The Adventures of The Williams Family

Black Friday In July!

2009-11-01T06:16:00.001-06:00

Once (or is it twice now?) a year, children's resale shop Once Upon A Child holds their $10 Bag sale. The rules? Fit whatever red line tag items you can in this bag for just $10!

Now, if you've got a little one with tiny clothes, oh my gosh you could REALLY score! I wasn't sure how much would fit in the bag since my boy is older and wears a size 6 boys. But I wanted to see if it was worth the effort, so I headed out to get in line about 15 minutes before store opening.

Word of advice: if you plan to attend this sale, get there early! The line was literally wrapped around the sidewalk & they had to stop letting people in the store because of fire codes, and then it was one person out-one person in from there on. I was shocked! But I suppose I'm not the only one who loves a bargain.

The other word of advice: make sure you look for red line items only! There were a number of folks just grabbing anything and everything & at checkout were disappointed their items weren't included in the sale!

So what exactly did I squeeze into my tiny pink bag for $10? Let's see!

The count came to 9 tshirts, 1 collared polo shirt, 1 long sleeve shirt, 1 pair of athletic shorts, & 1 pair of swim trunks. For $10!

The cashier was surprised I squeezed so much into my bag, and the secret was rolling the clothes tightly. I tried folding them, but rolling them into little "logs" allowed LOTS more to be stuffed into the bag!

Now, giving full disclosure, the selection was limited. The entire store was not all red-lined items. I went from my son's size & two sizes up to find the clothes I liked and were red-lined. Some of the red-line items had a small stain or a hole, so I passed those up.

If you are willing to dig a little, you can score a great deal at the Once Upon A Child's Stuff-A-Bag sale!

Zoe...

2009-08-27T15:25:00.001-05:00

Meet Zoe,

the laziest dog in the world...

Isn't it nice of us to make a room just for her?

NOT!

Flies are nasty...spiders are purty

2009-08-25T09:04:00.002-05:00

We went on a bug hunt a few days ago & I managed to sneak up on this fly...

Go back and look at that nasty sucker. Look at those hairs on his head & back. GROSS.

I like taking pictures of spiders much better. They are so unique looking, & I love finding their 8 eyes in the pictures...

This little guy was about the size of a grain of rice. He let me get really close, but he kept turning so he could see me & I'm always afraid one of these days a spider is going to jump on me!

See! He turned to face me again. I love how furry he is...

And then I found this green, almost transparent, garden spider... Her eyes are such pretty ovals...

This green beauty was really tiny...smaller than a grain of rice for sure. She didn't hang around long though.

And why is it, that I called the brown fuzzy spider a He, and the green sleek sipder a She? Ha!

Trip Report...

2009-08-18T07:15:00.003-05:00

We left August 8th for our first cruise out of the Port of Galveston. We usually leave from Port Canaveral, FL but decided that since Galveston was a driveable location & we were bringing Jessie & her BFF, we'd give it a shot.

The drive from home to Galveston took about 5 hours but it was a great drive. No traffic. Straight shot down the highway. Definitely more convenient than having to fly to Orlando!

When we got to the port, we used EZ Cruise Parking. I would highly recommend using their service again (and we will when we cruise out of Galveston in a few months). They have gated parking for a reasonable fee. For an additional fee, you can have your car covered or washed while you are gone. We made our reservation ahead of time online which saved money, and they offer a free shuttle to the cruise terminal which is just a few blocks away. The only negative about EZ Cruise Parking was that the parking spaces were small. We drive a Mazda CX9 crossover SUV and when we returned to the car after the cruise, Jeff had to crawl over the passenger side seat because a huge pick up truck had parked too close to the driver's door.

Since we were limited on our time choices (the girls had to be back for school), we went with the 5 day cruise on the Carnival Ecstasy. We had 5 people and didn't want to split into two rooms (I wasn't comfortable taking someone else's child along and putting two teen girls in a room across the hall!), so we were left with the Penthouse Suite as our only option. Poor, poor me...I know. *wink*

We have cruised a handful of times and I had no idea what to expect from a Penthouse Suite. When Reese, Jeff, & I cruise we get a balcony room, and it's fine for the three of us. But I was concerned about us all being on top of each other now that we had 5 people.

Boy was I wrong!

This room was the biggest cruise ship room I've seen! We had two Queen beds (the second bed was the couch that folded down) and Reese's roll away twin bed, and there was still ample room for walking around. During the day, the room steward folded Reese's bed up and moved it to the side (you can see it in the far left corner) which left even more room.

