411 The Walters Bunch

  We picked up lime sodas from 7 brew. They were so good! In a completely unexpected twist of availability, we ended up celebrating St Patrick's Day with C & H. We aren't really fanatics about the day, but we usually watch Leap Year and have a green shake. This time we went to C's for dinner. He made his pulled pork and it was FANTASTIC! We really love pulled pork and don't have it very often. I made some potato salad, beans, and a coconut cake to go with it. In spirit of the day, C made us green beer, though I really don't think you can call a Michelob Zero a beer. I am not really a beer fan and the Michelob Zero tasted pretty good! I will definitely have some again. We had a great visit! I really value time with loved ones.  Izzy wasn't sure about sharing her chair.😂 H is doing well and has lost a lot of weight! She looks great!! C just got a new job that he was recruited for. He has not only a higher salary, but also better benefits because it's a lo...

D had his awards banquet at a BBQ place we had been wanting to try for awhile. The food was really delicious and not greasy at all.  We have had a lot of expenses thrown at us lately. We bought our new appliances , which were well planned for. However, after that we had 2 cars to get repaired, one of which   was decided that it was too expensive and would make more sense to get a newer, stronger, younger one, I have to get some polyps removed, we owe uncle Sam money for the first time ever (thanks to the rule about the year a child turns 17 you lose the child tax credit even if the majority of the year they are 16), and lots of other little things. You know how it goes...when it rains it pours. Since we were unable to take the rv out because of the tow vehicle being unable to tow with a heavy load, more like us not wanting to risk trying, and since A had a day off work, we decided to go on an adventure to do something that none of us ever had done before. We started with...

  It was oddly unsettling to be home, but have zero cars here. Our week started out like any other. We were getting things ready to go on our trip and finishing some chores around the house. A and I were really excited she was going with us on our camping trip! She hasn't gone on a trip with us just to go camping in ages. It was only going to be for a couple days, but we were excited for her to come. It was going to be almost just like the old days.  D was out checking the tire pressures on all the vehicles and trailers in preparation of leaving when low and behold his little car had a flat. He put the spare on and was hopefully going to get the tire repaired at Discount Tire when he realized that his car wouldn't start at all. We ended up having it towed off to the auto shop. The very next day we all were on our way to visit GiGi and Pop Pop when about half way there the check engine light came on and we had to turn back and take a second car to the auto shop. At this point, ...

This is actually typical. They always kid I'm Snow White. MiMi is at my head.  I am really struggling to remember what all went on this week because I didn't take any pictures! I know we went to have dinner with T's girlfriend's parents. It was very nice of them to invite us over to meet them and have dinner. This is his first real girlfriend that has lasted more than 2 weeks and so far she is a way better fit for him than the last girl he dated a couple of times that hated the outdoors. T is a very active person who loves going to do things outside and I really couldn't see the last one working out because there's only so many movies and so many times he can repeatedly sit still. This new girl is really nice and plays club softball. She is crazy busy with that like he was with basketball. He met her at church when she started coming. She decided she wanted to go to church even though her family doesn't. She is a very thoughtful and nice person. Apparently, ...

First off, A and I had a wonderful time seeing the Great Gatsby, even at Fair Park. We arrived with only 15 minutes to spare. Thanks to traffic it took nearly 2 hours to get there. We knew something wasn't right when we went inside and the doors hadn't opened yet. The doors open 30 minutes before the show starts. It actually started about 30 minutes late, which meant it was almost 8:00 pm when it finally started. By the time we made it out of the parking lot, we didn't get home until after midnight. Poor A had work the next morning. Getting out of the parking lot is ALWAYS the worse part of going to Fair Park. A won the lottery for $35 tickets plus free parking so that helps make up for the horrible, horrible, horrible issue of trying to leave. Almost. It was a really good musical though and I highly recommend it. Our next show is when we all go see Back To The Future next month. I think the boys will like that one, though they really liked The Outsiders. A and I might go s...

  We picked a great day to play. Mid 70's, light breeze, and no sun. For Christmas we all got upgraded pickleball paddles. The kids were able to go play once since then, but because D and I were busy with the deck and dealing with the ice storm this was our first experience trying them out. Wow! What a difference a higher quality paddle makes! We had a lot more control over the ball. We always have fun playing, but it was extra fun with the new paddles! The kids still won, but we gave them a run for their money. T went to his church camp this weekend. Unfortunately for him, it rained all day yesterday. Pretty much all the activities are outside so I am not really sure what they could do. I had him pack the game A got him for Christmas so they would have something as an option. I look forward to hearing how his weekend was later when he gets home. A and I got to deal with his crazy big baby of a dog. I have no idea why the slightest hint of moisture sends him into a crazy frenzy, bu...

We made it to the AAC and are ready to enjoy our night!  Since we haven't been able to go on T's senior trip yet, he has been using some of the money we set aside for each of the kids senior trip to go do some fun family activities that we don't normally do. He wanted to go to the AAC and see a Mavericks game. We really wanted to go when the Lakers were here to show Luka some love, but the ticket prices were absolutely insane. It's probably their most expensive game now that everyone wants to see Luka when he's back home. That game happened to be on the same day the crazy ice storm came and still 90% of the people who bought tickets came! We ended up going when the Celtics were here. We had a great time and the seats weren't nearly as bad as we thought they might be. I mean it was scary as hell having to go up and down the stairs and stand up in your row, but once safely sitting down the view was fantastic! We were at half court so we could see everything that w...

  The drifts are about a foot deep! They are almost level with our deck. We spent almost two full days preparing the animals for the deep freeze. Instead of bringing the chickens to the garage like we normally do, I decided to try to keep them outside. We added extra chips and tarps, brought out the insulated water bucket, made up extra hay bags, and installed a heat lamp in the chicken coop in case of emergency. I really don't want to turn it on, but if they need it I will for a little bit. I will have to sit out there with them while it's on though. The heat lamps are HUGE fire hazards and many a farmer has burned their barn down trying to keep their animals warm. I did end up turning it on a couple of times, but just for about 30 minutes each time. Just enough to warm them and the coop up. For the first time since we have had her we had to blanket the horse. The reason was because while the freezing rain was coming down she was standing in it and became completely soaked. Wi...