great opportunity

John Maxwell will be at our church on Friday for a conference, but then he will also be at both morning services on Sunday. I will not be able to make Sunday morning, but I get the privelege of ushering Mr. Maxwell and Pastor Lori on Friday, so excited. If you want to attend with Ben, let him know, it is going to be a great service!!

not much new

Not much new, we spent much of the day and I do mean much of the day at church yesterday. It was a really good day, but no pics. One new thing is my FIL has created a blog. I just thought I would share the address for those of you who know Ben's dad, Tom. Welcome to blog world PopPop! http://oldweirddad.blogspot.com/

Chuy's fun

Thank goodness for outdoor dining!

does it need a caption?

still in love

The book gets better. I can do without the cussing, but the last 2 chapters make the book. I finished it in 3 days, does that say anything? My complaints were there are way too many names, I could not remember who half of her relatives were, the cussing and seriously there are way too many designers in the world and I did not have a clue many times who she was talking about. But, the ending and what she discovers about herself is priceless. Off to Half-Priced Books tomorrow for my next all-nighter!

photo contest

My aunt, Jacque, Anna's stepmom entered a photo contest. You can vote for her photo here.
http://snapshot.parade.com/oceans/main.php?g2_itemId=163127 Click just to the left of vote here on the # of votes she has received.

my kind of day

This morning I got to sleep till 9 a.m. Oh heaven~ then, two little blondies came into my room singing and bearing scrambled eggs with a candle.

At 10 we met lots of friends at the water park for splash day and had so much fun (no camera). Then, home for a nap, shower & dinner at Mimi's Cafe. It was our first time to try Mimi's and we will definitely be going back. It was super yummy and the portions were big enough to share. Then, off to the Outlet mall to walk it off. My friend, Faith gave me a gift card to Starbucks today, so I got my caffeine fix for the month. We rode the mechanical car, Bella said - don't want to; LE was obliged. Tossed coins in the fountain, saw the new princess costumes at the Disney store, (we did take them into the store, but it was too cute watching them peer into the windows. I think that is probably what 3-year old heaven is - the Disney Outlet Store). Then, back home for story time and Ben putting the girls to bed. Oh yeah and LE pooped on the potty - TMI I am sure, but it made my day! Now I am off to bed to finish my new book, I am still not loving it, but its good, on page 168. Oh yes and my gift from Ben and the girls was a camera for my purse, thus the reason I did not have one at water park today - it was still charging and forgot it! Thanks Ben and girls I love you so much. You made my b-day so special!

fell in love

I fell in love again last night at midnight, no not that! Although I am totally in-love with my husband, I found a new love! READING!! Stefani gave me a book a few weeks back on our GNO and I picked it up again after the Olympics was over and last night at midnight I realized I could not put it down. At 2:15 I finally finished, tears in my eyes. It was so heart warming and so...it just reminded me what life was all about, again. So, it is in the mail on its way to my Granny now. Today I started Please Excuse My Daughter by Julie Klam. I am not totally into it yet, but climbing in bed now, jammies on, with my bottle of water, will let you know in a few days if the love is still there.

Fannie Flagg is the author of Fried Green Tomatoes.

celebrate bandera

They led a herd of YO Ranch longhorns down the parade route.

This was an actor in the parade, Bell did not like him too much.

This was my fave part (kidding) an adult marching band, complete with color guard - all 2 of them and twirlers. Maybe there is still a career for me in marching bands.

Bell in PawPaw's tepee.

the Indian drummers

This past weekend when I went home, we went to Bandera's Labor Day parade. This was an impressive parade for a small town. It is known as the Cowboy Capital of the World. LE's comment to the presence of so much livestock - there are not alot of cars in this parade (city kid). The parade kicked off with a herd of longhorns from the YO Ranch. Talk about a nervous Momma, I cannot believe how big they were and right there! The parade concluded in Mansfield Park where they were having a Inter tribal PowWow. My dad was a demonstrator, he does mountain man re-enactments for the local schools and was invited. I was so impressed with the Native Americans and their belief systems. They did this dance to honor the veterans in active duty and those in attendance. He said it did not matter if you were Native American or not to please join in with them b/c they were warriors and protecting the ways of the Indian. They had this one gentleman who walked the opposite way of the group and was carrying the POW flag. The POW was separated from his fellow comrades as he was. They also made everyone take off their hats when the flag was entering the arena. They were walking around asking people who did not oblige to do so. It was a great learning experience, I cannot wait to do it again next year!

labor day

I cannot believe it is Labor Day. Labor Day is a big day for me, it symbolizes so many things. As a child it meant it was the week of my birthday or better yet it was my birthday. In the early years, that school would start the following day. Then, in college it meant the weekend of the first football game and then an extra day that I could travel home. After college it meant a day off from teaching, a four day work week. For the past four years it has meant a party on the hill & Ben having a day to spend with the girls. I love labor day it really is one of my favorite holidays.

We had such a blast last night on the hill. I had to work a little, but mostly was "wired" with a headset to hear what all goes on for a party of 8-9,000 people. We had great food, great music, saw friends, saw an old student of mine, bounced, waited in a few lines, got a few ant bites, got dirty in the sand and made lots of memories!