I am a Card Deck

I turned 52 last Saturday.  That's the card deck part.  If I were incredibly clever I could come up with lots of card deck references but 52 and card deck are about as far as I got with that idea.  Instead, I'll just recount my birthday adventures.  I managed to drag things out for several days.  On Thursday, my office had a pot luck to wish me a happy birthday and as is the custom at The SCOOTER Store, my desk was decorated with confetti, streamers and balloons.  It was quite festive looking.  I loved it!  Friday was birthday event free unless you count all the people asking me what I had planned for my birthday weekend.  

This wonderful teacher I met during my last year of teaching named Caroline has become a dear friend.  Her birthday is June 29 and a couple of years ago we began a tradition of going to our favorite spa for facials and hairstyles as our co-birthday celebration.  This year we got appointments for 12:45 so we decided lunch first would be the best plan.  Morgan was working at the Gristmill so we picked Gruene as our first destination.  Morgan has been anxious to make me a Bloody Mary since I discovered that I love Bloody Mary's so I had one of those and Caroline had a 'Rita.  She and I split a fried shrimp plate which was delish and for dessert, Morgan made us birthday shots called Captain Morgan Undertows.  It was a couple of different colors, very sweet and I would have had another but I didn't think to ask.  I am new to the world of shots. So far, just in the last nine months or so I've had a Vegas Bomb (okay, 2 of those), a Purple Gecko and now this Captain Morgan yumminess.  I believe I will continue to explore shots.  I like 'em!  But I digress. . .

Caroline and I wandered in and out of an antique store in Gruene and then went to Gaston's.  We came out with naked, well moisturized faces and fabulous hairstyles.  We hit one more boutique and then headed home.

When the boys were little, it was fairly common for my birthday event to be dinner and the summer blockbuster movie.  This year we did that again.  Morgan, Harris, Kristin and Curtis brought pizza to the house and then we went to see Brave.  Clayton had to work at the rodeo so even though he came by the house for a few minutes, he didn't get to go to the movie with us.  Brave is wonderful!  I loved it.  It proved once again that I am really a 10 year old trapped in a 52 year old body when I turned down an invitation to go see Magic Mike with a bunch of grown up women in favor of seeing Brave with my kids.

Sunday family dinner was hamburgers and fireworks.  Harris is all about the fireworks and this year, he was actually able to purchase some - they were banned last year.  He had noise makers and pretty shooters.  It was a figurative and literal blast!  Clayton brought Shelby to meet the family.  Barrett and Erin were there and so were Chris and Casey.  I took a few photos of the guys and Curtis took some fun video.  I went to sleep both Saturday and Sunday a very content birthday girl.  I think if I were one of those people who begins to hate birthdays, it would have happened by now.  I truly enjoy mine.  Even the card deck one was great.

