Jeepers Creepers

Birthday Blues

2012-01-12T18:49:00.000-08:00

December 4,2011- a day that will never be forgotten, at least for our Jennifer. Not because it was her 35th birthday but for what happened during what was suppose to be one of her bucket list goals. It was the day of the Dallas White Rock Marathon and she and two other friends had been training for this day for months. It was going to be her first full marathon. She was so excited that it was scheduled on her birthday and this was going to be a highlight of her long running career.

We had sent them off and told them to have a great weekend. Taylor and Presley were staying with us and we had a big weekend planned for them as well. We headed over to Granbury to do some shopping (we needed a new Christmas tree) and then to eat out and see a movie. The kids decided on The Muppet Movie. Presley controlled the popcorn bucket and would occasionally give you your portion! It was a really cute two bucket movie and enjoyed by all. Everything went as planned. The kids had a great time and the marathon couples were enjoying each others company in Dallas.

We got up early on Sunday morning to watch the marathon on tv hoping maybe for a glimpse of our crew. The weather was horrible- cold and wet but we knew they were in that crowd somewhere. We were texting her back and forth between us and Jeremy when about mile 17 things began to go south. She said her left leg and hip started hurting. By mile 20 she could not continue and her leg would not go forward anymore. She was taken to the finish to meet Toby and she said as she turned to get out of the police car, it snapped and the real pain began.

Not having any idea anything was broken, they headed home and eventually to the ER where an x-ray revealed the bad news- a broken hip. When Toby called to tell us, Beverly lost it. It's one of those times when you're angry, upset, scared and feeling sorry mostly for her that her dream won't come true and you know what she is going to have to go through. She was taken to Scott and White by ambulance where they did surgery during the night. Nothing could have prepared us for this. After all- 35 year old's don't break their hips and she didn't even fall! A week in the hospital and a couple of weeks here with us, physical therapy and time and we are happy to report that she is making a fast recovery.

She has gone from a walker to a wheelchair to crutches and is back at school teaching from her desk. She goes back to the Drs. next week for a checkup and more tests but we are hopeful that she will make a full recovery. There is some concern about the blood flow to her hip but we are confident that everything will heal. We would, however, like for everyone to keep her in your prayers. People have been so good to her and we want everyone to know how much it has meant to all of us.

When she went back to the Dr. the first time she wore her White Rock shirt and asked him about when could she run again? He started laughing and reminded her that she had told him the night of the surgery that she never wanted to run again!! She and her Dr. have become good friends- he's only a year older than her and just happens to be an Aggie! He said she was famous at S&W, her x-ray's having gone viral among the staff! He also told her that her long distance running days are probably over but she's had a good "run" so to speak- three state championship cross country team wins and some half marathons. But, she is a tough one and who knows what the future holds!

Happy 1st Birthday, Jane!!

2011-11-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

Time!! Where does it go? And so quickly! It seems like only yesterday that Jeremy and Annie were calling to tell us that they were headed to the hospital ready to meet little Annie Jane Phillips. And last weekend, we celebrated her first year of life! Wow! It doesn't seem possible.

Jeremy, Annie and Jane were able to fly to Houston last Friday so that all of Jane's Texas relatives could see her mark her one year birthday. We were sorry that Jordan, Ashley and Leighton couldn't be with us, but Jordan was in a classmate's wedding in Austin and Toby had to go to school that weekend in Abilene. So, Jennifer, Taylor, Presley, PawPaw and BeBe made a fast trip to Houston for the big celebration.

We celebrated with Annie's family and a few close friends on Sunday afternoon. We enjoyed a wonderful birthday dinner prepared by Mimi Carpenter along with yummy cupcakes made by Jeremy and Mimi (Annie had been feeling under the weather the day before). Jane loved opening presents, pulling out goodies from bags and boxes. Kids learn really fast when it comes to birthdays! Now she is all prepared for her second Christmas!

We had found a musical card with a Winnie the Pooh song and gave it to her along with her present. It was the best entertainment of the evening---she was fascinated with it and she would rock and wiggle with the music. We could have given her the card and nothing else and she would have been happy!

On Monday we enjoyed a day at the local park and then a trip to the Houston Zoo. By the time we were ready to leave Jeremy wasn't feeling too well himself! Luckily, we all escaped the bug. On the way home we stopped in College Station to visit Aggieland and eat at Freebirds!

NEWS FLASH!!!!
By Jane's next birthday she will have a little brother or sister to contend with! Yes, Jeremy and Annie are expecting a baby in May. They find out if it's a boy or girl on November 28. Stayed tuned!!

A Visit With Leighton

2011-08-16T17:02:00.000-07:00

We made a trip to Abilene recently to visit with Leighton Grace. We met Jordan and Ashley for church at Southern Hills (what beautiful singing that morning) and then had lunch from Sharon's Barbeque. It was delicious, especially a jalapeno corn dish that they make. Yum!

It had been a while since we had last seen Leighton and she is changing fast! Ashley is so good to keep us updated through phone messages and videos so we knew that she is making a lot of changes. We were amazed though when we saw how much bigger she is in person!. She is like this little chunk of muscle! She is solid and active. She loves her bed and enjoys going from one end to the other! We spent the afternoon visiting with Jordan and Ashley and playing with Leighton and Lacey (the dog!). It was a quick trip and we plan to go back soon. Time changes everything, so quickly, and it reminds us of the old saying we once had in our nursery : Cleaning and scrubbing can wait til tomorrow, for babies grow up much to our sorrow. So quiet down cobwebs, dust go to sleep. I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep!

Summer Trip To Denver

2011-08-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

With summer almost over, according to the calendar at least, we felt it was time to make a trip to a cooler climate. Jennifer had never seen Jeremy and Annie’s home in Denver so we decided to take Taylor, Presley and Jennifer with us. Toby was going to summer school in Abilene so he was not able to go with us. We usually drive it in one long day so we were a little concerned about how they would make it. But, they were troopers and did really well. As soon as we got into Colorado, the clouds darkened and it started raining and the temperatures dropped. Oh happy day! Arriving Friday evening, we caught up on visiting, playing with Jane and then planned out our stay.

Taylor wanted to see the Air Force Academy so Saturday morning we headed over to Colorado Springs. If you have never been to the Academy you should go. One of the most well known features there is the Cadet Chapel, Colorado’s most popular man-made attraction. It rises 150 feet into the sky and features 17 spires and is made of steel, aluminum and glass. We enjoyed a tour of the Goldwater Visitor’s Center and looked at several other plane exhibits.

Later we drove through the Garden of the Gods and then over to Manitou Springs where the Pikes Peak Cog Railway starts. Since we planned on driving up Mt. Evans later in the week and because of the time involved in taking the 3.5 hour round-trip to the top, we opted out and went down to Old Colorado City and took in some of the sights and shopping.

Sunday we enjoyed church services and lunch in Littleton. Taylor and Presley enjoyed some crafts with Annie that afternoon and later we went to the REI store in Denver. This is their flagship store and is housed in the restored 1901 Denver Tramway Station. We missed out on the rock climbing wall which closed early. Later we drove around Denver to see the Colorado Judicial Center that Jeremy’s firm designed, looked at the famous Blue Bear and other sculptures around the Convention Center and then made a stop at Wash Park for picture taking.

Monday we left early and drove west to Mt. Evans. This is the highest paved road in the United States and takes you from an elevation of 8,700 feet at Idaho Springs to 14,240 feet and through 3 life zones at the summit. We dropped Jeremy off at Echo Lake so he could get in an 8 mile run to the top of Evans. He is doing some high elevation training in preparation for running the Pikes Peak Half-Marathon in late August. On the way up we stopped to see the bristlecone pines, some of the oldest trees in the world. Some of these trees were alive during the time of Christ, 2,000 years ago. Poor Taylor suffered a little from altitude sickness but began to feel better as we descended. On the way back we stopped for some trout fishing and later for pizza at Beau Jo’s in Idaho Springs.

It was a short, but fun filled trip. It was good to see the Colorado bunch. Jane is growing and changing quickly, crawling and standing. Thanks for having us and for all you planned for us to do.

Finally - An Update!

2011-05-13T16:51:00.000-07:00

Sit back, get comfortable and get ready for a long ride! It's been a while since we have taken the time to update our blog. So yesterday we decided to sit down and catch up on all the goings on and wouldn't you know it--we get half finished and the Blogger website goes down for repairs! This morning not a single word of yesterday's blog, including a lot of pictures, could be found! Gone, vanished into cyber-space! So, here we are again. This time we hope to catch up on the past 3 months of Jeepers Creepers!

Our big news is the arrival of our 4th grand child, little Leighton Grace Phillips, born March 10 to Jordan and Ashley in Abilene. She is a sweetie pie! She weighed a respectable 6 pounds 7 ounces but as we might have expected she was only 18 1/4 inches long! She had a head full of dark hair and looked a lot like her mother's baby pictures. Ashley did a great job even though she had to go through 3 epidurals before they got it right. Jordan was such a proud father and was floating around on cloud 9. It was nice to be there with them and to share their happiness. Now eight weeks old, Leighton is doing great, growing and continues to be the love of their lives, and ours, too.

While we were in Abilene we got word that Beverly's mother had fallen and broken her collarbone and two ribs! Following a week in the hospital(us,too!)and three weeks in rehab, she is now back in their assisted living apartment. Also, during this time, we had made arrangements to have some house re-modeling done. We decided to rip out the carpet in every room except the 3 bedrooms and put in hardwood floors in the remainder of the house. That meant that all furniture in those rooms had to be moved, so it all ended up in two of the bedrooms, stacked to the ceiling while they came in and installed the flooring. We made do with living in the back bedroom during the week long process but we are really proud of the finished product. We then decided to take out a door, enlarge the opening and have some drywall work done and walls textured. That took another week so we are just now getting back to painting and putting some of it back. A work in progress but hopefully it will be worth it.

We kept Taylor and Presley one weekend so Jennifer could run the Cowtown Half Marathon with her friends. The kids had a good time and Jennifer ran a really good race. During all of this time we celebrated Presley's third birthday. We had cupcakes and one of the things we gave her was a doctor's kit so we all had very thorough exams! We also took Taylor with us to Liberty Hill for a friend's 40th birthday party. Taylor was our GPS operator and we stopped once and took some pictures in the pretty Texas Hill country.

