Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

My friend, Suzy, has had her niece, Grace, & nephew, Curtis, staying with them for the last 3 weeks. They will be heading back to Utah soon and she wanted to do something "Texan" with them before they left. So I suggested the Stockyards. How is it that we can have lived here for nine years now and we've never been? We turned it into a fairly major field trip with three brave women 'herding' eight rambunctious children through downtown Fort Worth.

We took the train to Fort Worth and then transferred to a bus that took us to the Stockyards. You can buy a day pass to ride the trains and buses in any direction for $3 per person. That's a steal of a deal! The novelty of riding the train is always something the kids LOVE to do so to ride the train AND the bus for the kids was awesomeness supreme!

On the train with Gracie & Curtis. I think Cara was doing her 'tough girl' face...

"The Fort Worth Stockyards is the history book of the livestock industry in Texas and is a one of a kind location with many unique attractions. It is the only place in the United States that has a daily cattle drive! Texas Longhorns are driven down East Exchange Avenue which is right in the heart of the Stockyards. For the history buff, museums and historic locations are plentiful to learn about our great history, from cowboys to cattle. Along the way, there are Texas Trail of Fame bronze makers in the sidewalks throughout the district." Cara loved to identify the stars and tell us what she learned about them in 4th grade. The cobblestone streets and rustic shops made you feel like you stepped back into the West.

This horse is named Gotch (as in got'cha) and his cowboy is the lead in the cattle drive.

The kids all got to pet and watch the cowboys do show tricks with their horses. This is Lil' Texas and he was smiling for us in this picture. His cowboy cracked his whip over and over for the begging children.We staked out a prime viewing bench and ate our sack lunches. This is right next to the Texas Cowboy Hall of fame and across from the Stockyards museum. Waiting for the cattle drive to start...Here they come!Check out those longhorns! Aren't they cool? They were just feet away from the kids who were mesmerized.
And there they go...
The water tower for the train that still runs through the Stockyards.
Thank goodness we didn't have to ride to Ft. Worth on one of these...My cowgirls.

Three tired mamas. Erin, Suzy & I.

It was a long, hot, fun, relatively cheap, and informational trip. I learned you can do the same train/bus deal to get to the Ft. Worth Zoo and the Botanical Gardens too. We'll have to do that with Bryan sometime.

P.S. I forgot my camera so all of these photos are courtesy of E & S. Thanks girls!

Who's Your Mama?

I think this is no surprise to anyone... ☺

Who's Your Mama 2?

This one shocked me though...

Me A to Z...

My niece, Amanda, tagged me...

A = ADVOCATE FOR: Reading to your children
B = BEST FEATURE: My eyes (but I've been told that my "long, slender fingers" are nice)
C = COULDN'T DO WITHOUT: My family, Books, the pool
D = DREAMS AND DESIRES: To be able to stay home for good, to be financially secure
E= ESSENTIAL ITEM: my new handy, dandy planner
F= FAVORITE PAST TIME: reading, playing with the kids
G= GOOD AT: blowing bubbles, listening, making cookies
H = HAVE NEVER TRIED: karaoke (don't even ask...)
I = IF I HAD A MILLION DOLLARS: pay off debt, take the fam to Germany, Austrailia, Tahiti
J = JUNKIE FOR: Junior mints
K = KINDRED SPIRIT(s): my crafty club & Cara
L = LITTLE KNOWN FACT: I used to wear 2 bras to play basketball in highschool. Imagine how many I'd need now... no, dont...
M = MEMORABLE MOMENT: April 25, 1996; August 13, 1998; November 19, 2003
N = NEVER AGAIN WILL I: use expired sunscreen
O = OCCASIONAL INDULGENCE: Cheesecake Factory's Crispy Chicken Costoletta
P = not sure where the P went...
Q = QUOTE: "Every day's an adventure!"
R = REASON TO SMILE: Bryan's laugh
S = SORRY ABOUT: forgetting Trent's birthday
T = TAG SOME FRIENDS: anyone who wants to!
U = UNINTERESTED IN: Lost, sorry guys...
V = VERY SCARED OF: home invasion, public speaking, calling people I don't know
W = WORST HABIT: singing like an opera singer when I yawn (according to Cara)
X = X MARKS MY IDEAL VACATION SPOT: Hawaii
Y = YESTERYEAR DECADE OF CHOICE: Live in the now, people!
Z = ZODIAC SIGN: Aries

My Little Cheerleader

So, I was doing Sharing Time today in Primary about missionary work. I had a suitcase out and we were packing it with all of the things that a missionary needs to take with them when they leave; white shirts, name tags, ties, toothbrush, Preach My Gospel, scriptures etc... (I even threw in a teddy bear for a cheap laugh.)

