We're back!

Well, our visit with family was just great.  First of all, Sam and I went seperately.  He rode his motorcycle and I drove the van.  It wasn't a bad drive except that it took forever just to get onto the interstate in Temple.  There happened to be a few wrecks along the way.  Weird.  Anyway, we went to my mom's house first.  She had a lia sophia jewelry party on Saturday and I helped her set up for it.  The table decor was my handiwork. :) (I really enjoy doing stuff like that.) Mom suggested using honeysuckle as the centerpiece and it really turned out pretty.  We got to visit with several friends that we haven't seen in a very long time.  They also got to meet Zekey for the first time.  It also turned out to be a mini family reunion of sorts.  My Aunt Scarlet and cousin Tyler came and so did my Great-aunt Katherine.  It was nice to see everyone.  Braden and Zekey got to hang out with Granny (my mom) for the weekend and then the whole next week Braden spent every night at Meemaw and Peepaw's (Sam's parents) house.  We stayed in Grandmommie's house right next door to be available just in case.  They had VBS at their church and it was really neat.  They had a cowboy/girl theme with a chuck wagon, hay ride, games, dinner, a dwarf miniature horse, etc!  Pretty amazing.  All the cousins except the two youngest got to be there together and fun was had by all.  We also got to spend a lot of time just being together as a family.  Sam's mom had just had her gallbladder taken out the week before, but she handled it all like a trooper.  She had to take the occasional rest, but I'm very sure had it been me, I would have wanted to hang out in the bed for the most part! ;)  Anyway, we did have the group birthday party at which Braden got his first real sunburn.  He has now been inducted into the club with his dear, getting-old mom!  (Next time I will have to MAKE SURE he is wearing sunscreen....yep, its all my fault!) Basically, both Zekers and Braden made out like bandits!  (I think the theme from VBS was being carried on....maybe not so much in the good guy way, though. ahahahaha! just kidding.)  They both got some really neat presents, which Braden calls surprises.  So far the same issues with the birthday truck haven't cropped back up again, so I'm glad there.  I did have to make two cakes again this time cuz the first one didn't turn out right..... again.  (I think I'll blame it on the oven....yeah, the oven.) We ended up eating it anyway, though it was broken into chunks and eaten for dessert the night before the party. :) The second one was way better, but was a little under cooked for my taste.  (It was that oven again, I'm tellin' ya!)  The great thing was that my nephew Luke helped me decorate the whole thing!  He did about half and I did about half.  Yep, we make a great team.  I know who I'll be calling on next year when the time to make complicated cakes comes around.....!:)  The cousins were really excited because Sam gave them all a ride on the motorcycle.  Good times.   Sam and I even got to go on a date the day before we left.  We went to Posados in Longview and boy was it yummy!  The only bummer was that I was pretty sure that they still served green sauce and found out otherwise.  That is a sad, sad piece of news for me.  (Just a little aside:  I think one of these days, I'm gonna swing by Casa Ole for a gallon of green sauce...I might just hook it up to me via I.V., its more direct that way;p, hit Papacitas for the chips...that paprika they sprinkle on their super thin, crispy chips just makes my mouth wanna sing and then I'll have to head on over to Posados for the flour tortillas - light and fluffy...mmmmmmmmm.  Pretty much all of them make excellent fajita chicken quesadillas and cheese enchilada dinners with rice and beans, so, yeah.  It might have to end up being Posados, though, cuz they have free icecream......Yep, gonna have to do it.  I'll have to let you all know how that little escapade turns out!)  Okay, back to the story.;)  So, Sam and I had a really fun day, just the two of us.  My mom and Granny had Zekers for the day and Braden went with Meemaw, Peepaw, Uncle Ben, Aunt Jenny, Elijah, Luke, Gabe, Boaz and Dakota to the lake and let me tell you he had the best time!  We made it back in time to go up to VBS to take pictures.  I wanted to get some of Braden petting the little horse, but wouldn't you know it, my camera decided to fully give up the ghost!  Its been going a little haywire for a couple of months now, but I think this is the end.  Good thing we've been looking into getting a new camera anyway.  (More about that later.)  The next day, Saturday, we had to get ready to leave.  We got all packed and loaded up the van to the busting point, as usual, and had to say our goodbyes.  Braden was NOT okay with this part.  He didn't want to leave at all and on the way home kept asking if we were going back to Meemaw and Peepaw's house!  I really do think we could have left him for another week without our presence and he probably wouldn't have even noticed we weren't there!  He reminds me of when I would go stay with my Granny for two weeks here and there during the year.  I was NEVER homesick when I went to stay with her!  Though it kind of gives me pause that I'm seeing my child flat out not miss me, I'm honestly seeing potential here....yes, my plan is developing nicely....mmmwwwwaaaahahhaahhaaha! :D  So, anyway, we finally get on the road and get about an hour and a half out and guess what?  Yep, the drama unfolds.  Sam's only motorcycle key got broken in two thanks to a cranky gas cap.  Thankfully, he was able to get the little piece out of the lock.  We had to leave the motorcycle there outside of Tyler, but Sam's dad and brother were heros once again and came to our rescue!  They had already come and loaded up the bike and had it mostly back to Sam's parent's house before we even got back home.  Aren't they amazing?!?!?!  We are so GRATEFUL!!!  Anyway, for the most part, aside from just being a little drained, everything is getting back on track here.  Well, that's it for now.  I may not have a post every day for a while while I recover, but I'll leave off with a bazillion pics from our trip.


