Our Texas Hideaway

Central and South America Trip

2011-05-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Spring Break 2011

2011-03-20T12:52:00.000-07:00

We are Blessed

Logan Charms The Family

Mrs. Lee's Daffodil Garden

Playing With Magnets at the Children's Museum

Getteup Horsey

Sarah's Egg Tree

Bubble Fun

All But One Egg Found

Sarah Looks For Eggs

Rory Hunts For Eggs

Three Cute Little Girls

Logan Meets Uncle David

New Zealand Sheep Farm Videos

2010-03-28T11:20:00.000-07:00

A Smile For The Audience After The Shearing

Videos Below Of Sheep Dog Rounding Up the Sheep and The Shearing

Sheep Dog Rounding Up the Sheep At Walter Peak Sheep Farm In New Zealand

Sending The Sheep Back To Pasture

One Stayed For Shearing

Lots of Wool

Our Australia and New Zealand Adventure - March 2010

2010-03-28T09:58:00.000-07:00

The scenery was unique and varied and the animals unbelievable - Wombats, wallabies, kangaroos, and dingoes in Australia and sheep were everywhere in New Zealand (including on our plates). Then there were glowworms in caves and of course the kiwi found only in New Zealand.

It was truly an awesome trip!

We left Tyler on March 9 and arrived in Sydney the morning of March 11.

Roger's sister, Pattie and husband Ernie, traveled from Vermont to join us.

We had great seafood and lamb in New Zealand plus lots of chips (French Fries).

On our Blue Mountain tour we went on this fun ride.

Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney

This emu pushed the knagaroo out of the way so it could get some food.

After reading to Josh about the dingoes, Susan got to see one up close.

There were wombats too.

Our favorites were the kangaroos.

There were koalas too.

It was really fun feeding the kangaroos at Featherdale Wildlife Park.

Manley Beach

Sydney Opera House Tour Was Great

2,500 Performances a Year

Harbour Bridge

We flew to Auckland and Roger got to experience driving on the left side of the road.

He did great. Well he did take out two cones in a construction zone and had difficulty mixing up the windshield wiper and the directional signal.

Te Puia in Rotorua

Lots of Geothermal Activity Just Like Yellowstone

Only 3 countries in the world have this - Iceland, New Zealand, and USA

Fun On Our Scenic Drive Around the Blue and Green Lakes

Maori Performance and Hangi (Earth Oven Meal) at Mitai Village

Lake Terawera Near Rotorua

Beautiful Gardens in Christchurch on the South Island

Christchurch

Driving To Wanaka - Beautiful Scenery and Lots of Sheep, Cattle, and Domesticated Deer

Roger had a little lamb

Its fleece was white as snow.

Merino are popular sheep in New Zealand and known for their great wool.

Relaxing After Tea and Coffee at Walter Peak Sheep Farm

Golfing in Queenstown - A View From Every Hole

Doubtful Sound at Te Anau

Lots of Waterfalls and Even Some Dolphins, in the Scenic Fiords

On the final part of our Doubtful Sound Tour on our last day, we saw this rainbow.

For the beauty of the earth...

Lord of All to Thee We Praise.

Christmas 2009

2009-12-29T14:56:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve

Waiting For Santa

4 GenerationsChristmas Eve PajamasChristmas Morning

Baby and I Can Share The Bottle

Peekaboo Quilt Made By Grammy

Trying Great Grandma's Rocking Chair - I Like It!!

Over the Red River and on slippery roads

To Grandmother's House we go

The car knows the way

To carry the sleigh (our car)

Through the white and drifted snow

Ruthie was a very good baby on that long ride on very bad roads to arrive on Christmas Day to visit cousin Rory.

Laura, Josh, and Sarah Arrived The Day After Christmas

Laura and Papa Tune Her New Guitar

Rory's Peekaboo Quilt Made By Grammy (Pictures of all of my relatives)

Uncle Daniel Enjoys The Two Little Ones

Guess Who!

Rory's Nativity Set

Yea! Grammy Got Her Picture of the Whole Gang

Rory Meets Ruthie

2009-10-29T17:47:00.001-07:00

That's My Cousin Ruthie
We're Ready For Halloween

See Ruthie, This is where I live in California.

Give Us A Few Years And See What We Can Think Of Together
A Smile For Daddy
Ready To Hear Daddy's Sermon
Thinking About All of These People Who Have Come To My House
Grammy Time
Such Fun
Aunt Kristin Came To See Me

It's Cold In Oklahoma
Trying On My Birthday Presents
Playing With Papa
Time With Boomer

Meeting Ruthie

2009-10-03T21:12:00.001-07:00

Grammy & Papa Meet Ruthie
Wearing Grammy's Baby Dress

My Baby Quilt And Smocked Dress Made For Laura and Worn By All of My Cousins

Well Josh Didn't Have To Wear It!

