Ten Months Old!

GLYNNDA: February Celebrations

Johnathan turned the big 3-0 on Tuesday and though he had his BIG official party at his home on Sunday evening, we just had to do some celebrating on the real day!  So, since Johnathan doesn’t care for cakes of any kind, I always bake him a pecan pie from a real Texas pecan pie recipe made with real Texas pecans, shipped in from Comanche, Texas.  After prayer meeting, it was time to celebrate with some Mexican cornbread, black-eyed peas, salad and pecan pie!  The best part came when he opened his birthday card and found cash to put on his trolling motor when he goes fishing!

Who would have ever dreamed we would have a fisherman for a son-in-law, but as his card said, “He’s a Keeper!”  So, Happy Birthday to our Favorite Son-in-Law!

Heidi was asleep when Sasha Hlavac, Suzi’s mom, came by for a visit and to bring Heidi and me our Valentine’s presents.  As you can tell from the pictures, Heidi loves Purrcy, the Lion, the latest addition to her animal kingdom!  It shakes and growls and doesn’t scare Heidi for a second!  She loves to cuddle up with it, and I am going to enjoy every bite of my chocolate rose!  Thanks, Sasha!

Blizzard at the Lodge

 

Glynnda: January Celebrations

Hooray!  I have finally reached that magical age where I can begin drawing Social Security if I wish!  So, of course, that called for lots of celebrating!  First with dinner at K-Paul’s Louisiana Kitchen in the French Quarters with Charles, Vernon, Jaime and Heidi on the day before my actual birthday with promises from Charles for a King Cake when we came to his home on Friday. 

Then, on my birthday we went shopping around Jackson Square and two more pairs of shoes were added to my collection followed by dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in the French Quarters which was so much fun with glasses that lit up and delicious seafood.

On Friday, as promised, Charles had a delicious King Cake for further celebration when we arrived at his home. 

When we got home, there were many cards and good wishes and a delivery of fabulous cupcakes from our new bakery in town, BAKED, from Scott, Suzi, and Cooper.  I had planned to start a diet that Monday, but alas, it was not to be...

Then, on January 22^nd, Vernon and I celebrated 39 years of marriage with a delectable dinner of fillets at Longhorn Steak House!  What adventures these 39 years have held for us, and we are looking forward to many more!

Glynnda: What a Way to End January!

On Sunday evening, Alexia Crabtree asked if we could watch the movie, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, after her piano lesson on Monday evening.  I thought a minute and remembered the catfish in our freezer that her dad, Bill, had given us some time earlier.  “Yes, and let’s ask your Dad to come fry fish for us and let’s make it an evening.”  So, with a blizzard on its way, ice already glazing the steps that caused Bill to take a tumble, and school and colleges already dismissed for the following day, Alexia and I finished her piano lesson to the smell of frying catfish, French fries, corn on the cob, green beans and green salad and Sister Schubert’s rolls.  What a fabulous meal to enjoy with friends and family.  We wondered what the poor people were doing that night!  

And then it was downstairs to the popcorn and big screen and the saddest movie about a little German boy and a little Jewish boy in World War II.  We counted our blessings once again as we wiped the tears and said good-by to Bill, Jackie, Alexia, Johnathan, Jaime and Heidi as they very carefully walked down the icy lawn, avoiding the steps, and very carefully drove home as the blizzard began in earnest.

Tuesday and Wednesday have been a wonderland of snow with no school, college or church as we are seeing more snow than we have ever had since we have been here in almost 23 years!  Enjoy our pictures and stay warm!

Piano Recital Press Release

The annual Piano Recital for the students of McGarvey Music Studio was held on December 12th at 3 PM at Apostolic Pentecostal Church.  

Students participating front row left to right were Vi Tran, Maggie Smith, Caroline Nuhn, Rebecca Simonton, Maddie Meystrik, Megan Kindell.  Middle row left to right were Nia Reed, Nicole Simonton, Laura Kirchhoff, Spencer Nuhn, Zaina Afrassiab, Sydney Flood, Sydni Martin, Glynnda McGarvey.  Top row left to right were Alexia Crabtree, Haley Cline, Allison Keen, Kaitlin Kindell, Randy Lee, Tiffany Daiprai, Micki Cullifer.  

Students of Mrs. McGarvey who were unable to participate were Janette Brown, Jackie Crabtree, Maxine Davis, Jade Kiser, Ashton Martin, Julie Morgan, and Cathy Van Huss.  Guest vocal soloist was Jaime Morgans accompanied by Mrs. McGarvey.

A January Marathon Road Trip

Several months ago when we began making plans to attend Ray’s youngest son, Trey’s, wedding, we realized that Jaime had a work conference the next week in New Orleans. So as those of you who know us well can imagine, the travel planners in us began to work. Thus, the Marathon Road trip of January 2011 was born.

Sadly, Johnathan wasn’t able to join us on this lengthy excursion because somebody has to work around here! But on Thursday evening, Jan. 6, after saying good-bye to Scott, Suzi and Cooper who were Prague-bound that morning, Vernon, Glynnda, Jaime and Heidi all piled in Jaime’s Pacifica with 10 days worth of stuff and headed to Round Rock, TX (outside of Austin). We made it just in time for Vernon to wrap up the wedding rehearsal and for Glynnda, Jaime and Heidi to rush to the hotel because they looked quite disheveled after two days in the car and were NOT letting anyone see them in such a condition. After the rehearsal dinner, everyone crashed in our hotel room and talked until way too late catching up on all of the news. We were excited to see our Texas family and you know how we can all talk!

Vernon performed a beautiful ceremony for Trey and Kristen at the Texas Baptist Children’s Home Chapel, and we all enjoyed the reception afterward especially Trey’s version of Michael Buble’s cover “How Sweet it is to be Loved by You”—He was definitely showing off his Die blood, and we were proud of him.

After saying our good-byes on Sunday, we headed to Rudy and Kim’s condo at Seascape in Galveston and lounged there until Tuesday. Heidi got to dip her fingers in the Gulf of Mexico for the first time and see dolphins and surfers and sand! It was a bit chilly but so, so memorable. There were trips to Gaido’s for dinner, marathon dominos games, movies and reading before we headed to Beaumont for a trip to “commune” with Great Grammie in the Azalea Gardens at Forest Lawn. :O)  We had dinner at Patilla’s BBQ, which is a huge Taylor tradition, with our friend Randall McCoy and then headed for the Big Easy!

Thanks to Jaime’s Alumni Relations Conference we stayed in the Omni Royal Orleans in the French Quarter. This beautiful, historic property with all the amenities and the Bentleys and Rolls Royces parked out front just made you walk a little taller. While Jaime went to her conference each day, Grammie, Papa and Heidi went on all kinds of adventures. They explored the French Quarter from top to bottom, went to the New Orleans aquarium, ate beignets at Café de Monde and each day they met Jaime for lunch and dinner. We ate at K-Pauls (with our friend Charles Alder), Pierre Maspero’s, and celebrated Glynnda’s birthday at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. Of course, there was shopping to be done as well!

On our way out of Louisiana, we stopped by Charles’ home for some King Cake and a quick visit before hitting the road for Missouri. It was a fantastic marathon but like all marathons, left us wheezing and gasping for a rest!