Bryson's Family

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-26T14:30:00.007-06:00

I am a loser and haven't posted anything on here in months!!! I will try to be better about it! :)

Anyway...we had a great and busy Christmas this year!

A couple of weeks ago, we spent the weekend at the Westin La Cantera Resort. If you are ever in San Antonio, stay here! We loved it! It's really nice and very pretty!

Jerrod and Bryson in the lobby of our hotel

Me and Bryson hanging out by the fire

For the first time in my life, we had a white Christmas!
Bryson wanted to go outside and make snowballs so we bundled him up good! ....He later came inside with one of the snowballs and threw it at me...inside my house! On my clean wood floors! :) Such a boy!

Christmas Eve at Grammy & Pops' house. He wasn't spoiled at all! :)

Christmas morning!

Bryson making sure that he didn't leave anything in his stocking :)

Our annual Christmas morning picture in front of our tree

We went over to my parent's house for Christmas lunch and more gifts!

It was a long day but it was full of fun :)

My Poppie wins the prize for the best gift ever given! On my Granny and Poppie's 50th wedding anniversary, my Poppie gave Granny a beautiful ring. Several years ago when Granny found out that she was developing Alzheimer's, she stopped wearing the ring because she was scared that she would lose it. She told my Poppie that she wanted him to one day have something made for each of her granddaughters from that ring. Yesterday my Poppie gave me, and the other granddaughters, a pendant with diamonds from Granny's anniversary ring. Poppie said that he hopes that it will always remind us of our Granny and that we were "Granny's girl" and that she loved us very much. :)

Such a sweet gift. There wasn't a dry eye in the house. Of course it will always remind me of my sweet Granny. Of course I will always be "Granny's girl". And of course I know how much she loves me. I will always cherish the pendant and my Granny.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! :)

...now it's time to take down the decorations. I hate doing that every year!! It's so depressing! :)

Here we go again.......

2009-08-03T19:46:00.002-05:00

I am SO behind on blogging! I'll have to catch up soon!

But, until then...

Oh yes! I'm there! And this time, I have more stalker buddies joining me! YUSSS! Lace up those stalker boots, girls!

(I'm such a jr high girl!)

Key West, FL

2009-06-23T22:19:00.008-05:00

Well, now that it's been a month since our trip to Florida, I guess I'll go ahead and post some pictures from our vacation :)

Once I returned to Miami from my New Kids Cruise :) I stayed a couple of days with Debbie (Krystal's mom) until Jerrod and Bryson flew out to meet me. Jerrod said that Bryson was so cute on the airplane. He's been on a plane before, but was too young to remember it. He was so excited to go to the airport and step onto a plane...he was even able to visit the cockpit! The pilot asked him "have you ever flown a plane before?". Bryson answered "yes". :) Bryson watched out the window as they took off. Once they flew high enough to be above the clouds, Bryson asked "are we upside down". (haha) It just didn't make sense for the clouds to be underneath the plane!

As they were descending, Bryson's ears clogged up. Jerrod said that he started being really loud and shouted "la la la la la la la. Hey Daddy, I have to talk really loud to hear myself". Jerrod said that it reminded him of the video posted on youtube of the little boy still high after visiting the dentist (look it up if you haven't seen it!)

Once they landed, Jerrod said "Bryson, we're in Miami now". Bryson was confused and asked "but where's 'my' ami". Your ami, my ami...it's everyone's ami. :)

They rented a car and drove to Debbie's house. I was so glad to see my boys!

Debbie knew that she was going to miss Bryson's birthday this year, so she wanted to throw him a special little birthday party at her house. That was so sweet of her! She bought him an ice cream cake and a little guitar.

I offered to write "Happy Birthday" on the cake...take a look:
Happy "Birtday". I'm such a genius. Dork!

It was Jerrod's birthday the day before, so he got an ice cream cake too. Father/Son birthday party!

We stayed the night at Debbie's then drove to Key West the next day.

Bryson at the hotel pool.
(why do kids love to swim in the pool even when there is an ocean 10 feet away?)

Practicing snorkeling in the pool
He thought it was funny to see Daddy under the water

Our first Key West sunset

Building sandcastles

Hanging out on our balcony at the hotel

Us at the southernmost point of the U.S.

I love pink sunsets and palm trees!

This is my most favorite picture of Bryson right now! So handsome!

A little night swimming

Bryson and me on a boat that took us out snorkeling

Daddy and Bryson getting ready to snorkel.

Bryson did SO good! It was so cute the first time he put his head under the water. Once he had all of his gear on, he stuck his head under and through his little snorkel, I could hear him say "OHHHHHH"! He discovered that there is a whole new world under the water.

At one point, he was sitting on the boat looking out at the horizon. There was nothing but ocean for as far as you could see. Of course you could also see where the ocean met the sky. He suddenly turned to me and said "we are going to crash into the sky" :)

He thought this yacht was pretty cool and needed his picture taken next to it

Tired and in a bad mood at dinner. Look at that face!

Hanging out at the pier

Our last Key West sunset

He was exhausted by the end of our trip!

We had a lot of fun :) It was a great vacation with my boys!

Six Flags!!!

2009-06-19T18:09:00.004-05:00

For Bryson's birthday, he received a Six Flags season pass from his Grammy & Pops (and one for me too. score!)

This would be Bryson's first time to ride the rides at Six Flags!

(he's been to Holiday in the Park, but he was only 1 at the time)

Bryson riding the Batman airplane! Remember folks, he's obsessed with Batman these days! We rode this ride 4 times in a row and stayed in Gotham City for about 2 hours!

Us riding the Batman airplane...probably our 3rd time on the ride :)

Bryson by the Batmobile

Up on the parachute ride

The next picture was taken as we were heading up the first big hill of the Judge Roy Scream. This was Bryson's very first time on a roller coaster. He LOVED it! (he's his mother's son) We rode it 3 times in a row...at HIS request :)

Video of his very first roller coaster ride! Hilarious!

And finally, he spotted Batman and had to have his picture taken with him!

It sure was hot outside, but we had a great day :)

Happy Birthday Bryson!

2009-06-14T09:57:00.008-05:00

My baby boy turned 4 years old today! 4!!

Age 4 favorites:

food- ice cream

TV show- batman

toy- batman

desert- messy chocolate

drink- juice

clothes- anything batman

1st birthday- Hawaiian Luau

2nd birthday- Mickey Mouse

3rd birthday- Mater from the movie Cars

4th birthday- Batman

His party was at Monkey Grounds in Bedford. He had a great time and came home with LOTS of new toys!

Oh, George!

2009-06-07T20:43:00.006-05:00

Last night, Jerrod and I went to the new Cowboy's Stadium to see George Strait! I love me some George!

I could do a whole post just on the stadium! It is NICE!

This screen is HUGE...this picture does not do it justice. You too can own a HDTV like this for a mere $40 million! The 600-ton Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Vision System has the world's largest HD video boards. Hanging 90 feet above the field, each screen facing the sidelines is about 60 yards long and 72 feet tall. It's kind of large.

Blake Shelton

Reba McIntyre

And finally, my man, George!

He was so good! Seriously, how many other people have 50+ #1 hits?!

Towards the middle of his show, he started a little chant. "Jerry, open the roof!"

(it takes 12 minutes for it to fully open)

Jerry listened :)

Below are a couple of videos of George singing my favorite songs! "Amarillo By Morning" and "The Chair"!

It was a great show! :)

No Doubt!

2009-06-01T19:15:00.003-05:00

No Doubt played in Dallas on Saturday night for the first time in years! I went with Jerrod, my two sisters, and my cousin. No Doubt was amazing! There aren't many concerts that you can go to and LOVE every single song that they perform! We had a great time! :)

She so does not look like she has 2 small kids!

Jenny, Me, Jerrod, Mandy and Sarah

Good times!!

NEW KIDS CRUISE!

2009-05-26T23:05:00.022-05:00

Disclaimer: If you do not like long posts and/or you do not like reading about the New Kids on the Block....move on! This post is not for you!

Alrighty! As most of you know, Krystal and I had the pleasure of going on a cruise with our beloved New Kids on the Block May 15-18. To say that we had a blast is a major understatement! We had SO much fun! It was great to be in stalker mode for a few days straight! (although I did miss my stalker buddy...you know who you are!)

When we first boarded the ship, this is what we saw:

YEA! "Welcome aboard"!

Everyone on the ship was to decorate their cabin door. We were supposed to be "creative". We decided to go with an army theme...New Kids army. This was our door:

"Soldiers since 1986" haha

It was fun to go around and look at everyone's doors. There were some good ones and some really funny ones!

Our cabin was in a great spot! Right across the hall from us was Joe's daddy. We called him "Daddy Mac". And, about 10 doors down were all of the New Kids. ...and yes, we did spot them in the hallway several times...we just started keeping our door open! ha. I was tempted to sleep in the hallway! :)

Below is a picture of the atrium:
The picture doesn't do it justice...the banners were huge! Greatness!!!

Out on the deck, the guys held a "sail away" party. There were tons of people out there but we had a great time!