Our Little Baby Ruth

Should I try it?

Mommy & Daddy

What shall I do today?

Everyone Wants To Hold Me

Pretty Cute!

Grammy and Me

Papa and Me

Ruth Ann Dennison Born on September 17

2009-09-22T18:25:00.000-07:00

Ruth Ann Dennison Arrived On September 17 Weighing 8 Pounds 2 Ounces

We Heard Her Loud And Clear When Daniel Called With The Wonderful News

Ready For Game Day

Time To Go Home

Laura and Grammy Celebrate Their Birthday

2009-09-22T18:14:00.001-07:00

New Birthday Outfit

Georgia Visit

2009-09-22T17:34:00.000-07:00

Kristin Spent A Week Recruiting for Clorox At Georgia Tech and Grammy & Papa Came to Babysit Rory

Some Time With Jason Before He Returned To California

Go Tech!

We Are Ready To Babysit This Little Cutie Anytime

Rory Liked To Play With Grammy's Jewelry

Papa Built A Tower During Rory's Nap Times. She Would Look at the Tower, Crawl Around It and Look From A Different Angle, Then Point At It, and Finally Knock It Down After Much Observation. She's Probably Planning Her Own Design!!

Stone Mountain Get Together

Time To Visit

Pattie & Rory

Kathy & Rory

Little Miss Georgia Tech and Little Miss Georgia

Getting Ready For The Laser Show

Playing With Becky

Brunch At Stephanie and Mike's House

Braeden, Etta, Margaret, Rory, Riley, Henry, and Greta

Rory and Riley

Playing With Michael and Elizabeth

Dinner At Mike and Becky's and a Photo Before Bedtime

We Took Rory To The Aquarium And Then Went To Georgia Tech

Where We Reluctantly Turned Rory Over To Kristin

For Their Flight Back To California

Enjoying The Fish At The Atlanta Aquarium

Tea Party Express Visits East Texas

2009-09-04T18:00:00.000-07:00

You've made it to East Texas

With piney woods tall,

Our Tea Party Groups

Say, "Welcome Y'all."

The Tea Party Express started in Sacramento and is traveling to over 30 cities before ending their trip in Washington, D.C. on September 12. Several buses from East Texas are leaving next week to meet up with the Tea Party Express in Washington D.C. They may have added another bus yesterday with excited participants at the Whistle Stop.
This is the snack and drink table. We had decorated cloth bags with treats for all of those traveling with the Tea Party Express. Some of the quotes on gift items:

The Constitution is the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen. John Adams

Let no more be said of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constituion. Thomas Jefferson

A lady asked Dr. Benjamin Franklin (following the creation ot The Constitution of the United States)... Well Doctor, what have we got a republic or a monarchy - "A republic," replied the Doctor, "If you can keep it."

Anyone who says the American Constitution is obsolete just because social and economic conditions have changed does not understand the real genius of the Constituion. It was designed to control something which HAS NOT CHANGED AND WILL NOT CHANGE-NAMELY HUMAN NATURE. The 5,000 Year Leap by W. Cleon Skousen

It was a very short stop as they were an hour behind schedule and still had rallies in Little Rock and Memphis.

There were at least 1000 people that lined the Rest Area on I30 about 2 hours east of Dallas. Roger and John Tweedell contacted the Tea Party coordinator to see if they would take I20 and stop for a rally with us near Hideaway, but their schedule was too tight. So they found this rest area on their route and convinced them to stop just for 15 to 30 minute Whistle Stop and they agreed!! We showed them a rousing East Texas Welcome!

Anxiously Awaiting Their Arrival

Someone in the large crowd of those waiting was concerned that we might be making extra work for the ladies who were cleaning the restrooms. So they took up a collection to give a tip to the workers. I talked to them afterwards and thanked them and said I hoped we hadn't made a mess for them. They said it was cleaner than at the end of a usual weekend.

I am in the red shirt, and we are passing out hand decorated cloth bags with lots of treats for the Tea Party Express Participants. There is also a pamphlet with information about our local tea party groups and interesting facts about East Texas. The Hideaway photo has a lovely picture of our golf course and a notation -

"Real Grass, Real People, Real Issues - Not Astro Turf!"

We all said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem and God Bless America and heard a few words from some of their group as they stood in the back of a pick up truck. Yes this is East Texas!

The number of people and enthusiasm was beyond our wildest dreams!
We missed not seeing Griff Jenkins, but we were told he was at a wedding. Hope it was a fun wedding Griff!
FOX News the Best In The Nation
We keep our TVs tuned to your station
Other Networks have an agenda to share
But FOX gives us the news - Balanced and Fair

One of the treats in their welcome bag was "Calm" Tea and "Passion" Tea that had rose petals in it. The label said, "Stay calm but question with boldness and passion and enjoy these teas with rose petals from your East Texas friends. 20% of the commercial roses in the U.S. are grown in Smith County, Texas.

