Day off activities

After a leisurely morning and an equally leisurely breakfast we headed to the FortWorth Stockyards.; that is, after a brief stop at Walmart to cash a check and another stop at Starbucks to fortify those in the entourage who were having a hard time staying awake. The weather was nearly perfect. It was cool enough to need a jacket but not so much so that it was uncomfortable. For having the grandchildren out on a winter day in north Texas it was about as perfect as it gets. For my first day off, it was great.

We got to the Stockyards just before the morning cattle drive. We would not have known we were about to miss the event if we had not been in one of the curio shops and a couple men in character dress told us that they were rounding up the cattle at that very minute. We hurried out and found a crowd ready for the photo op. The kids enjoyed being that close to the longhorns as the very tame, very large, very  elderly herd slowly ambled past. One of the rovers with the parade of longhorns stopped near me as I was holding Savanna so she could feel the horses soft nose. The horse must have known his part in the encounter because he stretched out his neck to nuzzle my arm as I held Savanna. The baby loved it. The horse loved it. The cowboy loved it. It was a special moment.

After the cattle drive we frequented a few stores and made our way down to the virtual shooting range in the very back of the plaza. We have not tried the virtual shooting but we have talked about it. I thought Nate and Chase would be interested and I was right. After Nate talked at length with the guy at the register he and Chase had heard enough to get us on the schedule. We had Chase, Makaila, Nate, Cori, Grant, Blake and me. We did not want to do anything too graphic for the boys so I took them and we did a Balloon Safari Hunt for several rounds and then the Bottle Shooting for several rounds. We only paid for ten minutes but I know we were in there for over twenty minutes. It was a slow day for the guy at the counter. The boys and I had a lot of fun. The other four shooters had a ball even though they complained about the sights being off on the Ar’s they were using.  Mostly Chase and Nate were a little put out because Makaila won ever competition round; their lasers were off, you know. 

After eating lunch we headed back home by way of a nearby mall so we could go to Build a Bear to get a gift for Victoria. Of course, when you have Mama in charge of the buying you cannot leave the store with only one item. So, in light of that truth, we ended up buying each of the grandkids a stuffed animal as well as the one we bought for Victoria. It was quite a production stuffing, bathing, naming and adopting the four new additions to our collection as though we needed any more stuffed animals. Everyone was very happy with the purchases.

When we got home, we let the kids open the presents from Chase and Makaila because they are not going to be able to stay through Christmas and Chase really wanted to see the kids reaction to the gifts. For each Mykenzie, Grand and Blake, Chase and Makaila had bought a Kindle Fire tablet. Each tablet had been loaded with games, movies and books for the kids to play, to watch and to read as they travel. For the sanity of the parents each child was also supplied with a very nice pair of earphones. With mommy and daddy’s permission, they went right into the tablets to explore what was there. For the baby, they bought a four foot stuffed bear. Savanna loved it. We could tell because she spent the next half hour flopping the huge bear around as she collapsed into it.

By the way, Brittany had us call her last night so we could video chat while Mama and I opened her gift to us. It was  small ornament that was inscribed with the words, “Baby Kim will be arriving soon.” A fun way to announce her pregnancy. Now that’s a Christmas present.