My favorite, Donnie

Krystal's favorite, Jordan

Joe

Jordan & Joe

Donnie

Joe (and no, I didn't touch up this picture. he really does look that good! haha)

After the sail away party, a group of us met in one of the lounges for a game of NKOTB Feud! All of the guys played...and Joe's daddy joined the fun! Joe's daddy is so sweet and friendly.

Daddy Mac & Donnie

Jordan, Joe, Daddy Mac, & Donnie
NKOTB Feud was a lot of fun...LOTS of laughs!

Daddy Mac, Joe, Danny, Donnie, Jon, & Jordan

Later that night, there was a PJ party out on the deck! FUN!

Krystal and me

Jordan

Donnie

Joe

Here is a picture of Krystal and me right before their big concert

Out by the atrium

OK, so after the concert, we decided to have a little photo session with a big cardboard cutout of the guys.

What's funny about this is....we didn't know that Donnie was about 5 feet behind this picture! Our photo session was held in front of the casino.

We took a few pics of us kissing the boys (haha...so jr high, I know!)

Suddenly, a girl walked out of the casino and said "Donnie is right over there (pointing) playing Blackjack". What!? Photo session over! We "casually" walk into the casino and sure enough, there he was. We didn't want to stand there and stare at him like he was a zoo exhibit, so we went over the the cashier and decided to play blackjack...at the table right next to him. I tried not to stare too much. A few minutes later, Jordan joined Donnie.

We all played for about an hour or so before the guys left. As Donnie was getting up from the table, he said "I need to go hug these girls at this table". He came over and hugged us and kissed us on the cheek! He told me "good luck" as he was leaving. ...I needed it.

What a great way to end the night!

The next day, the guys held a Q & A session in one of the lounges. Once again, lots of fun and lots of laughs. I couldn't believe some of the questions that were being asked!

Later that night, there was another party out on the deck. Tonight's theme: all white. It was kind of neat to look out and see everyone out there wearing all white.
...and yes, that is a Donnie necklace that I'm wearing :) and Krystal is sporting her Jordan necklace. (Thank you Stacey from NKOTB Stalkerfest!)

(This next video was not recorded by me, I found it on youtube)

The all white party was our last night on the ship :(

....and we never went to bed

Seriously, we had a total of 8 hours of sleep during the entire cruise! The earliest we went to bed was 5am! There were deck parties every night and we were not about to leave the party before the guys left! So, we didn't sleep much at all! It was so worth it though :)

Other highlights of the cruise:

NKTV - a television station that played nothing but New Kids 24/7. It was great!

One morning, while our door was open, Donnie walked by, stepped in our room and said "come over here and give me a hug". Ummm...OK! And yeah, I still had my pj's on! But I didn't care!

Did I kiss Donnie again? Ummm, yes! Did I sit in his lap? Ummm, yes! hahahaha ...it was very innocent though! :)

Breakfast with Danny's dad. We told him that we had met him 19 years ago at the mall. He asked us "19 years ago, did you ever think that we'd be here today?". No :) But I'm sure glad we were!

Here are a few more pictures:

Everyone celebrated Jordan's birthday on the cruise

So, that pretty much wraps up the cruise in a semi-small nutshell! Like I said, we had sooo much fun and are so glad that we were able to go on this trip. We are very lucky girls indeed.

And guess what? There will be a cruise in 2010. I'm so there! Who wants to join me? :) Super Stalker Cruise 2010!

Lady GaGa said it best in her song "Paparazzi":

"I'm your biggest fan
I'll follow you until you love me
Papa-paparazzi
Baby there's no other superstar
You know that I'll be your
Papa-paparazzi

Promise I'll be kind
But I won't stop until that boy is mine
Baby you'll be famous
Chase you down until you love me
Papa-paparazzi"

Hello from the middle of the ocean! :)

2009-05-17T20:10:00.002-05:00

Tonight is my last night on SS NKOTB! :(

It has been SO much fun!! I'll post pics once I get home!

Highlights:

1) NKTV- television station on the ship showing nothing but New Kids 24/7. Awesome.
2) Deck parties, NKOTB feud, and Q & A sessions with the guys
3) New Kids' cabins right down the hall from us and Joe's daddy directly across the hall. He's so cute! And very sweet. We call him Daddy Mac.
4) Playing blackjack at the table right next to Donnie and Jordan. Afterwards, Donnie got up and said "I need to hug the girls at this table" and he hugged and kissed all of us on the cheek. Love that guy!
5) We had our cabin door open this morning while we were finishing getting dressed for the day. Krystal was curling her hair and Jon walked by, peeked in, and said "hey girl curling your hair"! She looked over and was in shock to see Jon. They both started laughing.
6) Sightings of the guys in our hall and around the ship
7) Donnie stepping in our doorway and saying "come here and give me a hug"! Hello! Yes sir! :) What a great way to start off my day!!
8) Sitting in Donnie's lap! (yes, that's right!)
9) A kiss from Donnie
10) Great concert!
11) Memories that I will never forget!!!!

We have had sooo much fun!

We have a party out on the deck tonight with the guys. Our last party of the cruise :(
It went by fast but I am so glad that I was lucky enough to go!! ....Thank you Jerrod for letting me go! :)

Learning how to snorkel

2009-05-11T22:45:00.005-05:00

Our vacation to Key West is in a little over a week! Bryson is sooo excited. He has a "Florida Countdown" sheet hanging on our fridge. He gets to mark off a day every night after dinner. We showed him video of snorkeling online and asked him if he wanted to do that in Florida. He said "yes" so we have been practicing in the tub!!! :) He caught on pretty quickly. Hopefully he will do just as well in deeper water! We'll soon see! ...I'm sure we'll try snorkeling in the pool before we attempt it in the ocean.

On a different note...I leave for my New Kids cruise in 3 days!!! Do I even need to tell you how excited I am?! I doubt it!

I fly out of DFW at the crack of dawn on Thursday. Seriously...my flight leaves at 6am. Yuck!

On Thursday night, Krystal and I are going to a party that the New Kids are hosting at a nightclub on Miami beach called LIV. Look at this place:

This looks like it will be a little different than my usual outing of dinner and a movie! I even had to go out and buy me a fancy little cocktail dress! It's cute...but so out of my comfort zone! (comfort zone= jeans and t-shirt)

Should be fun!

I'll report on the night out in Miami and the cruise soon! :)

Bon voyage!

The Zoo and Easter

2009-04-17T10:09:00.008-05:00

Last weekend, Jerrod and his parents took Bryson to the zoo.

Sitting on an elephant

Here he is sitting on the elephant 2 years ago :)
He looks like a baby here!!
Checking out the tigers

Enjoying an afternoon snack

All buckled in ready for a 3-D adventure

Playing in the water...I think this was his favorite part of the entire zoo. An easy way to tell if he's having a lot of fun is by looking at his mouth. If it's wide open, he's having fun! He's always done this. Even as a baby, his mouth would be wide open when having a good time.

It was pouring outside on Easter morning this year. Luckily, it didn't stop the Easter Bunny from leaving eggs at our house. He just left them upstairs in Bryson's playroom. How considerate!

Bryson checking out the note from the Easter Bunny

As soon as I read the note to him, he bolted upstairs as fast as he could
Score! Eggs everywhere!

He loved getting sports themed eggs (baseball eggs, football eggs, etc)

Showing me his full basket

Tax Season is OVER and I'm a happy camper! It's nice and rainy outside today...perfect for pj's and a nap!

We just planned our family vacation. We will be heading to the Florida Keys this summer! We've never been there, so we're excited. We're going on May.

Do you want to know the best part about this vacation??? It's FREE!

We pay most of our bills by credit card to earn air miles and hotel points (we just have to be disciplined and pay the credit card off each month). Every year we rack up enough miles and points for free airfare and hotels. NICE! I like "free"!

Oklahoma, TCU, and the Circus

2009-04-06T20:08:00.010-05:00

Bryson had a very busy weekend! On Friday, he went with Daddy to Oklahoma to visit Bryan Miller and his family.

Bryan lives on over 100 acres of land so there is plenty of room for boys to be boys.

Bryson climbing a mound of dirt. Totally a boy thing to do!

Bryan, his son, Jackson, and Bryson

Jerrod and Bryson riding the dirt bike

Bryson and Aubrey (Bryan's daughter)

Bryson & Jackson

Bryan pushing Bryson and Jackson on the swings

On Sunday, my parents took Bryson and his cousin, Dillon, to an Easter Egg hunt at TCU (my dad's Alma mater). They were able to meet the Easter Bunny, hunt for eggs, get their picture taken with the TCU mascot, and...

get sweet tattoos on their legs.

Last night, we took Bryson to the circus in Dallas. This was his first trip to the circus. He even got to ride an elephant!

Enjoying the circus junk food

Trying to get a better look using his binoculars

Umm, ouch

Eating more circus junk food. I do love me some cotton candy!

-Oklahoma

-TCU egg hunt

-Circus

I think my boy had a fun weekend!

-On a side note, April 15th is in 9 days! Oh, I can't wait :)

What will I be doing on April 16th? Absolutely nothing! It's gonna be nice!

Britney Spears in Dallas

2009-04-01T20:59:00.005-05:00

I must admit...the girl puts on an amazing show! VERY entertaining indeed!

Summer Tour, Baby!

