Ali's TX Visit

Alison Merritt, my BYU roomie/favorite feisty redhead, came out for an extended weekend visit last week.  On Friday we went on a walk and to the park with the boys, did P90X while they napped, BBQed steaks and corn on the cob when Aut got home, and watched Total Recall while eating personal pints of Blue Bell ice cream.  Our spoons hit the plastic faster than expected.

Saturday we got up and went on a jog to burn off the ice cream...or at least a few spoonfuls.  We took Ali to the Fort Worth Water Gardens.  This one was my favorite:

 Then we were off to the Stockyards:

 Stockyard Petting Zoo:

Hungry, are we?

 I told him to pet the camel:

This camel kept pacing and trying to eat my children...:

 ...and make out with Ali:

Waiting for the cattle drive:

 The boys on a real bull:

 Dylan went a little 'Brokeback Mountain':

 And Ali really got into the Texas spirit:

 This cracks me up.  Everyone is smiling now because they have no idea this train is about to hit a water pipe, get them all wet, and cause Autrey to carry them back to the station and get a refund.  So glad I stayed behind with Ali.  Ask Dylan about getting 'scary soaked':

 We took the dirty boys to Joe T. Garcia's to have dinner out in the beautiful Fiesta Gardens:

Ali volunteered to take sleeping baby duty at church while Autrey taught Primary and I taught the Young Women.  It was very helpful for us, and I know she enjoyed playing hooky out in the hall.  Such a sweet boy:

I made a big Sunday dinner with roast beef, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, and rolls.  Ali and Autrey vetoed the green beans.  Then we went to show Ali the Blue Bonnets by the lake.  And I would like to point out these outfits were all Autrey's doing.  Love my boys:

We skipped rocks.  Autrey and I tied the high score with 8 hops.  But his covered a lot more distance, so he might have actually won.  Dylan was so happy to play in the rocks and make them splash:

Ali looks GORGEOUS.  I get photo credit for the pic:

 A Washington girl in her natural habitat with water and GRASS...in Texas, mind you:

That night we watched Italian Job for old times sake with another pint of Blue Bell.  But this time we showed a little restraint and only ate half.  Except Autrey.  He ate the bottom half and had to eat the top half to get there.  On Monday, we went to the park before we met Autrey at his clinic and had dinner so Ali wouldn't have to fly home on an empty stomach.  Dylan put together this little bike-riding Mr. Cool/Buzz Lightyear/'Captain Dylan Hook' outfit.  The kid knows how to class up the playground:

Dylan was Ali's little shadow.  If she was ever out of sight he would ask, "Where's Ali?"  He just might like her as much as I do.  So glad she came to visit!

Olde Oaks Boys Reunion

The third annual Olde Oaks Boys reunion in Houston happened in March at Stanley Ellis' house.  Yeah, the straight shooting farm boy that just spoke in General Conference.  Christa Ellis took most of the pictures, so I waited until she posted on her blog today to make an entry.  I copied and pasted most of her commentary too.

The boys:

I feel like hardly any time has passed since we were all in college together...7+ years and 10+ kids later.  Christa, Diane, and Amanda (the 3 ladies on the bottom right) are expecting again: 

Saturday was mostly spent enjoying the beautiful spring weather in the backyard with volleyball, a kiddie pool, and some golf in Rob's personal driving range he set up.  In the afternoon we had hot dogs/hamburgers for lunch.  And an Olde Oaks Boys reunion wouldn't be complete without at least a few taste tests.  This year was:

• French Fries: Sonic vs Whataburger vs Jack-in-the-Box vs Burger King vs McDonalds.  Winner: McDonalds.  Runner-up: Burger King/Jack-in-the-Box (I have to say that temperature probably played a part in the results.  2 guys went out to pick up orders from 2-3 places each.  The fries that were picked up last were hotter and therefore scored higher.)
• Diet vs Regular Soda; could you really tell the difference?  Verdict: Yes.  But some people just have a fondness for a chemical aftertaste, so they remained loyal to their diet sodas.  
•  Cereal: Name brand vs Generic.  Verdict: Generic cereals were sweeter and crunchier.  We could tell a difference but the group was split with which they preferred. 

We missed last year's reunion because I went into preterm labor with Colton that week and got put on bedrest.  Too bad because I heard they taste tested Reese's peanut butter cups and the Costco brand won, even though the Reese's brand looked better.

And to finish the day off, we put the kids to bed at Mimi and Papa's house and went out for some frozen yogurt and a killer game of Laser Tag.  Christa wrote "I don't remember who the winner was, but I do know that Shilo has vowed to practice so that next year "EasyTarget" will NOT be such an easy target! :)"  I remember who won.  It was the guy in the red shirt in the top picture.  I'm just proud that I wasn't last.  I learned that wearing black pants is great, as long as you don't have 3 bright white Adidas stripes running down the side.  And I haven't practiced yet.  Next year may be my 3rd time going in my entire life.

This much fun is exhausting!