As I mentioned in last week's letter, May is the month for recitals and programs. The day before Roy and I flew to Texas, I was able to watch Ori's pre-school program. She is starting Kindergarten next year so this was her last day of pre-school. She always knows all the words to the songs, whether it be in Primary or pre-school, or acting out Little Mermaid or other princess shows. I missed her ballet recital since we were in Texas. Caitlyn went though, and said Ori did great, but she didn't get her turn until 1 1/2 hours into the recital--apparently they left after Ori danced.
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The Jackson Family
Mav, Elise, Max, Andy and Beverly |
We arrived in Texas on Thursday evening and headed straight to the Jackson's. After visiting for a short while, we left and checked into our hotel. Elise told us we didn't have to hurry the next morning, that we should sleep in, have breakfast and then come over until time to go to the graduation. We obeyed. I guess she didn't understand that since we were on Utah time, sleeping in meant we wouldn't get to her house until 10:30 or so. We started getting texts asking where we were. I understand because our visit was going to be short.
The graduation started at 4:00, but it was downtown, and Houston has a LOT of traffic. Andy and Elise left around 1, and then Roy and I followed with Julie and Darren (Andy's parents) around 2:30. Elise saved us seats near the front.
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| Roy, myself, Marni and Curtis Burke, great friends of Elise and Andy |
Like most graduations, it was a little boring. The president of the class gave a good speech, but the keynote speaker wasn't great. Elise said that they could have had Mathew McConaughey because he's an alumni of the school, but not enough people voted for him. She thought he would have been preferable :) However, it was definitely worth attending to see Andy receive his diploma after such hard work over the past few years. There were about 240 graduates. Most of them have residencies set up, but there were about 9 that didn't get placed and have to apply again. That means a wasted year with no guarantees they'll be selected next time. Elise says the percentage of graduates around the country with no residencies is around 24%.
After the graduation, we headed back to the Jackson home to pick up the kiddos and go out for pizza. Andy and Elise treated everyone as a thank you for all the support they've received through all Andy's schooling.
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Beverly--she's always happy. She's super skinny because she never stops.
Her favorite phrase is "get down." |
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Mav--he loves his rootbeer. The cup of ice is for Beverly because
I learned pretty quickly she'd put her hand in my water to get the ice.
Curtis Burke and Max are behind us.
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Saturday we spent the day on the beach. I thought it was going to be a little miserable because the winds were forecast to be 20 mph. It was windy, but the day was hot, the water was warm, and there was enough overcast to keep us cool. It ended up being perfect.
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| Mav |
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| Bev |
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Mav, Roy and Max. These boys
did not let a few big waves get them down. They didn't
seem to mind getting knocked about and hit full in the face. |
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Elise and Beverly. Bev loved it, too, but was a little more cautious
than her brothers. |
Following the beach, we had seafood at a place called "Shrimp and Stuff," and then had dessert at The Chocolate Bar. Roy and I will miss this dessert place when we no longer have a reason to visit Houston.
Sunday we met at Elise's church for their 9:00 am meeting. We were fortunate that Elise was asked to speak, since it was her last week. Andy's in the Bishopbric, so I'm kind of assuming he had a previous opportunity. Interestingly, neither Andy, nor Elise were released from their callings.
Elise shared an experience in Italy where she'd been invited to dinner. She was hungry in the afternoon, so she had a yucky cookie from a vending machine, and consequently wasn't as hungry as she should have been when she showed up for dinner. As is somewhat usual in Italy, the dinner was literally a feast--with several courses--antipasto, pasta, fruit, dessert...She said that she hadn't been as prepared as she should have been to enjoy this feast. She compared this experience with preparing ourselves to feast upon the scriptures.
She fixed us a nice dinner of Jambalaya. I cut up some mango and papaya to go with it (they get delicious mango and papaya there because they're so close to Mexico). We didn't have much time to visit before we had to leave for the airport. It was a quick trip. We're glad we were able to go, but Elise probably feels cheated with the amount of time we spent together. Her life is pretty hectic right now, though. Julie stayed with her to help her pack a few things and make the drive to Houston--she'll sit in back with the kids and keep them happy. The boys are great travelers--Beverly--not so much.
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| At Shrimp and Stuff |
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| Mav and Max |
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| Elise and Andy |
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| Beverly |
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