Today marks the 25th anniversary of the third time I gave birth.  It is time to tell the last delivery story even if it's about the next to last kid.  Harris was late like Morgan - maybe it's an April thing.  I was almost two weeks past my due date and awfully tired of the whole situation.  I had had an ultrasound test at 20 weeks along to verify my due dates and at time learned that boy #3 was on his way.  By now, Hollis, Morgan, Clayton and I all had middle names that start with L.  Finding an L middle name for this boy is easy enough - my grandfather's first name was Lyle.  He did not like it much.  He went by Steve to most other adults but I can still hear my grandmother exclaiming "Lyle!" when he used colorful language that she did not like.  We had a middle name.  The first name was trickier but I'll get to that in a bit.  I went to see my doctor the day Harris was born.  It was first thing that morning but I'll never forget what he said after my examination.  "Something is eminent."  No kidding, Dr. Ryder?!?  Something is eminent?!?  I am two weeks overdue with child #3 in 4 years and something is eminent?  He was not mistaken.  Hollis came home from work at his usual time that day and we took Morgan and Clayton over to his mom's house for some dinner and great-grandparent time.  If I dominoed in the next day or two, it would be a while before they got fussed over (and at) by Paw and Gregie.  Feeling certain I was in labor, I didn't eat but Hollis and the boys were well fed.  We then took the boys home and put them to bed.  Willis followed us home and we left for the hospital.  I arrived about 7:30 in active labor and we settled in.  My dear friend Suzy met us at the hospital and stayed for all the fun.  Dr. Ryder broke my water when I was about 7 cm and at 10:34, boy #3 made his entrance.  No drugs, no drama - there he was.  Once he was all cleaned up and in my arms, Hollis and I knew we had to nail down the name thing.  There were two choices:  Nathan Lyle or Harrison Lyle.  We did the only thing we could think of - we flipped a coin!  Heads would be Harrison, tales would be Nathan.  Heads, and Harrison, it was.  Paw's grandfather was named Stanton Harrison and he so wanted us to use the name. It always cracked me up that he pestered me so about using the name and then proceeded to call the kid Hayden for a couple of years.  I didn't get to use the same wonderful hospital for Harris that I had for Clayton but I had made the decision not to rush home in the morning as I had done before.  I would allow the hospital to care for me not just one, but two nights.  Dumbest plan I ever made.  I got tangled in the sheets my first night and due to some pretty bad lower back pain, I couldn't get out.  The nurse was not much help.  My overall care was just not what I would have gotten at home.  My mom arrived from Houston the next day to take over with the big boys and she brought them to meet the baby.  Morgan at age 4 was all about this new baby.  Clayton at 18 months was quite indifferent.  I really wished I had gone home.  The next morning as I was preparing to check out, the nurse came in and rolled my baby out of the room.  She said I was required to attend a new mothers class.  She said my current experience did not exempt me from the class.  She even said that I would not be allowed to have my baby back or check out until I had attended the class!!  So I sat there crying as they told me how to hold him, nurse him, change his diaper, put him in a car seat and care for him in general.  When I had the chance to go to a different hospital for #4 - I grabbed it!  I still managed a drug free delivery and took home a very healthy baby.  He was the biggest of the 4 at 9 lbs, 8 oz and was a very sweet east baby.  I love thinking about their "birth" days.  The memories are of hard work that results in the most precious prize of all.  I am blessed beyond blessed!

It's a boy! - the first time. . .

Next Saturday Morgan will be 29 years old.  Cleverly, he and Desiree have decided to get married on April 6th next year and will all the excitement around that event, I won't even notice that he will be 30 - or so we all think!  Here's what happened when he was born.  As I've said before, I always took time on the boys birthdays to tell them the story of the day they were born.  The four very best days of my life and Hollis' life.  The story of the day Morgan was born actually started the day before he was born.  I was about two weeks past my due date and Dr. Lovell said that if I hadn't dominoed on my own by Monday, we would induce on Tuesday.  My only ultrasound test had been very early in the pregnancy so we did not know if we were having a boy or a girl but there was something about knowing that it would indeed be over soon that allowed me to relax.  On that Wednesday, the 6th, Hollis came by our apartment at lunch time to pick up a key to the safe deposit box.  We were paying for this delivery ourselves and didn't know if they would keep the baby until the bill was paid so he was going to get some savings bonds to cash so if the hospital was cash and carry - we would be able to carry!  As he came into the apartment, I was sitting in a chair with a plateful of leftover Chinese food propped on my very large belly.  I put the plate aside and got up to go to the bathroom and as I did, my water broke.  I immediately called the doctors office and after Hollis called his office, we left for the hospital.  Dr. Lovell at that time delivered at Metropolitan Hospital on the edge of downtown San Antonio.  My contractions began as we were arriving at the hospital but they were not what you could call regular.  As the afternoon progressed, my labor was iffy at best.  I agreed to have some Demerol "to take the edge off" of the contractions.  First bad decision.  A couple of hours later, Dr. Lovell decided from his office across the street that perhaps I needed to have my labor intentionally stalled for a while in hopes that when it resumed, it would be more regular and productive.  This would be accomplished with a larger dose of Demerol - I agreed.  Second bad decision.  I was very groggy, very quickly but the contractions didn't really stop.  Then the good doctor made another decision.  He decided that perhaps I should be put on a Pitocin drip to stimulate my contractions - while I was nearly knocked out from the Demerol.  I don't actually remember agreeing to this decision but it was the third bad one.  I labored all night long.  All the training in the Bradley method of childbirth was lost because I came to in the MIDDLE of each and every contraction.  I had no time to breath, prepare, anything.  When Dr. Lovell checked me first thing Thursday morning, he said that I could push.  I was still pretty out of it but I tried.  Shortly thereafter, he said that it was going to take forceps and a pretty stout episiotomy to get this kid out.  For this part, he thought a light caudle anesthesia was called for.  At 9:27AM, Morgan Lee was born.  And then I hemorrhaged.  I had already had an IV for hours but they were putting fluid into me as fast as they could along with drugs to make the bleeding stop.  I stayed in the recovery room until 5:00 that afternoon and the minute one bag of fluid was empty, another one was attached.  I did begin to come out of the grogginess and was able to make a few phone calls.  While I was on the phone with my mother in Houston, Hollis came into the room with the information card about baby Morgan.  He handed it to me and pointed to the line that said "weight."  I gasped quite loudly and my poor mom on the other end of the line was freaking out.  I said "Mom!! Do you know what this baby weighed?!?"  She did not.  I said "NINE POUNDS, SEVEN OUNCES!!!"  I will never forget what she said next:  "Laura, you don't have to give birth to Kindergartners.  You can start with little bitty dudes and work your way up!"