Lloyd Marcus, whose songs and testimony on the Tea Party Express web page, are just unbelievable, began by saying, "I'm not African American. I'm American!!!!" Listen to his songs and hear his testimony.

Time to Say Good Bye

As we loaded water onto the buses, we got to meet Ron and Kay Rivoli's traveling companions. This is just one of their two adorable dogs. Listen to their great song on the Tea Party Express Web Page.

A Little About East Texas - (This is information from the pamphlet included in Welcome Bags.)

Tyler is the county seat of Smith County, Texas. The city is named for President John Tyler in recognition of his support for Texas's admission to the United States. In 2008 Tyler was estimated to have a population of 108,772. Tyler has been nicknamed the "Rose Capital of America", because of its large role in the rose-growing industry. About 20% of commercial rose bushes produced in the U.S. are grown in Tyler and Smith County. It has the nation's largest municipal rose garden and hosts the Texas Rose Festival each October, which draws more than 100,000. Some of the homes from the spring azalea tour were featured in the March 2009 Southern Living Magazine.

Hideaway is a largely residential city and gated community in Smith County, Texas, located directly north of Interstate 20 with 3 lakes and 27 holes of golf. The land that now encompasses Hideaway was originally included in the large plantation owned by Texas Governor Richard B. Hubbard.

Sitting just north of the lush Tyler rose fields and to the south of the world renowned fishing of Lake Fork, is Van, Texas. Oil is what put Van on the Texas map. In 1929, Van was transformed from a small farm community to an oilfield mecca which was basically an overnight boom.

In 1930 in Rusk County, Marion "Dad" Joiner, the renowned wildcatter, was drilling the Daisy Bradford No. 3 and discovered the giant East Texas oil field, which, with an estimated recovery of 6 billion barrels of oil, became the largest oil field in the world at that time. Recognizing the significance of the East Texas discovery, H. L. Hunt moved quickly and purchased the Daisy Bradford No. 3 and nearby leases from Joiner. The Daisy Bradford No. 3 continues to produce to this day. This East Texas field provided the financial base for the founding of Hunt Oil Company in 1934.

Noonday, a small town south of Tyler in Smith County, Texas, has a reputation for growing the sweetest onions on earth! While that could be debated among other parts of the country which make the same claims, there is no doubt that the onion growers in the Noonday area grow some of the best onions money can buy. To be a "Noonday Onion", it must be grown in the fertile soils within a 10 mile radius of Noonday. Every year, growers vie for the sweetest onion at the Noonday Onion Championship in May.

Grand Saline is named for the large salt deposit in the area currently mined by Morton Salt. In the center of Grand Saline sits the only building in North America made of pure rock salt. Grand Saline is home of one of the largest, purest salt domes in the nation with a supply estimated to last 20,000 years.

Lots of blueberries, peaches, and pecans (Pecan is the state tree.) are grown here, as well as sweet potatoes in Van Zandt County and surrounding areas. The soil that was so good for sweet potatoes was also a reason why Chris, the Bulb Hunter (Southern Living March 2008) started the Southern Bulb Company in that area. They cultivate rare and heirloom bulbs to gardeners across the southern U.S. and other warm climates.

East Texas has a rich history, beautiful scenery, and a wide variety of food is grown in our region. Recently there has been a “growing” concern about the direction of this country – a direction that is growing away from the Constitution, “…the greatest single effort of national deliberation that the world has ever seen.” (John Adams) In nearby towns concerned citizens are meeting, learning about our Constitution, studying current legislative issues, and trying to determine what we can do.

Thank you for traveling to Washington, D.C., and taking the time for the “East Texas Whistle Stop.” God Bless You and God Bless Our Country.

Sarah's Fourth Birthday

2009-08-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

The Birthday Girl

Laura Made A Purse With Grammy

Papa & Josh Play Checkers

Sewing Time

Also Time To Shop For A New Outfit

Lots Of Presents

Now It's Time To Eat The Cake That Laura and Grammy Made

Present From Aunt Kristin

Stickers From Pattie

Laura Made Sarah's Skirt

Yum!

Las Vegas & Grand Canyon

2009-07-21T18:35:00.001-07:00

Awesome Grand Canyon
So Many Different Views

Our Jeep Tour To The Bottom Gave Us A Whole New Perspective Of The Canyon

The Travelocity Gnome Accompanied Us To The Bottom of the Grand Canyon

Advertising Personnel Were Doing A Publicity Event

Enjoying The Very Cold Water Of The Colorado

Sure Felt Great With 115 Degree Temperature At The Bottom Of The Canyon

Slow Water Raft Trip in Glenn Canyon

Our Hotel, The El Tovar

It was right on the rim of the canyon.