2009-03-30T19:21:00.004-05:00

I'm so there! (along with Alicia, Jodi, Julie, Krystal and whoever else wants to join the par-tay!)

My Boy

2009-03-14T10:03:00.004-05:00

Look at these pictures...

Who does Bryson look like?

Look closely again at all of the pictures.

He looks like...

My mom!

The picture above was taken of my mom when she was 4 years old. Just cover up the brown curly hair, and you've got Bryson's face!

My mom showed me this picture last night and Jerrod and I couldn't believe how much Bryson looks like her at that age. Crazy!

Mr. GQ and cleaning up

2009-03-12T20:47:00.003-05:00

I came home from work the other day to find my boy looking like this:

He had on camo shorts, a McQueen pj shirt, and Spider-Man flippers, gloves, and goggles. He was lookin' smoooth!

Shooting spiderwebs at Daddy

I wish I had video of him walking around the house in his flippers!

Bryson doing chores:

A week or so ago, Bryson wanted popcorn and accidentally poured the kernels all over the kitchen floor. He didn't get in trouble but he did have to vacuum them up himself :) He did a pretty good job!

Our Weekend At The Great Wolf Lodge!

2009-03-01T20:08:00.006-06:00

As many of you know, I am in the middle of tax season right now! I have been working a lot more hours than usual and have been missing my family! So, I worked my tail off last week so I wouldn't have to work this weekend, and took my family to Great Wolf Lodge! We had so much fun! That place is really neat. I highly recommend it to anyone who has kids.

As I was checking into the hotel, Bryson spotted the indoor water park and was glued to the window

We quickly took our bags up to our room (which included a small log cabin inside for Bryson), changed our clothes, and headed to the water park

I think sitting on these little jet skis and shooting people with water was his favorite part of the whole weekend!

Bryson going down the "baby slide". He also went down some of the big people slides but I don't have any pictures to prove it.

After we left the water park, we ate a quick dinner then headed over to the fireplace for story time. Every night at 8:15, all of the kids gather in the front lobby by the fire to have a story read to them.

After story time we headed back up to our room. Bryson LOVED his little log cabin. I was kind of jealous, actually :) It was really neat! His cabin had bunk beds inside and a flat screen TV!

He slept on the top bunk...and only fell off once! Seriously. But, he's fine! :) He just slipped off the ladder once when climbing down from his bed.

Sweet, handsome boy :) I love seeing him happy

The next morning, we woke up, went downstairs for breakfast, then headed back to the waterpark!

This bucket dumps 1,000 gallons of water on the people below

We headed home around 3 today.

10 minutes into our car ride back home, this is what I saw:

He was worn out!

Bryson had SO much fun! It was fun to see him so excited to be there and in such a great mood. He loved the water park, his little cabin, and I think he enjoyed spending time with his parents too! :)

I'm glad I worked the extra hours this week so I could spend the weekend with my boys at the Great Wolf. It was worth it!

We will definitely go back again!

A trip to the dentist

2009-02-06T03:53:00.001-06:00

I saw this on YouTube and thought it was pretty funny :) Poor kid. He had a tooth pulled and was still out of it when he was in the car heading home.

My sweet son

2009-01-20T21:30:00.002-06:00

Bryson and I were in the car the other day. He started misbehaving pretty badly. After several requests for his behavior to change, I said "Bryson, you better straighten up right now or I'm going to pull over and spank you".

His reply:

"If you spank me, I'll spank you then I'll push you into the street and let cars run over you".

Nice.

Part of me wanted to beat him and part of me wanted to bust out laughing.

My son...he warms my heart.

Possibly the best vacation ever! :)

2009-01-14T10:44:00.001-06:00

Boyband NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK are to hit the high seas for a concert cruise.

The former teen heart-throbs have signed up for a special New Kids-themed three-day boat trip around the Caribbean, which will see performances from the group and special 'meet and greet' sessions for the fans.

The cruise is planned for 15-18 May (09) and will set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

I found a few more gems in my pile of old photos

2009-01-09T12:55:00.003-06:00

Youth group Progressive Dinner Party 1991!

Adam, Kristina, and me.

Nice Christmas shirts!

Jodi, Juan Gonzales, & Alicia! 1993

Our dads were so mad that we followed Juan all the way to his house! :)

(I can't find the pic of me with Juan)

Camp Deer Run 1992

Camp Deer Run 1993

Jealousy!

2008-12-31T18:40:00.003-06:00

Look at the 2 pictures Jerrod sent me today from his trip in Egypt!

Amazing.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T21:10:00.005-06:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas today! Our festivities began last night at my mom's house, then we had Jerrod's family over to our house today. I took way too many pictures :) Here are a few:

Here is Bryson's gingerbread house

that he made with my mom

Yum!

Mr. Cheese

He was soooo excited to get the Larry-mobile from my parents last night

Poppie watching while Bryson plays with his new Veggietales pirate ship

Gifts from Santa! (art desk, Handy Manny stuff, Wall-E stuff, etc.)

Momma and Bryson playing with Wall-E and Eve. Can you believe that I'm actually in a picture!?! (...although you can't see my face)

YES! More Veggietales toys!

Handy Manny. Bryson has been asking for this toy for months! Literally! So, needless to say, this was a huge hit!

Our traditional family photo wearing our pj's in front of the tree on Christmas morning

This kid seriously got way too many gifts! ALL of these are his...after he had already received about 10 other gifts.

On the "to do" list tomorrow: clean out toy box and take "old" toys to Mission Arlington!

This smile pretty much sums up our day! :)

2008-12-25T07:43:00.000-06:00

Christmas Party

2008-12-20T09:57:00.005-06:00

Yesterday Bryson's school had a Christmas party. All of the parents were invited. Bryson was sooo excited when he saw Jerrod and me walk through the door! He kept pointing at us and telling his friends "That's my Mom & Dad". I wonder if he'll always be that excited to see me show up at his school!? :)

Here are all of the kiddos enjoying their Christmas feast

Each kid had their own stocking. Bryson's is in the middle :)

Bryson singing :)

The kids sang 4 different songs for us that they had been practicing for weeks.

I actually teared up when they started singing!! That surprised me. It was my boy's first school program! Gosh. I'm going to be a mess on his first day if Kindergarten in a couple of years.

My sweet boy and his best buddy. He always talks about the little boy in the yellow shirt. They are buds! It's funny, though, because when they were in the 2 year old class, that same little boy is the one that bit him several times. (Gotta love the biting phase. Thank goodness Bryson never when through it!) But, Bryson has forgiven him and now they are great friends.

Gift exchange! Bryson insisted on opening the gift that HE brought for the gift exchange. Whatever, no big deal :) They all walked away happy.
It was a great little party in the 3 year old classroom yesterday :) I'm glad that Jerrod and I went.

One last picture:

You know you're a huge New Kids fan when you do this to the top of your house

(It says "NKOTB" if you can't read it)

Isn't that great?! :) And no, it's not my house. Although I would totally do it if I didn't know for a fact that Jerrod would be up on the roof tearing it down before I could turn the lights on! :)

Merry Christmas!

And Happy Homecoming to Jodi's baby girl, Brooklyn!!!!

Christmas Sweater Party

2008-12-13T12:00:00.006-06:00

Last night we had a few friends over for an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party. It was a lot of fun to see what people showed up wearing. I must admit, I think my husband's sweater stole the show. He found a gem!

Family Portrait

I should have used this photo for our Christmas cards!

Me, Kara, Sarah, & Alicia

Alicia and me

Bryson taking care of Jacob

Jacob. Isn't he a cutie???

Miss Ava. She is such a petite cutie.

Jerrod and his sweater. He was proud.

Grant and Jerrod. They look totally gay here!

Jay, Ava, & Sarah

Kara, Jacob, & Andy

It was a fun night :)

2008-12-08T19:57:00.004-06:00

Last weekend, we decided to go to the Gaylord Texan to see the Ice exhibit.

A new resort, Great Wolf Lodge, is right across the street so we decided to stop by there first and check it out. It's a really neat hotel! A great place to take kids!

Inside the Great Wolf Lodge

This picture really doesn't do this fireplace justice. It's HUGE!

Then we headed over the the Gaylord Texan. I love Christmas lights!We ate dinner at the Riverwalk CafeThen we walked around the hotel.

Here is a picture of Bryson walking inside their life-size gingerbread house. We never actually made it into the Ice exhibit. Without thinking, we went on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Needless to say, the line was LOOOONG so we will go some other time. We still had fun though :)

Unfortunate deja vu

2008-12-01T19:55:00.003-06:00

OK. Does anyone remember this post? Well, guess what? This morning we received a phone call informing us that the clinic was broken into! Good grief, people! First of all, why do people steal? And second of all, why do they decide to do it around Thanksgiving?

Apparently, someone, somehow, punched the lock out of the front door, walked inside and tried to steal the TV...you know, the one that replaced the TV that was stolen exactly one year ago. It was obvious that it was the television that the thief was after. Thankfully, the alarm went off (thanks to our upgraded security system after last year's event) and scared the thief away before he was able to take the TV. We have the TV mounted on the wall now so it's not as easy as walking up to it and snatching it.