I was moved to a room about 7:00 that evening and finally got to see my son.  He was so big and so beautiful - instant love!!  I had a parade of visitors that evening and then Friday morning, I went home!  I had wanted a medication free delivery and to leave when my baby was six hours old but I wasn't even awake yet when he was six hours old.  Although there were several things about this delivery that were not in my birth plan, and although I did not get along well with Dr. Lovell and did not go back to him for the other 3 deliveries, I do have to give him credit for one decision.  In 1983, HIV was out there buy they were not screening blood for it yet.  My hemorrhage was really bad and Dr. Lovell could have just as easily ordered a pint or more of blood for me that day and changed my whole world.  I remain grateful to him to this day for ordering fluid - and not blood - for me.  Oh, and it turns out they bill you for babies - we got to take him home and we didn't even have to sneak him out in my suitcase! 

His 29th Birthday Dinner - Dad's stir fry.

Happy Birthday Son!  You continue to be a great source of love and pride for us and we couldn't love you any more than we do right now. 

     

Ten. . .Nine. . .Eight. . .Five - Oh Well, I Tried

In our continuing saga of the days they were born, today's story is about Clayton's arrival on October 9, 1985 - get it? 10. . .9. . .8. . .5. . . Anyhow, this was one terrific day to be sure.  To completely grasp it's terrificness, you have to know just a little bit about Morgan's delivery - it did not go as I planned, hoped, prepared for, wished, dreamed or imagined.  It was long, involved heavy medication (which I did not want) and ended my relationship with the OB who cared for me throughout my pregnancy but that story will come later.

For my care with my second pregnancy, I chose the General Practitioner who was taking care of Hollis, Morgan and me for well, general medical stuff.  His name was Curtis Ryder and he and his staff were just wonderful to all of us.  In mid-January of 1985, San Antonio had a record snowfall of 13 inches.  It was unbelievable!  I have great pictures of my not quite two year old playing in snow piles that were taller than he was.  We had a little 4 wheel drive truck so we were able to drive over to see and check on Hollis' mom and grandparents but it was wild the way it shut down the city.  Somehow a few weeks later, I had a positive pregnancy test (Clayton does not enjoy this part of the story but in the interest of historical accuracy, I had to share).  

When I was about 20 weeks along, Dr. Ryder ordered my one and only ultrasound test and we knew by about the first week in June that boy #2 was on his way.  The choice of his name was pretty easy.  We both loved the name Clayton and thought it went well with brother Morgan's name and Lewis was Hollis grandparents last name.  Now we just had to wait.  Let me just say that being big time pregnant in the summer was not as enjoyable as having a baby in April.  I discovered that there are many reasons that wild animals have their offspring in the spring and I came to value those reasons. About a week before my due date, I went into labor.  I had not been sleeping well and Hollis stayed home from work to take me to Dr. Ryder that day.  He said I was in labor and sent us to Village Oaks Hospital (where I had Curtis 3 years later) which had just opened its' Labor and Delivery Department because it had just opened the hospital a few months before.  Signs of incomplete construction were all around the building.  I was in a Labor & Delivery suite which meant that I would not have to be moved at the last possible moment to a separate delivery room which was what happened to me with Morgan.  Hollis and I watched a baseball game all afternoon and my labor progressed without any medication.  About 6:00 that evening, Dr. Ryder stopped by on his way to dinner and broke my water.  I told him not to go far.  By 7:00, I was begging for drugs.  The wise husband said that if I was not pushing by 7:30, he would get me drugs.  By 7:15 or so they had gotten Dr. Ryder back to the hospital and I began pushing and at 7:30.  At 7:49, 8 lb, 8 oz Clayton Lewis was born.  Apparently having them a week early results in a lighter baby than when they are 2 weeks late i.e. Morgan and Harris who were both over 9 lbs, but I digress.

