Package From Pierce

Camille mentioned to me the other day that I should receive a package from Pierce.  OM Goodness you would have thought I was a kid again.  How I looked forward to the mail each day or FedEx.  I could hardly wait.  The package arrived Saturday!!!!  Pierce put together very special gifts just for me for by my special birthday.  Inside were pieces of Weathers original candy, book mark, a sweet 60th birthday card with a special message and signed by Pierce, original art work for display and a silly band.

Thank you Pierce for my birthday package.  I love you very much and you made me feel very special!
Love Grandma!

Quick Trip to Austin

Some time ago Chris suggested to Hal that he sign up for Makers Mark Ambassador Club.  Not much comes of this other than a few emails.  One of the emails did "invite" us to attend a cocktail party in Austin.  We arrived Friday afternoon, checked into our hotel and took off walking on 6th street.  Found a nice balcony and a beer.  The afternoon was beautiful.

For the cocktail party, you had to go online and make a $20 donation to Save The Hero Fund and that got you in the door.  The party was held at the Adolph's hotel which is a very old hotel downtown Austin. They served drinks using drink tickets, had some nice food, a band and great people watching.  Hal and I so enjoy ourselves and it takes little to entertain us so we had a great time.  We found a ledge to sit on, had our drinks and food and a great view to watch all the interesting people from all walks of life and dress in all types of clothes.

 They gave you a Makers Mark bottle and let you dip it in the red wax.  You had to put on an apron and gloves for safety.  After you dip the neck in the red wax you slam it on the table and it makes the "legs" run down.  Hal did a much better job of this.

Saturday was an R&R day and was just perfect.  We walked around downtown for a bit, found a lovely place for breakfast, Old Pecan Street Cafe.  We were the only ones there for the longest time. We sat outside in the courtyard.

 This is my new Obit picture.....

We then took a tour down memory lane and drove past the various places we lived, some of our favorite restaurants, etc.  We had lunch at Iguana Grill overlooking Lake Travis.  Look how low the lake is.  That white beach area is typically under water.  Amazing...

 After our margarita we had to go back to the hotel and take a nap!

 

That evening we met Steven (my former boss) and Beth at Steiner Ranch Steak House.  What a lovely evening and I so enjoyed being with Steven and meeting Beth.
Sunday morning we worshiped at West Lake Hill Presby, our old church.  It was a Pilgrimage weekend so most of our friends were not in worship.  It was still nice to be there.  As soon as worship was over we headed to Houston for Lauren's wedding shower.  It was such a lovely Sunday afternoon wedding shower and Lauren is so absolutely beautiful inside and out!  What a sweet young women.

 I didn't get a good picture of this but Keith and Elysse sent their gift with us.  When Lauren unwrapped the package, there was a Huggies box.....all the women in attendance gasped.....Lauren died laughing.  Huggie boxes are what Keith and Elysse have most of these days and it was a perfect size for their tumbler glasses and it provided a great laugh! 

 Julie gave her a smorgasbord of neat stuff and a couple of the items were a cute monogram apron and bright gloves.   Good job Julie!

And then there is Anna....Just a few pictures we have taken over the last week or so.

Happy Birthday to Me

I had another wonderful birthday this year.  The big 60!!!  I thought it was going to bother me but how could going out to dinner with friends, getting gifts and cards, getting phone calls from very dear friends, going skiing and getting some really really nice bling!
Friday night we met Liz, John and Susan at one of our favorite Italian restaurants.  What a great way to end a week and begin a week of vacation.

Saturday morning we headed to Winter Park, CO for a week in the mountains.  Oh how I look forward to this week each year.  Chris, Susan (of the North), Katie and Stella joined us Sunday for a day of skiing.  The girls are such good skiers.  You just point Stella down the mountain and off she goes. 

Stella is full of confidence. 

Grandma, Katie (missing a couple of front teeth) and Stella after a big day of skiing.

