Wrestling Holiday Shots

Just a mish-mash of photos from late December. Tony had a cross-town rivalry dual on the 20th and pinned his opponent. On Friday, my brother Butch arrived from Portland, OR and my dad and brother Bob & I picked him up and went to eat. When we asked the waitress at the BBQ place to take our picture she ran away saying we needed something. She came back with the Brontosaurus Rib -- 'cause everything's bigger in Texas, ya' know!

Then on Saturday, the 22nd, Tony had a huge tournament in Bryan, Texas where he pinned two, lost one, and won the fourth bout to give him third place in his weight class in his division. Butch, Dad, Bob and his son Colton, all joined us on the drive out there and stayed for the whole day just to see Tony win his medal.

Then we did Christmas at Dad & Linda's, then Christmas at Mom's, and finally Christmas at home. Butch headed home on the 26th, so Mom, Bob & I took him to the airport. Whew! Now to get ready for New Year's Eve...

Christmas in South Philly!!!

Visit From Uncle Nick
or, "Christmas in South Philly"
or, "'Twas? What da hell kinda word is 'Twas?"

By Steve DiMeo

'Twas da night before Christmas,
You hear what I'm s ayin'?
And all through South Philly,
Sinatra's Christmas tunes was playin'.

Da sink was piled high,
Fulla dirty dishes,
From da big Italian meal
Of gravy and seven fishes.

Da brats were outta hand
From eati n' too much candy.
We told them to go to bed
Or there wouldn't be no Santy.

And me in my sweatpants,
Da wife's hair fulla rollers,
Plopped our butts on the sofa
To fight over remote controllers.

When out in da shtreet,
There was all dis friggin' noise.
It sounded like a mob hit,
Ya' know, by Merlino and his boys.

I trew open da stormdoor
To look and see who's who.
Like a nosy little old lady
Who's got nuttin' better to do.

In da windows of da rowhomes
Stood white tinsel trees.
And those stupid moving dolls
You get on sale at Kindy's.

When what should I see,
Comin' from afar.
But fat Uncle Nick
In his big ole Towne Car.

He wa s swervin' and cursin',
Givin' all da gas he got;
As he barreled up the shtreet,
Looking for a spot.

More faster than Santa,
My drunk Uncle came;
Wit' a car full of relatives,
All drunk just the same.

"Yo Ang ie! Ay Dino!
Vic, Gina, and Pete,"
He yelled out there names,
Then spit a loogee in da shtreet

"I can't find no spot nowheres,"
Pissed off, he said.
So he double-parked the Lincoln,
And came in to hit da head.

As he hugged me, he burped,
And passed a loada gas.
It stunk up da house,
Like a rotten sea bass.

His coat was pure cashmere,
His pinky ring shined;
His toupee was all twisted,
The front was now behind.

He ran up to da bathroom,
Bangin' pictures wit' his hips.
Never lettin' da smelly stogie
Fall from his lips.

With eyes oh so bloodshot,
And a butt, oh so flabby;
In walked Aunt Angie,
All dolled-up and crabby.
"D'j e at yet?" she asked,
As she thundered to da kitchen;
"All da calamari's gone?"
Aunt Angie started bitchin'.

In came Cousin Gina,
In Guess jeans too tight.
She was bathed in Obsession,
Her hair reached new height.

In strut Cousins Dino,
Little Petey and Big Vic;
Shovin' pizzelles down their throats,
It was makin' me sick.

I said, "What da hell
Are all yous people doin?"
Not one of them answered,
They was too busy chewin'.

Uncle Nick came down at last.
His face was beet red
"Sorry I missed da toilet.
I pissed in the bathtub instead."

That was it, I had had it.
I yelled, "Get the hell out."
Uncle Nick looked real puzzled.
Cousin Gina started to pout.

Wit' that they mumbled curses,
And opened a Strawbridge's bag.
And fumbled 'round to find da gift
Wit' our name on da tag.

I then felt kinda stupid,
As I thanked them for their gift.
Bu t they s tormed out da stormdoor,
All of dem miffed.

We tore open da paper
That was taped on and on.
It was a bottle of Sambuca,
And half of it was gone.

