SWEET DAYS

All I can tell you is grab a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, or read this in parts.  For some reason I cannot do a short post. 
Just when I think I will only post a few pictures I remember I am doing this to record life. 
And life is more than a few pictures. I envy those bloggers that can post daily and do short posts.  It just does not work for me. 
When I signed off last we were in Dallas dropping Parker off for his Washington D C trip. 
Guess what?  We were still there 12 days later.  It was one of the cheapest (as vacations go) most fun vacations we have done in a long time. 
We had no agenda.  We had a five star hotel for under $50 a night. 

I am a Priceline junkie and this was one of my better deals. 
A few days after Parker left, Amanda and Jack decided to come to Dallas while Micah was on a business trip. 
She stayed a few days and we shopped and had fun with Jack and then we all surprised Parker at the airport. 
He had a wonderful trip and many stories…but I can’t say much for his pictures.  The event coordinator sent us an email each day loaded with pictures of what the kids did the day before, so we did know what they were doing and could find Parker everyday.

We are so glad that he had the opportunity to go and now he is an alumni and is already invited to Boston next summer. For some reason a 5th grade alumni is funny to me.

Amanda headed home the next day to work on school work and we decided to spend another four days of fun with the boys.

We spent an entire day at LEGOLAND and ended that day with a fun meal at the Rainforest Cafe…(almost made us feel close to the Mouse) 

Below are just some snapshots from the week and I could write a story to go with each one. I won’t! PROMISE!


Jack told me he  just liked band aids…no reason for one




Parker arriving at DFW to his little buddy!




Jack and his mom having a little IPAD time!


Sometimes only a Diet Coke will do!


Woody and Woody waiting on Parker to come through the gate



Imagination at its BEST!



Enough said!



JUST HAPPY!




LEGOLAND  LOOT




Wonder what he is thinking?



Decisions, decisions….I want one of each….and then he remembered he was with “the grandparents”!  no problem



A Great 3D movie at LEGOLAND



We headed back to the hotel to watch the basketball finals. What a great series between the Heat and the Mavericks.  We had spent the entire week in Maverick land. 

The city of Dallas was electric.

So we spent the entire 12 days sleeping, swimming, eating at new places…a little shopping, renting movies, and planning everyday doing whatever sounded like fun. 
Some days it was just staying at the hotel.
 
Amanda got a chance to have some Mom time at the Galleria shopping, getting a manicure and pedicure..she has been studying so hard that we are always happy when we can give her some free time.  this is a funny picture below.
 
In and Out Burgers has opened in Dallas and the wait even in the drive thru was 40 minutes.  This was Jacks opinion of that and who wanted a stupid hat anyway.




The last part of our trip was one of the most special. 

We decided to drive an hour out of the way and stop at the hotel where Jack had his stroke.
We wanted the boys to have a chance to say “thanks for saving our Pop”! 

I went in first to see if the lady that went to his room and told me something told her to get the door down…someone needed help and needed it now, was at work.

When I walked in I immediately knew the sweet girl at the front.
She had greeted Amanda and me many nights after long days at the hospital wanting to know how Jack was doing. 
She said Priscilla was off but the manager was there.
He had also been there and came out to talk to the kids.
 
Parker was so grown up when he walked over and shook his hand and said “thanks”! 

Talk about a Kodak moment.
Then the receptionist came out of the back and  said she had called Priscilla and she wanted us to wait.  She was on her way to the hotel. 

She walked in and literally embraced Jack for what seemed like an hour.  The last time she had seen him he was very close to death. What a sweet reunion. 
I got a few pictures through the tears.
 









We are now back home.  It is so hot here that I have to have a good reason to leave the house. 
I have several sites I want you to visit.
First my head elf, Terri, has opened an ETSY shop.  She has some great things.  I am hoping she will do a post on the holiday blog next week. 
The name is MilandDil Designs.
 
Also stop by this great new blog, Vicki’s Foodies, especially if you are doing Weight Watchers.

These two blogs are prayer requests….
Paige’s Petals
and then what may be a new blog to you…
Amie Hayes Dockery
She is a someone I know thru some friends.  She is a young Mom, a gifted writer, a pastor in Dallas and another example that life changes in a moment.
If you are still with me you are a trooper. Woody aka Jack says thanks for reading to the end.

RANDOMLY SPEAKING

I looked at the date and could not believe that it had been so long since I posted.  How time flies….Speaking of time flying, Jack and I celebrated our 39th anniversary on  Friday.  There is no way I could have been married 39 years and not be old.  I did the math.
We are on somewhat of a mini vacation…only 3 hours from home, but in a great hotel for a week.

