I believe Grey has been here.

Girl's Day

Holland and I went and saw her first Broadway play, Wicked. If we are going to sit for 3 hours, it has to be good and I assure you, it was! We loved it!  We are already looking into what other plays are coming.

One day soon, I would love for her to see a Broadway play in New York. And I would, too.

Camp Time

Holland is headed off to her 3rd camp experience. But this is her first time at our new church. She wasn't the least bit anxious about going especially since one of her best friends since kindergarten is going with her. 

Hey, I did all the packing, it's only right she should lug it all inside. Plus, I have that bad back........

Not the unairconditioned yellow dogs we used to ride in. They almost look like they are heading to the casino...maybe Camp Beau Rivage.....

             Tiffany and Holland 

Bully Stache

I found this mustache on the Bully decal on my truck when I came out of the gym the other day. (I suspect my A&M friend.)

 I think it kind of suits Bully.

Friends

Nothing says fun like a painting party with your friends....

This is a little more realistic. 

(Fortunately, they were all spending the night at someone else's house.)

School is out for the summer

From backpacks for school

To backpacks for the pool....

The real reason service stations are no longer full service.....creepy window washers.

Feel the Beat

Sometimes when you hear the music, you just gotta dance, even if it is in a furniture store.

Teenagers (sigh)

Award-Winning 7th Grader

Bragging- On

It was awards day for the 7th grade at RMS.  Grey received awards in Math, Science, and Theatre. Personally, I think I should have received an award for sitting on the bleachers as long as I did.

     I thought he would run off and not let us get any pictures, but he wanted to lobby for us to take him out of school early. Ummmm at 10:00, no, I don't think so. But, I did get some pics.

      We are really proud of him getting the math and science, but the theatre award is the one I think he is most proud of. His teacher always raves about him even though he only had theater one semester. And we are proud because she sees how creative and funny he is all the time.  

Although, I wouldn't mind if he dialed it down a little at home.

I figured out how to get a good expression out of Grey for pics.  When he gives me the creepy or crazy face I tell him to "stop", and when he laughs I snap the pic. That's right, I'm one step ahead, again.

          Grey and the principal. 

Always good to see them together under these circumstances.

Still Love A Cardboard Box

Grey showed up at his friend Diego's front door in a box. I believe his intention was to jump out and scare them, but he couldn't get his legs completely in. Unfazed, they invited him to eat with them on the back patio.

(With all the trouble out there for kids his age to get into, I'm glad he hasn't grown out of this stuff yet.)

You never know what you'll find at the bottom of the laundry basket. I think he can be sorted into cold darks.

I saw this Lamborghini  parked in the elementary school parking lot as I was sitting in the carpool line. I thought, sure, it's pretty, but it would take me 4 trips to get everyone in the carpool home and that's if they leave their backpacks in the school. And don't even think about grocery shopping in it.

I may be close to 40, but I am still aways from mid-life crisis.

San Antonio Weekend Getaway

We took a spontaneous weekend family getaway to San Antonio. Despite ominous weather forecasts, we were blessed with perfect weather.
We took on Fiesta Texas which was a lot of fun now that Holland is tall enough to ride everything. She was fearless taking on her first inverted roller coaster and every other crazy-looking roller coaster. I took pictures of her with most of them so she could put then in her own scrapbook.
Then we went to eat at The Melting Pot. It was their first time to eat there. I knew they'd like it. I mean, seriously, who wouldn't love a fondue meal. Cheese, bouillon, and chocolate. I'd eat my own finger dipped in the right fondue.
We also headed downtown. Not much has changed since we lived there 14 years ago. Of course, there's really no reason to go changing the Alamo. We took a stroll through the wax museum and 4D theater and a walk down by the Riverwalk. The 11 day Fiesta celebration had just ended so it was a bit messy, especially after a hard late night rain. It's like their version of Mardi Gras but family-friendly so maybe nothing like New Orleans' mardi gras. Anyway, I've heard the parades are definitely something to see. Not sure why we didn't see them when we lived there.
Then we headed home Sunday and made a stop at Buccee's which was busier than Fiesta Texas. I mean crazy busy. They do have amazing restrooms. According to one of their many billboards, the top two reasons to stop there are #1 and #2.

Holland conquers her first inverted roller coaster, The Goliath.

 

Next the Boomerang.

 

The Superman

(Plus The Poltergeist, The Frisbee, Pandemonium, etc.)

Grey and I turned the corner, ahead of Mac and Holland, and I said to Grey, " $10 says your dad puts on that hat." 

At the Melting Pot.

Every picture has Grey trying to skewer his sister.

Typical.

He had the nerve to ask me why my wallpaper photo on my Iphone is a pic of Holland and me and not him.  Because every picture of him and me is some version of this.

Tired and time to head home.

The bruise on her leg is from Grey opening the truck door on her leg.

Plus the girl bruises like a peach.

Although Mac was at market for his birthday, the kids still recognized the day at home on the wipe board.

(Apparently, Grey thinks he looks like the guy from Mythbusters when he wears his glasses and hat.)

Salesman of the Year

At this year's furniture market Mac won "Salesman of the Year"!!
I am so proud of him, because I have seen how hard he works everyday. In 15+ years, I have seen him take only 3 vacations where he didn't take his phone with him. The reason I drive when we go home for holidays or just a visit is so he can take phone calls. And call, they do. He is 100 percent commission and pays all his own expenses so he's learned to be smart with his money. He drives on average 50,000 miles a year, hitting the occasional wild animal.
But if ever there was someone made for sales, it's Mac. He has amazing patience, self-motivation, people skills that I've always wished I had a fraction of, organizational skills, and does it with integrity. And God has truly made it his mission field.
We love him so much and are so proud and thankful for him!!!
( Cause we all know if I had to work in sales, we'd starve.)

Happy Birthday!!!

Happy Birthday, Mac Daddy!
(So glad we're the same age again.)

Happy Sibling Day!!

I didn't even know this holiday existed.

Report Cards

This is how the kids gave me their report cards. Can you guess which one belongs to which kid?

(They both did great. No surprises. Of course, nowadays I can follow all their daily, test, and project grades online as the semester goes along. )

April Fool's Day

It's that unfortunate time of year again. April Fool's Day. I dread it every year, but for Grey it's like Christmas. He loves pranks and every year he gets better at them.
We took more precautions this year and kept our iPhones away from him, but he's not one to repeat the same prank. This years pranks consisted of Mac finding his deodorant replaced with butter. I found mustard in my conditioner. Mac found his office covered in post-it notes and mardi gras beads. Holland refused to even use their shared bathroom so she dodged a few. However, I got the upside down cup full of water left for her.
The one good thing this year is that it fell on a school day giving us an 8 hour break. But he used that time wisely and hit the kids at school. He had a fake thumb trick that was popular. His best was the Sour Warheads spray. It's a candy spray that you spray directly in your mouth. It's intensely sour. He sprayed it in several kids' drinks at lunch. He had a few more pranks, but I didn't want to know. If I have to testify at some point, the less I know the better.
This year I had a prank or two for him. I replaced his school- issued athletic shorts with a pair of my purple workout shorts. We set his alarm clock for 11:59 pm on April Fool's night. And so Holland didn't feel neglected, I packed her lunch with half a bottle of water and some crackers. (Fear not, she supplemented with ice cream from the cafeteria.)

But thankfully, the day is over and we can relax until next year which Grey is already planning for.