So this awesomeness only took about 8 hours and I did it with no medication at all!!  Shortly after Clayton was taken to the nursery for assessment, Carol, the nurse came in to help me get cleaned up and settled and she told us that the construction was going to require that the water be turned off for the night and oh, by the way, Clayton was the 13th baby ever born in that hospital.  She was running a sink of warm water when Hollis came back to the room to give me the stats on the baby.  He and I were beyond relieved that this delivery had been such a breeze compared to the first and Carol the nurse was actually one of Dr. Ryder's office nurses who took L&D shifts to augment her income and because she really liked L&D.  I was very excited to have 2 people I already knew attending the birth.  As she began to help me get into a fresh gown and get settled, Hollis said "That was easy! Wanna do it again?!?" and I enthusiastically replied "I'm ready when you are!!" and Carol said "You guys are sick!!"  

Clayton Lewis Wooldridge

Our friend Stuart came to see me in the hospital after both Morgan and Clayton were born.  He was quite astonished with the no-drug me as compared to the drugged-out me of the first time and willingly obliged when I asked him to go get me a hamburger, fries and a shake.  I don't know if you've ever noticed but just about all the commercials during a baseball game are for food.  I labored all afternoon and there were nothing but Burger King commercials on between innings!  I was chattering and happy and very hungry and I will always be grateful for his willingness to fetch me food.  Willis had brought big brother Morgan to the hospital earlier to meet his baby brother and Hollis had gone home with Morgan for the night.  

I wanted to be released 6 hours after delivery with this baby but that would have been the middle of the night so I agreed to being released the next morning and I was.  Clayton was about 14 hours old when we left the hospital.  Mom came from Houston and took wonderful care of me for a few days.  Clayton was a wonderful, easy baby who slipped easily into our family.  There was no way he was going to be the last but that story comes later.

September 8, 1988 - It's a Boy!!

A few days ago, I found myself pondering the day Curtis was born.  No reason in particular for the trip down memory lane but his birthday is next month.  When the boys were younger, I used to take part of their birthday day to tell them the story of the day they were born.  It was the 4 best days of my life!  Here is the story of the day Curtis was born.

I was about a week or so away from my due date to have my 4th baby boy in 5 1/2 years.  Morgan had just started Kindergarten and was gone in the afternoon to school.  Clayton was not quite 3 and Harris was 16 1/2 months old and had just started walking.  I was just thinking about getting Morgan ready for the bus and about 9:15 my water broke.  Side note here:  Morgan rode the bus to and from school each day but Hollis did not like this at all.  I convinced him that I would not be able to take and pick up Morgan every day with 3 little ones at home and he relented on the sole condition that Morgan be picked up and dropped off right in front of the house.  The first few days of school, he had been dropped off at the corner and Hollis insisted that I call NEISD transportation and have this corrected.  That morning, I called and the person I talked to asked if I could please watch the drop off that day and make sure that he was safely crossing the street.  I told this person that I would be happy to do that but that I had just gone into labor and would probably not be at home that day when the bus arrived.  Morgan was picked up and dropped off right in front of the house for the rest of the school year.  Nothing like a well-timed request to get what you need.  

I called Hollis, who at that time, was working all the way over on the other side of San Antonio.  He asked me if he had time to attend a 9:30 meeting before coming home to get me and I told him to go to the meeting but not dawdle afterwards.  I then called my friend Donna to come hang out with me until Hollis got home and to stay with the boys until my mother-in-law could come stay with them.  Donna chased the boys and yelled at me every time I got off the sofa because she was certain this baby would fall right out of me if I stood up.  Hollis came home, we grabbed my suitcase and left for the 3 minute ride to the hospital.  It was the hospital where I had had Clayton 3 years earlier (he was the 13th baby born there when it had just opened but that story will have to wait) and I really was looking forward to this birth for several reasons.  We got all checked in about 10:45 and my doctor came in to check my progress.  He said "You're only 7 centimeters!"  I said "I'll work on that!"  By 11:45 I was pushing and at 12:18, my last little boy was born.  He weighed 8 lbs 4 ozs which made him the runt of the 4 by just a few ounces.  Dr. Curtis Ryder had just delivered three of my 4 babies so we named Curtis after him.  He was quite overwhelmed when we told him that he had just delivered Curtis Leland Wooldridge.  Although Dr. Ryder and I both knew from an ultrasound at 20 weeks that I was having boy #4, I hadn't told Hollis that this was the case.  I sort of took the time to get used to the idea and be ready for another boy.  It was a good idea.  

