Best Buds

The gang!!

The prince on his raft!

P & Weston

Yesterday and today the big boys spent time with their good, good friends who have moved away to the Austin area. They have grown up together until about two years ago when they moved. D and P are the same ages and Mac and Weston, and Wes and P are only one month apart. They just pick up right where they left off each time they see each other. I hope they will always be best buds!

After rising late this morning (cause they stayed up til who knows when) and enjoying a game of hide & seek "country style" we headed to the pool to cool off and have some fun. It's 100 again today, just like every day this summer. But the guys had a blast together having races and chicken fights and doing something totally silly with some floats!

Now we are baking chocolate chips cookies for a late night snack and then, hopefully, they will hit the sack.

Chicken fights!!!


Fun with floats!!

Summer Clean Out

This is what I was eluding to the other day. My SIL in town let us invade her carport for a yard sale on Saturday. We have been slowly but steadily cleaning out rooms of the house for about a month. Soon we should have some work finished in the kitchen that I hope will really open it up and make it function better when we have get-togethers here. Our clean out started in the kitchen and spread to the play room, boys closet and my closet. The results are below.



And again....



Not everything was from my house, but I would say about 98% of it was. SUPER SCARY that all of this "treasure" was in two rooms and two closets at my house. Oh, wait!! I forgot that we cleaned out the barn as well. LOTS of stuff from there too!!! I can't tell you how good it feels to purge this stuff. And the best part....


This is what it looked like when we were done. The boxes and bag in the middle are all that is left and they are being donated. It was great not to have to haul too many left overs to another town. A local man came and cleaned us out!!! We boxed up what was left and he hauled it off. I don't know what he does with it, but I don't care! It is out of my house and hopefully making someone else happy.

It was a long, hot, humid, successful day that I don't plan to do again anytime soon.

Guess What We're Up To

What do you do on a hot summer day to cool off? Why make something of course! Can you guess by this picture what we made today?




Still need a little help?? It was really yummy....... This little bowl licker thinks so anyway.





Maybe this picture will help.





Good for you. We made homemade ice cream. It was a great way to pass the time and even more fun to eat. The recipe is below. We froze it inside since it would have NEVER gotten hard outside. It probably would have melted on impact!!


We also made some brownies. Walker liked those alot!!



I found this recipe in an old Southern Living dessert cookbook that my mom has had for as long as I can remember.

Ice Cream

6 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 heaping Tbsp flour
2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt
1 can condensed milk
1 pt half and half
milk

Beat eggs well in electric mixer for 15-20 minutes. Add sugar and flour and beat well. Add vanilla, salt and condensed mild and cream. Fill 6-quart freezer with milk. (I use whole milk).

We enjoyed our afternoon of baking and freezing. It was a good way to cool off!

Hot & Still Getting Hotter!

I have lived in Texas all my life, and never EVER have I experienced a summer as hot as this one. 20+ days of 100 degrees is insane! It is too hot to go outside for more that a few minutes, so we stay indoors which makes for a bit of cabin fever. So really it's just too damn hot inside or outside!

The boys have tried to stay cool this week at swim camp. One of the pools in town hosts a fun week at the pool with games, swim lessons and other fun stuff. I love it cause they get out and stay active and they love it because it's in the water!

Walker is a different kid this year in the pool. He has never liked swimming or being in the water. I had tried a mommy & me class when he was about 16 months. Bad, very bad! But this year is a fish. He loves to dive under and jump off the side. He is not a swimmer yet, but he is so much more comfortable and that makes a huge difference.

The other two are pros. They love the water.





















Weston just got stung by a scorpion for the first time. Poor Weston! I don't know what that feels like and hopefully never will. But all three kids have now been stung here at the house. These are horrible little creatures that pack a huge punch. Weston let out this awful scream and I immediately knew what happened. Thank goodness I have some topical pain killer for stings. I also gave him some benadryl and tylenol to help with the pain and any reaction possibilities. He just said his tongue is feeling funny. That happened to Trey the last time he was stung. Hopefully the benadryl will help with this. I understand that scorpions are bad in our area because of the live oak trees. I didn't grow up with these kinds of bugs. Knock on wood, but they haven't been as bad this summer as in the past. However, we just started clearing brush today. I hope that doesn't stir them up to our house!!!!

We have big plans this Saturday. I wouldn't call them fun plans, but nonetheless, the activity is huge. I'll tell ya about it later.

Mini Vacation

We loaded up the truck and we headed to San Antonio for a mini vacation. After our hotel check in, we navigated to Bass Pro Shop (thanks to my wonderful iphone). We oohed and aahed over all the massive deer, elk and other game that lines the walls. The younger two boys each got a new pair of shoes and the older two boys (I'm including dad) got something for themselves as well. Mac's was a new backpack and Trey's was a new seat cover for his truck. Me, I got nothing. I didn't need anything anyway.
Then we ate at Joe's. Mac was feeling crabby.


Weston and Walker had pizza....I know, why would they have pizza at a seafood place? Trey and I had a great margarita and then we all enjoyed dessert.
Walker got to make his own ice cream sandwich.

Weston didn't want to share his massive
Turtle Sundae with any of us!!!

Then it was hit the sack time for a big day was coming.

We got up early and had a great breakfast then drove quickly to our day full of fun.....SEA WORLD!!!













Yes, it was blazingly hot, but we watched lots of shows, walked lots and lots and enjoyed the water park, too. Mac rode his first adult roller coaster. Let's just say, if a picture could tell a story, Mac's picture would talk about total fear!! Oh my gosh, did we laugh and laugh when we saw the picture of he and I on the roller coaster. I do think, though, that I made a roller coaster rider out of him finally!!!!

Walker also rode his first roller coaster, the Shamu Express, and he loved it.


