Camp Cheers

Since the kids came home from church camp, this is what we've been hearing:

Regan's cheer:
We're the Pink Panda's and we're here to say...
We're strong and cute in a Mighty Way!
We sing, we dance, have lots of fun
We're the Pink Panda's so YOU BETTER RUN!

Riley's camp cheer:
Now I know cause I've been told
Christ is better than priceless gold.

I don't know but it's been said
Green Disciples will rock yo' head!

I think it's so cute! I love that they had fun, and learned more about God and had such a great time. Regan's craft was a little purse she said she can use to bring offerings to church! Have I said lately...I heart our church!

Las Vegas Trip

Well, we are back from our whirlwind trip to Vegas! We dropped the kids off at camp and hit the road, well, the plane. We landed around 7 their time, and had major issues with the rental car, and said forget it, who needs a rental car on the strip anyway, right? But by the time we got it all settled, and checked in to our fancy hotel, it was late, and we were starving! They were nice at the Paris, since we told them about our rental car issues and they upgraded our room to a fancier one, which was super nice. It had 2 queen beds, the bathroom was all marble with a separate shower, it was just really pretty.

We took off to explore, and ended up signing up for a time-share thing in order to get free show tickets. We finally found one of the only restaurants still open in our area (which surprised me, I thought all of Vegas was pretty much 24 hours) but it was a casual place inside Bally's and we had this steak and egg dinner for like 8.99 and it was really good.

We got up early the next morning to go to our time share thing, and the guy who did the presentation was hilarious, so it wasn't all bad, but we aren't in the market to plunk down like 46K and pay 1K a month to have a guaranteed vacation.

After that we used one of the coupons they gave us for a free buffet at Harrah's casino, it wasn't bad, and then set out to see some sights. We walked to the Venetian, the Palazzo, Wynn and Encore, hitting all the bathrooms along the way, some of them are incredible, super fancy, and it was neat to see them. Others really needed an upgrade to keep up with the rest of the hotel. Each hotel had some shops where you could spend all the money you just won in a casino. Most were super nice shops, way out of my price range! But, we did have fun browsing in the Ferrari store!

David joined a slot machine tournament at the Encore, so while we waited for his turn for that, we walked down to Treasure Island and looked around, then headed back, he gave me 5 bucks to keep me busy while he was in his tournament, and I was happy that I turned it into $25! But then turned around and blew that. But, I stick to the penny slots, and it took a little while to go through that for me.

Then we left the Encore, and took the city bus up to old Las Vegas and looked around some, but by this time we were done in. We headed back to our room and rested a bit, I had blisters, and David's whole foot and ankle were swollen and he said it felt broken. It was 112 degrees that day too, so the heat was really doing a number on us. You would be walking along praying for a breeze, and the breeze would come, it felt like God opening his oven after baking muffins all day, just a blast of furnace heat! You could almost feel the skin melting off your body. I thought we would be used to it, being from Texas and all, but man, that was some abnormal heat!

After we rested and doctored our wounds as best we could, we went and ate at a burger place inside the hotel, then went to our show, an old fashioned Vegas showgirl type thing. The intermission acts were better than the show, they had a juggler that played the piano with tennis balls, and these two guys who would very slowly move into these weird poses, I don't know how to describe it, but one guy would plant his hand on the bald head of the guy underneath and then raise himself up balanced on his hand, while the guy underneath slowly stood up. They were really awesome. And then a guy who swung around on a long red sheet it looked like, swinging and hanging, it was neat, some type of circus type stuff.

Then we were so beat up and wiped out, we called it a night, and slept in some the next day. We didn't have much on the agenda, just check out some more casinos, so we went over to Caesar's Palace, that place is HUGE, and I tried to talk David into eating lunch at Bobby Flay's restaurant, since I know he practically worships at the alter of Bobby Flay, but he didn't want to (maybe afraid the reality wouldn't live up to his fantasy?) So we headed over to the Flower Garden inside the Bellagio. It was VERY fancy! They had this cute ferris wheel with flowers all over, fountains like at Disney World where they would shoot out from one spot and land in another. Ladybugs and frogs and bears made out of flowers. It was really pretty. Then headed out front and watched the fountains a bit.

