We didn't do much today, just hang out and swim. Dad made us some dinner. These are just a few of the treats from his garden. There's no internet here so it may be a few days before I can post this.
This afternoon we drove around Lake of thePines to the south shore to Sandy Beach, where Julia, Ben, and Shay could swim and throw mud at each other. After showering out the mud, we went back to dad's community pool and they swam some more before dinner.
We spent the night a Cis's again and finally I let the kids use their fireworks. It was only five dollars worth but they seemed to enjoy it. Michael spent some time with me on the phone helping me program my ham radio to the local repeaters.
We went to Kilgore to see my cousin Jacky and his wife. They have a nice place but I did have to call him twice and then have him meet me on the road before I could find him. He is well hidden.
We stopped by Jefferson, to buy Mikie a treat (no it's not fudge this time). Then when we got too hot we got in the car and drove around a bit and checked out the mansions. This one has always been my favorite. It's called the plantation. It was just restored to back to original, but is privately owned.
This is Julia's favorite house in Jefferson, the house of the four seasons. The top room has windows on each side, each a different color for a different season. The slaves would haul water up two fights of stairs to the bath up there so the ladies could bathe.
This is where my dad lives down in the hollow by the lake. Most of the yard is his garden.
We went to the Sabine riding club. When I was pregant with Dawn this is where the horse slipped and fell with me in the mud. We were also rounding the third barrell. It was only two rides ago. I don't get on horses too much any more. Shay is quite fast. This horse is good but the one with spots, named Fluffy is faster. At some of the other shows they give money for prizes and most times she comes home with a check. Cis said once in awhile the check will have her name on it.
Cis and Shay came by this morning to see us off. Dad made us hambergers and we had lunch together. It was hard to leave. To bad most of Texas and all of New Mexico are between us.

Kathy, here is the picture you requested of grandpa. He's like you to come and see him. He said he'd catch you a redneck and lock him in a cage till you get here. Would you like one with or without a nose ring. His words, not mine.

Ben and Julia got a big kick out of some of the long bridges that we crossed that were just lakes. I'm sure in other parts of the world the bridges are bigger, but not in Mesa.
My dad suggested that on the way home I stop by the Alvord, Texas cemetery. I did and boy was it hot, 101 degrees and I don't know how humid. 3:30 in the afternoon was when we arrived and it's a good size cemetery. We started driving when I started to see older headstones. This was one of my favorites. The father is listed on the front with all his information and then on one side all the children and their birth year are listed and on the other side some of their death dates. His wife is next to him with a similar headstone. So much information in one place too bad their wasn't enough room to tell a story or two about them.
This was the best little treasure in this cemetery. My grandfather's grand-parents headstone. The sun was really bright, so I wrote down the information in case we couldn't read the photo. This morning Ben and Julia are still asleep. Today, I'll try to make the run all the way home, we'll see. It's still quite a distance away. The bad thing about Texas is the bugs. I've got bites and sores all over. They seem to think I'm some kind of desert. At least at home all the bugs are baked by now, or maybe I just taste bad to them.