Jessie and Dad's Road Trip 2014

In July, Daryl and Jessie took off for a 9 day road trip..   I couldn't get that much time away from work, and the other two kids that live at home didn't really want to go. So the two of them went alone, and had a wonderful time.  

They left early on a Saturday morning, heading to Carlsbad Caverns.  They arrived, checked into their hotel, and then went to watch the bat flight out of the caverns at dusk.

The next day they went and did the tour of the caverns.. They got a lot of interesting photos to share with me.

After they left Carlsbad, they headed off to Roswell..    No visit to Area 51, But they did see some Aliens..  (even if they weren't real)

They said their favorite hotel of the trip was in Roswell..   It was the nicest, had the best breakfast and was also the least expensive of all the ones they stayed at.. it was a Comfort Inn.   

After they left Roswell, it was Grand Canyon time..    They got to their hotel after dark, and when they got up to go visit the Canyons, it was raining.. SO.. they decided to take the drive over and see the Hoover Dam.

Jessie has wanted to go there for years, ever since it was referenced in one of her "Percy Jackson" books..  She wanted to go get a 'dam snack' from the 'dam snack bar' and a 'dam t shirt' ...   

They had a great time at Hoover Dam, and it was late at night when they got back to their hotel.. 

They stopped once in a while and just viewed scenery while driving.. even got a few "selfies" now and then.

They spent two days at the canyon..  Exploring and hiking..  

After the Grand Canyon they went to The Petrified Forest, and the Painted Desert.....    

 They were certainly glad to be home after all that traveling.. but it was such a wonderful father/daughter experience for the both of them. I am very glad they had that time together before our "baby" is grown and gone..  

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Blessed Summertime

I normally don't look forward to Texas Summertime. Who wants 100+ degree heat... high humidity... tornados... terrible rainstorms.. (well those are usually done by mid-late june) But summer has never held the joy it does for me this year.

I am tired. It has been a long semester of on the go activities, so summer means slowing down, a chance to actually get back on track with schoolwork. Co-op classes ended a few weeks ago, the girls had their last fine arts classes last monday, with their last performance last night. Bell Choir is done until fall. Rebecca had a movies as literature class, and that finalized last week... SO I am free now.. no obligations on a regular basis except girl scouts. I don't HAVE to drive places 3 days a week now, we can just sit home, do schoolwork, take care of the house, and not stress if we are running late, or finished science readings, etc. I feel like a weight is being lifted off of me.

Don't get me wrong, I love my girls, and am seriously happy they have all the extra activities they enjoy. I also like getting out, and visiting with other moms. (Last night in fact I ran into a mom I haven't talked to since right after my father died, fall 2005 - it was great catching up with her, and opening the door for more get togethers and chatting again!) But the last few weeks have been a struggle for me. So many rehearsals, meetings, activities, and also Doctor appointments for Jessica's broken leg on top of that.

This past month alone, we have had
Jessica's broken leg, and dr visits to go with it;
co op classes on Thursdays, then the big end of year night at co-op where we had to display work, and rebecca had a drama performance in;
Rebecca's Movies as Literature classes on Wednesdays, 2 in the past month;
Girl Scouts on Tuesdays
TAFA classes (TAFA is the fine arts program the girls attend on Monday)
Three TAFA related performances, and three different daytime rehearsals for those (On top of regular TAFA classes)
Bell choir rehearslas for Rebecca, then the bell choir performance.

Add Mothers day to that, having the grandbaby a few days a week, and you get one worn out mama.

I feel blessed for the summertime - I have vowed to myself to slow us all down.. to stop using the word "quickly" to my children, hubby pointed out to me i use it a lot, but with the lives we have led lately, quickly seems to be how I have had to do everything.. Now I can slow down, relax, enjoy my daughters, clean my home, play with the baby, and realize that this is a blessing. I will try to not complain about the heat when it hits, I will instead remember we are blessed to have a home, air conditioning and ceiling fans :)

AND I know our budget will be happier with this, gasoline usage will drop for ME dramatically - I spent 70.00 the last time I filled the Odyssey. Which will help also, because my 21 year old who has been paying us rent is planning on moving out soon - I will miss the boy, AND his rent has helped us enormously, especially in this era of ridiculous gas prices, and rising grocery bills!

I hope everyone looks forward to summer as I am.. storms and all, I am just glad for the time to breathe.