Monthly Archives: August 2014
Birthday Boy . . .
Jan and I left the rig about 1pm to meet Brandi, Lowell, Landon, Sonja, and Lendel (Lowell’s parents) and Sherry (Lowell’s sister) at Brandi’s before we all headed over to Smith Ranch – Katy where Landon’s 4th birthday party is being held.
As the kids showed up, the first thing that caught everyone’s eye was the enormous inflatable waterslide.
For some of the smaller kids, like Landon, it was a tough climb. But that didn’t seem to slow anyone down.
Almost there.
Finally!
Now let’s do it again.
This little girl in yellow was the star of the show. She was fearless.
She would claw her way to the top of the slide, stand at the edge, leap into the air, bounce on her bottom, and fly halfway down the slide before she hit the ramp. Then she’d do it again.
The party itself was held under a nice pavilion with ceiling fans to help keep things cool. Kind of.
It was 100 degrees today.
Here’s Landon with Brandi’s BFF, Shawna.
And here he is showing off his Power Ranger’s Cupcake Cake.
Then it was time for the presents.
Everyone had a great time, and the Smith Ranch young ladies took very good care of us. This is an excellent place to have a party.
And, as I said yesterday, when it’s over, you just get in your car and go home. No cleanup.
About 5:30 we all (minus Sherry who headed home earlier) met up at Little V’s Vietnamese Bistro to introduce Sonja and Lendel to the great food there, and now they love the place as much as we do. And we got to eat there twice this week.
After we’d been there for a while, I looked up to see a cute blonde waitress behind the counter. She was wearing a white blouse, black slacks, and had her hair in a ponytail. When I looked up a couple of minutes later, she was now wearing black rim glasses.
But when she brought our pork spring rolls to our table, she wasn’t wearing them. OK, maybe they’re reading glasses. Right after that, I watched her walk back into the kitchen. Then I looked up and she was standing there asking if I wanted a refill on my iced tea. And she was wearing the glasses again. Huh?
Then her identical twin sister came back out of the kitchen, sans glasses.
Now it made sense.
When we got ready to head back to the rig, Brandi insisted we take her Lexus, so we had a nice, cool trip home. Thanks, Brandi.
Tomorrow afternoon, we’ll be going back to Brandi’s to spend the afternoon with Landon, and his other grandparent’s, Sonja and Lendel.
We’re really looking forward to it.
__________________________________________________________________
Thought for the Day:
A man is not idle because he is absorbed in thought. There is a visible labor and there is an invisible labor. – Victor Hugo
fgsfdg
BBQ and Bison . . .
Jan and I started out this morning with Peru FTO Cecovasa coffee, made from beans roasted by our good friend, Bob Sutton. Bob’s really into the whole coffee thing. Me, I either like it, or I don’t.
And I like this.
Jan and I headed out into the furnace (101°) about 4:30 to Peter’s BBQ for the Friday Night Buffet. Located about 10 miles up US71, it’s one of our must-eat places when we’re in the area, especially on Friday night. For $11 you get all the Brisket, Ribs, Sausage, or Chicken you want from the BBQ area. Then you go out to the dining room for the sides.
And by sides, I mean Fried Catfish, Fried Shrimp, Fried Chicken, Roast Pork, and even Hushpuppies. Then there’s all of the conventional sides.
And when you’ve filled up on all this, there’s Banana Pudding, Peach Cobbler, and Ice Cream.
Did I mention it’s only $11?
While we were driving up to Peter’s, it started sprinkling a little, and then died out right before we arrived. But once we got inside, it just started pouring down, enough so that it killed the satellite TV signal in the dining room. But in typical perverse Texas fashion, the sun shone brightly the entire time.
Leaving Peter’s BBQ, we headed further up US71 to the Wal-Mart in La Grange. The one in Columbus is closer, but is one of the older, smaller ones. But the one in La Grange, while not a full SuperCenter, is kind of a mini-Super. It’s not as big, and only had one entrance, but it does have a full Grocery department, which is what we were looking for.
Well that, and Landon’s birthday present.
Heading home we got a view of the Frebo Ranch bison herd, or at least a part of it. We’ve seen more at various times.
Finally getting home a little before 7pm, we found it had really cooled off . . . all the way down to 96 degrees! Yah!
Tomorrow is Landon’s birthday party. Last year Brandi and Lowell held it at their home. So, having learned their lesson, this year they’re having at Smith Ranch – Katy.
With waterslides, bouncy houses, horseback rides, and a petting zoo, it ought to be enough to keep everyone busy, and send everyone home pooped.
And, even better, when it’s all over, Brandi and Lowell just walk away and go home to a nice, clean house.
Neat!
__________________________________________________________________
Thought for the Day:
This planet has – or rather had – a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much all of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy. ~ Douglas Adams
asdfadsf
