End Of Summer And Early Fall 2018

The end of summer 2018 remained hot and dry.  We took Presley to a movie in Stephenville one day to see Hotel Transylvania and then got our usual pizza from The Pizza Place.  This time we decided to go down to the park and have a picnic.  When we got there, the ducks and geese wanted to join us so we invited them to eat the crumbs and pizza bones with us!

Popcorn, Grandparents, and Presley getting ready to enjoy a movie together.

Will you hold my popcorn, Pawpaw?  Don't eat any though!  Right!

The goose whisperer doing his thing.  If you invite them......

they will come....

and never go away.....

ever!

Our church bought a portable building that will be used for a Youth Building.  Here are a few pictures of the building being brought in.  Since then, we have finished out the inside, installed A/C and heat and electricity and are using it now for our high school class members.

Here it comes, headed south on Highway 281, making the tight turn by CEFCO.

The cowboy showed up to tell the crew where to put it!

A little closer!

This thing is 14 feet wide by 45 feet long!

It's amazing how they unload and level a building this large.

Here are a few more pictures from the end of summer and the beginning of the school year.

Found these great wall hangings in the Arboretum in Austin.

Presley decided to give Pawpaw a makeover one day.  Lots of laughing was involved.

Taylor ran the 400 X 4 relay with Caleb and two boys from Goldthwaite

at the state summer track in College Station.  They placed 12th in state and they

are all incoming freshmen.  The future looks bright for these young men.

This is the new plants at the local Sonic.  Love the orange colored one

and it stayed pretty for weeks.

Not the best picture but we enjoyed grandparents day at school with Presley.

Another visit to Magnolia, otherwise known as The Empire.

Just a few people there on this day.

Our favorite part.  We would love to have this delivered to our house.

Raised flower beds are the way to go.

Getting the details recorded in photos.

He looks excited, doesn't he?  

Fairy garden

In The Heat Of The Night, And The Day, Too

We all know it can get hot in Texas!  We all talk about those years that stand out in our minds from the past....1980, 2011, 2018....yes, 2018!  This has been a very hot summer and a very dry year as well.  Here's proof of the heat.  Oh, for a trip to Colorado!

This the highest temperature that I saw on our indoor/outdoor thermometer,

but I know it got up to 112 degrees.  If you like hot weather, you'll love Texas

Lunch With James Dean

 July means it's time for Beverly's birthday.  There have been years when, in the midst of summer activities and trips, it's not been celebrated with the respect that it's due.  So, this year Jennifer and I decided that we should take Beverly, aka Bebe, to one of her favorite restaurants, Reata in Sundance Square in Ft. Worth.

If you know anything about the name Reata, you know that it was the name of the ranch in the movie Giant starring Rock Hudson, Elizabeth Taylor and James Dean.  This Edna Ferber "not so pretty" expose' of the great state of Texas was filmed in Marfa, Texas which is near Alpine.  And, coincidentally, Alpine just happens to be the birth place of one Beverly, aka Bebe, Phillips.

The original Reata restaurant is located in downtown Alpine near the upstairs room where Beverly was born on July 11, 1953.  The doctor that delivered her had an office over a drugstore I think.  She was born late at night and it seems that Beverly's Mom had some sort of a disagreement with Dr. Hill and she decided that she would just go home!  We think ladies from the church came over after they got home and helped out for a few days.  It must have worked fine since Beverly was a healthy and happy baby.

This is a young picture of Beverly and her older sister Deborah when

they lived in Alpine.  Their Dad was working on his Master's degree at Sul Ross.

The house in the background was located down the hill from the college.  Looks like

Beverly was doing pretty good on groceries!

Our trip to Ft. Worth occurred during the State FFA convention so Jennifer and Presley were able to
join us for lunch.  Reata serves some really good high end Texas style food.   After lunch, we drove up to the stockyard area on North Main and looked around for a while.  We stopped at Hulen Mall for a little birthday shopping.  Bev got some La vie est belle perfume and some pampering products at the Clinque and Lancome counters.  One of the sales ladies at the Lancome counter took a special interest in Beverly when she heard it was her birthday and they also had a "cancer survivor" connection .  She gave her a lot of samples and a special price on one of their special promotions that was coming up. After that, we headed home, fat and happy.

