Holiday Greetings from Texas! 

We hope this holiday note finds you and your family well and enjoying the holidays. As usual, I’m a bit slow in getting the cards out and this blog updated. Here's a brief run down of events of the year.

January found us with a small problem left over from last December – a fawn trapped in the yard after following it's mother had refused to leave! After multiple attempts and some pretty creative temporary fencing we finally coaxed it through the gate on Jan. 19th. Some of our efforts would have made it on Funniest Home Videos! The dogs got so used to checking all the brushy corners of the yard looking for it that they still look disappointed when they don’t find it. (Blog post about that episode is here) 

In spite of life feeling a bit like we're in a remake of Ground Hog Day we’ve had a busy year, though it didn’t include as much of the travel that we’d hoped to get back to. I think everyone has heard about February’s Great Freeze. We survived that with little damage, and we had fun showing the grandsons some of the features of ice that they’d never experienced (but we knew well from our years in Oregon). We always have the RV as backup for power outages and water limitations, so we were pretty comfortable in spite of the severe cold. The only noticeable after effects were some frozen tree branches that had to be trimmed up. (Frozen February post is here)

In April we managed to fit in a week of camping at Goliad State Park. The trip had an inauspicious beginning: flooding of the trailer! A plumbing fixture had vibrated loose in traveling to the state park where we stayed. We caught it soon enough to recover without any permanent damage and the remainder of the trip was very enjoyable. The Goliad massacre figures largely in Texas independence as it followed the fall of the Alamo. In fact, about three weeks later Sam Houston led Texian forces to a surprise victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, his men screaming, “Remember the Alamo, remember Goliad!” The state park is beautiful, and there are two missions, battlefield museums and the town of Goliad itself to explore. The wildflowers were in full array, which added another layer of enjoyment. The original blog post for that trip is here.

We had a great time on the trip and happily mapped out another trip, but upon returning home our youngest dog, Watch, managed to tear ligaments in both back legs, requiring surgery. The downtime for recover pretty well wiped out the timeline we’d been looking at for a trip. Now we are happy to report he’s fully restored! Better than new in some ways, as he’s now held together with stainless steel screws and plates! 

The highlight of July was Raylan's birthday.  He's 7 years old this year! The robot on his cake sort of blends into Jax, but that was the theme of his party this year. He celebrated with a pool party at the apartment complex. 

In August we enjoyed a trip to Corpus Christi with Kendra and the boys. 

 

The boys are really into military ships and aircraft, so Kendra promised them a trip to the Lexington. The Texas State Aquarium is also in Corpus Christi, so we visited both and had a very busy trip. It was really fun watching the boys explore and exclaim about all their discoveries. 

 

We had a campsite site right on the bay so we could escape a bit of the August heat as well as enjoying the lights across bay. 

The whole trip was a great experience, though August on the Texas coast is about as hot and humid as it can get, and after two days of nonstop touring we were all ready to head home! The original post about that trip is on this page.

 

Steve’s mother’s health began declining in late August and it seemed like moving her to an assisted living would be the best environment for her. In August Steve drove to CA so he could move things with the truck and I flew later for a shorter time to help with packing. It was the dogs’ first experience with being kenneled and it went pretty smoothly. The move went well and her new home suited her, but her health continued to decline and she ended up in the hospital for a few days, followed by several sessions of rehab. As of early Dec. she’s mostly limited to bed, with some occasional sessions of short walks in her room or sitting in her recliner. The staff at the facility has been very helpful, and we’re glad she’s in a situation where help is available 24/7. 

In the fall  sisters Darlene and Diana visited. We had a good time catching up, though Covid restrictions limited some tourism activities, we did enjoy a dinner at the Gristmill, in the quaint and historic town of Gruene. 

Kendra’s battle with chronic Lyme has stayed in remission, but she still has many lingering health concerns to contend with. Fortunately she works at home, as does Scott. They agreed on home schooling for the boys, It seems to be working well for everyone.

In May, after many hours of deliberation Kendra purchased a new, not-yet built home in Kyle. The predicted completion was to be some time in the fall. 

It was fun to follow the progress of the construction but there were many delays, weather related as well as paperwork. The house was finally completed and papers signed Dec. 8. (which is Jax's birthday!)

Moving day was just a few days after Jax’s 10th birthday, so he elected to have our small family party at the new house. Here, he's standing in front of the wall hanging for his new room that was one of his gifts from Mom.

Kendra, the boys and their two cats are all relieved to be out of the tiny apartment they’d been living in during construction. The house marks the beginning of a new chapter for Kendra. 

The day she signed the house documents she also learned her company had been purchased by another company. The new company retained all the employees, but of course there will be changes. Life certainly can change quickly! 

 

So that's a short version of our year. If you want to know more about any of our adventures, please follow the links to previous posts that are imbedded in the text. 

We send warmest wishes your way. May your holiday season be filled with good health, laughter, joy, and peace. And please look us up if you’re out this way. . . We’re always open for visitors! 

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!