Objects of Desire ...

Jewelry ... shoes ... handbags? Nope! I walked out on the patio a few days ago to see this ...



Formulating a new strategy ...



"This might just work" ...



... not quite tall enough!



And what was he after? A lizard ~ chameleon, actually. Took me a few minutes to find him since he was blending in with the brown tree limbs.



Tis the season for lizards. This morning Denny was going ape over this little green lizard sunning himself on the front windowsill.

Holding Babies!

Yesterday afternoon, Jerry & I went to TCH to meet Jeff and transfer the new mega-big double stroller from our car to theirs. We had an opportunity to visit the babies and actually hold them.

This is Jerry and Kaden ...



He's looking pretty comfortable ...



Another shot so you can see how big he's grown!



While Jerry was holding Kaden, I was hanging out with Karsyn.



Her side of the NICU is under an AC vent, so they keep her bundled up.



She's announcing how hungry she is in this photo. She's working on her pacifier and waiting and waiting ...



FINALLY, dinner has arrived! Jeff is giving her late afternoon bottle.

Back to the Byron Nelson

It's hard to believe 6 years has passed since our last trip to the Byron Nelson ~ my last year at Chase, as a Villa Sponsor, and the year we picked up our little monster Maine Coons. The Four Seasons Resort at Las Colinas is one of the best, so we decided to visit the Dallas Brewers and watch a little golf while we were there.

Jerry's friend, GM of the Houston Four Seasons, negotiated a fabulous room at the last minute (obviously one reserved for a golfer) and BrewerETC Marketing Group purchased a small golf sponsorship. Here's a shot of the view from our room ...



Jason, Melissa, Luke & Zach joined us on Friday morning and it was HOT, HOT, HOT! After an hour or two, the boys were ready to visit the HP Kids Zone where they had loads of fun doing all sorts of activities. One computer related activity was to create your own "avatar", or digital likeness.

Luke & Zach created the following avatar for me and I think I came out smelling like a rose, even if the image is a bit like looking in the rear-view mirror!



Jerry ... not so much!



Apparently the choice for "thinning hair" turns out like this. Can't explain the mutton chops, but I'm fairly sure this look wouldn't fly as a banker!

It was a "sports extravaganza" weekend and Zach had his first tee ball game on Friday at 5pm. Yes, 5pm, and it was smokin' hot by that hour! Here's Zach crushing one off the tee ...



In this age group, they rotate each team through "at bats" and then switch sides. Since Zach was last at bat, I don't have any photos of him running the bases. Here he is at first base ...



Next attempt was a ground ball, but he got on base each time he batted.



Here he is in the outfield ...



... and hustling for the big catch!



We had a good dinner at the Blue Goose Friday night. Quesadillas & margaritas ... excellent after a long, hot day! (the kids did NOT have margaritas)

Saturday morning, Jason joined us for golf and we walked 18 holes following Lee Janzen to witness the worst round of the day (seriously) and Arjun Atwal, a young guy from Calcutta, India who recorded the best round of the day. At one point the three of us were the only ones following this two-some other than Janzen's wife.

We left the course after lunch and met Melissa, Luke & Zach at Luke's baseball game. By game time, 2pm, the sun was blazing and the wind was howling. We were grateful for the breeze, and we had our sunglasses on, but the dirt was flying and getting in the kids eyes.

Here's Luke in the outfield. Ball popped up at his feet and he missed the catch, but it's a good action shot!



Warming up ...



Big hit!



... SCORE!

Here's Luke crossing home plate. The next player managed to slide into home right after and bring their score to 3 runs for the inning.



Here's a beautiful shot of the sun coming up on Sunday morning.



Jason came out again for the morning rounds and we found a good shady spot ~ with a breeze ~ to watch the early players come through the 2nd green. Unfortunately, Luke had a birthday party and piano recital on Sunday afternoon, so we didn't see Melissa and the kids again.

More beautiful views from our balcony ...



... the 18th green, with players coming through ...



... the driving range with Downtown Dallas in the far background.



It was another great Byron Nelson experience and I hope we're back again next year!

Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all ... including the "mothers" of furry, four-legged kids!

My sweet Denny, waking up from a nap.



Elvis, helping with the laundry.



Ike, happy to be inside and no longer fending for himself on the streets.

Saturday Fun

Weekend plans changed at the last minute and instead of heading to Galveston, we went to the hospital to pick up Brady for a fun day Saturday. We did peek in to see the babies ~ I know you all see enough baby photos on Kim's blog, but I had to post these because Saturday was the first time we've been able to see their hair!

Miss Karsyn on her last day of sporting the CPAP equipment.



Mr. Kaden looking quite comfortable on the nasal cannula ... what a relief it must be to not have all that stuff attached to their noses!



Didn't stay long in "babyville" as we were on a mission to the Children's Museum. Upon arrival at the Museum we learned two things ... #1) it's well suited to kids Brady's age and 2) they don't open until 10am.

We were an hour early, so we rode the train!



Brady, looking very grown up!



Waiting for our driver to ferry us back to the Museum District.



Here we are outside the Children's Museum and you can see that Grandpa is already in pain. Gear up Grandpa ... the Children's Museum is no place for the weak and weary!



Brady showing us how you are supposed to drive ... two hands on the wheel "like this" and put that cell phone down!



Cooking up a storm with about 15 other kids.



Let's hope this is the last time we see him in the back of a police car!



The outside playground has this cool "Flow Works" extravaganza where kids (thousands! ... well maybe only 50) do a variety of activities ~ water guns, buckets, etc. ~ to fill up this giant drum. Here are Brady & Jerry using the foot pedal to "gun" the drum.



Water filling up the drum ... it's almost ready to tip!



The ultimate goal is to fill it past the 240 gallon mark where it then tips over and pours the water back into the lower level ... minus a few gallons that spray all over the folks using the water guns at the time it dumps.



I know it looks crazy to post photos of an "HEB" but this Children's Museum has a section that ~ in a very child friendly way ~ focuses on "careers". There's an HEB, for shopping and learning to check out and handle money, there's a Chase bank where kids can be bankers and/or customers, there's a news area with activities for newspaper & radio/TV, a police/emergency area and many more. A wide range of ages could entertain themselves here.



Brady loved the grocery store and I'm happy to report that he "purchased" all fruits & veggies!



In the Science Lab kids can do all kinds of experiments ... Brady got on the measuring machine and I'm not entirely sure we did it right because it indicated he is as tall as 2 chickens. Roosters, actually.



Little artist ... working with watercolors ...



This is the "Stuff Sorter" and there were so many kids in there we never did figure it out. Brady didn't seem to mind the confusion.



This is "telephone man" ... an interesting mix of old phone parts and telephone booths. I guess it's true that art is in the eye of the beholder!



On the sponsor wall of fame, we found this leaf bearing the name of Melissa's father ... we think. Mel, is this your dad?



Highly recommend the Children's Museum for kids about 2.5 years old and up. Don't attempt this alone, if you're going on a Saturday you'll need reinforcements ... recommend a 2:1 ratio of adults to children!