Howdy!

We are just back from the second of our Whirlwind Adventures this summer!  After staying home for two years we have certainly been on the go this year!  Farm Bureau had a trip to San Antonio this summer that we went on with a bunch of our Farm Bureau friends, and it was tons of fun!

The Pool was the main attraction!  And that is a good thing because it was HOT! 

The resort where we stayed had pools,  a lazy river, and several water slides! 

We loved the JW Marriott resort!  Only ate at one place that I would recommend- Boudros in the Riverwalk area.

We spent one day in HELL ON EARTH  SeaWorld.  The pic says it all.  It was 104*, John Stephen was not the easiest to deal with, and I really don't like amusement parks.  The best thing was that Sydney and Don rode two REALLY scary rides!  We did feel like it was a good EYE OPENER about what to expect/plan for if we ever go to Disneyworld.  Let me just say that we will plan way ahead if we ever head to Florida to see Mickey!  I felt so overwhelmed at SeaWorld.  I didn't know which rides and shows we wanted to see, I didn't know what rides John Stephen could go on, I didn't know much.  There were lots of tattooed people, and we were aimlessly wandering around rubbing elbows with them all- not my favorite way to spend a day!   

Speaking of Tattooed People...Look what Sydney got at the resort!  A colorful, butterfly, airbrushed tattoo!  Temporary, of course!  She loved it!

When we got home Sydney continued with her cowgirl theme for the summer and went to Equestrian Camp!  It was super fun, and she learned everything from how to saddle a horse, to how to ride him! 

The local college has such neat children's programs for the summer, and I was so happy to see her learn something new!  I am having a busy Monday, and have been writing this over a period of 5 hours on and off between loads of laundry and other chores around here.  Glad to be home for a while, and planning on enjoying the last little bit of the summer!! 

Reunion and R & R

Hello Blogosphere!  I've been missing you! 

I've been around the world in 8 days!  Let me catch you up...Last Friday I went to Fayetteville for my Sorority Reunion at the University of Arkansas!  My travelling companions were John Stephen and Sydney.  I dropped them off in Bentonville with Don and Paxton for the State Championship Baseball Tournament.  Don was totally pumped about having all three kids in a hotel room and at the ballfield for the big tournamet by himself!  Ha!  It went ok- I did spend the day on Saturday with John Stephen at the hotel to give Don a break. 

My  Kappa Sisters were just as Fabulous as ever, and we had a blast!  We spent the weekend in the sorority house and pretty much pretended we were young again!  On Sunday morning my real sister, Stephanie (who is also my Kappa sister) and I packed up early and got John Stephen from the hotel.  We then headed to LR to pick up my neice and nephew, Wilson and Liza.  Then, we rolled out to the beach to meet my mother (aka Nana).  Let's do bullets from here:

* Drove Steph's SUV with a "turtle" strapped to the top.  Kids were wedged in anywhere they would fit around the luggage.  We only made it about 10 minutes out of town before a "good ole boy" flagged us down on the interstate to tell us that our "turtle" was blowing off of the top of our car!!  Luckily, good ole boy had a tupperware container full of bungee cords and donated a few to our cause! 
*The kids took a little while to get settled in to travel mode- we stopped 3 times in the first 2 hours of the trip, and Steph and I thought we were NEVER going to make it to Florida!
*I learned that DVD players are a blessing and a curse.  My job was to keep everyone happy in their movie lineup (not very easy), and Steph drove.  Of course, noone would wear their headphones.  So we ended up listening to the movies the WHOLE WAY!
*Google maps sent us on a different route through Mobile than we have ever taken.  It took us through the older part of town, and through a sketchy neighboorhood.  It was so late at night and we had to slow down because of the speed bumps and street gangs that were in the middle of the road.  We knew with our turtle and loaded down car we must have looked like sitting ducks!  Hysterical laughing ensued!
*The route through Mobile ended up in a lovely old neighborhood with live oaks arching over fabulous homes- it ended up being my favorite part of the drive!
*Once the kids were asleep we decided to press on rather than unload everybody to spend the night on the way.  At Midnight we rolled in to Seagrove Beach!

*We ate at our condo most meals, but we did venture to Seaside for dinner one night.  We went to Great Southern, and sat on the patio.  I had Shrimp and Grits a Ya Ya.  Fun time!

*Do yourself a favor and google "Beach Shrimp" from Southern Living.  We made it- it was easy, and DELISH!! 

*John Stephen loved the beach.  I loved the time with my family!  We were all just full of love! 

*Came back from the Beach and headed straight to the Lake to meet Don and the big kids!  We had a fun night and headed back to our house and a LIFETIME of Dirty Laundry!  Glad to be home!  Happy Independence Day!