Smiling Through April

4/30/2024

Best April

I can't remember an April that I didn't love.

All Aprils have my birthday, but I'm past that! This April was a totally different kind of special.

"Eclipse Totality Texas"

Early in the month we gathered with the kids at the cabin, to celebrate the total solar eclipse.

The gathering was nearly perfect... except we were missing a very important family member. Chali was in California, but she wore her shirt and stayed connected through FaceTime.

8-21-17 and 4-8-24

We've been looking forward to this celebration, since the last total eclipse 7 years ago. The first pic shows Don, Scott and Lola the pup in 2017. We watched from a cemetery in Tennessee. The second shows our Texas eclipse!

Back in 2017, Scott realized our cabin in Texas would be in the Path of Totality in 2024. We had the perfect place for eclipse viewing, high on the hill above our cabin, overlooking Lake LBJ.

Pre-Eclipse Cabin Time

There were predictions of Eclipse Chaos on Texas roads.

We arrived 2 days early, with lots food and drink and entertainment. No TV at the cabin, but we did have music. The same Eclipse Playlist from 2017, with moon & sun songs!

The temperatures were perfect for hanging out. I tried to ignore weather predictions that called for clouds on April 8!

Remembering Dad

We used some of our time together, to have a sweet and simple remembrance for my dad.

This was the first time we'd been together since my dad's passing in December. Family celebrated with Dad on his 95th birthday, in September, but we never had real closure after his death.

Raft, Notes & Flowers... Bubbles & Lemonade

There was a stick raft involved and flowers and ashes. The ashes were actually from our written messages, which we burned.

It felt just right. Charlie didn't understand our farewell exactly, but she knew the raft was for Great Grandpa. Dad would have enjoyed our light and playful celebration.

April Flowers

April wildflowers and butterflies were in rare form!

We did some wildflower appreciating and we did a little wildflower posing.

Eclipse Day April 8

We were equipped for the day, with our certified eclipse glasses. So were a few animal statues! (Pearl the Squirrels from 2 days earlier!)

Our Totality Celebration pretty much lasted all day. Before noon, we packed up our goofy glasses and a cooler with special treats. Path of Totality IPA for the adults. Moon Pies and Sun Chips for all!

On the hill above our cabin, we spent over an hour watching eclipse drama. There were only a few minutes when the moon totally blocked the sun, but the time before and after was filled with surprises as well.

Birthday Time

My birthday was on the 9th, but we started celebrating early.

On the evening of the eclipse, I opened gifts and wore one of them! A Twice in a Lifetime eclipse t-shirt! We toasted with Spellbound Eclipse Chardonnay.

Storms came that night, making us even more appreciative of good eclipse weather! On my real birthday, we had a cozy, stormy morning. Then a little lunch and antique shopping in small-town Blanco. Then hail and tornado warnings that evening. What a dramatic end to our fun gathering!

Babysitting

A few days after our celebrating, Don and I headed back to Austin, to do some babysitting.

Charlie smiled big before saying bye to Daddy and Mommy. Don and I had Charlietime, while they attended an out of town wedding.

We happily survived 3 busy days and 4 bedtimes, with this sweet kiddo. Charlie only cried once. That was when she accidentally dropped her bedtime Paci into the toilet. A traumatic (and sort of humorous) moment.

End of Month Project

I'll end the April post, with focus on a comical and cringe-worthy home project. Don assured me his Block and Tackle System would safely get these ancient 10-ton toys down from the attic.