During Easter Jeremy, Annie and Jane came for a 5 day visit! It is rare to have them all to ourselves for that length of time and we enjoyed getting to visit. Jane is such a happy, pretty little girl! A little doll! She had changed so much since our trip to Denver earlier this year. She can sit up, turn over and is really interactive with us. And, she is growing and so much fun to hold and love on. We were able to get all three of our kids and their families together the Saturday before Easter in Stephenville and visit with Beverly's parents and family. We had four generations together and had fun visiting, playing Wii (Pictionary was a blast!) and of course, eating. A special thanks to Beverly's brother John and his wife Kay for letting us use their home for the day. (They weren't even there that day since John had to work and Kay was gone most of the afternoon for a friend's funeral. Sadly we had to take Jeremy and Annie to the airport in Austin on Tuesday and give up Jane, but the time together was wonderful. This summer they are going to spend a week with Annie's parents. We may have to crash their party!! Ha, or go to Denver!

The remainder of the time has been spent working in the orchard, going to Taylor's baseball games, going to Stephenville to check on parents or take them to the doctors, cleaning the yard several times after high winds and hail, and putting our house back together. It has been very busy, just like everyone else we know, but it keeps us young! Heck one day, we even saw Elvis. Hope you enjoy our update. Have a good summer!

The long wait was all worth it! Leighton Grace is finally here.

Presley had a good time on her birthday. I think her brother really does like her!

Best flooring decisions we have made. Second best decision was letting someone else install it!

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Taylor kept us on the straight and narrow with his GPS monitoring!

A visit with Miss Leighton in Abilene! What a treat. Eating at Texas Roadhouse wasn't bad, either!

Cinnamon rolls from the Pioneer Woman cookbook. Man, are they big and delicious!!

Hey- even Elvis showed up for the party! But, he has left the building!

A rare treat- having the Denver bunch here for 5 days!

Our children, spouses and grandkids (minus Presley who was napping). We are SO blessed and thankful for three wonderful children, their spouses and our precious grandchildren!! We thank God every day for his grace in our lives.

Jane's other grandmother (Jan) used her mother's vintage hankerchief to make this bonnet which can be taken apart and Jane can carry it in her wedding someday for something old. What a wonderful and special keepsake! Drool is modern age!

It's not winning or losing- it's the snow cone after the game! Taylor played catcher this year.

Mothers's Day was fun with a little one in the house!

Our hired help at the orchard! It's difficult to get hard working employees.

Well, if you are reading this, guess you hung in there and made it! We will try and keep up from now on.

A Quick Trip To Denver

2011-02-24T10:41:00.000-08:00

If there is such a thing, we made a quick trip to Denver for a "Jane" fix as Beverly says! After looking at the calendar and all of the things coming up soon, we decided that if we were going, we better hit the trail. So, we made the decision on Thursday and left on Friday and headed north. If you didn't have to drive across the state of Texas, the trip would be pretty quick. But, it gives us some quite time together to talk about anything we want to talk about. It helps the hours pass by and every time we go it seems like it goes faster.

There was a lot of snow but the roads were clear until we got into the residential areas but we made it fine. Little Jane was asleep when we arrived but woke up just for PawPaw and BeBe! Actually, I think BeBe pinched her to get her awake! She is really growing! It had been a month since we last saw her and changes happen fast. At a little over twelve pounds, she has filled out , laughs a lot, coos and wants to talk to you so much. It was a fun visit getting to be with her--and of course Jeremy and Annie! Almost forgot they live there, too!

On Saturday morning Jeremy brought her in and put her in bed with us. We really hated that!! Jeremy wanted to take us to Estes Park and do a little snow shoeing. On the way we went to Boulder and toured the Celestial Seasoning plant. It was interesting to see how they take teas and other ingredients from all over the world and blend them. There is a separate room where they keep the peppermint. Walking into that room will open your sinuses and make your eyes water. Next we headed to Estes Park where we had lunch and then strapped on the snow shoes for a hike in the snow. Fun, a great workout, with beautiful scenery!

Sunday we went to church in Littleton. We have never seen so many babies and young couples. Jeremy and Annie made some really good chicken tacos for lunch. Annie made a homemade potato and leek soup one night and it was wonderful. Beverly wants the recipe, Annie.

On Monday, Jeremy went to work and we met him for lunch. We got to see the huge model of the building that he is currently working on, the Colorado Supreme Court building. It is located in downtown Denver across from the capitol and will be beautiful when finished. We checked out some gourmet cake and cupcake shops since it was Valentine's Day. Jeremy started the tradition when he took his Mom on our first trip to Denver. Annie took us to the Tattered Cover, a wonderful book shop in an old theater. Later, Jeremy came home early and we drove over to Mt. Falcon where Jeremy does a lot of mountain trail running. Jeremy grilled some yummy hamburgers for the evening meal. Sadly, we knew we would be leaving the next day. We had a great time visiting that night and spoiling Jane. Beverly got some "unusual" pictures of Jeremy and Annie for her phone that have given us a lot of laughs ever since.

Thanks for everything guys. It was a fun trip. Looking forward to seeing Jane at Easter. Oh,Jeremy and Annie- you can come, too!

A Year End Update.......

2010-12-31T20:29:00.000-08:00

It has been a long, long, time since we have posted anything. Life for the past three months has been mostly a blurr. Between the pecan harvest, a new grand daughter in Denver and Christmas, boy, have we been busy. At least that’s our excuse!

The pecan harvest started in October and we finally finished the final variety on the Monday before Christmas. This year’s crop was a record breaker for us in terms of yield. We continue to thank God for the bountiful crop and the exceptional price (guess we should thank China, too). When the orchard was being used as a demonstration orchard for the USDA, we had several men help us during harvest, but this year, it was basically just the two of us. We are exhausted!

In fact, we were in the orchard at the time our newest grand baby was born in Denver on November 8. It was hard not being able to be there. But, we made it up there when she was a week old and got to spend a week with Annie Jane Phillips and parents Jeremy and Annie. Lets just say she is a doll and is as precious as can be. She weighed in at 6 pounds, 14 ounces and was 19.5 inches long. It was difficult to leave them in Colorado, but we knew we would see them in five weeks. But, Beverly cried until we got back into Texas!!

Christmas at the Phillips household was a blast with everyone excited about having a new baby to pass around. It was difficult at times to get your hands on her. Too many other aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, grand and great grand parents!! We were very blessed to be together this year and pray that everyone will have a great 2011 until the season comes around again.

Rocky Mountain High

2010-10-04T19:39:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our annual fall trip to the Ouray, Colorado area. For the past five years we've gone jeeping, or off roading in the San Juan Mountains of south west Colorado. That area of the state has some great jeep and atv trails and the fall color was just about perfect this year. Plenty of professional photographers travel to the area to photograph the fall foliage and the mountains.

We hauled our Jeep again this year, stopping the first night in Red River. Red River has become one of our favorites places. Situated in the high altitude of northern New Mexico, it is literally a cool place to start and end a trip. It was 35 degrees in the morning and it felt great compared to Texas. On a side note, while we were coming across from Clayton over to Springer, we ran into a hail storm!! You couldn't see 10 feet in front of you and we were just lucky that the hail was small and pretty soft. Otherwise, we would have had major damage.

Instead of going over to Durango and up the Million Dollar Highway this year, we opted to go the northern route, taking us through Alamosa, Monte Vista, Gunnison, Montrose and then to Ouray. There is a lot of really good farms around Alamosa and they were baling alfalfa and digging potatoes.

Once in Ouray, we met up with our friends Jerry and Terry as well as Guy and Carolyn and planned out our jeeping adventures. The first day brought us rain so we took Engineer Pass up to Poughkeepsie Gulch since we knew the terrain was all rock and shelf roads. The following day was beautiful so we took Engineer over to Lake City, where we enjoyed a stop at the San Juan Soda Fountain! We took Cinnamon Pass back to Animas Forks, then down to Silverton for a late dinner. Driving the road from Silverton to Ouray is probably better in the dark because you can't see the drop-offs!!

The last day we went up to the top of Governor's Basin. It was pretty hairy! Not one of Beverly's favorite trips. It is amazing to see all of the huge, and we do mean HUGE boulders at the top of the basin, and you know that they rolled DOWN from the top and here we are looking up at the ones that are yet to fall. It makes you think!

On our way home we met up with Jeremy and Annie in Salida where we had dinner and visited for about two hours. Earlier in the day Jeremy ran a half-marathon in Aspen. He had been training for it for several months. He shortened his time by 13 minutes in a course that had over 2,000 feet in altitude gain over the 13+ mile distance. Annie looks great and now only lacks about 4 weeks until her due date!! So, Colorado, here we come again. Taylor requested a "bobble"head (hard to find!) and Presley is into purses. Luckily, we found both in Red River.

Coming Soon---Grand Baby #4

2010-09-18T21:40:00.000-07:00

We are very excited about our latest “grand baby” news! Our number of grand children will soon d-o-u-b-l-e! Our youngest son Jordan and his wife Ashley are expecting a bundle of joy on or about March 21, 2011. Ashley is now about 14 weeks along and is doing great, except for an extended period of morning sickness. We are hoping this will soon subside and she will be feeling better.

Jordan and Ashley sent out invitations to family and close friends recently asking us to come one Sunday afternoon to find out what the “buzz” was all about. Hmm–could it be? Well, yes, we thought, it had to be! But, too many clues were dropped that may have lead certain members of the family to believe that perhaps it was going to be twins! They were both hush-hush but some important pieces of information were “leaked”, such as finding a book in their house on twins and triplets. We were all relieved that it is only one especially since Ashley is so petite.

We all enjoyed the afternoon get together as we shared the good news with them. God is indeed good. About the time Jordan and Ashley find out the sex of their baby, older brother Jeremy and Annie will become parents of granddaughter number 2. Stay tuned for more information on all the exciting happenings!

Pictures from the “buzz” party!

