Beach Combin'

I had a lot of fun playing photographer when we went to the beach. I thought I would share some of my "artistic" photos here.
This pelican was fearless. He was wandering up and down the boardwalk, weaving in and out of the people. Even begging for food from the people fishing.
Pretty seaweed that washed up on shore.
More pretty seaweed. (This is the wallpaper on Ty's laptop.)
The waves crashing on my mom and dad's feet. (This is the wallpaper on their laptop.)
My tootsies in the warm sand.

Taking pictures is so much fun. I want to take some classes.

5th Street Trailer Trash

I was so lucky to have a chance to fly down to Texas to see my Grandmother last week. I felt I really needed to see her because she has Alzheimer's and it is slowly claiming her mind. I needed to see her before she forgets me. We had lots of Sky Miles, so I used them to get to Corpus Christi.

My parents are Winter Texans, so I had a place to stay. The day I got there, we didn't do much. We hit a really good Mexican restaurant on the way home from the airport and then just headed to the trailer. Mom and Daddy run with a really great bunch of people down there. They are all so nice and boy are they funny! They refer to themselves as "5th Street Trailer Trash." After meeting them, it was easy to see why my parents enjoy going South so much.

The next day, Friday, was very foggy, but it was nice and warm. We decided to take advantage of the warm weather and went to Padre Island to play at the beach. We wandered up and down the beach and picked up lots of pretty shells for the kiddos. The surf was kinda high for Padre. Almost 4 feet in some areas. We took off our sandals and had fun walking in the sand and splashing in the waves.
When we were done playing on the beach, we went to the best bar-b-q joint ever. My family discovered Rudy's when we were stationed at Lackland AFB in San Antonio. The food is amazing. When we were going to Rudy's, there were only two of them and they were both in San Antonio. Now they have expanded and luckily, there is one in Corpus Christi. My hubby and kids were very jealous of my trip to Rudy's! Mmmm... ribs!
After Rudy's, we went to see Grandmother at her retirement community. I was so excited to see her and it was awesome when she opened her door and she remembered me! I couldn't stop grinning! I love my grandmother so much and I have missed her. It's hard to have family living so far away. We had a nice visit with Grandmother and then we went back to the trailer again.
On Saturday, we went into Fulton and went to the oyster docks. We also got a chance to see Fulton Mansion which is a beautiful home. After that, we went to my cousin, Richard's, basketball game. After the game, we went back to Aunt Leslie's house. It was nice to visit with Grandmother, Aunt Leslie, and my cousins Shannon and Rebecca. I also got to meet Shannon's husband, Jason, who is an awesome guy. any guy who can stand toe to toe with my Uncle Chuck is a winner to me!

On Sunday, we went to another restaurant I miss, Whataburger. Whataburger has, by far, the BEST hamburgers on the planet. I don't know what it is they do to them, but they sure are tasty!
Then we went into Goose Island park. It is home to "The Big Tree" (original, right?). The tree is a ginormous live oak. It's estimated to be over 1,000 years old. If you look closely, you can see iron supports holding up some of the tree's "branches". I wanted to see how far my arms would go around the tree, but there is a fence protecting it from dorks like me.
That night, Daddy built a fire in his chiminea and the entire "trailer trash" crew came over to enjoy the fire and to chat and just have a good time. As I mentioned earlier, they are a pretty cool bunch and it was fun to listen to them tease each other and play around.

Monday, all of Mom and Daddy's friends came by to hug me and say good bye. I felt like a rock star with all that attention. We went to Whataburger for lunch again and then went by Grandmother's to say good bye. She showed my some of the Alzheimer's by repeating almost every story she had told me last time I saw her, but it was nice to see her, nonetheless. She gave me one of Momma Leach's quilts. I am so excited!

Then, Mom and Daddy dropped me off at the airport. I breezed through security and then waited patiently for my plane to board and leave. The flight was uneventful, and that is nice. In Houston, I had to go from one concourse to another. It was quite a ways away. I was thankful for the shuttle that took me most of the way. I only had 45 minutes to get to the next gate, so I was really booking it. Turns out, it wasn't necessary. The plane hadn't even arrived yet. In fact, there was going to be at least an hour delay. My fellow passengers and I were a little miffed, but it couldn't be helped. As I was rushing into the gate area, I had noticed a very tall black man walking ahead of me. I thought to myself, "Hmm, he's so tall, I wonder if he's a basketball player." We talked a little bit and then I turned to my book and he began fiddling with his cell phone. Before long, he was swarmed by boys asking for his autograph. He was Glen Davis from the Boston Celtics! He was a really nice guy and was very nice to all these boys, and a few men, who were hassling him for his time.

