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2020 News |
Marvin and
Dixie both got another year of all clear on their
cancer check ups.
Joni and Linda both had a knee replacement surgery.
Melannie and Johnny "Neighbor" Stone got married.
Our friend Tamara is scheduled for a new hip on
Chrstmas Eve after years
of limping and pain.
We lost our dear friend Glynn Morgan in March. He
and Jan were an inspiration for our marriage, travel
and life.
Our great nephew, Rex, lost his wife in a car
accident. Skyler, age 22, left behind 2 year
old Dino and 9 month Cora Jean. |
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We ignored the
news, both fake and biased. We tried our best
to keep our political opinions nonintrusive and remain
diplomatic and respectful. We witnessed
tantrums and outcries with the loudest being over
the empty shelves where toilet paper used to be. I will say this,
the lack of class shown by all
politicians is appalling. The 2020 elections
have been the most bitter and hateful campaigns America
has endured. All I know is, I voted. I can officially
bitch and I assure you, I will. |
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Canceled Trips |
We
had two cruises canceled due to the crappy virus, a
sibling cruise to Alaska and our protest cruise we take every four
years to protest the overwhelming election
commentary. The protest
cruise cancellation was the worst because it meant we
were stuck in the states on election day.
We had two weeks
scheduled in Mexico in May but there was the crappy virus again.
We planned to spend my birthday in Aruba and
yet another crappy virus cancellation. At
the end of August we were notified that the condo we
had booked in Ruidoso was closed, another cancellation
due to the crappy virus. All four of
these weeks were timeshare exchanges which they gave
back to us, so look out 2021 we have some serious travel ahead.
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Travels Not
Canceled |
In January we
drove to Colorado where Micky enjoyed three days of
skiing. I enjoyed sleeping late, watching it snow
and evenings in the sports bar. We are glad we
went after so many of our travels this year were
lost. |
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In March we
flew to Vegas and then drove over to Palm Springs to
spend time with George and Tamara. We enjoyed
visiting, balcony sitting and floating in a heated pool. We returned to Vegas and got
ready to watch the Red Raiders in the NCAA
tournament. We had money bet on our team and
were sitting in the sports book when the tournament
fell apart. We laughed when they announced on
Thursday that due to the virus the buffets would be closing on Sunday. Evidently
there was no danger on Friday or Saturday? This was
the first of many "official mandates" that made us
say "Huh". We flew home
to a strange and fragmented world. |
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In May we drove
to Florida with Joni to see her new great
granddaughter and check on her kids. We were
thrilled to eat in a restaurant and go shopping
without masks.
We stopped back by the casino in Kinder on our way
home. A few weeks later Vonaceil had a
doctor's appointment in Houston and we went back to
the Kinder casino, where masks are optional if you have a
drink in your hand. Brilliant way to solve a
problem. |
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Micky and I
went to Maroma beach in Mexico for 10 days in
August. This is our go to beach and we enjoyed
the time but felt so bad for the workers. The resort
was at about 30% occupancy and they had
workers coming in part time so they would not have
to let any of them go. Workers had already endured 2
months without pay. They had smiles planted on
their faces. They worked hard and made sure the
guests enjoyed their time. The closed buildings and
empty loungers gave us another view of the financial
damage from the pandemic.
On more than one
occasion we had the beach all to ourselves thanks to
the crappy virus.
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In September Micky, Marvin, Linda, Joni and
I spent a week in Florida (Tampa Bay area).
We ate seafood, enjoyed thrift store
shopping, sent the guys deep sea fishing,
floated in the ocean, soaked in the hot tub
and played cards and dominoes. Great
family time. |
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With
our election protest cruise canceled we moved our
protest plans to Lawton, Oklahoma, which was a
far cry from sailing around the Mexican Riviera.
However you do what you have to do. And you know what, we had a
great time. We highly recommend chicken friend filet
mignon, served at a unique restaurant / bakery
downtown. Eleven of us gathered for shopping, gambling,
eating, laughing, visiting and zero politics.
Four more years and another protest cruise, that's
for sure. |
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The week
of Christmas we are headed back to Kinder with Gary
and Voni. Comped rooms and gumbo, we almost have to
go. Retirement is so sad :-) |
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Our Family |
We had our
Christmas scheduled for Thanksgiving weekend.
The CDC warnings we would have ignored, but two of
our group were exposed the week before and the
decision was made to zoom the celebration. At the
end of our "meeting", Micky announced a new respect
for teachers like Mary that dealt with this
situation day after day. |
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Jamie, Luchi,
Natalie and Martin are still living their "oil
field" life. Jamie works for a crane company
and they are now cleaning up messes made when the
oil boom was running so fast. He said don't
count the oil fields out, they are picking back up. Jamie turned 50 in December. I
think it hurt me more than it did him. Luchi
is still working at Wright Elementary school. I complain
constantly about masks, but Luchi and the kids put
one on every day and go to school. So I need
to shut up. (won't happen). Natalie is an 8th
grader this year. She was inducted into National
Honor Society. She made the school 8th Grade volleyball
and tennis teams. She continues to
play on her club volleyball team. Martin is in 5th
grade and says he finally likes school. He plays
club football and basketball. Their dog they rescued
off the streets in Bogota and brought with them to
Texas, Ms. Lola, passed away. They rescued a
lively little fellow named Rocky. Then they decided they
needed a friend for Rocky so they rescued TicTak.
