New Years Eve

Amy and I got to go to another rocking party at April and Joe's house for New Years. This one was a murder mystery set in a gangster setting. I was Joe's main enforcer. We had a blast hanging out with everyone. Amy's brother John also came and he was prepared with nerf guns and everything.

South Padre

We went to South Padre Island after Christmas and hung out on the beach. It was a pretty long drive but the beaches are just so awesome down there. It is night and day from Galveston.

Christmas!

We gathered over at Jennifer's house for the usual Jones/Ober Christmas eve celebration. We had excellent Gumbo and presents for all. After opening the presents we went to a carols in the park evening service.

The firepit

This last saturday night we gathered over at Jennifer's house for dinner. We had an excellent dinner of ham, green beans and potato salad. After dinner Ryan went and got some firewood to burn in his industrial strength firepit that he built. (Of Course.) We all sat around the fire and roasted marshmellows and made smoores. It is not everyday you go to suburbia and come home smelling of a campfire. It is nice to spend time with the family and hanging outside in front of a fire on a cold night in Houston is not an everyday event. :-)

Dinner with the Folks

Saturday night I went over to my parents to spend the evening and have a little dinner. It was a quiet evening but Mom, Dad and I had a good time talking and enjoying some good Chianti wine. We had pork chops, sweet potatoes and asparagus for dinner. Amy was at an exhibition of the Lipizzan horses with her Mother, Brother and Karen. It is so nice to have such a great relationship with my parents. Not everyone hangs out with their parents for "fun".

Big Mama's Funeral

Today was Big Mama's funeral in Fulshear. It was very strange to be back in Fulshear but it did bring back a lot of very good memories. The funeral was very well done and the weather was excellent. We went to the church service and then to the grave side. Afterwards we went back to the church for a short reception. Everyone visited and remembered old times. I hope that we can see everyone once or twice in the near future for better reasons. We will miss you Big Mama!

Big Mama

This week my Great Aunt Stella passed away. She was my Grandmother's sister and a big part of my early childhood. I would come down to Houston every summer and spend several weeks in Houston with my Grandmother. A big part of that time was going to Fulshear and seeing my cousins Tad, Mindy, Mandy, Beth, Janet and Leigh Jr. I would go to Fulshear and stay with the Pecks and pretty much every day we would go to Big Mama's house (Aunt Stella) to have meals and swim in their pool. I do not see them very much any more so getting to see everyone at the funeral home was both very nice and very sad. It is unfortunate that life tends to pull extended families apart and that either weddings or funerals start to become the only reason that you see them. Here's to hoping the next reason is a wedding!

Movie Trivia

After dinner the Smiths, Jones and the Obers gathered for a session of DVD movie trivia. Since there was 20 of us we split into even teams of 10. At least that was the plan. After drawing slips of paper we discovered that there was 12 X's and 8 O's. Hmmmmm..... Very strange considering the teacher in the family was the one to setup the system. :-) After some discussion we managed to pull two more over to the O team and get started. After 4 very close rounds the score was 55 for the O's and 45 for the X's. On the fifth round we had to wager our points on one final question and after both teams missed the question the X's sqeaked out with a victory with the big score of 15 points.

Chapel on the Hill

After climbing the hill we were rewarded with this excellent view. This would be an inspiring place to hold a church service.

Climb that Hill!

After the Catwalk we headed over to the Cathedral on the Hill. On the way up Taylor got ropped into hauling Marion and JaKy up the hill. 

Inspiration Point

Amy at Inspiration Point. It over looked a large section of the ranch. I have to say that I was not sure what to think of Mo-Ranch but it was a very nice place to be.

Catwalk at Mo-Ranch

Our first morning at Mo-Ranch we headed out and walked around the place. The first place we went to was the Catwalk which gives a good view of the ranch. 

Smith Influence

The Smiths as usual were involved in the music for the church service on Thanksgiving. They managed to get the Jones' and the Ober's to join in. The Smith powers are strong in Gunkle.

San Antonio

Amy and I stopped on the east side of San Antonio for gas and to get a drink. I almost fainted at the price of gas! Gas for less then $2 per gallon? GASP!

Heading to Mo-Ranch

Amy and I got in the car and headed out to Mo-Ranch at 2:30pm. We were very full and content after our most excellent Thanksgiving meal at Kathy's house. Thanks Kathy for the tasty food and good company. We have a lot to be thankful for expecially our very close and loving families. :-) 

Amy and John

Amy and John are very close. Their relationship reminds me of me and my sisters alot. 

The Andrews

Amy, Kathy and John for the picture after the meal. John as always is being a joker and got caught in the act.

Mean While.....

Mean While in Mo-Ranch my Family was gathering for Thanksgiving Turkey and a Smith, Jones and Ober family reunion. Or maybe more accurately a Henderson reunion.

What a spread!

What a fantastic spread of food! We wanted to eat a little early so that Amy and I could head out to Mo-ranch to see my family. Amy and her mother said we would eat around noon and the food was ready at 12:30. Now that is good planning. :-) 

Carving the Turkey

For some strange reason they had me carve the turkey. That poor turkey! 

Preparing the Cheese plate

John came over and setup an elaborate cheese plate for all to enjoy. 

Thanksgiving 2005

Amy in her mother's kitchen helping to get the excellent Thanksgiving meal on the table.

Quiet Time

We finally got tired of the kids and gave them some quiet time. Ahhhh blissful silence. Actually I figured Jen and Ryan would get a kick out of this one. Too bad you can't do this at home!

Ded Bob

We went to the Ded Bob Show at 1:30pm. The show is about to start. Rachael just noticed that she has once again messed up her Henna tattoo. Ohhhhh Noooooo! 

John and Amy

Amy's brother John met us there. He was the only one who came in garb. He makes a pretty good scotsman but my great kilt is better. :-P 

Elephant Greetings

We got to meet one of the elephants in Sherwood forest. She was very friendly and would let us touch and hold her trunk. She had some very stiff hair on that truck let me tell you.

Rose Garden

Amy in the Rose garden. There were some lovely flowers at the renfest that year and the Rose garden was very nice too.

Henna Tattoos

JaKy and Rachael both got Henna Tattoos right after we got there. Rachael was having some trouble not messing hers up all day long. 

Renfest 2005

Amy and I took my niece JaKy and Rachael to the Texas Renaissance Festival in Magnolia. We meet at my parents at 8:00am and got to the festival at about 9:00am. There was a little confusion on the plan and so Dad got called and pulled out of bed at 6:30am. Oops, sorry Dad! I guess I kind of forgot to mention I was using his house as the meeting point. :-) At this point we had just arrived and this was our first picture at Renfest.

Eating Watermelon

Nipper seems to enjoy it

Raven is a bit messy!

Dixie ate everything including the rind.

The Kids

Katie
Jake
Jaky

Mom and Dad

Mom and Dad On Dixie.