We are fortunate that the only money we are out is on the new locks installed today. And, we have decided that it may be best to have the glass on the front door of the clinic frosted so people cannot see through. Apparently, being able to see the television through the front door is a little too tempting for some people out there!

Bryson's visit with Santa

2008-11-29T11:14:00.005-06:00

Bryson has already made his yearly visit to Santa's lap!

He is NOT in a very good "smile for the picture" phase right now! :) His smiles are either super cheesy or he looks like he's in pain. So, I decided to just go with the picture of Santa and Bryson discussing what Bryson wants for Christmas. We'll see if Santa comes through for Bryson on December 25th!

Every Christmas, I like to pull out Bryson's old pictures with Santa to see how much he has changed within the last year. It's crazy how different he looks from year to year...kind of sad for me too :)

Here are all of his old pictures with Santa:

2007

2006

2005

(My baby was SOOO cute! I know I'm a little biased though! I miss that bald head and chubby wrists that look like there are rubber bands around them!)

The tree is up!

2008-11-26T22:53:00.003-06:00

Don't you just love it when you are DONE putting up your Christmas tree and all you have to do now is sit back and enjoy it?!

I LOVE Christmas.

I took Bryson shopping today and let him pick out his very own Christmas tree for his playroom. I got really lucky because the one he "needed" was a very small tree and only $30! We bought decorations for it and he decorated his tree all by himself (except for the topper). He was SO proud!!

I think his tree looks so cute in his playroom :)

...Now, I just need to get Jerrod to hang the lights on the house. Wish me luck.

Go see this movie

2008-11-22T21:02:00.001-06:00

Twilight

Seriously, the best movie that I've seen in a long time. It's so good!

For those of you who are interested...

2008-11-22T16:08:00.003-06:00

The New Kids on the Block are going to perform on the American Music Awards tomorrow (Nov 23rd) night. Set your DVR!

...and I promise to start blogging about something other than the New Kids one of these days! :)

How was my New Kids mini road trip???

2008-11-12T16:58:00.002-06:00

In one word....AMAZING :)

What happens when you can't sleep at 5am

2008-11-05T06:59:00.006-06:00

YEARBOOK PICTURES :)

1950

1952

1954 (nice hair)

1956

(this looks like I cut my own hair...with my eyes shut)

1958

1960 (sweet glasses!)

1962

1966

1968

1970

1972

1974
1976

1980

1982

1984

1986

1988

1990

1992

1994

1996

3 reason why yesterday was a great day:

2008-11-03T08:59:00.005-06:00

1) Gas prices were an average of $2.09 around here! Maybe we'll actually fall below $2 one of these days?!?!

2) Egg Nog is now available at your local grocery store! YUMMY!!! I love this stuff!

3) Yummy dinner with family and friends

Aidan and Bryson

Aidan
Aidan, Krystal, Me, Bryson

Dessert must have been really yummy...it ended up ALL over his face

I showed him what his face looked like with his dessert all over it. He thought it looked like hair on his face, like a pirate. So, we put his napkin on his head to complete the pirate look.

My mom (she's crazy), Debbie and Aidan joined in

It was a good day :)

My "little" fireman!

2008-10-31T23:24:00.004-05:00

Tonight, my handsome little fireman and I went to the funival at Airport Freeway C of C. Bryson had so much fun and it was nice to see a lot of our long time friends.

The bounce house of course was a big hit!

Mother and Son. He has my eyes and mouth.

Getting tickled by Christy and Brady

Bryson, his Miss Christy, and Brady

Bryson LOVES this woman!

Cousins! Dillon and Bryson

They have so much fun together

Dillon. All he wanted to do was eat his candy :)

Me and my sweet boy. I have a picture of him sitting in this exact same spot when he was only 4 months old.

Getting candy from Amie and her skunk, Charlie. Charlie was SO cute!

Love that smile!

Picture with Donnie, Pumpkin Patch, & Halloween Par-tay

2008-10-25T17:56:00.010-05:00

Here are the pictures that were taken from the New Kids meet & greet that we went to. The picture quality absolutely STINKS....but, oh well. I'd still do it all over again!

It was really weird to see the guys up close like that. They were a lot smaller than what I had imagined for 20 years! All of them were under 6 feet tall.

I took Bryson to the pumpkin patch yesterday. He has so much fun!

Isn't he so cute?! :) I love this picture! He is getting so big!!!

Last night, Jerrod and I went to a Halloween party. I was a vampire (I know, so original) and Jerrod was a demon. I had my sister, Jenny, do our makeup. She did such a good job!!!! In fact, Jerrod won 2nd place in the costume contest! If anyone ever needs their hair and/or makeup done for any event, call my sister! She is GOOD!! She's so artistic and creative...I totally missed out on that gene!

Here I am with my friend, Kara.

Here are the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of the costume contest.

Jerrod and me...I had already taken my fangs out at this point. As soon as I saw food, the fangs came out :)

We had a really good time. It had been a long time since we dressed up for a Halloween party! It was fun :)

Last Night (AKA Heaven)

2008-10-20T20:06:00.010-05:00

OK. This post is a SERIOUS New Kids post. So, if you aren't a fan...move on! :)

As many of you know, the glorious New Kids invaded the Big D last night. Krystal and I were lucky enough to be able to purchase 5 star VIP tickets (meet & greet). These tickets gave you access to a pre-concert party...a party that the New Kids attend, and great concert seats. We have been looking forward to this day for many months...actually, 20 years!

The meet and greet was awesome! That is the only word to describe it. Krystal and I showed up at the arena around 4ish. We waited outside with the other ladies for the doors to open at 4:30 for the meet and greet. We went inside, checked in our cameras, and made our way downstairs to the club area. There was lots of food set out, but that was the last thing on our minds! We grabbed some wine and sat in our seats and waited for the guys as we listened to "Single". After about 20-30 minutes, the guys came out, said "hi" and made their way to another small room that was curtained off. We were in group C so we were quickly ushered in line to meet the guys. While I was waiting to meet my dream man, tears started streaming down my face! This happened about 4 different times. I guess it was 20 years of built up LOVE for these men!!! I was thinking "great, you're going to be all puffy and red eyed. Get it together!" The crying stopped. :) Then it was our turn to go into the room. OH. MY. GOSH. I walked in and Joe was standing there to my left. I walked up to him with my arms wide open. He said "Hi! How are you" as we hugged. I said that I was doing great, asked him how he was, and he said he was doing really good. Next was Donnie! It's funny because once my eyes met his, I had no control over my mouth! Ha! I walked right up to him, put my hands on each side of his face and went in for a kiss. Ahhhh...heaven :) As I pulled back, I decided that one kiss wasn't enough, so I went in for a second. (I know you are thinking "oh, no she didn't"...but, oh yes I did!) Then we hugged. This man gives great bear hugs! I told him that he was my first love. He said "Awwww. Thank you. That's so sweet". I then told him (remember, I had no control of what came out of my mouth) "I just want to stay here with you, Donnie". He said "OK. Stay right here with me. You can hug the others later". So I stayed put....he kept one of his arms around me and hugged the rest of the ladies with his free arm. HEAVEN! As we were standing there, Krystal looked at Donnie, pointed at me and said "That's your girl right there". He replied "I know. We just kissed". Then it was picture time. Two pictures were taken then I hugged my man one more time. I told him that I'd see him in St. Louis. He asked "are you doing 5 star?". I answered "yes". He then said "OK, well make sure you kiss me again". "OK!!!" I then said hello to each of the other guys and gave them all big hugs. They were all so sweet. As we left the room, I said "thank you" and wanted to rewind time and do it all over again. I waited 20 years for this!!! All of those dreams about kissing Donnie finally came true :) haha! I love that guy! He is so sweet, handsome, and such a flirt! :) I could have stayed by his side forever. haha I know, I'm such a dork!

After everyone met the guys, they all walked out into the main room again, said "thank you", grabbed our hands as they walked by, and left the room. We then asked each other "did this really just happen?!!". :) It was great. We left the club, grabbed a hot dog, found our seats (in 5th row) and enjoyed an incredible show! Man, those men know how to melt the hearts of all of us 30-something year old women!!!

After the concert, Krystal and I tried to find their buses. After about 30 minutes, we found them! The first bus to leave was Jordan's. He was at the front of the bus waving. My car was 5 feet away so Krystal said "let's follow him". I said "but Donnie hasn't come out yet!!". She really wanted to follow Jordan, so I said "OK" and we took off. I should get friend of the year award for leaving Donnie!! :) (Just kidding Krystal! I was glad to do it!) We followed the bus like pathetic stalkers until it arrived at the Westin near the airport. Jordan got off the bus, signed autographs, and took pictures. There were about 15 girls there. He was really sweet to do that for us.

Picture time:

This is us right after we met the boys. We are holding up our special passes.

5th row, baby!
My man

Joe. He grew up good, girls!