Grandparent's Day and New Tricks

2010-09-17T19:47:00.000-07:00

Recently our community celebrated our annual Dove Festival. Every Labor Day weekend in our small town the Chamber of Commerce sponsors a festival to kick off the dove hunting season. Most of the time the weather is hot, but this year was cool and pleasant. It was a good thing, too. Taylor ran his first 1 mile Fun Run and finished up in the top third or so. Several of his classmates ran with him and it looks like we might have another cross country runner in the family! Oh, no!

This week was grandparents day at the elementary school so we asked Taylor what he wanted us to bring him for lunch. He wanted a ham and cheese sandwich (with a little mayo on it!) from Subway, regular Sun chips and ice tea! It was a fun time and we got to see tons of people our age that we don't see very often.

Presley stays with us on Fridays and her grandmother BeBe has been teaching her how to pick up marbles with her toes! Presley likes to play with these big marbles and now she can pick them up while standing. It entertained her for hours. And, it might come in handy sometime. Besides, it gave us a break from watching the Wizard of Oz!

End of Summer- Start of School

2010-09-07T09:23:00.000-07:00

We are a little behind on our blogging as usual! Although summer isn’t officially over, school has started for many including Toby, Jennifer and Taylor. When teacher in-service started we kept the grandkids during that week and planned a little fun time for them. These days we spend a lot of time watching the “Wizard of Oz” which is Presley’s favorite movie. She is fascinated by the flying, or winged, monkeys as she calls them. Taylor would rather play games on the iPhone!

We spent time at the orchard since they love to drive the Gator. Presley loves to run out there while we follow her. Taylor seems to like to run, too, so the orchard is the perfect place to practice.

One day was designated as “Craft Day” so we brought out all of the glue, construction paper, popsicle sticks, tape, scissors, stickers, crayons and markers and they spent the morning making all kinds of projects. All you have to do is give Presley a bottle of glue and some paper and she is set for the day! Taylor usually makes more “complicated” projects and he likes you to “interact” with him (he likes you to help)!

On Friday, we told them we were going on a one day vacation! They were excited but we didn’t tell them where we were going or what we were doing. It drove Taylor crazy! He questioned us frequently until we made our first stop at McDonald’s for breakfast and time on the playground. Then it was on to Waco to the Mayborn Museum on the Baylor campus. This is a first class museum, but we were mainly taking Taylor to a Lego display. It included lots of things built with Legos such as the historic bridge in Waco, castles from all over the world and games for the kids to play. They had tables and plenty of Legos where you could build whatever you wanted. Taylor built a castle pretty quickly. They really enjoyed it.

We have always tried to take our kids to educational places on our trips and this one would qualify since the remainder of the museum is filled with all kinds of history from the Waco area and Texas. It was a great morning. Afterwards we took them to the main Baylor campus to see the bears and then it was off to Olive Garden for lunch.

The day concluded with an afternoon movie. We went to see Toy Story 3 and it was wonderful. Beverly never thought she would laugh or cry so much over an animated movie! We topped it off with ice cream on the way home and then took them back home by dark! It was a fun day.

Lots of other things have been going on, too. Stay tuned for the news about “what the buzz” was all about with Jordan and Ashley! Our next post will give all the details!!

Joel Lindsey- A Musical Talent

2010-08-12T14:40:00.000-07:00

This summer we took my parents to a family reunion in Oklahoma. The clan was honoring my dad, or "Uncle Johnny" as he is known to the Oklahoma relatives, and my Aunt Billee this year. They are the last remaining siblings and this was a good chance for all of us to get together and celebrate their birthdays.

While we were there, we got to spend some time with one of my second cousins, Joel Lindsey. Joel's mother Reba was one of the sweetest, kindest, and most thoughtful persons you could ever imagine. Her dad and my dad were brothers. She passed away a few years ago and she is dearly missed.

Joel is an amazing person and one of the most talented guys I know. He is a songwriter and currently lives in Santa Barbara, California but also spends a good deal of time back in Nashville where he is also in the music publishing business. He has written over 1,000 songs, mostly gospel and has won several Dove Awards, the gospel equivalent of a Grammy. Several of his songs have gone Number 1, been song of the year or album of the year. And, he is a cancer survivor!

One evening we had the pleasure to hear him play on the old family piano. Years ago, he wrote a song especially for the family entitled "Hefton Hill" and it relates to his grandparents and their old home on the hill, the same hill that we met on during the reunion. It is a touching and moving song about his childhood days and the pleasures of summers on Hefton Hill. We all have so many memories there.

One of our favorite songs that he has written is "Calvary Answers For Me". The words are so powerful and truly make you think about what Christ has done for us. You can hear the song performed by the Perrys in this clip from YouTube. Hope you enjoy it.

Note: You will probably have to pause our play list (on the right side of the blog) before viewing the video.

Coming Soon---Grand Baby #3

2010-05-09T20:26:00.000-07:00

This time last week we were in Denver, Colorado for a visit with our middle son Jeremy and his wife Annie, and our “coming soon” grand baby which is due November 1! We are so excited! One of the first questions we asked them was “Does this mean you are moving back to Texas?” All we got was a little laugh, which probably means we will be making lots of trips to Colorado. But, we don’t mind because we love Colorado.

It was a short trip but we had a great time, visiting, seeing a few new sights and helping them with a couple of projects around the house. This is the first time we have been to their new home and we really like the house, especially the view of the foot hills to the west, downtown Denver to the east and Pikes Peak in the distant south. Real estate there is pricey but they were able to find a great home in the southwest part of Denver. They worship at a church in Littleton which is just south of them.

While we were there we went out to Red Rocks Amphitheater where many musicians have performed. Jeremy and Annie saw Bob Dylan there a year or two ago. We also went to Golden (home of Coors beer and Colorado Schools of Mines) and to Lookout Mountain, the grave site of Buffalo Bill Cody. Mostly we just enjoyed getting to visit and driving around and seeing some of the scenery in and around Denver. Beverly’s highlight was when Jeremy took her to a little place in Denver called Happy Cakes. It is a cupcake shop, not just your regular run of the mill ones, but those with fancy names. It will become a tradition to go there each time we visit. They were yummy!

Thanks for everything Jeremy and Annie and we hope to see you again in a couple of months.

How Does Your Garden Grow

2010-05-05T19:41:00.000-07:00

This year we expanded our garden area a little so we could have more sun. We planted onions (they haven't done too well), broccoli, potatoes, tomatoes, jalapeno peppers, sweet peppers, squash, zucchini, corn and beans. We are about to plant our okra and black-eyed peas. The squash have little ones on them already so we are excited about having squash before long. We are about to put a privacy fence behind the garden and plant some shrubs along the front of it. We have been putting in the posts and it dug surprisingly easy, except when we hit big tree roots that had to be sawed out. Sawing in the dirt is hard on a chain saw! So, we are hoping that the rains will continue and we won't be watering all summer long. But, if it means some fresh vegetables, we will just have to do it.

Mama's Little Aggie

2010-04-22T21:20:00.000-07:00

If you are familiar with Aggie traditions, you know that April 21 is Aggie Muster. Jennifer serves as Hamilton County Aggie Muster Chairman. When Presley came Wednesday morning, Jennifer had her all decked out in her Aggie attire. We went to Stephenville that day to check on Nana and Granddad so we took advantage of the photo opportunity and snapped these pictures in their yard.

A Time For Catchin' Up

2010-04-22T19:29:00.000-07:00

Boy, are we behind! It has been a while since we have posted anything. We have been busy, maybe not any more so than anyone else, but blogging has been pretty far down on the "To Do List". We enjoy reading other blogs but we just haven't sat down and updated ours. So, here is a composite of several pictures from the past few months. Hope you enjoy them and hope we can continue to keep current!

These pictures range in time from around Christmas, one of the snows, Presley's birthday, early spring pictures and Easter.

Dreaming Of a White Christmas

2009-12-24T13:38:00.000-08:00

The theme of our Christmas cards this year (which we didn't get all of them mailed) was "Dreaming of a White Christmas" and it looks like Mother Nature had the same idea. It started snowing here about noon today and really hasn't let up much since then. It has covered the area with a brilliant, clean blanket of white creating a beautiful, although windy and cold playground for all kids, even those of us a little past the traditional age of childhood!. It signaled a good excuse to get out the Jeep and go for a drive and for a few photo opportunities of the kids and the scenery. Taylor and Presley especially enjoyed it and it didn't take long for a short lived snow ball fight to happen.

We met Toby, Jennifer, Taylor and Presley for lunch at Central Perk, a favorite little eatery owned by our next door neighbors. Today's special was chicken quesadillas and a ham and navy bean soup that is so good. It was a perfect place to be as the snow really started falling. It was exciting for Taylor and Presley.

Our boys both had to deal with hazardous driving conditions. Jeremy decided to leave Denver a little early and it was a good thing he did. He and Annie are spending Christmas in Houston with her folks and will be here with us next week. Jordan wasn't as lucky. He and Ashley left Abilene late this morning to go to her parents home south of Wichita Falls. The normal "less than 2 hour" trip took them over 3 hours in blowing blizzard conditions. They made it and we are certainly thankful for that.

So, we came home, built a fire in the wood stove and are content to work around here and enjoy the snow. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Fall Trip to Ouray

2009-11-21T10:03:00.000-08:00

We recently made what has become our annual trek to the San Juan Mountains in Southwest Colorado for a week of off-roading over the mountain passes in the Ouray-Silverton-Telluride area. We discovered this entertaining hobby later in life than some, but it has become sort of a passion for both of us. For years we rented Jeeps from outfitters in the area but this year we got to take our own, fondly referred to as “The Beast.”

We found this Jeep this summer. It seemed to us that it was meant to be since this Jeep was built for off-roading by MIT Drivetrain Specialist in El Cajon, California which happened to be the same people that built our friends Jerry and Terry’s Jeep and our Albuquerque jeeping leader Guy’s Jeep. It is a 1994 Jeep Wrangler YJ and only had 22,000 miles on it. It had all of the things done to it that we wanted including ARB lockers, a Warn winch, 35 inch tires, springover lift, CB radio, on board air compressor, and everything else you would need to climb anything from mountains to the red rock in Moab. We even got a Exiss aluminum trailer to haul it on!

