W-A-C-O...such a venture!

This past weekend we drove up to Waco and visited Uncle Booty (Drew). Mom, Bryce, Jake, Kayla, and myself loaded up in my car and made the venture! The boys could not have been any better...I don't think either of them slept the whole way up there because they were so excited to see Booty. They love him and spending time with him in anyway is a treat...for everyone!

Mom, the boys, and I stayed at the Hilton, while Kayla stayed with Drew. The boys cooped up in a 20X20 hotel room with pretty things, was quite scary! I just knew something was going to break or not work after we left...luckily the hotel management hasn't called, YET!

Jake has decided that he's going to use the voice that God gave him! And boy does he. Though he is learning new words, he hasn't gotten all of the ones he truly needs; therefore he yells or whales to get our attention or what he wants! So, while eating out this whole weekend, I realized that he couldn't be such a disruption during meals. I am very big on manners-please, thank you, yes/no ma'am/sir. I thought, please...that's an easy word, and he's heard me say it a zillion times! Yes, it was, but we've used it in over-kill. Now, if Jake wants something, he says, "peeze" and thinks that he's going to get it-whatever it is!!! It still is just precious to hear....

Bryce has grown up tremendously...and so has his vocabulary! Interruptions are a big no-no in my books. That was something I had a hard time with growing up, and I don't want the boys to begin that habit! Well, too late! It must just be a kid thing. I constantly have to remind Bryce not to interrupt my converstaion if it be on the phone, in person, or via text =)So the other day while Jason and I were talking, Bryce walks up to us and says, "Mom, I'm going to interrupt your converstaion. Thank you." Before I could even respond to his statement, I busted out laughing! Crap! He used his manners and said thank you, but.....of course the conversation Jay and I were having was forgotten immediately-maybe that was his intention!

This weekend...Bryce and I head to Houston for a little Texas Trophy Hunters Extravangza.......I'm sure there will be stories!

Thursday Fun....

Well, if you've been keeping up with my Facebook, you realize that Wednesday Mom and I were going to take Bryce and Mia to Splashway in Sheridan. This is a very small but perfect water park that is designed for family fun WITH KIDS. It is NOT a Schlitterbahn by any means, but it was great for Bryce and Mia! Bryce gets real excited-like uncontrollable excited-when we begin a new adventure. He wants to dive in feet-first and not think about or listen to the ins-and-outs. So, I thought I'd give him a little wake-up call. He was running in the water park and not listening to me when I told him that the rules are you have to walk. There was a really cute lifeguard-probably about 16-17-so I asked him to talk to Bryce about the rules. I watched this all unfold...and it was funny! That is until, Bryce got scared and wouldn't go on any of the rides or anything. Of course that lasted about 30 seconds and then it was good ole Bryce BACK!! The only thing that he wasn't crazy about was the 'moving' pool...it was WAY TOO slow for him! It was great to see them have a good time together. Mia's last day with us this summer is Sunday, and it will be a sad good-bye until the next weekend. Had a blast Mia...can't wait til next time!!

The Pool

Getting anywhere with my two rugrats is an event, but when it came time to swim...everyone was ready and waiting on me! Bryce has become quite the swimmer! Thanks Mrs. Strauss and Alyssa!!! He used all of the things that you taught him and was proud to show his daddy what he can do. Of course, that also meant that he thought he was Michael Phelps!! So, for some time he wore floaties and the rest, just kinda hung out.






Jake on the other hand, only liked the water for a little while. We finally figured it out-he doesn't want to be held, but isn't so sure that he likes just sitting in the water in a float! Gotta make up your mind there, Jake! Either way, he was full of laughs, smiles, and practicing new words-water: wa-woo!! It was so cute!




Just some fun pictures of the boys...the most special thing about being a mom is the smiles that our kids give us. These smiles sum it up wonderfully....we love our boys!

Summer Vacation cont.....

After the Rainforest Pyramid, we traveled over to the Aquarium Pyramid...

The boys checking out the fish...




Everyone was facinated with the penguins...


One minute they were up and looking alive...the next, they were alseep!




We could have spent hours-actually I think we did-in here! There were different kinds of fish-pretty, mean, sparkle-y, spike-y, colorful, dull, etc. At every turn, Bryce was asking us to...'come and see this!' Jake just kinda trailed along, babbling right along with Bryce...we know that he was asking us to 'come and see' everything, too!




These are upside-down jellyfish and a purple & gold fish...boys ate that up!





The Three Amigos! This was only DAY 1...there are many more pictures and stories to share after I pick everyone up from daycare...

Mood Gardens will NEVER be the same!!

Each year we take a vacation with The Winkenwerder family. Last year Dawn planned the trip all herself, and we had a blast! This year, I thought about taking the boys to Moody Gardens in Galveston. It was fun....the boys played in the water at the condo, at MG, and then some.

