Leaping lizards! Leo turns 1!!!

Our sweet grandson turned 1 on Aug. 27.  We couldn't be more delighted with this adorable little guy.  He has completely stolen our hearts.  Here are some pictures from his birthday party.  Enjoying Leo's special day were his mommy and daddy, his Grandma Kit, Grandpa Joe, Aunt Julie, Aunt Jenni, Uncle Dave, Zoey, Ruby, Grammy, and Papa.

Lightning strike!

We were minding our own business, sleeping soundly early last Friday morning when in typical Texas fashion, a sudden, crazily severe thunderstorm blew in unexpectedly. The meteorological know-it-alls never even predicted it. It just snuck in undetected. We were greeted in the predawn hours with a light show that would rival the aurora borealis. It was a frenzied disco ball of lightning with a little thunder tossed in as an afterthought, and very little rain.

Later in the morning when I was walking Millie, we happened upon this tree in our neighborhood. The homeowner was standing beneath it and bewilderedly gazing up. He said he had heard a huge boom while still abed and figured something nearby had been struck by lightning. Turns out it was his tree. But instead of the usual split down the middle or missing branch, this tree was almost completely stripped of its bark. If you look closely, you can see the vertical stripes of bark interspersed with stripes of no bark, all the way up into the top limbs. It was the most bizarre thing I've seen in a long time. Thin strips of bark littered the man's driveway, yard, and roof in a radius of about 30 feet from the tree. It looked as though a very tall, very hungry deer had dined on it. Just when you think you've seen everything........... If you click on the picture, it will expand so you can see the detail. Think Ripley's Believe It Or Not would be interested?