Yeah...so this is what he must have looked like when we kissed! Woohoo :) haha

During the concert, Jon picked up one of the cameras from the crew and started filming the audience. I looked up and there we were!! My camera was already on so I took a quick shot. That's me in the stripes! Krystal is to my right.
No description needed

Here I am with Jordan after we were super stalkers. (sorry Jordan)

Needless to say, it was a GREAT night!! I wish I could do it all over again!

p.s. I was totally given the green light from Jerrod to kiss Donnie just in case you were wondering :) ....not that he could have stopped me! ha! (j/k...maybe)

Concert and State Fair

2008-10-18T09:42:00.004-05:00

I flew to Houston Thursday morning to see Jodi. We had some pretty big plans for the evening! Oh yes. We went to the New Kids concert. It was AMAZING!! Seriously. They know how to put on a great show! (I had so much fun with you, Jodi!!)

After our great night out, I flew back home on Friday and went to the state fair with Jerrod and Bryson.
We ate all sorts of junk! That's the whole purpose of going to the fair, right?!

Bryson enjoyed feeding the goats.

Jessica Simpson was performing at the fair so we listened to her for a bit. She wasn't as good as the New Kids! :) But then, who is?!
That's about it for now! The New Kids are performing in Dallas on Sunday night. I'll give a full report on Monday. I know you can't wait to know all of the details!! ha :)

Veggie Tales meet Play-doh!

2008-10-15T09:41:00.004-05:00

So, if you know of any kiddos that love Veggie Tales and play-doh...look at what I found:

I ran across this the other day at LifeWay Bookstore. It's so cute! The play set comes with 4 different colors of play-doh and all sorts of fun stuff (eyes, mouths, hair, hats, sunglasses, bicycle, skateboard, hamburger, ice cream cone, a mold to make the french peas, etc.).
This is the first thing he runs to when he gets up in the morning!
Daddy seems to enjoy it too

This would make a great Christmas gift for big Veggie Tales fans!

Whew....

2008-10-10T21:30:00.003-05:00

Well, we had a rough night last night! As we were heading upstairs to take a bath, Bryson told me that his tummy hurt and he just wanted to skip the bath and go to bed. So, I put him in bed and about 15 minutes later, I heard him crying loudly. This was the kind of cry that told me that something was really wrong. I ran up to his room and he was throwing up all in his bed. Poor thing. We stripped his clothes off, stuck him in the tub, and put some clean sheets on his bed. He said he felt better so I put him back in his bed. Well, 10 minutes later, I heard the same cry. I walk into his room and saw him getting sick again...all in his bed. This lasted until around midnight. By the time it was all over, I was left with 3 loads of laundry to do. I ended up sleeping next to him in his bedroom just in case he got sick again during the night. He woke up this morning feeling fine...and has been fine ever since thank goodness.

Jerrod was flipping through the television channels the other night and ran across a rerun of one of the UT games that Brock (his brother) played in. This particular game was from 2002, which was three years before Bryson was born. Jerrod had fun pointing Brock out to Bryson. Bryson would say "Hi Brock!". He sat in his daddy's recliner for a while and watched his uncle play football. It was cute :) (Remember, Bryson hasn't seen Brock in 8 months b/c he is in the Peace Corps in Africa)

A few pictures of Bryson playing with his play-doh:

Here is a picture of Larry in time out. He was bad tonight. :)

That's it for now. Have a good weekend!

2008-10-06T13:54:00.003-05:00

I don't have anything real exciting to report...but here are a few pics and a cute video.

We had some bread that we needed to get rid of yesterday, so I took Bryson to the lake so he could feed the ducks.

The ducks didn't act very hungry but Bryson still had fun throwing bread at them.

We have noticed that Bryson LOVES to dance to, what we like to call, "booty music". Any time he hears it, he will bounce, bop his head, and throw his arms around. It makes me laugh. Yesterday we were in the Gap and a "booty music" song came on and he tore up the floor. He kept telling me to dance with him but I wasn't about to show my skills while shopping in the Gap.

Here is a short video of him dancing in the Jeep last night:

He has a confused look on this face because he couldn't figure out why we had the light on while driving at night.

Our trip is over...

2008-10-02T21:06:00.004-05:00

Well, as always, we were sad to leave Maui. Our trips there always seem to go by too fast!

We ate breakfast one morning at the Gazebo Restaurant. It was recommended by Roger and Carol Sullivan. It is also rated #1 on tripadvisor. We have never eaten there before so we decided to give it a try. They are famous for their macadamia nut pancakes! Hello!! YUMMY!!
This is what I like to call "A Little Bottle of Heaven"!!! Coconut pancake syrup! I wanted to put that bottle in my purse and run! If you are in Maui, try this place out!
We went to a luau one night. We decided to give the Feast at Lele a try.

We made our reservations about a month in advance so our table was right in front of the stage.

The luau tells the history of Hawaii and gives you a look at each of the Polynesian islands, including Samoa. Alicia may like the clip below:

The luau was good...but I our favorite luau on Maui is still the Old Lahaina Luau. That one is hard to beat!

Ahhhhh. Maui. Love it. Can't wait to go back again!! :)

Our trip so far....

2008-09-27T01:45:00.002-05:00

Here are a few pictures from our trip so far:

We are staying at the Maui Marriott. This picture is actually of their "small" pool area. There is another pool area that is huge. The kiddie area has a big pirate ship in the water...Bryson would love it. He is really into pirates right now thanks to Veggie Tales.

We went zip lining yesterday. I highly recommend this to anyone going to Maui! It was a lot of fun. The guides alone were worth the money. They were so funny...had us laughing the entire time.

Just another Maui sunset

We went scuba diving today. No pictures from the dives, but we saw tons of dolphins while we were out. It was hard to catch a good picture of them b/c they were so fast. There was a baby dolphin that was showing off. He kept jumping up in the air and doing twirls. It was cute :)

That's about it for now. I'm sure I'll do another post when we get back with a few more pictures.

Have a great weekend :)

Aloha

2008-09-25T19:56:00.001-05:00

Aloha from Maui! ....I'll post more later :)

The Big 50!

2008-09-22T10:23:00.004-05:00

BOTH of my parents turn 50 this week! They are only 3 days apart. So, my sisters and I threw them a birthday party Saturday night. It turned out really good! We had a good turnout and lots of food!

Here are just a few pictures from the party:

Oreo cake! YUMMY! (The cake came from Creme de la Creme)

Jenny (sister), Me, Mandy (sister), and Kayla (cousin)
Janet, handsome Charlie, Rusty, Poppie
Pam, Delia (aunt), my mom
Brenda and Charlie
Brenda, Charlie, Carol, Sallye
Janet, Sallye, Joe, Rusty

Bryson and Aidan
There were several kids at the party. They spent most of their time upstairs in the playroom. They had a lot of fun. In fact, the 2 boys pictured above were having so much fun, they didn't want to stop to use the restroom when they had to go! BOTH of them peed in their pants!! I guess they thought they'd miss out on something exciting if they stopped for 20 seconds to use the bathroom! I had to change Bryson's pants then about 30 minutes later, Aidan's pants needed to be changed as well! Busy boys!!

Happy Birthday, Mom & Dad

Here you go, Aric!

2008-09-19T21:54:00.003-05:00

Aric kindly pointed out that I posted a picture of him from our 6th grade play but I conveniently left one out of me. So here you go! I'm the hot chick in the white. I was "Suzy Snowflake" (Aric, I'm very impressed that you remembered my stage name!)!

I still remember the Suzy Snowflake song. "Here comes Suzy Snowflake dressed in a snow white gown. Tap tap tapping on your window pane to tell you she's in town. Here comes Suzy Snowflake, soon you will hear her say....'Come out everyone and play with me, I haven't long to stay. Come on and dance the Merry Christmas Polka. Let everyone be happy and gay (ha). Oh it's the time to be jolly and deck the halls with holly so let's have a jolly holiday".

I actually sang a solo in front of the whole school! That is very unlike me!!!

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this, Aric! :)

Looking through old pictures

2008-09-15T21:33:00.012-05:00

Tonight I pulled out old photo albums and thought I'd post a few pictures that I ran across...mainly just to embarrass myself...and a few of my friends. Y'all can thank me later :)

Christmas morning 1985! My sister and I each received a cabbage patch doll and a Michael Jackson doll from Santa! It was a great day:

My 6 year old birthday party. I am in the cool yellow overalls. Jerrod is the little boy in the blue shirt:

My 12 year old birthday party. Krystal is on the left and I am in the middle. Krystal is sporting perfectly tight rolled pants. I am sporting a sweet dinosaur sweatshirt!?!

6th grade Christmas play at school. That is Aric Bramlett!

My bedroom in 1990! (my poor dad)

Junior/Senior church banquet. From left to right: Adam Gray, Rusty Germany, Aric Bramlett, Jerrod Edwards, Aaron Dickerson, Jay Worley, and Adam Bramlett.

The youth group about to leave for summer camp:

On the bus heading to summer church camp. In the picture: Heather, Michelle , Krystal, Jodi, Krystal, Me, Alicia, Aimee, & Ryan. (You can click on the picture to see the names better)

Aric and I shared a 16th birthday party together (I had too much hair!):

Junior/Senior church banquet. From left to right: Kristina, Aric, Alicia, Krystal, Me, Rusty, Staci, Adam, & Aaron:

Prom. Wow. Those were the days of big hair!
High school graduation party at our church. Suzanne, Jerrod, Aric, Jay, Me, & Jeremy

Jerrod and Me. We were still kids in this picture...20 years old.