Several mornings there were elk right outside our window at the El Tovar.

Lobby of the Bellagio Hotel

Water Show at the Bellagio

Water Show

2009-07-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

Rory's Baptism

Dress Made by Grammy and Worn by Laura in 1998 and Now Rory in 2009
Proud Parents

Proud Grandparents

Proud Family

Baptized by Pastor Uncle Dan

Playtime

Showing Grammy My Toys

Playing with Uncle Daniel

Memorial Day In Pearland

2009-05-26T13:58:00.001-07:00

Story Time With Papa!
Read It Again Grammy

Josh Is Reading On His Own

Josh's Birthday Lego Train

He Put It Together By Himself With a Little Help From Laura

Yea!! The Pool Is Open

Love The Fountains!

Strawberry Mice & Tortilla Chip Letters

Modeling Outfit From Aunt Mindy & Uncle Daniel

Enjoying All of The New Plantings in the Yard

Growing Peanuts

Beautiful Hibiscus & Beautiful Sarah

More Flower Photos

Pearland Birthday Visit

2009-02-28T16:13:00.000-08:00

Lego Boy!

Josh is 6! Coloring With Grammy

Sarah's Doll Has A Beautiful New Outfit

Ice Cream For Papa

Laura's First Place At Wilder and Third Place "In District" Science Fair Project

2009-02-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

OU Wesley Lunch & Vespers

2009-02-28T15:52:00.000-08:00

Loved The Big Kitchen

Enjoying Roger's Jambalaya In The Expanded Facility

Serving Line

Of Course There Were Cookies!

THE BEST PART WAS THE BIG ANNOUNCEMENT AT VESPERS-

AFTER MUCH PRAYER ABOUT STAFFING FOR NEXT YEAR, DANIEL ANNOUNCED THAT A NEW PERSON WILL BE ADDED TO THE WESLEY FAMILY EVEN THOUGH HE IS UNSURE OF HIS OR HER PARTICULAR SKILLS. DANIEL DID KNOW THAT ACCORDING TO MINDY'S DOCTOR IT SHOULD BE AROUND SEPTEMBER 18! YEA ANOTHER GRANDCHILD IS ON THE WAY!

California Visit

2009-02-15T11:58:00.000-08:00

Grammy, Mommy, and I did lots of shopping. It was fun and I was a super shopper!

Grammy came to visit and I gave her lots of smiles.

We traveled to Napa to visit Amy, Matt, and Maddie.

Rory Meets Maddie

Time With Mom and Dad

It won't be long before I am standing on my own.

Rory is reaching for things and enjoying her toys.

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T12:45:00.001-08:00

So Thankful To Have The Whole Gang Here

Our Oldest and Youngest Granddaughters

Laura & Samantha

Josh, The Golfer

Breakfast With Santa

Daniel & Mindy Meet Rory

Stocking Shelves At the Food Pantry

Sarah and her Baby - She loved to hear it cry!

Mindy's Quilt

Modeling the Aprons

The Cousins

Jason, Kristin, & Rory

Playing with Rory

Rory & Her Baby Doll

Making A Gingerbread House

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T12:41:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving At Hideaway

2008-11-27T13:33:00.000-08:00

Pearland Visit

2008-11-26T15:47:00.001-08:00

Laura and Grammy went to see High School Musical. Then it was time for a group picture.

Josh Likes To Play Outside and Helps Dad With Yard Projects

Sarah's Pretty Pink Dress Soccer Tournament With Dad as Coach

Making Doll Clothes

2008-11-26T15:43:00.001-08:00

A Few More Rory Pictures Before Grammy & Papa Return To Texas

2008-11-09T20:21:00.000-08:00

Papa Visits Rory

2008-11-05T21:00:00.000-08:00

Rory is wearing one of her Mom's baby dresses and booties (Made by Susan for baby Kristin). The blanket was made for Kristin by Nana (Roger's Mom).

Trick or Treat in Pearland

2008-11-05T20:28:00.000-08:00

Rory's First Halloween

2008-11-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

Grammy Visits Rory

2008-11-03T18:52:00.001-08:00

Rory is wearing one of Grammy's baby dresses.

Lorelai "Rory" Susan Speck

2008-11-03T18:43:00.000-08:00

Rory was born October 17. She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces and measured 20.75 inches. She came home from the hospital on October 20 wearing the same dress that her mother wore home from the hospital.

Family Trip To Hawaii

2008-07-20T17:10:00.000-07:00

In July 2008, the whole family spent a week in beautiful Kona on the big Island of Hawaii.

Daniel's Commissioning

2008-06-01T17:23:00.000-07:00