On the 4th of July

On The 4th of July 2008

We went to my Brother David's house to spend the evening with him and his partner and friends. He lives in Lakeway, Texas (Austin). It was nice to sit and watch the fireworks over Lake Travis.

The Family

Little Red and Auntie Ann

Little Red looks just like Uncle David!

The Hubby and my Podunk kid

We tried to get photos of the fire work's but, I am no photographer, and had no idea what I was doing! Even hubby tried we got Lot's of blurry photos then I forgot to set the camera back and the rest of the ones with the kids doing the sparklers came out all blurry too.

Thanks David we had a good time. We Love you Guys!

The Ride Home

A few snap shots from the ride home.

Jelly Bean is under that blanket from Nana somewhere.

Mr. Guitar hero himself trying not to smile.

My Happy Little man.

We stoped at Bucees...... had to after seeing all the bilboards about it.

The billboards are cute and that beaver is just too adorable. We saw lots of Billboards in the 3 hour drive from Houston to San Antonio. It kept us entertained. I found these pictures online of some of the billboards.

I have been in one before but, the guys have not.

Here are some words from reviews online that I looked up, wish I could write like this. It sounds like me though, LOL! I cut and pasted some words and added some of my own.

I'm a little shocked at how amazing a gas station can be.

The parking wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. Sure, it was crowded, but not overly so and it was definitely possible to find a spot anywhere. And considering how many cars were in the parking lot, the store itself was pleasantly uncrowded. That is mostly due to the fact that it is ENORMOUS!

The best part is they got everything from Dippin' Dots, candy, a deli case full of every kind of jerky you can think of, fresh deli, higher end sou verniers, and of course gas - 20+ aisles of pumps.

The left side is a bunch of touristy junk and by junk I mean I wanted it all, but was able to walk away without any of it.

The right side was the obligatory snacks and other devilish temptations.

In front of the deli is a computerized sandwich-ordering system, where you can order a sandwich custom built to your specifications, from the bread to the spread to the meat. You can also select wraps, hot dogs, chicken fingers, tacos and burritos. Here’s also where you can order a brown paper bag filled with freshly fried chips.

The photo below I found online.

The women's room is enough to make a girl swoon. There are rows and rows of stalls. When the stall door is locked, the outside says occupied, much like an airplane. Best of all, nearly everything is automatic, from the flushers to the soap and paper towels.

The picture above is of the baby Changing station and waiting area in the ladies room at Buc-ee's. That poster, the throw and the bench it's on are all for sale. The ladies room is also an arts and crafts gallery!

A photo of all the stalls in the ladies room. Those white dispensers are hand sanitizers!

http://www.bucees.com/ here is a link to their web site.

We even ran into one of Papa Bexars co-workers from the Sheriff's Department too. It was nice to meet you Goodwin and your partner after talking to you on the phone so many times.

We had a goo trip back home from Houston.

The Ferry Boat Ride June 28th, 2008

Galveston, Texas to Crystal Beach From the web site: Galveston Island to Port BolivarThe Galveston-Port Bolivar ferry is the bridge between two segments of State Highway 87. South of IH-10, State Highway 87 is the only highway around Galveston Bay. The free ferry service provided by TxDOT is the only way motorists can cross the waterway between Bolivar Peninsula and Galveston Island. The line to get on was real long. So we just parked and walked on. Much quicker that way. That way we did not have to drive off the boat and turn around to get back on. We just stayed onboard and watched the cars load and unload real neat system they have. It was a Great free thing to do we enjoyed it.

What a mean look from Podunk. He did cheer up later on.

We Got to see the Dolphins! That was exciting.

DOLPHINS!!

Cool Photo of the TEXAS Flag

The boat was double-ended with a pilothouse on each end,

and the Captain changed from one pilothouse to the other to

go in the opposite direction.

The Boat did not have to turn around! How cool is that.

On the way back there where lots of seagulls. I think Lance

liked watching them.

Just Me.

Silly boys! See there Podunk with a smile.

It was also VERY windy on the way back

Hold on Lil Red!

Don't Blow away.

I am holding on Tight Mom!

SUPERMAN

here is a link to read more about the ferry

http://www.galveston.com/galvestonferry/

More from Houston

Houston Museum of Natural Science

June 29, 2008 Sunday On Sunday we went Downtown to the Museum lots of neat things to see and look at.

We just went threw the main area. As each separate area cost another ticket to get into.

Papa and the Boy's outside the Museum by the Sun Clock.

Lil Red and the Bones in The Lobby while Papa bought

the tickets.

Jelly Bean, Papa and Podunk inside the Museum.

Mama, Lil Red and Jelly Bean there are Dinosaur Bones

behind us. Jelly Bean brought his own camera I think he

is going to become a photographer.

Jelly Bean thinks this is a Raptor?

Our Houston Trip

We took a quick weekend trip to Houston in June it was a nice trip.

The first night there Lil Red, Jelly Bean, and myself stayed at the hotel while Lance and Podunk went to the Baseball game to see the Red Sox's play the Houston Astro's. Podunk is a Red Sox's fan. The Sox's won that night! So that made him very happy.

Lil Red and Jelly Bean at the Holiday Inn.

On Saturday we took them all to the Houston Zoo Lil red liked the Aquarium.

All 3 of the Boys! In a Eagles nest.

Mama and her Boys

Papa and the Boys

Lil Red and Jelly Bean both got to be part of a show in the kids area. Lil red also got Papa on stage. Papa had to act like a pelican with a net by his chin and try and catch plastic fish Lil Red threw at him. It was too funny!

Jelly Bean got a card with an animal on it and had to act out the animal while the audience tried to guess what he was.

Where'd he go?

Hmmmmm..... what is he doing?

Oooh, oohh theres someone with their hand up.

He's a CHICKEN!! YES, you are right he is a chicken. Yeah!

Is that what you guessed?

The Mayonnaise Jar and the 2 Beers

I got this in an e-mail from Tara and wanted to share: When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous 'yes.' The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed. 'Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions---and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car. The sand is everything else---the small stuff. 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you. 'Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal. Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.' One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.'