We headed out to Colorado and stopped the first night in Red River, New Mexico. This is one place that we want to re-visit since it is so beautiful and cool, literally! We met up with Terry and Jerry in Durango and headed to Ouray. If you have never traveled this highway, the Million Dollar Highway, you need to experience it. It’s a little nerve racking in the best of weather, especially when pulling a trailer, but I can’t imagine how it would be in the winter.

Once in Ouray, we hooked up with Guy, our unofficial trail leader. Guy has been over every highway, road, trail, and rabbit path in the area and serves as a trail leader in Moab during the Jeep Jamboree. The first day we went over Corkscrew, California, Hurricane and then down to Silverton for dinner at one of our favorite places, Handlebars Saloon. Danny had the bison burger and Bev had a great taco salad.

The next day was a day that we both looked forward to and dreaded at the same time. We decided to go over Black Bear Pass to Telluride. Black Bear is one of those passes that rental companies won’t let you take their jeeps over and it has built up a reputation as a “booger bear”, no pun intended! It takes you over some rough, narrow shelf roads, tight switchbacks and some sharp, steep step downs. We met a couple from Oklahoma that joined us so we had Jeeps from California, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma all in a line that day. It was a good drive- a little intimidating, but not as bad as it is hyped-up to be. The water falls, especially Bridal Veil, were beautiful and there was already a lot of ice.

The following night, Beverly had a visitor during the night. About 2:30 a.m. Beverly woke up to what she thought was someone tearing up all of the cars at the motel. Upon investigation, we discovered a huge black bear right below our room going through the dumpster looking for a little late night snack. The next morning we also discovered from other guests that another bear was in the tree directly behind our room, not 15 feet away from our window.

The next day was spent going over Imogene Pass, the second highest vehicle pass in Colorado. It is a little over 13,100 feet in elevation and there was quite a bit of snow. At the top you can see forever. You can see the LaSalle Mountains across the way in Utah, near Moab. The descent takes you to Telluride also and from there we took a beautiful drive back to Ouray via Last Dollar Road.

We enjoyed jeeping with Guy and Jerry and Terry for these first three days. Jeremy and Annie joined us Thursday night and stayed for three days. Jeremy got to try out the Jeep one day when we went up to Yankee Boy and Governor’s Basin. We met some hunters near the top and stopped and talked to them for a while. They were checking out some mule deer bucks up on the side of a mountain and they let us take a look at them through their spotting scopes.

The next day we took a drive down to Silverton and spent the morning just looking and shopping. The Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge train had just pulled into the station and it was fun to see it. We found some good jerky to eat, too. Later in the day, we took them over Last Dollar Road to Telluride for an afternoon of sight seeing. We bought a few apples that were grown in the area and then took the long way back over to Ridgeway and then to Ouray. We drove around the town of Ouray late that evening and spotted our own “big buck” content to be grazing in someone’s yard! We ate at O’Briens that evening and were pretty tired when the bed time came.

We had a great time and enjoyed having our own Jeep with us rather than renting. We enjoy the area and look forward to getting to go back.

Beautiful trees- they would make great Christmas trees!

Friends Jerry and Terry- our traditional coffee stop in Durango!

Beginning the trip up Corkscrew- near Ironton Park. The trees were really nice.

Airing down the tires- we deflate the tires to about 10 pounds of pressure.

Getting ready to head out the first morning.

The top of Hurricane Pass, windy and cold.

It was a little chilly at the top of California Pass.

The "Beast" coming up Corkscrew Pass.

Our group eating dinner at Handlebars in Silverton.

Do you see the image of the black bear in trees as you look at the distant mountain?

Black Bear Pass- we made it!

The switchbacks coming down Black Bear- overlooking Telluride from Imogene Pass.

The caravan- representing Texas, California, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

On top of Imogene Pass- the LaSalle Mountains in Moab, Utah in the background

Pretty good mule deer- a "front yard" shot from the porch!

Jeremy and Annie in Ouray- beautiful flowers were everywhere!

Visit to the Emergency Room

2009-10-24T21:26:00.000-07:00

Well, Presley is sicker than we thought! Tonight her fever spiked to 104.5 so Jennifer took her to the emergency room. A flu test looked negative but she had a lot of croup like coughing, congestion and an impending ear infection. Following a breathing treatment, two oral medicines and two injections and then observing her for about 3 hours, they let her go home. The doctor told us that it was good that she came in because a delay might have meant a hospital stay.

Tonight, we are praying that she can sleep better (and Mother, too!) and that she will begin to recover. It is hard to see her so sick and miserable. Taylor spent the time coloring. He was a good big brother while everyone else was tending to little sister.

PawPaw's Girl

2009-10-23T20:39:00.000-07:00

As you may know, Presley stays with us most days. She is almost 20 months old and we sure enjoy keeping her. She is growing up fast (not in size particularly) but is talking a lot and we are teaching her enough bad habits to get her into trouble at home! She will eat almost anything and seems to have a particular fondness for green olives, beets, pretzels, BeBe's chocolate and PawPaw's pecans! We have to limit a few of those items.

We brought her a bear backpack from Silverton, Colorado and she likes to carry around her collection of bugs in it! Yes, Presley likes bugs, now. At first, she was so afraid of anything that even looked like a bug, but now she has a collection of plastic spiders, lady bugs and grasshoppers (maybe she got that from her Uncle Jordan!). Presley also likes to dance---fast and furious. We had a little video of her dancing, but for some reason we couldn't get it to upload, so we might add it later. She is the highlight of our days.

She is sick tonight and running fever. We are praying that it isn't the flu. We are all pretty aware of washing hands and staying out of crowds, but there is so much sickness here these days, it will be hard to avoid it completely. When Taylor comes in from school, he has learned to go directly to the bathroom and wash his hands. You can hear him singing through not one, but two choruses of Happy Birthday to be sure he washes them long enough!

Here are a few pictures of PawPaw's girl. She is a PawPaw's girl, but she loves her BeBe, too! But, if you ask her, "Are you PawPaw's girl?, she'll say "Un, huh!" That is hard to take!

New Blog Design

2009-10-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Thanks, Ashley, for our new blog design. We like the color and all of the outdoor pictures that she added. Hope you enjoy it!

It's That Nutty Time of the Year!

2009-10-21T18:05:00.000-07:00

This last week marked the beginning of the harvest in the pecan orchard for 2009! All of this year's work now boils down to the next few weeks of harvest. We are hoping that the weather will cooperate (is that rain I hear falling outside?) and allow us a chance to gather the crop. I am always amazed how far away harvest seems in April when the trees first get their leaves and how short the year has been in October when it is already time to start the harvest.

We had a late freeze in the trees in mid April, thus making for a less than bumper crop, but some varieties have heavy loads and the quality looks excellent. We harvested the Pawnee last week (about 2 weeks later than normal), sold the majority of them already and have orders for the remaining ones. We will be starting on the Cheyenne and Wichita as soon as the ground dries enough for our equipment.

Kindergarten Learning Celebration

2009-10-21T15:23:00.000-07:00

The Ann Whitney Elementary School recently had a Learning Celebration for the kindergarten classes. It was held out on the tennis courts and parents and grandparents got to see what the classes had learned during the first six weeks of school. They performed various skits, sang songs and also did some counting in both English and Spanish.

It was fun to watch and we were thankful to discover that our little man is not the only "jumping bean" in kindergarten. It is hard to believe that the first six weeks has come and gone. The school year always passes quickly, unless of course, you are a teacher!

Taylor and his classmates

Taylor and his proud Mom

Everything I Know I Learned in Kindergarten

2009-09-11T17:56:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since our last post. You'd think so since it was July 16 when the last post was made! I guess our lives are just plain boring compared to some people. But the start of the new school year marked another milestone for us--our first grandchild started kindergarten. It's been a mixture of excitement, apprehension, pride, sadness, but mainly just a reminder that life goes on and everyday brings about changes that make you realize how much you should enjoy today.

Taylor has been in school for three weeks and seems to be enjoying the experience. His favorite times are lunch and recess! Imagine that! It's been a big switch for him getting to go to school with his mother each day. His dad teaches, too, so it's not like he hasn't been around the campus already. But, he is always happy to come home after school to pick up Presley and see his PawPaw and BeBe.

Today was Grandparents Day at school. Taylor has been looking forward to us coming and eating lunch with him. We had told him we would bring him a special lunch so he requested a ham and cheese sandwich (on wheat) from the Hidden Valley store, plain chips and an Orange Crush. So, today lunch was a little different, but he loved it!

Presley has been staying with us during school, although we have other people lined up to keep her while we are gone and for later when the pecan harvest begins and we both need to be working in the orchard. She is changing so much, learning to say a lot of words and likes to feed the cats first thing in the morning! She has also learned to pooch her lip out and frown when things don't go her way. But, she has been so easy to keep, especially with two naps a day. She is just plain sweet and precious and really reminds us of Jennifer when she was this age.

Here are a few pictures from the past few weeks.

Birthday Wishes to the Mrs.

2009-07-16T13:57:00.000-07:00

My beautiful wife had a birthday last week, on July 11 to be exact. She turned...., well, lets just say that she turned another day older!! But, to me, she's not getting older, only better! Beverly is an amazing person, wife, mother, grandmother and friend. She continues to put others before herself. I hope that I learn to appreciate that trait more fully and I suspect that others see it in her life as well.

For her birthday, she chose not some big birthday get away, but to have her aging parents down for the day as well as our daughter and our grand children. It was a full day filled with visiting and eating. Eating calls for cooking, so a lot of her birthday was spent preparing meals. Not too exciting, but it was good to have as many here as possible. The boys were out of pocket, but they called her and wished her their best!

Here are 5 things I like about Beverly (it's hard to come up with your Top 5 things because there so many!):

1. She is a Godly woman that wants and tries to put God first in her life.

2. Beverly is a beauty, inside and out. She likes to see the good in people.

3. She loves to go 4-wheeling in the Jeep especially in Colorado
over some pretty wild places. She has a great sense of adventure.