The other thing I wasn't sure about was storage space...especially since we were bringing two girls with lots of clothes, shoes, & accessories! No worries though here either...there was a walk in closet. Wowza!

That picture was only half of the storage space...there was more on the other side! Even though this cruise cost about 3 times what we typically pay (we cruise off-season and don't bring 5 people!) I felt like the room was worth the extra cost.

Our cruise itenerary took us to the ports of Progresso & Cozumel, Mexico. I suppose we aren't typical cruisers, because we don't get off the boat. We love port days, when the ship is empty and there aren't many people in the pool, at the restauraunts, or just around the ship in general. It almost feels like we have the whole boat to ourselves!

Day 1 was port day & at sea, Dayy 2 at sea, Day 3 Progresso, Day 4 Cozumel, Day 5 at sea.

Reese relaxing and watching a movie before going back to Camp Carnival.

The beds were amazingly comfortable & we all slept like rocks.

Look at those lips...

Reese moved up to the next age bracket at Camp Carnival and was now with the 6-8 year olds. The first day he didn't like Camp Carnival, but I think it was mostly because there were so many more kids in there than he was used to. When we cruise off-season, there's a handful of kids but this time it was packed.

Well, the above is true for Carnival cruise lines. On the Disney cruises, the kids club was packed all the time with lots of kids!

By the second day though he decided we were too boring and that he'd give Camp Carnival another try. Lo and behold, it was better :) From then on out, we brought him back with us for meals and some afternoon resting time but that was about it!

The girls were completely entertained as well. I was thrilled as they searched out every free activity they could find...samples of makeup & perfume at the shops, tasting rum cake samples, eating sushi, singing kareoke, taking naps on deck, playing tag with the walkie talkies, trying on jewlery at the jewlery shop, taking in shows, ordering room service, going to high tea...and these were just the stories we heard about.

We don't ever go to the sit-down dinners, because frankly, they take too long and we don't like to eat a 2 hour dinner! But the girls enjoyed getting dressed up and going to dinner...

Reese loved blowing bubbles on the balcony...

And of course there's always yummy food and towel animals!

Working On My Inner Impressionist Painter

2009-08-16T14:51:00.004-05:00

So what do you think??

Actually....the picture above is a photo-shopped "painting" of the picture below...

Have you ever in your life seen the middle of the ocean so completely still? Jeff woke up to this Wednesday morning on our last day at sea. He looked out the windows and thought we had stopped...the water wasn't moving at all.

Well, we were moving at a quick pace, but as far as the eye could see the water looked just like this:

It felt like we were in a huge movie sound stage. Remember the Truman Show, when they filmed the ocean part? Just like that...

Thank goodness we weren't in a sail boat, because we would still be sitting there :)

Beautiful

2009-08-14T21:21:00.001-05:00

We just got back from a fun cruise vacation with Reese, Jessie, & Jessie's BFF...

I have pictures, of course, about our fun time...

But I just had to post this picture by itself...

My single favorite picture of the whole trip...

You are beautiful sweetie!!!!

I got the joy, joy, joy, joy....

2009-07-29T15:16:00.002-05:00

I came home from the morning out with Reese to find this on my desk:

My favorite candy bar...ever!!

Hubby left a special treat just for me....love him!!!!!

Hidey Spidey

2009-07-19T16:18:00.002-05:00

Teeny little spidey hiding in the flower pot...

Teeny hairy spidey watching me from the flower pot...

Teeny hairy spidey watching me with his 8 beady eyes from the flower pot...

Please don't jump on me!

Lifting Pics Off FaceBook

2009-07-18T08:06:00.002-05:00

It's interesting what you can find on FaceBook when you are 'friends' with your children.

Austen got a tattoo on Monday and I have yet to see it...he didn't mention the new black hair. And where the hell did all these muscles come from?

I wish he had waited a few years on the tattoo...I told him I hope he liked what he got because it's there forever now! But seriously, where did my little Austen go? Who is this man staring at me in the picture?

Bugged Out

2009-07-16T22:07:00.002-05:00

This little guy was about the size of a staple...

I was afraid if he saw me he'd jump on the camera!

ACK! Don't look at me!

Moving on...

A butterfly is much more my speed....

Check out that spiraled proboscis...

My favorite picture of the evening...

Getting a big drink before calling it a night....

I love the cup-shaped tips of the antennae...

How To Entertain Your Dog In The Hot Texas Summer Sun

2009-07-16T08:40:00.002-05:00

Meet Buddy. Buddy is hot and wants to play. What's a dog to do?
Why are you barking Buddy? What is it boy?