Alicia and me in Maui:

Krystal and Me in Cancun. Our moms must have worried the entire trip. 3 girls...all at the age of 21...in Cancun by ourselves

Christy Bramlett at an 80's party that she and Adam hosted at their house:

Don't ask:

Me, Lindsey, Brock, and Jerrod at a wax museum in Las Vegas:

Krystal and Me in Maui:

Jerrod, Me, Mat, & Krystal at a Luau in Maui:

Mother/Daughter Cruise!! In the top picture: Alicia, Janet, Jodi, Rhesa, Me, My Mom. In the bottom picture: Jodi and the moms singing Karaoke on the cruise ship!

Arrrgggghhhh! Me and Alicia at dinner on the cruise ship (Mother/Daughter cruise):

Sweet picture of Katie Bramlett and my Bryson. Bryson was only about 6 months old and Katie was 2! She was IN LOVE with my son!!!! Sooo cute :) Katie is in kindergarten now!

Here's a sweet picture of my boy on the beach in Maui. He was only 11 months old! :) So cute! He was so funny that night. We hired a man to take family pics of us on the beach. Bryson did NOT want to smile in a single picture. I have tons of pics from that evening of him not smiling...and not looking into the camera. He kept cutting his eyes to one side of the beach. I turned to see what he kept staring at....it was 2 teenage girls! What a flirt! They were laughing because they saw what he was doing. Finally, I just asked the girls to come over to where we were so Bryson would smile and face foreward. ...It worked :)

Well, that's all for now. I can't find one of my albums full of old photos from church camp and stalking Juan Gonzales with Jodi, Alicia, and Krystal. But don't you worry...I'll find it and post pics when I do :)

Guess who Bryson met on Saturday?!

2008-09-14T14:59:00.006-05:00

Yep...Bryson had the pleasure of meeting Larry and Bob at the Christan bookstore yesterday. We didn't tell him where we were going or who we were going to see, so it was a total surprise. He loved it! The first thing out of his mouth was "Larry has shoes!". On TV, Larry doesn't even have legs. He's just a cucumber that hops around. Bryson went up to them slowly, chatted for a bit, then wanted to check out the rest of the store so he told Larry and Bob "I'll be right back". After scouting out the store and finding a Veggie Tales toy that was a "must have", he went back over to Larry and Bob, chatted a bit more, then gave them hugs goodbye. He was one happy boy!

It was cute how he gave Bob his "Bob" toy, and Larry his "Larry" toy.

"CHEESE"

Bryson wearing his pirate hat and carrying his sword. Larry and Bob were promoting their movie "The Pirates That Don't Do Anything".

Hugs for Larry

Hugs for Bob. It was a good day!

Just for fun...

2008-09-11T20:34:00.004-05:00

Alright ladies! I want you to tell me what your first New Kids On The Block memory is!

Mine? Well...I remember being at church one night and a new boy showed up in my youth group. I remember thinking "He kind of looks like that cute guy from the New Kids On The Block". I was referring to Donnie, but didn't know his name at the time. A few weeks later the American Music Awards were on TV. I heard that the New Kids were going to perform so I set up my VCR to record them. It was January of 1990! After seeing this performance, I was 100% in love!

18 years after their performance on the American Music Awards, I still love those 5 boys from Boston! :)

Now, tell me your first memory of the New Kids?

Role Reversal

2008-09-10T09:32:00.003-05:00

Bryson loves to pretend! One of his favorite things to do is pretend that he is Momma and I am Bryson. We did this last night for about an hour. "Momma" decided that it was time for "Bryson" to go to bed.

He even gave me his Larry Boy, blanket, and "gloves" to sleep with

Here I am getting a spanking! I don't know why. I guess I wasn't sleeping good enough for him. He is so strict! :)

Ugly Shoes!

2008-09-06T08:09:00.004-05:00

I looked online this morning for some cute boots for the fall/winter. This is what I saw:

UGLY!!

Under the Category "boots" I saw these:

Boots with built in socks?

I also saw these:

Open toe boots?

Great. Looks like I will be wearing last season's boots. I don't care to wear Indian boots, built in socks boots, open toe boots, or (another style I saw) boots with built in leg warmers.

From this morning's Today Show

2008-09-04T16:18:00.000-05:00

Just in case you missed it....

Labor Day at Hawaiian Falls

2008-09-03T09:40:00.004-05:00

Monday was the last day that Hawaiian Falls was open for the year, so we decided to spend the day there!

After spending all summer in the kiddie section of the park, we were wondering "Is Bryson big enough to go down the big people slides?" (Bryson really wanted to do this!)

42 inches??? Hmmmm. Stand up real tall! Ummm, close enough!!

He LOVED it!!! Of course we couldn't just go down the slide once, or twice, or three times! :)

It was a fun summer at Hawaiian Falls! We will for sure get season passes again next year!

A New Video...

2008-09-02T20:58:00.002-05:00

...from our boys!

http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?artist=1254&vid=269876

They will be performing on the Today Show Thursday, Sept. 4th!

More video: http://celebrity.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=celebrity.icon

A Post For My Girls (NKOTB fans)

2008-08-30T09:39:00.003-05:00

First of all, don't forget that the New Kids first album in over 15 years comes out on Tues, Sept. 2! :)

Click on the links below for more information on our men:

Soundcheck and interview

New Kids special on E

A couple of videos for your viewing enjoyment :

Stayin' cool!

2008-08-28T17:23:00.004-05:00

Yesterday, Bryson and I went to Uptown Village to walk around, shop, and eat lunch. It was steamy outside so when we ran across the water fountains, we had to stop!

I took Bryson's shirt and shoes off and turned him loose.

The picture below cracks me up. Just look at his face. He kept catching water in his mouth, then he'd run over to me and spit it out on the sidewalk.

I think he had a good time...as I sat in the sun and watched while sweating. I should have joined him!

2008-08-24T14:22:00.005-05:00

The faces on those two kids above pretty much sum up our weekend. Bryson and I spent Friday and Saturday nights with Krystal and Aidan at their house. They are both 3 (only 2 months apart) and kept us on our toes! As you will see, the boys had a lot of fun!

Jumping on Krystal's bed Friday night. I'm sure she loved that :)

(Krystal would probably want me to point out that wall behind her bed is a work in progress! She is doing a technique that involves brown paper bags and gloss. It's gonna look good!)

Watching a little TV before going to bed

Enjoying pancakes

Bryson spotted one of Aidan's toys...a little Target 18-wheeler. He picked it up and just walked around with it saying "Target. Target." over and over.

On our way to dinner Saturday night we spotted this rainbow. It was so pretty, I had to take a picture. Too bad the light pole is in middle of the pic.

Yep. We made a Target stop.

Playing in the bathtub

It was a fun weekend. I'm glad that the boys were able to spend lots of time together. I am also glad that I was able to have some girl time with Krystal. By the way, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KRYSTAL!!! 33!

Bryson decided a while back that he was not going to take naps at school anymore. This is how I found him the other day about 20 minutes after picking him up from school.
And finally, here is a picture of Bryson and his beloved Larry Boy. He LOVES Larry!!

This post is dedicated to Bryson and his love for Target

2008-08-18T11:46:00.003-05:00

Oh, how this boy LOVES Target! He is always asking me and his Grandma to take him there. (It doesn't help that he knows that there is a Starbucks inside Target and if he asks, he usually gets a strawberry drink.) His face lights up anytime he sees a Target bag or receipt around the house. He was overly excited the other day when we were driving and he spotted an 18-wheeler with a Target emblem on the side. He was all smiles as we traveled down the same road for several miles with the Target truck. Any time he sees a red ball, he thinks of Target.

This boy loves Target!

2008-08-18T09:56:00.003-05:00

You know how in your child's baby book there is a spot for "first laugh", "first tooth", "first steps"? Where is the spot for "first time you told your parents that you were going to run away"?

Yes, my 3 year old son said that to me yesterday when he was mad. Lovely :)

Afternoon at the lake

2008-08-17T08:45:00.007-05:00

We went to the lake yesterday. I took a few videos of Bryson, including one of him skiing with his daddy. The quality isn't that great though. It's kind of tricky video taping and driving the boat at the same time! :)

I watched this the other night......

2008-08-16T09:19:00.003-05:00

"The Business Of Being Born"

It's a documentary about giving birth in the United States. It shows you the history of giving birth (I really feel for those who gave birth in the 1920's!!) and how things are handled today. This is not one of those movies that says "this is the best way...." or "you're a better mother if you do it this way....". I liked it because it was very informative and just gives you the facts. I like having all of this information so I can make the best decision for ME personally. (I know everyone has a different opinion as to what is best for them and I 100% respect that! To each their own!)

Just thought I'd pass it along :)

The above clip is just the trailer. You can rent the movie or if you have Netflix, you can watch it online.

No Title Needed

2008-08-14T23:19:00.002-05:00

I'm so proud :)

A quick post to vent a little

2008-08-14T02:24:00.003-05:00

Thank goodness for our recent "cold" front in North Texas (it's "only" been in the 90's this week). I tell you what. I just received my latest electricity bill and wanted to hit something. Our MANY days of 100+ degree weather has not been so nice to the pocket book. Our bill was over $300, people!! I have never had a bill that high. I know that there are people out there who's bill is even higher and I bet you are just as ready for fall/winter as I am! Bring on some snow!

