The fun started June 7 when we picked up our first campers-Myra and Noah, Josh`s kids. The camp bus picked them up at Davis, Oklahoma-halfway to their home in Ft. Worth. It was some 5 days of swimming, sno cones, fireworks, hot dogs and movies. Forgot to mention Kennedy joined them because she and Myra are such great cousin friends. Kennedy kept them on the run and Myra settled them down on occasion. Noah just followed along or not as his mood struck him. He was pretty busy taking care of his new found favorite thing Kennedy`s 2 little puppies. Ricky, Hannah, and Andrew were staying with his sister for a few days and they joined the kids for a swim one evening.
The next week group 2 came in including Anna and family. Again a round of camp things happened fitting them in between visits with the Gode cousins from Maryland. Sunday after brunch Papa and Sky left to join Brandon for Scout Camp. Ricky feeling left out made plans to return Wed. for Scout Camp which he did and helped Brandon not feel so homesick until his Dad arrived on Fri.
Week 3 included Nate and Brandon and Ricky for one afternoon. This was a different camp-doing things a city kid doesn`t often get to do-rifle shooting, tubing on the lake, fireworks, golf, and just hanging out with his Dad and Papa.
Kennedy was able to be included many days as she swims on Stroud Swim Team and practices here 3 evenings a week plus Angie was in summer school all of June. Tho Jett, Skylor, Kenzie and Hayden didn`t get to stay at Camp Granny they were in and out often.
As I look into the immediate future Nate and Brandon left this morning. Then Josh and family will be here July 1st for Noah`s 6th birthday party on the 4th. This is the perfect place for fireworks for our little firecracker. July 9th Anna and family will be passing thru on way to Aquarina Reunion in Alva and possibly back thru on the 11th. Angie, Walter, Kennedy, 2 cats, and 2 dogs will be with us July 15 until the 28th while their new home is finished. It will work well for Kennedy`s swim practice. I`m glad we have the space to help them out a bit. To say the least our big quiet house has had a fun time with Camp Granny 2010.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Christmas Davis Style
A few years ago I was looking for a way to make Christmas memorable for our family. The old fashioned Christmas on the farm was not doing it for them. Since all my children are self supporting, the small gifts I could buy for the many members would not be that much and how many socks and underwear can one use? So I came up with trip to a motel with a pool, meals, and some sort of entertainment to fit the bill. Destination and particulars were secret til close to the day. I asked way-6 to 8 months- in advance to save a certain weekend. A couple years Mother was able to go which made it special. Tho in her 80`s she came along with nary a complaint of strange bed, food, and often snowy cold.
The 1st trip was to Pryor to the Christmas train. Jordan was able to go that year and since all was secret his mother worried how to get him to the appropriate destination-not knowing it would be in their hometown. It was cold and snowy thus Nate and family had to turn around enroute from Kansas City much to Lindsay and Brandon`s dismay.
One year we took in the Territorial Christmas in Guthrie. Dinner was at Granny Had One where to save space Christmas trees hung from the ceiling. I remember Mother timidly asking for pie if it were included in the buffet. We surprisingly met my cousin Sandy Phillips Wright and family. The store fronts all had actors acting out sights of early years in Oklahoma such as playing board games, making apple pie etc. etc. Kennedy was surprised to see children from her Ok. City daycare as actors in one store front. The evening ended looking at Christmas lights from a trolley. This was Mother`s last Christmas with us so for a bit I couldn`t get in the spirit to plan any outing.
One year our celebration was postponed until April to vacation at of all places Kendrick, Oklahoma at a dude ranch of sort called Tatanka Ranch. We rode horses, swam in a salt water pool, hiked to the top of Elvis Tower, paddleboated, celebrated Andrew`s 1st birthday, had a huge fireworks, slept in rustic cabins and enjoyed cooking on the house. The no cleanup was great.
Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine Texas was another favorite destination. After that the little kids thought only Granny could take them to the Lodge.
This past year found us in Tulsa. Nate and family were able to join us for the first time in spite of blizzard like conditions which worked to our advantage because the hotel was nearly empty. Gift exchange, swimming, Incredible pizza and laser tag were the entertainment of the day. The surprise this year was in the form of a "stimulus check" for each family.
