Monday March 30th

Katie and I played golf yesterday. We thought we might play 9 holes, but after nine we still wanted to play so we played another 9. We pretty well had the course to ourselves the second 9 which was really nice.

We came home, had supper, and then went for a walk. Steve and Janet were on their deck, so they invited us for a drink. I had a rum and coke which was very enjoyable. They told us their experience at the Valero Open in San Antonio on the weekend.

We had some good conversation and some laughs, then Katie and I walked over to Al and Bonnie, and I had another rum and coke. We had some good laughs there as well.

Katie and I walked home, relaxed for awhile, then it was bed time, a little later than usual.

and so ends another great day in the valley!

more later...

Sunday March 29th

Katie and I were dog sitting today. Al and Bonnie went to San Antonio to watch the Valero Open. Al's dog "Katie" is no trouble to look after at all, just like my "Katie".

We went to the driving range, and Katie just stayed close to us, we were the only ones on the range at the time so their was no danger.

We went shopping for some groceries, so we put her back in Al's place while we were gone, then picked her up again.

Al and Bonnie came back early, as they were tired from two days of walking around watching some of the best players in the world.

My Katie and I just relaxed and went for a nice walk in the evening.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Saturday March 28th

Today is the surprise party for Erika. Katie and I have no idea how Livario and the kids are going to pull it off.

We went to the Pharmacy for 4PM. Lenny phoned Karelly to come and get us. We were surprised when the van appeared on the main street and Edith who is 16 or 17 was driving and Karelly was with her. What we discovered was that Edith is a very good driver.

When we arrived at the house, Erika was not there, she was at a friends, and everything was set up for the big surprise. The house was all decorated inside with balloons, and tables and chairs set up for people to eat later. Livario and Karelly, and Joanna's brother, and some other friends were busy, and they brought a barbeque on wheels and they already had it going and had a small pig in it.

Many of Erika's friends started arriving, and pretty soon everyone was ready for the surprise greeting when Erika came home with her other friends. Here was the result when Erika walked in the door and everyone yelled "surprise".

Erika was in tears, and you could tell she was really "surprised". Edith is the girls in the while T with red on the front.

Of course, confetti is very popular and the kids get a big kick out of it

What a great job Livario and the kids did on the decorations and set up!

This is dinner

After dinner some posed pictures...the girl on the right is named "America" what a great name, she goes to school in McAllen and she speaks very good english as does her brother on the left. America's mom is also in the picture.

Enrique and his wife later gave us a ride back to the US and our car, we appreciated that!

Joanna's brother and his little guy on the left. He always has a smile on his face

Joanna and her new husband Danny. They got married in February

If I don't put names...it means I don't know them

Edith's mom is in the center...Katie and I really like her, she is always smiling and very friendly

We found out it is Erika Ivonne

Time for cake!

Time to wear the cake!

my precious little one!

Great picture of Katie and Erika

Livario and I

Livy was full of energy

I think you know these people

Later on there was some dancing. Livario likes to dance, so he and Erika started it. Then it was Livy and I, Karelly and I, and Livario and I. Yes I said Livario and I, and I had to try and follow not lead. I was having a hard time, so I purposely gave him a little kick to his foot. Katie laughed so hard she had tears streaming down her face.

Later on, after the cake and fun, several people decided to leave about the same time. They went outside but within a few minutes, they were back inside and saying that gunfire was heard. It was amazing to see, almost all of them got on their phones and started phoning people they knew, or family members to find out what was going on. Katie and I were going to leave then also, but one of the ladies told us that we should wait, until they knew it was over. 

One could tell the kids were frightened, Livy sat on Katie's lap and never left it. Karelly indicated to me that her heart was beating faster. Livario said that he wanted to get his family out of here and be somewhere it is safer.

It didn't take too long for them to determine that the shots were not in Nuevo Progreso, but somewhere outside of town. Rio Bravo is only about 20 minutes away...and sounds carry well at night.

Not to long after, it was determined it was safe to leave, Enrique and his wife graciously invited Katie and I to go back to the US with them. We went to pick up their daughter first, and she speaks English as she goes to school in Weslaco, and they live there.

Oh...how Katie and I wish we could get the family into the US legally, and have the kids go to school so they could also learn English well. It would give them such a leg up on life. We will go what we can to help them do that, but getting a US visa legally is not a very easy process, and often impossible.

