Doug, Manasi, Melanie, Haley, Brandi, Richard, Julie, Nancy, and Paul came by over the New Year holidays and we watched a movie in our "Blue Collar Entertainment Room" (the garage). Everyone wrapped up in colorful quilts and drank hot chocolate, while the kittens tried to get our attention.
In January Anne took her brother Glenn up on his offer to take her
flying. They saw the sights of North Texas from Addison to Lake
Texoma north of Sherman, TX. There were some signs of the draught
underway, that resulted in stage 3 water rationing throughout 2006.
Stewart made his first trip to Kentucky in February to help his
parents with chores and some Dr. appointments.
Spring
Anne made multiple trips this year to Univ. of Texas at Dallas to
represent Texas Instruments at the university. She enjoyed presenting
TI technology to the students and interviewing them as prospective new
employees for TI.
In April we biked in the "Tour Dallas" bike rally from downtown Dallas
out and around White Rock Lake and back. Then later in the month we
traveled to Kerrville and Fredericksburg, TX for the "Easter Hill
Country" bike rally. We added to our 70 mile ride by getting lost in
the construction at the end of the route.
Stewart and his brother Morgan T. made another trip to Kentucky in
late April to assist his parents attending the funeral of Blan
Moore. Stewart's father Morgan and Blan Moore were prisoner's of war
in Japan during WWII.
In May we rode in the "Wild Ride" bike rally in Richardson, TX,
getting lost again at the very end of the ride. Later in the month we
drove to Houston to watch Brandi graduate high school. Hurray for
Brandi! Stewart loaned Melanie the digital camera and she took 8
billion digital photos.
Summer
In June we rode in the "Mesquite Rodeo Ride" and "Collin Classic" bike
rallies. Finally we didn't get lost.
Later in June, Anne's sister Teresa organized a family vacation in the
Grand Canyon. Anne joined Teresa, Trina, Steve, Gil, Glenn, Emily, and
Mia there for a hiking and sight seeing adventure. Emily told Anne her
favorite story of the trip was Teresa picking up a rock and throwing
it into the Grand Canyon... and missing! Trina wondered if she needed
a bigger target.
We went with our friends Alan, Maria, and their kids Sam and Ethan to
see Terri Hendrix and Lloyd Maines perform an outdoor concert in
Frisco, TX. Later Sam and Ethan serenaded us at their house playing
the parts of Lloyd Maines and Terri Hendricks. Samantha chided Ethan:
"Lloyd Maines, don't eat your spaghetti with a spoon!"
Our 4th of July fireworks show turned into a rainy, stormy event
without any real fireworks, but with gale force wind, pelting rains,
and emergency vehicles rescuing the kids from the collapsing bounce
houses. Samantha summed it up real well (as the rain pelted us and the
wind blew at 40 mph) - "This is the worst day of my life!"
We spent most of July glued to our TV watching the Tour de France. It
was especially interesting since Lance is now retired and the Tour
organizers kicked out almost all the big contenders for doping.
We held our annual family Pool Party in mid July with over 40 people
attending! It was great fun swimming, bar-b-queing, and talking it up
with everyone, then later showing a movie on the wall in the back
yard. Stewart hoped he could float in the pool and watch the movie,
but it was just too cold for that!
The day after the pool party Anne's nephew Tom and his girlfriend
Lucia came into town after having visited San Antonio for a
wedding. Tom and Lucia live in Eugene, Oregon where they go to school.
Tom is a bicycle messenger so we took them to White Rock Lake and
biked both ways around the Lake. We then retired to the house for a
really cool Google Earth fly-by of Eugene, learning where Tom and
Lucia do their biking, and watching the later stages of the Tour de
France.
July was very busy. The very next weekend we drove to Houston and met
Anne's nephew Russell and his girlfriend Glenda to bike in the Katy
Flatland Century bike rally. Russell and Glenda did very well given
that Glenda had never biked in a rally before, and neither had trained
very much. Russell keeps asking when the next ride is!
In August we drove to Kentucky for the French and Milby family
reunions held at Stewart's parents house. The French's were Saturday,
the Milby's Sunday. We cleared out Morgan and Maxine's metal building
and set up the tables of food in there, while the people set up lawn
chairs all over the back yard, visited, and talked it up. It was
great catching up with Meredith and Cliff, up from Baton Rouge, where
Mere attends, and Cliff recently graduated from LSU.
Fall
In September we attended a shindig at our friends Jeanie and Chris's
house where a lot of our long-time friends, that we don't see very
often any more, came for dinner and conversation.
Trina, Steve, Brandi, Blake, Manasi and Doug (who drove Big Red), came
up for an UNT Parent Weekend in September. Brandi and her friend
Blake started as freshmen at the Univ. of North Texas in Denton this
fall. We are looking forward to seeing them more, and visiting the
campus for jazz concerts and bike rides.
The Dallas Arboretum was a favorite spot to visit this fall, for both
the Fall Festival and the Tree House exhibit. We got married at the
Dallas Arboretum Sunken Gardens (then called the DeGolyer Estates).
Now it is covered with chrysanthemums and pumpkins, with kids in
Halloween costumes climbing all over the tree house art surrounding
large oaks, elms, and even bamboo. It has changed so much since 1982,
and is incredibly beautiful to visit now, and for us to reminisce.
Stewart's Dad had an emergency in September. He fell and fractured
his hip. He was in rehab for 3 weeks. Stewart's Mom stayed with his
Dad, as his brother Morgan T. took "First Responder" duty and stayed
with them. Then Stewart took over as Morgan was released from rehab
and returned home. He did not require surgery and his recovery at
home was miraculous. We moved his treadmill and exercised gear to the
1st floor and he is now getting back into his exercise program. We
are so thankful.
Our friends Richard and Julie invited us over for Halloween. They
decorate their house with everything from dancing skeletons to a giant
inflatable pumpkin. We had a great time watching the kids Trick or
Treat then run crying and screaming as the fake fog envelopes them and
the skeleton dances and laughs maniacally.
For Thanksgiving we headed back to Kentucky. Stewart's folks had a
laundry list of "To Do" items for us. We had some of the best weather
we could have asked for and had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner at
their house, then we headed over to the beautiful Saunders Spring park
in Radcliff for a long hike on Thanksgiving day. We drove instead of
flying which turned out to be a very good choice, given the long lines
and delays at the airports. While there we drove over to Krogers in
Elizabethtown, and stopped in at Arnold's Coffee Cafe, where we always
seem to run into Tyler Kelly. No more. Tyler has moved to
Indianapolis, so who did we see there, Mike and Ann's daughter,
Tyler’s sister Chelsea! The Kelly's and Arnold's, an Elizabethtown
tradition.
We wish everyone a happy 2007 !
Anne and Stewart