4. She is a great mother and grand mother. She is a hard worker, too!

5. Beverly continues to love me even when I don't deserve it.

Happy Birthday to my best friend! I love you. Here are a few pictures that I like of her (some you may have seen before, but I like them). I know she won't like any of them, but, hey, I'm the one doing the post! I couldn't find the song "You're My Best Friend" by Don Williams so "Till the rivers Run Dry" will have to do.

The Sad, Sorrowful Saga of Sweetie Pie

2009-07-08T20:17:00.000-07:00

As you may know, we had a cat show up at the house several months ago and, well, you know, she had a sweet personality and everything and well, you know, she got to hanging around and, well, she finally just stayed and we got to really love her. Well, as nature will have it with stray female cats, she was or became pregnant during her visit here and had 4 kittens about the first of April. She was a good mama and was doing a good job raising them, until one morning she didn't come up to eat. Sad story, but the following day we found her down in the park behind us. She had had a run in with something, probably a car.

Well, the kittens were 5 weeks old and were learning to eat on their own, so thanks to some mothering from Beverly, they made it. One looked pretty much like a Siamese, one was a grey Tabby and the other two looked like twins with white faces and tan, Siamese looking hair. Taylor named the smallest one Sweetie Pie and that was his favorite and he named the other twin Fluffy. Simon and Tiger rounded out the name giving of the two boy kittens.

Well, kittens are OK, but 4 rapidly growing kittens soon become cats. We thought we had all of them placed but at the last minute we found a new home for the twin girls, Fluffy and Sweetie Pie. Taylor was, lets just say disappointed, that they were not going to grow old here in the Phillips household. We told his mother that if she thought it was OK, she might bring Taylor by and let him tell Sweetie Pie goodbye. One afternoon, Beverly was working around the house when she heard this awful wailing and crying out in the yard. Upon investigation, she discovered Taylor and his beloved Sweetie Pie saying their goodbyes. It was painful for a few days, but we are happy to report that both boy and cats have made the transition and are doing well.

Just don't mention the name Sweetie Pie around here!

Happy Birthday To Jordan Tyler

2009-05-28T12:03:00.000-07:00

Twenty four years ago today at 2:01 p.m. our Jordan Tyler was born. There have been times since when we've both looked at each other and marveled at God's sense of humor! God gave us you last because if you had been first, you probably would have been the last! Just a little humor, Jordan. You were a fun one to raise, active, always on the go, a blond, curly headed whirlwind of energy.

Now, 24 years later, you are all grown up and still a bundle of energy. You have given us a lot of good memories; football (remember the Dublin game?), stock shows (that second place at San Antonio, so close to the first you wanted),hunting and fishing (your first buck with Toby and Paul), wilderness trek (a 14,000 foot Rocky Mountain high adventure) and so many more. Now, you are making memories of your own; work (getting your irrigation and pesticide licenses), your first home (putting in your irrigation system, patio and landscape), Big Brothers (helping your "little" make his own memories) and looking forward to children of your own.

Happy Birthday! Hope your day is memorable.

We love you,
Mom and Dad

Farmer Dan and His Hired Help

2009-04-28T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I helped my orchard neighbor do some plowing. He farms a lot of sorghum silage around the perimeter of the pecans in addition to working for a large dairy. He was way behind on his own farming so I agreed to help him get caught up. After an early morning flat on one of the big tractor duals I got started running a field cultivator over the fields that he wanted to plant this week.

Beverly, Taylor and Presley brought me lunch and that gave Taylor an opportunity to ride in the tractor with me which is one of his favorite things to do. Taylor is much more savvy about tractors (especially John Deere} than most 5 year old children. He can tell you the model numbers, whether it is a 4 wheel drive or if it is articulated. You can ask him what that means! Presley and Beverly even climbed in the cab for a few rounds and Presley seemed to enjoy it as much as Taylor.

Plowing always brings back a lot of memories from my growing up days on the farm where we learned to drive tractors pretty early in life. There is something about plowing that is soothing and relaxing to me, especially if you don't have to think too much about what you are doing! We got a good rain this week so the planting will have to wait but nobody is complaining.

Kitty Litter Or What The Easter Bunny Brought Us

2009-04-27T19:21:00.000-07:00

The only really good cats we've had since we've been married have been those that just walked into our lives off of the street. Oh, we got one from the Waco animal shelter that we named Shadow, but he didn't come with a personality. His stay in the shelter must have caused him a deep seated psychological disorder or it might have been because we had him neutered, but we had him the longest of any cat, about 7 years!

Beverly is really the cat lover in the family but these first two cats were such good cats that even I took a liking to them. Unfortunately, one of them died of feline leukemia and the other was hit by a car. One day about six months ago a cat appeared on the front porch one night that looked remarkably similar to the two that we had earlier. With a personality deluxe, she won a place around the Phillips household with no problem! She seemed to adopt the entire neighborhood, going from house to house for a free lunch, but always coming back to us for her home base.

Well, as cats will do, she started looking a little pregnant and then a lot pregnant. She delivered four kittens 3 weeks ago tonight. From the looks of things, their Daddy must have been a Siamese because 3 of them have that look and blue eyes. The other one, a male, looks like Mama. So, in about 3 more weeks, they will be ready for adoption. If you are looking for a kitten, we'll be looking for a home for them. Send us your adoption information and we'll review it before making a decision!!

Remembering Oklahoma City

2009-04-19T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today marks the 14th anniversary of the bombing in Oklahoma City of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building. It commemorates one of the saddest days in American history when domestic terrorists took the lives of 168 innocent American citizens, many of them children in a day care center.

A beautiful memorial, which was dedicated on April 19, 2000, now occupies the space where the building once stood. We visited the site in 2005. To say that it made an impression on us would be an understatement. It is something that you have to experience in person to appreciate fully. If you ever get to OKC, go by and see it. You will not be disappointed.

This entrance plaque helps to explain the contents of the memorial.

Looking across the reflection pool at the nine rows of chairs representing the nine floors of the building and those killed on each floor.

Looking at the reflection pool.

This statue entitled "And Jesus Wept" is outside of the memorial on a nearby street.

Danny, Dorothy and John after breakfast at the Cracker Barrel. We were in Oklahoma City for John's World War II Navy reunion.

Another Sister, Another Birthday!

2009-04-12T20:56:00.000-07:00

Although it may not seem like it lately, I do occasionally blog about things other than birthdays! It's just that three of my siblings have birthdays in the first three months of the year unlike my personal family where there are seven birthdays in the span of about a month. But April 12 is my sister Brenda's birthday and I want to wish her the best birthday ever.

Brenda is an older sister and therefore was "in charge" a lot when we were growing up. Being in charge carries with it certain responsibilities but also certain privileges. I would have to say she rarely overextended her authority and we got along pretty well as far as I can remember. I do carry one battle scar, however. I have a scar down my back (although it has faded with time) of an encounter with her fingernail, probably gotten as I tried to escape following some wrong doing on my part!

I guess all of us kids are known for some trait that we exhibit in our lives. Brenda, as we all know is the "clean queen." You could eat from her floors and not be concerned. The floor would be as clean as her plates! She vacuums everything; the carpet, her sheets, even her refrigerator! We even accuse her of cleaning her baseboards with a toothbrush.

Brenda also loves to sing when we get together as a family. She likes to learn new songs and has introduced me to some really good ones, especially "Glory Land." Her only fault as far as I can see is that she is an Okie but I think her heart is still in Texas. She was born on an Easter Sunday so I hope you've had a good Easter. Happy Birthday Brenda and many, many more!

To My Sis, With Love

2009-03-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

Have you ever known someone that just makes you feel good when you're around them? I'm lucky enough to have one as a sister and today is her birthday! My older sister Dayle Anita is just one of those rare individuals that lifts you above your troubles and makes want to laugh. One of her most endearing traits is her laugh; contagious, hearty and soulful. I could pick her out of a room blindfolded just by hearing her laugh!

One of the peculiarities of the Phillips family that I have noticed is that many of us are known by both our first and middle names. For instance, if anyone calls me Danny Fred, I instantly know that they are family or a very close friend. So it is with Dayle Anita, pronounced "Dell Neeta" in Phillips jargon. Named after my daddy, she is a natural beauty, not only from the outside but inside as well. No pretense, no put on; what you see is what you get, and she has a lot to give.

Sis is the wife of a hard working, successful farmer, now retired, not because he doesn't still love the land and the challenge of farming, but from too many years of literally back breaking work. She is the mother of five successful children: all boys!! Maybe that's where her sense of humor comes from because I suspect you might could use it with five boys.

My sister was the last one of us to be born at home. Mama said it rained all day the day she was born and Daddy had to go get the doctor and he barely made it to our house on those muddy Knox County dirt roads. He stayed the night and I'm glad he did or he would have missed the birth of an angel.

She has had her share of crosses to bear but you would never know it. I suspect she feels she is one of the most blessed people in the world but I think we who love her are the ones who are blessed. I hope you have had a good day, sis. You deserve it. I love you!

Presley Turns One and Becomes Mobile!!

2009-03-06T19:27:00.000-08:00

Presley Nicole turned 1 on February 26! It's hard to believe how quickly the last year has passed. We celebrated with a big Princess Party at her house with family and friends last weekend. She had a blast and really enjoyed eating her cake, now that she has four teeth. She had been taking small steps for several weeks but just before her birthday--zoom, zoom, off she went and is fully mobile now! In some ways it is easier with her walking rather than crawling. She loves the outdoors and is Miss Independent, wanting to do everything by herself.

We all are looking forward to the spring and summer when she can enjoy the activities of warm weather. We are so thankful to have a granddaughter. She reminds us of her mother at this age and it's like having a little doll to play with all of the time.

Happy Birthday, Princess Presley!

Yum-Yum! My own cake!!

Uncle Jordan, Aunt Ashley, Mom and Dad with the birthday girl!

One of Presley's new birthday outfits.

Taylor and Presley celebrating early at PawPaw and BeBe's.

Our little sleeping angel!

Too cute!! Tennis, anyone?

Happy Birthday To My Big Brother!

