You just never know

I have recently found out that one of my closest childhood friends, a former federal agent, has been indited and, ultimately, has plead guilty to a series of very serious crimes. And I am in shock. I have not been in contact with this person much since I was in Jr. High, but not one memory I have of him could have predicted this outcome for his life. He was a very normal, very sweet kid, and I just don't know how this could possibly have happened. I am deeply saddened by this. People are so unpredictable, and I guess you truly just never know.

Day of Dates

Yesterday, Jeff's parents whisked our children off to the magical world of Pecos, where they will stay all week. No sooner had they pulled out of the driveway than Jeff and I began our dating frenzy. We had lunch at a neat little seafood place in Llano and then made our way to Marble Falls, where we went to a movie (Killers) and had a lengthy home building planning session in Home Depot. We then had dinner at a non-chain, very good Mexican food place outside of Kingsland. There was uninterrupted conversation, adult hand-holding, no spilled drinks, no crying or whining and no inconvenient potty stops. We do miss our kiddos when they are away, but we certainly enjoy the chance, every once in a while, to reconnect as a couple.

Naptime Conversation

Me: Weston, it's going to be time to take a nap in a few minutes.

Weston: But I don't want to take a nap today.

Me: Well, you didn't take a nap yesterday, so you really need one today.

Weston: How do you know?

Me: I'm just really smart.

Weston (beginning to cry): Well, so am I, but I just can't remember everything!!

They're Baaack

We picked up the boys (and all their noise) this afternoon from what must have been a wonderful "Nana Camp." When asked what they did, they both initially replied, "Nothing," so, we can't figure out why Nana looked a little tired. Later, Weston did recall a swimming trip, in which he reportedly drowned. I have to tell you, he was looking remarkably well for one who had so recently drowned. We also ultimately heard tales of a visit to the children's museum in Waco, more swimming, pizza eating, splash park playing and lots of other fun. We are so glad they got to enjoy this special time, but we are also glad to have them back with us, noise and all!

Classical Conversations

Today we visited a preview day for the Classical Conversations group in Marble Falls. This is a homeschool group that focuses on the classical model of education, which is the model we follow in our own homeschooling. The organization is not new, and is very widespread, but the group in Marble Falls is just now forming to begin in the fall. We have known a few people who have been involved with Classical Conversations and have heard good things about it, but this was our first experience with it. And, we were very impressed! It is a heavily academic-focused group, which meets once a week in age-divided classes. We are very excited about this opportunity and look forward to getting more involved after we move.

Just the Girls

We left the little boys at my parents' yesterday afternoon for their "Nana Camp," and girl time commenced this morning. Our first stop was Sonic, of course. Then we visited the "hometown variety store" in Kingsland, the resale shop in Granite Shoals, and finally the outlet store in Marble Falls. We bought some fun things, got some great deals and enjoyed each other very much. We had a late lunch when we got back to my in-laws' house, spent some time reading our individual books, spied a baby fox on the back porch, played a crazy game of Monopoly (in which I got creamed), and surprised a mommy fox near the BBQ deck. Our mother/daughter days are few and far between these days, and I soaked up every moment.

With just the click of a button

Truly anything your heart desires can be found online. Here are a few things that have been ordered online at our house this week:

• bras and panties
• shoes
• birthday gifts
• a used pick-up
• luggage
• school books for the fall

Additionally, bills have been paid, work has been done, information has been found, games have been played, employees have been paid, communication has taken place, research has been done. All with just the click of a button. What a wonderful contraption this Internet is! 

That kind of day

It was a sun dress wearing, double dentist appointment, check depositing, Sonic stopping, used pick-up buying, laundry all over the floor, Wal-Mart venturing, life jacket buying, late lunch, mall walking, birthday gift buying, hugs for no reason, coupon using, sale finding, leftover eating, peanut butter and butter sandwich, crab dying, broken plate, 24 watching, sticky floors and hands kind of day.

Since last we spoke...

• We had Ruth's final birthday party--a double party with her cousin--with my side of the family.
• We got to have dinner with our dear cousins who we haven't seen in forever.
• We visited the family ranch out in west Texas, where we slept in a camper, rode in a Ranger, shot at jack rabbits and cottontails, and saw a deer, a turkey and quite a few sheep.
• We lived quite comfortably in our cabin in the Davis Mountains without air conditioning, television, internet access, laundry facilities and quite a few other modern conveniences.
• We shopped in a small-town grocery store.
• We delivered Jeff from a winged bug who tried to burrow into his ear in the middle of the night.
• We finished laying the floor in our cabin.
• We hung shelves in the closets.
• We installed baseboards in one room and stabilized the bunk beds. (And by "we" here, I mean "Jeff").
• We enjoyed rain on a metal roof.
• We drove around in the mountains, in the back of a pick-up truck, looking for deer.
• We found and reported a mountain on fire from a lightning strike.
• We watched cattle wander through the campground and especially enjoyed all the little calves and the huge bull.
• We tended to a sobbing, bleeding child who had almost bitten through his cheek. (And by "we" here, I mean "I").
• We played Scrabble and Boggle for hours on end.
• We visited with family members and old family friends.
• We helped with some of the work projects going on at the camp.
• We tended to a sobbing, bleeding child who cracked his head open when he fell out of a chair. (And by "we" here, I once again mean "I").
• We shooed a tarantula off the screen door on my in-law's cabin. (And by "we," I mean "someone other than me", since I was not the least bit interested in getting close to the nasty thing).
• We found the largest beetle that has ever lived.
• We did some small-town shopping and got some excellent bargains. ("We" here is "Ruth and I," since the boys were neither invited on nor excited about a shopping trip).
• We helped prepare meals in a slightly unclean, slightly hard-to-use kitchen equipped with seriously large utensils and implements.
• We tended to my mother-in-law when she tried to cut her finger off with one of the very large knives in the afore-mentioned kitchen.
• We saw billions of stars.
• We bought ice cream out of a rail car, and some of us tie-dyed our clothes with it.
• We (read "I") may have broken Jeff's pinky toe while trying to defend myself against yet another ear-burrowing bug in the middle of the night.
• We dutifully had ice cream for breakfast in an attempt to help the ice cream guy test the new machine.
• We spent about 10 hours in the van, making our way home from a fabulous and productive "Work Week" in the mountains.

