Same Ol, Same Ol

You know, it occurs to me that vacations are really personal things. I think there are a lot of feelings and emotions tied into where we visit and the reasons why. Fond memories must be high on that list. I know people who chose to visit many different locales, always after an adventure. I think those people must be disturbed. Okay,not really. Ummm, but yeah really. My husband and I have had sort-of an ongoing dialog about this for about the past year or so. And it's been interesting. We have found that we know alot of people who return to the same vacation destinations time and time again. And while we don't always understand the choice of where, we definitely identify with the why.

We are one of them. And, God willing, we will continue to be. There are places on this Earth that I haven't seen that I would someday like to, but I am in no hurry. And if I never get around to it, eh that's okay too. And don't even start with the majestic beauty of this wonderful country God created that I should show my children. Not that I disagree at all, in fact quite the opposite. I just find no good reason to drive 16 hours in a car and push my entire family to the absolute brink of sanity just to see it. I can see the wonder and beauty of this world in my backyard.

And I do understand that mesquite trees and hay fields aren't the same as say the Smoky Mountains. And you're right, I have seen the Smoky Mountains and they are beautiful. But there is beauty all around you, all you have to do is look for it. And children are really adept at this skill.

One more thing- said children may want to see the Smoky Mountains when they are 25. But when they are 10? Swimming pools, grilled cheese for dinner (or better yet, ice cream), amusement parks, and plenty of time with Mom and Dad is what they want. And that's why we vacation- to make memories together as a family. We want these times to be those that conjure up happy, relaxing memories for all four of us. Driving for days or stressing the lessons of history are not relaxing or all that pleasant for me.

So, our destination of choice? We have a few but the one we visited last week is known to us simply as "The Hyatt". Sure there are other Hyatts but not for us. This is the Hyatt Hill Country Resort and Spa in San Antonio. It is a wonderful place where you can float in the river all day, have "the perfect" margarita, watch your kids play on the beach, watch a movie on the lawn, or pretty much anything else you want. We love it there. Our first trip as a family when it was time to leave, Dunk asked what we were doing and I said "going home" and he replied "I not". Then he cried. Yes, it's that good.

This picture was taken on that trip-2003 our first trip as a family-

And this one was taken in the same spot last week-our 4th trip as a family

The river and the margarita stand where you can grab a drink and charge it to your room without ever leaving the water. Genius, I tell you.

The river all empty except for a million tubes. This was our early morning when we were first in the river.

It was cold water!

Dunk began "swimming" this trip. It was great fun to watch. He had a blast though, he didn't cry when we left this time. Of course, he knows we'll be back.

The pool

The Beach

Yummy! S'mores on the beach in the evenings.

Through The Looking Glass

Ugh, I am soooo tired! We have traveled an absolutely ridiculous amount of miles across the Lone Star State this week. I will have some vacation pics and updates in a day or two. In the mean time, I thought you'd think this was funny. On the other hand, I could be throwing another log on the Misty-is-completely-off-her-rocker bonfire. We shall see.

We have door issues.....errr, we had door issues. They are all fixed now. We ordered a door from Lowe's approx. 4 weeks ago and we paid for it at that time. If you will remember our lengthy discussions way back then, the door had no glass. I wanted NO GLASS in the front door. There were many reasons for this but they are all rather irrelevant at this point. You'll see. My dear, hard-working husband called Lowe's on a regular basis to check on the status of said door because we need it. We need like it like, last week. So they promised it would arrive on July 21st. Great. We'll have to go get it as there is no Lowe's out here in the sticks. We're ready. We call on the 21st and they don't see our door. Hmmmm? They check around and there's a note from Chuck (I would tell you who Chuck is but we don't know, either) it will be here the 10th. Of August. This is simply not okay. We will be sitting, waiting, doing nothing on our house while we pay interest on everything we have already done and become further and further behind. Subcontractors will be rescheduled but because they may already have several jobs lined up, it could be weeks before they get back to us. No, no, no this simply will not work. Want to know a secret? I only know this because I overheard the phone conversation between my husband and Lowe's. All I knew before that was that I was pissed.

