As 2023 comes to a close I can’t believe that another year is almost upon us. So many times we take for granted that a new year is a time for new beginnings. The past couple of years have been a testimony of new beginnings for the RCGG family. I’ll get more into that in a later post though. So here’s a look back into 2023 Year in Review.
2023 started out very slow as every year does. Mr. RCGG took a few days off work and we enjoyed spending time together. I was taking two classes and it burned me out! I am not doing that again. Haha!
February brought our first Texas ice storm. That was something! The ice covered our back yard and we thought Charlie would refuse to go outside. Well we were wrong. He loved going out and trying to run across the yard but when he stopped he slid three feet. The first time he was confused but then he started to do it on purpose. Haha! It was so cute.
We survived the ice storm with only one mishap of our heat going out but it was fixed after a couple of days. We just made sure to have lots of blankets and bundled up in the house to keep warm. I was wearing socks and that tells you something about how cold I was because I HATE wearing socks! I also wore one of Mr. RCGG’s thermal shirts under a t-shirt to keep warm. It was a long couple of days but with the small space heaters we bought and bundling up it wasn’t too bad.
Mr. RCGG’s parents and brother came to visit in April. We had a nice visit with them. We took them to Silos in Waco and of course I went to the bakery to get some cupcakes. We also went to the Audie Murphy museum in Greenville. It was interesting to learn more about the most decorated war hero in history. His unit was sent in to Anzio Italy to help get out the first Rangers which was my Poppy’s unit.
In June we had a really bad thunderstorm. We had just gone to bed when the I heard that too familiar freight train sound right before the tornado sirens went off. I got Charlie and Cami in the bathroom while Mr. RCGG made sure everything was okay. he’s one of those people that will go out and watch a tornado go by while I’m huddled in the bathroom taking shelter. Haha! The power went out and didn’t come back on until around 10:00 the next morning. I can’t sleep with it being completely dark and no sound so it was a very long night for me. That freight train sound is something you never forget! Even though it wasn’t technically a tornado (classified it as straightline winds) it sounded exactly the same as the tornado in Newnan. There was lots of damage to our small town but we only had a little bit of fence damage. The bank lost the drive through. It was gone! I still don’t think it was straightline winds and say it was a small tornado.
Later on in June we went to see Matchbox 20 in Dallas. It was so much fun! Rob Thomas hasn’t changed at all since our younger days! Haha!
A few days after the Matchbox 20 concert we went to another concert in our town. It was Raelynn, Bryce Leatherwood and A Girl Named Tom. They were all on The Voice. We enjoyed Raelynn and A Girl Named Tom. Bryce was okay but we think he still needs a bit more work on his concerts. He did good on The Voice because he won but he wasn’t as good live as he was on the show.
Mr. RCGG’s parents and brother came back for the Fourth of July and to take their new puppy home. The bought a beagle puppy from Texas and we went to get her while they traveled to Texas to take her home to Georgia. It was long few days with her and Charlie. He wasn’t sure what was going on and didn’t like that there was another dog in his house. Cami didn’t like that he couldn’t go in his bedroom but when they were getting ready to leave he came out of our room and went in while they were still here. Both of them were glad to have their house back.
July is my birthday and our anniversary month. Mr. RCGG usually takes those two days off but something came up at work and he had to go in. His boss told him around eight to go home and spend time with me because it was my birthday. He came home around eleven. We didn’t do much to celebrate like we usually do though because we were going to a celebration of life service later that day. One of Mr. RCGG’s employee’s 16 year old son passed away from cancer. It was a very nice service for a young man that was loved by so many family and friends. Our anniversary is the day after my birthday and we spent time together just relaxing and enjoying the day.
It’s hot in Texas during the summer. August was HOT! That’s all I can say about August and most of September! Haha!
In September we drove from Texas to Georgia for a wedding. That trip was something else! It was an event I’ll tell you that! We almost left Cami in South Carolina because he flipped out and we couldn’t get him in his crate one day. We were able to get animal control to get him in his crate and took him to the vet before heading back to Texas. He’s NEVER traveling again.
Also in September we went to the BEST CONCERT EVER! We went to see Luke Bryan! It was so much fun! We had tickets for the lawn and after the two opening acts someone working at the venue came up to us and gave us ticket upgrades! We were so close to the stage and I was in HEAVEN! I put my photos from the concert in an album on Facebook and I put the description on this concert album as I’m shaking it for Luke. Mr. RCGG’s just here. Haha!
In October I went to the Moms in the Making conference again. I loved being able to share this experience with my mom this year. She wasn’t sure what to expect but by the end she loved it just as much as I do. She has a group of friends that call themselves the Divas. On Sunday she was telling me that this group of ladies are my Divas. She could see the love and support we have for each other during the struggles of infertility. She told me that I may tell my best friend what is going on but these ladies know exactly how I feel because they are going through it too. I can’t wait for next year’s conference!
Mr. RCGG and I we went to the Texas State Fair in October too. We went early in the day and spent most of the day there. It was so nice to get there early enough to walk around and enjoy the fair instead of feeling like we were being pushed around. We were actually able to walk around and shop the vendors and sample the fair food. This year we go to see the Budweiser Clydesdales up close.
November is Mr. RCGG’s birthday. He wanted to do something different this year that wasn’t going out to dinner or staying home. So we went to Broken Bow Oklahoma. We had gone before and loved it. We love the peacefulness of it. We wanted to see if we could leave Charlie at the cabin and go do something without him for a couple of hours. So we went to get ice cream, a winery (and got two bottles of wine from the wine tasting we tried) and a distillery. Charlie did so good at the cabin without us there. he probably just took a nap on the couch like he does at home. Haha! Now that we know he will do good by himself we can explore more of the town when we go back.
Thanksgiving was good. We tried brining our turkey for the first time. I have always wanted to try it and it was so good! I also basted it with a butter and herb sauce. I can’t wait to do it again next year!
For Christmas we invited Mr. RCGG’s parents and brother to come but they decided they weren’t able to make the trip with their dog. She hasn’t been on many car rides and they didn’t want to make such a long trip with her. So it was a nice quiet day with just us and the fur babies. I’ll have a complete Christmas recap for ya’ll later!
