Branson, Missouri

We had a blast in Branson, Missouri! Here is our vacation in pictures.


We went to our favorite amusement park, Silver Dollar City. This Old West theme park has a variety of attractions for adults and kids alike.


It was HOT, and the kids got WET. Good combination.




Fun things around every corner!


By the end, we were ALL tuckered out.


Next day we were off to the Butterfly Museum!


First, we watched a cool 3-D movie about butterflies.


Then, we got to observe the real thing!

In order to get out of the museum, we had to make our way through a mirror maze.

As we "reflect" on our Branson experience, I must say we had an outstanding time! Thanks to Grammie and Gramps for hosting us!

Baseball Season

Wilson's first real baseball season has come and gone.



His team played great . . .



And Wilson learned a ton and played extremely well!

For those of you that haven't had the pleasure of enduring a Texas youth baseball season, here's the scoop. You know it's baseball season when...

1. You find yourself saying, "Oh, I can't. I'll be at the ball fields watching a game" A LOT.

2. You are constantly tripping over balls, bats, and gloves which are laying around the house.

3. Your one-year-old is loyal only to his brother's baseball and bat, which he religiously carries around and then screams when you try to pry it from his fleshy hands.

4. You have blisters on your hands from scrubbing the peevish red dirt from the white polyester baseball uniform pants (which it will never come out regardless--Darn you baseball pants!)

5. You look in your back yard and you see a baseball diamond cut out of the grass. We really have one, thanks to a very enthusiastic dad/coach.

Great job Wil! We are so proud of you!

Dance Recital

Last weekend was the much anticipated Dance Rectial! We were able to see Maisy's hard work manifested Texas style.


Her class did an exhilarating tap dance dressed as Texas Cowgirls.

She had a great year in dance. She enjoyed was seeing her friends every week in class.

We are very proud of our little Texas Cowgirl.A special thanks to Grammy and Pop for driving all the way from Arkansas to see the performance. They even bought her flowers. We got some great video too. Enjoy!

Memorial Day weekend and other random stuff

So, we have been SUPER busy! The month of May flew by--as you can tell from our one entry on the blog for the whole month. We have one week of school left and I'm really hoping life will slow down just a little bit. We've been running around like crazy going to dance, baseball, end of school activites, and much more. But dance and baseball are over now (stayed tuned to posts about these activities!) We hope to be spending our days at the pool very very soon.

This past Memorial Day weekend we were excited to have our cousins come for a spur-of-the-moment visit. My brother and his family live in Laredo and so they like to get out of town every so often. We love having them! Here is Maisy and Olive in their matching dresses. They were tickled to be wearing the same dress.
Here's my brother and his wife at Wil's baseball game. That's Eliot there little boy. They were such good sports because in the 4th inning it started pouring rain. I mean the kind of one-minute-it-was-sunny-and-the-next-it's-dumping-water rain storm. But, we survived.
The kids were so good and we had a great time. Thanks for coming Cam and Kress! Come back soon!!

Okay, so here come the random parts of this post. Our rose bush has been so gorgeous this season. We love having *the yellow rose of Texas* right in our front yard. Oh, and they smell delicious too!

And I realized I never showed an updated picture of our family room. We finally found a paint color that we liked. I got the curtains sewed and mounted. And to tie up the room--a few throw pillows. I realized that gold pillows look a lot more aesthetic in the room than gold walls. So yea!

better posts coming soon...

Restaurant Review: 5th Quarter

We have discovered a new place! It's called 5th Quarter and it is located in Melissa--right off of Highway 121. Texaco is across the street and Mr. Jim's Pizza is right next door.

It's totally got that small town, neighborhood hang out diner ambiance. When we go there, we fully expect to see Ralph Malph, Potsie Webber, Richie Cunningham, and the Fonz eating in the booth next to us.
The 5th Quarter is very family friendly with a great kids menu. It previously was a sports bar, but was recently bought out and now has a new owner that has changed the atmosphere completely.
This is what Maisy and Wilson always order--The Mini Corn Dogs and Mac-n-Cheese (The mini corn dogs are homemade, I think--but I'm not so sure about the mac-n-cheese.)
These are just sample pictures of some of our favorites. Honestly, we love a lot of things on the menu. Above is the Fettuccine Alfredo with grilled vegetables and fresh broccoli. The kids love the broccoli.
Here's Brett's hamburger with the most delicious Sweet Potato Fries! They are sprinkled with a little cinnamon and sugar--YUM! I have found that my favorite dish is probably the Chicken Fried Steak. That's what I usually order.
So it might sound like we frequent the 5th Quarter regularly. Well, we do. And one of our favorite nights to go is Friday because it's KARAOKE NIGHT! That's right--they have a stage and everything. In fact our very own Wilson has graced the stage. I'm kicking myself that I don't have pictures of it. But I wasn't expecting him to sing Karaoke that night...

It was a happenin' establishment and busy night at the 5th Quarter, when we arrived after baseball practice. Wilson's first game was the next day and he was very fired up. I was a bit surprised when he asked me if we could stay so he could sing a song. I really wasn't sure if he would actually go through with it because it was so crowded that night. He just kept saying, "Nothing's keepin' me off that stage tonight!" When they called his name he got up on stage intrepidly and sang everyword in rhythm (and mostly in tune) to "Eye of The Tiger." Let's just say we were all fired up after that! It was awesome. I was in shock. It was awesome! Thank you Guitar Hero: World Tour.

So, good times at the 5th Quarter. Come on out and give it a try (and let us know if you go on Karaoke Friday Night and we will meet you there.)

Peru Part 5: The Jungle

Our final Peru post takes us to our last stop--the rainforest. We flew from Cusco to a little frontier town called Puerto Maldonado, then we got to the Tambopata River . . . . . . where we boarded these motorized canoes and traveled for two hours to get to our eco lodge in the middle of the Amazon basin. They served us an awesome rice stir fry in a banana leaf, which we promptly tossed into the river when we were finished. The rooms can only be described as jungle-chic. Each room had three bamboo walls and a fourth side open to the rain forest. There was no electricity at the lodge, just candles and kerosene lamps. It was a completely unique and beautiful place to spend two days.

I'd like to meet the mosquito that can make its way through this net.
Well, here's our bathroom. Only bathroom I've ever been in where I can shower and wave at passers-by at the same time! Our guides were Fernando and Pedro. They were great guys who loved to joke around with the kids, and knew everything there is to know about the rainforest. We climbed a 120 foot tower that ascended above the canopy of the rainforest, and we were treated to some spectacular views . . . . . . at sunset. Perfect. Our last full day in Peru, we went out onto the river before sunrise to go view some exotic jungle animals. We were successful, and witnessed a family of giant river otters, numerous interesting birds, and some really super huge gigantic jungle insects. Fernando and Pedro gave us some primitive fishing poles with a piece of raw meat dangling on the hook. We dunked the bait in the water and pulled up some piranhas! We got up close and personal with our new toothy friends.


After fishing, we took a swim in the Tambopata. As soon as we jumped in, a brief torrential downpour came through, making our river swim even more unforgettable. And no, we didn't get nibbled by any piranhas.

So friends, that's Peru. If you have about five hours, come by and we'll tell you the whole story. It was the experience of a lifetime, and we've enjoyed sharing it with you!