Blue Bell Creamery Tour

My friend from Dallas, Karen, and her two boys, Steven (age 12) and Jack (age 11), came for a visit from Dallas last week. Karen and I love to take the boys on day trips so this time we drove to Brenham to tour the Blue Bell Creamery. Mom kept Bryce so we could make this a special trip for the older boys.

During the tour, you watch a short video of the history of the company and then they take you on a 1/4 mile walking tour. You get to stop and overlook many of the manufacturing rooms and see how they combine the ingredients and package the products. The boys (and us) were excited to see our favorite flavors being made and packaged. The tour ends with a free scoop of ice cream. You get to select from several different flavors. They also have a country store where I purchased a cook book (one of those things I love to collect). Here is a link to the website: http://www.bluebell.com/. On our way there, we stopped at On the Border for lunch:

Jack, Jacob, Steven and Karen

The boys being silly...check out their Blue Bell hats!

In front of the original Blue Bell truck

Karen and the boys...have you noticed yet that Steven is too cool to smile?

All of us in front of the truck

In other news, Karen is getting married July 3rd. We will be making the trip to Dallas with our boys on the 1st and staying in a hotel while there. I am the bridesmaid. We are very excited for Karen and can't wait for the wedding. Her boys will be giving her away. On the other hand, I only have my dress. So, I have lots of shopping to do before the wedding, including buying shoes and jewelry and getting my nails done.

Grandpa's Visit

Shane's dad, Thomas, aka Grandpa, came with his girlfriend Lynda to see Bryce on Sunday. Grandpa has 7 other grandchildren, including Jacob. Lynda also has a new grandson, Chaz, who we can not wait to see at Christmas, if they make the trip.

Thomas and Bryce

Thomas, Lynda and Bryce

Bryce looks very interested in things in this picture

Bryce's small but very big for a baby feet

My Baby Shower

I was given a great baby shower last Saturday, the 13th. Several of my friends threw together a shower in just 3 weeks. I so appreciate all their hard work and all of my friends and family that took the time to come on such short notice. I can tell you that even though Bryce is our second baby, we have nothing as it has been 8 years since Jacob was born. I basically had to start over. Bryce was at the shower and everyone said how beautiful he is. Here are some pictures:

My hostesses: Kenda, Norma, Diana, Jeanette and Paige (Anne was not able to make the shower itself).

Me and Karen (she came down from Dallas for the shower). Karen and I have been friends for 30 years this month.

Kathy and Christine (we have been friends for over 20 years...since high school).

My beautiful and yummy baby cake

Bryce and his cousin Joy

Proud Big Brother

Although this won't post until Thursday, today is Tuesday and Bryce just ROLLED OVER ON HIS BACK! I turned my head just in time to see it.

Bryce is doing great. He is really filling out and becoming a chunker. He loves to be carried in my new sling (a splurge I just had to have). He also loves to sleep on him tummy. Yikes! He is starting to watch things and people, interacting with some toys by swatting at them and grabbing them. He is also starting to twitch up the sides of him mouth into a smile but I am still holding out for that great big smile.

Jacob is doing great with him. He loves to be involved and help me with whatever I need. We are so proud of him. Did I mention that Jacob got straight A's all year? He made the highest honor roll at school. Again, we are so proud of him.

Here's a picture of our two boys together:

Jacob's First Motocross

On June 6th, Shane took Jacob and his friend, Jackson, to a motocross race in Freestone County, which is about a 2 1/2 hour drive towards Dallas. It was Jacob's first motocross race. The difference between motocross and supercross is that motocross is outside. A lot of the same riders race both series. Just like when we went to Supercross, Larry works the event as his company is a major sponsor of motocross gear. He works for Parts Unlimited, who also own Thor brand riding accessories. You can see in the picture below that Larry is dressed in his Parts Unlimited gear and how the track has both companies advertised around the track. The guys had a lot of fun. I was bummed (ok, jealous) that I didn't get to go but that would have been too much for Bryce (ok, for me and Bryce).

Larry
Kendra and Jeanette (Kendra raced the next day and got 5th place)

Jacob, Ethan and Jackson

The two goofballs

Picture of 2 riders jumping and the Thor/Parts Unltd. advertising.

