Fun & Frolic

Jacob and I arrived back in Michigan on Wednesday evening and have been going nonstop ever since. We spent Thursday and Friday helping Nancy shop, clean, cook, and decorate for Laura's bridal shower. On Saturday afternoon, we took a break from party-prepping and ventured to a nearby park to celebrate the 60th birthday of my good friend, Cobra, and her twin sister. The park bash ended up being tons of fun, the weather cooperated nicely, and lots of friends showed up to join in the carousing.

Today was Laura's wedding shower, and everything went swimmingly with that as well. Pattye was the only guest to correctly answer every question on the "How Well Do You Know Laura and Rob?" quiz - no one else even came close. We all ate lots of food and Laura received many beautiful gifts.

We will continue our partying tomorrow when we head over to Jean's house to belatedly wish Julia a happy 9th birthday. After that, I need to get back to the old grind and complete some of the chores on my lengthy "to do" list. There are no more parties planned in the near future, so hopefully I'll be checking off some of the items from the list this week.

Hot Enough to Fry an Egg

Adam came to Texas for a Father's Day weekend visit. We had an action-packed few days that included lots of swimming. Adam is not a fan of heat and humidity, so he spent much of his time fussing about how high the dewpoint was in Houston.

Jean and Jenna came over on Sunday for a BBQ and we all complained about how scalding the brick patio was around our pool. If we didn't wear flip-flops while walking to and from the water, our feet felt as if they were on fire. We thought that it was certainly hot enough outside to fry an egg. We tried. It wasn't. In the evening, Jim, Adam, Jacob, and I went to a local frisbee golf course. Although it was still a bit muggy out, we had a blast.

Today, Adam, Jacob, and I went downtown to take an official tour of the Houston Astros ball field, Minute Maid Park. In addition to learning a lot of interesting tidbits about the stadium, we got to see many "backstage" areas, including the press box, the dugout, the bullpen, etc. I inquired as to why their flagpole is actually on the playing field and I received a surprising answer. The pole came from the old Tiger Stadium, where they say it was also in the field of play. I sure don't remember that. Do any of you recall the flag being on the field at Tiger Stadium?

After having lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe, we drove Adam to the airport. He is now back in the cooler and less humid air of the Rocky Mountain State.

Jake and Jenna waited patiently for the eggs to fry. The yolks got a bit hard after about an hour, but they never really cooked.

The boys posed at the "green" area of the frisbee golf course.

Jacob on the fairway getting ready to throw his frisbee.

Jacob in center field of Minute Maid Park. It is a looooong way to home plate from out there.

The boys in the Astros dugout.

Parched

It is still dry as a bone in Houston with no precipitation in the forecast. Our rain gauge has actually accumulated a layer of dust on the bottom. There is one advantage to the lack of rain, however, and that is the absence of insects. Most bugs, and especially mosquitoes, need water to breed. Other than that, though, I see few benefits to this terrible drought.

Here is the boat launch at Lake Houston. There haven't been too many boats out recently. The water is usually to the top of the dock.

This is the San Jacinto River near our house. Last year the water was right up to the wooden boardwalk.

The Rockets Red Glare

On Friday night we went to watch the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park. The ballgame was a bit of a blow-out for the last-place Astros. There were lots of hits and runs - unfortunately most of them were for the Atlanta Braves. The home team ended up losing 11-4. Following the contest, the retractable stadium roof was opened and we enjoyed a pretty impressive fireworks display.

Today we drove over to Jean's apartment. We swam, ate, and went to a nearby park to shoot off model rockets. Jean is a whiz at readying these things for launch. After sending a couple rockets soaring high into the sky, we all agreed that if we stayed outside in the oppressive Texas heat any longer, we would probably collapse from heatstroke. Yes, it was really that hot. The rocket fun will be continued in the future - quite possibly in a field somewhere in the more temperate state of Michigan.

Jake, Jenna, and Jean at the Astros game.

Jean preparing a rocket for launch.

What's Up With That?

People in Texas have a different way of life than people in Michigan. For example, I have mentioned previously that folks down south never open the windows of their homes, which I find especially odd in the late fall and early spring when the weather is perfectly lovely. And, then they don their winter coats, scarves, and knit caps when temps dip into the upper 50s - yet their air conditioners are cranking when it is 60 degrees outside.

Anyway, Houston this past week has been hot. They haven't issued "heat advisories" or anything like they do up north, but I have been doing my fair share of sweating. Several times, our highs have climbed over 100 degrees. We haven't had any rain. It is just sweltry.

Yet the people in Texas continue to wear long pants. In stores. At restaurants. While walking through the neighborhood. Everywhere.

We were at a casual restaurant on Sunday afternoon and over three quarters of the patrons had on blue jeans. Yes denim jeans. And it was 105 degrees outside. I wonder what the temperature would have to be in order for folks to slip on some light-weight slacks or - gasp - a pair of shorts? I even saw one man come into the restaurant wearing a long-sleeved sweatshirt. Jim says that, outside of work, the only time he is not in shorts in Texas is when the lows slip into the 30s or 40s, which happens maybe ten times during the winter. Just another quirky difference between north and south, I suppose.

It's a Scorcher

Jim, Jacob, and I left Colorado on Tuesday and flew to Texas. The Houston area is still very dry - in fact we are in what is officially known as an "exceptional drought." It just never seems to rain around here anymore. To add insult to injury, the region has also been experiencing higher than normal temperatures, which increases the evaporation rate. The fact that no one was at our house over the holiday weekend to water the plants and bushes did not bode well with our foliage. I am going to have to devote the next few weeks to nursing the browning shrubbery back to health. In the meantime, we have all been spending a lot of time in our pool, where the water is delightfully warm - around 90 degrees. Swimming is the only type of outdoor activity that is feasible when the temperature reaches the century mark.

The forecast - hot and dry.

Our thermometer reached 100 in the shade today.