One of the reasons I was looking forward to this delivery was that this hospital was a pioneer in having a birthing suite. I was on a full sized bed and they never took Curtis out of the room.  All of the other 3 had to spend time in the nursery but not this guy.  After he was born, Hollis put his feet up in the recliner in the room and went to sleep.  I just sat in that bed and could not stop staring at my new little angel.  You would think that by kid #4, I would be over it but I wasn't.  He was amazing and I just sat there staring and falling in love.  I didn't know where I was going to get the energy to nurse him, and chase his brothers, and accomplish all the other stuff my full life had me doing, but I was deeply in love.  

All the way back when I had Morgan, I had wanted to be in the hospital as short a time as possible after delivery.  My mom was wonderful at taking care of me after a baby and I just wanted to be at home.  With Curtis, they released me 6 hours after he was born.  At that time, Jeopardy was on every evening after the news so I have always told people that he was born at 12:18 lunch time and I was home before Jeopardy was over that day.  Hollis and I did have the steak dinner that they offered new parents but we hit the trail right after that.  When we arrived home, my neighbor across the street was just getting home too.  I asked her if she wanted to meet her newest neighbor and she came right over.  She asked when he was born and I told her.  I will never forget her next words.  She said "I suppose you picked Morgan up after school too!"  I would have if I could have but as you know, he rode the bus.  

Recovery from this delivery was not the smoothest and I wound up back in the hospital 6 weeks later hemorraging but it was a quick overnight stay and all was fine after that.  I was blessed to find some super duper vitamins that insured my milk supply was what it needed to be and I nursed him for a year.  

A few years ago when Clayton was in college and Harris was in the Army, I declared a rating scale.  If I talked to 2 of my boys in one day, it was a good day.  If I talked to 3, it was a great day and if I talked to all 4 of them, I called it a perfect day.  September 8, 1988 was my first perfect day.  There have been many, many since but I am kinda glad I know when my first one was. . .  Happy Birthday next month Son.  Thanks for a great arrival story!

The Western Washington Quilt Shop Hop - 2011

Our First Shop!

A couple of months ago, Shelley and I were chatting (IM-ing) about her plan to attend niece Beth's high school graduation in Port Orchard, Washington in mid June.  She thought that since this would be more of a pleasure trip than business, that she might actually get to go to a quilt shop or two while she was there and she went a-googling to see what she could find.  Well, she found some fun for us!  It seems that 55 shops in the western half of the state have an annual shop hop and we could not come up with a single reason why we should not hop there also. She went a week and a half early for the family graduation fun and I flew up there last Tuesday night.  We spent night one in a hotel near the airport because I got in so late and Wednesday morning after breakfast we rented a car and began hopping.

Parkland Parish Quilts is in an old church building.

The company I worked for has a production plant in Milton - a suburb of Tacoma - and a couple of the gals I worked with on the phone over the last few years wanted me to come meet the people in the Milton plant and have lunch so Shelley and I aimed our first stops in the area of Milton.

Jeannie, me and Ronda

 I think Shelley hit her favorite shop in the morning on this day.  I would be hard pressed to declare a favorite as several of them there were really fun places.  So we made it to 3 shops before lunch and 4 more after.  Not bad for day 1!  We then went to her sister's home in Port Orchard for dinner and unwinding.

The Boerner Home

The Boerner Girls, Mom Robin and Aunt Shelley

Thursday was the day of adventure!  We headed as west as we could get to Ocean Shores for shop number 1 and my first physical encounter with the Pacific Ocean.  I love oceans! I could not wait to get my feet into this one even though it was pretty chilly. Shelley took me to the most amazing places! We headed north to Ocean City and through Copalis Beach before working our way inland to Humptulips, on toward the National Forest and to Lake Quinault.  Here we stopped at the lodge and this place had me completely and utterly speechless!  An incredibly beautiful lodge overlooks the most picturesque mountain-surrounded lake you can possibly imagine.

Lake Quinault Lodge 

looks out over Lake Quinault

The fireplace in the lobby

The seating in front of the fireplace.

 It reminded me of scenes of estates on lakes in Europe (that I've only seen pictures of).  The trees were amazing.  The view was almost overwhelming.  I did not expect to be so awed by it all.  Next we drove back toward the coast and stopped at Calaloch Lodge on the coast.