But I heard him yelling
As he slammed on da gas.
"Merry Christmas, ya ingrate!
You can kiss my ass!"

Yo. Happy Holidays, a'ight?

Overdue for an Update

So, somehow my life has become a blur of activities. Between the kids busy schedules, work, social functions, and the holidays, the month of December escaped me. I feel like I am not ready for anything.

Kaelyn has had two choir concerts so far this year. We recently attended the Christmas program where the 7th grade girls sang 3 songs, including Santa Baby.



And Tony has had multiple Wrestling Duals and Tournaments, and has two more just this week. Tonight is a Dual with a Cross-town rival, and Saturday we are driving to Bryan, TX for an all-day tournament there! My brother, Butch, will be in town from Oregon and will get his first chance to watch Tony do High School wrestling. [Tony is in the green singlet--and yes, he won that bout.]



Oh yeah - then we will have three Christmas celebrations - one at Dad's, one at Mom's then one at our own home, and then our usual New Year's Eve party. Then before we know it, it will be 2008. Another year gone...

Habitat for Humanity

I'm generally not a patient person. I try. I really do try. I try to keep my mouth shut but my frustration is usually written all over my face whether I want it to, or not.

My whole office took a day to work on a local HFH project. The "regulars" are a bunch of retired folks who dedicate a couple of days each week to build new homes for families in need. This is their life. This is just one day of my life, so I tried to keep it all in check, while standing around for hours doing nothing.

The boss man, ex-preacher, charismatic loud guy, looked all the females directly in the eyes when he asked for volunteers to sweep the floors in preparation of the tile laying. He had no idea what a crappy job I do of sweeping. I leave trails and tracks everywhere, but I obliged and grabbed a broom and pushed dust all around in a cloud.

When he later asked who had experience laying tile, only me and another female raised our hands. You could see the old tile guy's lips crinkle as he scanned across all the men hoping for some testosterone-driven salvation. His salvation never came.



After sweeping, the seasoned males spread the glue across the cement foundation, then we all pretty much stood around and watched glue dry. [Yes, we were laying crappy commercial linolium tiles--not ceramic!] We females were relegated to keeping dust from blowing in. I guess our wide birthing-hips made us good candidates for this task--blocking the dust blowing in the windows and doors.

After the glue dried, the seasoned males laid the first lines of tile in two directions for us to follow. The lead tile guy, lovingly known as the "old coot" chose to focus his attentions on my work. The third time he snapped at me, I walked away. He snatched tile after tile out of my hand and did it himself, so I let him. When he later started critiquing the other female's work, she quickly pointed out that the work he thought was so flawed-----was his own.

I went outside to play in the dirt. I spent the rest of the day helping to sod the yards of two homes. We were wiped out at quitting time. My boss treated us all to drinks and appetizers at a local eatery, then I headed home, showered, and went to bed at 6:00 PM. I did not get up until the next morning.

I know we did good work. I know the old coot does good work. It was just a little disheartening to be scolded so much while trying to do good. Oh Well. I always wanted to do Habitat, so now I can check that off my list.

I've worked the soup kitchen downtown, I've spent a day with Habitat, and I've donated gallons of blood. Of the three, I think I will stick with the bloodsuckers. I don't have to tell people they can't have more food, nobody yells at me, I still get to save a life, and I get a cookie in the end. I'm sure there are other worthwhile causes still out there for me to try, but for now, hemoglobin seems to best fit my lifestyle.

Cousins Camping - Beuscher State Park, TX 11/2/2007

Here's a riddle: What do Sominex, a microwave, and Starbuck's all have in common? These are all required elements for a Cousins Camping trip. Not your usual camping gear, we know, but they make all the difference in the outcome of our excursions.

We prepared for a bitter cold weekend, but got a little toasty instead. Pushing into the 80s on Saturday, we were literally trying to chill. Some new features for us were an owl screeching all night, lots of raccoons rummaging through stuff, and an extremely large and heavy-footed armadillo terrorizing us around our tents. Our only defense - a flash light!

