Tornados and Flooding and Moving Oh My!

Another one for of those fun and busy weeks has gone down in history.  For me it started with garden work. I planted this planter, the front sea horse fountain and ....

the well, as a fairy garden...  I also got one of the garden boxes cleared and planted, and cleaned the garden house. 

Which was good because I got to watch these munchkins, and they love playing in the garden house!

We even had a tea party in there!!  

That night Dad and I were off to do FHE at the care center. Spencer and Brittney rode over on their bikes to join us...

and help out ... 

because the Holmes were back, this time talking about their mission to Cambodia. 

The two couples had lots of fun comparing notes!! 

While Dad and I visited with residents!! 

Tuesday was super busy, as I finished everything I needed to do before heading to Texas the next day.  It started out with a walk with Ginny, weird to see old barns like this within blocks of our house, on Main Street 

When I got back from walking  I addressed the invitations for Hannah's shower. 

Then headed to the mall to unload all the antique show stuff I'd lugged around for more than two weeks, hoping for Fleaology to happen.  Dad needed the van empty so he could haul wood for building the garret suite. Woot Woot! 

I managed to squeeze it all in.   

I got home in time to pick up Shelby Miedinger and drive to Provo for a Mary Kay event to support a gal in our ward. 

Then it was home to wash my clothes and pack my bags. I noticed that everything on top of the wet load in the washer was black and white. Shocker! 

Dad took Brittney, Becca and me to the airport very early Wednesday morning. 

And before we knew it we were hanging out in San Antonio. 

Getting better aquatinted with Emily's kids. 

Becca and Brittany M arrived a bit later after touring much of San Antonio by car. 

Of course we all got lots of Abigail loving in!! 

 This is Wednesday morning, Brittney O put the hair bow on her bun so she and Charlie could match!!  As we sat around deciding how to distinguish the Britts we found that four of us have potty initials. BM, PP, BO and BS , and Emily, just to be different, has alien initials: ET 

We all went out to see the old Catholic missions that day. Poor Charley stepped in a red ant nest.  But Emily had triple antibiotic ointment in her emergency kit in the car, which seemed to take care of the bites rather well 

The stonework was beautiful!! 

And provided lots of photo ops 

Loved this huge Gate!! 

This is a parsonage is still in use. The clergy that maintains the old church and holds mass,  lives here. How cool is that?? 

When we got home, Emily and her helper Brittany M made us Sushi!! 

The next day these beauties were primping to go shopping!! It was Bon Marche' (the good deal) day. Because it sounds better in French than 'el cheapo shopping day'.  

This is the $5.99 store. We also hit 'Five Below' 

Here are the kids at the mall outside the $5.99 shop. 

Here we see the girls chatting it up!!  "What is your love language!?"

Here we see our Brittney O keeping fit by doing squats with adorable weights!! 

While I was busy shopping with my grands, Dad was at Becca's house with her cute kids, as Brady was out with guys from work at a farewell dinner for his boss. 

While Dad was babysitting, Trevor and Davin's  family were moving Darby into her new condo.  Thanks to Brady's contribution of a new fangled dryer plug, Dad was able to stop at Darby's on the way home from babysitting  and hook up Darby's washer and dryer. Then he switched the fridge door that had opened toward the laundry room instead of the kitchen!!   Now it's perfect!! 

The next morning, on Saturday, Brittney O took this picture of Abigail.  Emily said Abigail had smiled for the first time Wednesday, and this is the first picture of her smiling!! (Now go back and read this subbing smoked for smiled as per uncorrected auto correct ha ha) 

Just having some photo fun with my sweet William!! 

On Saturday we headed out for the Tea Gardens.  

The over cast skies made it even more beautiful.  

This is the family who lived here when the garden was originally built and acted as care takers. 

It started to rain as we sat on the patio of the Tea House, so we headed out ...

While driving to this amazing Indian restaurant the rain poured down ... The changeable freeway signs said "flood warning, turn around, don't drown". 

I finally got a shot of Charlie in her Kimono her Bachan gave her!!  The food at the restaurant was amazing and they had a real tandoori oven.  The naan was amazing, as was every other dish.  And if eating goat were on my bucket list ... 

Afterwards we drove through the floods to have pedicures. My first ever, and that was on my ever boring bucket list!! 

That night it was Popsicles in the tub ...

And kids with blue tongues from blue Popsicles. Brittney O was a good sport and gave me a fouth tongue shot for my quad photo arrangement.  Brittany M's, however, was unsolicited!! Sometimes she just reminds me of my sister Julie!! 

And while I was having fun with water, Dad was having fun with saw dust back home working in the attic. He and Spencer did take some time off and went to see McFarland that night. 

Sweet babies!!  For us, that night, nature took care of the entertainment. 

This is how the River Walk was looking, good thing we missed that this time. 

This is a pic  of how many local families spent their evening. We were so close to an airforse base that we waited for their emergency sirens, so even though our phones kept ringing alerts for both tornados. (One touched down just 20 miles away) and flood warnings, we had a quiet (if you don't count thunder that shakes the house) evening watching another nonfiction movie, which seemed to have been the theme of the trip!!   We saw Blindside, Flash of Genius, the Imitation Game and then Still Alice that night.  Even our kids' movie was Prince of Egypt!! 

Sunday morning the little girls got princess fingernails before church. 

Dad also missed church in Payson, as he headed to Bountiful to attend Sister Wade's missionary farewell. She's headed back to Finland where she and her husband served as Dad's mission Presidents. She also announced to everyone there that Dad and I will be headed to Finland next year!  We will overlap sister Wade by just a month :-( 

In Texas we all spent a nice afternoon at church which was followed by my last evening with the Talleys and my traveling companions. It had been a lovely vacation, I was to leave the house at 4:30 the next morning with Brittney O to head home.  

Thanks to everyone who made this lovely vacation happen, especially my generous husband who held down the fort at home.