Road Trip 2008

"There are two things you can give your children.

One is roots. The other, wings." -- Kelly Owen (Okay, Plato.)

I've spent the last week doing just that. Giving the girls roots and wings. We have had an amazing journey. Fasten your seatbelts -- we've accomplished a lot!!

We started off last Tuesday with a trip to Waxahachie. Baby Kelton was making his entrance into the world, and we were not about to miss it!!! There's no better treat than ice cream on the day you're getting a new baby brother / cousin, so Mimi and I took gang to Chick Fil A for lunch and ice cream!

Here's baby Kelton with a VERY proud Auntie D'Lyn. He was bruised a lot during delivery, so that explains the blue face. Dr. Hays said that as long as his lips were pink, he was okay. Whew!!

Speaking of Dr. Hays, she delivered Kaitlyn, Kamryn and now Kelton. She definitely has stock in this family! She came out to the waiting room to visit with us for a bit -- it was great to see her!



Here the girls check out their new cousin. I think they're already ready to introduce him to the world of fishing!


From Waxahachie, we drove straight to Fluvanna to get there for Granny Nelva's 74th birthday lunch. We were kind of late, but the left-overs were great!!! Carla & Donelle were there with Sarah, Callie and Pace. That Pace is something else!!!

Thursday night was the opening night of the Snyder Rodeo. So, the girls got all decked out and went to see Grandma Laverne. She wasn't up for a lot, but we did snap a quick picture.

Kaitlyn's goal for the visit was to find a way to touch the ceiling. Paw-Paw was more than happy to help her out!

Here's Kait on Simon before the rodeo. She wasn't riding in the Grand Entry, but she made sure to get some time in with her friend before the show started!

Here's Abs in her "official" riding helmet -- she loves it!

Abbie & Uncle Max. It's a mutual admiration society for the two of them.

I was so glad Uncle Don felt like coming to the rodeo. It was great to have him there!

From Snyder, we drove to Midland on Friday, and loaded into Aunt M'Lys' car. She drove the rest of the way up to Ruidoso, giving me a break from being behing the wheel. It also gave me a huge block of time to work on Zoe Babcock's baby quilt -- and I got it finished before we got there. Kayren is coming to town this weekend, and I'm thrilled that it's done so I can give it to her!

Friday night we went out to the Flying J Ranch for dinner. Here's Kait on a $2 / 2-minute horseback ride.

I know you can't tell from her "big smile," but that Abbie really is happiest when on a horse!

Here are the girls and Aunt M'Lys panning for gold. We didn't find any big nuggets, but they had fun playing in the water!

Kait decided looking for rocks in the gift shop was way easier than panning for gold.

Here are the girls with the sheriff of Bonita City.

Shortly after our visit with the sheriff, two outlaws came to town. Don't they look dangerous??

At dinner, the girls had a great time playing with Aunt M'Lys' new I-touch.

We stayed with my cousin Angie at her cabin. That was great. It's up in the canyon and the smell of the pines in the morning is so refreshing!!

On Saturday, we got up and drove with Aunt Vell to the hotel, where the girls and I hiked up the hill. Later, they hiked with their "big" cousin Kaitlyn and my cousin Greg. Greg has always been one of my favorites -- maybe because he's just a big kid at heart?

After lunch, we went to the Races. The girls each placed two bets. Abbie won on both and Kait won on one, so I think we just ended up about 20 cents in the hole over-all. They had a great time, and I think Granpa Weldon had a lot of fun watching them. Of course, no trip to the races is complete without bumming ice cream off your Granpa -- a task the excelled at!!!

We left the races early to go to the Hubbard horse museum. Unfortunately, it was closed to the public for their annual fundraiser. But we did get to wander around outside and check out the horse sculptures.

We headed back to the hotel for a swim and dinner after that, then it was on to the Go-Karts for the Goober 500. I don't have pictures of that yet, but it was a blast. I did the Go-Karts with the girls first -- loved the little Go-Karts and the fact that I could easily outrun the 12-year-olds. Then, Angie said she'd watch the girls so I could do the "big" Go-Karts with the rest of the cousins. Oh my goodness. Talk about addictive! I did scream like a girl. And Uncle Lane was pretty much no-holds-barred when it came to trying to run me off the track. But it was so much fun.

That night, we piled into Angie's "Cabin Car" -- a 1984 AMC Eagle hatchback thingy -- for a midnight Bear Hunt. No shoulder seatbelts in the backseat -- just lap belts. And it's own special smell that's really hard to described. Angie drove all over looking for a bear for Abbie to see -- no luck. We did drive by my Great-Grandmother Chatchie's old cabin. It didn't look nearly as big as I remembered from when I was Abbie's age, but it was great to see it.

Angie was such a wonderful hostess. She remembers what it's like to travel alone with two kids, and she really went above and beyond. Especially with the bear hunt -- it was a blast!

The girls really had a great time climbing all over the rocks at the hotel. They wanted to bring them ALL home, but we settled on a few "special" rocks. They each found a special place at the hotel where they would sit for forever and just look at the view. Here's Kait's "beautiful view" from her rock.

And here's Abbie's....

Okay. So.... This next series of pictures has a theme. Can you figure it out?