The campfire is always the main attraction--good for cooking our steaks, making s'mores, or just hypnotizing us into a relaxed state. At one point, the kids and I played with a new technique I learned to do with my camera--we ghosted them out of long exposure photos. The guys took a shot at fishing and caught a variety of inedibles, and played with snakes. Then Dean found what we believe was a turtle egg. He gently placed it back in its nest and we left the area in case it was not a turtle, but something more aggressive. ;)

With all the craziness in each of our respective lives, getting away for a weekend got more challenging than usual. The Hobsons came in a day late because Nick had Homecoming to attend. We left for a couple of hours on Saturday to attend a family reunion (an unfortunate double-booking of our schedule), and the Riojas and Hobsons had to leave early Sunday to get back to jobs. The weekend went by much too quickly, but we had fun with the time we had.

Bob & Melanie's Chili Cook-off/Pumpkin Carving Party

A recent tradition is to go to Bob & Melanie's house the weekend before Halloween to participate in the Chili Cook-off/Pumpkin Carving Party. So this year we headed over on October 28th and joined them with their friends and neighbors. Their buddy, Steven was finally knocked from the first place position in the chili cook-off, but he still placed; as did Bob. The winner had a version of chili that scorched my taste buds.

The kids have a blast carving pumpkins, eating sweets, and getting soaked while bobbing for apples. Suburban bedlam at its best. What a great bash!

Wanna feel old???

Just walk into an Apple Store. No, not the fresh fruit that keeps the doctor away, I mean the funky, youthful operation that keeps us happy with the coolest technology toys. I've never felt so old. I recently fell, face first, into a deep and unsuspected generation gap when I attempted to get my iPod repaired.

This brightly-lit store has several workstation tables, as well as counters running the length of each side of the store, set up with numerous versions of all the Apple products on display, fully functioning, and available for anyone to try out. Each table has an employee monitoring use and answering product questions. Every product was occupied by either one person, or a whole mob of people trying out the features together. The place was packed and just buzzing with activity. One young girl was taking pictures of herself with her cell phone camera, and using the blue tooth technology to send the picture to the Apple laptop in front of her, then sending the picture to a friend, via the live internet connection, then talking to her friend on that same cell phone about the picture she just sent.

Being OLD, I was looking for a customer service desk, or even a counter with a cash register. I aimlessly wandered through a sea of busy teens and YOUNG adults who apparently, intuitively knew exactly what to do and where to go in this blinding white, futuristic-looking store. Finally finding a young man in a boldly contrasting black shirt, with a lanyard around his neck, I approached and explained about the sad face icon I received on my iPod and asked if he did repairs. Being a literal kid, he answered no (he personally does not do repairs) and stared at me with a big smile. He offered no additional information. We just stared at each other. Stunned, my grouchy old lady persona kicked in and I passive-aggresively turned to my husband and stated "Oh, obviously I am an idiot and they don't know what I am talking about." With that, the man pointed me to an unoccupied laptop and began clicking to the technical assistance screen then asked me to enter my personal information. No signage or explanation, the next generation just knows that if there is a free laptop around, sign in for service.

We needed to schedule an appointment with the Genius Bar (a.k.a. technical customer service) for diagnosis. Unfortunately, the Genius Bar was booked until 4:00 the next day. We could not leave the iPod, but had to return at 4:00 the next day, unless we preferred the 4:15 appointment. hmmmmm

The next day, full-bitch attitude intact and ready for deployment, we walked into the store, headed for the back and accidently noticed the Genius Bar to our right, just as my name and appointment time appeared on a display screen above the bar. Four o'clock on the dime. One of the young men, with his Genius title embroidered on the chest of his black shirt, called my name. I approached and explained the frowning face icon, he plugged my iPod into his laptop, checked the warranty registration through my iPod, clicked a few buttons, then turned around, unlocked a cabinet and handed me a brand new iPod. Thank you very much. This whole transaction took about five minutes, max. I don't believe I have ever witnessed such an efficient warranty experience in my life.

It took me 5 months to get my new computer working--being bounced to every international tech support desk around the world and always starting with the infamous script question "is the unit plugged in?" Five months!! AND I WORK FOR THE COMPUTER COMPANY!!! Obviously, I don't work for Apple. Too bad.