This coastal lodge

has this view!

This lodge looks out over the ocean where a river runs into it.  Driftwood, wild life and more amazing scenery took my breath away again!  I did not want to leave either place. 

I was beside myself with excitement when Shelley and Robin (her sister) were talking about the possibility of us going to Forks.  I've seen the first two Twilight movies - Shelley's seen none - and I have friends who are super big fans of the books and the movies.  The thought of going there was pretty exciting for me.  Shelley didn't get it but it was on the way so off to Forks we went.  

Lookin for Sparkly Vampires

Bella's Truck!

She took my photo in front of the Welcome to Forks sign and then I took one of Bella's red truck.  Very heady stuff!!

From Forks we continued on to Port Angeles where Shelley went to high school.  Here I got some beautiful views of The Straits of Juan de Fuca.  I got brave enough to climb the observation tower but then a breeze moved the tower and since my death grip on the railing was limiting my photography (not to mention regular breathing) I promptly climbed back down.  Sometimes being a chicken has drawbacks!  Shelley's dad and step-mom, who live in the next town over, came and met us for dinner and it was just delicious!  Shelley and I split a plate of grilled salmon, halibut and shrimp - my kind of meal!  Because the shops in the hop keep extended hours, we were able to hit one more just moments before they closed in Port Townsend.  That was only 3 for the day but with all the sight-seeing, it was a small price to pay.  We went back to Robin's to crash and get all geared up for Day 3 and that's when I got to meet Shelley and Robin's mom Jackie.  We stayed up pretty late chatting but what fun!   For Day 3, Robin and Jackie decided to see what this hopping thing was all about and the 4 of us had a wonderful breakfast at Uncle Dave's (restaurant, not relative) and then went to a really cute little town called Port Gamble for our first shop.  From there we went to Kingston, Poulsbo, Silverdale and Bainbridge Island.  Then we went to the shop in Port Orchard where Robin lives and then back to her house for a quick break.  Shelley and I then headed to Shelton for another shop and then we went to her grandmothers home.  Now this place was really amazing!  Shelley's grandmother, Virginia, and her mom and aunt have the most wonderful piece of heaven.  They have birds, chipmunks, fish and other wildlife to feed and the most amazing flowers, trees and plants you can imagine.  Virginia has a hothouse where she raises veggies and propagates her outside plants and there are lovely sitting areas all over the place to enjoy the scenery.

Robin and Shelley, mom Jackie and Gramma Virginia

We went to dinner at Applebees with more family members and then to the casino at Little Creek and then back to Virginia's to sleep.  Now here's the part I didn't quite get.  In the morning, all the residents collect on a covered porch to watch the wildlife have breakfast and play - only this porch is outside!  It was 44 degrees and they are all covered with down blankets, drinking coffee and counting how many finches are on the thistle feeder. It was a bit beyond this Texas girl's comprehension for sure. . . 

Okay, so it was almost 50 by the time this was taken. . .

Oh well, the company was wonderful the breakfast Aunt Carolyn cooked for us was out of this world and then it was time to get back on the shop hop trail.  This was Ferry Ride Day!  On the way to take Robin home we hit shops in Olympia and Yelm and after getting my stuff packed up, we took off to catch the ferry out of Bremerton and enjoy an hour long ride to downtown Seattle.

Feeding the gulls from the ferry.

I think I spotted one sea lion in the bay but I really only saw a moving lump in the water so I can't be sure.  Once in Seattle, we tried to go to a shop right downtown but is seems several, several thousand people had already arrived at Pike Place Market and had taken every parking spot for miles around.  We had one other shop in the area so we just went there and it was totally worth it.  Shelley and I had a great time at the different shops when the people stamping our passports would ask where we were from.  Saying "Texas" got us lots of "Oh, really!!" responses.  At The Quilting Loft, in the passport room, there was a quilt pattern designer named Laurie Shifrin.  Not only had she heard of New Braunfels, she's been to our guild meeting and taught a class there (before Shelley and I were members, but still).  She was so excited to have people from NB up there hopping that she was just bubbling.  She also has developed a really cool technique for curved piecing that I think Shelley and I are going to try really soon.  I really enjoyed meeting her and I hope that our guild will look into having her back some day.  