On a lighter note, many of you probably remember Krystal's sister, Amber Rolen. Not too long ago, Amber was married and now lives in Hawaii! I know. Rough life, right?! You can check out her story here.

Margaritas!

2008-08-08T21:04:00.004-05:00

Tonight we ate dinner at Mexican Inn. Momma decided that she wanted a margarita...a strawberry margarita! So I ordered one! I felt bad when the waitress brought it to the table and Bryson begggggged me to share with him. He didn't understand that my drink was for "big people". He said "Momma, I am big". He's right. He is big. So I ordered him his very own strawberry margarita...for "big" KIDS! He loved it! I drank a little bit of his, but he didn't have any problem finishing it! After he was done, his tummy was rock hard and he said "oh, I don't feel good". :) I think he felt fine by the time we got home though because he spent the rest of the evening chasing and terrorizing the dogs.

Mmmmm. It tastes so good when it touches your lips.

Silly Boy

2008-08-07T23:35:00.005-05:00

So, lately when I check on Bryson right before I go to bed, this is how I find him. He takes all of his blankets and all of his little animals on the floor with him.

I thought this picture was cute of him. He's actually giving me a REAL smile! Not one of his cheese smiles.

I love this boy!

P.S. By the way, did you know that Matthew McConaughy and his girlfriend kept the placenta (after the recent birth of their child) and they plan on burying it in an orchard. Hmmm. Interesting. Why didn't I think of that?

Look at the bottom of Katie Holmes' jeans....

2008-07-31T19:14:00.006-05:00

She tight rolled them! Like I did in 7th grade. The tighter, the better. Remember? Is this making a come back???

Now, I can make a mean tight roll...but I don't think I'll break out my tight rollin' skills again.

"Tight Rolled Pants/Jeans" is actually found on Wikipedia:

Tight rolled pants
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tight rolled pants was a fad of the 1980s and early 1990s in which girls and boys would tight-roll the bottoms of their jeans or any pants that they wore. On full length pants tight rolling is performed by taking up the slack around the ankles at the hem of the pants, folding the extra material over and then rolling upwards 2 or 3 times over. A proper tight-roll should have the extra material folded inward across the lower shin. The use of safety pins was key to a good roll, but to the experienced tight roller they can be achieved without them.
Tight-rolled pants are occasionally seen today among scene or youth culture people and are sometimes referred to as French rolled pants.[citation needed] It can also be referred to as "pegged" or "pegging" your pants.
This fad is thought to be originated by the fashion icon, Cameron Cole, who was best known for his work with the New Kids on the Block.

Haha!! I actually remember using safety pins to keep my masterpiece together!!

Poor Bryson

2008-07-30T19:37:00.002-05:00

My boy waited patiently FOREVER for his birthday balloon to finally come down. He carried that balloon around the house everywhere once he was able to get his hands on it again.

I went outside to clean out the flowerbeds and Bryson followed me...with his balloon. Well, he accidentally let go of it and it still had just enough helium in it for the wind to easily pick it up and whisk it away! He yelled "Momma, get it!!!!". It was too late. It was already too high for me to reach and we stood and watched the balloon get higher and farther away until it was gone for good. Bryson burst into tears. Poor thing :( He seriously cried for about 20 minutes. He left me outside and went back in the house. I could hear him crying all through the house "My balloon!!". After waiting over a month for that thing to come down, it was taken from him so quickly. Bless his heart :)

Bryson (aka Spider-man)

2008-07-26T17:41:00.004-05:00

Jerrod is out of town, so last night Bryson and I had dinner at Chick-fil-a (I know, I know. Those are some big time Friday night plans, huh? We are so crazy!) Anyways, Chick is Bryson's favorite place to eat, so that's where we went. Every Friday night Chick has something for the kids going on. Last night they had a lady there that was painting faces for all of the kiddos. (They also had an ice cream sundae bar set up...and you KNOW I participated in that!). Bryson waited patiently for his face to be painted. When asked what he wanted, he quickly answered "Spider-man". So that's what he got. When she was done, I took him to a mirror so he could see himself. He took a look and busted out laughing. He thought it was beyond funny that he looked like Spider-man.

And just in case you are wondering, yes, he got paint on the carpet. I had red paint all over the carpet going up our stairs. I don't know what he was doing to get it on there...but it came off. Windex works wonders!

Finally...

2008-07-26T07:19:00.001-05:00

I woke up to this laying on the floor in my den:

After 1 month, 1 week, and 5 days, Bryson's birthday balloon has finally fallen to the ground.

Prayers for a friend

2008-07-25T10:33:00.000-05:00

I believe that most people who read my blog know my friend, Jodi, and have already heard about what she and her sweet family are currently going through.

For those of you who don't know Jodi, please read her latest post http://www.ourbeaverdam.blogspot.com/

Jodi is currently 19 weeks pregnant with a sweet baby girl. She found out on Wednesday that the baby has spina bifida. Please join all of us and pray for Jodi, baby Brooklyn, and the rest of her family.

Forward the link to your family and friends. The more people that we have praying for baby Brooklyn, the better! Thank you! :)

Lots of stuff

2008-07-23T14:04:00.001-05:00

Bryson has had lots 'o fun over the last few days! Here's a recap:

Sunday:

A popsicle in one hand and pie in the other. What more could a little boy want?!?!

Sliding into the pool at Grammy and Pops' house. He will do this for 2 hours straight!

Spraying Pops with the water hose
Trying to spray ME with the water hose!

Here is a little video of my boy in action

Pouring water over Grammy's head

He thought this was pretty funny!

Monday:

Fun times at the water park! This place has been great when it's 100 degrees outside!

Gotta keep hydrated!

This is what we get when we tell him to smile and say "cheese" now. I guess we won't be getting any family portraits made anytime soon! Cheesy!

Wednesday:

I took Bryson to Pump It Up today. Another great way to burn energy!

I love his face in this picture

Lastly, here are a couple of videos from Pump It Up

Celebrity Sighting (kind of) and a Newbie to Blogger

2008-07-22T19:01:00.000-05:00

So, I know that many of us follow the story of the Steece Quads. I've been reading their story for well over a year now. Suz and her husband, Joe, are so funny. I love reading their blog and enjoy seeing how well they have adjusted to life with quads!

Well, today I stopped by Target. As I was shopping, I saw a man that looked very familiar. It was Joe Steece. :) I sent Jerrod a text that said "The quad's' dad is here at Target. I feel like I have seen a celebrity". He wrote back "dork". OK. Maybe so. But, it was fun/neat to see him there.

OK...now onto the newbie to Blogger. My friend, Krystal has FINALLY :) started a blog! Many of you remember her, I'm sure (maiden name Rolen). Check out her blog and leave her a quick "hello" comment! http://cumminsfam.blogspot.com/

Movie and Jail

2008-07-20T08:27:00.000-05:00

Last night Jerrod and I took Bryson to the movies for the first time! We took him to Studio Movie Grill so we could eat dinner at the same time (hoping that he would last longer in the theater). We saw Wall E.

It was a pretty cute movie. And I'm proud to report that we were able to watch all of it! 100% of it...no interruptions!

Bryson started getting a little restless during the last 20 minutes or so...but that is to be expected. We had plans to get ice cream after the movie so Jerrod leaned over and told Bryson "You need to be still or we won't get any ice cream. The movie is almost over". That really didn't work. Jerrod leaned over to Bryson again and whispered something. Whatever it was worked. Bryson was still for the rest of the movie. As we left, Jerrod told me what he said to Bryson. My husband told my sweet son "Bryson, please be still or people are going to come and take you to jail"!!! Poor thing! haha. It worked though! :) We made our way over to the ice cream shop and then made a pit stop at Best Buy (my favorite store) and bought a new camera that I have been begging for! It was a good night! :)

Helicopter Spin

2008-07-13T13:00:00.001-05:00

Ever since Bryson was really little, (and when I say "little", I mean 1 month old!) he has loved to be thrown/tossed up in the air. Any time that he was fussy, all you had to do was toss him and he'd be all smiles again!

When Bryson was about 9 months old or so, he and his Daddy invented the "helicopter spin". Jerrod would spin/throw him up in the air and Bryson would land on our bed. Daddy would have to repeat this 100+ times and it was still never enough for my little thrill seeker boy.

Bryson and Daddy decided to break out the helicopter spin again today so I grabbed my camera to try to catch some of the action.

Here are some pictures:

Here's a little video. Despite the screams and sounds of agony, Bryson really does love this!! :)

Is this normal???

2008-07-10T22:41:00.000-05:00

On the morning of Bryson's 3rd birthday, I went to Party City to pick up some balloons for his Mater birthday party. I scattered the balloons around the house...tied them to kitchen chairs, staircase banister, etc. Once the party was over, I went around the house to gather the balloons. As I untied one of them, it slipped out of my hand and floated right up to the highest point (of course) of our house. We couldn't reach it, not even with our ladder, so I just decided to leave it. No big deal...it would float back down in a couple of days.

