East Texas Road Trip

My husband plays the piano and organ at church. It's really wonderful for me and for others to enjoy his talents. The only problem is that he's never had any formal training to play the organ and kind of wings it when he deals with the footboard. He found a bargain on a retro organ on the far side of our very large state and decided buy it. Today he took me on a road trip across the state of Texas to pick it up. We spent the entire day from 9 am to nearly 11 pm in the car and left the kids behind to fend for themselves. It was actually quite a nice day and now he's up past midnight playing hymns on the new organ.

The funny thing is the bargain organ has cost us much more than it's actual pricetag. You see, there was the U-Haul trailer rental, the hitch to put on the Pathfinder be able to PULL the trailer, not to mention gas at $3 a gallon. Fortunately, he'll now be able to get some practice in and really figure out those foot pedals since he can practice at home. It doesn't exactly go with my decor, but I am willing to lower my standards for the sake of learning--for a short while.

One exciting part of the road trip was when Kelly was changing lanes into the oncoming traffic to go around an old pickup truck, improperly loaded with too much hay--secured only by an old tire and some bags of a mystery item--and just as I was about to be a backseat driver/nagging wife to urge him to get back in our own lane, a bale of hay came flying off into the path where we had JUST been. So, Kelly was the hero instead of the "bad husband driver" with lack of good judgment, and I cheered for him instead.

For entertainment, I read several articles to him while he drove and it was the most time we've spent together all week.

Here's my American Express ad for the evening.

Driving to Longview, Texas, to procure a used musical instrument: $200.
Renting a 5 x 8 U-Haul trailer to transfer said item: $20.
Installing a hitch to PULL a trailer to the Piney Woods region: $294.
Spending the entire day with my cute and talented husband: PRICELESS!

Comments

Heidi said…

O can totally relate, having spent over 30 hours in the car with my hubby this week. Glad you guys had a good time and that is really cool your husband has that musical talent.

August 06, 2006 9:34 AM

Anonymous said…

LOL, yes - I can relate too. You guys are such a cute couple. I'm glad you got to spend that time together.

August 06, 2006 9:51 PM

San Antonio temple weekend

Here am I (five months pregnant), with Hannah, Kelly, Lindsey, and Christopher, walking out of the San Antonio temple after our new daughter was sealed to us for time and for all eternity during a special, sacred ceremony, this past Saturday afternoon. We were happy to have a wonderful group of guests in attendance with us, Kelly's two sisters, Debbie and Brenda, my sister, Julie, Kelly's mom and dad, my mom, my good friends Lorraine and Stewart, Carol and Rick, and one person from our ward, my buddy, Sue. Dinner later that night consisted of a feast at the Salt Lick in Driftwood, Texas, for some incredible pork ribs, cole slaw, and more. We strolled along the Riverwalk to show our visiting family members one of San Antonio's popular tourist spots. It was a beautiful, windy day, the Saturday following Thanksgiving, in San Antonio. We tried to find a corner with less wind to blow in our faces. More photos of the family. The family, strolling along th...

Triathlon triumph

Are you kidding me? A triathlon and I have never belonged in the same sentence. It must have been time for something new! (The "BEFORE" race shot, with goggles and swim cap in hand.) What an unforgettable week this was! I actually DID enter my first triathlon, with the goal of simply finishing it. Take note of the emphasis on the word FIRST, because I loved it so much, that you can guarantee that there will be more. It was a blast. Seriously. My friends Lorraine and Robin had trained and signed up to do the event, which was two days ago, on Saturday. Three days beforehand, I heard about it and basically had a spontaneous urge to join them, so I registered. The only partial preparation ahead of time that I had been doing was cycling in the neighborhood here and there on my mountain bike with some other friends. And doing some micro-laps in our backyard pool. Our friend, Dave, was also there. The three of us women appreciated Dave's encouragement and support, as he's ...

The BIG REVEAL!

We LOVE our new pool! There are a couple of problems that need to be fixed, so we're crossing our fingers that they get it done right, and soon, considering we have given them the final check for the balance of the pool, and we don't have any leverage. Three of the waterfalls work. This is the main one and I like the natural look. Below, here's the deep end waterfall, and it's flows nicely. The water sheer like this one, that flows into the shallow beach area, is the fall that is not working. It's frustrating, but hopefully they'll fix it soon. The fountain in the spa is blocked too. Here's the small rock waterfall, which works just great. It took about 18 hours to fill the pool and we practically watched it gallon by gallon. I stayed up all night long, making sure it didn't overflow. We swim in it every day. Last night we went on a midnight swim and it was beautiful. The water temperature is perfect. I'm extremely thankful that we have our new...

Kelly Times Two

Search This Blog