NY Trip...Buffalo

After we left Syracuse, we drove to Buffalo where my mom grew up and where her side of the family all still lives. They live about 35 minutes outside of Buffalo out in the country. Since Buffalo is only a 3-hour drive from Syracuse, I spent a lot of time there growing up. We stayed with my aunt who lives on a farm. My mom's side of the family is bigger than my dad's side so we stayed very busy trying to see everyone. We had lots of family get togethers while we were there. I got to milk a cow at the farm where my uncle works, and my cousin took me on a tractor ride. We drove around an area where lots of Amish people live. I went 4-wheeling with another cousin and spent time with some of my cousin's kids. It's weird to think that my cousins have kids because we used to all play together when we were kids. We also went out to the lake where our family used to have a cottage. It was such a fun trip and I really didn't want to leave. And for those of you wondering...yes, I ate lots of donuts! Here are a few photos from Buffalo.

Good NY Fish Fry

Going out with Jason and Deanne

4-wheeling with Duane

Milking a cow

At the lake

Going for a tractor ride with Daryl

Grandma, Mason, and me

NY Trip...Syracuse

Mom and I took our mother/daughter trip this year to NY to visit our family and friends. We went to Syracuse first where I grew up and where my dad's side of the family all still lives. We stayed with my grandparents and enjoyed spending time with them. It was good to see my aunt, uncle, and cousins. We also got together with friends of ours from our old church in Syracuse. It was so good to see everyone again! My mom showed me the apartment where we lived near Syracuse University when I was a baby. Plus we drove by our old house we lived in. And of course we ate! NY has so many good things to eat that Texas doesn't and the only things we could think of that NY doesn't have is good Mexican food and bar-b-que, but even those they are starting to get. So I'm thinking I need to move up there for the sake of my eating hobby. Most of the things I miss are sweets like half-moon cookies, good frozen custard ice cream, and creme-filled donuts. And I miss the cool weather...it was so nice to feel cold in July! The only thing I missed about Texas were Dan and Charlie, and I missed them a whole bunch! Here's a few photos from the Syracuse part of our trip. My friend Liz's cute little girl, Ellyanna

My grandparents

Delicious ice cream

3 Doors Down

I have a million things to do today to get ready for my NY trip, but I'm blogging instead. This is about doors and how Charlie seems to enjoy destroying them.

Here's what he did to door number 1, our back door. He jumps and scratches at it every time you let him out. But he doesn't do it to let you know he needs to go out, he does it while you're standing there with your hand on the doorknob because he is so excited. I've given up making him sit and wait while I open the door so he doesn't scratch it. Buying a new door before we eventually sell this house seems easier.

Door number 2, our front door, I blame on Charlie's grandparents-my mom and dad. While we were in San Diego last summer, my brother was staying at our house watching Charlie. I knew my parents were coming to town to help my brother move so I specifically told them not to come over and see Charlie because he loves them so much it would disrupt his life especially with us already being gone. But because he is so irresistibly cute, they came over anyways and after they left, what did he do? Scratched the door and the molding around it to try and come after them. He had a red, raw mark on his nose from scratching so much when we got home which I decided was probably punishment enough for him.

And now his latest door, our bedroom door. He has this weird habit lately of taking his favorite toys, which at the moment are a bone and a squeaky ball, and carrying them to our closet. He just sets them down and then lays down next to them. I've given up trying to figure out why he has been spending so much time in our closet lately. Anyways yesterday I left to go meet Dan for lunch and when we leave we shut all the doors to the rooms in our house. I asked him before I shut our door, "Do you want to go get your toys out of the closet before I leave?" I gave him about 5 minutes and he never got them so I just shut the door. Apparently while I was gone-for no more than an hour-he decided he couldn't wait another minute to see his beloved toys, so he scratched the door and the molding around it trying to get in.

I made him sit in time out when I got home, and now I'm not so sure if I want to continue with my plans for his 5th birthday party I was going to have for him. And if you're wondering, there are 5 more doors left for him to destroy. When we did our taxes this year, the lady who did them told me to save any receipts if we buy any doors this year because they will be tax deductible on your 2010 return. Who knew she was predicting my future?

Ok, I guess he is kind of cute, I'll go ahead with his party plans after all!

Summer Halfway Point

Well, summer is about halfway over and here are my thoughts...
1. Of the 14 things on my summer to-do list, I've crossed off 7...not too bad, I guess.
2. I've slept in way later than I had planned on, which makes me dread getting my body used to getting up early again in August.
3. I've been watching very little T.V., which is a surprise because I usually use the summer to clean up my DVR box.
4. I would be fine if I never saw another cucumber again seeing as I'm eating about 1 a day to keep up with what the garden gives us.
5. The Rangers are making my summer interesting and I'm hoping they do the same thing for fall.
6. The weather has been perfect in my opinion these past few weeks. Temperatures in the low 80's and lots of rain!
7. The novelty of my backyard oasis and all the flowers wore off quickly. I think one plant may have died. Thank goodness for my husband who noticed and is helping to nurse it back to health.
8. I am looking forward to the 2 trips I have left this summer, one with my mom and one with Dan.
9. My house is kind of dirty and I have no desire to do anything about it.
10. Why does summer have to end?

Happy 4th of July!

I like the 4th of July. It's fun to see fireworks and feel all patriotic since we do live in such a great country. We spent the 4th of July at the Ranger's game. Dan's dad met us there and we sat in one of my favorite sections, the all you can eat seats (I'm sure you can figure out why it's one of my favorite sections). Of course the Rangers lost because that seems to be what happens when I go to the games here lately, but it was still fun. The fireworks after the game were really good. And the drive back to Abilene after the game wasn't that bad for once because we got to watch fireworks almost all the way back that people were setting off themselves.

And in case you were wondering, I ate 3 hot dogs, 2 orders of nachos, a box of popcorn, a bag of peanuts, and a lot of Sprite. Now if they would just add a little ice cream machine to that buffet, everything would be perfect. Hope you had a happy 4th!

We found these 2 guys on top of the scoreboard coordinating the fly-over after the National Anthem.

Nothing like a ballpark hot dog!

Tried to get the fireworks in the background, but it didn't work