More Easter Weekend Pictures

Otter!

I LOVE otters! They are cute, funny, energetic and so smart. I LOVE otters! I am probably the "cat lady" of otters. I'm the "otter lady" - I want an otter, I don't want to take care of it, I will honestly say that I'd be afraid but I WANT to have one that I can watch in my backyard anytime that I wanted to. I really LOVE otters - they are so much fun to watch. My children know that I want to see them any time we go to the zoo, sea otters or river otters I'm not picky! This weekend we got to go to the Houston Zoo and this is what I got to see - I was the first one to see this going on and I DID NOT give up my front row spot. Small children - poo poo on you! I got to see an otter performing tricks, so cool! Did I mention that I LOVE otters?

Easter 2012

I love Easter! I especially love sunrise service, seems a weird thing to love but I do. I enjoy being outside, surrounded by the sounds and feelings of what the women may have experienced when they discovered the empty tomb. I was so happy this morning, the music was uplifting and meaningful and best of all I was there with my daughter, K. She braved the cool temperature, the mosquitoes and the tiredness to accompany me. Beautiful day!
This Easter we went to Houston to spend the holiday with my brother's, my dad & step-mom - the kids LOVE to go to Houston and let me just say that their front yard is some seriously great Easter egg hunting grounds. Z made a wooden pocket knife with Uncle Marky Sparky. My nephew Shawn went with us to the zoo on Saturday along with Scott, Jen, G'pa Harold & G'ma Judy - it was loads of fun! Not to mention that we spent late nights laughing, talking and enjoying each others company.

Blast from the past

This was before our family was complete, so it feels a little weird to post a picture... but... BKZ are so incredibly cute I had to share.

WWI Documents Linked

I've linked a letter that Everett Ray Hollar (my great grandfather and namesake) wrote to his parents while in WWI. The best part of this letter is the second page where he talks about all of the girls he needs to write letters to. I found a letter that he sent to my great-grandmother, Norma in Missouri and he uses the wrong name and then goes through a big apology in the next letter. I think it is so cool to see how human my ancestors were. Wonder what they would think of their great-granddaughter reading their letters. If you have time and want a little challenge read these two links:

December 15, 1916 page 1

December 15, 1916 page 2

Comfort found in History

I miss my grandparents - Jess & Lora Hollar. They were a huge influence in my life and I often find myself thinking of what they would think or say about different things in my life. After my grandfather passed away I accepted the job of family historian, uncovering, researching and reviewing all of the treasures that these wonderful people left behind. I was truly blessed by their presence in my life and I have been blessed by my historical journey too.
Here are some of the wonderful treasures that I have found in my research (enjoy):

This is my great-great grandmother, Josephine C. Chappell


This is my great-grandmother, Norma Chappell Hollar (daughter of Josephine)

On the back of this picture it says,
"Ray (my great-grandfather & namesake) on the job just before he was killed"
based on other pictures I found I think he is the second from the right.


This is my grandfather, Jess E. Hollar - he was an amazing man.
As soon as I figure out how to do it I will post some of the letters I found also.

Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch

My favorite out-laws, John & Bon-Mom came to visit us in Texas this week. They got to go see K's theater debut as a snake, tree and bumblebee in The Jungle Book. What I have found out is that you shouldn't try to DO anything during spring break in Texas - we tried the San Antonio Zoo and Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch yesterday but couldn't find parking and the lines were too line. So we decided that we'd go pick some strawberries today - but wait... they closed the strawberry fields, due to over-picking and poor production due to the cold weather last weekend. Therefore we changed our plans today and decided to get an early start on Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch because of the long lines yesterday - we still sat in line for over an hour just to get into the park. Here's some of the pictures from our day! Oodles of fun!