Sweet Ruth:

Today is your birthday, and you are eight! I can't believe it! Seems like just yesterday we were meeting you for the first time and starting to get to know you. What fun we've had since that day! You are growing and learning and maturing every day, and your dad and I are so very proud of the person you are and the person you are becoming! You are funny, smart, thoughtful, generous, kind, determined, motivated, beautiful, and absolutely amazing! It is a true blessing to have you in my life!

I thank the Lord for you every single day, and ask Him to mold you and shape you, to lead you and guide you, and to give you your own experiences with Him that will help you become all that He wants you to be. I want you to know that I love you more than just about anything I can think of, but the Lord loves you even more than that! You are a treasure, not only to me, but also (and more importantly) to Him.

This past year has been full of new experiences and opportunities for you. You swam on a swim team, learned to play hand chimes and performed publicly, played basketball, took piano lessons, learned to knit and to sew (In fact, you sewed the dress, kerchief and purse pictured above with only minimal help from Mimi), spent a lot of time cooking, participated in academic contests, and even won a gold medal at the state meet. You took some neat vacations, made some new friends, set financial goals for yourself, took on the household laundry (for pay) in order to meet those goals, and hosted a tea party for some of your friends. Obviously, that's just a small sampling of what this year held for you. I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Thank you for being you! Daddy and I love you so much and want to wish you a very happy birthday!

All my love, 

Mom

Party Time

Tomorrow is Ruth's birthday, but today, she celebrated with a few friends at Build-A-Bear. The kids enjoyed picking out their animals, naming them, stuffing them and dressing them. And then, we took the party up to the food court in the mall, where we had chicken nuggets, fries, ice cream and a cookie cake. It was a fun party to kick off Ruth's birthday season.

4 1/2

There is a little blonde-headed boy in my life who loves dinosaurs and giraffes but doesn't care for lions. Who prefers to wear his shirts, pants and underwear backwards and sometimes wrong-side-out. Who always has a hug and a compliment ready for his mom. Who is learning to read. Who helps around the house. Who likes to "take his privacy." Who still takes a nap most days. Who thrills at the sight of a parcel post truck. Who likes to "take a massage." Who has a knack for working with numbers. Who makes my days special just by being a part of them. And who had a half-birthday today. We're so proud of our big guy and can't believe how quickly he is growing up!

Best Laid Plans

Do you ever make a plan, like, oh let's say, to make sure this is the day you sit down with your four-year-old and help him learn how to read? Or that you will definitely get serious about potty training your two-year-old this minute? And then get to the end of the day only to realize that what you actually did today was make haircut appointments, and schedule car repairs and lawn services and a visit from a plumber, and run to the bank and post office (twice), and work on exchanging part of your Mother's Day gift, and pay bills, and plan a birthday party? Or do you ever make a plan to tell your faithful blog readers something really important, and then realize that with all your vacationing, you have completely forgotten to mention it? Well, don't worry, it happens to me, too.

So here it is: we currently have our house for sale! Put the sign in the yard at midnight the night before we left on our trip, hoping against hope that someone would come by and see it (and want to buy it) while it was as clean as it's ever going to be while we live here. And we did have some lookers, I guess, but no serious interest. So, now I'm just hoping someone will come along who thinks sticky floors are a "feature."

"And what are those crazy Watts up to now?" you ask. Well, let me start by saying that we really love Kingwood and have enjoyed our time here immensely. But, there is one thing that we do not like, and that's the distance between us and our families. (You only have to hear your kids ask if Grandpa is on that plane to come see us or if Nana can come live with us so many times before you get the hint). So, we are attempting to bridge that gap. We don't know for sure where we will ultimately end up, but we are currently thinking about the Marble Falls area. We would like to find a nice piece of land and have a house built to our specifications--if we can agree on just what those specifications are. It will, no doubt, provide tales to tell. And I'll be telling them here, if all goes according to plan. Hope you'll stick with us through this next chapter of our lives. (And if you know of anyone looking for a house in the Kingwood area, please let them know about ours).

Last Stop: Louisiana

The final stop on our multi-state vacation was Louisiana. We visited the Global Wildlife Center in Folsom, where we were able to see many interesting animals up close and personal and even feed some of them. From there, we made our way to New Iberia, where we ferreted out some yummy Cajun food at a true local joint. And, this morning, we spiced things up a bit with a visit to Avery Island for a tour of the Tabasco factory and a sampling of their wares, including pepper soda, pepper ice cream, pepper jelly and a variety of hot sauces. While we were at Avery Island, we also visited the Jungle Gardens, a beautiful natural area on the grounds of a former sugar plantation.

Thank you so much for following our journey. We had a blast and hope you had fun right along with us! We made memories that will last a life time. And, we'll try to dwell on those fun times as we attempt to make our way through the massive pile of laundry we brought home.

Gulfport, MS

*Scroll over pictures for captions.

Tuscaloosa Children's Museum

Chattanooga and Rock City

Fun in Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg

Appomattox and Amazement Square