It's the beachball! It's floated back for you to play with...

Except when you try to bite it, it just floats away....

Don't worry Buddy...it will come back in a minute!

**Repeat 570 times until dog wears himself out and needs a big nap!**

Fuzzy Wuzzy

2009-07-12T17:13:00.000-05:00

Found this little guy, and about 10 of his buddies, eating our hostas in the back yard.

He's lucky he's so fuzzy & cute, or else he would have been squished.

I just threw him in the woods instead.

Isn't he the most fuzzy thing you've seen?

What's Wrong With This Picture?

2009-07-10T17:11:00.001-05:00

Can you tell what's wrong with this picture?
Take a closer look...

Texas summers are too damn hot! Get me outta here!

The Worst Daughter...Ever

2009-07-01T15:16:00.001-05:00

Luckily, Grammie is a good sport. I taught her how to play the Maze Game online...but I just so happened to pull up the Maze Game that shows a scary face and screams at you midway through the game....

Love you Grammie! :)

Family Reunion Time!

2009-06-30T22:08:00.001-05:00

It's The Birthday Boy!

2009-06-14T18:36:00.003-05:00

Happy Birthday to the

best Hubby & Daddy on Earth!!!

We love you more than you'll ever know....

Even if you look like Mr. Potato Head wearing heels....

8 Years With My Best Friend...

2009-06-13T00:23:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary honey!

Keep The Change

2009-03-28T17:04:00.001-05:00

Grammie's Home For Wayward Pugs

2009-03-26T15:01:00.001-05:00

We visited Grammie a few weeks ago & got to meet Maddie, the newest addition to the pack.

How could you not love this goofy girl?

That tongue is not mid-lick either. Most of the time it's out like that :) Silly pug...

The Best Of The Best....

2009-03-24T16:16:00.003-05:00

The best of the best

is having all 3 here at the same time...

Even with messy rooms,

make-up on the counters,

extra toothpaste in the sinks,

shoes in the kitchen,

candy wrappers all over,

3am noises in the hallway,

three times the normal laundry load...

I can't get enough of

all 3 here together.

I just wish we had more of them,

instead of always having to say goodbye

to one, or the other

or both.

Is it summer yet?????

What's The Deal With Trader Joe's?

2009-03-19T15:03:00.000-05:00

I've always wondered why so many people rave about Trader Joe's...we don't have them here & I always thought I was missing something good.

Apparently, I am...

I want a Trader Joe's!

Win A T-Shirt Quilt!!

2009-03-17T13:26:00.001-05:00

We all have t-shirts that hold memories, right? Kid's jerseys...vacation souvenirs...you name it.

So what do you do with all of them after they're no longer wardrobe-worthy?

Hope over to BurbMom.Net and enter their contest! The winner will receive a quilt, made from tshirts, to keep forever. But that's not all...check out the examples on the Texas T-Shirt Quilts website. Number 6 is my favorite...check it out!!

Happy St. Pattys!!

2009-03-17T08:24:00.001-05:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

He Didn't Laugh...

2009-03-12T17:25:00.002-05:00

We drove to Grammie's house today & my wonderful Hubby fed my Diet Dr. Pepper addiction by surprising me with a pop from McDonalds!

The first sip was so delicious...I told him my Diet Dr. Pepper was like drinking candy. It's THAT good!

So what do I proceed to do?

Pick up the cup by the lid, attempt to take a sip, and spill the whole damn thing into my lap!

My first instinct was to cry. Ice & a full pop all over my jeans, the seat, everywhere. CRAP! Luckily, the seats are leather so the clean up wasn't too bad.

Me? I rode to Austin in my undies while my jeans dried on the back seat. Yes...I did! Sorry to any 18-wheel truck drivers who saw my lap! Jeff offered to give my his jacket for my lap...but I decided to live a little wild.

After I wiped up all the pop, threw all the spilled ice out the window, & gathered myself, Hubbs said he held back his laughing. Which I greatly appreciated...but I'm sure it looked darn funny!

StepMonsters Don't Get Flowers

2009-03-10T15:29:00.003-05:00

When I went to pick up Jessie, I was given this amazingly sweet bouquet of flowers, cut from their garden, wrapped lovingly just for me.

I can't tell you how special it made me feel that Jessie gave me something she put together...the smell of the hyacinths tickled my nose for almost a week while they sat on the counter in a vase.

I feel so lucky to have such a strong relationship with Jessie...and she really made me feel extra-loved with her thoughtful gift!