Then we made our way to the New York hotel, I SO wanted to ride the roller coaster that goes in and out and all over the whole hotel, but as we climbed the steps, we saw a woman being carried off in a gurney with an oxygen mask on. I would have still gone, but they shut the ride down for a while and so we headed to the arcade so David could beat me at Ms. Pac-Man. We ate lunch there, Philly Cheesesteaks, and it was neat how they had a real-looking New York street with food vendors like Nathan's hot dogs and a New York style delicatessen.

After that we walked over to the Excalibur, looked around, it's some place I would take the kids, but it wasn't all that great, kind of old and run down looking. So we moved on to Mandalay Bay, and looked around there. That's another fancy place, which I wouldn't have figured, being the home to UFC fights and such. We were gonna go to the shark reef, but it was more than we really wanted to spend to see sharks when we go to Sea World all the time anyway. We did sit and rest at a (believe it or not) over-priced Starbucks and got our second wind.

Then we went to the Luxor, the giant pyramid shaped hotel with the big Sphinx in front. I know they say everything is bigger in Texas, but that's what I was thinking there, everything is just SO BIG. We looked around inside, there was a show that Criss Angel did on TV a while back where he did a magic trick that made a card stick INSIDE the door at the Luxor, so Riley really, really wanted a picture of that card. We found it, still there, and got a few pictures and it was pretty cool.

Then we walked over to the MGM Grand to see the lion habitat, but by this time, the heat had caught up with us, we took a few pictures of the lions and then wanted to get back to the room. Only problem, traffic was backed up for miles, no chance of a bus coming our way anytime soon, so we set off on foot. It technically wasn't that far, but it was about 110, and by the time we made it to our room, I think I was dehydrated and just not handling it well. I was miserable. But, we rested, took a nap, and then we were good to go.

We were gonna do a few more things, but I really wanted to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower, at night time. We got our tickets and waited in line, and it took a LONG time. Almost an hour, then we got up there just in time to see the fountains down below, and then there was another long line to go back down. That was enough for David and he called it a night. I did what any good woman does when the men throw in the towel, I went shopping! Then I headed across the street to watch the fountains at night all lit up. They are so neat, and you could hear the blasts of water from our room on the 26th floor, it's that powerful!

And then I ate at another restaurant in our hotel, a nice croissant sandwich, you can't go to Paris without having a croissant, right? And then went back up to pack. We ate breakfast in our hotel before we left for the airport and that was that.

Overall I think we gambled about $20. Didn't hit anything big, but we're not really big into gambling. At every machine I sat down at, I got confused, 15 lines, 30 lines, 2X pay, 10X pay, it was all mind boggling. And the NOISE! I'm not one that likes peace and quiet that much, I mean, I DO have 2 kids! But they have speakers all up and down the street, so everywhere you go you are bombarded with music, the clanging of the slot machines and the noise of people. It was a little much a lot of the time.

And I've never been more glad that we live in a smoke-free city! I was freaking out that people were smoking ALL over the place! It was so bad, at night in bed I would swear I could still smell smoke, I think it was stuck in my nose.

And, it was funny, the last night sitting in the hotel lobby, I see one of Regan's old classmates and his dad walk up to me, "Regan's mom?" I said, "Jackson's dad?" (we parents don't have names anymore) and they were driving through and stopped to eat. Of all places to run into someone!

Overall it was a nice trip, I wish we had time to do more, but it was a short trip. David already wants to go back, I'm not quite on board. I wouldn't mind taking the kids to the New York hotel, I think they would like that, but I wouldn't really want to leave the hotel with them, they have ads for girls on trucks that drive up and down the strip, and guys handing out cards with naked girls on them, I just don't know how you walk around in that town with kids and keep them from seeing all that junk!