Enrique dropped us off at our car. Katie and I drove home.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Friday March 27th

Katie and I decided we would go and hit some golf balls in the afternoon at Palmview. We like the range better there. Katie was back in form and hitting really great shots, me not so much. My driver is fine but struggling a bit with my irons. I am hitting them on the heel pretty consistently, so will have to find a way to try and hit them more on the sweet spot.

After that we decided to go out for dinner, and we went to one of our favorite restaurants "El Patio" to have the fantastic chicken strips. We were disappointed! They were not that tender and smaller. Previously you couldn't eat the whole thing, would be able to bring some home and have two or three meals of chicken salad. What a shame, we were looking forward to it.

Afterwards, seeing we were in Mission, we decided to take a drive through the first park we ever stayed in. The park is called Canyon Lake, and we stayed in a small trailer with two tip outs. It was ok, but nothing compared to what we have now. We had to get an air mattress from Wal Mart as the bed was so hard, and then we would almost bounce each other out of the small bed when it was time to get into it.

The reason it is called a lake, is because there was a natural spring which filled up a large area and turned it into a so called lake.

Wow what a difference! The lake is almost totally dried out, it was pretty before. There are all sorts of empty spots, so it looks like it is slowly on the decline. We would not want to go back there again and are thankful for what we have. Mission seems to be much busier than what we remember, and lots of traffic and hustle and bustle. We like Pharr much better.

We came home, and later on went for a nice walk.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Thursday March 26th

Katie and I went to meet Sister Maureen at her residence around 2:15, so we could go to Mexico.

Just before we left there was one heck of a storm which started east of us. Apparently they had some hail of 3 inches. We had huge winds and rain all of a sudden, which lasted about ten minutes, and then like someone flicked a switch it stopped and the sun came out. The streets were pretty much flooded but drained well.

Off we went then, met Sister Maureen, and she dropped us at the kids house. Today is Erika's birthday she is thirty four. Katie and I took a carrot cake which we had decorated with birthday wishes and Erika's name. We also had a card in Spanish, we always get someone in the stores who speak English and Spanish to translate the card for us so that we are saying what we want to say. That always works well.

The kids had these eggs with thin shells that are full of confetti and they just crack it over your head so the confetti goes all over. It really should be an outdoor event, but they were doing it inside. There were lots of eggs.

At first only Karelly was home from school, then Erika went to get Livy. While she was gone Katie swept the tile floor, but as soon as Livy came home, she went crazy with the eggs on Katie, Erika, and me. Katie said "so glad I swept the floor". There was confetti all over.

We had some tacos with guacamole, they were good.

Again we had lots of fun with the kids, until Sister Maureen came to pick us up.

There was a bit of a lineup at the border, but we got through with no problem.

Katie and I came home, had supper and watched most of the 2nd period and the 3rd period of the Jets game. They always have trouble with Montreal, but not tonight. Pavlec played very well again and I have to give him credit. Our recent additions were excellent again, and big Buff was back after injury and scored the first goal.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

Wednesday March 25th

Katie and I went shoppin, as Katie had to get some supplied to make Taco Salad, as we were invited to Remi and Dana's. Dana had a whole mess of perogies and wieners she wanted to get rid of before they go home.

Katie made the salad and off we went. They had a good crowd of people, all of which we knew, with the exception of one couple who we met for the first time. As usual it was lots of fun, and lots of good food and drink.

A woman who we hadn't met came over to say that a friend's trailer has sprung a leak in a pipe and their trailer got a lot of water as a result.

She was looking for a fan to aid in the drying. We have a 20 inch box fan, so Katie took her in our golf cart to go and get it.

We left the party around 8PM and came home.

It was a very good day, and another great day in the Valley!

more later..

Tuesday March 24th

Mea Culpa...fell down on my job of writing the blog...

Katie and I went to the driving range and hit balls before playing golf in the afternoon. It was slow because the Canada vs US Rio Grande Valley version of the Ryder cup was being played. Both Katie and I didn't play all that well, not sure why. It was a very hot day, and the game seemed long.

We came home and just relaxed, as we were hot and tired.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Monday March 23rd

Katie and I went to the Factory Outlet Stores at Mercedes, about 25 minutes from here. It was a nice day, and our first stop was the Bass store where every year for a few years, we have found some real bargains. Not this year.

We only found bargains at Old Navy, I got a really nice shirt for 8 bucks, and some shorts. The other bargains were at the Izod store...it is leaving the mall in may and they have everything in the store 70 percent off. Katie got a nice golf shirt for 13 bucks and I did as well.