They keep everyone busy. I do not know how Luchi does it.
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Casey and Katy
have had an interesting year, like everyone else.
With the Austin imposed restrictions since March, Casey has worked from home and
school distance learning was
Katy's only
school option. The only one excited about this
new arrangement was Tex. He loves having them home with him every
day. Casey said his business was classed as
essential so the shut down did not impact work.
He said business slowed down for a few
weeks and then it took off again. He has stayed busy during
the quarantine but has really missed his golf game
and competition cook offs. We broke quarantine
rules to celebrate Mary's birthday and were able to
meet her family. Mary was impacted by the crappy
virus as the one job that we lost due to Covid, but
she quickly found another. Kira graduated
from Wimberly and started her first year at Texas
Tech amid all this madness. Katy tries hard
but is not happy with the distance learning. She
admits she isn't learning near as much as she did
when in the classroom. And she misses her friends. We
visited at their house on the 6th of October and Katy jumped in the
pool and spent about an hour swimming. Brrrr rabbit. She is still
the cartwheel queen of the world or at least she
practices everyday ... all day. |
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Bethany,
Michael, Gatlin and Lincoln are still living in
Pleasanton. Michel is district manager for NOW, an oil
field supply store and still loves to go hunting. Like
Jamie, he says the oil fields are rebounding. Bethany's
proofreading dwindled due to nationwide shutdowns
put in place. She
went back to work part time at WillCall, an oil
field support service. They
have recently asked her to come back full time so she
will be returning to full time office work in January.
Gatlin is five and in pre-K and Lincoln turned one the end of
August. Gatlin is one busy kid. He loves to
play, is (very) picky about his clothes and thinks Starlord is amazing.
Lincoln is captivated by his big brother. He thinks
he is funny and loves to watch him run and play.
Lincoln is laid back and sure knows how to
cuddle. It is possible Bethany watched too many Ray
Charles video's while she was pregnant, Lincoln has
the dance moves down pat especially the head bob. Both boys are like their
mom, they love music. |
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Mary, Kira,
Katy and Casey |
Lincoln,
Michael, Gatlin and Bethany |
And the
family that does not do group photos.
Jamie, Rocky and Tic Tak |
Luchi
- avoids photos like the plague.
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Micky and I
love retirement. Micky has used his
shop a good bit this year and I have redecorated the
garage floor one splatter at a time as I try pour painting. I have pieced one
quilt and started on another - and let me tell you -
fabric is not cheap. We've had a few neighbors
ask us who does our lawn, I smile and point at Micky. We have the greenest grass on the block.
Joni is addicted to estate sales and we get talked
into going with her (often). We decided we are
buying "stuff" at estate sales so our kids will have
enough "stuff" to have an estate sale when we are
gone. |
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2021 Plans |
We are
pretending life will return to normal next year and
are booking travel and making plans. We are
going to Vegas for the week of conference basketball
tournaments and staying the next week for the NCAA
tournament, redeeming two weeks of our timeshare.
In late April we will reclaim
another two weeks of timeshare we lost this year and
spend them in Honolulu, Hawaii. Getting to
exchange one week for Hawaii is difficult. Getting
two weeks could only happen during a crappy virus.
GCamp is
planned for June and
will be a biggie this year (we will have a 9th
grader then ... yikes that is High School in some
schools).
The siblings
have our fingers crossed that we get to sail away to
Alaska in August. This is a "rebooked" cruise after
our Alaskan cruise was canceled due to the crappy
virus.
In October we will
travel with the Chandlers to Port Canaveral for a
cruise adventure. We have planned a five day cruise
on one ship, disembark for two days, and then take a seven day cruise
on a different ship. We
will see some new islands and enjoy a southeastern
state road trip with
friends.
I am planning / hoping to find time for at
least one week
in Mexico. Who am I kidding? Beach in
2021 is a must! |
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| Life
and Such |
We
worry about Paulette, Steve, Tobe, Jan and all of
the others that are quarantining alone. We are
concerned for our friends and family that go to work
each day. I am heartsick for those facing
financial fears due to lockdowns. My heart is sad for those
who have lost loved ones. Yes, the virus is real. However,
my intelligence and stubbornness cannot accept many
of the statistics and mandates. My mask is made out
of an old t-shirt and it is saving me or you from
exposure to a global pandemic - really?
Sorry but after this mess, I trust the IRS more than the CDC.
(Soap box just turned over.) |
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Life is good
for us
(despite the inconveniences courtesy of the crappy virus.) and we are blessed. Our
family has made it this far through a global pandemic without
anyone testing
positive and miraculously without a nervous
breakdown. For these we are
thankful and blessed. |
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We
wish each of you a safe and happy Christmas. We hope
you have a great New Year's Eve as we kick this year
to the curb and yell GOOD RIDDANCE!. And we hope 2021 is both healthy and
happy for each of you. |
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Natalie, age 13, 8th
grade |
Katy, age 12, 7th
grade |
Martin, age 10, 5th
grade |
Gatlin, age 5, pre-K |
Lincoln, age 1,
precious and priceless |
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