Lesson learned - Quit being such a crabby old bag, go with the flow, and enjoy the fruits of this new quicker, better, NOW kind of world.

Tony's First Photo Shoot

On September 23 we went to the State Capitol building to participate in a portfolio model shoot. Tony was able to pose for several photographers, including me (I took all the ones with the sunglasses). I also took photos of several other models and posted their pics on a new blog http://www.cynpip.blogspot.com

Tony was just invited to participate in a Stock Image shoot this Friday, so hopefully we can start building his portfolio in quick fashion. If all we get out of this is some great photos and maybe a confidence boost for Tony, then it is all good.

Take One for the Team

September 1, 2007
Nah...not really. Towards the end of summer, Tony was ready to cut his hair. The maintenance had just become too much for a young teen to handle. We decided to wait until school started, knowing that the wrestling coach would probably require him to cut it anyway. He did.

So I made an appointment with someone who specializes in curly hair and is proficient with men's cuts. I took so many wonderful photos, or so I thought. My new Digital Canon Rebel is having problems. The preview screen quit working while we were in Padre and I have not wanted to let go of it long enough to get it repaired, but that wasn't the problem. The problem was that I did not have a flash memory card in the camera and without the preview screen, there was no way for the camera to inform me. My bad. Ugh! Fortunately though, I did take couple of pics with my phone, to send to Gio during the cut. So while I don't have all my wonderful before and after shots, and the impressive cutting off of the pony tail, and the first cut of the seven inch long hair she held over his head as she took it down to an inch, I do have these, lower quality phone pics:

First Day of High School

August 28, 2007

Tony is a Freshman this year. He's taking Latin, Pre A/P World Geography, Pre A/P English, Biology, Algebra, and Wrestling. Watch out World. Here comes the class of 2011!!

! ! ! ! Happy Birthday Tony ! ! ! !

August 24, 2007

Tony turned 15 today. He decided he didn't want a pool party after all. He just wanted some family to come over and help eat some cake. So that's what we did. On Friday night we took him out to eat at Houston's restaurant, where he ate a huge rack of ribs. Then on Saturday we grilled up some of that famous "meat-on-a-stick," made some queso and chips, some boracho beans, toritillas, and also as requested, a cookies-n-cream ice cream cake. He received a wide assortment of gifts, and was sincerely pleased with the casual celebration with family.

Another Gardening Success

August 17, 2007

While we were traveling so much in the late summer, an Italian Zucchini plant was taking over our back yard like a scene from Logan's Run, or Jumanji. It took over a huge Crepe Myrtle tree, crept over the fence to our neighbors and completely encased a bush in close proximity. The leaves were HUGE, but no sign of zucchini.

Then one day, Gio & I were sitting out back talking when he noticed what he first thought was a large green snake pointing straight-up deep inside the bush. Upon further inspection, we realized it was a gigantic zucchini! Our nephew, Colton was spending the night that evening and the boys got a real kick out of the grande cucuzzo.

Karaoke Girl's Night Out!

August 18, 2007

Or girl's night IN. We started with drinks [Kelly makes killer Cosmopolitans] then we had a big lasagna dinner and more drinks, and then the singing started. Some were more brave than others, and there was a painful rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody captured on video [see if you can find it on YouTube. That is a challenge to ya!]

The girls brought a variety of delicious foods and drinks to complement the lasagna--spinach dip, bruchetta, Italian salad, breads, and an incredible assortment of desserts and wines. Kelly was a sweetie and brought some flowers and a Boa [to commemorate Zumanity] and Candace brought a new Karaoke CD and an engraved frame with an awesome pic of us all in Vegas. Erika also brought me more of the wonderful lavender green tea she introduced to me.

All related to Dell somehow--having done time there at some point in life, we gathered to let go, catch up, and just have fun. We mostly hung out indoors, but with two smokers in the crew, the party often moved to the back patio. The stories shared were hilarious, and the laughter was non-stop. The party lasted until early the next day, with the last buddies leaving at 4:00 AM. :) Hugs, girls!