When we came back home, we were hot and tired from walking and shopping, so we went to the hot tub and pool. Ahhh...it felt so good. The water in the pool was not even cold. We stayed quite a while, then it was back home and we watched the third period of the Jets Game. Yesssssss...another win...can't believe how well Pavelec is playing, never gave any indication he is that good in the previous years. The trades made and the players picked up have payed HUGE dividends.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Sunday March 22nd

Yikes, the time is flying by...not good!

Beautiful day here today, the sun is out and no threat of rain.

Katie and I went to Mexico for noon to see the kids. Livario picked us up at the Pharmacy with Livy. I wanted to check out a couple of things to do with their internet, so we stopped at a store that sells cell phones. The elderly gentleman who owns the store speaks very good english so that was helpful. He is an exclusive dealer for Movistar which is a competing provider to Telcel. I learned a few things but he said that during the week the young guys that work for him know a lot more about what I am looking for than he does.

We spend a great afternoon with the girls. We had lunch with them as well. It was just a great time on a very nice day.

We learned that Erika is in the process of getting all her papers together for an attempt at getting a US visa at some point. Last year we gave Livario the money to try and get his, but he got turned down because he could not prove to them that he would come back to Mexico if they allowed him across the border on a Visa. What a shame, trapped in your own country, and trying to do things legally.

Erika is going to set up a bank account in Rio Bravo, which they have never had before. We will help her with that, and whatever else they need to try and get Visas. They will not go to Matamoras this time for the Visa Interview, instead they will go to Monterrey where it is supposed to be an easier process. Erika's mom lives in Monterrey.

It was time to go then, Livario drove us to the bridge, and Karelly and Livy walked us to the bridge turnstyles as they always do, holding our hands as usual.

Katie and I went to Rudy's barbeque for dinner, and it was really good as usual.

Later on a night we went for a walk. The sky was perfectly clear and all the stars were vivid in the sky.

It was a quarter moon with the planet Venus right beside it. What a sight!

And so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Friday March 20th

This is a non rain day for a change...just overcast.

I put up another motion detector light in the patio. That will give us two solar powered led's at night which get brighter with motion. Much better than pure black. Of course if someone is intent on breaking into the shed or mobile home...they will.

Even though Katie and I knew it was going to pour rain on Saturday, we decided to wash the car anyway...it was filthy.

We went to the driving range at 1PM, and we tee'd off with Al and Bonnie at 1:40PM.

It was a good round, with good company. Katie's first golf game in a year. I was pleased with the way I played, but it was very humid and I felt myself fading on the 2nd nine. Katie as suffering by the 2nd nine due to and old between the shoulder injury, caused by an idiot who opened his truck door without looking when Katie was riding her bike to work. She has basically suffered with that ever since, and that was years ago. Because Katie did not have external injuries, she never got any compensation for her injury, only treatments. Katie is a trooper though, and never complains, I always have to pull it out of her, so she took a couple of Aleve's and soldiered on.

After the round was over, we went home and splashed some water on our faces, changed shirts, and went back to Al and Bonnie's for pizza.

Bonnie's sister Marilyn and her husband John came over,...lots of good conversation, and lots of laughs.

We came back home around 8:30, and relaxed for the rest of the night.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Thursday March 19th

Katie and I did a couple of errands in the morning and then we went to the driving range at Palmview because Tierra Del Sol Range was closed. Both Katie and I were hitting the ball well.

We went to HEB after that to get a few groceries.

Al and Bonnie were going to pick us up for the Fun and Sun Golf Banquet at the Plantation complex which is just down the road.

They played golf first, but it is always booked up so Katie and I do not get a chance to play in it.

Bonnie won some cash as a result of her teams finish. Al won a cargo carrier that attaches to the back of the car from door prizes. He doesn't need it, so it will be interesting to see what he does with it.

We had a few dances, and as Al and Bonnie had a full day we headed home.

Katie and I were able to watch the Jets game from the third period on...wow..what a game! Got to give these players props with all the injuries they have...there is no quit in them. Greatest part? They won in the shootout for an important two points. Pavelec has been redeeming himself lately, which is good, but based on past performances I am having a hard time trusting him.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Wednesday March 18th

It was raining in the morning, so we cancelled our Tee time for the afternoon. We went to a couple of places we wanted to go.

We had our umbrellas so we thought we would go to the Don Wes Flea Market, but it was around 1:30 so we decided to stop at Gonzalez burgers which is close by. We usually only go there once a year, because it is always super busy, and Katie and I don't eat much meat. We make an exception for this spot, which doesn't even have a name or sign on it. It got blown away in a hurricane many years ago and the owners just never replaced it.

