G'Day Mate (part 3)

I went about with my daily plans with the agreement that we would all be having dinner together that night (Wednesday).  I went and had lunch with a friend and then brought her back to the house for a bit.  We weren't home but a few minutes when Andre and David came back.  By this time it was about 2:00 and I would need to leave by 2:30 to go and pick up the girls from school. 

They came in quickly, met my lunch partner, and announced that they had made a difficult decision to go back to the original tournament that they had left on Tuesday in South Carolina since the call had not yet come advising them that a player had withdrawn allowing Andre a spot to play here.  The choice was to wait it out here with the hope that someone would withdraw later that day or Thursday before teeing off, or to go back to where they would have a guaranteed spot.  The tournament in South Carolina was a much smaller tournament with a purse of $600,000 compared to the tournament here with a purse of $6.1 million.  Tough choices and such is the life of a professional golfer.

Within minutes they were packed and ready to go with only time for a very quick picture.  We had plans of taking more photographs at dinner that night, but the opportunity was gone.  They left for the airport as I left to get the girls from school. The girls would be upset when I had to pick them up and share the news that our house guests were on their way back to the airport without even a chance to say good-bye.  They were so looking forward to having them back for dinner and to watch the second night of American Idol.

When the girls and I arrived back home, we found that they had secretly left some golf balls and other golf goodies for us as well as more tickets and their golfer/caddie parking pass.  We would also find that they used my "too pretty to touch, please don't ever use" decorative bathroom towels that were on display in the bathroom.  I'll forgive them, but please don't ever try it when you come to visit!

We got a call from them later Wednesday night advising us that they had made it back to South Carolina and thanking us again for the hospitality.  The highlight for Haley is when they asked to speak to her so that they could find out who had gotten eliminated from Idol.

So there you have it.  It was a busy and fun, but very short lived experience and one that we'll remember for awhile.  We were hoping to have them stay with us through the weekend and chance to be able to follow Andre's progress here, but that wasn't meant to be.  As it turns out, a spot did open up here and Andre would have gotten in and perhaps this tournament would have been better for him.  We had some communication with them Thursday night and learned that Andre did very well that day, but Friday wasn't so kind to him.  He didn't make the cut for the weekend and that tournament was quickly over for him.

We enjoyed the tournament everyday that it was here, but often thought about how much more fun it would have been to have our house guests back and to actually have a connection with someone that was playing.

We're looking forward to next year.

G'Day Mate (part 2)

I served the leftovers and a couple of beers and they ate as we visited and learned more about them.  They were tired from their previous crazy days of travel and soon settled in to watch American Idol.  David was particularly interested in Idol and had great conversations with Haley about each of the contestants.  Immediately after Idol was over, David and the girls went to sleep and Andre took a shower and then stayed up and visited with Travis and I for a couple of hours.  They kept waiting for the call to advise them that someone had withdrawn from the tournament, but it hadn't come yet.

We talked about family and golf.  And golf.  And golf.  We talked about Tiger Woods and about life as a PGA pro.  Through my yawns, we learned that he had four kids of his own (thanks to Google, I already knew that) and we learned about a nagging injury that took him away from the sport for 3 years.

We all eventually turned in for the night and Travis and I closed the bedroom door behind us and laughed at the thought of what was going on.  I'm not one for sudden and unexpected plans, and this one topped the cake.  I can promise you that when I woke up Tuesday morning, I had no idea that I would be hosting two complete strangers in my home that evening.  Life is full of little adventures.

Wednesday morning came very quickly.  I got the girls up quietly since the plan was for David and Andre to sleep as long as they could and to hopefully get the expected call.  As I am preparing breakfast and packing lunches, David joined us in the kitchen for a banana and some juice and conversation that was keeping me from my morning duties.  Eventually, Travis and the girls were out the door and I was able to finish making muffins and coffee and shared some more conversation with David while Andre was still sleeping.

I had errands to run and wanted to give them space, so I left the house for a couple of hours while they stayed at home.  While I was out and about, I got another call from the PGA representative checking in to be sure that everything was running smoothly and to offer us as many tickets as we needed for the tournament.  When I grow up, I want to have her job.

I finished my errands and got back to the house about 10:00 as they were just beginning to get ready to head to the course.  There was a Pro-Am tournament that day and Andre was not playing in it, so all they could really do was go and practice.  At this point, the call still hadn't come.  They asked for a lady's opinion about Andre's outfit for the day, put our house key on their key ring, and headed for the course leaving a lingering of cologne that would last for the rest of the afternoon.

I know you're wondering.....no, they didn't make their beds.

To be continued...

G'Day Mate (part 1)

So this is how it happened. 

As you know, we bought a house in a great community that also happens to be hosting the Valero Texas Open golf tournament for the first time this week.  The neighborhood is in a buzz, traffic is heavy, and excitement is in the air.  The tournament officially started today, but the craziness has been going on all week.

All that doesn't really matter, but this does......

