TEXAS - DAY 4 - OF GLOOMY DAYS, CEMETARIES, AND ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES

Effectively cured of the evil eye, day 4 ushered in a calm, cool Texas breeze and the promise of some much needed rain.

The morning was soft but heavy, smelling of wet dirt and fresh cut grass (my two all-time favorite smells that only Gap has ever tried to trap oh-so-unsuccessfully in a bottle).  

The blanket of grey mist seemed an appropriate backdrop as we ventured off to pick up some flowers for the family plots and head over to the cemetery.

Then it was back to Grandma Bs for lunch, to report on the cemetary gossip (who's plots were well-tended, who's had not been visited, etc -- yes, really -- it's a smalltown thang), and to prove to the kids once and for all that it was not actually the pit of hell with a devil cross-dressing as a chiquito-pero-picoso Mexican dog. 

And, yay! after everyone emerged unscathed this time, it was onto some good ol' illegal activities with the family!!!

Okay, so it wasn't nearly as controversial as, say, vote-buying, and maybe it would be, at the most, a citation for littering, but still!  I'm a 39-year-old woman on the side of the highway overpass with my 6-year-old children, my niece, nephews, their friend, and my sister-in-law shoving styrofoam cups (I know, I know, the ecoHORROR!!) into a hurricane fence in order to wish someone a happy birthday and trying to envision having to make that phone call to Amy.

Never, in all my years growing up in South Texas, had I ever done that before.  I think my parents would actually find that quite surprising to hear, but I was a pretty good girl -- considering.  So I took full advantage -- and it was both kinda fun and the perfect opportunity to lecture everyone about littering and pollution and the evils of styrofoam (you know, as I personally designed the 4-leaf clover in the fence links).  And really, one must never pass up teachable moment. Or a chance to lecture someone.  So, there you go.

And lest you think a minor crime spree was enough to entertain this crowd, we were off to a Food & Nutrition Workshop after that (primarily because my brother's family DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO STOP GOING 100 MPH AND JUST RELAX ALREADY) where we got to show off our hoolahooping, jump roping, limbo, and fruit & veggie bingo skills!

After the family swept every single competition (granted, there may have only been one or two other real competitors there), it was time for a fruit break, during which I actually saw my sister-in-law take a breath, but only long enough for me to snap this shot with Gordito, and then she was off again.  

And then while on our way to the truck, Saia and Chago were running around on very little rest, energy reserves, an adrenaline rush from all the exercise, sugar highs from fruit overload, and the sheer excitement of it all, and proceeded to slam right into each other -- forehead to forehead -- while circling a tree.  

An incident we may have failed to report to Mommy.