Uncle James and Aunt Dolores

Aunt Dolores is my Mom's sister. She and her husband called unexpectedly over the weekend to let us know they'd be close to San Antonio, and would we like to meet them for supper? 

So, of course, yes! I love seeing family, especially family we don't see very often.

 I took these pictures of Phoebe eating cotton candy just for Nana. Uncle James remembers stopping at the store to buy me and my siblings a bag of candy because, "kids should have candy." And my mom did not allow a lot of sugar in the house. :-) Which was not in the least detrimental to our health and possibly the reason none of us had cavities as kids. Anyway, this picture was just to make Nana say something like, "I ca-an't believe you let those kids have that!" 

 Uncle James and Aunt Dolores were always fun to be around growing up. They had horses and Uncle James would show at horse cutting competitions. We got to watch him anytime he was in Crowley for one. I just learned that their daughter Darlene (my cousin; I don't know her well because she's a bit older than me) was the Youth Reserve World Champion in 1981 for cutting horses. 

Mostly Swimming

 Harrison enjoys going outside now that it's getting warmer. He's been asking me to go with him lately though. Good excuse to get me outside too. This is a Mimi idea that I like to use when I don't want the little kids to paint with real paints - glass of water, paint brush and sidewalk with the sun to dry your canvas so you can paint a new piece.

 This just says itself.

 We weren't going to take a break for spring break. I didn't even know it was spring break till the last minute. But Elizabeth found free week-long swim activities going on at an indoor pool, so we decided to take Spring Break. The kids got swim lessons and lots of free time to play in the water. The older three do so well at swimming and I'm glad. They're better than I am. One of my worst fears used to be driving over bridges because I can't swim very well and I was afraid I couldn't save the kids. They might be the ones saving me! 

 Harrison did not like the water, however. I tried to get him in on two different days, but he was pretty terrified. Or cold. It's supposed to be a heated pool, but it was still pretty cold. So he and I sat at the benches. I read or memorized or texted or watched the kids. He made up stories or snuggled on my lap.

 This is a bakery near the Natatorium. (New word for me) 

The kids loved it. 

 A family was having a late lunch and shared some juice and mandarin oranges with Harrison. 

 During free swimming, the older three always stuck together. Funny how that works. A crowd full of strangers brings them together. 

 This is Harrison's "Rocket-feller" costume. 

He watched "The Men Who Built America" recently and really took to Rockefeller. He's trying to do his eyes the same way as the actor from the show.

He is moving dirt to build a mound which is supposed to be an oil derrick, I think. He's going to be an oil man apparently.