Las Vegas Trip

Saturday we left Kingman and drove just 110 miles to Las Vegas where we are staying at the Clark County Shooting Complex.  The views along the way included, blue skies, puffy white clouds and sandy hills.

We passed Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.

After getting set in in our nice wide and almost level camp site, we viewed the safety video we received our yellow card that indicated we could use the ranges here.  This is a view of the nearby mountains from our site.

This is our nighttime view of the Las Vegas and skyline.

On Sunday, Mother's Day, we went to the pistol range and each shot 50 rounds.  I'm not a great shot but I do enjoy the activity.  John took this photo of me.

This cool, restored panel truck was parked in the range parking lot.

Our sons, Doug and Eric, called during the afternoon and we had good talks with them, as well as with our two Colorado grandchildren, Kylie and John. It was a good day.

A Great Way tp End and Start a Year

We came to Houston to see where our granddaughter Kylie is attending university and swimming on the Couger women's swim team.  Kylie's parents and brother--our son Eric, wife Liz, and our grandson John--were here, too. We hadn't seen any of them in months so it was a special way to bring 2018 to an end and begin 2019.

On New Year's Eve, we met Eric, Liz and John for a BBQ lunch.

After some good conversation and catching up on each other, they headed down to Galveston where they are staying for a few days.

New Year's Day we met them on the University of Houston campus and drove to Kylie's apartment so she could show us around campus.

The campus is decorated with lots of modern art. Here is one building with what looks to me like polished graffiti, but what do I know?

One art work Kylie really likes is this serpentine piece. It is lit at night and the words projected on the surrounding concrete.

We ended our visit with lunch at Kylie's favorite taco place downtown. The food was really good and we again had a good visit. Finally, we needed to get back to our RV, Kylie needed to get back to her room and the others headed back to Galveston.

It was good to them.  We don't know when we will be together again.

Proud Grandparents

We think being grandparents might be even better than being parents. There is the advantage that you can enjoy them when you want, then send them home when you are tired. Plus, you don't have to pay their bills unless you really want to. As they grow up, we are seeing that we can enjoy their achievements without spending all the time and energy it takes to help them accomplish them.

We just received photos of our two Colorado grandchildren.

Going to Gruene

Gruene (read "green") is an old community in Texas that grew up during the cotton boom in the 1870s. Today is it part of New Braunfels here in Hill Country. We have been there before but enjoyed another visit. It is full of shops and restaurants and bed and breakfast inns, all located in old, really old, buildings. Some have been restored, some have not.

This is Gruene Hall, the oldest continually operating dance hall in the state, built in 1878.

You know you are near Gruene when you see this iconic water tower.

John took a number of what he describes as "artsy fartsy" pictures during our visit, including buildings

Then were were the trees--live oaks with massive branches, sometime so far extended from the tree they need to be supported or they will break off.

This one had the largest set of wind chimes we had ever seen.

This old truck is a great item in the town. We also saw one about this age that was actually still in use.

Some stores and restaurants have more modern things.

I spotted these plants (weeds?) growing in a rain gutter.  You sure wouldn't see that in Colorado.

It isn't long till Christmas. Look at the ropes around this tree, they aren't made of tinsel or popcorn or cranberries, they are lariats.

This will be the 7th year we have been away from Colorado for Christmas but looking at some of the antique decorations for sale in Gruene made me long for the days when we had children or grandchildren to the house for the holiday.

A Lot of Fun, Too

Our two weeks here at Chatfield State Park has been very busy and very stressful. But we've had a lot of fun, too. One evening we boated on the lake here with Eric, Liz and John. We had lots of time to talk and they had a cake to celebrate my birthday the previous week.

We really enjoy our stays at Chatfield every year. We saw deer right near our campsite one day. Many mornings hot air ballons are launched in the park. One day we watched one balloon come down right next to a group or boy scout campers and another right on the road at the edge of the campground.

The 55th reunion of the South High School class of 1961 was held Saturday night. We had a good time at the dinner talking to Beverly and Bill Totten, Don Morgan and Kitty Bowman Hadji. Kitty lived across the street during my high school years but this was our first quality visit in years.





Chatfield has a model air plane field. During our first weekend here there was a "Warriors Over Denver" event. Only planes painted with military paint schemes and insignia could take part. Most were made to look like World War II planes with both American and Japanese insignia.

Grandson John has competed in two swim meets during our visit. We were able to attend both. His smile shows how happy he was after a great time in one of his free style events the first weekend. At the second meet I got this shot of him diving in at the beginning of the 50 free (I think) event and one of him in the water, so far ahead of the other swimmers. He was several lengths ahead of 2nd place and made another really good time.

For Father's Day yesterday, Liz prepared a great meal and they brought it to our campsite where Eric and John cooked the steaks. Kylie was wearing her new sunglasses. Aren't they cool?

Our last night we attended grandson John's Boy Scout Court of Honor.  He received three merit badges and moved from the rank of Scout from Webelo.  Each time a scout moves to a higher rank, he receives a pin and his parent--either mom or day--also recieves a pin.  John put the pin in his dad Eric's ribbon.  His sister Kylie was there to see it.  Mom Liz was out of town.  We are so proud of the work John is doing in Boy Scouts.



We worked hard during our stay at Chatfield but we also had a lot of fun.

Nana and Papa are Proud

It is fun to be grandparents. You get all of the positives of children without having to deal with the negatives. We get to watch the sports and other activities without having to get the kids to the practices. We get to revel in the accomplishments without having to keep them on track day after day so they can make those accomplishments.

We always enjoy hearing about how well our two granddaughters in New Hampshire are doing in school. We enjoy hearing about the academic and sports achievements of our granddaughter and grandson in Colorado. Sometimes, we even get to watch them in their sports activities.

Over the weekend, Kylie in Colorado sent us a picture of a letter she had received, informing her she was named student of the month for January in science. That's impressive. Each month one student is given this honor in each subject offered at Heritage High School in Littleton. There are 1738 students at Heritage.

We are so proud of her. Kylie's dad teaches science in a nearby middle school. He must be doubly proud.

In addition to time with our extended family during Cindy's birthday party, we had two great evenings with our son Eric and his wife Liz and our grandchildren Kylie and John. We had a lot of time with Liz and Kylie during December when we met them in Texas for the Junior National Swim Meet. It was good to spend time with Eric and John this time.

Saturday morning, John had a basketball game. He really enjoys the game but we hadn't seen him play for 3 or 4 years. Basketball is one of two sports he plays. He is also a swimmer. It was fun to watch his team of 5th graders. John has improved so much since we last watched him play.

Not only does he know how to play defense and watch to make sure he can pass the ball to his own team mate, not the opposing team, he also listens carefully when his coach talks to the team. And he alert when the other team heads for the basket.

Everyone spends time on their smart phones, don't they? Here Kylie is getting ready to meet her friends at a high school basketball game. A little later, John was looking at his phone, too. Don't doubt all the adults in the room did the same during the evening.

The family has two sweet, well behaved dogs. We especially enjoy Batman, the black lab. He is always looking for love. Ziggy and Batman like each other.

Liz and I always have a lot to talk about.

Somehow, we didn't get any photos of Eric either evening. We did photograph him at the Saturday party.