Bean Bag Toss Anyone?

Steve and Helen bought one game for the whole family and it got put to good use while they were all here.  Some people call it the Bean Bag Game and some call it the Corn Hole Game but it is getting to be pretty popular.  There are two "boards" and 4 bean bags for each team.  In this case, the boards fold in half lengthwise.  Steve wanted it to fit in the RV, he thinks ahead.  They played this game in Florida at a friends house a couple of summers ago.  Those boards were home made and very heavy.  Steve said that some of the guys built this game to play while he was in Afghanistan.  Anyway, Cameron really liked it and was pretty good even though he was only 7 at the time.  The "girls" team was sizing up the opposition.

Steve and Cameron were ready.

I'm not sure if Steve was cheering or he just threw the ball for Harley.  You can believe that Harley was right there in the thick of things.  He didn't try to get the bean bags but he kept trying to get the kids to throw his ball instead.

Morgan checking to see if she hit the board.

It's a fun game for all ages.  Give it a try if you have a chance.

Christmas with Family and Friends

We had a wonderful Christmas dinner.  Oh, the food was good but the company was even better.  In addition to our son and daughter-in-law, Steve and Helen, as well as Cameron and Morgan, we were also joined by Margareta and Susan.  Both ladies are RVing friends of mine and it was great to have them with us.

Once again, Helen jumped up to man the camera.  There would have been more pictures of the food but everyone was too eager to dig in.  Helen does a lot of things really well and having her around to help with getting dinner ready was wonderful.  It meant that neither one of us was worn to a frazzle and everything was ready right on time.  Here is to many more dinners fixed and celebrated together Helen.

It would have been nice to have our other son and daughter-in-law, Brian and Lorri, and Zoe, Kirsten, and Mike with us as well.  Maybe one of these years.  Family, good friends, good foods, good times......it doesn't get better than this.   Hope you had a wonderful day too.

Christmas Morning Arrives

Christmas morning and who was up first???  That would be Grandpa of course.  Any other day, he is the last one up but he said he couldn't sleep.  I think he likes Christmas.  So when the kids woke up, the Christmas lights were all on.  Morgan came flying in to wake up her Dad but she got the wrong room so I got her first excited squealing.  Then she was off to wake up her Dad and Helen.  Funny how they took a while to pull themselves together and get downstairs.

Dave said Willy made a beeline for the "doggy stocking" when he let the three dachsies out of their crates.  I guess he could smell the doggy treats.  Gretchen is heading down with hers and Willy is just getting his.  I think Harley was first so he was already down.

Cameron found a Yoda in his stocking.  So did Grandpa....they have interests in common.  Harley was a lot more interested in whatever Steve had in his other hand.

 I think this is a package of beef jerky which Cameron loves.

Ouch, scary picture.  Gretchen wanted to help me look in my stocking.

Then it was on to the presents under the tree.  Steve likes to hand them out so everyone gets one before we start opening them.

Steve and Helen will have lots of ornaments when they finally put up their own tree next year.

Cameron was excited about his fleece pajamas.

Morgan will be busy this afternoon.   She is our little artist.

Steve will be nice and warm riding his motorcycle in chilly weather now.  Can you see my present in the background?

The grand kids are always happy with whatever they get.  Their Dad and brother were the same way.  Fortunately, we have never had to get through one of those melt-downs some kids have when they didn't get a particular present they thought they just had to have.

Morgan loves getting clothes.

Hmmmm.  A sleeping bag.  Oh boy, this will work for camping.

Morgan got fleece pajamas too.

Another sleeping bag!  Harley told Morgan he would fit right inside with her just fine.

This was a present for the whole family from grandparents down to grandchildren.  It's a bean bag game (also sometimes called the corn hole game).  They already planned on how it would fit into Grandma's RV when they go camping this summer.

Steve and Helen got Cameron this Bey Blades set.  Steve thought it was kind of dumb but he knew that Cameron liked it.  The two of them played it continuously and, the day after Christmas, Steve was back at Walmart buying another top so he would be able to beat Cameron occasionally.

And where was Helen while this was all going on........oh, she was there.......but she was hiding behind the camera.  She took most of these pictures which is why it looks like she was missing in action.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Hanukkah or whatever and however you celebrate...we hope it was just as wonderful as our Christmas.

Morgan's First Wheel-less Ride

Sunday was a very momentous occasion for granddaughter Morgan.  She rode her bicycle without the training wheels for the first time.  Since she is six, it might not seem like such a big deal.  But it definitely was to her.  She couldn't keep up with Cameron in the past so bike riding was really no fun for her. And it was kind of an ordeal for everyone else too.  She just couldn't make the bike go where she wanted it to go.  Her Dad finally decided that maybe she just needed to give it a try without the trainers.  He showed her how to always start with her foot on the pedal at the top and then he ran beside her the first trip around the court but once she got it down, she was ready to roll and they were off around the neighborhood.  You have to be ready to try something new and this time Morgan was ready.

And she's off!

Retama Park, San Antonio, TX

 Saturday night, we decided to experience something new.  None of us had ever been to watch the horses run at Retama Park.  As an added incentive, parking was $5 but admission was free, and hot dogs and sodas were $.50 plus they had face painting for the kids and a clown.  How can you pass on some inexpensive entertainment?  We didn't plan on doing any betting so it was just for fun.

First we watched the horses come out and warm up.  The first race was for pretty young horses.  They get led out by more experienced horses and walked up and down the track.

Cameron and Morgan got to run around in the open area right next to the track so they could see the horses up close.

And then they were off.  After we watched the first race, we went up in the grandstand so we could see the other side of the track as well.

And they are off!  We watched three races and that was about enough.  There is some down time between each race and it was getting cooler.  We also wanted to check out the face painting.

There were about 30 designs the kids could choose from.  The line wasn't too long and the kids were excited.  You would never know that in this picture.  They knew they needed to sit still and they took that seriously.

Even Morgan sat very still.

This woman was really good.  You can see the dragon beginning to take shape.

Morgan wanted a unicorn.

This is definitely a fire-breathing dragon.

The unicorn turned out pretty well too.

Cute huh?

The kids were pretty excited about their "tattoos".  Too bad they had to get washed off in the shower a couple of hours later.

Santa Bowling

Steve and Helen picked up the kids from school at noon on Friday so they were back in San Antonio for dinner.  Saturday morning we were off to a Christmas party that the Randolph bowling alley put together for kids.  They got their pictures taken with Santa and his elf.

And then we got a family picture with Steve and Helen.  I'm not sure what caught Helen and Morgan's eye but the guys were focused.

Bowling equipment sure has changed over the years.  It's all electronic so Steve got it set up for them to bowl.

This is the screen you see overhead.

Morgan was cheering Helen on.  The place was lit up with Christmas lights.

Morgan has her own unique style.  You can see the bumpers that you can pop up in front of the gutters for kids.  Sure makes a difference.

Cameron can put a little more muscle into his throws at least for the first game.

Steve has done this a few times before.

The scores were not stupendous but fun was had by all.  The bowling had cocoa, orange juice, and donuts for the kids as well as coffee for the adults.  They did a great job.

In case you haven't guessed, Grandma took the photos.