Happy Anniversary/Memorial Day Weekend

Drew and I celebrated our 4 year anniversary by taking our first big trip away without Griffin. We chose Dallas/Ft. Worth since I had never been and it was just a "short" 8 hour drive. Drew would prefer to drive anywhere, and I like seeing the country so that works out. The only draw back is that Oklahoma and Texas aren't very exciting looking. I'm nervous about my upcoming flight out to see Shasta without my two guys, but I realized on this trip.......the odds of having a fatal car crash in 16 hours worth of driving are much higher than trouble with 5 hours of flights. I'm feeling much better about that. 

We left Friday evening and finally stopped in McAlester, OK. The next day I convinced Drew to make a small detour to the current city where Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert live, Tishomingo. She opened a store there last fall (genius marketing strategy) and I was the sucker that paid $30 for a t-shirt. 

drink created by Miranda - carbonated water with cherry and vanilla flavoring, yum!

Our first stop in Dallas was Dealey Plaza. One of my high school history teachers was slightly obsessed with the assassination of JFK (it took place here) and I had decided if I ever made it to the big D I would have to go check it out. We did not wait in line to go up in the old Texas Schoolbook Depository where Lee Harvey Oswald supposedly shot him from. The line was snaked back and forth 37 times. We did however walk around and take all the touristy photos. Super cool. 

deep in the heart of Texas.....

*tear*

we'll have to go up to the museum on another visit

Lee Harvey Oswald was sitting in the second window from the top
........far right side of the building on the left
I'm standing where the car was

X marks the spot of the President's car at the moment of shot #2

in case you couldn't find it......

We made our way to our hotel in the historic Stockyards district of Ft. Worth, and quickly got busy walking and seeing all it had to offer. Highlights from the weekend include:

across the street from the hotel

yes, that's cow skin furniture

mooooo

"because that's what I am", says Drew

our window is the 1 you can see after 'Yards'

Stockyards Rodeo

pretty cool pic for a cell phone

daily cattle drive happens at 11:30am and 4:00pm

people pay for this.....

Cowtown Colliseum, home of the first indoor rodeo and the one we saw

took a lot of convincing to get Drew to wrestle a bull

....it got the best of him

anniversary dinner that was $$$.$$

last night at the dueling piano bar

We had a great time but were definitely ready to get home to Griffin. That kid has changed us completely.

22 Months Old

Things seem to get more and more exciting all the time. After the interesting Mother's Day that we had, Griffin has also started not wanting to go to bed at night. Last night he was asleep at 10pm, but the 3 previous nights it was around 11:30pm before he would finally go down. He is Mr. Personality. Very independent and catching on to every little thing we say or do. 

Current favorites:
Color - Blue
Book - Go Dog, Go!
Snack - Spongebob Squarepants gummy snacks
Cereal - Cinnamon Toast Crunch
Food - hot dogs
Fruit - watermelon
Toy - Mega Bloks
Clothing - none

He has sat on the horses many times, but this week he got to take his first ride solo in the saddle and first ride with Mommy for a short distance. He thought it was pretty cool. For the first time maybe ever he did NOT want to go with daddy when it was time for him to get off. 

Happy Mother's Day

We have not left the house today, nor seen any mothers/grandmothers in our life. Griffin has finally recovered from a really nasty stomach bug only to have Drew (along with many other family members) go down with it today. It was the first time I've seen Griffin dry heave......not good. 

This may have been one of the most interesting days we have ever had. I think Griffin got 3 baths before it was over. 

Good Morning!

post bath #1--new desire to be naked lately

just hanging out....loading and dumping new mega blocks

I did get him dressed eventually, and we spent a couple hours outside this afternoon. We got my summer clothes out of storage, planted some flowers by the deck, fed Howie the cat, sat on the lawnmower a little, took the bad boy buggy for a spin to find Duke (who wants to constanty run away nowadays), and when we gave the horses fresh water we learned how to do this:

I noticed Griffin was extra interested in coloring today, going off his paper and onto the table, also an attempt of the coffee table. Then suddenly, we joined the ranks of parents who have dealt with this.........

I joked that it said, "Happy Mother's Day Momma". Thankful for my facebook friends that recommended the magic eraser because it erased it right away, no problem.

After blowing off a lot of energy he hasn't had for a couple days, and eating like a horse he was still resisting our bedtime routine. Our biggest, and grossest surprise came post-bath #2. The little magician somehow found the time to go potty on the living room floor....and not the easier kind to clean up. This prompted bath #3. 

Wow, what a day. All the while, Drew was sleeping the day away trying to nurse himself back to health. Here's to hoping his father's day in June will be just as exciting!

Turkey Season Part 2

We had planned for this year to by my first turkey hunt if Drew could find the time to take me. I spent a long rainy Saturday last fall taking the class to get my Hunter's Safety Certification. We made arrangements for yesterday morning so that Griffin didn't have to get up at 4:30 with us, and Drew and I set out for an adventure.  

We heard several turkeys gobbling, and once Drew decided they had flown down he proceeded to call one in. We watched and waited....eventually, the turkey popped out of the woods onto the edge of the open field we were sitting in. Instant butterflies set in. We watched it strut and drum (skip to the 1:50 minute mark of this video) and very slowly work it's way closer. My stomach was in knots and I was trying to breathe normally. We had switched chairs early in the morning which was a good move, but the chair I was in was turned just a little too far for me to get behind my gun to shoot at him. Thirty minutes later I whispered to Drew it was getting ridiculous, this guy was trying to impress our plastic hen decoy that had not moved in the slightest for half an hour......how silly could he be. I knew moving my chair would either help me seal the deal or send him running, but we had no other choice. After somehow getting in position successfully, I spent 5 minutes convincing Drew that my gun barrel was in the clear of all mesh and supports (I was shooting with it completely inside the blind with us), doesn't sound hilarious but we have enjoyed rehashing the whispered conversation between us. If I'm looking down the barrel of my gun and all I see is the turkey's head, that would mean I'm clearing the window fine, right? Drew thought from where he was sitting I was going to blow a hole in the side of the blind. He used his rangefinder to find out the turkey was still prancing around 31 yards away, and I could tell he was nervous but he finally gave me the go ahead. 

I don't think he's ever been more proud of me. It was really adorable. Surprisingly, I wasn't even upset that I had intentionally killed an animal. He was out trying to cheat on his wife, anyway. The whole thing was actually really exciting and will be a nice memory for us to look back on. Thankfully, I'll have a whole year to think about whether I want to do it again. 

shortly after death......at the kill spot

can't leave Duke out