As I was walking out the door to get the girls from school Tuesday afternoon, I sat down to check my e-mail one last time and noticed that an urgent e-mail blast was just received from the company that runs our homeowner association.  This is what it said.....

"Young PGA TOUR Player and his caddy are in need of 2 rooms starting today, through the duration of the Valero Texas Open. If there is a Cibolo Canyons family who is willing to open up their home and host this player and his caddy, please contact Susan ASAP at 999-999-9999 for more details."

After a quick call to Travie at work, and a "duh" response from him, we we're the official volunteers.  The next step was to wait on PGA to call with the details and within a matter of minutes, I got the scoop.  Andre Stolz and his caddy needed accommodations for that night and the remainder of the week.  The PGA lady felt like it might be through Friday if he didn't make the cut for the weekend tournament, or if he got really lucky, it could have been through Sunday.  She said that she would pass our contact info on to the caddy and from that point on, we would deal solely with them.  Deal.

This is were panic set in and where I had to call Travis home and bribe the girls with money to help me pull this off.  This is where I should tell you that I have been using my guestroom for the last few weeks as a holding area for a big Goodwill trip.  Not pretty.  We were cleaning fools and the girls were so excited.  At this point, we didn't know if they would be here in 30 minutes or 6 hours.  We were hoping for somewhere in between.  We got it together, ordered pizza, ate quickly, all while waiting for the phone call to give directions and determine when they would be arriving.

The phone call came at about 6:00pm, exactly at the same time that I took the last bite of pizza. The caddy, David, who would would later learn was really the agent, but would also be the caddy for the week, reported that they had just finished a practice round and would be over in a few minutes.  I will also tell you that between the manic cleaning and eating dinner, we had already read all of the research that could be found on the internet.  These people were strangers no more.  We know where the lived, how many kids they had.....we knew it all.  We also found out that Andre wasn't exactly a "young" player as the original email stated.  In fact, he had just turned 40 on Monday.  I seriously contemplated having a birthday cake here for him when he arrived.  Would that have been a little creepy?

So, within a few minutes, they are here.  We greeted them, offered them a drink, and then ended up in our living room visiting and getting caught up on what they had been through in the previous several days.  In a nutshell, Andre, who we quickly learned still lives in Sydney, Australia, was in the states for another PGA tournament in Greenville, SC this week.  Apparently, he received a call sometime Monday while he was at that course in SC practicing stating that he needed to come to San Antonio because he was rapidly moving up to the number one alternate spot.  Thus the explanation as to why they didn't have any accommodations for their stay.  About 30 minutes after arriving, we learned that they had not had dinner and we're getting a little hungry.  Very tired from the days travel and golf, they did not want to go to a restaurant, but insisted that they go up the street and grab a burger or something.  As my wheels were turning about what I could serve these two, sweet Travie offers them our left over pizza from our dinner just minutes earlier.  They couldn't have been happier.  Warmed up pizza for our house guests would be the perfect meal.

To be continued.....

Happy Mother's Day

I'm so happy to be able to celebrate this special day with you.  

I love you both to the moon and back a gazillion times. 

It is an honor and a blessing to be your mommy.

I don't deserve this.

Happy Derby Day

Meet Faith

Yesterday was adoption day for Faith.  After buying all of our supplies the night before, I went into the classroom after school to get our new creature.  After one glance, I quickly realized that Faith was much larger than when I last saw her.  Not good.  I also quickly realized that Mrs. Gloege was scared of Faith.  Double not good.  Thankfully, a very nice teacher came to help with the transfer from the classroom cage to our way too small new cage.  Latex gloves and lots of screaming and we were good to go.

On the way home, we had to make another stop at PetSmart to upgrade Faith's condo to something much larger.  I think that we are $50 into this endeavor at this point and finding it harder and harder to turn back.  I've realized that I don't make the best decisions in life.

Once we got home, it was my turn to transfer Faith to her new condo.  We got the condo ready, but I could never have prepared myself for what was to come.  Gloved and ready, as soon as I put my hands into her cage, she belted the deepest croak that I have ever heard.  The closer I got, the more she croaked.  After doing the croak dance with her for several minutes, I went in for the catch.  Mind over matter and thinking that I could one-hand her and quickly scoop her out, I was in for a surprise.  As soon as I lifted her above the cage, she slipped out of my hand and landed on the counter....facing me.  The next hop sent her lunging right at my face and then onto the floor.  By this time, Hannah, who was supposed to be helping me, was clear across the kitchen doing her own yell with every hop.  Faith's skin is extremely slimy and after about 5 or 6 attempts of chasing her and trying to pick her up, I was finally successful.  In one swoop, I was able to cup her with both hands and throw gently place her back into her condo.  Hearts beating, adrenaline rushing, sounds of screeching and screaming, and the transfer was over.  After a few seconds of catching our breath, Hannah and I made eye contact and this is when she said.........."All hell just broke loose."

I couldn't have said it better myself, sweet girl.