4th of July Vacation

You all.......I'm not good at vacationing.......I like home too much, I think

BUT......I wanted the kids to experience SOMETHING this summer that they could write about on their first day of school. And no, that part is not a joke.

So with lots of airline miles and hotel points to spare......and waiting to the last minute to plan something.....we decided to head down to San Antonio, Texas to experience the JW Marriott hotel and water park, Sea World, and the River Walk/Alamo area.

And we really did have a fun time. Kids were awesome. Sis was apprehensive about flying, but she ended up being a champ.  Sea World and the River Walk were SO HOT, and JW Marriott was packed for a holiday weekend........but.......we still came out on the other side.  Now we also have a fun saying around because it's been SO HOT this summer........we walk outside and ask.....is it hot outside? Someone will answer, yes, it's hot, but it's not Sea World hot.  Ya'll it was seriously 1000 degrees when we were done with Sea World for the day.  At that point, vacation was over and we were ready to get home to sleep in our own bed and see our Rib Bib.

Bren with Taylor Swift. So excited!!

This was Beau at the Wax Museum. They all loved this stop.

Even Daddy liked this stop.

Now on to Sea World!

We were D-U-N for the day. Sea World - peace out!

And Happy 4th from the non-loving fireworks Grant Family!

50th Anniversary Celebration

June 25th, 1966, Fred Levings and Betty Brunken were married. Little did they know at that time what their life had in store for them.  And now 50 years later......here we ware.

Very grateful for everything they have sacrificed, everything they taught us, and for so many fun memories.

We celebrated the day the only way we know how.......great food, water balloons, and cake!

College World Series - Go Pokes!

When a once in a lifetime opportunity presents itself.......you take advantage of it. And that's exactly what my two boys did.  They watched the Oklahoma State Cowboys play in the College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. Definitely a bucket list item for Dad, and an amazing opportunity for a 12 year old boy.  They had a great time.  We love our Cowboys - win or lose.

I think he had a good time.

Fish Update - less than 24 hours later

And they are both dead.

38 cents down the toliet.

Heading to Petco after Music Camp to buy some more. Thankfully they were not named and she seems unaffected.

Bren's Fish tank

Brenley had money burning a hole in her pocket from some items she sold at Uncle Kyle's garage sale and some books sold at BookAHolic.

So with two 19 cent fish and $80 to spend......and that cash is now all gone.....the lesson is.....fish are cheap. The supplies are not. Now let's see how long we can keep them alive!!!!

But she has made a lovely home for them in her bedroom and seems to be pretty content with her new pets. Names TBD. 

Brenley Baking

We walked upstairs yesterday to find this.

From preparing the Easy Bake Oven soft pretzel mix, to cooking it, to this precious note.... She did everything herself.

Sweet baby. Love her mind and her heart. 

Brenley & Beau musings

Our Bren.....her recent obsessions include Shopkins and more artwork.

Shopkins are these little collectable "things" and each season has a theme.  Every little Shopkin has a name, and she knows ALL of them.  She watches youtube video after youtube video on them and can go into quite detail about them. I encourage you NOT to buy her any as she probably already has them and gets very disgusted with you if you buy her repeats (insert actual experience on that topic here).

Between her Art Gallery Wall and Shopkins.........and just her normal make believe mind.....here are some of Brenley's projects in pictures.

Labeled Shopkins

another angle. this took some time....

Shopkins display city

welcome to her diner

Art wall in her room.

Her and I went out on a "date" yesterday. We painted ceramics and enjoyed a treat at Panera.  She is such a joy to be around.  I love spending time with her.  When she is happy and in her own world, she talks to herself, sings, or hums. That's the best of Brenley May.

Beau.......well, no pictures of his make believe. Most of the time you can find him chillaxing on his new queen size bed (no more bunk bed!!) watching the Thunder or playing video games.

Since I have been gone so much and have missed some baseball games, I wanted to take Beau out on a date for some one on one time, which we did Thursday night. We went to Abuelo's Mexican restaurant, where you can play trivia games at the table. He loves to eat, loves Mexican, and he loves sports trivia. It was a win win win.  Mom even managed to answer a few right, which I think he appreciated.  Then we went to Glow Golf and played a few rounds of mini golf, where Mom also managed to talk a little smack on a few holes.  Me, competitive?  We ended the night with half price Sonic shakes. It was such a great time to just be with him.  We talked when he wanted to talk. We laughed. He opened doors. And at the end of the night I kissed his cheek and he told me how much fun he had and thanked me for the night. #priceless

And I am adding these last two pictures just for fun. When I am out of town, I enjoy these pictures so much. This is real life y'all.

This is our plastic cup obsession.  The cabinets wouldn't close any more. It was time to say goodbye to some of our plastic cups.  ha ha

Ribbie was mad that he got left behind. Got in the trash. Oops. Point made, Ribbie Trey,