2009-02-25T13:01:00.000-08:00

February 26 marks two important events in my life. Our only grand daughter turns one, and her great-uncle, my brother will celebrate his birthday as well. Lester Lee, alias Uncle Pester, Lester Bob, Plugger and Looney Lester will turn another year older and wiser. Being my older brother, Lester Lee has always been my mentor, teaching me the finer points of carpentry, plumbing, electricity and other not so formal skills such as philosophy, the art of falling off of a roof or out of a tree and not breaking a bone and the importance of a sense of humor. My big brother knows a lot about a lot of things. He was a well known wedding photographer in Tuscon, Arizona, an admired, successful elementary school teacher for over 30 years, a real estate developer (similar to Donald Trump), a ham radio operator and a funny uncle to our children.

I can't remember our early growing up years together, which is my memory's fault, until he went off to college at Abilene Christian College, which is now ACU. Lester always went on the wheat harvest during the summer vacation. For you that don't know what that is, it is where you hire out to a custom harvester and perform every job needed on the crew including but not limited to driving the combines, trucks and doing repairs. I later followed in his footsteps and learned that you also spend a lot of time waiting for the rain to stop, the field to dry out or moving on to the next location. He loved it and would do it today if he could.

I recall the time that he and a buddy of his were coming back into town from out in the country. The back seat of his car was loaded down with phonograph records. Here they were, sailing down a dirt road, not a care in the world. Until---they discovered they were one road over from the intended road and this one dead ended into a T. Results---broken records everywhere and the fence at the end of the road and his car were in a general state of disrepair. Thankfully, no body got hurt and the next day was spent fixing the fence. He had a thing for cars. No one could pack as much into the trunk of a Camaro as he could.

Later in life we would spend much more time together as we built his house together and worked on a number of apartments and rental property. I learned a lot from him that I continue to use today. Jennifer is especially close to Lester and now we have two reasons to celebrate February 26. Happy Birthday brother and many more.

Earlier in life; enjoying a big Frosty!

At a recent family get together; talking farming with Toby!

A quiet moment. Thanks brother for all you have done for me!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

2009-02-15T12:57:00.000-08:00

This past weekend my two brothers and three sisters, along with our extended family, celebrated our mother's 90th birthday. Ninety years of living, wondrously filled with the peaks and valleys of everyday life, seasoned with the joys and sorrows that come into all our lives, but one lived with grace, honor and love. Married at age 15 to my father, ten years her elder, delivering two stillborn babies by the age of 18, and dealing with the greatest economic depression of our time, most people would not have given the union much of a chance of surviving. It only lasted 64 years until my father passed away in 1998 at the age of 90!

Mom's life never got to be too glamorous. It dealt more with survival on the farm and all too often consisted of hard work and hard times. I can't remember many details of their early years, having come along in the middle of the birth order when times had become somewhat easier. But, I recall enough to know that we didn't have a lot, but we always had food on the table due in part to Mom's resourcefulness. Big gardens meant survival with food through the year, but it also meant plenty of work; growing, harvesting and canning the fruits of her labor. I recall chores of picking peas, harvesting okra (a hot and itchy job that I hated) and shucking corn. She made the best creamed corn ever, but the kitchen was a mess for a couple of days with corn "milk" splattered over everything in sight.

Hoeing cotton was also a "biggee". While daddy plowed, we kids and Mama hoed cotton. It was always hot and the rows were always too long, but I wish I could go back and experience it again, but not for long! We took a break after lunch (after Mom fixed something to eat) and would lay down in the floor in front of the evaporative cooler and take a nap, knowing all too well we had to go back to the field when it cooled off to a comfortable 100 degrees for a "few" mores rows later that evening.

Mom inherited her sewing and quilting skills from her mother, my MawMaw. Mom saved every scrap of fabric and turned them into quilted works of art with names like Log Cabin, Double Wedding Ring and Little Dutch Girl. We still use many of those quilts today and they are still warm and comforting. She even made me a red blazer for my high school choir group. Someone later borrowed it and it was never seen again. It's probably just as well. I don't wear much red, unlike my Daddy!

Ninety years seems like a long time in some ways. But when you think back on those growing up years, it seems to have flown. We lived in about 6 or 7 places growing up and they all hold special memories because of family. I miss my Daddy, but I am thankful to still have Mom around to remind me of my heritage (she's a big genealogy buff, too). We had a great celebration of her life complete with old stories (mostly true), laughter, food, and her favorite time, church service together and all of us together singing a lot of "church songs". Her favorite song has always been Farther Along.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Abilene Adventures

2009-01-23T07:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we attended Jordan and Ashley's county livestock show. They are both involved in the Big Brothers program and their little's family had two pigs in the show. We got up early on Friday in order to be there on time. Of course, most of your time at stock shows is spent waiting. But, the pigs did well (one made the premium sale!!) and M did a great job showing. Thanks Ashley and Jordan for putting us up for the weekend. We had a good visit and enjoyed getting to see Morgan. We think she likes pigs pretty well, too. She'll probably need one some day!!

We tried out a couple of eating places (new to us), Rosa's and Joe Allen's. Both were very good and we enjoyed getting to spend time with Jordan and Ashley and being in Abilene. Next stop for the pig will be San Antonio in February. It will be a good experience, no matter what the outcome.

Congratulations to Jordan!! He is now a licensed irrigator with the state of Texas and is also a certified commercial pesticide applicator. Way to go!!

We left in the afternoon Saturday and visited Danny's mother in Munday and went to church with her on Sunday. We enjoyed lunch with her and Danny's sister Dayle before heading home.

Morgan taking care of Wilbur the pig

Jordan, Morgan and Wilbur saying "Cheese"

Jordan and K--big buddies and pig buddies

Morgan and M give the pig some last minute advice

Jordan entertaining us singing "Chicken Fried" by Zac Brown Band

Lacye modeling her Xmas sweater

It's official--I'm a licensed irrigator!!

Our Colorado Getaway

2009-01-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

On New Year's day we left for a short vacation getaway to one of our favorite places, Durango, Colorado. With all of the snow, it was a beautiful winter wonderland. The overnight temperature dropped to 9 degrees one night, but like people say, it didn't seem that cold. Right!! With no set agenda, we decided to ride the narrow gauge Durango-Silverton Railroad train the first day. During the winter the train doesn't go all the way to Silverton due to the heavy snow and reduced passenger demand. However, it does go up to Cascade Canyon where we got off, warmed up by the fire pit, and enjoyed the beautiful mountain scenery (we honestly believe the sky is bluer in Colorado). The train passes through the narrow canyon walls close enough that you can reach out and touch both sides of the steep bluffs. On our way back, we spotted a couple of bighorn sheep high on the rocks above the train.

Along the way we saw a number of isolated cabins and houses, one of which was used in a scene from the movie "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." During the 5 hour trip, we got acquainted with some of our fellow passengers which for the most part were from Texas! We met people from Burleson, Austin and the Houston area. Part of the bunch departed the train on the way back to meet up with a group that would take them snowmobiling. We planned to go snowmobiling the next day, but a winter storm warning and falling snow changed our minds. We wished that we had known about the train/snowmobiling package earlier and we would have taken advantage of it.

We stayed at the DoubleTree Hotel on the banks of the Animas River. It was so nice and we would recommend it to anyone! We came back through Pagosa Springs and across northern New Mexico. The highway that goes across to Red River was closed due to snow drifts so we had to go further south and then back to Angel Fire and Eagles's Nest. The roads there were icy and the wind was blowing snow across them which made for a "fun" driving experience! It was a great getaway for our anniversary!

All aboard!! Leaving Durango

Watch out for that curve!!

At the stop in Cascade Canyon

Waiting to head back to Durango

I told her not to get too far away!!

A nice warm up by a great fire!

Starbucks coffee!! Yum...

Beverly at the train depot

Starting to snow...

A view from our hotel room

The drive home...filled with excitement!

Late evening after a long day...

Our One Year Blogging Anniversary

2009-01-08T20:54:00.000-08:00

Today is not only the birthday of Elvis Presley, but it is also the one year anniversary of our blog "Jeepers Creepers." Ironically, our first post was about Elvis as well (I think that was Beverly's doing!). In the past year we have enjoyed sharing our blog with family and friends. We haven't posted as much as we originally thought we would but sometimes life is just too busy. Hats off to those of you that blog daily, but I just don't see that happening here.

We will try to do better in 2009 and we want to wish all of you a Happy New Year.

Happy Birthday, Elvis! You will always be the King of Rock n' Roll, man!

Happy Anniversary To My Sweetheart

2008-12-23T07:54:00.000-08:00

On December 27, 2008 Beverly and I will be married 33 years! I tease her and tell her it's been the happiest 15 years of my life!! That is not true at all, of course. Each year has been different in its own way and the years have gone amazingly fast. It seems like yesterday that we were young newlyweds starting out in Eastland in a $100.00 a month frame house behind the fire station. I remember well the night the siren went off and a startled, sleepy Beverly jumped up from sleep asking "Mama, what is it?" I'm thinking "I'm not your Mama!" During the next three years there our first baby, Jennifer, was born and the rent went up $25.00.

Every since then, we have lived here in H-town, raised 3 children and grown older and wiser. The past 33 years are filled with so many memories and we often talk about those Alan Jackson "remember when" days. We have been fortunate in so many ways. We haven't grown wealthy by any means, but we are wealthy in terms of our family, our children, grandchildren and friends. God continues to bless us richly and we give him credit for all of the wonderful blessings we enjoy. Our children are all happily married now and are where we were those many years ago. I pray that they will have the same happiness we have experienced.

Beverly, you are the love of my life. You are my best friend, my confidant, my counselor, and a wonderful wife and mother to our children. I hope we can look forward to many more years together doing things like jeeping in Colorado and enjoying each other's company. Remember, I love you the most and always will!