What will the next Christmas bring? My wheels are turning and time will only tell!!
The 1st trip was to Pryor to the Christmas train. Jordan was able to go that year and since all was secret his mother worried how to get him to the appropriate destination-not knowing it would be in their hometown. It was cold and snowy thus Nate and family had to turn around enroute from Kansas City much to Lindsay and Brandon`s dismay.
One year we took in the Territorial Christmas in Guthrie. Dinner was at Granny Had One where to save space Christmas trees hung from the ceiling. I remember Mother timidly asking for pie if it were included in the buffet. We surprisingly met my cousin Sandy Phillips Wright and family. The store fronts all had actors acting out sights of early years in Oklahoma such as playing board games, making apple pie etc. etc. Kennedy was surprised to see children from her Ok. City daycare as actors in one store front. The evening ended looking at Christmas lights from a trolley. This was Mother`s last Christmas with us so for a bit I couldn`t get in the spirit to plan any outing.
One year our celebration was postponed until April to vacation at of all places Kendrick, Oklahoma at a dude ranch of sort called Tatanka Ranch. We rode horses, swam in a salt water pool, hiked to the top of Elvis Tower, paddleboated, celebrated Andrew`s 1st birthday, had a huge fireworks, slept in rustic cabins and enjoyed cooking on the house. The no cleanup was great.
Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine Texas was another favorite destination. After that the little kids thought only Granny could take them to the Lodge.
This past year found us in Tulsa. Nate and family were able to join us for the first time in spite of blizzard like conditions which worked to our advantage because the hotel was nearly empty. Gift exchange, swimming, Incredible pizza and laser tag were the entertainment of the day. The surprise this year was in the form of a "stimulus check" for each family.
What will the next Christmas bring? My wheels are turning and time will only tell!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Sister`s Date 2010 minus Karen plus Marty
Just returned from Sister`s Date to New Braunfels and Gruene Texas. It was settled by German immigrants thus the history is rich in German influence. The towns are abounding with entertainment from parks, to water rafting, museums, a hardware store that only sells American made products(many are similar to things found in Cracker Barrel shops), a huge many acre water park.etc. etc. etc. In Gruene we visited the dance hall George Strait began in and John Travolta danced in and several antique shops.
Our gracious hosts were Uncle Ernie and Aunt Mary Ellen Balk and their daughter Louise and husband Brian. Her name is Ernellen Louise but after going by that in younger years she now prefers Louise. Ernie always lived in California then Utah and Nevada so I really never knew them well. We tried to catch him up because he said he regrets missing so many family things. Since we are orphans and Ernie is our last surviving uncle we adopted them as our parents.
We were greeted with pizza and sangrias(delicious). Our other dinners included an authentic German restaurant that sold German clothing and a Texas BarBQ place. The German Restaurant was run by lady who came over as a serviceman`s wife. She hoped to go back in May to visit and Mary Ellen invited herself along.ha At the end of the meal Mary Ellen ordered 3 different desserts and told us to take a bite and pass it on. We sampled a cherry, an apple, and a chocolate dessert there and buttermilk pie at the BarBQ place.
Ernie entertained us with stories of when his dad died he was 13 and became Oklahoma`s youngest licensed driver. They lived on a farm and Grandma couldn`t drive. He sat up on pillows. He helped on the farm until he graduated High School then headed to California with his mother and cousin to join the Navy. Mary Ellen was traveling with her mother to a job in a hospital. They flirted back and forth along the way and passed notes on an umbrella stuck out the window. They married after his 4 year hitch. Grandma visited for a time with former renters from Vance Air Force Base. She had set up an apartment during the depression in her farmhouse to help money wise that she rented to airman from the local base. She returned to Oklahoma by train.
One of his Navy memories was of when a paratrooper died jumping they just moved the food on ship to one side and carried the deceased in the fridge. After Navy he worked for a company that built things for NASA. Duce filled us in that Ernie had been promoted 3 times to his bosses job in his career. One was after they were working on rocket fins that would not work. Ernie took them home and worked on it with bungee cords until it worked. When he could not be promoted anymore because of lack of an engineer degree he scimmed engineer books from the library and took tests. He received his engineering degree at age 54. All this from a small Oklahoma High School grad.
