Garner State Park 2009

We arrived on the 3rd of July ready for our annual trek to the Frio River and found for the first time that we were the last group to arrive and check-in. Unloading was the easiest ever with plenty of help.

The river was low and the temperatures were HOT - 103 F, 104 F, and feel like temps around 110 to 115 F. But....there was always a breeze.....warm breeze but a breeze none the less.



We were in Cabin 15 and stayed until Saturday the 11th of July. Andrea, Shane, Gabe, and Chase were there when we arrived. Shane had to go back to McKinney on Sunday but we got a hike in up to Old Baldy (or Old Bobby as the boys were calling it) before he had to leave.

Andrea & I made a couple of bike rides up to the main entrance early in the mornings (she made a few without me). Going down that big hill is a blast. Coming back up was torture.

Traditional feedings of Joe McMuffins, Carne Guisada, steaks, and PeaPa's brisket were enjoyed by all and no one ever went hungry. Uncle Larry provided his now famous camping pancake breakfast with blueberries or chocolate chips. Uncle Bobby performed his rib cooking magic again at the river much to Chase's (& everyone else's) delight. Chase loves his 'wibs'.

Even with low water levels we headed for the Frio River everyday going to the Broken Bridge, Rock Beach, at the Pavilion, and even below the dam one morning.

Gabe & Chase both swung off the ropes for the first time at Rock Beach thanks to Uncle Larry and Andrea survived the whole ordeal like a champion Mom.

We only had two campfires because it was so HOT and the two we had were specifically for a quick round of Smores.

Andrea and the boys had to leave on Thursday so the last couple of days were not quite as exciting as the first but we still enjoyed the company of all that were there.

Pray for rain and cabin reservations for next year. We will return.

A link to my collection of pics......Click Here

Camping At Brazos Bend State Park May 2009

Shane & Andrea were celebrating their 10th anniversary in a very special place and had asked if we could watch the boys part of the time while they were gone. We of course said yes and decided we better find something for them to do (the 4 of us in 1718 Gardenia get real close REAL quick). The decision was to take them camping for two nights. The plans were on. We were lucky enough to get a shelter at Brazos Bend State Park for Sunday and Monday night....so we were going camping.

The camping trip began with great excitement and anticipation. Mamah & PeaPa picked up Gabe and Chase from their Nana's house around 6:30 Saturday evening June 6th. As any almost 7 yr old will do, Gabe was driving everyone crazy worrying about what time it was and hoping we had not gone without him.

Sunday morning we finished packing the truck and around 11:00 a.m. we hit the road for Brazos Bend State Park!!!

We stayed in Shelter Number 2

which was very conveniently located just across the street from a very nice playground for the boys.


That afternoon we went to the nature center in the park and the boys got some "hands on" education about what kind of wildlife was there in the park. As you can see from the slide show below they got to pet a baby alligator, a corn snake, and a tarantula.

PeaPa cooked mini-burgers for the first camping dinner and later we had our first of four campfires (one each night and morning....good PeaPa!!!)......

......and our first marshmallow roasting.



Monday morning we found out that we had visitors during the night looking for food.....lots and lots of raccoon tracks around the shelter. Vicki & I learned the hard way years ago about raccoons at Inks Lake State Park when they got in our ice chest overnight and ate or ruined everything in it....we disappointed them this trip.




After a breakfast of pancakes, little smoked sausages, and eggs, we took a hike around Elm Lake to look for alligators.

We saw all kinds of plants, flowers, birds, a snapping turtle laying her eggs on the bank, and a lot of alligators on backside of the lake including one really large gator that was on the opposite bank.

We cooked hot dogs and beans for dinner and had another campfire complete with more melted marshmallows. The boys were really tired and around 8:30 they asked if they could go to bed. Poor Gabe had the only blowup mattress that leaked and we found him sleeping on the floor both mornings. Now that is a true camper!

Tuesday morning, after a round of Joe McMuffins for breakfast, we went to 40 Acre Lake to visit the observation tower there. Chase had a real hard time on his bike so he and Mamah stayed back. Gabe & I were almost to the tower when we came upon a gator on the path that would not move. The closer we got the wider he opened his mouth.


One thing you have for gators is respect and we gently walked around him until he slid back into the lake. We climbed the tower and got a good view of the park from there.

We went back to camp and packed up. Everyone had a really good time but we were all getting tired, and hungry so we headed back home. Andrea and Shane came in later Tuesday evening and our Camping trip with the boys was deemed a success by all.

Chase & PeaPa's Great Friday (+ more)

Friday, May 15th, I went and picked Chase up around 8:00 am from Nana's house and our day began.

First thing we did was take the truck to Tommie Vaughan Ford to have the oil changed. I had a little surprise for him though because I have found a donut shop within walking distance of the Ford shop that has great food (Bakery Donuts). So....we walked over and had breakfast together. He had a chocolate sprinkle donut, a blueberry donut....and then discovered my egg, bacon, cheese, and ham croissant sandwich they make there. We ended up eating two of them together.

Next came a haircut trip. When we got to the SuperCuts place I told him I hoped we got the nice hair dresser. He kinda looked at me and then I told him that the nice ones cut your hair really easy while the mean ones might even cut off an ear! We then started betting on who would get a nice one and who would get a mean one. Chase even swears he saw "one ear" in the hair on the floor that one lady was sweeping up. We both got our hair cut and left with 4 ears between us....all attached in the right places. :)

Next we headed for the driving range and hit a bucket of balls together. Chase, when he really concentrates, can hit a golf ball....got some built in talent here.

We then went to Academy Sports where he spotted a pair of sunglasses he had to have. They were Wall E glasses...and fit him just right.

