Family Time in Fort Worth, Texas

We have had a date circled on the calendar since the beginning of this trip back in October. That date is May 13. That is the day that my niece Alisha is getting married to Mark. We were very excited to attend the wedding, but even more excited to see all of our family that was making the trip to Granbury, Texas for the occasion.

We left Possum Kingdom on May 9 and made the 100 mile drive to our site at the Holiday COE park on Lake Benbrook. We chose this place because it is half way between the wedding site and Kim's parents house in Bedford. The location worked perfectly.

The cost of this COE park is a bit high at $28 per night with 50 amp and water, but this is all about location. We had great cell and OTA reception. We chose site #1 when I made the reservation, but I would have done something different if we could have chosen our site when we arrived. I hate making reservations, but we knew we needed to on the weekend. The one strange thing about this campground is that the gates close at 10 PM. You have to park outside the park and walk to your site. We were out late visiting on a number of nights, so we did that a few times.

Here is site #1:

I did a fair amount of walking and bike riding in the mornings while we were there. There are roads that make a 10 mile ride easy to do. There are some walking trails, but they are poorly maintained and over grown. I found much of the park in need of mowing and poorly maintained. The sites are huge and have excellent spacing. A little work and this would be a great park.

Benbrook lake is not attractive like Possum Kingdom. Brown water and plenty of dead trees.

While out riding my bike, I had to stop and take a shot of this 4 foot + bull snake:

We were visiting with someone just about every day. We marvel at their busy lives and wonder how we did it all of those years. We much prefer our quiet, peaceful life on the road. We helped set up the reception venue and then were invited to the rehearsal dinner. We got to spend some time with the latest addition to the family. Our other niece Erin and husband Tim just had their first son, which is also my brothers first grandchild.

Kim getting some cuddle time with Colby.

My mother and father had the opportunity to meet three of their great grand children at this family gathering. Here they are with Colby:

You can see the bride and groom and their fathers in the background of this shot. 

They took the opportunity to hand out gifts from the parents to the bride and groom at the rehearsal dinner. Mark's mom made this beautiful quilt for them:

On Saturday morning we got up at 6 AM to head to Bedford to get some time with our daughter Shannon and son Michael's families. We had not see our grandchildren since October, so the early start time was no problem. We had breakfast at MaMa's (a family tradition) and then went to the Fort Worth Botanical Gardens to celebrate Mother's Day and just spend some time together. Our son Mark came along also.

Granddaughter Amelia is growing up so fast. 

On the far end of the table are our son Mark, daughter Shannon and son Michael. I guess the spouses were just not aware of the tradition. We have many pictures of our children at that table over the years.

Mark and Michael

Mark is now working for Cerner in Kansas City and Michael is a Nuclear Engineer at ANO in Russellville, Arkansas.

Jake, Isabella, Amelia, Connor, Will and Cameron

We had to leave quickly and go get ready for the wedding. I won't try to document the wedding and reception except a few of my favorite shots:

My beautiful Niece Erin (New Mom to Colby)

My Brother Alan and the beautiful bride Alisha

Mark and Alisha (Love the smile)

We had to take the opportunity to take a family shot or two. Yes, I am actually wearing a tie. First time in 3 and a half years.

Just missing my son Scott

My brother Brian, Wife Julie and son Matthew and daughter Katherine

The reception was held in an old brick barn. It was a very cool venue.

I really liked this shot of my brother and Dad:

The interesting thing is that my father and brother are both Nuclear Engineers like my son Michael. Three generations with the same profession.

Funny Story: At the end of the wedding the Bride and Groom were ready to leave and decided to have someone drive them to the hotel. They had a few drinks but were not drunk by any means. I did not drink, so I offered to drive them. When we are leaving, Mark goes to get in the front seat with me. I said, "No, get in the back seat with your bride!" We all laughed.  They are a great couple and we wish them all the best for their lives together.

So much more went on in the days around the wedding that I have not written about. We went to my brother Brian's place in Dallas and he showed us his new office. He is a lawyer and just started his own practice. All I can say is WOW!

We really missed my other brother Bob. He was not able to make it from Denver.

There are times like this when I wonder what my family thinks of me. They are all so successful and here I am living in a trailer. Maybe some day they will figure out my little secret.

In my next entry I will write about leaving the mass of human population they call the DFW Metroplex. We have a few more stops before we get to Missouri.