April 20-23 2018 Taylor Gathering

Since its almost impossible to get a date where everyone can get together at Christmas , we finally arrived at one on April 21. Kevin couldn't make it as he was working out of state. Mike Z and Sammi missed also as Sammie had a softball tournament.  We went up Friday and I came home Monday, Susan stayed as she has another quilt retreat all week. We were very lucky  as the bad weather held off on Saturday.  We all had a good time and the kids had a blast. Somehow we managed not to have any one fall into the water. If we could have had warm weather the kids would have had even more fun playing in the water. No doubt this has been a cool April.

March 29-April1, 2018 Easter Weekend

We went to Kristis/Mike lake house for Easter. Actually Susan was already up there because she had a quilt retreat all week there. I left on Thursday and went up.. I got a late start due to the storms the previous night. Our electricity went out about 4:00 am and didn"t get restored untill till 2:00 pm. I had planned on getting a lot of things done early but that didn't happen. I hooked my little generator up so I could make coffee, run the fridge and watch tv. I didn't want to leave until power came back on for sure because of freezers. Susan called and said the river had really come up overnight and the water was barely over the road on the causeway. All the rain upstream had put the Trinity river in flood stage. It had pretty much crested by the time I got to the lake house that evening. The weather had turned gorgeous .  There was not a lot of yard for the kids to play but they still had a good time. With the high water there was no boating swimming nor jet skiing going on. There were a lots of folks there for the weekend .All the kids had fun dying eggs and playing games.

The water is way over the boat dock

Sunrise

Moon rising

Susan and Susan

Early morning relaxation

March 14-19. Ratcliff Lake with Peyton & Luke

We left Wednesday morning around 9:am. it was a  easy drive and we arrived about 11:30. After driving to our site there was someone still there but  were packing up. We went to a parking lot and  had a little lunch. I took Maggie for a short walk by the lake. We then headed back and set up. With it being spring break it looks like it will be lots of campers.  We had a nice quiet evening.
Thursday morning I left early to pick up the boys.. On the way back Susan called and she said she fell on the stairs but was ok. It looks like now we both are crippled this week as my back is hurting. Peyton and Luke were excited to get there. They played hard all day.  Our neighbors were from College Station and their 13 year old daughter Callie came over and visited. Friday and Saturday were repeats. Peyton and Luke would start playing outside at day break , take a nap about 1 and play till supper time.  They are really easy to keep as they entertain themselves, all they need is a couple of trucks and shovels. They rode their John Deere tractors till the batteries ran down every day. We never went swimming as the water was still a little cold. Saturday night we got a wild thunderstorm so Sunday morning it was too wet to go outside. Kyle and Kristin were coming to spend the day but since the weather was bad so I met them half way with the boys. It sure was quiet Sunday night. Monday morning we headed home.

Waiting for our site to open

Water still a little cold

Our campsite

Maggie getting a little sun

Doing some handwork

chilling by the fire

March 1-6 Weather is Better

March finally got here and the weather has made a turn for the better. The bad news is my back has taken a turn for the worst. When I get up in the morning I can't hardly get around. After about an hour I can start functioning again. I am able to get some things done but just have to be slow. I am still cleaning up a  few things from Harvey because I didn't get a lot done during deer season. It dried out enough that I mowed the front yard on Thursday and the rest on Friday.  I have to mow awhile and then rest my back. I was also able to get the trailer turned around without getting stuck. On Saturday we left at 5:40 am in the morning to head to Ashleys volleyball tournament in the Woodlands. It is about an 1;45 minute drive for us. Parking is always limited so you need to get there early. They had a good day and finished 2nd in the tournament. We got home about 8:30 pm. A long day but fun. Mackenna had a volleyball tournament In Richmond and they won 1st place.  Sammi had a softball game in Kingwood and they also won. Sammi  had 2 doubles as she went 2 for 3 at the plate.  Its a shame we can only be at one place at a time. Sunday and Monday were nice days and I was able to piddle around and do a few projects. I headed to Kingwood Monday evening to watch Sammi"s softball game. They won and we barely got thru before it started raining. It rained on me all the way home.

Mackenna"s Team

Ashley"s Team

Ashley

Sammi

Sammi