We proceeded back home and Chase 'helped' me wash my truck. He was in charge of rinsing and it promptly turned into an outdoor shower for him....and me.

Gabe and Shane came into town later that night and we spent most of the rest of the weekend with the boys.

Bowling at Dave & Busters on Saturday along with some other game playing there and a quiet afternoon.

Our next to the last event was breakfast Sunday morning at The Yale Street Grill where Great Aunt Barbara works. The boys both had chocolate chip pancakes and bacon....general vote was that they were really good.

We ended with some PeaPa steaks, twice baked potatoes, and fresh corn on the cob.
Time well spent with family (and some special time just for PeaPa and Chase)

2009 Cactus Flowers

Every spring we receive the blessing of the most beautiful cactus flowers in our backyard.....we would like to share.

April 2009 Visit to McKinney Texas - Baseball + Soccer + Beer

First thing we did was wait too long to book flights......ended up driving (not a bad thing because you can stop at Woody's Smokehouse in Centerville for beef jerky).

Then we found out that Andrea was not going to be there all weekend....something about a free trip to Miami.

Well it didn't matter because our draw was Chase's baseball game, Gabe's soccer game, and our early birthday gift for Shane.

We went, we got jerky, we saw baseball and soccer, and we celebrated Shane's 30th birthday party all very successfully.

Pictorial evidence below.....LOTS of soccer pics......enjoy

Easter 2009 in Franklin TN

On Thursday evening 9Apr09, the GuidryPeas met up with Evelyn Jordan (aka MaMah Too) in Nashville International Airport to begin a great Easter weekend with Tyler, Hannah, Coppelia, and Estee Guidry.

The flights in were uneventful but the threat of bad weather for Friday was all over the news. We woke up Friday with severe weather threats and tornado warnings issued for the entire day. I went to Kroger that morning and as I am walking up to the store the warning sirens started. I didn't know if that meant a tornado was on the ground or just a warning.....I looked around at all the other people and they just kept going into the store.....so like a sheep to the slaughter....so did I.

Sadly around 12:30 Friday a large tornado hit Murfreesboro TN (about 30 miles from Tyler and Hannah's home in Franklin, TN) resulting in two deaths and a lot of property damaged. Click Here for Story Link

We hung around the house most of Friday playing with the girls. Coppelia is a wound up twister of her own.....nothing but energy and really strong. Estee kinda glides thru.....she enjoys life leisurely and is always smiling (until you point a camera at her). We went to downtown Franklin that afternoon for a short visit but it had gotten cool and WINDY. Franklin is a really neat town....small town feel with big town conveniences.

Saturday we hung out around the house again and just played with the girls. Tyler took me on a quick visit to his office and a sight seeing tour of surrounding Franklin. We finished the evening with some Texas style BBQ from Mickey Roos and spent a pretty quiet evening as Hannah finished off her homemade Easter Baskets for the girls.

Sunday began with a trip to St Phillips Catholic Church for Easter Mass and then we joined Tyler & Hannah and the girls for an Easter service at Cumberland Church where they worship.

Hannah cooked a Sunday roast for us and we finished up our visit with hugs and kisses for everyone.

Flight back was a bumpy one.....last two pictures in series below are the cloud formations from the airplane.

Lots of pictures of Coppelia in the bookcase.....Estee didn't fit quite as good.

We had fun....enjoy...PeaPa

Spring Break 2009 Palmetto State Park

From Saturday March 7th until Tuesday March 10th the GuidryPeas joined Vicki's brother Larry Jordan and his children Mitch and Jenna for a camping trip at Palmetto State Park just outside the village of Ottine, Texas.

The trip started just as any camping trip we go on with excitement in the air after days of looking forward to going. As many of you know I have my excellently prepared camping checklist to make sure you don't arrive without something very important.

We got to Palmetto around 12:30 in the afternoon, found Larry and the kids and checked in to our camping spot. We unload our bikes, took out the ice chest and other boxes out of the back of the truck to get to our tent so I could set it up before we began to REALLY relax. I had spread a tarp out to be the base for the floor of the tent and took the tent out of the duffle bag. Then Vicki asked one simple question....."Did you bring the poles?" The answer was no. The last time we camped the tent box finally fell apart and I put the tent in a duffle bag and, in hindsight, not so wisely put the poles in another place.

Okay....what do you do? Sleep in the back of the truck? Sleep out in the open as Vicki suggested would be okay with her (probably trying to keep me from being upset at myself). Nope....you put on your engineering hat and make the best of what you have.

A pole, a tree, 8 tent stakes (luckily they were in the duffle bag) and we had a FEMA tent for the trip.

As with all our camping trips Vicki and I always go to Mass. We went online and found St James Catholic Church in Gonzales, TX that had a 5:30 Saturday evening Mass. What we also discovered is the pastor there is Fr. Paul Razz....the priest that married Vicki and I 22 years ago.

It was really good to see and talk to him again.

We had our infamous breakfasts (chocolate chip waffles + a new treat fresh blueberry waffles provided by Larry). I ate eggs every day with our usual finale of steak and eggs on the last morning.

Vicki got to do a first in life for her. She went canoeing. We rented a canoe and paddled around a small lake in the park for about an hour. It's neat to be able to say you have done something new after a trip.

We had our nightly campfires, our dominoes and pokerkub games, as well as a round or two of Yahtzee. The weather was nice....a little windy but relatively dry (couple of small showers that didn't amount to much).

As we were leaving Larry's, excuse me Mitch's truck wouldn't start. It had drained the battery the night before and we jump started it from my truck.....started back up in the morning before we began to pack....and was completely dead when we were ready to go. It took a couple more jumps to get them on their way and they made it home safely.

Pictures below illustrate the fun....

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How about a quick look back at our first Spring Break trip to Buescher State Park in 2004