Our Little Man Turns Five

2008-11-23T18:19:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that it has already been five years since our grandson Taylor first came into our lives! But, this past week, Taylor turned five years old! Next year he will be in school and everyone knows how fast times goes once they start to school. As parents we all know how much we love our children, but like people say, there is something very special about grandchildren. He has filled our lives with so much enjoyment and love and is a constant source of laughter, awe and amazement. He loves his PawPaw and BeBe and we have spent a lot of hours together. We know that someday as he gets older he will find other things more exciting than being here with us, but we are hoping he will remember these days and look back on them with good memories. It has been a busy week with birthday celebrations at pre-school, with family and a birthday party with his friends on Saturday. Now we look forward to the next six birthdays in our immediate family from now until New Year's Day. Wow! Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Here are a few favorite pictures of Taylor. We had to include one of Presley as she tried on Taylors boots and hat!

Songs About Life

2008-11-15T15:46:00.000-08:00

What little I know about blogging, at least the format portion of the blog, I learned from Ashley and from trial and error, mostly error! One of my favorite things about this blog is the ability to download songs that really touch you from time to time. Music has a way of expressing your own thoughts when you can't express them yourself. I admire good song writers and one thing they all seem to have in common is plenty of life experiences. I think you need that in order to really tell a good story. Experience is the best teacher and from their experiences their songs are born. So here lately, when I have a little time, which doesn't happen often, I like to look for those songs that fit how I may be feeling. So, when you hear some of our blog music, you can get an idea of what's on our minds. Just some rambling thoughts from someone with some life experiences of his own. I think I'll go get my guitar and write a song!

The Lawn Ranger and His Field of Dreams

2008-08-14T20:33:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that all I have done this summer is mow! With the recent rains, which we are very thankful for, the grass has really been growing. Not only do I take care of our yard, but I also have a lot of mowing and shredding to do at the orchard. Also, last year, the local Park Board needed someone with some knowledge of athletic fields to help them establish four new fields at the new park. Someone probably said, "Get Danny. He's retired and he knows about growing grass." So, I have been the official Forest Gump of the park for the past couple of years. I'm on a mower so much that when my children send birthday or Father's Day cards, the cards all have something to do with mowing. Jordan sent me a card about the Lawn Ranger, and that is about the truth.
The fields, 2 baseball fields, 1 softball field and 1 football/soccer field are all seeded in a hybrid bermudagrass called Princess 77. It has really grown well and we are in our second year of play on them. We are lucky to have this facility in our community.

The Lawn Ranger and his horse John Deere!

A view of some of the fields. In the background are two old bridges that once crossed the Leon River and are being "recycled" at the park and will become a part of the walking-biking trail.

What A Difference A Day Makes

2008-08-07T13:12:00.000-07:00

Like many of you, we have been suffering through the summer with hot temperatures and no rain. But, thanks to God and Edouard, all of that changed yesterday. God does answer prayers, sometimes in a big way. During the night on August 6, sometime around 2:00 a.m. the rain started and when it was all finished we had received almost 6 inches here at the house. It was a lot of rain, but even more came at the orchard. We got around 9 inches there! There was an advertisement in this weeks Hamilton paper that simply said "Pray For Rain" and it worked. We are very thankful for this blessing. We hope that if you were not in the rain path this time, that you will receive what you need soon.

This isn't a very good picture, but the water was almost over the bridge on the little creek behind our house.

By the end of the day, the water was down, but flowing swiftly.

The Leon River overflow was up over this 5 wire fence.

The Leon River crested yesterday. Muddy, but still beautiful!

This reminded me of Colorado, but it is a little low water crossing near the house.

Today, everything looks peaceful and quiet.

The Jersey Boys Come To Dallas

2008-07-30T17:05:00.000-07:00

Beverly has always liked music. Her taste varies from country to gospel to the music of the 50's and 60's. Of course her all time favorite was Elvis and I have to admit, I like his sound, too. She, in her younger days, was a collector of 45's and has a collection of over 300. For any younger readers, 45's came along before the use of tape and certainly before CD's. I say all of that to lead up to our recent trip to Dallas to see the hit Broadway musical Jersey Boys, the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. It has been playing in New York since 2005 to full houses and just started on a national tour and the first stop was in Dallas at the Fair Park Music Hall. So, I surprised Beverly for her birthday and got tickets.

The show was awesome! These guys can sing--maybe better than Frankie himself! It was a great show and we really enjoyed hearing all of the songs as they told the story of this group of four blue-collar boys from the rough area of New Jersey. It is authentic, down to the language which can be a little much at times, but overall the show was very much worth seeing. It has been a dream of ours to see this show and we didn't even have to go to New York to see it. If you get a chance, and like this kind of music, check out their website at http://jerseyboysinfo.com/Broadway/ and listen to some of their music.

Presley Nicole Long At 4 Months

2008-06-27T20:47:00.002-07:00

Hard to believe that Presley is already 4 months old! Jennifer and Beverly took her for her 4 month checkup in Waco yesterday. She is doing great, right on target for all of those little things that they start doing about this time. She weighed in at a hefty 11 pounds, 7.4 ounces. The pediatrician, Dr. Orr, said she is going to be one of those that we will all envy because she will be able to eat all she wants and not gain much. I wish I had that problem!!

She changes every day it seems. She is really holding her head up, laughs, coos, puts her hands in her mouth and holds things. Before long, she will be walking---oh, no! What can we say, she is precious!

Surprise Visit From Denver

2008-06-27T19:48:00.000-07:00

Jeremy and his wife Annie blessed us with a visit recently. They have lived in Denver for about a year now, so you would think we wouldn't get to see them that often. But, it's crazy, that during the last year we have probably got to spend more time with them than when they were living in Houston. First, we helped move them last July, when it was 100 degrees there, I might add; then they were here for Jordan's wedding in August; then Beverly and I visited them in September when we went jeeping in Ouray, then we saw them at Christmas, so we have been fortunate to see them as often as we have. Beverly, Jennifer, Taylor, Presley and I picked them up at the airport in Austin. We were driving into the airport just as their plane landed and we sat and watched them taxi to the terminal!

Beverly, Jennifer and Presley met them as they arrived. This was their first time to meet Miss Presley! Her first time to be in an airport, too! Note the Colorado luggage. Back packs are the norm there, especially for camping and hiking folks like Jeremy and Annie!

On our way out of Austin we stopped for a relaxing dinner at Pappadeaux's. We caught up on all the latest family news and ate some good seafood.

We left Austin only to get stuck in a huge traffic backup and finally got home about 12:30 a.m. We spent the next few days with family and even attended a family reunion in Abilene where we got to see Jordan and Ashley and all of the work they have been doing on their new home and yard. Later in the week we took Jeremy and Annie back to The Hollows on Lake Travis where Annie's family was vacationing. We enjoyed a nice lunch and a good visit with Annie's parents, three sisters and little niece. They are now back in Denver where he is an architect. He is working for a firm that is designing an addition to the airport in San Jose, California.

I'm Just a Nut Case

2008-06-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great meal for the Field Day, fried catfish and all the trimmings. Beverly needs a hat like this woman's to wear in the orchard.

This is part of the organic orchard management treatment. Compost and mulch are being used to improve the soil structure around the trees.

Taylor likes to "help" his PawPaw in the orchard. We are thankful for this irrigation well that allows us to supply needed water, especially this summer.

We have a micro-mister under each tree to deliver irrigation water and any other nutrients that can be applied in the water. Late in the day, driving close to these can give you a cooling shower.

Sometimes the rows of trees can be confusing. You can end up going the wrong way at times!
This is where it all begins. Hopefully this cluster of pecans will make it through the summer and into the harvester this fall!!

When you have been so long in updating your blog, sometimes there are too many choices on what to post. Such it is with us. So, in the interest of time, I've decided to update you on one of the more recent and continuing stories, that of our venture into the pecan business. As you may or may not know, we have leased an irrigated pecan orchard this year and we have been busy with it taking care of the spraying, mowing, irrigating and most recently hosting an Organic Pecan Management Field Day.

Our orchard contains both an organically grown section and a conventionally grown section. The organic part has been been under research by the USDA since 2002 so this field day highlighted the result of the various treatments over the years. We had over 125 people attend and I saw people from Colorado, Arkansas, Missouri and other locations. We had a catered fish fry that was delicious and we had plenty for everyone there and a few flies and fire ants as well.

I leased this orchard from Sonny, a former Extension client of mine. I worked occasionally for Sonny after I retired from being a County Agent and as it became apparent that his health was not going to allow him to do this much longer, he asked me if I was interested in leasing an orchard. I was, but then suddenly Sonny's health took a turn for the worse and he passed away in March. So, now instead of being able to learn from the master, I am having to learn a few things by trial and error. Thankfully I had 30 years of experience in advising people about growing pecans, but it is different when they are your own. I hope Sonny is looking down and liking what he sees.

The orchard is a beautiful place to work and visit. There is something very peaceful about rows of trees with lush green canopies, especially when the irrigation is on and you drive by the trees and get a cold shower of fresh well water. Beverly and I like to go late in the day and drive the Gator through the orchard and check the crop. This year we have a light to moderate crop on most varieties but we are excited about the prospect of the harvest. If any readers want some quality pecans this fall, leave a comment and we will save you some. After all, who doesn't like a pecan pie?

So, when people say, "You're nuts", they're right!

Our Little Aggie

2008-04-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

Today, April 21 is an important day to all Aggies. Today is known as Aggie Muster, a date set aside each year for Aggies to meet together, no matter where they are, to honor those Aggies that have passed away during the last year. The first muster was June 26, 1883 and later it evolved into a celebration of Texas Independence on San Jacinto Day, April 26. "Muster is the most solemn and sacred of all Aggie traditions, but it is a time of joy and happy remembrance. Those who have gone before us are those whose lives have touched ours. May we do the same for those who come after us. May we expect no less of our selves." Dr. E. Dean Gage '68.

Two of our children, Jennifer, class of '99, and Jeremy, class of '02, graduated from A&M. (Jordan, like his dad, chose to go to Tarleton, a part of the A&M System, as well) Jennifer was the true Aggie, loved every minute and every tradition (still has every Aggie T-shirt she got while there, and there are a lot of them) and has been active in Muster here. Tonight she was in charge of the local Muster ceremony. Therefore, we got to keep little Miss Presley! Taylor and his dad had T-ball practice. Jennifer brought Presley over dressed in her Aggie attire, and she looked really cute. Jennifer is set on her children being Aggies, too. Time will tell. There are lots of good schools out there but since I worked for the A&M system for 30 years and we have spent lots of money at the school, we hope they want to be Aggies, too. Gig 'em!