So yesterday we just drive right over to Lowe's and Casey went in and got our money back. Which seemed to be a triumphant moment except for one little detail. We had no door. And now we didn't even have one on it's way. Crap.

But it was really okay. Because the day before we had gone to a door surplus store, hours from home, and I found a door I just LOVED. It was beautiful. It was also expensive, real wood, almost 1 1/2 feet taller the the other door and it opened on the wrong side. Ah, minor details right? Oh yeah, it has glass. Oops.

So, yesterday we drove back to the door store. We ordered said door so that the door knob would be on the right side (which is, ironically on the left) In the real wood, 8 feet tall and with the glass in it. Right now, my fabulous, wonderful super cute husband is rebuilding the opening for the front door and removing the window we already bought and cannot return but will no longer fit due to the huge new door. He's a keeper, that one.

It makes no sense and I totally get that. I really do. But when we see the door you will understand. It is a thing of beauty. And just for the record (and my CPA father!) I made several budget decisions yesterday to accommodate said door purchase. And my very practical husband made the final decision. I do love that man.

Birthday, Birthday, Birthday!!!!!

Well, of course, yesterday was Caroline's birthday. But today we have two more!

Happy 3rd Birthday to Gracie Lou Lou!!!!!!!! Mimi, Uncle Casey, Caroline and Duncan love you!!!!!

And Happy Birthday to my oldest friend, Ang too!!!! Hope you have a great day!!!!!

Here's Lookin At You Kid

Today is a big day at our house- it's Caroline's tenth birthday and she has declared herself a pre-teen. If there is one thing we have learned over the last ten years, it's not to argue with her when she's made up her mind. She was not an easy baby, she was high-maintenance and always will be. However, she is a delightful and easy "pre-teen". Take a look back with me-

Ready to leave the hospital, she was literally born beautiful. She has always been pretty and we have been proud to witness just how beautiful she is on the inside, too.

For a brief time in preschool she was a bit shy, though there were no traces of that during her baby or toddler years. And that time has definitely passed us by now, LOL!

I remember the day I took this picture, Caroline was always busy, always needing something to do. I opened up her accessories drawer, most likely out of sheer exhaustion, and she tried on everything in there, one at a time. She had more accessories than I did, and she still does.

Her first birthday! Little did we know this would be the last time Caroline would actually eat! She eats like a bird. A really small bird. That doesn't like food. She declared sometime between age 2 and 3 that she "did NOT eat meat" and she has kept that word except for a few stray chicken strips here and there over the last year. We have never known why she became a toddler vegetarian.

Caroline has always been in her element on Halloween, shown here on her 2nd one. The drama, the pretending, the candy!!! Her love for drama only surpassed by her love for chocolate.

You notice redness around her mouth? That's not juice. That's the "sucker" ring. "Sucker" was Caroline's own name for a pacifier. She had a "sucker" in her mouth ALL.THE.TIME. Never without it, I carried multiples, everywhere. She finally gave it up right before her third birthday. But she was a glamor girl, she took it out willingly for pictures.

Here she is on her second Christmas- this is the year she made it known she didn't care for Santa. I dolled her all up and took her to HEB to have her picture taken with Santa. She screamed throughout the entire store and would not even let me get groceries. She literally screamed until we walked out the door where she promptly stopped. I went home and told Casey we wouldn't be having anymore children.

Ah, here she is right before her second birthday party. This was a delightful time when her personality really began to shine. She had a tea party complete with tea pot cookies and a cake with fresh flowers on top. And Willie Nelson, known only as Widdy to Caroline was playing in the background per her request. And yes, I am completely serious.

She was a pea for Halloween and had such a good time running amuck in Daddy's restaurant. The waitresses always ooohed and ahhed over her and she ate it up. She loves to be the center of attention and she is good at it.

Caroline has a wicked sense of style. We weren't surprised in the least when she announced a couple of years ago that she would be attending FIDAM, the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising. She would be a great designer and women all over the world would benefit. I tend to believe that she will probably opt to do something a bit more noble but trust me when I say your closet will be missing out if she does.