This is the week of Parkers Leadership Conference in Washington DC, so we volunteered to bring him to Dallas to catch his flight….very early today…But that gave us two PARKER days and we did any and everything Parker wanted to….
Game Stop, Cheesecake Factory, a fun burger joint called Five Guys, spent a couple of hours in the Apple Store, movies and swimming.
Jack got up at 4 AM and shuttled with him to the airport.  We are going to stay in Dallas all week and pick him up. 

So the week will be a little shopping, market one day, probably too much eating out, a fabulous Groupon Deal on Tuesday, a few trips to Central Market!  No schedule sounds wonderful.

Tuesday we get 2 hour massages….for less than an hour one normally cost.  This girl really loves a massage and a 2 hour one sounds like a dream.


Today we did absolutely nothing…It was 100 degrees today and predicted to be 101 tomorrow.
Let’s just say that kind of heat and menopause do not mix well.  This is my idea of a great day.
 


Parker has safely arrived in Washington and in for a week of a lifetime.  We are texting back and forth.  He does not have to tell his new friends that its his  GRAMMY that he is talking to.

I have so many random thoughts in my head…and probably none are important enough to share. 
Gray and Jack had a play date today at Amanda’s….notice who has both Woody’s.
 



Parker leaving on a JET PLANE….Where did the years go?

Do you know how much I love this little man?

Two stories you already know if you are my FB friend, but I need to record them….

On our way to Dallas we stopped to eat. We left very proud grandparents…this is the story

Good grades are great, but nothing impresses me like good manners and stepping up to help someone in need  without being told to.
We were leaving a restaurant today and Parker was sitting on a bench waiting on us.
I overheard this older lady (older than me) say "Son, tell your mom she raised a great boy"!

I had no idea what she what was talking about...and then I saw that the lady was trying to walk a blind man to the car.  Parker had seen her and had opened the door for them and was helping her get him through the door. I am still smiling! Parker may never know but that got him a big Itunes card.


Then last night PROUD again..after a fun day, we went to the Cheesecake Factory. We had officially named Saturday, Parker Day.

When we finished dinner last night , Parker proudly said, "I am taking care of the ticket tonight"! Where did this 12 year old come from?  
Thank you Lord for putting him in our family. 

Parker’s Reece’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake….



OK, finished with my BRAG tonight…
Forgive me, but I am recording life.
If you are not a grandparent yet,
you probably don’t get it.
And if you do not know Parker’s story, you don’t understand the real meaning of the stories about him.
We are blessed.
I will be back with updates on Parker’s travels.

I am determined to take time this week to read lots of blogs.   

TWELVE YEARS AGO TONIGHT

Twelve years ago tonight I did not sleep. I knew that the  next day the “Best thing that EVER happened to me” was making his arrival.
Amanda had already done the castor oil trick that seems to work in our family..so I knew May 27 was going to bring us a baby.  And it did…as in we barely made it to the hospital.  We have babies easy and quick. 


I must have told Parker that HE IS the BEST thing that EVER happened to me at least 1000 times in the last 12 years. No probably more than  that. That’s one line he knows well. And one thing he knows well, is that he is LOVED….


This boy made me a GRAMMY and that is hands down my favorite job in the world.  And I was lucky enough to get HIM. 

Tomorrow he graduates with some amazing honors from the 5th grade.  How can we have a middle school student?

Next Sunday we put him on a plane to fly (alone) to Washington D.C. to attend a young leadership conference.

We have traveled with him for 12 years so he is a seasoned traveler.
This is a boy that has boy that has traveled from sea to shining sea, traveled with his Pop, which enabled him to spend time with Shaq, sit in the front seat of the bus with Drew Brees. 

He has dined with the Mouse more times than most people do in a lifetime.  We have traveled the streets of New York City and seen Broadway shows. He has seen the  mountains of Colorado and had a blast at the beach.  This boy has never met a stranger. 
.    

I cannot even put into words how much I love this boy.  He is outgrowing me, but I get that..or at least I thought he was.

Today I was having hi-lights put in his hair and he said Grammy, why don’t me, you and Pop go on a cruise again?”…Wow I was honored to think he still wanted us as his travel buddies.


Parker Benjamin Powell….your Grammy is as madly in love with you as the first day I laid eyes on you. 


Now for the winners of the books. SORRY its taken me so long.
The Pioneer Woman’s Book….an awesome read goes to Vicki@  My Life 365
http://mywonderfullife365.blogspot.com/

 Lazy Days and Beach Blankets goes to Hannah @Life Happens  http://ngowhitcombfamily.blogspot.com/


And if this did make you smile, I am thinking you need some medicine…My favorite song,  my two favorite singers of the entire AMERICAN IDOL SEASON….If only Tim was better looking.  
Congratulations to Scotty. I loved you from the beginning and loved you more every week.
I am officially in  withdrawal…