Happy Birthday My Love!

Dan opted for the chicken fried steak.  That's about as Texas as you can get!

Beverly loves salmon and Reata did not disappoint!

You're probably thinking, "He can't possibly finish all of that!"

and you'd be correct!

Sweet Presley was in high cotton!

Jennifer also loves the downtown Ft. Worth area!

Reata has plenty of Texas themed decorations, including a life size

figure of James Dean.

This creeps Presley out!  Maybe me a little, too!  In addition, it's

right by the women's bathroom door!

The girls standing in the lobby of Reatta, soaking in all that leather smell!

You always leave there with a "take home" bag!

Presley and Jennifer left us after lunch to go back to the FFA convention.

We drove up to the stockyard district.  Swift and Co. is located in this area and Beverly's 

Dad worked for them back in the 50's while they lived out in West Texas.

Cooper's BBQ, a Llano original, has a location in Ft. Worth now.

Coming up on the Tarrant County courthouse.

Dan even bought a new cowboy hat!

A Lady We All Called Miz Helm

Miz Helm, also known as LaVerne Helm, was a special lady to Beverly, especially during her high school years.  Her husband, Jaye C. Helm was the superintendent of schools in Stephenville and actually hired Beverly's Dad when they moved to Stephenville.  As the years went by, Beverly started working at the local Hallmark store that was managed by Miz Helm.  Mr. Helm gave Beverly the nickname "Do What"!

They also had a close connection at Graham Street Church of Christ.  Over the years they shared many hours together.  Later in life, she moved to Austin to be closer to her children and we would go down and visit with her.  She enjoyed going to eat out and we both liked Salt Grass Steakhouse, so that's where we usually went.   She and Beverly always shared a Pat's ribeye and baked potato as we caught up on the affairs of our families and the Stephenville community.

She will be missed!

Miz Helm, as she was known as with affection, was a special lady.  She loved

God, her family, friends and playing bridge!

The good old days at The Mark on Belknap Street in Stephenville.

.

It was a private funeral with just family and a few close friends

She was buried at Erath Gardens next to her husband.

It was a special time to remember all the great memories from her 

family and friends.

Jimmy and Danny, discussing the state of the world!

Rest in Peace, Miz Helm.

A Day In Abilene

During the summer we went over to Abilene for a day to kinda watch the kids while Ashley got caught up on some work.  But, it gave us a chance to spend some time with Leighton and Remington as well.  We started off the day by eating at Chick-fil-a for lunch and Leighton even got her picture made with the Chick-fil-a cow!  It was fun day shopping in 5 Below for some unexpected bargains and later having a treat at Nikki's Swirl Shoppe.

Later in the day we enjoyed sitting on the back porch and playing in the rain.

Leighton wanted her picture with the cow, but Remington was

having nothing to do with it!

After blowing some money at 5 Below, I mean shopping for some

economical bargains, we went to Nikki's for some ice cream.  Leighton

got some Hatchibles for her collection!

Remington and Pawpaw tried several flavors and enjoyed posing for the camera!

Can't remember what this flavor was, but it was good!

Another exciting flavor!  Careful!  Don't get that on your clothes!!  Mom !

get us

Isn't she a cool dude, sunglasses and all!

Oh no!  The two other dudes are getting warmed up!

Fun times with this guy!

Are those gang signs?  I think not!

He loves his Pawpaw!  Or, he might be cold from the ice cream.

Later that day, it came a rain.  Remington took the opportunity

to get in an early shower!

Add shampoo and you could get your hair washed!

Then it became a real production.....

And finally, he was totally soaked!

Then we had to try out the 5 Below bubbles......

and see if........

They could catch them on their hands!