She's got attitude for days and she is totally comfortable with it. Though she is learning to tone it down when appropriate, the kid's got spunk. She'll stand up for herself and her friends. And she'll stand up for her brother time and again. We didn't know it at the beginning but that was a God given gift and we are all grateful for it.

Always on the go, at her third birthday she promptly jumped on her new Radio Flyer tricycle and took off. She is still on the go. She would sign up for every activity we would allow and she would probably drive herself there if she thought she could get away with it.

Caroline loves her brother. She's fiercely protective but she loves him enough to fight with him just like any big sister would. Most of the time they are two peas in a pod and quite happy to be together.

Ah, Caroline's 4th Halloween when her creative abilities truly began to show. The costume was her concept, my very rudimentary design. She called herself a Wacky Witch. The kitty in her hand she named Zipper the Kitty Cat, carefully pronouncing every "T" crisply. It is a precious memory for us.

Drama anyone? I am not sure one has to say more. Drama Queen doesn't quite get it. Is she dramatic, yeah just a little bit.

Here she is- beautiful isn't she?- in the "picture chairs" at the Hyatt. Caroline loves to travel and has always traveled well, even as a baby. Though she, much like her Mom, prefers hotels where "the boys bring food to your room". She announced this when she was 5.

Here she is at her 6th birthday party. Caroline is and always has been a most gracious recipient. She loves gifts and most everything she receives is "just what I always wanted"

Caroline is a lot of fun. Certainly, the "life of the party". And never afraid to embarrass herself a little bit for a laugh. Like this picture from Kindergarten showing off her green tongue.

She's prissy. There are mirrors and purses and perfumes and headbands for miles and miles. She likes to look good. And you know what, if I looked as good as she does, so would I.

Caroline is very talented. She has many talents and we are proud of them all but she is a fabulous dancer and performer. Here she is as a tiny angel in the Nutcracker, and she is stunning.

And as far as she is concerned, life is a stage.

But she isn't just a pretty face. She can make you giggle like crazy especially if she starts first. Her laugh is fabulous and quite contagious.

Never afraid to take a risk, she is always true to herself. She is her own person and stays true to that. I cannot imagine a better quality in a daughter. Caroline will not be following the pack due to peer pressure. She may be the girl with a pink mohawk but I can live with that, if she can.

Caroline is a hard worker, just one of the many qualities she got from her daddy. She is more than willingly to work hard for what she wants. Here she is in the coveted "dying mouse" role in the Nutcracker.

Caroline is kind and thoughtful. She's logical and smart.

She's messy. Sometimes really messy.

She's stubborn and strong willed. She knows what she wants and she goes after it passionately.

She is stylish and super talented.

She's fun. And goofy. Silly, too.


She is gorgeous inside and out. A beautiful girl with a big heart.

You are a huge blessing to our family Carolina, we love you! Happy 10th Birthday my little pre-teen.

Rat-A-Tat-Tat

Kids and I went to see Ratatouille yesterday. It was cute but the scenes with all of the rats together really were freakin' me out. I kept feeling like something was running across my toes. Not pleasant. Especially if you have been in our movie theater. Let's just say it's a little on the iffy side of things.

We saw Evan Almighty last week. Now, that was a funny movie. I was a little afraid of how they were going to play God but I liked it. And minus the Imax experience I haven't had to kick anyone out of the wheelchair seating in a while, either.

We have to find a grill and outdoor chandelier today. Not because we actually need them today but rather because we need to know how big they are today. Oh things I wasn't prepared for #389.

I really thought I would never choose a cookie cutter house- like those you see a lot in bigger cities. You pick your lot, then one of their floor plans, and you choose your colors and such. I am way too difficult for that, just ask anyone who has worked on our house thus far. But I am really appreciating their appeal about now. There is much to be said for not having to decide every little thing.