I didn't take any picture of my actual birthday evening celebration.  However, we went to one of our favorite German restaurants in WP.  The evening brought back so many fond memories when George was with us.  He loved that restaurant!  I didn't get any pictures of the bling Hal gave me but he out did himself giving me some beautiful big diamond earrings....thank you babe!

The next day was Valentines day and the guys are getting into a wonderful routine of surprising Susan and me.  This year they were very creative and made dinner reservations at Sun Spot which is at the top of one of the mountains.  It was a beautiful ride up in the gondola to be warmly greeted with roses and served a five course dinner.  What a lovely romantic evening!

Susan took a day off from skiing because of her knee.  Smart lady!  Here the three of us are ready to go.  Not Hal's best photo but John and I look good.

The Sharp Shooter professional photographer got a good picture of Hal coming right at him.  Looking good babe.

Hal worked out a deal on the pictures, so we got a two-fer.

Another week in the mountains skiing, relaxing and hanging out with friends.  I loved every moment!

Anna Birthday Visit

Anna came to visit us for my birthday before we left for Winter Park.
She has always been a talker and she is beginning to be much more vocal these days...

 In my last posted I talked about her almost crawling....this post....she is crawling and so cute.

What a cute little sweet girl....I love her so!

CCPC Women's Retreat

This was my first time to attend our church's Women's Retreat and I have to give Susan, Kathy, Gayle and Margaret credit for their sweet perseverance inviting me.  I had a wonderful time.  The theme of the weekend was Sabbath Delight.  Something most of us don't think a lot about much less siege the opportunity.

Karen Ebling and Cindy McIntyre were our MCs and did a great job.  They were entertaining and kept the program very interesting.

Margaret showed us some talent that I was not aware of....

The weekend was filled with fun, fellowship and some music.

Saturday was Prom day/night.  It was all about giving yourself time for the Sabbath, to play and enjoy life however that may be. Karen and Cindy came out with the most obnoxious mums.  It was too funny. 

Sarah Riehm put together an a small group of ladies that could sing like angels.  The three ladies in the background are Ellen Dittman and her two daughter-in-laws.  How special would that be to have your daughter-in-laws there and sing with them?

We had Communion on Sunday and it was so special.  Judy Howle was our Small Group Facilitator and chose for us to pass the bread and cup around to each other.  I just love serving communion in this manor.  It's so personal to speak the name of the person you are serving...

This was my Small Group for the weekend...
Front row, Left to Right
Me, Jaclyn Crawford, Cindy McIntyre, Judy Howle, Coetta Lindt, Carolyn Marley, Colleen Hayes, Jean Lenhardt, Ashely Dittman.  What a special group of ladies from all walks of life with so much to share.  I came away from the weekend filled with God's Grace!

Novatel / Enfora Party 2012

This was our third year to host Hal's office party.  We tried a couple of different things and they seemed to go over well.  First was to establish a "gaming" room in the garage, the man cave as Kim labeled it.  So appropriate as Hal is King of his garage. With a few touch ups here and there he made it work.  All the drinks (beer and wine) and some water were stored in the garage along with some snacks.  What more could anyone ask for?.....cards.....Black Jack and Texas Holdem.

We switched up the menu a bit and made chicken cordon blu with mashed potatoes, glazed carrots and salad.  It was delicious.

The guys that own the tables made the evening so much fun trying to teach the majority of us how to play the games.  It's so much more fun when you play with other people's money.

Looks like some poker faces to me!

Another lovely evening with the gang.  We look forward to our next meeting.

Anna visit

We were having Anna withdraws so asked if we could take food over to Keith & Elysse and see Anna. We thought if we could bribe the parents with food and margaritas they would let us come over....it worked!  Anna is getting so darn cute with her little personality.  Love how she looks at you and smiles.

She loves her peas and green beans for not so much for the squash...this is a keeper!

She is 7+ months old now and watch out, she is getting ready to take off.  She gets up on her hands and toes with her butte in the air.  Grandma loves you!