Bryce's First BMX

A couple of weekends ago (yes, I am behind on my blog) we took Bryce to the BMX track. It was a relaxing time for me since Jeanette insisted on holding Bryce the entire time. He had fun...meaning he took a good, long nap while we were there. Jacob took 2nd place that night. After the races, we went with the Hughes' to Cracker Barrel and then home. Shane had to play drums at church the next morning, so it was not a very restful night for me. But, I hate to miss Jacob's races.

Since then, he has made another first place win...I think that is 4 first place wins for him as an intermediate. He is getting better and better.

The picture above is Jeanette holding Bryce, Tiffany and Jarrett. In back is Larry. Tiffany is Jarrett's girlfriend. Jarrett has been practicing and racing at the track some. When he was younger, he was a pro.

Here's a close up of Jeanette holding Bryce:

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People keep calling me letting me know of errors I am making on my blog. Sorry about that. Let's just say it is caused by sleep deprivation. This week will be especially bad as Shane is in Vegas at a trade show so I am on my own at night and I AM feeling it!





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I have also failed to mention that a couple of weeks ago, Shane's Grandpa Thurman Cauley passed away at the age of 87. Thurman is Shane's dad's dad. He was diagnosed a couple of months ago with throat cancer. He wanted to try chemo but the first treatment sent him to the hospital where he developed pneumonia. He passed peacefully in his sleep with Shane's dad at his side. Here is a picture of Shane's dad and Thurman a couple of Christmas' ago.



We are proud to say that Thurman is now with the Lord. We will miss him!

Always wear your helmet!

OK, so it had to happen eventually. I took a bad spill on my mountain bike yesterday. I've taken plenty of spills, quite worse than this one frankly; however, this one got the best of me. I lost momentum going up a pretty steep climb and then couldn't get unclipped from my pedals. The hill has steep embankments on the left and right so there was only two ways to go, down left or down right. I tumbled sideways, bike and all, down about a 12', 50-60 degree embankment and slammed my head on the ground at some point. Initial impact had me very dazed and I couldn't lift my left arm more than a few inches. The arm problem seemed to get better after a minute or two, but my neck was hurting pretty bad. I called Laura to come pick me up. She said she knew I was hurt when the phone rang because I never call while I'm riding unless I need to be picked up. Last time, she picked us up because Jacob got hurt and I think once before when I had a flat with no spare tube. But yesterday, she said she knew. She took me to the hospital for X-rays, which were negative for any serious head/neck/back injuries. Got out with some facial abrasions and some pulled muscles in my neck, which is very sore today and will be for a few days. Without a doubt, this could have been much more serious and the helmet undoubtedly made a huge difference in the outcome. Always wear your helmet! The mark on my forehead is from the inside of my helmet. The facial abrasions courtesy of good ole' Cypress Creek sand and dirt. And I think I bit my lip during the tumble. Ride anyone?

Meet the newest member of our extended family...

Joy Marie! She was born Friday, May 15th, just 3 days after Bryce. Her big brother, Daniel, turned 2 on May 11th. Joy and Daniel are my cousin Elan's kiddos. Elan and I are excited to be going through new baby time together but bummed that we can't spend more time together. These are some pictures that Sherry and I took when we went to visit Joy Marie for the first time:

Joy Marie...I think Elan said she weighed 7 lbs, 4 oz.


Daniel playing shy

You can see Bryce is enjoying the outing :)

Nanny Sherry with Jacob at Elan's

What we do when we are awake.....

Not much! But, we do like to take baths and lie on our backs and tummies and look around. We also love to be held by our big brother and go for walks in the stroller.

Bryce is growing. He is now 3 1/2 weeks old. He keeps us laughing, tired, busy and all the other good stuff that comes along with a new baby. Here are some pictures that we have taken recently:

Lying on our back checking out the scene

Tummy time...Boo likes to sit and watch him when he is on the floor.

Sponge bath...we have since graduated to real baths which he seems to really like.

First walk around the neighborhood

Bryce slept the whole walk