Fun at Uncle Don's

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, my Uncle Don and Aunt Joyce invited their entire family to their new place in Centerville, TX. We spent the day there, and we had an absolute blast!!! It was great to see cousins, their kids, and other relatives whom we haven't seen in a really long time.

I thought for a (brief) moment that I might be putting too many pictures on this post, but I decided that it doesn't work like that. Life is about family. On this day, I got to spend the entire day with lots and lots of family! - And I want to share - and remember - the fun that we had that day! So here goes! (Sit back and relax!)

The Dick Hervey family, and friends, took a walk together down to the ponds at the edge of the property. Here we are on our way!



Marcus, Jennifer, and Jordan


Marcus enjoyed stopping to enjoy the scenery on the way. The scenery to him consisted of every pile of dirt he could dig in!


Taylor chose to be the watchman to warn everyone about the fresh pile of manure. Thanks, Taylor! We all kept our shoes clean, thanks to you!


The boys played football for a while. (They paused and posed for me, here). Taylor informed us that he was Tony Romo, Jordan was Marion Barber, and Marshall was TO!


Mom got in on some of the football fun, too!


Good throw!


"Set..."

"...Hut!:"


Our cousin, Paige, caught up with us on our walk.


Back in the house, Marcus enjoyed a cookie - and was distracted by something much more exciting than a camera - with Laura and Mom.


These are my Dad's cousins, Jo and Rudolph.


Here are my cousin David and my Aunt Joyce.


We did a number of other activities throughout the day, too. Jordan and Matt, Laura's boyfriend, threw a baseball for a while. Jordan was showing off for the camera here, and he was successful this time...


... but he missed this one! Oops!


We started off with a small group throwing the frisbee, but soon we had lots of people in the circle! I just knew we'd play frisbee, and I'm so glad we did! I have many memories of playing frisbee at Don's house. Taylor did pretty well catching the frisbee with the alligator "snap!"



We also played tag outside! I have NO idea when I last played tag, but it was so much fun! Marshall, Jennifer, Taylor, Laura, Matt, Jordan, and I all played tag! (Note that only one of those people is a child who goes to recess on a regular basis!) We were all pretty tired afterwards, (except Taylor), but it was a blast!!!!

The more "serious" game that the older guys, (mostly!), played was 42. Here we have Peter, Dad, Uncle Don, and Uncle Hubert playing. This is also a game that has a high chance of being played when these Hervey guys get together.


Laura and Matt had a great time together!


Krish and Marshall


And here's the whole Dick Hervey clan. - What a great way to start the Holiday Season this year! Thanks, Don and Joyce, for letting us come and enjoy your new place! It's beautiful! We all had a great time!

'Tis the Season...

... So let's be jolly!!!
Let's work together to prevent a folly!

How in the world, you may ask,
Can you ever accomplish such a task?

Don't worry just yet,
There's no need to fret,

Just lend that helping hand
In any way that you can.

Share a smile, share a laugh,
Keep it simple, but make it last.

For if you warm one heart with yours,
The joy that is spread will surely open doors...

Doors of goodness, doors of love,
With warm feelings from up above!



(Note: Photos are courtesy of the 2007 Christmas file. Currently, the only Christmas decoration on display at our apartment is actually a doormat outside the front door!)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Good morning and Happy Thanksgiving! I am so glad that today all of America will pause and think about what we are grateful for. And I am grateful for the opportunity to do that, myself. I know we should be grateful without needing a national holiday to remind us, but I'm grateful for the national holiday that helps us all remember how blessed we are!

Here are just a few of the things I am grateful for:
happiness
people helping each other and being kind
the ability to make my own choices
guidance from the Spirit in making those choices
Jordan
parents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews - all on both sides of our family
light
beauty - and the fact that it is in each of us, and it is in much of what we see every day
opportunity
music
my Savior and my Father in Heaven
sacrifice - ones that have been made in my behalf and ones that I get to make for others
challenges - because they stretch me and help me to grow
knowledge
time - every day I have here on this earth
the Gospel - and that I know where I'm going when I leave this earth
employment
America
friends
good health
understanding and learning
love

Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!!!

Another Day in Austin

This time my day in Austin was in celebration of Peter! He passed the bar, and he was inducted into the State Bar of Texas at a special session of the Texas Supreme Court. So he's now officially a lawyer! It was a really neat occasion.



The Justices of the Texas Supreme Court and the Judges of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals were there. Their introductions lasted about 20 minutes, but I thought it was very interesting.


The entire ceremony was only about 45 minutes long. At the end, all the new lawyers stood, raised their right hand, and took the following oath:

"I, ___________, do solemnly swear that I will support the constitution of the United States, and of this state; that I will honestly demean myself in the practice of the law, and will discharge my duties to my clients to the best of my ability. So help me God."

Congratulations, Peter! I know you're glad to have made it, finally! (-and to be getting a paycheck, too!)

A Weekend in Austin

Laura's choir from Tech sang at a concert in Austin in November, and we decided to go see her in the concert. That was the day of the Tech vs. UT game in Lubbock. So here were all these Tech students in Austin, but they wanted to be at the game in Lubbock! It was an amusing concert because there were MANY people in the audience receiving score updates on their phones during the concert. After the concert, we went out to eat, and the request from Laura was to "go somewhere with a TV, preferably Mexican food." So we went to Pappasito's, where we watched the game.



After that, we came back to the hotel and talked with my parents and Laura for a bit.

Laura's choir was by far the best choir there. (It was a concert of women's choirs from 6 different colleges in Texas). Way to go, Bumps!