Road Trip (San Antonio Zoo Train)

Road Trip (Do Not Feed the Animals)

Who knew that there could be an African Safari in Texas?

Grandma and Grandpa took all of us to see

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

The lady at the front ticket booth clearly told us to drop the food by the side of the car and not to feed the animals from our hands.

Did the kids forget?

Of course.

It's fun to be with family.

After the war and after my first divorce...my relationship with my family was rocky.

(to say the least)

They didn't understand PTSD and neither did I.

I was angry and hurt.

They didn't know how to help.  

The harder they tried the worse it got.

It was awful.

I thought it would never get better.

But these pictures are living proof that it did.

Maybe I'll write more about that at a later time because relationships and support are so vital in healing from PTSD.



Road Trip (Austin with the Fam)

The parents stayed at the Omni Hotel in Austin

 It was awesome!

 The kids could have rode the elevator for hours as if it were an amusement park ride.

 We had lunch on the lawn of The State Capitol Building

We stood under The Star of Texas in the center of the state. 

 and posed for the camera.

 We saw the room where some of the crazy Texas laws have been voted on.

 My favorite part was a small display with the words.

"1925 An all-female court temporarily served as the supreme court of Texas"

That would be an interesting tid bit of history to read more about.

 We had dinner by the river.

 And my favorite.

 We swung the kids up, over, and around.

The End

Remember

Memorial Day was always a fun time for me growing up.

 We would drive over the river and through the woods to my Grandmothers house.  We picked fresh peonies and snowballs and took them to the Elysian Gardens Cemetery where our ancestors were laid to rest.
We would lay our flowers and run through the graves and play with siblings as Grandma told stories of the dear relations who had passed on.
Stories of faith, of struggle, and most importantly love.
Grandma always had something good to say about everyone.
We knew that when Grandpa died he would get a special flag on his grave site because of his service in World War II.

 It wasn't until I got older that I learned that Memorial Day was a special time for remembering the men and women who have died in war.

Today was my first day visiting a military cemetery after discharging from the army.

It was beautiful to walk the rows, see the flags waving and read the headstones.

Everything about it is so uniform, so perfect, so honoring.

Memorial Day tends to be a hard day for me emotionally.

The whys and what ifs enter my mind,

But today I want to honor the memory.

No more tears (I HOPE)

Just remembering and honoring.

I can be angry another day. 

After I got back from Iraq I was tasked with playing the bugle at military funerals.

For several months I traveled all across Texas to participate in the ceremony with the flag, rifles and my favorite TAPS.

And I would think to myself....

Why do they make the tender-hearted one go to all of these funerals.

It was hard,

but it was also an honor.

 Today as I was getting ready to leave I noticed a mother with her two young girls walking passed.

 I overheard the mother say, "Come on girls, let's go see Daddy!"

It was so tender to think of them coming to visit their Daddy.

I'm so glad that I have two little ones who would come to visit if it were me.

Love to all.

Condolences to all who have lost.

And a prayer for peace, hope, and healing in the many hard days to come.

I love you!

I could really go for some TAPS right now.

I love the music,

It is filled with emotion and so many memories.



Road Trip (San Antonio Childrens Museum)

A world of discovery.

My sister took us on another fun adventure to the San Antonio Children's Museum.

The kids had a blast.

Last time I went to the Children's Museum in Phoenix I had a Panic Attack.

You can read about it HERE.

This time I did pretty good.  There weren't many people running around and when I started feel overwhelmed...I left the kids with my sister and went for a walk outside to decompress.

I browsed the isles of the local Walgreens and purchased some lemonade to share.

That was enough time for me to regain some composure and head back for another adventure.

The ALAMO

The sun was too bright in our eyes. 

but the tree's were amazing 

The day ended with homemade margarita pizza

DELICIOUS!