The Lizard Man

2008-04-07T08:52:00.001-07:00

Spring is officially here. I found my first tree lizard the other day while mowing and he was a big one! We have always had an abundance of these old "rusty" tree lizards in the many post oak trees that surround our house. Our youngest, Jordan, seemed to get along well with these creatures and caught his share of them during his growing up days. He took great delight in frightening his mother with them which usually led to a knot on his head or a bruised spot on his arm where she pinched the fire out of him! Beverly never did have a sense of humor when it came to a lizard, a mouse or a rat. She was more inclined to take a BB gun and shoot them off the side of the tree, and she became a pretty good shot with practice. Now, however, it is our grandson's turn. Taylor isn't like Jordan in his complete love for lizards and insects, but I did convince him that this lizard was still just too cold to move very fast. I told him I wanted a picture of him with it to show Uncle Jordan and at first he was not really sure, but finally he agreed. His facial expressions tell it all. I'll have to share with Taylor and you the story of how we came to find a grown iguana in our yard one day and how he came to live with us, made his escape for six weeks before he was recaptured. Finding a two and a half foot iguana lurking in your flower bed can be quite disconcerting. It did, however, explain some of the unusual noises we heard on the roof during that time.

Someone Is Beginning To Get Spoiled!

2008-03-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

Funny how the arrival of a new baby changes everything. Since Presley's arrival last week, we all have had to change our normal routines, a lot!! There is plenty to do, not only for Mom and baby, but for grandparents, Dad and big brother. It changes all of our lives, but in such a positive way. Presley is doing great. Jennifer took her for her one week checkup on Tuesday and she weighed 6 lbs. 10.8 oz, up from her birth weight of 6 lbs. 3 oz. Quite a little pig! Mom says she eats all the time. The Dr. was well pleased with her weight and color.

She really isn't spoiled. In fact, she hardly ever gets any attention from any of us. Can't you tell?

Presley's First Day At Home

2008-02-28T20:32:00.000-08:00

Today was Presley's first full day at home. She seems to be adjusting to the hectic pace of life in Hamilton. Today her great-grand parents from Stephenville came for a visit, along with several friends from church. So, we used their visits as an excuse to stay at Jennifer's and basically not get much done. Hey, it doesn't take much of a reason to sit and enjoy your new grand daughter!

Presley Is Here!!!

2008-02-27T19:34:00.000-08:00

While it seems like it has been a long wait in one way, and just a few short days in another way, Presley Nicole Long has finally arrived, all safe and sound!! She came into this world on Tuesday, February 26 (which is also her great uncle Lester's birthday), at 2:40 p.m. weighing 6 pounds 3 ounces and 20.5 inches long. She is a beautiful baby, all grand parents think that of course, but in her case it is true. We suggested that Jennifer and Toby name her Precious, because she truly is. She is so, so tiny. As Jennifer's friend Gina said, "She is like holding a feather!" She has long fingers and I think she will be a guitar and piano player! Beverly and I think that she looks just like Jennifer when she was born. She has lots of hair, blonde around her face and long and darker in the back. Jennifer was at the hospital at 5:00 a.m on Tuesday, Presley was born that afternoon and tonight they are home, a little over 24 hours after being born. Not like the old days. Jennifer said there is no rest in the hospital when you are tending to the baby yourself, so you might as well be in the comforts of your own home.

Beverly and I are so thankful for her safe arrival and we appreciate everyone's thoughts and prayers for all of us. It is very true that God is so good.

No Baby Yet Update

2008-02-22T20:24:00.000-08:00

To all of our readers out there, just a note to say Jennifer went to the Dr. last Wednesday and he said she is making good progress. She is beginning to get very uncomfortable, in fact she only made it half way through Spanish class last night before leaving for the comforts of her bed. Today was her last day of teaching and the fourth grade students surprised her with a baby shower from them. She had no idea they had planned this but tricked her into going to the cafeteria where they were waiting with a huge cake and gifts. The students also invited Toby via e-mail. Dr. Dunn thinks she will have the baby within the next week! Stayed tuned for details and pictures.

Why Jeepers Creepers?

2008-02-17T18:33:00.000-08:00

Some of you may wonder, "Why the name Jeepers Creepers?" It all started about 3 years ago when our friends Jerry and Terry moved here part time from California. As we got acquainted with each other, we discovered that one of their past times is off-roading or "jeeping" as we like to call it. The funny thing about it was that for months before this, Beverly and I had talked about putting some adventure in our lives and one of things we had talked about was getting a jeep. We had no idea they had a jeep until in a casual conversation they mentioned their jeep and a trip they had planned in September. Hummm....

So, 3 years ago, we went with them to the Durango, Ouray and Telluride, Colorado area for a week of jeeping over the mountain passes in the San Juan Mountains. We rented a jeep and had the time of our lives!! We went places that a lot of people only dream about and saw some of the most beautiful and rugged mountains that you can imagine. We picked the peak time for fall color and enjoyed an assortment of weather including sunshine, rain and snow on the last day.

We have followed up with a trip to Moab, Utah and last year we went back to Ouray, Colorado. It is our favorite place! But, now it is even more fun since we can make a little detour and visit Jeremy and Annie in Denver. We expect them to show us some more beautiful sights in the future. But, no snow caving!!!

Here are a few of our favorite pictures.

Our Baby Is Having A Baby

2008-02-17T18:02:00.000-08:00

Beverly and I have been "on call" with Jennifer ever since Toby has been making the rounds with the Ft. Worth and San Antonio Stock Shows. We are now "off duty" since Toby has arrived home tonight. Hopefully, he will be around on a full time basis until the baby gets here which is now only two weeks away from her due date of March 4th. We have been through this once with her but as the time gets closer, we both are feeling a little nervous, but excited. We keep the car gassed up and ready to go. Not long ago, Jordan and Ashley called us at 2:30 in the morning, which brought both of us flying out of the bed expecting it to be Jennifer. But, it was just a skunk problem. Another story, another time!!

Beverly has been going to the doctor with her in Waco every week for the past month or so. Time before last, the doctor told her she was starting to make some changes. But, last time they said nothing more had changed. So, in the mean time, the nursery is ready and so are we. And, Jennifer is definitely ready. Keep all of us in your prayers.

Yo hablo Espanol and other Conversational Spanish Phrases

2008-01-25T11:11:00.000-08:00

Well, we are continuing to think about our "bucket list" and hope to have a few of those posted soon. But, in the meantime, one of the things on my list is to learn a foreign language. So, beginning last night Jennifer and old Dad started a Central Texas College course in Conversational Spanish. It is being taught by Sr. Flowers who was at one time Jordan's Spanish teacher in high school. I was a little surprised, until I thought about it for a while, that there were so many wanting to take the class that they ran out of room and now have a waiting list of those that want to take it later. Spanish is an important part of Texas culture. You will find Spanish written on labels, in the grocery stores and everywhere else these days. I took Spanish in high school (a long, long time ago) and have always liked it. I have no aspirations of becoming fluent in it, but just want to be able to carry on a conversation, a slow one at that, if needed. Also, as the total makeup of the population, especially Texas, moves toward a Hispanic majority, it may become more important to at least be able to speak Spanish. It gives you an advantage in the workplace as well to be bi-lingual. Jordan works with a number of Hispanic employees and I am sure he is learning some "colorful" words in Spanish, too! In the meantime, Beverly is having to endure all my conversational practice around the house. Who knows, she may learn a few phrases, too. But for now, Hasta pronto! El placer is mio.

"Everyone Needs A Bucket List"

2008-01-20T19:38:00.000-08:00

Taylor practicing his I love you this much "squeeze" method on PawPaw!

Taylor in the back seat of the suburban getting ready to ride shotgun with PawPaw and BeBe. Isn't he precious?

We have to apologize for not posting something lately. But, being retired is a lot of work and sometimes we just can't seem to find the time!! Since the last post, Beverly has been to the doctor three times and is slowly getting over all of the yucky sinus trouble she had at Christmas. This past weekend we were ready to get out of the house so we went over to Waco. Since it was a cold, dreary day, we went to the movies and saw "The Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. It is a movie about two guys and their "want to do" list before they "kick the bucket", so to speak. It makes you think about what you would really like to experience before it is your time to go. The movie was entertaining, funny one minute then sad the next, but it really made you realize more fully that when you get a little older, there are a lot of things you would like to have time to do and just how short life really is.

We are both in the process of making our own bucket lists so stay tuned . It might be fun for you to make your own list, no matter what your age. We are at the age when we look forward to marking off some of the things on our own bucket lists, but right now we are content to enjoy our families, our grandson Taylor and are looking forward to what we are told is a new grandaughter in about six weeks. Taylor stayed with us one day this week after pre-school and continues to crack us up with some of his conversation! Today after church, he was in the car with us and as we drove by the high school Taylor says, "There is my daddy's office." We said, "Yeap, sure is." Then he says, "There 's my daddy's trailers." "Yeap, sure is. Your daddy is a trailer pulling dude, isn't he?", said BeBe. "Yes, he sure is", Taylor says. Then after about ten seconds of thought and silence Taylor says, "Actually, BeBe, he is an Ag teacher!" Actually, he is right! He uses bigger words than we did in high school.

It's a running joke with Taylor and PawPaw & BeBe to tell each other that we love the other one more than they love us. Taylor sometimes uses numbers like two hundred thousand twelve to express how much he loves us or lately he uses the "squeeze" method. He squeezes you as tight as he can, and when he is wrapped around your neck, a four year old can be pretty strong. He is the light of our lives and we just "hate" it when he wants to squeeze our necks (yeah, right!).

Happy Birthday Elvis!

2008-01-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

Danny and I have been wanting to start a blog for a long time. We have to keep up with our kids! I finally decided today would be the day to start one. It is a special day!
To those of you who know me very well, you know that Elvis was the man in my life before I met Danny. Today is Elvis' birthday, January 8. It is hard to believe he would be 73. Happy Birthday to the King of Rock and Roll!