The timing was right for an orchestra concert with Austin. He’s second chair violin in the chamber orchestra.
He’s only supposed to have two guests, but they made an exception for us, and Judy and I both got to go along with Matt.
It was a good concert.
And Austin has gotten a bit taller since we were here last.
It’s fun to see.
We got a rental car. There are two drivers, so they gave us two key fobs. That’s nice. But what’s wrong with this picture?
The two key fobs? They’re both on a steel cable key ring.
The steel cable is crimped into an unbreakable loop. Two fobs, but there is no way to get them apart without bolt cutters! What the…
A walk in the park.
Desert Breeze Park.
Even though Alex is being cremated, there needed to be a preparation and viewing, for Matt’s sake, even if not for everyone else’s. Matt spent all those hours in the ER with teams of people doing what needed to be done to try to save Alex. That was not meant to be a sensitive time, it was meant to provide every effort for Alex’s survival. It was intense, invasive, and brutal. This viewing was a chance for more peaceful last moments. Matt and Lindsay spent the evening there, accompanied by friends and family. Lindsay’s parents, Steve and Lori, had Arie with them but dropped her off at the house before they went there. Brian made sure Tony, Conner, and Austin got the time there they needed. Christi and Andy stayed. Becky made sure everyone got hugs. Judy and I stayed home with Arie and Ayla and were there for others as they arrived. Here’s Ayla in her new unicorn dress.
So good to have friends from childhood, Chad, and Bo there. We just love those boys. They stood at Matt’s side, in support, for the four-hour viewing; here, grabbing a bite in the kitchen after.
These two that we lovingly refer to as “boys” now are well older than Judy and I were when we first met them.
Get close to a killdeer nest and Mom tries to distract you away from it by feigning a broken wing, broken leg, or broken everything. Follow her far enough away, and she’ll suddenly recover and fly off. When she’s sure you’re not looking anymore, she’ll plop back down on the eggs.
Even she can even be a little hard to spot from a distance.
I didn’t really get this near. I cranked up the long lens for the close-up shot.
In other news, Chad made it here as well tonight; all the way from Hawaii.
