her grandsons) she decided to buy a house in a 55+ neighborhood. She is excited and we are all glad she is moving here. While she was receiving financial counseling from Jeremy, I played with the kids.
Claire can now have pigtails.
Claire shows off her pink hands after eating iced animal cookies. Mimi took a break before lunch to teach Claire how to hokey-pokey.
Today I got another chance to play with the twins. At McDonald's, all Jake wanted to do was sit on this bicycle. What's a grandmother to do?
So after eating ketchup with a few french fries attached, we headed over to WalMart and then ToysRUs so JanMa could get them something that had pedals and handlebars - Big Wheels! In the 10 days or so between twin sittings, they seemed to have grown up so much. Almost like when I see John and Taylor every 4-6 weeks and they seem so much older each time. Today while I was putting Big Wheels together, they mostly played and occupied themselves in the driveway, even handing me parts and helping out. Claire is certainly a helper and not afraid to take charge of Jake! Jake made a grumble noise the other day, Mimi asked Jake if he was OK. Claire went over to him, put her hand on his chin and lifted his head, tilted her head sideways and took a good long look at Jake. Then she reported, "Jake's OK".
Next week, a quick trip to the TRTA convention for some webmaster help, a visit with an old friend I haven't seen in over 25 years, and working the phone to get Mimi's house purchase on track. One month from now I'll be in North Carolina packing boxes and preparing for the move back to Texas.
John's 3rd birthday actually lasted over 3 weekends! The weekend before his actual birthday, he got to watch MotoCross racing. The weekend of his real birthday, he went to a Monster Trucks event. Notice he wore his new noise-reducing headphones to both events.
The last weekend, he had his party at Pump-It-Up in Frisco, Texas. He had lots of friends come, along with cousins from Spring and Austin, along with assorted aunts, uncles and proud grandparents, and even great-mawmaw Pat.
The 4 brothers, Uncle Jeremy, Uncle Nick, Dad Jason, and Uncle Sam.
There were steps to climb up...
... places to squeeze through...
...and even a giant mushroom bouncer. Aunt Jennifer did duty in this house lifting up the kids to the top of the mushroom so they could bounce and fly off.
Video of all the sliding, climbing and bouncing.
Then comes the snack and cake time. Best of all, the bounce house staff serves it and cleans up.
John is eagerly eying his cake!
Video of Happy Birthday song and John blowing out his candles.
John and cousins Claire, Jake and Maddy enjoy snacks and cupcakes.
John liked his cake, and so did Taylor.
There was an after-party at John's house, where he opened presents ...
including some camo clothes and an army hat from JanMa! John tries out new roller skates. The kids played with all their dads/uncles in the backyard.
The day before the party, I got to spend some time with John and Taylor. We played with JanMa's Wii, a Cars race game and a Nickelodeon dance game. Taylor climbs up for a closer view. Mommy and JanMa took the kids outside so John could ride his new bike. Then John pulled Taylor in the wagon. Finally in the video below, Taylor says JanMa!
It was a fun 4 day weekend for me, playing with John and Taylor, then going to his party. I also helped Diane pack up some boxes, they have sold their house and are moving to a rental for the next 6-8 months while they build a new house in Burnet. It was my last time to spend the night in their Plano house.
The next day I took the Miata for a road trip to Round Top to reconnect with an old friend, Sharon. She was a student of mine the first year of teaching and coaching in Austin, and we maintained a friendship for several years after that. I lost contact with her for nearly 30 years, but thanks to fb we found each other again. She now lives in Pennsylvania and was in Round Top setting up for the big spring Antique Shows there. We sat in front of her truck and trailer amidst her display of sale items and talked, had lunch, and caught up on each other's lives. It was great to renew the acquaintance and I look forward to keeping up with her and her family.
Mom and I went to her new house-to-be yesterday for the inspection and measured walls for potential furniture placement. Then we met Bill for dinner at Salt Grass, including dessert with a candle in it to celebrate my birthday a week early. There will be a bigger party (turning 60!) in a few weeks with the rest of the family including a bounce house for all the grandchildren and other kids to play in.
And here are just a few pictures of John and Taylor in the bluebonnets. I got them from Ashley's blog, and I look forward to seeing these kids in person at my party.