Fast forward 3 weeks and 6 days. It is still there. Has this balloon become a permanent fixture in our house? Seriously. When will it come down? Is this normal?

....freak balloon

2008-07-08T15:30:00.000-05:00

Jerrod and I have been certified divers since 2004...but we have never been on a "big diving trip". We decided to change that! We went to Cozumel for a few days with a couple of our friends who are also certified divers. Cozumel was the chosen destination because it's cheap :) and it just happens to be one of the top places to scuba dive in the world (depending on what you read, it's usually listed in the top 3)!

You have to allow yourself so much time between diving and flying. We had enough time for 2 diving trips, so that's what we did! We went diving on Saturday and Sunday...2 different dives each day. It was nice!

The deepest dive was at 85 feet (Jerrod wanted to break the 100 ft mark...maybe next time!). The colors under the water were beautiful! It's like we were meant to explore the ocean...why would it be so pretty if we weren't? We saw bright purple, yellow, orange, pink...pretty much every color you can imagine.

Below are a few things that we saw on our dive trips:

rainbow fish

stingrays

shark (It was small but it still counts!! I was VERY excited to see a shark!)

turtles

barracuda

The barracuda came a little too close to me for my comfort! We saw him pretty much right after we dove in and hit bottom. I was trying to be still!! He saw me and starting swimming towards me. Do you see those teeth? He came up and was looking at me face to face. He was no more than 5 feet away. Needless to say, I was nervous, Jerrod was nervous, and our dive master that was with us was nervous. Mr. Barracuda eventually swam away without touching anyone. If I am going to be that close to something in the ocean, I rather it be something nice and cute (like Nemo) without teeth :)

Grant, me, and Jerrod after our first dive on day 1. Salt water does wonders for your hair.

The diving was great and I will definitely go back to Cozumel again to dive. It was a lot of fun! Loved it!

While in Cozumel, we were either diving or eating...so the rest of my pictures revolve around food :)

Here is Grant and Kendra at Sorrisi. Sorrisi is a VERY good Italian restaurant in Cozumel. Their Italian pizza was very yummy and they also serve yummy ice cream! I will be back!

Jerrod and I eating dinner at La Choza

Kendra and me catching a quick wave after diving and lunch at Hard Rock (btw, the Hard Rock on Cozumel is the smallest one in the world)

Eating dinner on the beach at Jeanie's Restaurant

Walking around town after dinner

That pretty much sums up our trip! It was a quick trip, but we had a really good time. I highly recommend Cozumel for anyone who wants to dive!

Good Times

2008-07-06T07:50:00.001-05:00

Scuba diving in Cozumel right now with Jerrod and friends :) ...I'll write more when we get back!! Have a good weekend!

Power Kids and Spankings

2008-06-22T19:54:00.001-05:00

I took my little boy to Power Kids (Sunday church for little kids) today. You have to be 3 in order to attend. I remember, when Bryson was a little baby, reading about Power Kids and seeing all of the kids' faces light up after communion when it was time for them to go to their own special little kid church. I remember thinking "He will love that one day!"...I also remember thinking that three years seemed so far away. And today, he went to Power Kids. (tear!) The last 3 years have gone by so fast! Do you moms ever sit on the bed next to your baby as he/she sleeps at night and just stare at them? I catch myself doing that a lot with Bryson. I sit there next to him, stare, and think "he will never be this small again". I examine every part of his cute little face and try to burn those images in my head. It's kind of sad how fast they grow! I am very blessed and thankful that he is healthy and growing into a little boy...I wouldn't have it any other way. I just wish that I could freeze time or slow it down just a little bit!

This morning as we were getting ready for church, he told me "No more spankings for me. It's impossible". I started laughing and thought "Did he just say 'impossible'?". I asked him to repeat himself and he said "Don't spank me anymore. It's impossible". I told him that I hope it's impossible to spank him ever again. I said "all you need to do is be nice and be good and you won't get any spankings". He said "OK". We'll see how it goes! :) Don't get me wrong, he doesn't get spankings on a daily basis...but he usually gets a couple each week. I guess he isn't a fan of them very much...and apparently, it's impossible now to spank him. :)

My boy turned 3 today!!!

2008-06-14T19:23:00.001-05:00

It's hard to believe that it's been 3 years already since Bryson was born (...and 3 years since my epidural didn't work!). These 3 years have really gone by so fast. He is such a big boy and VERY independent! We had a party for him today at our house. He scored in the gift department....soooo many toys!

He got a baseball and bat that he used as a golf ball and golf club. We will work on that.

Poppie and my aunt, Delia

Bryson's chocolate Mater cake (he gave me strict, spicific instructions on what cake he wanted)

Enjoying cake with his frined, Aidan

Bryson with Mom and Dad
Bryson's 2 grandpas looking bored

He had a great party and had lots of fun. He's very hyper because of all of the excitement from today! Good thing we are about to drop him off at his grandparents house so we can have a night out :)

Thank you to everyone who came to his party and gave him great gifts! He appreciates it!

Fun at Hawaiian Falls

2008-06-09T14:43:00.000-05:00

Hawaiian Falls Water Park recently opened right by our house. I took Bryson today and he loved it! I bought us season passes so we will be there a lot this summer.

This is the area that we were at for most of the day. It's pretty neat. There are lots of things to do including 4 water slides.

This purple slide is the first one that he tried out! He has no fear!

He then tried out this slide. I think that he thought it was too "baby" for him because he moved on quickly.

Climbing up the net to get to the next slide

This red slide ended up being his favorite!! He went down that thing about 50 times...no exaggeration!

I tried to get a couple of shots of him on the red slide...these next 2 are the best that I could do!

He CRIED and CRIED when it was time to leave! I think we'll be back again later this week. It's nice to have a park like this to go to when it's hot outside. It's better than sitting inside all day.

(For those of you who have asked where this place is, it's located in Mansfield at 360 and Heritage. You can't miss it!)

Rudolph and New Kids Video

2008-06-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

We have regressed. Not only do we sing Rudolph on a nightly basis around this house, we have started watching Rudolph on TV again! ...and my son knows how to put the DVR on repeat so he can watch it over and over.

Yesterday was the premiere of the New Kids' new video, 'Summertime'. I have to admit, I pretty much watched it with a smile on my face the entire time :) Here's a link to the video for anyone who missed it and are now kicking themselves.

http://www.vh1.com/video/play.jhtml?id=1588642&vid=238677

Summertime Video Premiere

2008-06-06T11:25:00.000-05:00

Set your DVR :)

‘SUMMERTIME’ VIDEO WORLD PREMIERE this weekend, ONLY on VH1 and VH1.com!

Saturday, June 7 - SNEAK PEAK @ VH1 TOP 20 COUNTDOWN

Sunday, June 8 - VIDEO WORLD PREMIERE @ 2 PM on VH1 and online @ VH1.com

Early Birthday Present

2008-06-04T19:58:00.000-05:00

Bryson turns 3 on June 14th but we went ahead and gave him his birthday present early. A new swing set. Let's face it, a swing set is for us parents just as much as it is for the kids! It keeps them busy and burns some of that energy that they seem to have an endless supply of!

The first thing said when he saw it was "OHHH. Wow!"

Trying out the slide upside down

I think he likes it

An afternoon at the lake

2008-05-24T16:01:00.000-05:00

We hit the lake today! Let me tell 'ya...the water is COLD! It took my breath away when I finally jumped in. Once you're in it for a while though, it feels good. It just hurts to get in :)
Bryson was kind of nervous at first to trust his life jacket and swim back and forth between Jerrod and I...but he got over it and decided to trust the jacket and had a good time. Then he told his daddy "Open this up (where we keep the skis), put your feet inside, and get in the water". So while momma drove the boat, daddy and Bryson skied. I don't have any pictures of that though since I was driving. We had a good afternoon :) ....It's time for a nap now!

Swimmin'

2008-05-20T21:38:00.001-05:00

After dinner, Bryson hit the pool for the first time this season. He loved it...except for when he would go under water. We will have to practice keeping our mouth closed when we go under...just like we had to last summer! His mouth is always wide open when he gets excited.

Here's my boy chillin' by the pool. Watch out ladies! Look at those abs!

Remembering how to "kick and pull" in the water

After pool time, he was worn out and ready for bed. I threw him in the tub then straight in his bed and he was out...after we sang Rudolph of course. It's only May. All of you guys are still singing Rudolph too aren't you?

Look out Vince Young

2008-05-19T17:21:00.000-05:00

Here are a few pictures of my boy learning how to throw and catch a football. Don't get me wrong...he's been throwing a football for a long time, but now he is actually hitting his target :) He's pretty good! He throws it fast so you better be ready! He finally perfected his catching skills as well. He learned to actually watch the ball instead of watching you...or the TV...or anything else besides the actual ball. He will even reach for the ball now and grab it out of the air. My little football pro :) We will be reviewing offers from the Dallas Cowboys and Tennessee Titans.

NEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-05-16T23:09:00.000-05:00

OK girls (man, my blog is turning into a New Kids blog)...I've got news!!!

NKOTB will perform in:

Houston- October 16th

San Antonio- October 17th

Pre-concert party at Tracy's house- October 18th!

DALLAS- October 19th (tickets go on sale June 9th)