Of course, I am counting on all of that to really pay off. We spent a few hours at the new house last night and met more neighbors. They gasped when they saw my pantry! You wanna see it? This was taken awhile ago when there was no outside decking or roof or plumbing or electrical or well, you get the idea.

Hope you have a super Saturday!

Work Day

I think tomorrow will begin our actual physical labor at the new house. I was really hoping that wasn't gonna happen. But had I thought about it long enough I would have known better.

My husband just can't keep himself out of it. And seriously, by the time we find someone to do the job then follow up with them 30 or 40 times, we might as well have done it ourselves. That is, if we are capable.

And we are not capable. He is plenty capable on his own. Me not so much.

Tomorrow, he wants to build the frame for the outdoor kitchen and wire the house for surround sound. I was thinking the more traditional "Misty" Saturday- shopping, eat lunch out, maybe a movie. If I really want to push it I might clean the bathrooms on Saturday morning. I'm not lazy. I am spoiled. Don't worry, I'm aware of it.

But then there's the jealous side of me that doesn't want to feel as though he did part of the new house and I didn't- I am not even gonna deny that that is nuts. So, I'll go with him. And I will be in the way, and have no idea what I am supposed to do and not understand anything he asks me to do. I really will try hard, though. It just so happens that I am completely clueless when it comes to such things.

And that is what still surprises me. My husband and I are actually very much alike in a lot of ways. We share the same general thinking on almost all things. We have many shared interests and enjoy many of the same things. However, he can tell you exactly how to build something, what to build it with and then set out and do it. And it will look good.

Me? I can tell you some really great ideas for things to build. But as far as building them? I still haven't figured out why they call a 2x4 by that name.

Updated Pictures

I have new pics of the house. I was reminded this week that I haven't been posting enough pictures of the progress, so I thought I would oblige. Plus, my husband told me too and I always do as he says. And I almost typed that with a straight face.

So here you go-

This is the front of the house taken from across the street. It's pretty wide, our lot is 1/2 acre and it is only about 15 feet from the lot lines on each side. Don't you love the color? I really missed the old bathroom so I thought, "What the heck? Pink is great color for a house." That's the "wrap" they put on before spraying insulation.

And here's the back porch. Turned out really nice, everyone thinks so. I am very pleased with it.

These pictures are actually already a little out of date. All the windows are now in and the rock arrived yesterday. It's really nice. We made the final decision yesterday to forgo the in-ceiling sprinkler system I had in mind. The cost continued to increase and no one really believed we needed it anyway. If Dunk lived on his own I would insist on it but since he doesn't I finally came around to everyone else's thinking. Plus, it seemed to me that it was going to be pretty difficult to know if it was actually gonna work until we had installed it. Since we are on well water there were some pretty big hurdles to jump, oh and a storage tank that was going to cost thousands and have to be stored in a 6 x 9 building that doesn't exist. Seemed that money could benefit him much better used on something else. Our security system guy is providing him with a panic button in case of an emergency and we also have like, 300 smoke alarms hard wired into the house. Okay, maybe not 300 but there are a lot of them.

We got our final bid for the lighting and we are- ready for this- under budget!!! Hooray! Makes Daddy happy to hear those words. Everyone likes it when Daddy is happy.

Well, we are off for some errands and various things for today. Hope everyone is having a groovy week - Peace!

I'm Baaaaaaaaack!!!

Bet you missed me, didn't you? I have been gone for few days, took my kiddos to see their cousins. There was much fun had, all around.
We managed to choose a TV on Saturday but it was nowhere near fun, just confusing and overwhelming. We didn't buy it yet, I am watching and waiting for the best deal.
Sunday Casey had to work so the kids and I were solo for the cousin thing. We packed (hmmm, I packed) and then we left. There was swimming, swimming and more swimming. Plenty of chatter and giggles too. We ended with a trip to the IMAX where I had to have an usher remove some idiot from the wheelchair accessible seats so we and one other family could sit down for the movie. This jerk had the nerve to stare and give dirty looks afterwards. When you hear about the woman who lost her mind and attacked someone in a movie theater seemingly unprovoked- It will be me and this will be the provocation.
Everyone was ready to see Dad last night. My husband Oh-So-Totally-Rocks!! and life is simply not the same when he isn't there. We're glad to be back.