Family Celebration

August 11, 2007

The Sisters.
It is a rare thing to get all 6 together anymore, and this day was no exception. We were missing Aunt Linda. But seeing the 5 of them laugh 'til they cry is a real treat.

Eddie and Missy hosted a party at their beautiful new home. We celebrated Benjamin's graduation from High School, but we also got to see Paul's new son, Hayden, talk about Cheyenne's upcoming wedding, and so much more. The pot luck was incredible with a delicious variety of foods. The house is absolutely gorgeous, inside and out, and our hosts most gracious and the cousins started talking about the next camping trip...

What a Birthday!!

July 27-29, 2007
Vegas Baby!!

Gio wanted to Dance. My gal, Candace is a professional gambler on the side. Kelly needed a break and so did I. So where do you go to get away from it all AND celebrate Gio's birthday, too! Vegas, of course.

Just a quick weekend from Friday after work until the wee hours of Monday morning. It was a blast. We did the VIP bottle service at Studio 54 and danced our feet off. We gambled and won, then we gambled and lost--except for Candace of course, pocketing a cool $5400 for her efforts. We had second row seats at Zumanity and laughed 'til it hurt. Then gambled some more. And food - ugh!! We ate so much food. We never made it to the pool, as planned. Sleep seemed more important in the daylight.

The fun fact here is that both my girlfriends are 6 foot tall, flat-footed. Put all three of us in heels and we are a force to be reckoned with. At one point, Gio looked up at all of us and said, "Man, I look like Joe Pesci standing next to you three!" He cracked us up!

Between constantly running late, the freaks in the club, some hilarious Blackjack dealers and Candace's occasional case of Turrets at the table, it was a memorable trip indeed, and we will definitely go back soon! What does that all mean?? Well, you know what they say, what happens in Vegas...

South Padre Island Vacation

What a blast!!!

July 16 - 22, 2007 -- We rented an awesome house and even though it rained almost everyday, we could not have asked for a better vacation. It was so fun and relaxing, and we all clicked so well. The food and drink were non-stop as were the laughs. We upgraded from our original reserved house to one with a pool (Thank you Eric for pursuing that, and Dru & Sandy for begging a good price). What a difference the house made. The kitchen was much larger, which was important since we spent so much time there. The room accomodations worked out better for all, with room to spare. But the real crowning difference was the pool and hot tub in the back yard. We took advantage of the pool at nights and on those rainy days where the beach wasn't really an option. The three showers outside really helped with post-beach clean-up, too!

Hobson was always in the kitchen creating something. We ate so much--- Nachos, Chalupas, Pasta, Meat on a Stick (running gag throughout the weekend--no pun intended), shrimp, fish, pizza, Chinese, BLTs, Egg-salad sandwiches, breakfast tacos, migas, waffles, beans, rice, tortillas, green salads, pasta salad, cakes, struessel muffins, fruit, tortilla soup, chips, salsa, and the kids ate CASES of Noodles in a Cup. We ALL gained weight. Then add the constant blender drinks, beer, wine, tea, water, juice, coffee. The service was fabulous. The only complaint (and it is an extremely WEAK complaint) was the 5:30 AM bacon and coffee smell after staying up in the hot tub drinking wine the night before 'til 2:00 AM, and the morning he sent the girls to wake us up with breakfast in bed. Nice thought--sincerely nice gesture--but I am rarely hungry when I am sleeping. Hobson got to see my whiney-bitchy morning face as thanks for a plate full of bacon, eggs, and pancakes. I later apologized.

The first day at the beach was interesting, since it was raining. We were not the only fools setting up in the rain, and while we could see a storm blocking visibility of the southern tip of the island, it never did move up into our area. We learned the hard way that if we walked into the water we needed lids for our drinks unless we liked that salty taste, and that we should hold onto our sunglasses. (I lost pair number 1 here.) The kids had a blast on their boogie boards and the adults laughed just as hard when the big waves smacked up against us, or completely knocked us off our feet. The rains brought bigger waves than usual for the area.

