Our niece married...then what???

Kelly & Tori Vaughn from Benin, West Africa

Lots has happened since I last posted...goodness, it's been too long!! My goal is to actually post a picture or two if I can figure out how. And if I can, boy do I have lots of pix to choose from. Uncle Jimmy gave me a Kodak EasyShare digital and it is amazing! All of a sudden, one might think I had photography skills, (though not if you watched me actually trying to take the picture...!), but the results by and large are really good. We'll see what you think.

I will say that we had a great trip to Tucson and I am so impressed with the beauty of that place. Cath has a cute apartment and with Brian and Adam's help, we got all her stuff inside and the U-Haul returned before it got dark. We wound up driving to Abilene the afternoon we got the trailer packed so that we could leave way early Friday morning. Valerie made the big sacrifice and met us for breakfast before we took off. She set a personal record for eary arrivals for a 7:3o class that morning! We went through a couple of time zones so we got to Tucson I think around 5:00 PM. We went to Ikea in Phoenix, I guess the next day to round out her housing needs, don't you know, and Brain and Adam went along too to pick up a few items for their condo. James did his usual fantastic packing job and we got it all back to Tucson in the back of the 'burb. Trust me, you would not have thought it possible!! Cath has the photos on her blog to illustrate. (Don't you wish I could link, but as it is, I can barely type!!)

Mary and Jerry's Wedding

I also attended the spectacular wedding of Mary Kha and Jarry Ho at the Dallas Museum of Art Sculpture Garden. Cath was in it and it was well attended by the RLTurner crowd, many of whom were also A&M grads along with Mary and Jarry. Mary was in our Girl Scout troop when the girls were in elementary school. I have a photo of Catherine and Mary in their pretty white dresses when they attended Mary's aunt's wedding. They were about 8 years old.



Left: Mary and Jarry Ho

Right: Mary and Catherine, all grown up!









ACU Homecoming

And this past weekend JB and I attended the ACU homecoming. It will be Veevsie's last as an undergrad, as she is set to graduate in mid December. She's starting to feel time speeding by, and actually goes to chapel because she wants to now!! She has started the interviewing process, aided by a power suit to add confidence to her otherwise spectacular credentials.













Jeri Sullivan Orr, me, Samye Kaye Smart Nika Maples, Texas Teacher of the Year and her mom Carol Maples

I attended the GATA breakfast and saw several wonderful friends, not all of whom I snapped a photo of, unfortunately. This is niece Becky's tenth coming home year, so she was honored as part of the Coming Home Court. Valerie and I got to attend the Queen's Tea thanks to Becky's invitation and really enjoyed seeing everyone. It was especially great to see Kelly and Tori, who came all the way from Benin, West Africa!! Suzy Jeffrey, mother of B & K, sister of mine and aunt of Valerie, was also onsite and made it all that much more fun. She's the coolest, and though she didn't feel all that great, she still was the life of the party!

Left: Becky and Suzy

Right: Becky, Tony, and Payton making his escape














Jacob's Dream

Valerie and I walked back to her apartment, which is on campus, and stopped by to see the new sculpture, Jacob's Dream. The sculptor, Jack Maxwell is a faculty member, I think head of the Art Dept., and he has done an incredible work. It is not just a sculpture, it is a destination, and I am guessing will become a favorite spot for meditation for students and campus visitors alike. There is so much to see and contemplate. The more people tell me what they saw there, the more I feel a need to return.



























ACU Wildcats are 6-0!!

The football game was fun. I was actually there but can't really say I saw it, because the great seats we picked (got there early enough to have a choice) turned out to be right behind the pledges who apparently are forbidden to sit during the whole game. The team this year is really good and in fact, now are 6-0! It is so cool to see someone throw the ball to someone who can actually catch it and then run really fast. The band was good and fun to watch.

The half time show was dedicated to Dale Ward, an alumnus from my era whose kids are also alumni. Dale passed away very recently after succumbing to congestive heart failure. His son Steven had apparently been in the band as a student. Dale was in theatre at ACU and had worked until his death at World Christian Broadcasting in Nashville. He and his wife Pat Stevens met at ACU and really made an impact while they were there, not to mention all the students they encouraged to attend.

We enjoyed the musical, "Singin' In The Rain," which was as good as "not-born-to-dance" Church of Christ kids could make it. And that description fits my generation much more than theirs...they were really quite agile and rhythmic...we really enjoyed it!
Rocky Ridge Ranch Fun

Sunday we attended University Church and then went to Baird to have Sunday lunch at the Jeffrey's 3R ranch. Morton cooked chicken and sausage links outside and Suzy outdid herself in the kitchen. It really was so good and so good to be with them, the Brooks, Kelly and Timo.































































So lets see if I can add a photo...Did it!, with the help of Catherine, who's job it will be to put them in the right places within the text...there are still so many things beyond my technology level!

PS: You're welcome... the cath!! :) LOVE YOU MOM!!! Good try!