Cathode-Ray Tubes Are So Yesterday

Did you know 4 extra inches will cost you a couple thousand bucks? Mind out of the gutter folks, we're talking TV's.



Seems we need to go ahead and buy the flat screen for the family room so the electrician will know where to mount it. Oh and the surround sound, we need that too. So I have been doing some research because the last time we bought a TV was, hmmmm let's see.......... Never.



Well, let me clarify. We have bought both of our children small TV's with built in DVD players. And we bought a car with a TV in it, does that count? But we have never purchased a large TV set meant for family viewing.



In our bedroom we still have the TV set I got for Christmas when I was like, 13 maybe 14. It works fine so I have to say Go Magnavox! In our Living Room right now we have some sort-of reject from the restaurant and you have to hit it on the side to make the picture clear. This is handy and a very classy addition to our home.



So now you're not thinking I'm a spoiled brat for getting a new TV for the new house are ya? If you are then you're just mean because a girl deserves a new TV every 19 years or so.



So back to the research. Costco has a 42" on sale for $999, a deal I don't think we can beat. However, we were really wanting something a little bigger. We can get a good 46" for around $1400-$1600 which would be okay. BUT for just $4000 you can have a top-of-the-line 50". Huge price jump for only 4" more, right? These are all LCDs because from my reading Plasmas look much better in dark rooms. And some companies are now making Plasmas for commercial operation only. Our family room will not be dark, at least not dark enough. So if you know great things about Plasmas e-mail me now because I can get a much better deal on one of those.



So, off for a day of TV shopping. On paper this would seem to be the absolutely perfect activity for us- combing shopping (for me) and TV (for him) Hope it works out that way!

HOORAY!!!!!!

I think we're over the hump. What I mean is, all the worry and fear about the new house is being replaced with excitement. It's actually happening, we're getting our house. HOORAY!!!!!!!!!

I know we've known this for quite some time. I am a freak- get over it. It seems I have been so worried about spending too much, making the wrong choice, someone screwing all of this up, that I haven't really thought about when it's all done. When it IS all done, I get a brand new house designed by ME! HOORAY!!!!

There's furniture to buy, new towels to get (most of mine are from 10 years ago when we got married), decorating to do. I have to say it one more time- HOORAY!!!!!!

I think this all hit me last night when we drove to the lot after dinner. It looks like a house now. And, if I say so myself, it looks good! I think it is really gonna turn out nice. And we may even come out under budget, though I am not holding my breath on that just yet. So the word for today- HOORAY!!!

House Stuff

I had a rather serious topic in mind for this morning but now I am just not feeling it. This week has been nuts and I am not feeling serious at all.

On Monday, the kids and I went to Lowe's and ordered all the cabinetry. That took awhile as you might imagine. And I wrote such a large check that our account was "flagged" for "suspicious activity". That worked out great when we went to check out at Home Depot on Tuesday at 8:30 P.M. with $1,000 worth of faucets in our cart. I thought Casey might take someone hostage or something.

Tuesday we had the whole Home Depot debacle but before that we went and bought our fireplace. And before that we spent a few hours with the electrician talking about switches and plugs.

Yesterday, let's see. Casey spent a great deal of time talking with fire sprinkler companies. He also had to go talk with the electrician with my list of "we forgot's". We had to go buy a bathtub because much to every one's dismay, I didn't want a plastic one. Oh, we also got our hot water heater ordered. It's tankless and quite the controversy. We were able to order it through McCoy's which works out well. They aren't "fancy" enough to flag our account so we can write a check and be done with it. I also found that they can order all the rest of my faucets so there will be no need for a repeat of the 5 hour Home Depot fun fest.

The house is being wired right this minute. There are junction boxes and wires everywhere. We also have a porch now and the Hardie board is going up around the eaves. Contractor says about 2 more months.

Not very exciting stuff today, sorry.

Lights, Money, Action!