There were about ten numbers ahead of us, so we had to wait in our seats for almost an hour. This is typical and not even as busy as usual. The burgers are huge, and the fries and onion rings are great as well.

After we ate, which was great as usual, we got talking to the owner Victoria Gonzalez. She has been in the business with her family for 44 years. She was telling us she couldn't speak more than two words until she was 15. The other kids in school had to read for her because she didn't know how to read. It wasn't that she wasn't smart, she just couldn't get it out. That has certainly changed, she is very good now at expressing herself.

The place is only open from 11AM to 3PM. That's really all they need. Vicky said they used to be open for dinner but when Whataburger moved into town, it took away her dinner trade. We told her we would see her again next year.

We went to Don Wes but didn't stay long, as it was closing at 4PM.

Then it was back home to relax for the evening.

And so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Tuesday March 17th

We decided to go to Mexico with Sister Maureen, as we had some clothes for Vickey, and gifts for Michelle who is sponsored by my brother and sister in law.

We met Ken and Vicky, friends from previous years, and Dena, another friend from past years who help Sister Maureen with her work. It was good to see them again.

Off we went after loading all our stuff, and a mattress Sister Maureen was taking over. She had all sorts of other items as well.

When we got to the Mexican guard station over the bridge, the guard made sure he checked everything in the back of the truck.

We were going to go straight to Vickey's but she was still in school. We got invited for lunch at Lupe's one of the local women. She was making tamales in a pot with wood burning underneath which was in an old wheelbarrow.

We sat down to a lunch of tamales and salad...very good

Sister Maureen, Dena, Vicky and Ken

This is their hen house

Vickey came over when she got home from school

Vickey and her sister Maria

Katie took some pictures of the kids

Some of their flowers

When we got there, we found the roads were in bad condition because of the rain, so we couldn't give Michelle her gifts because her road is very bad. Here is what she was going to get...

This is what the roads look like

We stopped at Erika's house to see our girls, and I fixed the hotspot for the internet. Played football a bit with Eric and Livy, and then we were off to the bridge. Very little traffic, and no problem crossing over.

Then it was goodbye to the others and back home for Katie and I. We watched the 2nd and 3rd periods of the Jets game...Yeah! another win. Got to give them a lot of credit.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...

Monday March 16th

Because we couldn't visit the kids on Saturday because Karelly was sick, we decided to go today and go earlier than normal at 11AM. The kids were off school today.

Erika dropped the kids off at the pharmacy where Lenny works. We took the girls to a salon where Lenny's niece works, to get their nails done.

They took a long time and did a good job.

This little girl comes into the Salon selling bracelets. Funny happening...there was a man waiting on a chair in the corner waiting for his wife to get her feet done. The little girl came in and asked him if he wanted one of her bracelets, as they always do with chiclets etc. He just stared at her instead of saying "no thankyou". So what did she do? she just kept staring at him. This went on and on with him just staring at her and she at him. No kidding...it went on for at least 3 or 4 minutes. Finally she turned to me, and I said "no thank you", and Katie snapped a picture of her...

Here is a picture of Lenny and I at the Pharmacy where he works...

Then we took the girls and Lenny to the pizza restaurant. The kids always like it there.

Good Pizza here

me and my mi ninas

It was wet on the street but no rain

When we were walking on the street with the girls, there were several Military Vehicles going down the street full of Mexican Marines with machine guns, and mounted machine guns in the back of the vehicles.

It is Winter Texan Appreciation Day on Saturday...and I think the Marines were there as a show of force as a prevention measure...in other words "don't come here and think you are going to cause any problems...because you're not!" Word gets around very quickly.

They also stationed themselves at the bridge where traffic enters the bridge to enter Nuevo Progreso.

Erica picked us up and we went back to the Casa for awhile. I was having a bit of trouble getting the girls internet working right, so I brought the phone, which serves as a hotspot, home for a day.

Katie was outside playing with Eric with a soft football we brought him.

When it was time to go, we saw Juan who is a dentist in Progreso, and we hadn't seen him since last year. He lives just on another street from the kids, and Livario often does some work for him. It was good to see him, and he speaks very good English.

Off we went to the bridge, then it was home for Katie and I. We just vegged for the rest of the night as we both had sleeps which were not so good the previous night. We were just plain tired.

and so ends another great day in the Valley!

more later...