Suprise Visitor

What a fabulous weekend here in Knoxville! A few weeks ago Alixa made plans with her dad for a weekend visit. Last weekend, we were told that the visit was not going to take place. But on Wednesday Alixa got a phone call from her daddy telling her that the trip was back on, and that he would be arriving Thursday night. East Tennessee had been cold and snowy early in the week, but being the good host that she is, she warmed up and gave us sunny weather Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Mars took full advantage of the balmy February temperatures and took Jarom and Alixa golfing twice over the weekend. It was a little wet, as the snow was still melting, but it was warm enough for shorts both days. Mars is still able to beat up on Jarom, which is probably good for both of them. Jarom did manage two birdies and a smattering of pars over the 36 holes, and Alixa even managed to play a hole, protruding belly and all. She shot even par, after nearly chipping in from about 45 yards.

This was the view on Monday.  On this day Alixa turned 24!

And Saturday.  As you can see, the ground was wet, but it was sunny and warm.  Jarom is trying to  see the flag from where his tee shot landed.  He is still very far away.

Other than golf, most of the visit was spent playing games. Mars is a bit of a Settlers of Catan junkie, and he got the Winns a new game, Ticket to Ride. Sadly, he had to go back to work early Monday morning, so I now have my room to myself again. But everyone loved having him here, especially Lixi, who is quite the daddy’s girl.

Mario had to use the bathroom at the ninth hole.  He had trouble escaping the woods after doing his business.

As promised, here is the side photo of Alixa so that everyone can see how the pregnancy is progressing. She is not particularly thrilled about it, and a little self-conscious about her size, but I keep trying to tell her that it is OK to gain weight during pregnancy. I suppose it is about the same way that I feel after I eat a mouser and I look like I might be having a baby.

No fat jokes, por favor.

Now that the little kid has a known gender, there has been quite an outpouring of love and presents. It used to be that Jarom simply had to compete with Alixa for space to put his clothes. Now he is losing his closet (which isn’t even in his room) to an unborn child who already has more clothes than she will be able to wear during her entire newborn stage of life.



Jarom got approved for life insurance this week, after some blood work to make sure that he doesn’t have AIDS or anything. He is now a liability when living, but worth $200,000 should he die. He is now trying to be extra nice to Alixa, lest she get any ideas. Also, the squirrel hasn't made any noise in a few days, so I am pretty sure that he died.