Le fabulous table decor:)

Cookies went in the silver tray and punch in the punch bowl. I just forgot to take a picture of the finished product.

I was messing around with the light sensitivity on my camera and this was the result. When I was standing right beside them, I could barely make them out is was so dark in the room. Cool, huh?


This is my sister Jennifer. She was asked to do a little presentation as the woman at the well for Meemaw's class. Sam and I were in there sitting to the side when she came in. Afterwards she told us she wasn't expecting an audience. Surprise!!! hehehe She did such a good job and was then asked to go to all the classes and do her presentation!


This is Sam's mom aka Meemaw who just happens to be a Kindergarten teacher. Guess which age group she was teaching? Our nephew Gabe was in her class.





I wanted to get some shots of this. I just thought it was cute that they were all holding on to the rope and having a good time yacking with one another. Braden and his cousin Boaz got to be in the same class together.


Hayride time! The kids really enjoyed this. We rode with Braden's class along with Jennifer. (FYI: She's mother to Elijah, Luke, Gabe and Boaz. She's married to Sam's brother Ben. Therefore my sister.)


Sam and his super cheesy self. Yep, it gets worse!:)


Me and Jennifer trying to take decent pictures while on a hayride.


Me failing at that miserably cuz Jennifer was making me laugh too much! (BTW, look at my huge, honkin' face! I have a really big face right now. Wow!)


Boaz, a little out of focus. It was a wee bit hot, too.


Meemaw and Peepaw having a good time. I don't know who this little girl is, but she's cute, isn't she?


See, I told ya...it got worse!;p


I love this picture. Jennifer and Gabe having a moment.


Me being a goob. (It runs in the family! hehehe)


More Jenny and Gabe....


If I had better skills, this could have been a very interesting study for photography.





Boaz with his "craft".


Braden and his "craft". I'm still not sure what they are supposed to be.:)


Michael, just chillin' in his carseat.


The super-duper, fantabulous, second-attempt birthday cake.
This one had it all folks - an erupting volcano, dinosaurs, trees, a pond, a railroad track complete with Thomas the Train and don't forget the balloons! Oh, yeah, Luke and I had a good time making this one! I bet you can't even tell who did which part! He did such a good job!


Sam and Zekey at the pre-birthday preparations. By the way, Luke took all the pictures at the birthday party! Didn't he do such a good job? I'm thinking he's gonna follow in Aunt Shelly's footsteps and be a photographer. OH, yeah......


Dakota and Gabe in the pool. (FYI: Dakota and Michael are Mollie's kiddos. She's Sam's sister, therefore my sister. I consider that I have three sisters. My sister Sara who I grew up with - biological, and Jennifer and Mollie who were given to me by marriage by the Grace of God! Just trying to save on confusion;)


There's a lot of love here. Can you feel it? Dakota, Gabe and Boaz trying to choke each other, I think!;)


Dakota, Gabe, Boaz and Braden. Do you see something wrong with this picture? Yeah, we hadn't gotten Braden a swim shirt yet and I forgot to put sunscreen on him! Yikes! He's still healing from the sunburn. ;(


Me and Michael. I don't even want to suppose what he was thinking! Isn't he a cuter patooter?!


Granny (my mom) and Zekey. She got to come to the party on her lunch break.


Zekey's new wheelbarrow from Meemaw and Peepaw.


Braden's helicopter from Dakota. Didn't Dakota do such a good job picking that out? (Pay no attention to the woman behind the kid! aaaaaah!)


Zekey trying to play with two large toys at once.


New shoes from Ben, Jen and boys.


Boaz and his goody bag! I made sure there was plenty of
candy....mmmwwwaaahahahaha!


Braden and his new favorite very loud game from Meemaw and Peepaw. Peepaw said something about who would get such a noisy game and everyone laughed when he was told it had come partly from him! :D


Zekey and some bugs.


This is a very sacked out Peepaw and Michael!


At VBS they had a little picture with the face cut out and Sam and Zekers had a good time cheesin' it up for the camera!








Zekey on a saddle.

Zekey and Luke on a "bull".


Sam is a little too big for the bull ride, I think!


MMMmmm....root beer floats and brownies and cookies! They even got the kids cowboy boot glasses to drink out of. So neatThis was Friday night after they all went to the lake. All the little rosy cheeks!