Rose Bowl Parade

Poor Roger woke up with a gout attack in his right ankle and wasn't able to go to the parade on Monday or the Showcase of Floats on Tuesday. A trip to the Urgent Care, medication and crutches and he is on the mend. No time is a good time to be sick but it seems things always happen at the worst times! Well, I guess in Mexico would have been worse!

The bus left at 5:00 am to get us to Pasadena and settled by the time the parade started at 8:00 am. Out seats were excellent - at the beginning of the parade route - and the weather was cool but comfortable. The floats were beautiful and we had a new appreciation for the work that goes into making them after "helping" for 4 hours! It was hard to believe that they all came together from Friday when we saw the "bare bones" to Sunday for the judging.

It was fun to see the bands from the Band Fest and "our" floats go by - looked like our pumpkin seeds even stayed glued on!

How cute is he?

Dogs were surfing on this float!

The Bachelor Float

Toy Soldiers - see the "wind up" on their backs?

Bob Hope Humor Float

These iguanas were awesome!

Ragu - can't imagine how many roses!

"Our" float for China Airlines

Farmers Insurance - the motor home lifted up and down

The gorilla is eating a bananna

Rose Bowl Parade - Day 2 and 3

We were supposed to attend the Equestfest but it was cancelled due to worries of spreading a virus that was infecting the horses. So we went to the Reagan library instead. Roger and I have been there before but this time we had a docent tour guide - nice because it was very crowded. We have been to many of the Presidential Libraries but this one of my favorites - well done and the property is gorgeous.

Piece of the Berlin Wall

Judy for President!

Friday was the Band Fest at Pasadena College. It was cool and misting on and off but what an experience! The high school bands from Nevada, Georgia and Oklahoma were awesome! Martin Luther King High School's band, from Georgia, is called "King of Halftime" - need to be really great with a name like that and they were fantastic! The "Pride of Broken Arrow" from Oklahoma is a band like no other you have ever seen! They have won more awards, including Grand Nationals, than any other band in the world! Innovative uniforms, choreography and music. They even rode 40 "go cart" type bikes around the field - playing instruments while pedaling or riding on them!

We had a "tame" New Year's Eve with dinner and cards! Celebrated on east coast time while on the west coast so midnight was at 9 pm!!

Rose Bowl Parade - Day 1 - Float Decorating

If you think you have experience float decorating because you worked on your high school homecoming parade creation, think again!

The Rose Bowl Parade floats are big business and cost anywhere from $75,000 to $400,000 depending on whether there is a corporate sponsor. Some of the floats are decorated by civic groups but most are designed by professional companies. Volunteers are used by both. They begin bidding for the opportunity to build a float in February and work on it all year but the major work with shifts of volunteers begins December 26th. Our tour guide has been doing it for 40 years and her company (AES) is building 5 floats this year including the 2 for the football teams - Penn State and USC. They did 14 last year!  All the materials, including colors, must be natural - no dyes allowed. They are judged for creativity, use of flowers and how well they comply with the years theme. This year it is "Echos of Success." They must be completed and ready for judging by 9 am Sunday and then the parade is on Monday. No big prize - just bragging rights!

Watch for the one commissioned by 24 Hour Fitness - the characters are formed by a robot out of Styrofoam. They all have parts that fold down to allow them to travel the 8-9 hour drive, at 5 miles/hour, through city streets to get to the parade route in Pasadena. The drivers are under the float in the back and the directors are in the front where they can see - sort of like Roger driving and me telling him how!!

Judy and I started out cutting lavender off of dried plants. They brush glue on with a paint brush and then sprinkle the small flakes over the surface.

Then we moved on to cutting small, yellow and white mums off the stems, laying them flower side down in a box and putting glue on the bottoms. They used them to put in the inside of the lilies we worked on next. Our job was to glue pumpkin seeds along the blossoms to give them dimension.

