Fooling around in April

Siblings at the Harlingen airport on April 2nd,

just before Kathy boarded to head north.

Well, I got third and won a quarter,

but Shirley was last and got 35 pennies.

Hmmm...who was the real winner?

Ana and the girls at church on Easter.

Tom & Trina's family and some friends on Easter.

Jimmy & Kelly's Easter gang!

Doug and Sara took the kids skiing at Whistler

for Spring Break. This is the best picture

Sara sent of Doug and RJ on Easter!

Sara and Julia's Easter photo! 

Easter potluck dinner at our Texas park.

I went for dessert first!

Sixty residents came to the

clubhouse to eat a ham, a variety

of sides and salad and desserts.

Caiden likes to run around in circles! :-)

These pretty little weeds get mowed down.

The jellybean is for size comparison!

Sara, Doug, and the kids stopped to visit

cousins John and Val after their ski trip!

On the 12th, we went to the Basilica

in San Juan for Mass with Jerry,

Dennis and Nancy.

Sanctuary inside the Basilica.  After Mass

we went to El Rancho Grande for breakfast.

The Mariachi band provided music during the service.

Jimmy and Kelly with Matthew and Grace

(all dressed up) before the prom.

Grace, Luke, and Matthew

Matthew, a junior and Grace, a freshman,

with their dates before the Prom.

On Thursday, the 16th, Bob wanted to go to 

South Padre Island to ride his bike. I drove

up to Clayton's to read until he got there.

The signs are en route going north.

I was going to sit on the beach,

but it was so windy the sand was

blowing all over. I decided to stay

on the upper deck so I could move

into the shade when it got too hot.

Excitement the night of the 19th. Power went out in the park

around 9:40 p.m. We went to investigate and found out

that a teen driving a pickup was going too fast on the

frontage road in the rain, spun around and knocked

over the power pole.  All kinds of emergency vehicles

came. The repair crew cut the pole in half, lowered

the top half to fix the controls, and the power 

came back on around 11 p.m.

Today, the crew is trying to get the pole out of the ground

to replace it, but it's in so deep they are having trouble.

That's Bob talking to some of the crew members. The crash

knocked down part of the fence around our park, too.

 

 

Time to March forth!

Diane came in 2nd at Cribbage today, March 5th.

Celebrated March 10th here for supper.

Real Longhorn cattle outside the restaurant!

Caiden made the All-State Academic team

for his high GPA and scoring more than 18 ppg.

What an awesome kid! XO

On Sunday, the Ides of March, Bob 

decided to ride his bike on the beach

at South Padre Island, so I went to the

Birding center to take some pics.

The parking area is just as pretty

and the inside grounds.

On Monday, the 16th, Wendy and I took Nancy 

and Kathy to the New York Deli to celebrate

their March birthdays!

Friend Irene's birthday is on St. Pat's Day,

so we took her to Nana's for lunch!

Irene by the painted wall. Most of the walls

inside and out are ceramic tiles.

Bob and Jerry went to Winter Texan Day

in Nuevo Progreso, Mexico on the 21st!

They had pedicures and imbibed some

of the local fare.   There was music in the

street, dancing, and free hats. Bob said there 

were more locals than tourists this year.

On Wednesday, the 25th, we went on a one-hour 

Riverside tour on the Rio Grande. Six pumping stations

on the dam: Three managed by the US; Three by Mexico.

We had no regrets about the trip, but did see egrets!

Private farmer's pump for irrigation.

A public park on the Mexican side with Tiki shelters

Tower to produce electricity for the pumps.

Wall built by a non-government private company.

White buoys have a system to deter swimmers

trying to cross the border.

After lunch at the Riverside, we 

stopped at La Lomita.

The original church was built in 1865

and relocated to its present location in 1899.

Shrine to Mary at La Lomita.

They still have a Mass every Friday!

A WWII vet in our park turned 100 on the 24th. A

local Vets service officer presented him with a flag

and had all the veterans present join the celebration.

Diane joined the line dancers at the party.

 

February Family Fun

 

Claire had an orchestra concert on Groundhog Day.

She is an accomplished violinist!  The only

thing I remember about the years I

played was how to play "Jingle Bells"

Went to South Padre Island so Bob could ride his bike

on the beach. I met him at Clayton's afterwards.

The last time we were here, Clayton's was closed!

On Friday, the 6th, it was packed...probably

because of the great weather. We met 

Dennis and Nancy there and headed to

the SPI Brewery for an early supper, then back

to La Feria to watch Sioux hockey and

play Farkel. The team tied Friday night

and lost the OT playoff, but won on Saturday.

Alfonso is painting Jerry's golf cart.

RJ's 14th birthday cheesecake

on February 9th.

At the Valley All-Star show, on the 11th,

this performer had a USA-shaped guitar.

After the show, we went to Nana's for "lonches"

with friends Wayne and Mary. The new chapel

behind them is dedicated to Our Lady of Guadalupe.

Nana's has a huge new dining area and the food is great!

We had supper at Stefano's on the 13th

to avoid the crowds on Valentine's Day!

Dessert time...we had seven forks to share this

 chocolate cheesecake which was awesome!

Ana and the girls sent me the framed Christmas photo!

Trina made this heart quilt. :-)

Kelly said George, Luke, and Mary Kate were

the only ones awake when she took the picture.

(I was not surprised that the three teens were asleep).

Donna's friend "Flash" sent me this picture

labeled "1/2 of the Shalala twins" :-)

taken at a Miami Lebanese restaurant!

The La Feria Fiesta on the 14th had lots of fun, food,

and a great rock and roll band.  The wind, however,

was crazy, so we took our food home to eat!

On Sunday, the 15th, we went to the Camille

Theater in Brownsville to see "Guys and Dolls".

Caiden's last high school basketball game!

RJ's team won a tournament 

in North Carolina! RJ is circled.

Roy Orbison show on the 25th 

at the Sunshine RV Park. Great show

and a sold-out crowd.

Ending February with a bike ride along the beach

at South Padre Island for Bob. Diane sat at Clayton's

and read her book until Bob came with drinks

and chips and salsa.  What a change..Clayton's deck

was pretty empty.  Bob said everyone was down on the beach!