That's right! It's me at the reunion with cousins who are older than I am!!! Seriously, though, I just met Laura on this trip -- I have no idea if our paths have ever crossed before. But she rocks -- and she lives in Houston! Go figure! But the others... Sidney, Angie and Laura Jane are all "older" cousins that I've always thought the world of and looked up to all these years. If Angie's eyes were just open...

I really think the highlight was spending time with Aunt Vell. I've always thought it was such a shame she lived all the way in IDAHO! Aunt Vell and I spent a good part of our time at the reunion cuddling the babies. Here we are with Baby Bella -- the newest member of the clan and the owner of more headband bows than any baby I've ever seen!

Here are the girls on Abbie's "special rock" with Cousin Hannah -- Laura's daughter. They think it's pretty cool that they've discovered a cousin who lives in Houston!

Sunday was a REALLY long day. We left Ruidoso and drove to Midland to get our car, then on to Sonora to spend time with Kelly Owen's crew. Here, a very worn-out Kaitlyn naps in the car.

Spending time with Kelly's family was a dream come true. Rebeckah, her oldest, is a month younger than Abbie. And Reagan, her middle child, is about a week older than Kaitlyn. And then there's Gage, who has to be about the cutest 3-year-old ever. He's a mess!

Many of you will remember praying for Kelly's family in the spring of 2007. They are the ones who were in a massive car wreck between Sonora and San Angelo. Kelly's right arm was almost severed and was broken in 50+ places. Rebeckah's skull was cracked all the way from behind her right eye, around the top of her head, and back to the bottom of her skull.

This family is living proof that miracles happen. Rebeckah has no brain damage, and only two visible scars. She's happy and healthy and a perfect 7-year-old. Kelly's arm has frozen at the elbow and she cannot rotate her wrist. But she has enough function in her arm to drive and handle all the household tasks a mom takes care of. And she has the most amazing attitude. I'm truly blessed to have her for a friend. Please continue to keep their family in your prayers, especially as Kelly faces additional surgeries down the road.

When I planned this trip, I knew I had a choice. Monday, July 21, marked one year since my Mom had gone to Heaven. And I had a decision to make. I could spend the day sitting around, feeling sorry for myself and dwelling on the what-could-have-beens and the past. Or I could choose life. For the girls and I, I chose life. And Monday, we lived life to the fullest.

If you believe that my Mom has a window from Heaven where she can see us living life, then you know she saw us on Monday -- and spent time with us this whole week. Joined by a whole host of uncles, aunts and friends, she must have had a window to our crazy adventures.

Yep, we chose life.

On Monday, we took the gang to the Sonora Caverns. Here, they try their hand at sluicing. It was a bit more fruitful than the panning for gold, but still no million-dollar nuggets!

See? Isn't he the cutest 3-year-old??

It blows my mind that these girls can be so much alike. When one of them says "Mama," you never know who it is -- they sound exactly the same. It was so much fun to see them interact!


Once we went into the Caverns, our top-notch guide took us to the classroom for a dinosaur dig.

No dinosaurs, but we did find a few shark teeth!

This is Cave Coral. How cool is that?

Pictures really don't do this justice. It was beautiful....

We really packed in a lot of adventure. After the caverns, we drove out to Paint Rock to see Fred and Kay Campbell and the Indians' painted rocks. I can't tell you how good it was to see Kay and Fred. I hadn't seen them in about 13 years -- since I worked for Ranch Magazine. They are still such precious friends. And we were so blessed to spend time with them.

Here are a few shots of the painted rocks. This one, the Turtle rock was a way of recording the summer solstice.

Here's Fred showing the kids the Chief's rock. The Indian chief would stand on this rock and make predictions.

Here are our Indian chiefs making some big predictions!

Kay wanted to show the kids something -- no parents allowed!

She took them to see the medicine man's markings....

Then, they all did a rain dance. Something tells me our personal medicine woman may have had a bit of help from the weatherman and a certain Hurricane named Dolly.



This is a cool painting. On the way over, Kelly and I read that it depicts the burning of a mission. We were really amazed at how the history ties into the paint rocks.


The learning never stops! Here the kids feed a dogie angora goat at Kay & Fred's house.


My friendship with Kay (and Kelly Owen and Kelley Watkins) was one of the best things to come out of the time I lived in San Angelo.

So then it was back to the Ft. McKavett Ranch -- five exhausted kids and two worn-out Mamas. But not too tired to get up early Tuesday morning and bottle-feed the fawns!

Here are the girls with Terry. He hasn't changed a bit in all these years. It was great to spend time with him!

To get to Kelly's house, you have to go through 6 bump gates. Bump gates were never a big deal when I drove that big Chevy truck in college, but for this trip I took the Honda. I know. Cramped quarters -- but WAY better gas mileage! So I had to employ a few gate-holders on the way to the highway!

Here we are at the gate. You know, people pass through your life all the time. With some people, you'll be friends while they're nearby -- but they aren't the kind of friends that "stick" forever. Sure... You might trade Christmas cards, but it's not like this. I am so incredibly blessed to have a few of those forever friends -- and Kelly's one of them. Kayren's another -- and she's coming to visit tomorrow. I can't wait to see her!