Can't imagine how they get it all done by Sunday but, I did see a vending machine selling Red Bull in the back! I'm sure it's a big seller during an "all nighter!"

Our Weirdest Christmas Ever!

We (Judy, Roger and I) celebrated Christmas a week early with the family and then headed west to Pasadena and the Rose Bowl Parade on December 22nd. Traveling through west Texas is always such a joy! We spent Christmas Eve nestled in with all the truckers at a Travel America in Wilcox, AZ. They protected us from the raging wind! We woke up to see the mountains and our cars covered with snow! Unusual in southern Arizona! We were fortunate the roads were clear and the closer we got to Tucson to snow melted. It sure changes the desert scenery to have the rocks and cactus covered in a blanket of white!

Christmas Day saw us "boondocking" in Quartzsite, AZ at the base of the mountains. We were too early for the big Rock and RV Show which begins in early January but there were vendors there already! I waved at her before I realized she is a mannequin!

We are now "vegging" in Joshua Tree National Park. Planning on golf tomorrow and then will drive into Pasadena on Wednesday morning. Judy is probably re-thinking her decision to travel with us but how else could she check off so many items at the top of her "bucket list!

Samantha and Emily

I got tears in my eyes when we got these new pictures of the girls for Christmas! They are growing up way too fast. They are as beautiful in spirit as they are in the pictures! We are proud of Kyle and Heather for raising such lovely young daughters. Family is the best gift of all!

Emily - 8

Samantha 11 - our "flower child"

Family Blessings!

Our family is expanding - Mel and Ray have two new granddaughters! Imagine they will be traveling to Texas frequently - grandchildren are strong magnets!

Joel and Rachel's second daughter, Caroline Paige, was born on November 9th and Charlotte is a great big sister.

Kyle and Rachel's first child, Avery Lilyan, was born yesterday, December 19th and Mom and baby are doing well.

We are so blessed - our family circle is a loving reminder of what is important in life!

Texas Classic

We have been as busy as Santa's Christmas elves since we arrived in Houston! Judy has joined us so it's fun family time.
I joined Heather and both Samantha and Emily's Girl Scout troops at the Nutcracker Ballet - they all learned "theater etiquette" and earned a GS badge. It was a great production and the girls had their pictures taken with several of the ballerinas.

At the Nutcracker

Samantha's 11th birthday party at her gym with all her friends was great. Her real birthday is on the 17th so we'll celebrate again next week-end! She asked everyone to bring donations for the animal shelter instead of birthday gifts and we couldn't believe all the great items everyone brought! She has such a kind heart!

Claire and Samantha

A new 6,000 seat event center is opening near here and they asked for volunteers to help with the "check list." So Heather, Judy and the girls went to the "flush off" on Saturday! They had to evaluate all the seats and check all the toilets and report any problems to be fixed before the grand opening next week-end. Leave it to Heather to find weird things to do! We are going there to the Christmas program on Sunday.

Mexican food and the traditional Christmas decoration scavenger hunt finished our Saturday. Team Kyle, Heather, and Samantha won. Team Judy, Kathy and Emily just needed a Santa on a roof top to tie! Roger was our designated driver both because we needed someone to watch where we were going and also because the rest of us had too many margaritas at dinner!

Yesterday was Samantha's first gymnastics competition in Galveston. We drove down early and went to the Ice Festival at Moody Gardens. They give you warm parkas to wear as you walk through the display but it was still very cold! Amazing colored ice sculptures and a fun slide at the end! Judy and I slid down the slide and then realized we forgot how hard it was to get up off the floor when we landed!

Judy, Emily, Samantha and their Elves!

Amazing detail on the turtles!

Kyle, Samantha, Heather and Emily

Heather and I were more worried about Samantha's performance than she was - just wanted her to have fun and do well! And she did! Her smile says it all! She won medals for her balance beam, floor exercise and vault routines. Emily got an award for being such a good little sister during a the l-o-o-o-o-o-o-n-g meet!

Her smile says it all!