Ernie shared a picture of a lake in Germany and a tale his Dad told of walking along the shore as a child with his Mom and Dad. He like many children would do ran ahead of his parents and fell in step with a woman. After visiting with her a bit he ran back to ask parents if they knew the woman. Parents replied," what woman we saw no woman." She was according to the tale the ghost of a woman who had drowned there years before. Guess Grandpa Joe Balk was a bit of a psychic.
A modern story was of when they visited there before they moved they turned onto a street called Klein. That was Mary Ellen`s maiden name and she took it a a sign that is where they should move.
Another was when he and his sons visited a brewery they asked for directions to a good lunch spot and if they sold beer. The brewery person hesitated so they decided to check it out before going in. One of the sons came back to the car with good news and bad news. The bad news was they didn`t have a beer license. The good news was beer was served but not charged for.
We were allowed to purchase lunch but dinner tickets were paid by Ernie and Mary Ellen. Said they were paying back for all Mother`s hospitality. Thank you Mother-what goes around comes around.
Our gracious hosts were Uncle Ernie and Aunt Mary Ellen Balk and their daughter Louise and husband Brian. Her name is Ernellen Louise but after going by that in younger years she now prefers Louise. Ernie always lived in California then Utah and Nevada so I really never knew them well. We tried to catch him up because he said he regrets missing so many family things. Since we are orphans and Ernie is our last surviving uncle we adopted them as our parents.
We were greeted with pizza and sangrias(delicious). Our other dinners included an authentic German restaurant that sold German clothing and a Texas BarBQ place. The German Restaurant was run by lady who came over as a serviceman`s wife. She hoped to go back in May to visit and Mary Ellen invited herself along.ha At the end of the meal Mary Ellen ordered 3 different desserts and told us to take a bite and pass it on. We sampled a cherry, an apple, and a chocolate dessert there and buttermilk pie at the BarBQ place.
Ernie entertained us with stories of when his dad died he was 13 and became Oklahoma`s youngest licensed driver. They lived on a farm and Grandma couldn`t drive. He sat up on pillows. He helped on the farm until he graduated High School then headed to California with his mother and cousin to join the Navy. Mary Ellen was traveling with her mother to a job in a hospital. They flirted back and forth along the way and passed notes on an umbrella stuck out the window. They married after his 4 year hitch. Grandma visited for a time with former renters from Vance Air Force Base. She had set up an apartment during the depression in her farmhouse to help money wise that she rented to airman from the local base. She returned to Oklahoma by train.
One of his Navy memories was of when a paratrooper died jumping they just moved the food on ship to one side and carried the deceased in the fridge. After Navy he worked for a company that built things for NASA. Duce filled us in that Ernie had been promoted 3 times to his bosses job in his career. One was after they were working on rocket fins that would not work. Ernie took them home and worked on it with bungee cords until it worked. When he could not be promoted anymore because of lack of an engineer degree he scimmed engineer books from the library and took tests. He received his engineering degree at age 54. All this from a small Oklahoma High School grad.
Ernie shared a picture of a lake in Germany and a tale his Dad told of walking along the shore as a child with his Mom and Dad. He like many children would do ran ahead of his parents and fell in step with a woman. After visiting with her a bit he ran back to ask parents if they knew the woman. Parents replied," what woman we saw no woman." She was according to the tale the ghost of a woman who had drowned there years before. Guess Grandpa Joe Balk was a bit of a psychic.
A modern story was of when they visited there before they moved they turned onto a street called Klein. That was Mary Ellen`s maiden name and she took it a a sign that is where they should move.
Another was when he and his sons visited a brewery they asked for directions to a good lunch spot and if they sold beer. The brewery person hesitated so they decided to check it out before going in. One of the sons came back to the car with good news and bad news. The bad news was they didn`t have a beer license. The good news was beer was served but not charged for.
We were allowed to purchase lunch but dinner tickets were paid by Ernie and Mary Ellen. Said they were paying back for all Mother`s hospitality. Thank you Mother-what goes around comes around.
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