Tar Balls And Dropped Vowels

After the oil spill in the Gulf some 80+ days ago, I began thinking of my own childhood summers at Texas beaches.  Then, just a week or so ago, reports started coming in about tar balls showing up on Texas shores.  Suddenly, like a slap upside the head, I remembered tar on the beaches when I was little.  We always spent part of the summer at "The Coast" during my 17 years in Texas.  "The Coast" in this case being one of the barrier islands off the side of Texas like Port Aransas.  And after not thinking of it for years, I suddenly rushed back in time and remembered using tar wipes at the beach showers.  These wipes were just there, waiting by the showers to get tar off big and little feet alike.  I never thought much of it.  The beach came with seaweed and jellyfish and tar.  These problems can be taken care of with screaming like a dying seal when it brushes against you, meat tenderizer, and tar wipes respectively.  It never occurred to me that the oil rigs we could see way off on the horizon were responsible for the tar on our toes.  I suppose when something has always been there we don't ask questions.  Or at least I don't.  Like how when I was little I thought every city had a Sea World. 

Anyway, when talking about the oil spill recently I mentioned the tar phenomenon and people don't believe me.  Like this is what I would choose to lie about.  Look, I live with my parents, I have bigger lies to keep up with.  So I need the help of my fellow Texans to convince The Internet that this is real.  Just leave a comment saing how lovely and right I am.  I will bribe you with some cute photos of me at the beach when I was little.

{As a side note, I hope that we don't let drilling go so far that every beach has rigs in the distance and every child washes tar off their tiny hot feet.  Can we agree it isn't healthy for anyone?

Oh, and yes, like a good Southerner pronounce "oil" as "ol", one syllable no "i".  This drives my Midwestern mother crazy.  Just like when I pronounce "milk" as "melk".  Are you reading mom?  Melk, melk melk...Ol, Ol, Ol}

The Dancing Queen

I've been wanting to share this video for a while but I have just recently learned how to use iMovie to add music and cut and edit video.

This is The Lion dancing at My Cousin's wedding in Texas.

She calls it the "flop" dance.

I call it the "dying butterfly".

This kid cracks me up.

Texas Trip Part 6 - We're Outta Here

The morning after the wedding, some of us woke up feeling fitter than others.  There was a lot of champagne.

We packed up, said our goodbyes, and headed out to my Grandma's house since we had a couple of hours before our flight.

My Grandma had recently moved to a house very close to my Aunt Camera and Uncle Doolittle.

Plus, since we had been to Texas last she had acquired a new dog and several goats.

Yep, we're the goat people.

So we met Fiona (and her ever-present tongue) and immediately fell in love.

She has apparently been taking eyeliner tips from Arrow, who gets his straight from King Tut.

Then we met the goats that my Grandma bottle fed.

Then we checked in with Manan, my Grandma's long suffering Siamese.

Then, during a walk to my Aunt and Uncle's house, I spotted my Dad's old Studabaker pickup that he owned when I was small.  It has since made its way through the family and is now sitting on my Uncle's property.  I couldn't believe my eyes.  But I would know the color of that truck anywhere.

We call it Helen Green, because my Nanny (my Mom's Mom) went through a phase where she painted everything this color.

Here's a comparison for you.  The Studabaker now:

Me in the Studabaker circa 1985:

Our time in Texas was drawing to a close so I walked back to my Grandma's house to say goodbye.

Grandma is also coming with us to Tahoe after Christmas, so the goodbye was softened.

Then mom and I trudged off into the thick humidity to catch our flight back to California.

It was a wonderful trip.

A trip full of memories and laughter, new friends and old.

I leave you with this intelligent look from Fiona that pretty much sums up her feelings about us leaving.

Thank you for joining me on this journey.  Remember, your luggage must be under 50 pounds, allow 2 hours for security, and the peanuts are no longer free.

Texas Trip Part 5 - The One With The Wedding

Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long one.

After getting settled into our cabin the night before, we woke up to the sounds and smells of breakfast on Saturday morning.

Even better than that was the amazingly cool and humidity free weather.  I think the bride and groom ordered it in specially for the wedding.

Let me give you a little family tree to help you navigate the photos and stories from the wedding.

The Mad Hatter's brother, my Uncle Doolittle (because of his many animals) and his wife, my Aunt Camera (because she takes many pictures) have three sons: The Lawyer, The Athlete, and The Groom.

The Lawyer and his wife, The Singer, have two beautiful girls, The Diva and The Lion.

(The Diva is in the back, The Lion is in the front)

The Athlete and his wife, The Paralegal, have one little boy, The Littlest One.

The Littlest One was a little shy at first, but we soon became fast friends.

The girls started the morning with antics like "Look cousin Meghan as we climb a tree and give everyone a heart attack!".

The Littlest One stayed closer to Earth, but no less in my camera's line of fire.