Due to the delay in Houston, I missed my connection in Salt Lake and, of course, it was the last flight of the day into Idaho Falls. So, Delta put me up in a hotel for the night. You'd think I would welcome a quiet night in a hotel with a king sized bed, but the truth was, I missed my kids. I missed my husband. I just wanted to be home with my family and in my own bed. Oh well. Tuesday morning, I woke up to a nice little snow storm. A very chatty shuttle driver drove me to the airport where I got to sit in the terminal for 2 hours waiting for my flight. Then, to top it all off, I was so engrossed in my book (Dang you Jodi Picoult *shaking my fist*) that I almost missed my flight! What a mess that would have been!!! The storm made the flight home very bumpy and with the crashes the past few weeks, I didn't deal well with the pitch and roll of the plane. I was very glad when we landed in IF. I was so happy to see my husband at the airport and then to see the kids after school. They missed me, too, so it was a very happy reunion.

I am glad that I had the chance to go to Texas and I am glad to be home again.

It's 6's to Me

Okay, so I just got tagged and since it's an easy one, I'll do it now!
Here's the rules:

1. Go to my documents/pictures.

2. Go to my 6th file folder.
3. Go to my 6th picture.
4. Blog about it.
5. Tag 6 people to do the same.
This picture was taken at Zach's Kindergarten Halloween party. The witch is another mom, Katie Dennett (for those of you who know, she's Amy Knapp's little sister!) Strawberry Shortcake is Zachary's teacher, Sherrie Grigg. She's got her mouth full of sugar cookie, so it's not a great picture, but she is an amazing woman. She has overcome some real trials and come out a strong, caring person. She's the perfect Kindergarten teacher!

Okay, I tag...
1. Tylynn
2. Rebecca
3. Jamie
4. Rochelle
5. Keirra
6. Kirsty
Have fun ladies!

Show Me the Money!

I was browsing in a cute little souvenir shop on Port Aransas when I got a phone call from my hunny. I thought he was just calling cuz he missed me, but I was mistaken. He had news for me. WE GOT THE LOAN FOR THE HOUSE!!! I squealed and gushed to my mom and dad, "We got the house!" The girl and cute guy at the counter turned and smiled at me. I am so excited. Now I want to run up to the front door of the house and ask Steve (the current owner) if I can come in and look at "my" house!!!
I will blog more about this trip to Texas at a later time. I got some great pictures at the beach that I can't wait to share!

Anticipation

Every weekday, right around 3 o' clock, Mayzee jumps up into the front window. She sits patiently and watches up the street.
When they first come around that far corner, a small yip always escapes. Then her ears drop back, flat against her head. Her tail starts wagging. It wags so hard that her whole backside is in motion. By the time the kids make it to the street in front of our house, her whole body is shaking like she's having some sort of seizure and there is a constant stream of growls, yips, and whimpers.
Mayzee greets the kids at the front door, jumping and wiggling all over the place. She won't leave the kids alone until each one of them has said hello. No one can ever dispute that she loves "her" kids!

The First Field Trip

Last week, Zachary had his first field trip. He was so excited about it that he asked daily for the week before, "Is today the field trip?" I was lucky enough to be able to volunteer to go along.
I think he was more excited about the bus ride!
Zach and his buddy, Maison were inseparable.
The exhibit was about old modes of transportation. This was Zachary's favorite motorcycle. It's a Harley Davidson, but I can't remember the year.
They had an "Old West" section where the kids could play and check things out. Zachary really liked the model horse.
The Army truck was a big hit with all the boys. They wanted to climb up in the cab "try it out" but alas, that was against the rules.
All in all, it was a great field trip. I must admit, it was a bit frazzling to have to try to get 6 kids to stay together with all the excitement going on, but I am glad I was able to go along for the ride. Now Zach is ready for the next field trip. Am I?

It's Torture, I Tell Ya!

I think I have somehow offended the music teacher at the kids' school. How do I know this? Because she has sent a torture device to my home and required that my daughter uses it regularly. This new form of torture is called: The Recorder. It is evil. I think Satan himself has created this little woodwind instrument. Mrs. Arave has checked one out to each of the fourth graders and asks that they practice every night. It starts in the car on the way home from school and continues until bedtime. I swear, if I hear "Hot Cross Buns" or "Merrily We Roll Along" one more time, I may very well put an ice pick through my ear drums. Oh, I forgot my favorite, "The Trill." Samantha loves the sound the recorder makes when you put your finger on the hole and then take it off over and over again rapidly. It reminds her of the happy scenes in the old Disney movies. It just makes my spine stiffen up.
Right now, I have some peace. Thank heaven for Activity Days! I wonder if I can talk Samantha's Activity Days leader to have an activity every night until this unit in music is over...