Thursday, June 30, 2011

Amazing and Fabulous

I promised amazing and fabulous.
 And...
I'm not going to be able to deliver.

I'm having technical issues with photos from my camera, so tonight it's pictures from my phone, baby!

I love Whataburger.
They have the best ketchup on the planet.
We've been in Texas less than a week, and I've eaten there twice.
#7 please!

I also went to the mall today.
Yep, that would be the Hallelujah Chorus you hear singing.

Not only did I go to the mall, I used the fancy above ground skywalk from Memorial Hermann Hospital (Jason had a annual appointment) to Memorial City Mall. 


And I was so impressed and excited with the skywalk I thought to myself, "Wow! This is really nice.  This is so totally blogworthy. I need to take a picture!"
 Which shows you what living in a town of 15,000 has done to my excitement barometer.
And I honestly had no idea I was prancing above the streets of Houston (Gessner, to be exact) still wearing my sunglasses while inside. 

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Where I've Been

Unfortunately, my amazingly fabulous phone has decided it doesn't like to upload blog posts.
Which means I can't update you every second that we're doing something amazingly fabulous.

But for the super high speed update we:
left Durango and drove to my parent's house
spent 2 days at the original Schlitterbahn
and now I'm in Houston heading out to meet some sorority sisters for dinner.

Amazingly fabulous stories and pictures coming soon!

Saturday, June 25, 2011

How To Celebrate Your 10 Year Wedding Anniversary

Go get a pen and paper because this is amazing.
You'll seriously want to take notes and use these strategies for that special day of your own.

1. Completely forget your anniversary.

2. Even when you're at the roller rink (it's an ice skating rink in the winter) and you're looking at the calendar to set up a Cub Scout event, don't remember.  You should say, "Yeah, Thursday, June 23rd. That sounds good."  Saying the date out loud shouldn't trigger any memory.

3. Receive an anniversary card in the mail from your mother-in-law, and as a wave of sudden panic washes over you, say to husband, "Oh my gosh! Did I forget our anniversary?"

4. Tell husband that your "accidentally" scheduled rollerskating on your 10th anniversary night.

5. Also, don't even bother to buy husband an anniversary card since the only funny one you find is the one you gave him last year.  Giving a lovey-dovey, sappy card is not even an option.

6. Smile for your 10 year anniversary picture. 
7. Look on the bright side, of all the crazy places you've been and things you've done, you've never been rollerskating together.

Friday, June 24, 2011

Fashion Fabulous Friday


Last week he was covered in dirt, and this week....
Well......
He looks more like the Kyle we know and love.

(Not that he's given up 'dirt biking', that's still a fan favorite around here.)

And it's not that Kyle is so stylish this week, as much as it is his new toy.
He specifically asked if he could have the "Barbie Happy Meal".
 And really, he's 3, I'm totally fine with it.
Now I know this isn't a Barbie, but I don't have any girls, so I have no idea what kind of doll this is.
Kyle calls her "Dora Barbie".  (I'm guessing because of her black hair.)

But no matter who she is, she is quite fashion fabulous in those pink pants and blue scarf.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

All Together Now

I'm cleaning out the "picture fridge" today.
And we're having leftovers!
These just couldn't pull it together for a stand alone post, but hopefully all together they can make it work.

I love Denver. 
Where else can my child sit down and play the piano in the middle of downtown, literally!

I know Pinkberry is nothing new, but we don't have one in Durango. (Or anywhere near us.)
I love it so much, I ate it two days in a row.
And the kids are still begging to go back.

Teeny-tiny baby bunny
(Of course in this picture it looks like a giant, but trust me, it was teensey!)

From tiny to huge.
Joseph Kyle in the whale shark.

I love this picture of JR and Steven.



Kyle was super excited about his gummy sharks from The Sweet Life.

Which was featured on Rachel Ray.
And I still don't believe you can eat in Telluride for $40 a day. 
One of her meals must have been that cup of coffee she's holding up and a sack lunch!


Found this little scene in Telluride too.
How dare they say 'no' to Colorado's two most precious treasures?!
And, of course, that sign was meant for the owners of every other bike in the city.

 
Don't worry, I didn't leave out the "dogs".
I know the picture quality is terrible, but I was trying to discreetly take a picture with my phone (something I'm not so good at).
This is the music store where JR takes piano.
Really? 
You have to bring a dog to piano lessons?!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Flower Pot

Being my father's daughter, I've developed an appreciation for pretty flora.
But I guess I have a real thing for flowering pots since I brought home a camera-full of pictures from Telluride of children with them!






Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Camper Extraordinaire

JR had a super fun time at camp.
I know this since when I picked him up on Friday I said, "Did you miss me?"
and JR replied with, "No. Not one bit. Can I come back to Red Cloud next year?!"

After the awards ceremony, (JR got the "engineer award" as in, he was like The Little Engine That Could) he gave us the grand tour.

The cafeteria where they only served water (the horror!) and his favorite dinner was a meatball sub.

The store where he bought Ring Pops everynight.

Cute little creek in the middle of camp.