We went to the beach in the rain, and to Schlitterbahn in the rain, and still got wicked sunburns. Schlitterbahn was a treat in that the rain kept the crowds to a minimum and we rarely had to wait in a line for any ride. Also, without the sun, we were able to stay outside for over 6 hours! We started to get hungry so the guys went to get food to grill. We had BBQ chicken, burgers, and of course, meat on a stick. It was perfect! At times we would hook up our innertubes and ride together, and at other times we would float apart but would always run into each other again somewhere on the lazy river.

The four female cousins laughed 'til it hurt watching Sandy flip at the drop off and having a cute 20 year old fellow try to help her get back in her tube, then all of us struggling to rescue a second set of sunglasses knocked off my head while riding down a chute. Trying to jump into a tube in deeper waters turned out to be a real challenge for some of us, and the awkward positions, odd sounds, and eventual flips or worse, swim suit loss, made for some gut busting laughs as well.

On another day we visited Sea Turtle Rescue where injured sea turtles are taken to be rehabilited for release or nursed back to health and taken to a zoo or marine center. We hoped to attend an early morning sea turtle hatchling release, but the hatchlings decided not to hatch on our last day there.

We drove across the bridge to neighboring Port Isabel and had a picnic by the famous lighthouse, and did a little tourist shopping. Eventually Gio & I broke off to hit the dollar store for my third pair of sunglasses.

The rain never slowed us down, but did deceive us into believing that we were not getting that much sun. We were all fried on the second day. Then odd things started to happen. On sunburn day, poor April wore a pair of loop glasses all day, causing a red and white racoon effect. That night Sandy and Eric teased her relentlessly in the pool using waterguns to target the "Racoon in the pool." It was all in fun, but Sandy believes that in some Karmac power kind of way, she woke up the next day with a swollen face. It didn't look bad, just...well...different. Very smooth. Then the next morning, for some reason, Dru's lower lip doubled--well, maybe tripled in size. Just the lower. No idea why. For me - it was a rash on my chest that sprouted up on the trip home and tormented me the rest of the following week. Just a little memento.

We had a couple of plumbing issues and Dean became the point man for the plunger (why didn't we ever get a picture of that?) A cigarette in one hand, the plunger in the other--perfect superintendant stereotype. He performed his job beautifully!! Hobson also pulled out his tool box and performed some minor repairs on the house. Then all four guys got pulled into the handyman role. Very handy fellows to have around. Thanks!

The clothes dryer ran non-stop throughout the week. Lots of wet clothes and towels kept the laundry room hopping--and we all loved the laundry shoot from the upstairs bathroom. The guest bathroom configuration upstairs made for some fun challenges. There was a full bathroom behind another full bathroom. There was no access to the back bathroom except through the front one. Made for some interesting negotiations.

On Friday, Uncle Don & Aunt Rome drove down from Houston to help celebrate Nick's 16th birthday. They visited us on the beach, then headed to the house to take advantage of the pool. Aunt Rome brought a homemade spice cake for Nick's birthday. Uncle Don also took the kids out to the souvenier shops and let them each pick out a t-shirt. What a sweetie! Chrissy and Chris also joined us later at AmberJack's restaurant on the bayside of the Island. We had a great dinner out on the deck and enjoyed the Friday Night fireworks, then headed back to the house for cake and of course, more swimming.

We all found it pretty impressive that four families could share a house for a week and still enjoy every minute of it. We had no real agenda for the week, just some idea of things we might like to do. We pretty much played each day out by ear and improvised on a lot of things, too. It all worked out so perfectly with no stress and no hassles. No phones, nor alarm clocks, and no appointments. Isn't that what a vacation is all about?

Coming soon...

Yikes! Tony & I had eye appointments last Saturday and we both need glasses!!! He is near-sighted and I am far-sighted, but neither of us have to wear them full-time; just as needed.

The fun part was picking out frames. Tony actually looks good in glasses, but they make him look even older. Oy!! Like he needs that. The funny thing was that when the Dr. walked in I thought the doc looked 12 years old. He freaked on Tony and actually said, "No way you are 14! You look older than me!" I thought the same but wasn't going to say it. ;)

So, our glasses should be ready in two weeks. Pictures to follow. The nurse talked me into some pretty thick, two tone frames. Told me that was what is hot now. *sigh* I fell for it. We shall see. Mine are basically magnified lenses. Tony picked some rectangle-shaped, thin, black wire framed glasses. They looked good, but I thought the ones he chose were a bit wide for his face. I think MY frames actually looked better on him--very European. I may get a picture of that as well.

