Journal

There is now a little report of our recent vacation. Other than the above link, there is also a link to it from our home page.

When I got home from town last Thursday, Pat said the "Gator" was not going to be available for awhile. It turned out that Pat decided to inspect the "back 40" to see if John S. had finished putting a gate in. Pat didn't find out because the "Gator" got stuck in the mud before he got all the way to the "back 40" and Pat had a nice, healthy walk back to the house. Friday and Saturday, Pat checked to see if the ground had dried out enough to try to rescue it, but it was a no go. Today he decided this was the day - it might get worse with rain and/or snow. Fortunately for our neighbor John S., he wasn't home when Pat called (John S. has participated in two previous "Gator" rescue missions.) Pat went to town and got a heavy towing chain and we drove the truck out through the fields to rescue the gator. Much talk about whether the truck might get stuck too. We opted to take the chance and backed the truck up to the "Gator" which had all of its tires in the oozy mud and hooked it onto the towing chain. Someone was looking out for us - it only took one pull and the "Gator" came free. Hopefully, the third time is a charm and we will never need the towing chain again.

We drove from KC to Ft. Worth for the first leg of our trip and spent the night with Rita and Jerry. We had a great meal and conversation with them and Meredith, Danny and Joanna at Pappasita's. Then to Austin the next day - an easy three hour drive. Christmas preparations were moving along in the Churchett household. I got to play miniature golf with Jonathan one afternoon - he wanted to keep score which he did quite well and tallied the scores afterward. He is a very converational and pleasant little companion. We also had a good time building some tinker toy creations - reading the tinker toy instructions can be a challenge. Considering he is only five years old, he did very well in keeping his cool about opening presents. Kayleigh was her funny, charming, loud exclamation self and enjoyed playing with the wrapping paper when presents were opened. Christmas day we drove to Houston for Christmas dinner at Tim and Felicia's. It was really nice to see everyone - 4 generations were there from Kitty Lou to little Magda. After an excellent meal, Daniel and Matthew organized - not an easy job - all of us for playing Texas Hold Em. Hats off to the few knowlegable players in the group who were patient with the neophytes. Back the next day to Austin and the day after that back to KC. A long but not difficult drive. Christmas is a wonderful family time and I'm glad we were able to spend time with so many.