Baylee

Last week was one of the best so far this summer! "Uncle Bryan" and I had a great time because our niece, Baylee, visited with us for seven days! Everyone involved, well at least the Yourees, had a GREAT time. I hope Baylee did too!

The weekend started off with a Texas wedding and church on Sunday. We also saw a great movie on the OmniMax. Yikes, I felt like was going to fall off the edge of the seat!

Then, we celebrated the hottest day of the year (105 degrees, actual temp) by visiting Six Flags! Bless. It was fun despite the heat. I believe, we made a roller coaster fan out of Baylee. How many times did she ride the Batman? That'd be three. By the end of the day, around 9:00 p.m., Bryan and I started feeling our, um, age. And for the record: I HATE the Judge Roy Scream.

Tuesday found us splashing around at NRH2O, a family-friendly water park in Tarrant County. The Green Machine water roller coaster was my favorite, as well as the wave pool. Baylee had fun frolicking around each section all afternoon. This was way cooler (literally!) than Six Flags!

Sadly, Uncle Bryan had to go back to work on Wednesday, but Baylee and I had fun visiting the Cowgirl Hall of Fame and the Science Museum, where Baylee bought some astronaut ice cream. Let's just say it was weird both in taste and texture. :-)

Thursday we baked cookies, went swimming, and played with little Lucianne. It was a great day to recover from our big events earlier in the week.

Friday found us at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing--very interesting. Of course, all that talk about money inspired us to shop the afternoon away! We found some great deals and cute clothes for our 12-year-old diva. Teehee.

Needless to say, we were super sad to drop her off on Saturday. We can't wait until next summer!

Baylee, come back!

One Month Later . . .

It's been awhile.

The Youree summer blasted off and is taking off!

The first weekend of June, we ventured north to visit the fam in Oklahoma and Arkansas. We had lunch with my mom; Chris, the birthday boy; and Baylee, who was boasting some new braces. She and I are looking very chic with matching metal mouths. Gracyn impressed us with her t-ball abilities while we watched her game. And we had a great time visiting with the Youree side of the family in Heavener. To end our weekend, we also stopped in Sherman, TX to see the grandparents. Boy, do they have onions in the garden!

The month of June also brought a visitor our way--my great friend Lori from the college days. She stayed a long weekend. We enjoyed her visit so much! We checked out museums, shopped, visited the pool, watched the Rangers in action, and chatted until our heads fell off. Well, not literally, but you get the idea. We talked a lot. Teehee. Sorry, Bethany. I didn't take any pictures while Lori was here. I'm so bad at that . . . .

July 4th was low-key this year. Bryan was on-call. I did what any American woman would do on a holiday when her husband is working--I shopped. We did get to see some fireworks that evening from the deck. God bless America.

Other than that, we've been eating, sleeping, watering the plants (because it's so HOT and DRY), and watching House Hunters. Ah, another Youree summer.

Van Cliburn

My recent ventures took me to the press room at the Van Cliburn piano competition here in Fort Worth. I volunteered in the press room for a few "slots," keeping the place tidy, searching the newspapers for any coverage, stocking the food, etc. It was so great to learn more about this prestigious event Fort Worth is honored to host every four years. This is just another reason I'm starting to love Fort Worth so much; it has a lot to offer in the arts and hospitality. The finals are this weekend; be sure to find out who wins!

cliburn.org

My, How Your Garden Grows

Thanks to a little rain and plenty o' sunshine, our vegetable and flower garden is growing nicely. Zucchini was our first veggie to pick and eat. We've picked five in all, one cucumber, and one tiny tomato so far! And I've attached pics of the new landscaping along the back of the yard.

New Haircut

I'm a little shaky with the camera; thus, the blurry pics. But hey--you get the idea.

Fun Times With Friends

What's tiny, energetic, too-cute-for-words, and obsessed with her best friend Joel? Amelia, who came to visit her Aunt Em and Uncle Bryan just a few days ago. Of course, Jennifer and Francis tagged along too (but we know the REAL star of the show!). 

Although Bryan was working most of the weekend, the girls had a great visit. We went to the zoo (the same day every public school in Texas decided on a field trip), shopped til we dropped, and got lost on various occasions. I'm still learning the Texas roadways--ahem.

Thankfully, I experienced no medical mishaps this time, as I have been prone to do during the Morgan visits. I'm thinking Colby is the unlucky member of this equation . . . .

Mother's Day Memories

Right . . . Mother's Day was a few weeks back, but I am just now getting to the blog. It's called too many projects for May!

We traveled to Oklahoma City to meet up with Bryan's family for Mother's Day weekend. We went up a day early to visit the OU campus, where Bryan earned his undergraduate degree. It was really fun to walk the campus, see his old dormitory, and munch at an old college restaurant. And did I mention I learned the meaning of an Oklahoma sudden "shower." I believe I screamed, "Ruuuuunnnn."

The rest of the weekend we spent with the Youree family. This was the first time all the Youree kids and spouses were together since I have joined the family, which, of course, made for a great time! While there, we ate too much food, played in the hotel pool, watched OU and OSU baseball game (literally a view to die for from our room), endured a haunted house (NEVER AGAIN!), laughed at the grandkids' antics, and--the highlight of the weekend--saw the Lion King stage show. 

For me, it was great to see the dynamics of my new family. I chuckled a bit as I could see everyone fitting into their "roles" when they get together. Grown adults become mom and dad's pride and joy still soaking up the love and attention they provide, and the memories from years past fuel laughter and bonds. So great.

The pics are: the Yourees, the Thompsons, the Raineys, kiddos in the hot tub, the view from our room, and Mr. Hoops.