His cabin

inside the cabin

And his bed.  He had the top bunk.

I can tell he changed clothes everyday (YES!) since they were all covered in dirt...and clothes that have gone ziplining, on a ropes course, canoeing, mountain biking, overnight camping, and on an 11-mile hike up a mountiain might as well be thrown away as washed.

 But since I found his soap still in the box, I'm guessing a rinse off "shower" was as close as he got to getting clean all week. 

Monday, June 20, 2011

Celebrity Magnet

So it was just last Saturday night I got to rub elbows with a Food Network star, then this past Saturday night we had another celebrity run in!
We were in Telluride this weekend staying with Steven and Liz at their condo.  (JR's BFF, Steven's parents).

We were having a before dinner cocktail at Cosmos (we have a Cosmos in Durango, but the Telluride one is the original) when in walks Kelly Ripa and family. 

So here's the dirt:
-Of course she was little, but didn't think her hubby, Mark Consuelos, would have been that little.  Liz's description of him: "He's 4'11"!" 
(BTW, I googled him and he's listed as 5'8".  Um, okay.)

-Her hair was down and wavy (she obviously hadn't had a professional blow-out) and she's much blonder than she looks on TV.

-They were with their kids but I didn't even look at them.

We talked to the hostess after she got back from seating them and she said that "They are great friends with the Seinfelds and have a house near them."

In other celebrity news, I talked to the girl working the front desk at the condo who has lived in Telluride her whole life:
-She once rode a ski lift with Val Kilmer. (Val Kilmer, Caroline!) Said he told her he was in town visiting his girlfriend, which was Daryl Hannah.
-Tom Cruise and Katie don't come to their house much anymore.  Telluride is too "small town" for Katie, she doesn't like it.

Kelly and family were whisked to their table too fast for a picture, so I have the two requisite Telluride scenery pictures for you instead.

Picture of the mountains

Picture on the gondola
(Steven, JR, and Steven's little brother, Clayton)

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Big Daddy(s)

It's Father's Day!

This is my favorite picture of my daddy.
(That's Kyle swinging on the barn/bunkhouse front porch with him.)
The sweetest, kindest daddy (and Paw-Paw) in the whole world.


And a picture of JR, Kyle, and Reed's daddy.
(That's Reed and obviously, JR)
Whose three sons think he's the coolest person on the planet.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Fashion Fabulous Friday


'Dirt' is the new black edition.

If you'd asked me which of my kids would be begging me to take them to the "dirt bike race track" everyday I certainly wouldn't have picked this one.


I can't wait to see how excited he's going to be when he finds out biking has "costumes". 


I also can't wait to see his daddy's face when he picks out a pink one!


But, The Fashionista has spoken.


Dirt is totally "in".

Thursday, June 16, 2011

House Guest

We haven't had a house guest this beautiful in a long time.


But I guess beauty comes with a price, because Fiona (Kyle calls her "Fi-onya") has a little snoring problem.
And when I say "little" I mean she sounds like a freight train crashing through the wall.

Good thing she's so pretty (and sweet)!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Deja Vu

My Denver Zoo pictures look a whole lot like last year's Denver Zoo pictures.

I'm almost certain that's Kyle on the left, and if I had to pick, I'd say that's Reed on the right.

JR and I were excited to see the penguins since he's reading Mr. Popper's Penguins, but wouldn't you know it, the penguin exhibit was closed.

Although the penguin habitat was open for business.
Which I'm guessing it was last year too.

Usually I don't take many animal shots at the zoo, but I guess I had a thing for birds this year.
A peacock to show Paw-Paw.
(On a bird side note, Kyle asked me if Paw-Paw would buy him a (real) flamingo. 
My answer: Probably.)

Jason and Reed feeding the birds.

As you can see, Kyle was super excited about feeding time.

 Kyle finding another bird to feed.

And JR feeding.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

This Much Closer To Adam Richmond

If you're a Food Network fan keep reading, you'll think this is as cool as I do.

On our last night in Denver we went to Capitol Grill for dinner, but before we did, we had dessert first at d Bar Desserts.

After the waitress took our order, Cassidy asked, "Is Lisa here tonight? Tell her Cassidy is here."
Lisa and her husband, Keegan Gerhard, who's the host of Food Network's Extreme Cake Challenges, are the owners of d Bar.

Lisa is from Brazoria, Y'all!
She was a cheerleader with Cassidy in high school, and still has plenty of Southern hospitality as Keegan and she both came out to greet us.
JR loves the Extreme Cake Challenges, so I told them I needed a picture for my son...even though I really just wanted it for myself.

And, seriously, the desserts were amazing!

Before they came to talk with us, they sent out a special treat of their version of S'mores.
 These aren't even on the menu yet!
(But coming soon!)

Cassidy and I both ordered waffle ice cream sandwiches.
I may, or may not, have licked my plate clean.

Jason got the homemade donuts.
His review? "These are the best donuts I've ever put in my mouth."

Now if I could just get a friend's friend to marry Adam Richmond (Man V Food) I'll be all set.