When I pulled out my scriptures I explained, "This was my first set of scriptures. I've had them for a long time. My parents gave them to me on the day I was baptized."

Jordyn's reaction was classic... no hand... volume WAY up...

"You did, Mama? Wow! You really did get baptized? Good job, Mama!! That's so great! Whoo-hoo!"

Yes, I did. Here's the evidence. ☺

Dad and I just before the baptism. This is one of two photos I have of my Grandpa Davis. I love that he is giving bunny ears to my mother. ♥ My father must have taken this picture since he's not in it. My mom made my baptism dress and the skirt and matching vest I wore to be confirmed in. As a matter of fact, she made Krysta's, Alison's & Jillian's too. She was crafty like that.

Ouch!

How is it we can go on a two week vacation with almost every day spent in the sun and water and the first day back in our Texas sun they get scorched?

This was Tuesday night... Now they are golden brown... but seriously??

Posting Problems...

Okay, so we've been gone for two and a half weeks and I have a problem...

Too much to blog about and no clue how to do it without going crazy.

So I've been putting it off for two days and finally decided just to post a bunch of mini-posts with brief summaries... I'm going to try to put them on in order but we'll see if that works. Otherwise just keep reading until you get to something you've seen before...
☺
♥ Hil

Thar's Oil in Them Thar Hills...

My parents and my nephew, Thomas, came down to Texas for a few days because Dad had to check on some business with his brother, Ted, and their land/oil business. So the girls and I met them up in Wichita Falls to take a tour of the ranch.

It took me a long time to wrap my brain around the fact that my grandparents actually lived on the land out there... it's miles of nothing... It was neat to have dad show us around and point out places he used to hang out. There was a stocked lake that we tried unsuccessfully to catch fish in and Thomas was in critter heaven - mainly bugs but also horses, cows, turtles and huge bullfrogs! I also was able to visit the grave sites of my maternal great-grandparents and my Grandma Davis.

Mom's birthday fell while they were here and I took her to get a pedicure. ☺ And I got to make Father's Day dinner for Dad and Bryan too!

Tooele (Too-will-uh)

We spent June 23-29th with my parents in the thriving metropolis of Tooele, Utah. That sleepy, little town is getting SO big. It's crazy!

My folks always try to have some fun stuff planned for when we visit and this year was no exception. Highlights include:

Monday: Chillin' with the fam. Sidewalk art. Sprinklers. Marathon Scrabble.
Tuesday: Church History Museum of Art. (There is a fabulous children's exhibit called "I am a Child of God"!). Private BBQ and swim party at Jill & Jared's work HQ.
Wednesday: Hogle Zoo (see below post.)
Thursday: We cleaned out the huge shed that has been storing mom & dad's things in boxes since they moved from Heidelberg in 1995. Found lots of childhood treasures and memories! Went to Amanda & Beau's endowment in Bountiful.
Friday: Wall*E. (not my favorite movie ever...)

A great week!

The Davis Family takes over Utah's Hogle Zoo...

We love to go to the zoo! It was a hot, sweaty day and by the end we were all tired but happy.

Must-see animals on the list were:
Cara - The Ghost of the Bayou (white crocodile)
Thomas - red pandas (just saw Kungfu Panda)
Jordyn - elephants
Rusty - zebras
Tyson - giraffes

I also ran into an old friend from high school at the zoo. Our group split up for lunch and as I was just about finished eating, Cara came running up the hill to find me. "Mom, the umthanksforsharing lady is here!" What? She repeated herself 3 times before I figured out what she was talking about... My friend, Sue Richardson's, blog is called 'Um, Thanks for Sharing' and she was at the zoo as well! She recognized the girls from photos on my blog and talked them into going to find me. :) Thank goodness I got to see her there as best laid plans to visit during the Boyer week fizzled out... It really was good to see you Sue!!

A few more Walker Wedding photos...

These were ones I took. The previous pictures were from DeAnn's computer since I wasn't able to upload my own. These were so good I couldn't resist...

Bear Lake 2008

26 people.

That's how many people we had crammed in ONE condo. There was a lot of love squished in there with us! ♥ (We were just missing Scott, on a mission in Taiwan, and Amanda & Beau, on their honeymoon.)

Bear Lake 2008 Highlights:

Jet Skis
ROOK
Volleyball
Mini-golf
A better cooking duty plan :)
Sandcastles
Boyer family historical biographies
Rip-stiks
Family Baseball Game
Staying up past midnight every night giggling
GOLF tournament
BGA (Boyer Golf Association T-Shirts)