Tahoe Update...

The Tahoe has a more serious problem.  It wasn't just the plugs and wire, some spring somewhere deep in the engine broke.  They basically had to take the whole thing apart to get it fixed.

I blog about this because that poor old truck is like a member of the family!  LOL

The Aged and Infirmed...

The Tahoe broke down on me and Erin the other night and left us stranded. It started acting crazy and the oil and engine lights came on. I immediately pulled over and called Tommy. We had it towed to the shop and $1000 later, it’s the spark plugs and wires. They are the originals so there is little doubt they needed to be changed.

 It’s an 8 year old truck with only 120,000 on it. That’s not high mileage for a truck of that year. Of course while it’s in the shop I started assuming the worst and went on line to price a new Suburban. Tommy told me that it wouldn’t be something major wrong with it, but he thought whatever it was would be expensive. He was right.

I wouldn’t say I have a terrible case of New Car Fever, but the spark is there (pun intended)! The new Suburbans, Tahoes and Expedition XLs are really nice. I’ve pretty much talked myself out of another Tahoe. I think I want something a little bigger. So, it would come down to the Suburban and the Expedition XL. I never thought the Ford would be in the running but our friend Bridgette got one and she loves it. (And they were a Tahoe family too!) They have most of the same features but they’re a lot less expensive.

So, maybe sometime before Christmas we’ll put our plan in motion and get me something new. I think we’ll finally sell Old Blue and Tommy will get the Tahoe. Who knows. We have time since there isn’t a pressing need to go in debt to the tune of $60K! It’s funny when I say it’s 8 years old because it really doesn’t seem like I’ve been driving it for that long, but I have! We need another 8 and 120,000 out of him. Anyone that knows Tommy knows that he demands at least 250,000 miles and 20 years out of a vehicle. He keeps his trucks forever!

Family Picture Day…

We did it!  We survived!

We had 17 people up to the Mize Ranch to take pictures.  It was a Mother’s Day present to the Grandmas.  My favorite photographers came up to make the photo shoot there.  (Shout out to Hard2Hold Photography!)  Love, love, love them!

Roll Call:

Louis,Jimmie, JD, Sandy, Bonnie, David, Lois, Amy, Matthew, William, Mark, Steph, Jake, Luke, Tommy, Erin and me.

It always amazes me how Keelie and Jessica can look at an ordinary pasture and see beautiful pictures.  We had 3 different spots for everyone.  One by the driveway, one in the backyard and one in the pasture behind the house.  They see things that I’ve looked at 1,000 times and see them differently.  I love that they shoot everything outside and on location in the natural light.

Louis had the golf cart out toting Momma and Jimmie from spot to spot.  It was a lot of hiking around.  The weather cooperated and it didn’t start to sprinkle until we were wrapping up and even then it was only for a few minutes.  Perfect light for the pictures but I would have done with a little less humidity.  My hair kept getting bigger and bigger!

We took each family picture, a big Wistner, a big Mize, little Wistner pics, little Mize pics, etc.  Amy and I took pictures together.  Erin and I got a picture.  And the girls got pictures of the kids in action on the ranch when we were done.  Steph took pictures with Bonnie and Amy and Matt got a family pic with Lois.

Amy told William to get careful and not to get dirty.  Right.  That lasted literally 5 minutes before he was covered in dirt.  He immediately got down on the ground and played smack in the middle of the driveway dirt.  All the kids were running around when it wasn’t their turn to be in front of the camera.  By far Erin was the least cooperative of the group.  She would refuse to smile at times and make weird faces, but she eventually came around.  Keelie and Jessica have a way of getting the best behavior out of the kids. 

I’m really proud of everyone.  No one complained about getting up so early to get there.  I was afraid the Mize Men would start acting up and put up a fuss about how long it was taking.  We started around 8:00 and kept on shooting until about 10:30.  We ended the shoot with a group photo of all of us.  One on the tractor and one out in the pasture.  I know we’re not all technically family to each other in name but we are a big family in love! 

I can’t wait to see what they look like!

Mission Accomplished…

We have ourselves a Pre-K graduate.

After almost five years at Gateway to Learning Erin and Luke graduated Pre-K last night.  The program was great.  The whole school went class by class singing a little song.  The Pre-K class sang 2. 

The cap and gown march was funny because they’re so short and the pews were so packed that we didn’t get to see them come in.  We were told to sit on the left but Erin’s group came in on the right.  We saw her cross the stage, but didn’t really get to see Luke much. 

They also have a hand full of the Pre-K stay on the stage since they had been there since they were babies.  Erin and Luke got to stay and Erin was beaming.  Of course, Luke had his hands in his pockets the whole time doing some crazy walk and dip.  It was hilarious.

The last official day before summer starts is next Friday.  It’s sort of strange for Erin.  She just keeps on going after graduation!  Since we work, she will have to go this summer too.  I guess we’ll call this summer her first college summer session.

 

 

 

Wild Horses…

It's no secret that my sister and I love the horse races. When we were younger we would go stay with my Grandma Mary and her husband for a week every summer in New Orleans.  My Pepaw John used to talk about going out to pick up the paper.  This meant he was going to buy the racing form.  Other kid's grandparents took them to the zoo and other attractions in the Big Easy.  Ours took us to the Fairgrounds Track for a little pari-mutuel betting.  None of my friends can brag that their grandparents had a bookie.  And I'm 99% sure his name was Bootsie.

Back in the 70's it was no big deal for a kid to go to The Track and buy a ticket.  I remember Pepaw John explaining how to bet to win, place or show.  I remember the longshot really is a sucker bet and that every once in a while you can hit a Trifecta.  I remember taking my money up to the window and having the lady print me out the ticket.

When we were younger, Amy was the picker of the winners.  We sat for a full day of racing one day and Amy picked several winners.  I remember Pepaw John betting on some of her predictions.  I've never been lucky at the ponies.  Although I understand most of the stats related to horseracing, I still base most of my decisions on the horse's name.  Crazy, huh?

To this day, my sister and I still love the horse races.  I love the pomp, costumes and splendor they bring out for the Derby.  Being at Churchill Downs that first Saturday in May is on my Bucket List for sure.  I even like the excitement of the Preakness.  The singing of Maryland, My Maryland by the military choir.  It's the "middle child" of the racing world, but we all watch it to see if we have a Triple Crown contender. 

My sister and I have been known to call each other if we can't be together in person on race days.  We both take a similar position when watching the race.  You have to pace while they're in the paddock and you have to stand to watch the race.  You cannot sit down.  It's impossible.  You have to stand in place and bounce around and pace.  It's the law.

This year is no disappointment.  We have a Triple Crown contender and the first person I tried to get a hold of is my sister.  I need to know if they'll be coming to my house so we can watch history be made.  There have been others win the Triple Crown but we were small kids and didn't know what was going on.  We both want to see it happen in our lifetime.

So, you can bet that come June 6th I'll be geared up to watch the race.  We'll be singing along as the bad Frank Sinatra wannabe sings New York,  New York at the Belmont.  I can hear the Rat Pack singing along now.

I want to hear them say that American Pharaoh wins in a photo finish!  I want it to be a good race.  I want it to be one I'll remember for years to come. 

Riders Up!