The first day there was basically getting our stuff together...groceries, ironing out the trip, etc. Saturday morining we woke up and were at MG by 10:00. We watched a 3D film on Dolphins & Whales-kinda boring, but that was okay because Jake fell asleep! Then we headed over to the Rainforest Pyramid....





Here are just some random pics of flowers and animals inside the Pyramid...

Happy Birthday, Uncle Bubbie...

If there is one person, outside of my boys' daddy that they love to be around, it's Uncle Bubbie. Uncle Bubbie turns 29 today, and his only wish is that everyone is happy and has a good time. We are going to grill burgers, play on the slip-n-slide, and listen to the kids probably fight and laugh all at the same time!

Dusty is a good dad and loves to look at the brighter side of a situation, even if he is wrong most of the time. If there is one thing that he & I have learned, it's that you trust your family because there is no one else there that will have your back. I'm going to refer back to a conversation that he and I had last weekend...it takes a long time to realize who loves you and who doesn't...and an even longer time to love those people back, but when we do, we do so whole-heartedly.

Dusty/Uncle Bubbie/Daddy, enjoy your day today! Happy Birthday! You know how much we love you....

The Toy Fairy

A friend of mine and I were talking/bitchin about having to pick up toys. While I don't like to pick up, I really hate to see the thousands of dollars in toys that Bryce doesn't play with sitting in the closet, on the floor, in the playroom, in Jake's room, in the living room, in whatever other corner of the house we can find! So, she said that in Parents magazine, there was an article that referred to a Pick-up Fairy that came to the house and collected toys that weren't picked up. How this changed the household, apparently! So I thought I'd give it a try!

Yesterday while Bryce and Mia were whining and arguing about what to do, I reminded him of of the Toy Fairy...it was like a flash to play with toys. Then at the end of the night, toys were picked up and the floor was clean!! Today, when we left to get Jake, Bryce about had a fit because toys were on the floor, and The Fairy might come get them. What the hell do I do? We have to leave, but he called me on something.... so we picked up the toys. I helped and praised him for being a big boy!

Mind you the fairy, though it sounds very prissy and painsy...is a HIM in our house! Tamela, our secret fairy, may have to put her hubby on the phone to play this out in the event we have to call!!!

I'll let you know how things are going! Enjoy your weekend...

Bryce's new favorite saying...

OK, Jenny! You will appreciate this...

While I was trying to visit with one of my really, really, really good friends, I notice that my son, Bryce, has made friends with an extremely cute little girl-Emily, I think was her name. They were can-crushing and playing with monster trucks when all of a sudden we hear loud voices...you guessed it. Bryce and the cute little girl are arguing over which monster truck they want. So after I've tried to reason and make things better, Bryce pops off to her with...

'You get what you get, or you ain't gettin nothin'!'

Amen, Bryce, Amen!!!

The Fourth of July Fishing Tourney

This was the first fish that Bryce caught at the Half Moon Holidays this weekend. *Sorry about the closed eyes* He and his daddy were in deep concentration...




And it all ended with Bryce winning 2nd place in his division. His fish weighed 7 lbs. The 2nd place prize was a fishing rod and lures (sp). I don't really know who was more impressed Bryce or his dad!

Happy 4th of July!

The Fourth of July used to never really mean much to me-it was actually just an extra special weekend to drink lots of beer! But as I've gotten older, I've learned just how amazing this holiday really is...we have freedoms that others don't. We have men and women, moms and dads, brothers and sisters, aunts and uncles fighting for these freedoms, and I am proud of each of them!! God Bless you each and every day. You are true heroes in my/our books!

Every year since I can possibly remember, Shiner has hosted a Half Moon Holidays Fourth of July celebration. This includes craft booths, food stands, petting zoo, shaved ice, Moon walks, water slides, fishing tournaments for kids, 5K & 10K runs, etc. This year's main attrations for my family was the cook-off. My brother, Hvy-D, and hubby, J-Bird, decided to join in the fun. H&C was the sponsor for The H&Cizzlers-yea, you shoulda been there! They entered in all catagories and won 7th place in sausage and placed in ribs and beans...now this may not seem like much to you, but to a bunch of backwoods yahoos, it was worth it!



Here are a couple of pictures of the kids at the park...





H&C also sponsored a softball team. Dylan and Drew both played and did okay. I think they ended up placing 5th out of 12 teams-don't quote me, though! Here are some pics from there.






We had a great weekend. Jay and Dusty sweated their butts off, but all in all, they had a good time together doing so! The boys were able to spend some time with their dad in between turning meat, cleaning up, and whatever else came up! Thanks to Dad and Mr. C for helping support their cooking and drinking causes...it is so appreciated! We love you!!!