From downtown Seattle, we made our way to Bothell for two things.  Thing number one was a quilt shop and thing number two was MY family in Washington!  The shop was cute but we were getting a bit road weary and it was good to get to the Kramer home.  Aunt Mary and Uncle Bob, cousin Doug, his wife Shari and their cutie pie daughter Megan all welcomed us into their home and then took us to a fabulous dinner where I had dungeoness crab stuffed shrimp and Shelley had paella.  Dessert put us over the top and not long after we got back to their home, we crashed.

The Kramer's and me

Day 5 meant I had to go home.  I was not really ready to do that but I had a plane ticket so I kind of had to go.  Shelley and I actually hit 4 more stores on our way back to Sea-Tac.  This brought our total to 26.  She and I are wondering how on earth anyone could possibly hit all 55 in the same number of days.  We are also not above trying someday to do just that!  Sunday travel had some real highlights too.  From the moment I arrived in Seattle, Mt. Rainier stayed hidden in the clouds.  I got some pretty good views of the Olympics and some of the other ranges around us but the big one remained hidden.  I began referring to it as "the alleged mountain."  Well Sunday weather was so beautiful that I was finally able to lay eyes on Mt. Rainier and it was just - well, you're tired of all my adjectives - pick one!  I could see part of it from gate at the airport but the pilot was kind enough to give me a really great view when we got in the air.  We flew to Las Vegas and after an hour layover (and some time on the slots - wink, wink) we took off over Lake Mead and I could see the Hoover Dam.  Then, a few minutes later the pilot announced that out the left side of the plane you could see the Grand Canyon. I just happened to be on the left side of the plane!!   How cool to see the alleged mountain, the Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon all in one afternoon! Mom insists they are all even more impressive from the ground - guess I still have to check that out.  Do you think there are any quilt shops in Vegas or on the road out to the dam?   

The final best part came upon arrival at home.  Hollis picked me up at the airport just a bit after 10:30 and we got my luggage and headed home.  Harris and Kristin were in the living room to welcome me home and then Morgan and Desiree popped out of the kitchen for added surprise.  It was very cool to have them there though I felt bad for the ones that had to be at work early the next morning like me.  Des said "we have an early birthday surprise for you - follow me."  She took me to my studio and showed me this:

The closet in my studio!

Desiree spent all of Sunday afternoon unloading my fabric from plastic storage bins crammed into this closet and Morgan and Clayton constructed this piece of furniture.  She then arranged all of the fabric into it.  I was totally speechless. This was no small undertaking and I am beyond blessed that people (Desiree) would do something like this for me.  I am overwhelmed!  A fairy tale trip with a fairy tale ending.  Someday I will put up a carousel of photos of the quilts because I took lots of those too!

Celebrations

I just had a wonderful weekend!  It lasted 4 whole days and it was a blast!  First, a little history.  Back in 1981 as Hollis and I planned our wedding, we agreed that is would be best to get married at the Walker County Courthouse in Huntsville at the end of the spring semester.  

The two of us in 1981

 We finished our classes on Tuesday, May 12th and didn't really want to have the ceremony on the 13th, so we waited until Thursday morning.  We were joined at the courthouse by a handful of friends and Judge Walter Cooksey tied our knot.  Afterwards, we went with our friends to the restaurant where we met and had lunch.  The guys decorated Hollis' truck and once lunch was over, we took it straight to the carwash - he was worried about the paint job.  After that, we drove to Houston where we met Mom and Daddy at Brennan's for a celebration drink.  Alan Alda was at the restaurant being interviewed for whatever project he was working on at the time and I got to shake his hand and have my photo taken with him.  Unfortunately, the flash did not go off and you can see nothing in the photo, but I have witnesses!  I met Alan Alda on my wedding day!  After that, we drove to Corpus Christi for the weekend.  I only remember that it rained quite a bit.  On Saturday, we drove to San Antonio to celebrate with Hollis' mom and 3 grandparents.  They had a cake for us and Mama gave us a microwave oven large enough to hold a 13x9 pan.  That microwave oven ran mighty well until just about a year ago - but I digress.  We went back to Huntsville on Sunday and worked at our jobs until summer school started.  A few weeks later, our friends Scott and Nancy Bounds gave us a wedding reception at their home in H-ville and it was just lovely.  I have a great scrapbook of all the events.


Fast forward to our 10th anniversary.  I agreed to the courthouse thing with the stipulation that someday we would have our civil union blessed as provided for in the service in the Book of Common Prayer.  H agreed that 10 yearrs and 4 boys later, it would be cool to do that.  We had the ceremony at St. Margaret's and a reception at our house with friends and family.  I have great pix of that too. 

