After a filling Mexican dinner and amazing chocolate cake, we ended the day with a game of chess then hit the hay in the camper.
Day 2: We woke up today so excited because we were going to see our friends, The Barnett’s, who moved back to El Paso last summer. We started our day with a trip to Franklin Mountains State Park to check out the very small campground.
It’s so crazy that El Paso is built around the mountain?! This state park is only 15 minute drive from Mary and Stans house!
We headed back to the house for some B.B. Gun practice at the house.
After B.B. practice, Bob, Erica, Matthew, and Austin arrived!
Hail, hail, the gangs all here!
The boys played and played all night, and they even slipped in an impromptu trumpet lesson with Bob.
I can’t believe I forgot to get a pic of Curtis and Bob...#kickingmyself....these two have been best friends since UNT Trumper Studio in 1998. What a great night of friendship and fun! We miss you, Barnett Family!
Day 3: We woke up to a pitter patter of rain on the camper and a cool 62 degrees in El Paso. The normal temps for this time of year range from 85-105, so this cool weather was very welcomed. We decided to take advantage if it, and when the rain stopped headed back to Franklin Mountain State Park for a hike up to the Aztec Cave.
The low clouds were so eery to hike through, and the boys LOVED it!
30 minutes and one mile straight up later we made it to the cave!
By the time we made it to the top, a lot of the clouds had dissipated, and you could see clear to Mexico!!!
Awesome! We explored the different sides of the cave for about 30 minutes, then took the steep trail back down.
When we got back we rested for a bit then hit our favorite box bike park mid afternoon.
Normally, we can only ride here before 8:00 am because it is so hot, so it was a treat to play in the afternoon when it was only 75 degrees outside. We’ll take it!!!
Carson, of course, had to play Ninja Warrior. He gets faster and faster every year climbing that wall!
We ended the day with an amazing steak and shrimp dinner at the house with Curtis’s scouting family, the Olifants. Linda was a Curtis’s Den Mom when he was in Cub Scouts and Webelos. Oh, the stories they told. Again, I’m kicking myself that I didn’t get s picture....I need to do better this trip or it’s just going to be my words blathering on. The boys loved to hear the stories of a Curtis’s scouting days. What a fun day in El Paso!
Day 4: Happy Father’s Day!!!! This day is very bitter sweet for me because I miss my Dad so much, but am so thankful we get to be here to spend it with Curtis and Stan. We started the day with a livestream of the Christ UMC service. Our beloved, Long-time family friends, Jim and Jayme Karen, commissioned a new anthem for Dad. My Moms words were so beautiful and fitting....
Today was a very very special father's day. Right after Les passed away, Jim and Jayme Karen, our longtime friends, came to me and said they wanted to do something that would commemorate Les' life. We talked and talked about it and we decided that since Les loved to sing in the choir and specifically loved singing Mark Miller anthems - that we would commission an anthem in Les' name. Jim and Jayme generously underwrote the entire anthem - and our awesome music director, Pat Messick and my amazing son-in-law Joe, who are both friends of Mark, worked with Mark Miller on making this happen. This is a long creative process (16 months) which culminated in the anthem arriving three weeks ago. Mark wrote the music and Laurie Zelman created the lyrics.
Pat talked to the choir before giving us the piece. He talked about his last visit with Les which was in the hospital three days before he passed away. Pat talked to Les and Les told him that he wasn't going to be around much longer. Pat asked Les if he was afraid and Les said, "Pat, what is there to be afraid about?" One of Les' favorite songs was "This Little Light of Mine". He sang it with the grandchildren and we sang and played it with our ukulele choir - and our granddaughter Ellie always sang the solo of the first verse. Sadly, Mark lost his father in the past year - so he told Pat he was going to put everything he was feeling in his loss - into the song. He said he would have it ready for Father's Day. Everyone agreed today that the words in this anthem were 100% Les. (The anthem concluded with the congregational hymn, This Little Light of Mine.) All of us knew Les was singing along with us!
Today - at Grace Avenue United Methodist Church in Frisco (where Joe serves - and Sarah, Ellie and Sam are members) and at Christ United Methodist Church in Plano (where our family attends) - we debuted the anthem. It was so wonderful because Jim and Jayme flew in from Maine to be here with our family. Steve, Roxanne, Niki and Isaac Gross and Grandpa Jim Gross were all able to attend also.
We took videos on our phones (more professional video is coming) and I uploaded the videos - and they are located here:
Christ United Methodist Church (sorry - it turned sideways - but the sound is great) - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_o65hSeoenQ&feature=youtu.be
Grace Avenue United Methodist Church
Pat talked to the choir before giving us the piece. He talked about his last visit with Les which was in the hospital three days before he passed away. Pat talked to Les and Les told him that he wasn't going to be around much longer. Pat asked Les if he was afraid and Les said, "Pat, what is there to be afraid about?" One of Les' favorite songs was "This Little Light of Mine". He sang it with the grandchildren and we sang and played it with our ukulele choir - and our granddaughter Ellie always sang the solo of the first verse. Sadly, Mark lost his father in the past year - so he told Pat he was going to put everything he was feeling in his loss - into the song. He said he would have it ready for Father's Day. Everyone agreed today that the words in this anthem were 100% Les. (The anthem concluded with the congregational hymn, This Little Light of Mine.) All of us knew Les was singing along with us!
Today - at Grace Avenue United Methodist Church in Frisco (where Joe serves - and Sarah, Ellie and Sam are members) and at Christ United Methodist Church in Plano (where our family attends) - we debuted the anthem. It was so wonderful because Jim and Jayme flew in from Maine to be here with our family. Steve, Roxanne, Niki and Isaac Gross and Grandpa Jim Gross were all able to attend also.
We took videos on our phones (more professional video is coming) and I uploaded the videos - and they are located here:
Christ United Methodist Church (sorry - it turned sideways - but the sound is great) - https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=
Grace Avenue United Methodist Church
Me again.....the anthem brought tears to my eyes. I was sad that I couldn’t be there with the family to hear it, but am so thankful for modern technology and live streaming. Thank you, Jim, Jayme, Pat, Joe, Mark, and Laura for the creation of that beautiful anthem. It exemplified everything my Dad stood for in life, don’t be afraid, live life to the fullest, full of love, and always let your light shine.
After the uplifting message, Steven and Emily arrived from Dallas! This is Emily’s first trip to El Paso, and we really like her! I’m hoping she’s THE ONE for Steven! We all loaded up the minivan and headed the Uncle Steve and Aunt Christine’s house for swim time.
They played and played with the boys all day! The boys were so excited to see Uncle Steven and Emily!
Day 5: Steven and Emily won the Uncle of the year award today. Curtis had to be up at 3:30am to catch a 5:15am flight back home for the Cobb MS Interview. He flies to DFW, interviews at 12:30pm, and flies back to El Paso this afternoon. He’s going to be whooped!!!! We’ll see.....all in God’s timing. So, Steven and Emily volunteered to go with me and the boys to Wet N Wild for the day! Such fun!!!!!
4 hours of slides, swimming, and hot El Paso sun, we were cooked and done!
We relaxed around the house for the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed our last day in El Paso. Soon enough it was time to pick up Curtis from the airport! Tomorrow, we’re off on another 550 mile drive to Fun Valley!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.