Weston's favorite part of Sea World was the Sea Lion show and the Pirate Show.



After a long day, we enjoyed pizza in the hotel room and long hot showers!!!

Today, we stopped on the way home at a Put Put golf place. 4 out of 5 of us hit a hole-in-one!!!! It was HOT again today and no breeze. Now we are enjoying and appreciating our wonderful home and the cool air conditioner!!!

What a great weekend. I love my guys!!!!

Here are some more pictures!!!

You might be taller than me, but....

I am still your mom and I'm in charge!

Those were the words I told Mac tonight after the official height check at the W ranchette. Every few months or so we measure the boys to see how much they have grown. Since April, Mac has grown over an inch. He was officially taller than me in April and now he's grown another inch!!! He may very well be close to 6 foot tall by Christmas.... I must have shrunk!!!

Weston also grew about an inch since the end of February. He was very excited to know that he is the same height that Mac was when he was 9. Wes jumped up and down screaming, "I'll be tall like Mac." It's hard having a BIG big brother.

Walker couldn't wait for his turn to be measured. He too grew an inch and was proud of himself.

Every boy in the house is growing. What will my grocery bill be like when they are all teenagers???

I shudder to think...

Beach Boys and a Cute Red Head...UPDATED

On the walk back home from fishing on the bridge:

Mac: Hey Mom, I took a picture of the fish we caught.

Mom: Oh really, at camp?

Mac: No, the ones we caught today.

Mom: How did you do that?

Mac: I have a camera in my tackle box. I also have a flashlight and a can of oil.

Weston: Well aren't you a regular Mary Poppins. Can you pull a lamp out of it too?

Laughter!!! He's so quick!

Walker's first fish, with Bubby's help.

This is the cute red head. Just love her!!

So this is how we spent Thursday & Friday. Our wonderful friends, the Reitz family, invited us to their bay house in Rockport. The boys fished, swam, fished again, then fished some more. Today we spent about six hours at the beach in Rockport where they swam and fished yet again! We are tired to say the least and a bit pink on the face and arms. None of the boys wanted to leave tonight which is a great compliment to the fun we have had. Thanks again for asking us to come down there. Can't wait til next time!!!


During one fishing excursion Mac lost his shoe, just one, which happened to be a relatively expensive Texas A&M Croc. He hunted for it in the mucky water for about 20 minutes with no luck. At one point I said,

"Come on Mac. Find your shoe. Be the survivor man or like the Crocodile Hunter."

He said,

"Mom, not the Crocodile Hunter. I'm a Croc Hunter."

Hardy har har.

We're Still Here

So much to do and no time to blog! That is my excuse this month anyway. So here is the the scoop in words and pictures from the last two and a half months.

Mother's Day was exciting for me. Trey always makes me feel very special on this day. I got flowers at school on Friday, some clothes and beads for my Pandora bracelet. Then came the big surprise. I have been wanting a new cell phone since October when my friend Michelle and I went to New York City. Her iphone got us all over the city with no problems. Well......Saturday morning Trey got up and said he was going to make the rounds and check the cattle. I didn't think anything of that since that is the normal routine. The sneak actually went to Victoria and and bought me an iphone!!!! I was so shocked I jumped up and down on the bed and screamed. I am now a proud owner and an addicted user!!! I love my new phone! Thanks, honey.


The next weekend was Walker's 5th birthday. Of course we had to have a Guitar Hero theme party. As you may remember, Walker is a GH fool. I can't believe my baby boy with me in kindergarten next year. He is such a joy and makes us ALL smile. He loves to sing, play on the computer, and is the next family DJ. That boy knows what song is on what CD and what number. He can also pick up the words to a song after hearing it two or three times. That is amazing to me! Walker likes to go check the cows with dad and take rides on the Ranger or mule. He is a good boy and we l-o-v-e love him more everyday.























For Memorial weekend the familia headed to Dallas to visit my brother and SIL and nephew. They have a new beautiful home with so much room. We all enjoyed spending time together and saw two movies, Star Trek and Angels & Demons, both very good. The boys had fun with Hudson and played football all weekend in the backyard.

The end of the school year was super busy as usual. The boys had lots of field trips and fun including Weston's grade going bowling and watching the principal kiss a pig because their TAKS scores were so good. Weston also made his First Communion.

Then Walker graduated from nursery school. He was too cute and did a great job singing and leading the class in a Spanish song. Yes, that's right, our boy can speak Spanish. He is the brains in the family.


June has been super busy. The boys have been to every camp they can possibly go to. Right after school got out, we took Mac to Aggieland for A&M Football camp. He had a great time and said he wished it would have lasted longer. Staying in the Corps dorms was a new experience for him. The day we dropped Mac off, Trey accidentally ran into an old college buddy, Steve. He also has a son Mac's age. What a coincidence. When we picked up Mac and his friend Zach, we took them to eat lunch at the Dixie Chicken, Northgate's #1 destination where Trey and his old college buddies had many a good time. They got a Freddy burger and played pool.

Between sports camps here at the local high school, Mac and Weston went to a hunting camp around Columbus for a whole week. A few other friends went with them. They had a great time and it was a good experience for them to be somewhat on their own without mom and dad. Whie they were at camp, Walker went to vacation bible school where he showed his singing skills for everyone during the program. What a performer!

Trey & I managed to get away for a nice vacation. We have been to Las Vegas three times now. Trey actually played in a WSOP event and placed in the money. He had a blast and was so excited! We went with some family and met up with his other cousin, Susan and husband Jeff. While Trey played cards, I relaxed and treated myself to some time at the spa. We also enjoyed Penn & Teller and some good food. We really needed that vacation!













Ok, that should get you up to speed. Hopefully between the plans we have for the rest of the summer and my summer school classes, I'll make another post soon.