For our 17th, I had some major surgery on my right shoulder and hand - not our most romantic day but Hollis and Mom took great care of me that week. 

For our 20th, we had lots of things to celebrate.  I was graduating from Southwest Texas State Univ with my teaching degree, Morgan was graduating from Canyon High School and Hollis and his partner had just finalized the paperwork to buy the business he worked for.  We had a big ol' party after my Saturday AM graduation.  With so much to celebrate, why not?

For our 25th, Hollis and I went to Ft. Leonard Wood to see Harris graduate from Army Basic Training.  It was the first time he and I ever got on an airplane together.  It was very emotional seeing what Harris had accomplished and also realizing that he was now trained to go to war and in a year or so, that would happen.

You will be relieved to know that we are now up to last weekend!  We both took vacation days for Friday and Monday and had lots of little errands to accomplish.  He was in the middle of a major tractor rebuild and I had lots of stuff to do.  Friday for lunch I met Caroline and Mason for lunch.  Mason is a sweet little two month old boy and Caroline and I could not stop talking!  She even ran me around New Braunfels for some of my errands so we could spend as much time together as possible.  

Hollis, Chelsey and me

Saturday was a big day in a couple of ways.  Chelsey was graduating from Texas State - ten years after I did - with her degree in education and Hollis and I went to San Marcos for that.  Chelsey had her graduation party at Buddy's Backyard in New Braunfels and Mom and Mama and Carl were all invited.  What a cool way to see our moms on our anniversary!  After hanging out at the party for a while, I went to get a haircut so I could look good for our evening.  The boys, Desiree and Kristin all met us at the house and we took them to dinner at a restaurant in San Antonio.  I sort of dropped the ball on the restaurant selection.  I picked an Italian place that got great reviews but while I was hoping for something fairly quiet and intimate, Sorrentos was not that place. It was a small, crowded, very noisy place.  The food was pretty good but we could not converse much and we were kind of crowded into a corner.  With some anniversary gift money we got from my mom, I had purchased 2 bottles of champagne.  We asked the waiter for 8 glasses and Hollis opened the first bottle.  I had asked Curtis ahead of time to propose the toast and right in the middle of his toast, the waiter came to the table to take our order!  Even after bringing us the wine glasses and watching Hollis open the bottle, he barged right in!  I will not forget Curtis' words though.  He said that the four of them are really proud of their married parents and all any of the want is what we have.  I was very moved.

The two of us in 2011

Kristin and Harris

After dinner, the family went back to NB and Hollis and I went to downtown San Antonio for a night at the Marriott.  We had a suite on the 32nd floor with a great view of the city that gave me my 5 most favorite guys ever!  We walked around a bit but then went back to the room to have some room service dessert.  I called and ordered a piece of dulce de leche cheesecake and about 20 minutes later, a waiter delivered a piece of chocolate macadamia nut mousse.  We ate it anyway.

Curtis and Clayton

Morgan and Desiree

Mi Familia

This guy hovered near a fisherman just waiting for a handout - it worked!

The view from the 32nd floor.

This is the small guy - about 2 ft long -  just hanging out.

Saturday morning we got up, packed up and headed south.  Since we had gone to Corpus Christi for our honeymoon, Hollis suggested that we take a day trip to the coast and since we were already in San Antonio, Sunday seemed like the right day to do that.  We drove to Rockport and walked around the marina for a bit and then went to Fulton to have lunch.  After that, we went to the Arnasas National Wildlife Refuge.  It's a massive place with driving and walking trails and lots of wildlife for the viewing.  At one lake I got some great video of a big gator coming up on land to chase a small one and there were deer, birds of all kinds, butterflies by the hundred, and mosquitoes by the million.  I was wise enough to take sunscreen but not bug repellent - live and learn.  We bought some fresh shrimp and fish and iced it down and then drove home.  We are having this really comfortable May and the high for the day was only in the mid-80's.  It was a perfect day.  On Monday, I relaxed some more and then we went back to work.  Weekends, anniversaries, celebrations don't really get much better.  Flawless? - not even.  Memorable? - forever.  I think I'm okay with that.  I hope you enjoy the pix!

Butterflies were everywhere.

This guy is about 6 ft long and he was about 3 feet below the deck we were on.

These two were air wrestling