And, the kids had a great time at camp. Regan has already told me her Pink Panda cheer, and it is adorable! Riley was a Green Disciple, and he made it without us for 3 whole nights! They were pretty happy to see us though, and they are dirty, dirty, dirty! That's a sign that they had a good time right? They played mud tag. I have a feeling I'll be doing laundry for a few days now!

Fountains of the Bellagio

Very pretty, very romantic, too bad I had to watch it alone cause David has sore feet.

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View from the Top

At the top of the Eiffle Tower.

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Came to Vegas to play Ms. Pac Man

David is beating me, we're in the arcade at New York, wanted to ride the roller coaster but saw them wheel someone off in a gurney, think I'll pass! And here's a pic of the outside of our hotel

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The Palazzo

Sitting at The Palazzo with this beautiful fountain while David sips espresso.

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Kid's Leaving for Camp!

Had to get a picture before they go. Riley is anxious, Regan is excited, they're gonna have a GREAT time, we have a great church!

Happy Birthday Papa!

We met the family for brunch at East Side Cafe (yum) to celebrate Dave's birthday, and we all had a good time, and got to pass around the newest member of the Fry family, little Makayla. She's so tiny and cute! Regan better watch out, she's not the only girl to get spoiled now!

Sea World

Girl Scouts Sea World

As a reward for selling so many girl scout cookies this year, the girls got to pick something fun to do, and they picked a trip to Sea World. We had to be at our leader's house by 6:45am to decorate the cars, the girls all wrote their names and "Sea World or bust" etc. all over the windows on the cars.

We got to Sea World just as it opened, and headed off to the dolphins and sharks. Then we spent some time in the water park to cool off, had lunch, and were about to go to another show when it started lightning and thundering. They ended up closing some of the rides and shows for a bit, so we went to the 4D movie that's indoors, and killed some time. Then Regan realized she was finally tall enough to ride the Steel Eel, so of course, we had to do that. She has spent many a time sitting under the Steel Eel waiting for Riley to ride so she was SO excited that it was finally her turn. She loved it (after that first big drop) and wanted to go again, but we had other things to see and do.

We saw the hilarious Sea Lion show that is my favorite, and then the last Shamu show of the day and left the park as it was closing at 10. We grabbed a quick bite at Taco Cabana and got home just before 2am. We were beat to say the least.

Brownies do Sea World!

We're hot, tired, and hot. But its about to rain and hopefully that will cool things off and make a LOT of people leave.

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Fun Night at Gymnastics

Once a month they have a "fun night" at gymnastics and the kids get to bring a friend, and they have a blast and get nice and worn out. Riley brought Tristan who will think twice before referring to it as "girlnastics" from now on, I think he got tired of Riley showing him up on some of the equipment!

Regan brought her friend Natalie and they wanted to do a sleepover so bad, but we were getting up SUPER early to go to Sea World, so I didn't think that would be a good idea, those two get together, and there is NO sleeping going on!

The 'Hawk

Riley had been wanting a mohawk for a long time. He asked a lot of questions about them, googled them, had a lot of ideas about them. I've never known a boy so obsessive about his own hair as Riley. Last haircut he got, which was the short one for gymnastics, he cried because "she cut off all my curls!" So I guess he got used to being curl-free for a while and decided to go a little more dramatic.

I took him in, I was really just wanting it trimmed up, but he said he wanted a mohawk, then he changed his mind, then we let Regan go ahead of him so he could think about it some more, Regan is growing her bangs out, so she just wanted the back shorter, and hers is adorable.


But once Riley decided he really would go through with it, he sat down, they started shaving, and he freaked out. There was enough hair on the floor to make a sweater for David. He really wanted the strip of hair to be longer so he could make "liberty spikes" so he wasn't happy that it was so short, but I like it like that, easier to stick up. We left and went next door to Sally's to buy some hair cement, and he started crying, "I'm bald!" It was funny, but not the time for mom to start laughing!


