2018 Year in Review

This year has been… different, I must say.  It has been non-stop change, surprises, repair, illness, sweat, stress, arguments, exhaustion, etc etc.  I can’t say it has been a fun year, but there has certainly been some fun and good times in the middle of remodeling and wreckage.  

• Ancestry DNA – Many years ago, Holly bought me a Christmas present of a membership in Ancestry.com. It has turned out to be a treasure trove of FANTASTIC information that neither of us ever knew. This year, she decided to do the DNA tests which give you even more detail on your ancestry. It turned out to be more of a confirmation for both of us, but still really fascinating information about our heritage. Of course, most of this info applies to our immediate brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews. Although, during the funerals of Barbara and George Bush, some of it applies to just my immediate family.
• Washing Machine disaster and Floor Remodeling – One night while we’re all just sitting around watching TV we hear a ‘POP’. What was that? I dunno. 30 minutes later Ivy says, hey, why is there so much water on the kitchen floor? It turns out our washing machine broke and water was quietly flooding the whole house. The damage was about $10,000 (according to our insurance) and the remodeling was …. omg…. beyond words… horrendous and extensive. Months of upheaval and stress. It was stressful with sporadic moments of fun. But mostly just stressful. At least 3 months of upheaval as we repaired and upgraded the floors throughout our entire house.
• Keith Urban! – Holly won some tickets to the Rodeo and Keith Urban concert! We enjoyed the suite and free food and another great show. This was actually my 2nd trip to the Rodeo.  I really like the Houston rodeo.  It’s just awesome.  A couple of weeks earlier I took these kids and we rode a bunch of rides.
• Bathroom Tsunami – I was awakened one night by the sound of rushing water and screaming…. Didn’t we just live through a nightmare like this??? Omg, here we go again!!!
• Gymnastics – Ivy had several gymnastics meets this year. One in Ft Worth, one right here in Houston at NRG stadium, and another in San Antonio.  1. NRG, 2. Austin, 3. Fort Worth
• Finished the move of mother in law – Three years in the making, this move has been a LOT of work.  Omg, there were times I reached total mental, physical exhaustion.  Once, I remember, I was so exhausted I just decided to drink some wine and lay down and take a nap on the floor.  Jane, the teetotaller, came in and was like, hello,…I’m sure she was thinking wth???  lol.  But we finally completely cleared out the old house…and sold it!  The last step was to deal with the remaining stuff that was in storage – Yard Sale
• Chicken Coop – Out of the blue, Holly decided we needed some chickens. So, long story short, we have a chicken coop and some chickens. Even a live chicken cam
• Summer Camp – I’ve always wanted Ivy to go to Summer Camp and enjoy it just like I did when I was a kid. But it can be very expensive – sometimes $1,000 per week. Well, out of the blue, a church nearby said they had chosen Ivy to send to summer camp near Austin AT NOT CHARGE! I was excited. She was too. I was also worried she wouldn’t like it, but that turned out to be a needless worry. She loved it! And even said she like to be a camp counselor when she grew up. 🙂 🙂
• Ivy’s Room Remodeled – Ivy had sort of out-grown her little-kid style decor in her bedroom, so we figured…well, while we remodeling the floors let’s just do her room too.  So after lots of sweat and fuss and cussing, Ivy’s room is now sort of Industrial Style with brick (faux) walls, wood floor, and a nice bunkbed that transforms into a futon.  
• Great Wolf Lodge – Holly decided we needed to get away for a weekend and go to GWL in Dallas. I was a bit skeptical, but turned out everyone loved it! Great fun! GREAT indoor/outdoor water park, and the rope climbing course outside is remarkable (kind of scary)! I totally recommend Great Wolf Lodge for families!
• Visit from Ray and Becky!  – Always a pleasure.  Had some dinner at the Grand Lux Cafe.  Also, breakfast at Snooze.  Mmm, I loved the avocado toast and egg thing.  Yumm.
• Visit from Charles Deitrick and Randall Davis!  – great visit and afternoon at the San Jacinto Monument, and great time meeting up at Kemah Boardwalk! 
• Holly’s Job Sold Out!  – While others around her have been laid off or moved off to exotic places like Trinidad, Holly has survived every cut and even enjoyed promotions.  But now BHP Billiton has been bought out by British Petroleum.  What does this mean for job?  We shall see….  
• Health issues – For most of this year, I’ve had recurring battles with cold, flu, bronchitis, allergies, and high-blood pressure.   Sometimes all of those at the same time!  It has been relentless.  🙁   The upside is my doctor is downtown, so I usually try to make a fun little excursion underground each time I’ve gone to visit the doctor.  
• Trip to Arkansas – Headed to Arkansas for Thanksgiving.  It was a nice visit with family, but sickness kind of spoiled it for me.  Still Ivy had a good time at Silver Dollar City with her cousins.  
• Upgraded our fence – Improved our yard a bit! Repaired the fence, and added a bit more fencing to block off the back yard.  All work done by an old white guy ex-marine and his friendly Honduran worker by the name of Juan.
• Trip to Islands/Cruise! – We decided to do Christmas a little different this year. We’re headed to Haiti, Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire for the holidays! It’s a 9 day cruise to the Caribbean and beyond, in fact we’ll be arriving in Aruba Christmas Day. I never imagined I’d be spending Christmas day in Aruba, but here we go!