Moments to Remember - Christmas 2009

The Princes all assembled Christmas Day at Nanna and Pappy's house

to share the season's traditions again. Celebrating Jesus' birth is

one of the reasons we gather every year to spend time together.

*see Drake? DOG # 1

Duane and Denise arrived on Christmas Eve with

two beautiful puppies for us to love.

We named them BeBe and Beau

(2 more dogs, count them... BeBe and Beau-that makes 3)

Three of the Grands got acquainted with the pups right away...

(dog #4 - Scout, from the house of Larry & Jackie Prince)

CHRISTMAS DAY WE HAD DINNER TOGETHER!

The food was prepared, the table set, we blessed the food

and we were all ready to sample the Christmas bounty.

Look who was first in line to fill plates...

TIME TO OPEN GIFTS!

Caitlin was the one who kept trying to hurry along

the task of sorting out gifts, wanting to get it done,

so we could move on to more exciting events.

Kaylee pretended to be willing to wait to see what was in her packages,

but we all knew that she was just as anxious as the next kid!

Hunter was ready to open his own presents

before the task of delivering gifts was complete.

Doug quickly began opening his gifts

after all presents were sorted

and delivered to the correct recipient.

Laura surprised everyone by taking many pictures

in addition to saying: "Take my picture!"

Pappy reveled in being the patriarch of such a special family!

Scott filled us in on some of the details

of his and Laura's mission trip to Germany.

Duane was agreeable about having the camera pointed at him,

or at least he didn't openly object.

The 'girls' still enjoyed looking pretty for the camera, and I'm so glad!

The ladies got into the gift opening action, too!

A group 'GRANDS' picture was made, and made, and made...

The boys luuuuvv the new puppies.

Scott and Larry verbally challenged each other's hunting prowess...

And, Scout found her place, sunning in front of the storm door.

Kim was not featured in any of the photos except the family group,

because she was behind the camera.

I will try in the future to be sure she is represented in our photos.

It is because she is so willing to take pictures that we have

so many photos to remind us of how special our times together are.

These photos show only a small sample of the time

spent with those we love most,

having our family together again

made it another very special Christmas Season for us.

Dogs not photographed, but in attendance

here at 'Camp Nanna and Pappy' at least part of the time,

were Gracie, Kim's Yorkie, and Abby, Kim's Spitz.

I believe that puts the count at 7 dogs.... counting our Saydee

adding to the confusion and chaos in our home.

We do love our pets!

Thanksgiving Day

The weather was beautiful, cool and sunny.

We counted our blessings, gave thanks, blessed the food, and ate too much. When we arrived, Scott and Kim's home was full of the wonderful aromas of all of the favorite Thanksgiving foods, and more were added as each cook brought food to overload the table. We enjoyed all of the traditional Thanksgiving staples, turkey, dressing, gravy, broccoli, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, rolls and more---then, oh the wonderful desserts! Fried pies, chocolate pie with meringue, coconut pie, pumpkin roll, Italian cream cake, and Laura made a chocolate/caramel layered ice cream dessert. Thank goodness I could leave any extra desserts with Kim, and their children can eat them instead of me or Wayne feeling the obligation of not wasting such delicious food.

We filled our plates then ate our fill--and ate some more!

Then the younger cooks cleaned up and put away the left-overs, which was another well appreciated gift of having dinner 'across the road' with Scott and Kim, their children, and Kim's family.

Then the men went into the living room, turned on the football game of choice, and promptly took a nap. It was a perfect way to finish a fantastic meal.

Scott had to check chickens, then he saddled the horse for Kaylee to ride. It was an all around good day... I did miss the rest of our family...even though I know they had good Thanksgiving celebrations just as we did. Larry & Jackie, Hunter and Caitlin celebrated with the Woodliffs in Rockwall this year, and Denise and Duane went to Dimebox to celebrate with the Kerstens.

Fall Family Sporting Events

Fall has been an eventful season for football, volleyball and cross country in the Prince family. Larry coached his team to a second district championship, the first back to back district championships for Bandera in 45 years. Again, the Bulldogs had a bye the first game in the playoffs, and when they got into the frey, a victory was not in the cards for them. Their season is one to be proud of, with a series of injuries making it difficult for them, players stepped up to fill in the gaps and they all played with heart. Congratulations to the Bandera Bulldogs!

Coach Prince counsels Zach Young between plays.

A defensive play signal from Coach Prince.

What's going on, ref? Coach Prince asks for an explanation from them.

When John was injured, all of the team, the coach, and Hunter were concerned about him.

A victory was celebrated - Bandera vs Hondo

Saturday morning we went to Kerville to watch Caitlin's team win their volleyball set.

They won all 3 games with ease. See Cait serve the ball?

She's gotten a lot more proficient this season!

Set it up, Caitlin! Way to go!

