Okay.
I'm old and tired....I admit it !!! Stop the world I want to get off! (Or do I just want
a nap?!)
Oh.
Had that.
Slept until 1 pm yesterday and 11am today.
Before you don't feel too sorry for me I will tell you it's the first time I've done
that in YEARS!
We made it through last year. (You can read about it on the Christmas 2004 update page
we added on this website - in case you didn't get the hard-copy version in the mail!)
We made it through the holidays
(I added some pictures that didn't go out in the Christmas letter on the Christmas 2004 page).
And though I don't remember all of the ride (And I was even sober!) we made it to
mid-March 2005.
January started with a real bang as we slept through midnight New Years Eve after
a filling dinner at the Rainforest Cafe in Galveston and then lights out before 11pm (Told you we were old!) in anticipation
of our cruise (Carnival) departure to the Western Carribean the following day.
The cruise ship: H-U-G-E. The room: Don't have anything to compare it to but fine.
Service: Fair. Weather: Some of everything (Hot-cold). The late dinner and show seating: Too late (8pm/10pm) (We're
OLD!). Pizza: Fabulous and 24hrs - for when I was wandering the boat at 3am - NOT!!!! Company: Grand (Huge group
of family and a boat full of some of Shari's favorite songwriters). Shore trips in Cozymel and Playa del Carmen: Grand - Shari
swam with dolphins (Lifelong dream) and we went cave diving, jeep riding, wave running and beach-sitting. The return
home: Ugh! Shari got M.D.D. - (A syndrome where your inner-ear doesn't adjust right to being back on land) and had Vertigo
for an entire week post cruise. (I TOLD them I still felt like I was on the boat!!!)
Garrett had a blast and was very cute to watch!
It was a much needed vacation for
all though I might stay land-side sometime. The constant movement of the boat was somewhat annoying....there is enough
swimming in my brain that solid ground is really helpful! Next time I'll just try a beach sans boat!
The rest of
January was just catch-up month and somewhere in there we had to get some of our rental units ready and find new renters -all
in a days work I suppose. Have I mentioned that we LOVE being landlords?!!!Towards the end we got homesick for the friendly
skies and decided that we needed to go to Las Vegas for a brief respite! Garrett liked Circus Circus, the Lions at MGM
and the Shark Reef at Mandalay. Walter enjoyed the Shot Show and Shari and Garrett also took a brief road trip during
the weekend to see Shari's friends in nearby St. George, Utah.
February was relatively calm though we did have a few new lambs born - three to be exact:
Mo, Sweat-Pea and Petey.
Mom and dad moved back down Texas way for a year and we enjoy having them around again
though they swear they hate Texas! Shari is helping with estate planning - something that's needed to be done for a
long time - and glad we're doing it now rather that trying to sort through it all after they're gone.
Sadly, brother Scott and wife Tara up in Idaho are calling it quits...we love them both
and our hearts break for them during this difficult time.
Garrett has been sick for several weeks.....and all of us along
with him at some point. There is this nasty bronchial flu thing going around down here and it just hangs on and hangs
on! It's like a bad cold and 102 degree fever. I think we've almost gotten rid of it all!!!
Garrett decided to have a growth spurt in the middle of all of this which made his appetites
and moods irregular on top of being sick and 2 1/2. He's not old but I do think he's tired. He is, however, BIG
- now in size 4 and 5 clothes. He has quite a vocabulary for such a little guy and he surprises us daily with all
the new things he's able to do!
He was very proud that he was able to turn and stop mommy's horse all by himself the
other day....We have a pony lined up for his 3rd birthday ... IF he's a good boy!
I did update Garrett's Page with some new photos so go have a look-see!
I know we didn't mention in the Christmas letter that we decided to add on to our
house yet again (In November) - this time a dog room off the back door. The dogs now have they're own $3500 dog
house - complete with windows, air conditioning and heat, as well as a great dane sized doggie door! We needed something they
could access on their own when we're away....and fortunately we have REALLY good friends and neighbors (Thanks Barbara and
Ray!!!) who really dug us out of a hole and practically built this whole thing themselves when we realized we were in WAY
over our heads!!!!
It was supposed to take like a day and $1500. Three weeks and almost $4k later
we had our almost finished product except for some bad paint that meant we would have to leave that until....well....right
about now!!! Sigh.
Old and tired.
Old and tired.
Sooooo.....March is here and we've decided that Walter is going to continue his work
in San Antonio - with a few modifications.
I am tired of traveling (And did I mention old?!).
Garrett and I want Walter home more and the honey-do list at the house requires more
than two days a month.
Sooooo....we decided that he is going to take every other Friday off and come home on
alternating Thursday nights. He is going to come home every weekend unless we travel somewhere. Walter has earned
me a companion pass on Southwest Airlines which means I fly free with him anytime he flies for a whole year. Once a
month Garrett and I are going to fly out with Walter Sunday night and stay until he returns home on Friday morning in San
Antonio and we'll only have to pay for Garrett's ticket so we save money. Walter home every weekend. We only travel
once a month. We have more time together. The pay and job are grand. We all win. We're also most likely going
to sell the RV and buy a home to increase in value while we're here.....anyone want a great 5th wheel travel trailer cheap?!!!!
Better holler now!
Maybe I won't be so tired this time next year....though I bet I'm still old!!!
Hmmmm.
Thank goodness for American Idol (Go Bo and Nadia!!!) and Survivor for mindless entertainment
(Yes, I AM a reality TV junkie-I can hear the "Peanut Gallery" in California now - SHHHHHHH!!!!)
We are thinking of Lake Powell for July 4th and a quick trip to Orlando, FLA for business.
May go down with Mom and Dad at some point to Ajijic, Mexico and are dreaming of a trip to Switzerland next spring (Maybe!)
I'm old enough (Did I mention tired?) to have a 20 year H.S. reunion though I haven't heard of one in the making....and we
may crash our friend Pam's ski trip between Christmas and New Years.
I can't think of anything else for the time being other than there is a whole mess of
you out there that we haven't heard from in a very long time.
Repent!!!
We miss you!
Love and happy belated 2005
The Messy Menagerie:
Shari, Walter and Garrett
