Parks Palooza 2010
And lastly, it was 106 outside today with a heat index of 115. Rolling brown outs in the city of Dallas and Jackson wore his snow boots all night long. I convinced him not to sleep in them.
This past weekend was the 2nd annual Parks Palooza. It is a weekend for all of us cousins on the Parks' side to get together, hang-out and laugh till our faces hurt. No grown-ups, just us kids.
And what a motley crew!
1. A nurse
2. A printing Sales rep
3. A computer geek
4. A State Employee (sorry Mindy, I can't for the life of me think of what you do for the state)
5. A Child Protection Officer
6. A teacher
7. An Ivy League Student studing Forest and Environmental Stewardship
Holly said to me this weekend, "we aren't broke, we aren't ugly and we arent stupid, so we got that going for us?" And as funny as it was, we are a blessed group and have many, many things to be thankful for. We are all college graduates with shout-outs to: Texas Tech University, University of Texas, Baylor University, University of Louisiana, Washington University, Yale University. (Dear God! Can you imagine what we are worth in respect to tuition? Thanks again Parents, we really do appreciate it!)
For the most part, our Grandparents would be proud. Grandma, I know we had labels on the table and we used paper plates, but we were also drinking straight from the can/bottle so real dishes wouldn't have fit in. We talked alot about our Grandparents and the impact they have on our lives. We looked at their stuff that we all now have in our homes. We looked at old pictures, and we drank ALOT OF BEER!
First part of the day, we rented two pontoon boats and floated on lake Travis. The second part of the day, we gathered at Danny & Sally's beautiful home and had hamburgers and watched the kids play on a slip and slide.
The personalities of our group run the spectrum and yet we still all get along and seem to mesh very well. This weekend was one of the first opportunities for me to spend with my cousin Michael. He is a Fulbright Grant recipient and has spent many many months in Mongolia and is heading to Yale in the fall to get his master's. Before this weekend, when I thought of Michael, what popped into my head was a shy, cute, high school kid who didn't talk alot, but always was part of the group. Who I spend time with this weekend is this super cool 26 year old kid who has traveled more than I, well spoken, well educated and FUNNYYYYY! It was a blast to replace that image in my head and can't wait till Tony and I can go hang with the college kids at Yale.
Mindy is expecting baby Jaxson in November so she had to take it easy - although she didnt as she wrenched her back trying to get Mackenzie in the boat. She put on her game face and tried to have a good time, but I have spent enough time with Mindy in painful situations (she is my Breast Cancer 3-day buddy), that I know she was really hurting. And being pregnant, there wasn't anything I could do for her. Sorry Mindy, I hope you are better now.
So, here's the gang!
Now this is a little bit backwards, but before we went to Parks Palooza, the Graham Family spent the day at Sea World. Still has magical to me today as it was when I was a teen-ager. In fact, after my first visit way back when, I was going to be a Marine Biologist so I could swim with Shamu, but then I took Marine Biology in High School and decided that career path was not for me. I also wanted to be on the ski team, but since that's all my family does now on the weekend, I wasn't too impressed with that show anymore.
I think Tony and I had more fun at Sea World than Jackson. I don't think he liked getting splashed and of course, I had to sit in every splash zone. Either that, or he is laid-back like his dad and doesn't show much enthusiasm. Looks like Enthusiasm School will be in his future as I require excitement and appreciation from my loved ones when I give them gifts. Once, I gave Tony this really cool umbrella that clips on your chair for the river. He showed no enthusiasm at all, so the umbrella became mine. He asked about it a few days later and I told him he was no longer the owner of such umbrella as he showed no enthusiasm. The next token of love I gave him was accepted with a great, over the top, "WOW, thanks MOM! It's what I always wanted!"
And what a motley crew!
1. A nurse
2. A printing Sales rep
3. A computer geek
4. A State Employee (sorry Mindy, I can't for the life of me think of what you do for the state)
5. A Child Protection Officer
6. A teacher
7. An Ivy League Student studing Forest and Environmental Stewardship
Holly said to me this weekend, "we aren't broke, we aren't ugly and we arent stupid, so we got that going for us?" And as funny as it was, we are a blessed group and have many, many things to be thankful for. We are all college graduates with shout-outs to: Texas Tech University, University of Texas, Baylor University, University of Louisiana, Washington University, Yale University. (Dear God! Can you imagine what we are worth in respect to tuition? Thanks again Parents, we really do appreciate it!)
For the most part, our Grandparents would be proud. Grandma, I know we had labels on the table and we used paper plates, but we were also drinking straight from the can/bottle so real dishes wouldn't have fit in. We talked alot about our Grandparents and the impact they have on our lives. We looked at their stuff that we all now have in our homes. We looked at old pictures, and we drank ALOT OF BEER!
First part of the day, we rented two pontoon boats and floated on lake Travis. The second part of the day, we gathered at Danny & Sally's beautiful home and had hamburgers and watched the kids play on a slip and slide.
The personalities of our group run the spectrum and yet we still all get along and seem to mesh very well. This weekend was one of the first opportunities for me to spend with my cousin Michael. He is a Fulbright Grant recipient and has spent many many months in Mongolia and is heading to Yale in the fall to get his master's. Before this weekend, when I thought of Michael, what popped into my head was a shy, cute, high school kid who didn't talk alot, but always was part of the group. Who I spend time with this weekend is this super cool 26 year old kid who has traveled more than I, well spoken, well educated and FUNNYYYYY! It was a blast to replace that image in my head and can't wait till Tony and I can go hang with the college kids at Yale.
Mindy is expecting baby Jaxson in November so she had to take it easy - although she didnt as she wrenched her back trying to get Mackenzie in the boat. She put on her game face and tried to have a good time, but I have spent enough time with Mindy in painful situations (she is my Breast Cancer 3-day buddy), that I know she was really hurting. And being pregnant, there wasn't anything I could do for her. Sorry Mindy, I hope you are better now.
So, here's the gang!
Now this is a little bit backwards, but before we went to Parks Palooza, the Graham Family spent the day at Sea World. Still has magical to me today as it was when I was a teen-ager. In fact, after my first visit way back when, I was going to be a Marine Biologist so I could swim with Shamu, but then I took Marine Biology in High School and decided that career path was not for me. I also wanted to be on the ski team, but since that's all my family does now on the weekend, I wasn't too impressed with that show anymore.
I think Tony and I had more fun at Sea World than Jackson. I don't think he liked getting splashed and of course, I had to sit in every splash zone. Either that, or he is laid-back like his dad and doesn't show much enthusiasm. Looks like Enthusiasm School will be in his future as I require excitement and appreciation from my loved ones when I give them gifts. Once, I gave Tony this really cool umbrella that clips on your chair for the river. He showed no enthusiasm at all, so the umbrella became mine. He asked about it a few days later and I told him he was no longer the owner of such umbrella as he showed no enthusiasm. The next token of love I gave him was accepted with a great, over the top, "WOW, thanks MOM! It's what I always wanted!"
And lastly, it was 106 outside today with a heat index of 115. Rolling brown outs in the city of Dallas and Jackson wore his snow boots all night long. I convinced him not to sleep in them.
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