Our daughter, Jenna and her boyfriend got engaged a couple of weeks ago. We are very happy and excited for both of them! I know the next few months are bound to be a wild ride. We had such a simple, romantic wedding on an island in the Adriatic. There is so much to think about and plan (and pay) for this wedding…… and there is something just a teeny, tiny bit sad about it, but I couldn’t begin to explain where in the hell that is coming from. It makes no sense to me…. If I figure it out, I will pass it along.

In the meanwhile, it looks like they finally came up with the “where” part of the equation. And, it took some time getting there. Tucson-nope. Abilene, briefly, but, no. Several destinations in Florida, both Carolinas and Georgia were considered, but Texas Hill Country was finally decided on. It is beautiful there, and I am happy that it’s not on the east coast so we have a chance to check things out…..In fact I plan to fly out next week for some scouting and dress shopping. I think we will have a great time!

We are currently smack dab in the middle of the bathroom remodel. It is changing daily and it will be beautiful when it’s done, which I had hoped would be tomorrow. But it looks like next week some time. This means I will likely not have time to move in to the new space until I return from Texas. I really do not want to rush that part, I think you need to think it out so it is organized from the get go.

On January 8th, we headed back to Abilene to visit Jenna and Tyler Krager. The fact that we call him Tyler Krager still seems to drive Jenna nuts, but we have our own Tyler. That’s what you get when you have a boyfriend with the same name as your brother! Before leaving, our friend Andreas, who owns Athens on 4th, put together a gyro care package for Jenna, consisting of a huge container of sliced gyro, two packages of pita, a container of tzaziki, two tomatoes, a red onion, a handful of mints and a stack of napkins. It was a huge success and much appreciated! Abilene has some pretty great restaurants for a town of 120,000 people, but sadly, not terribly diverse. You can’t get a bowl of pho, or a gyro sandwich, although I hear a new Japanese restaurant came to town, and Sushi may be on the horizon for our daughter. If you want steak, barbecue, fried chicken or Mexican food, you are definitely in the right town.

Jenna is in the middle of buying her first house and we couldn’t be more excited for and proud of her! We were so happy to be there during a part of this process. She is buying the house she and Tyler have rented for the last few years. Closing is set for Tuesday and we are all keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly and with as little last minute stress as possible. Rick did neat dad stuff for Jenna, replacing light switches with dimmers and talking Tyler Krager through the mounting of a new crystal bathroom light fixture. I walked around with my little tub of spackle and a putty knife patching things and sanding. We made way too many trips to Home Depot and Ross. It was fun getting caught up in Jenna’s excitement for the house and decorating it.

Our friends, Buddy and Carol came to visit for a couple of days while we were there and we all went out to our favorite restaurant, The Beehive, for a wonderful steak dinner followed by a visit to a little winery in town, The Mill. A great time was had by all! While having dinner, of all things, a man both Rick and I noticed earlier, came up and said “Rick Rogers, what are you doing at The Beehive in Abilene?” You guessed it, a dentist from Tucson, who contracts with some chain practice, and goes to Abilene a few days a month. They are starting to follow him-lol!

It was fun as always and sad to leave, as always! The drive back was interesting-bad weather and a little traffic holdup outside of Odessa where a prison bus went off an icy overpass and hit a train. Yup, that happened…. We are planning to go back in a few weeks and help with painting and such, but first we are going to Mexico on Sunday for a few days at the beach. How did we ever fit full time work in to our schedules?

The Bolivar Penninsula on the Gulf near Galveston. Just wish we could have heard Glenn Campbell sing it on the radio.

We had a great time with Jenna and Tyler Krager during our day trip to the big D. Tyler took us to Top Golf, which is a total blast! I highly recommend it! However, playing with a golf pro, does insure that you will not do well, but you will get some valuable pointers! Went out for a great Sushi lunch and later to what claims to be the best burger in Dallas at Angry Dog in Deep Ellum. We had more plans for the next few days, but sadly Sunday was our last day there. My stepdad, Mickey Griffin passed away that night, and Monday found us back on the road heading home to Tucson. We will continue our trip, when we feel okay about leaving my mom. Until then…….

The drive to San Angelo, TX went quickly and uneventfully. It was wonderful to see our daughter again! She looks beautiful! Watching her do her news show live filled us with pride…..damn, she’s good! On Wednesday we headed to Abilene to spend a week relaxing, and enjoying Jenna and her boyfriend, Tyler and the grandpuppies, Charles and Millie.

Watching Jenna do a live newscast from the control room. She is looking taller, thinner and blonder than the last time we saw her. Loved every moment….

First morning in San Angelo, taking a walk along the Concho River….

Words of wisdom in San Angelo, Texas.