My Chaos -

OK - I think that is all I can manage to update you on today. I need to go get some sleep - need to get back in the groove at work in the morning. I promise more tomorrow night as long as life is not being too rough on me... ;)

My boy hamming it up while showing off the novelty of a room to the camera: Where is Bryan you ask - glued to his Grammy's side in her room as usual. We went out exploring a bit after we ate and settled in a bit. We probably should have skipped that part. We were all a little tired, a little grouchy and maybe a little snappy that night from the drive and everything else we had been doing all week. We did go on a lazer tag type ride across the street from the Alamo and the boys had a lot of fun doing that. This is how I felt, but I don't sleep all that well when I am not in my own bed. I'm glad my kids got some sleep - they were going to need it for the next day at Sea World...

We found the Snake Farm on the way down to San Antonio - it was actually right outside of San Antonio. We decided to stop and be adventurous. It was in a bit of disrepair, but it was pretty neat for something on the side of the highway. They also had an area out back with some other animals. I didn't think some of the animals I saw there looked as happy as they could be, but the alternative is worse I guess. Each animal was rescued from bad or unsage situations. They had an Artic Wolf there, which was Bryan's very most favorite, who kept coming up to the fence to look at him. This happens to be the one I felt most sorry for though - I mean ARTIC wolf in the TEXAS summer...

Just in case you were wondering what the poem/song I had been wanting to use on the page below. I got it from a book my mom gave to me and I love the sentiment. I hope you never lose your sense of wonder You get your fill to eat but always keep that hunger May you never take one single breath for granted God forbid love ever leave you empty-handed I hope you still feel small when you stand beside the ocean Whenever one door closes I hope one more opens Promise me that you’ll give faith a fighting chance And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance I hope you dance… I hope you dance I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance Never settle for the path of least resistance Livin’ might mean takin’ chances but they’re worth takin’ Lovin’ might be a mistake but it’s worth makin’ Don’t let some hell-bent heart leave you bitter When you come close to sellin’ out reconsider Give the heavens above more than just a passing glance And when you get the choice to sit it out or danc...

I have been searching for the perfect photos to go with this poem/song for awhile now. I think these are it. They are my baby boys riding on the tea cups and having the time of their lives spinning and screaming and laughing! I was laughing and smiling so much that my face hurt - not because of the dizzying affect of the spinning tea cups, but because they were having so much fun and laughing so hard!

Soooooo..... I have been working really hard since Bryan first started school and started hearing the playground rummblings of a magical park, to keep Six Flags a total secret. It was for no real reason other than the fact that I did not want to go. I know totally selfish, but what can I say... weather hotter than the 7th level of hell, lines that take a minimum of an hour to traverse and might I add: for a 30 second ride, oh and let us not forget the increadibly bad food that you practically have to take a small loan out for. Did I mention that I tried really hard to keep the place a secret? Well, since my parents were coming instead of us going there, we decided that we needed to make it as close to an actual vacation as possible. So, first thing on the list was: SIX GLAGS! OK, I'll be honest - it wasn't all that bad. We didn't even attempt to try to do the entire park that day. We really only stuck with one side of the park and we had a pretty good time. The Merry-Go-Rou...

Well, we didn't get to go to Belgium this summer after all. With the rising cost of EVERYTHING - including airline tickets, we just couldn't make it. For the four of us it would have been a fortune. As much as I wanted to go and explore Western Europe for the first time, I just couldn't justify it. So.... my parents came here to visit for a week and a half. It was so nice to see them. I hadn't seen my dad in about a year and a half. So nice, so nice - seems like such a trite thing to say. It was spectacular, it was wonderful, it was fantastic, it was refreshing, it has to be a visit to sustain until next summer. It was so quick though. It is always hard to say goodbye and it always makes me wonder or maybe it reminds me that one day I will be saying goodbye to each of my children. Is that the way it's going to be? Is my family destined to be scattered throughout the world? Whatever, my children choose to do with their lives, with their talents; wherever ...

I admit it - when I was told that the last project of the year was going to be to make a hot air balloon, my first reactions was ... "huh, what are we supposed to be doing?" Then I found out that EACH boy was going to make a hot air balloon... "what?? how??" Then I finally got more specific directions and it made more sense. It was made out tissue paper, which I was convinced would NOT work. However, I was completely wrong and it turned out to be a pretty interesting project. Once all the pieces were assembled, the tissue paper actually seemed to be reasonably sturdy. We were all a little unprepared for how little they flew, but after some discussion, we came to the conclustion (educated guess) that the air outside of the balloons was too hot and there was not enough difference in th temperature between it and the hot air we were filling the balloons with (we used hair dryers). Maybe if we try again once the temperature has cooled outside quite a bit - maybe Novembe...

I didn't like this page when I first started it, but a few days later and a lot of fiddling with it and now I rather like it...