have yourself a blue bell country day

do they still sing that song on the blue bell commercials? that is the one i remember.

more important than jingles is the fact that i had the opportunity to tour the original blue bell creamery in brenham, tx this week! katy and the garrett kids invited me on another summer field trip. how could i turn down a first like this?! we were also enjoyed by the snelgrove girls and their babysitter, katherine (who were also on the first "field trip" i took to the houston zoo with the garretts last summer).

apparently, they used to show a video of the history of blue bell as the beginning of the tour, but they do not do that anymore. i did not know what i was missing out on so it did not phase me in the least. i enjoyed seeing how the ice cream is made and packaged...i even learned there is a perfectly legitimate reason for why the top always seems to be stuck on when you first open a half gallon of blue bell. i did enjoy the free sample of my triple caramel ice cream at the end of the tour though! check it out...i think it is a new flavor.

we were not allowed to take pictures during the tour, but we did take plenty in the store and outside with the "cow and girl" statue that we all see on their packages. what a fun time!

i thought it was even more fitting that a picture set in an old-fashioned ice cream parlor be in black and white!
if you blend these two pictures together, every kid is smiling and looking at the camera! ha.
i asked the kids if any of them wanted to take a picture with me by the old delivery truck, and they all did! crazy kids.

the moving process

my least favorite part about moving is the boxes. packing and unpacking boxes is the worst. i guess the most fun that comes out of the whole process is getting to redecorate and reorganize a house (apartment for us). we are getting settled into our new apartment. we now live in kingwood which is much closer to work than where we were...yay!in the first three days, the kitchen, bathroom, closet, and part of the bedroom have all been unpacked and set up. we still need a few pieces of furniture that will really complete the rest of the space.we get cable and internet tomorrow...big yay! i am currently writing this from the patio area beside our pool where there is free wifi. last night of late-night typing on the humidity-covered laptop!

for a change of pace from moving, we have enjoyed watching the cubs play the astros live and in person the past few nights. i got some great shots as we were able to sit on opposite sides of the field both nights.

a blast from the past

while we were packing up things and dwindling down the clutter (somehow that seems to happen every time we move...), i found a few old photos. for those of you who care, here is a little glimpse of me from over the years. for those of you who "knew me when" just have a good laugh...i can hear it now.

random family vacation, circa late 1988/1989. like the pigtails?4th grade pee-wee cheerleading. the beginning of it all. my dream of being a cheerleader had finally come true. seriously, from the first day of kindergarten that is all i wanted to do. so, i went on to do it for 8 years.senior portrait. the bangs. oh the bangs. so long past their prime and so so not fashionable in the least. oh well.hope you enjoyed that stroll down memory lane!

under the big top

have you ever had a birthday party with carnival games, a bounce house, AND hot dogs & cotton candy? i didn't think so. however, jonah and emma did!emily and walter had the great idea to throw jonah and emma a joint summer birthday party in between their actual birthdays to make the most of the day. after a lunch full of the best carnival food around, the kids had the opportunity to win tickets at the games, get rockin' tattoos, and redeem their tickets for lots of fun prizes.we had a great time catching up with family from shreveport and other friends. the kids received lots of wonderful gifts and took a nice long nap after it was all over. or maybe that was just me.

a walk on the wild side

it seems that it is becoming a yearly tradition that i accompany katy and the garrett kids on a trip to the zoo. last summer, we had all kinds of fun. this year, they changed it up and went to the waco zoo and invited me along again.we saw ferocious squirrels, giant turtles, teepees, blue-beaked ducks, and leopards that give high fives. not your average zoo, huh?not everything was so wild and crazy. we did see your usual giraffes, snakes, elephants (the kids still say "roll tide!"), fish, bears, and more.

the kids were excited on the way and worn out on the drive home. i think that is the sign of a very fun day.