Some of us spent the morning taking in the local wildlife

While others pretended they were lions

And we all enjoyed feeding some feral kitties.

After breakfast, the Queen of Hearts and I walked around the site to take some pictures and help set up for the wedding.  The wedding was held at this adorable little hideout on the river.  Everyone at the wedding stayed in these luxury cabins and we all got to spend lots of time together.  The ceremony itself was going to be held right by the river.

While the Grown-ups set up for the ceremony, the kids enjoyed the freedom that came with having the place to ourselves.

Before we knew it, the time had come to get changed for the ceremony.

Everyone came back in their spiffiest clothes.

And as the ceremony started, I couldn't help but think about how our family has grown and changed.

For example, take this photo from around 1992

(Top row standing: My Uncle Doolitle, My Aunt Camera, My Grandma, The Groom, The Athlete.

Sitting: The Mad Hatter, Me, The Queen of Hearts, My Great Aunt Hantie holding my 2nd cousin M, and my Great Uncle Mac.

Very front: Oliver the dog, The Lawyer)

And when the Groom came down in his Armani suit, all I could think about was this kid:

(Me and The Groom 1989)

Or maybe this kid.

(Me and The Groom, around 1987)

But now he's married and I'm forced to see him as a grown up.

But still, when I see these people:

(From left: The Laywer, The Singer, Uncle Doolittle, The Lion, the Groom, The Bride, The Athlete holding The Littlest One, The Diva, The Paralegal, and Aunt Camera)

I also see these people.

(From Left: Uncle Doolittle, The lawyer, Me, The Queen of Hearts, Aunt Camera, The Athlete and The Groom is behind him.)

After the ceremony, as the hot Texas sun set over the river, the pavilion where the reception was held was full of dancing and laughter.

Then, as the children began to fall asleep, the adults, still sticky from dancing, wandered back to their cabins, all the while humming the chorus of an ABBA song.

What a beautiful and magical day it was.

Texas Trip Part 4 - Humidity Sucks

Day four of our trip to Texas began with me sleeping in very late.  I didn't get back to the M Spot until about 2 am and I figured I earned the extra rest.  At some point the night before I had agreed to meet Mel and her girlfriend S at Taco Taco for breakfast.

Are you sensing a theme to my meals during the trip?

Anyway, we decided to meet at the M Spot at 11:45 am because then our meal still qualified as breakfast.  R had a Grad-school paper to finish and couldn't join us so we decided to make it a girl's morning.

The breakfast at Taco Taco was amazing and we all waddled out of there an hour later promising to never eat again.

Then we headed back to the M Spot for a little chatting.  Well, a little chatting turned into a lot of chatting and even more picture taking.

On a side note: Mel went to New Mexico on summer vacation with my family and the M family about 10 years ago, so she fits right in.  She and G get along especially well since they both enjoy antiquing.

We did a little reminiscing about the aforementioned New Mexico Trip

We got to know S better (LOVE her!)

We all did a lot of hugging

Which Mitzi is not a fan of so she stayed under the table and gave us the stink eye.

Finally, we hung out with Slick, the gecko who I mentioned several posts ago.  He is 17.  No one is sure how long these guys normally live.

Slick doesn't seem at all bothered.

Then before we knew it, the time had come to pack up and leave for the wedding.  Goodbyes are never any fun.  This time it was a little easier since the M family will be coming up Tahoe with us after Christmas.  I keep pounding it into Mel's head that she must come too.  She keeps whining about money and something called "responsibilities".  Whatever.

So we left the M Spot in our zippy red convertible, headed for New Braunsfels for the wedding.

We got in too late to take any good photos and headed to bed pretty quickly (but not before giving my Grandma a spin in the convertible).

The next day was the wedding, and it was so much fun!!

Texas Trip Part 3 - Bappy Hirthday! More Mardagritas!

Day 3 of our Texas trip began with some birthday wishes for the Queen of Hearts.

Then she, G, and I went shopping.

G is R's mom and is my second mother.

Her hugs will lift the dark clouds above your head and her smile will shine light into the darkness.

After shopping I took a few photos around the M Spot.

Then we all got cleaned up and ready for the evening.  We started our celebrations with R's famous margaritas on the porch.

The evening was filled with conversation.

Back rubs.

And wondering where the time has gone.

Then we gathered ourselves together.  (And by gathered together I mean that I tried to see straight after realizing that R had been refilling my drinks all night without my knowledge.) Then we headed out for a wonderful birthday gathering full of friends and Mexican food.

After dinner I dropped the Q of H off at the M Spot and headed over to Mel's house to wish her a happy birthday and to meet her girlfriend S.

I neglected to take photos because it was 2 am and I left my brain at the restaurant.

It was wonderful though, trust me.

Then I headed back the the M Spot to join everyone in catching some Zs before our last day with them before heading to the wedding.