Trip to Texas-Thursday evening

Steve, Dani and I enjoyed an evening out on Thursday, June 5th. We drove to downtown Houston and saw the play, "Fiddler on the Roof ," with Topol as Tevya. The theater was a beautiful place and the play was very well done. I really enjoyed being there with Steve and Dani. It was a very special evening; one I will long remember!

Trip to Texas-First Two Days-Wednesday & Thursday

Dani picked me up at the Houston airport early in the afternoon on June 3, 2009. It was the last day of school for Garrett, and he was out! I was amazed at how much older Garrett looked and how much bigger Ethan was. Dani is still tiny to me, but she thinks she is huge-being 5 months pregnant. It felt good to be in their house again. Dani is neat as a pin and her place is homey and very comfortable. I had a room to myself upstairs across the house from the boys' rooms. Upstairs there is a toy room/loft, an office, a bathroom and three bedrooms. I took a nap later in the afternoon and we enjoyed a fun evening with Steve. He showed me the video games he plays and I tried to play without screaming. The one game I remember well is throwing the cow. Poor thing, I always threw her right where she was and never got her very far. What a game!

On Thursday, Dani, the boys and I went for a nice walk around their neighborhood and fed the ducks at the lake close by. Then on our way home, we stopped at the playground near Garrett's school for a few minutes.

Trip to Texas-Sunday in Lake Jackson

I don't have any photos taken on this day. Steve drove me down south of Houston on Hwy 288 to Lake Jackson, where we lived from 1970-1981. It seems like ancient history to think back on those days. As we drove, I told Steve stories and experiences from our life in Lake Jackson so he would know some of the people we would meet at church that day. We arrived during Sunday School class for the 9 am meetings, went in and sat down. I recognized two women, Debbie Kennemer (I had called her on Saturday and she had encouraged me to come and see our old friends.) and Sandy Simiskey. After class an elderly brother passed by me and I asked him who he was. It was Jimmy Guest! He visited with me and remembered Darrell and me and went to get his wife, who works in Primary. Ollene did not remember me. Peggy Aldous updated me on her family. She looks happy and I rejoiced to see her firm in the gospel! Steve attended priesthood while I attended Relief Society. Afterwards, he took me to the gym where priesthood met and introduced me to Bruce Goodrich, who said that Darrell was his first bishop and had married him to the Middleton girl. He gave me his email address, etc. Steve and I also met Victor and Virginia Bond, James and Gail Butterfield, Jan French, Vicky and Rodney Clayton, Doris Powers and her new husband, Patrick Simiskey, Jack Perry and his son, Shelton Price, and Steve Erickson. Doris Powers was excited to meet Steve and could hardly believe he was all grown up. The Bond's told us about the mission they served in the Pacific Islands. Vicky said she heard my voice as I walked down the hall, and that she could recognize, but my face was a little difficult to see who I was. It's my hair, right? Rodney recounted how just a few days previous to our visit he had driven past our home on Pine Street and had said to himself, "There's where my first bishop used to live." He told me how he found the church and how he met Vicky and married her. He also said that Darrell had called him into the bishop's office and asked him to be the assistant scoutmaster. The following Sunday from the pulpit, he also called him to be the deacon's quorum advisor. That was quite a surprise, but Rodney has been a great member of the church, serving in most callings, including in the bishopric and on the high council. It was a blessing to me to see the people that I served, and who served me those long years ago.

Trip to Texas-Friday at the beach

We spent Friday, June 5, 2009 at a beach on Galveston Island with two other friend families from Steve and Dani's ward. I sat in a lawn chair and soaked in the sun and shade, enjoying every lazy minute! Here you can see Dani and Steve, then Steve and Ethan.

One fun thing they did was build sandcastles and lakes with streams.
Steve took his boys out in the surf and they jumped the waves over and over again! Dolphins entertained them for a couple of minutes. When they finally spied a jelly fish, late in the afternoon, they decided to come on in. After enjoying the day at the beach, we found a fun restaurant with an upstairs patio and filled up on yummy hamburgers, fries and shakes. It was a great day!

The next day was Steve's birthday. Garrett and Ethan helped me blow up balloons and filled the living room with 31 of them to honor Steve's special day. The boys discovered 101 fun games to play with balloons. Secretly, we adults wished they would pop faster than they did!

Steve and I pose in their kitchen for a mom and son shot.

Kolby Garrett Smith

Kolby, born June 11, 1998, is the son of Richard and Joy Smith. He completed his Webelos Scout requirements by March, 2009, so he was sent to 11 year old scouts early. Here he is at Great grandma's 80th birthday party, October, 2008, with is dad. (I've just got to get more photos of our grandchildren!) You can see he has red hair and freckles, quite a handsome kid! He is a really entertainig and personable boy, with lots of energy, but very polite and a hard worker. He plays the piano and almost has his black belt in karate. He also is a good baseball player and excels in whatever he tries! He earns good grades in school and his family, including Grandpa and Grandma, loves to be around him!

Merilyn Marie Smith

Lynnie, daughter of David and Nichole Smith, was born June 11, 2001. This is her eighth birthday! She will be baptized into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in July! She is an enthusiastic, bright, fun young lady. In these photos, it is almost apparent that she has beautiful red hair and a host of pretty freckles. She loves school, especially reading, and loves to help at home. She takes good care of her little sisters and brother. She is very athletic and can do anything she sets her mind to do. We love her and congratulate her on her 8th birthday! She sang in her class opera in the spring. She was a dragon and was very energetic and cute on stage.

Ethan Daniel Smith

Introducing Ethan Daniel Smith born May 17, 2007, son of Steven and Danielle Smith. He is a happy boy most of the time, except when his two year old tantrums erupt! See happy photo number 1 and tantrum photo number 2. As you can see, he's a handsome boy with blond hair and blue eyes and a really nice smile!

He really enjoys going for walks and feeding the ducks! He knows a lot of words and repeats everything anybody says to him. That is how people learn fast! Ethan is eager to learn new skills and is often heard to say, "Try it!" He loves balls and balloons and playing with his older brother Garrett. He is loving and friendly and his brother adores him.

Grandma is really glad she was able to visit and get to know him for a week in June.