After our appointment, we went to eat, just the two of us. Then we did one of Tony's favorite things to do--we went to a little mom and pop fun center to ride go carts. This place we go to never has anyone on the track. We can usually walk up, get tickets, and go race for five minutes, then go home. That is all we need--just a little pick-me-up race.

As usual, we walked up, and then were the only ones on the track--racing each other aggressively--cracking up. I noticed three people waiting to race, then realized it was my brother and two of his kids!!! I LOVE that we moved back to Texas! Our towns are not that small and for us all to end up at the same place at the same time is just wonderful! The kid running the track let them join us and we went round and round forever. My little niece is only 7 years old, but very tall. It was her first time to drive by herself, so she added a nice "obstacle" to the track--making the race more challenging. She crashed a couple of times but took it like a trooper and just kept on racing. It was such a wonderful surprise to coincidentally run into them and share a few moments of fun. After we rehashed the race, talking about who did what when, we went our separate ways. Just a nice, brief interlude with family.

That evening we went to Central Market to eat and see what band was playing. It was a funky India/Gypsy blend--but very entertaining. On the way home, Gio & I stopped at a friend's birthday party to wish him well and drop off a bottle of wine, while the kids waited in the car. Then we headed home.

It was a good day. A very good day.

Tony's Photo Shoot

My 14-year old indulged me today. He let me try out my new camera on him! We actually had fun! Oh, and I added one of my favs from our recent vacation.

Family Vacation

This is the second year that we accepted an invite to vacation with family - my brothers, their families, my dad & step-mom. This years trip was absolutely marvelous. Dad had some shirts made for us that listed all the locations we visited. Wherever we went we made quite an impression on folks--and we were easy to find and identify as a group. Linda also got the kids awesome little backpacks and brought refill treats daily, to give the kids snack for the hike. Here is a very brief recap of events:

1. Left Austin with Bob & family. Flew to Vegas, then drove to Virgin, UT. Met with Dad & Linda at campground, then drove to Springdale - entry of Zion Canyon National Park and checked into the Desert Pearl (gorgeous hotel).

2. Took the entire shuttle route through Zion Canyon, scoping out where we would hike the next day after Butch arrived from Portland. Took the kids swimming, too.

3. Took the shuttle through Zion, stopping to do a couple of hiking trails. Then ate at the Lodge and returned to the hotel.

4. Drove to Bryce Canyon and hiked there. Loved the HooDoos.

5. Took a day off to sleep in then sloth around the pool.

6. Drove to the Grand Canyon. Hiked a bit, then drove to the different spots to view it from different perspectives. Truly amazing.

7. Drove to Vegas. Spent the day walking around and did a tour of the strip on the Deuce.

8. Flew home.

Here are 22 pics from Mt. Zion:

Here are 28 Pics from Bryce:

Here are 30 pics from the Grand Canyon:

Gio's Green Thumb

I watch with amazement every weekend when Gio goes outside in the Texas heat and tackles his hobby -- the backyard. After the mundane chores of mowing and edging, he then works on his pet projects, and this year his efforts paid off in bumper crops.

His peach tree limbs are bowing over with the weight of all the fruit on each branch. His grapes, while not yet ready, are blooming all over the vines and starting to drape overhead as they take over the patio trellis. His basil is beautiful and the plants really seem to like having their own planter box this year, with huge leaves and lots of buds still waiting. We will soon bag and freeze most of the basil to use all year. His rosemary and oregano are battling each other for space. The limes and zuccini are just starting out, but should be available later this summer as well. For a suburban backyard, Gio created quite a crop.

No sooner did we go pick a bag of peaches, did the squirrels show up. Our dog, Kayce chased them out of the peach tree an into the oak. I managed to get a shot of one of the theives enjoying his reward for dangerous work.

The easiest way to keep up-to-date

I can post our stories and our pictures here, and then, if any family or friends are curious they can periodically check out the link without me having to bug them about our tales.