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.