So, Saturday morning we went to a lighting center and decided every spot in the house where there would be lights. We marked that out on the plans and then we chose all those lights. In 2 hours.

Does that surprise anyone else? I mean, it seems every other decision we have poured over for days, even weeks sometimes. Nope, 2 hours and we're done. We had a lot of help.

The lighting store we went to was closed and the owner was kind enough to meet with us anyway. She was very helpful in picking out what we would need. Especially considering how very articulate I was in describing the style of our house. "Uh, I don't really know what our style is. Um, I mean sort-of rustic but not like really rustic. Closer to traditional probably but casual, very casual." Does anybody know what that means? Because I said it, and I don't know what it means.

She was very helpful, even though I wasn't. And she was very observant. Don't you hate it when someone is trying to sell you something you really don't want but they seem to be so in love with it themselves you almost hate to tell them it's the most hideous thing you've ever seen? She wasn't like that. And she was great with the details. She suggested a fan in Casey's workshop area of the garage- I would have never thought of it. And she came up with some light fixtures for the porch that I think will be really nice. And when I didn't like the original choice for my bathroom, she came up with the prettiest light fixture I have ever seen. I actually could be falling in love with it- it's really fabulous.

Can you tell I am sort-of trying to sell you on this place? Well, really I'm not. I am trying to sell me on it. See, we did all of the above. And I am happy with all but perhaps one choice and that can be pretty easily changed. But the kicker here is this. I have no idea how much it all cost.

We went through the showroom she wrote it all down and will come up with a bid for everything and fax it to us. Now, most everything was individually priced (some things were special order from a catalog and those were not) and I bet you would be surprised to find out that these prices were NOT any higher than Home Depot or Lowe's and in some cases I am sure they are lower. And everything we chose seemed very reasonable to me. Also, we told her our budget up front. So all that in mind, I hope we don't have to start all over after we get this bid back.

Oh and, I have edited the comment feature so that anyone may leave a comment you do not have to have a blogger account to do that anymore. I can't test it since I obviously do have a blogger account so I hope it works!

Coffee

I woke up this morning to find that we are out of coffee. This doesn't bode well. I don't simply like my coffee, I have a physical need for coffee. I need it. A lot of it. And we have none.

So I search around and find a baby can of generic Dr. Pepper in the fridge. That is not even a little bit like coffee. It does have caffiene, though. So I pour it in a glass with ice. Sit down here to talk with you guys and take a sip.

Guess what? It's not even a little bit like coffee.

In fact, it doesn't resemble Dr. Pepper all that closely.

I'm getting dressed and going to Starbucks. See ya tomorrow.

Making Good On My Word

I come bearing pictures! I finally have the pictures back from the beach. They are horrible. But I am posting anyway because the kids in them are cute. Besides I don't have much to say today anyway. Well, I might have a few things to say. Like we chose a color for the roof and I didn't go with the one with the prettier name, progress people! And Dillard's started an extra 30% off all clearance yesterday- which somehow my shopper's intuition told me they would do that. Seriously, we haven't been to Dillard's in like 5 months? And yesterday I headed straight there thinking they would be doing mark downs. We left with four large bags. Don't judge me. (Side note to Mom's of little boys- stop reading and drive to Dillard's right now! Great Ralph Lauren stuff, cheap. But it'll be gone by noon, I'm sure)




On to the pictures-

This is at the aquarium. The children thought this was hilarious. I realize it really isn't. But I had to post it for two reasons-
1) So you all could see we really did wear our swimsuits
2) You could see why I have such a deep, strong love for the Gap. I mean seriously, could C's shorts be any cuter?




This is the splash playground. The kids thought this was fun for like 4 minutes.

So we moved on to this- it was a submarine with an octopus crashed into it. I swear, it really was. Many slides and things came out of it.

This is our beautiful daughter. She's standing in front of the Gulf of Mexico, literally just steps away from said Octopus/Sub crash site.


And look at the fam! Aren't they cute? I apologize for the horrible picture quality. I realize fully now, my love for the Canon.