Hunter was beginning to think the season would be over before his broken foot/surgery was healed enough for him to get onto the field with the Bandera Bulldogs' Freshman team. We did get to see him play after the doctor released him near the end of their season... see #64 in the blue jersey. He is really growing into a big kid, and will be an asset to his team in the future. It was hard on him to be sidelined almost this whole season.

Hang in there, Hunter! Hold him!

Doug's 8th grade team continued their winning tradition all season. They remained undefeated at the end of the season this year, scoring close to 300 points, while only allowing 3 touchdowns to be scored against them all season. Way to go, 8th grade Bulldogs! Garrison Bulldogs Varsity team also had a good season, advancing to the second round in the playoffs. We look forward to seeing these 8th graders in the playoffs when they are Jr./Srs. and playing on the varsity team.

#60 - Doug's ready for action!

Go Dogs!

Kaylee ran for the GHS cross country track team. We are proud of her ability to stay the course and finish the race, even the long, cross country race! It isn't a sport that is easy to photograph, so we'll just leave this post with: we're proud of your efforts in cross country Kaylee!

Hummingbirds

The canna lily offered a nectar stop and a photo opt for this female Ruby Throat.
Both female (above) and male (below) perch in our crape myrtle where the feeders are located.

Honey bees are annoying to the hummers while they feed, so after researching methods for deterring bees, Pappy discovered a method that does no harm to the bees, and is acceptable to the birds. Swabbing the yellow portion of the feeder with an olive oil saturated cotton swab is the solution to our bee problem. It has to be repeated after rain or every couple of days. The coating should be done lightly so that the birds do not get it on their feathers while feeding.

Hummingbird activity at our feeders has been terrific this season. They are really busy now with the rain and cooler days, and migration approaching. We have had a multitude of Ruby Throats at the feeders vieing for the best perch and the most nectar. Watching their antics is entertaining and amusing. How many can you count in this photograph?

Summer Activities...

June, July, August...

A trip to D.C. ... Duane, Necey, Cait, Kim, Doug, Jackie, & Hunter

Doug caught fish and he and his mom and dad fixed them for our supper! Delicious!!! So fresh!

Kaylee and Laura at the George Strait concert... Reliant Stadium, Houston, Texas.

A.J. & Laura at the Ballpark in Dallas... and the Rangers WON!

And we bought a car! A Ford Fusion... no suv for me, anymore!

The thing that consumed most of our summer was peas.

We had the friends and family pea patch as usual, and then the 'master farmer' decided to make an old hay meadow into Prince's U-Pick Peas to sell. We had a great crop and many customers, but could have supplied more. The peas got rain at just the right time, and willingly responded by producing more peas than we could sell. One customer came with 3 pickers who picked 28 bushels in just a few hours. He was going home to shell and package them to sell in his fruit and vegetable roadside stand. We did enjoy having friends and family come to pick and shell in the shade of the trees beside the pond while we visited with them. Some of the customers also stayed to shell the peas they picked. The 'master farmer' is also a 'master talker' and he was in his element with folks to visit with in the shade. Another plus to all of the peas we harvested was the delicious meals prepared using them. Fresh from the garden corn on the cob, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, green beans, and new potatoes to name a few were regulars on our menu all summer, and we have an ample supply frozen for winter meals, too.

Concentrate, Cait! Nice pitch!!!

We tried to catch a little Bandera softball/baseball at the first of summer, and did see both Cait and Hunt pitch early in the season. We had planned to see them again, but that didn't happen. We saw the softball game, but the baseball game ... just enough lightning to require the game to be called. Later, Hunter broke a bone in his foot; the rest of the summer was spent on crutches. It was a wasted summer in his estimation.

Hunter winds up to pitch another strike!!

The next big event was Necey's class reunion, marking their 20th year out of school. The Class of 1989 met at our house on the afternoon of July 25th, 2009. About half of the class were in attendance, with spouses and children. They were happy to see each other, and to catch up on the news. It's been 20 years since they were together as students at GHS. It was hot, but they had a good time... children and all! We counted 60 who came, not counting our family members who came and helped with getting ready for the festivities. Doug came and brought his wii for the kids to play... Necey brought a projector and it was shown on the wall... BIG! I think everyone had fun. They looked at the annuals & scrapbooks & reminisced. FUN!
Kaylee made signs for the driveway several days before the party. (she'll hate me when she sees this picture)

The Class of '89 + spouses and children!

The 'master farmer' gathering corn and Nita in the cornfield.

The pea patch before it started producing. It's hot work chopping weeds to keep this field clean!
Pea pickers, picking peas for supper and for Jackie to put in her freezer. Yumm now and then.

The morning glories have made me smile all summer.

Hunter missed picking, but got to shell peas that we ate for supper and that they took home.

It's been a hot, busy, productive summer! Saydee doesn't seem to mind a bit!