He's adjusted to it more now, although he goes into the bathroom about every 10 minutes to look at it. He slept with a blanket over his head because his baldness got cold, and every time he walks in the room with me, it takes me a second to realize who he is!

Riley's New Haircut

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Metal Mash Ups

I took the kids to the library, without telling them it was "story time". They usually give me grief about going to story time, and I guess they are getting too old for it, but during the summer the library has a bunch of fun activities to do, so I thought they would enjoy this weeks, and I was right, I just had to sneak them on board!

After a reading of a very childish book, by a very childish speaker, they got to make metal-art. There were magnets and paper clips and all kinds of metal things. Riley spent most of his time making aliens out of aluminum foil, and had I known that was so much fun, I would have busted out the foil a LONG time ago!

And Regan had fun too, she mad a map on one side of a paper plate, then put a paper clip on a school bus she cut out of a magazine, and used a magnet on the opposite side of the plate to drive the bus around the plate.


They also had old fashioned metal Slinky's and a little stair set up so the Slinky's could go down the stairs, again, never realized that could be such a big hit, I'm now on the hunt for an old fashioned Slinky for here at the house. So story time wasn't so bad afterall.

Cartwheel-A-Thon

Today Riley had a Cartwheel-A-Thon to raise money for his upcoming competitions and I can't believe it, but I forgot my camera at home! But, he did 257 cartwheels in 10 minutes! I believe he was in 3rd place when we left, but there were still some other boys that had to go, so we'll see on Monday where he stands. I was proud of him, he went back and forth, and back and forth so fast, his face was red and he was super dizzy when it was over. But, he did them without stopping (except for when he would lose his balance, which wasn't often). He raised almost $200, which is great, I hear those competitions aren't cheap!

More Makayla!

We went to see Makayla Nicole at the hospital, Kris and Jen were both sound asleep when we got there, but the nurse came in to move them into their room, so we helped them get moved so we could spend some time with the baby. She is SO cute, and so tiny! She weighed 6 lbs, 2 oz, and has a lot of really dark hair. The kids are so excited to have a brand new cousin and are already asking to babysit. We will have our hands full with baby girls!

Makayla Nicole

Here is my new niece, born this morning, 6 lbs 2 oz, 19 inches long, here with her auntie Regan!

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Boy Manicure

Regan let the next door neighbor boy paint her nails, (one hand is blue, one hand is white) then she modeled them for me:

Texas Jumping Beans

I took the kids to the Bean and we were there for over 6 hours! I told them we could stay until it was time for me to cook dinner, thinking they would be ready to go WAY before then, but we didn't have anything else scheduled, and it was like 105 outside, so there was no rush. We packed plenty of snacks and hid out for the day.

Happy 4th of July

It's been a busy week this week, the kids were at Camp Doublecreek everyday, with gymnastics right after that, and church, we were all pretty wiped out!

Since David had Friday off, we spent the day together, we watched The Proposal (hilarious) and ate Greek at a new place in Georgetown, (delish) and went grocery shopping for today.

And then on Friday night we headed to watch fireworks with the Turner's, and had a great time outside, even at 10 at night it was around 90 degrees, so we were sweltering. We had the kids go run through the neighbors sprinklers when they came on at one point. I wanted to run through them too! Here's Regan with Kaylee and Kelcie, and Riley and Blake played laser tag all evening:




Then today, for the 4th, we had my dad and Daniel and Pam and Dave over for brisket that David smoked all day, and it was perfect! We also had potato salad, fruit salad, watermelon and sunshine cake. And it was a small gathering compared to the crowded shindigs we usually put on, so it was nice to just sit around the table and visit. A very low key evening that we all enjoyed.

Sydney Update

I couldn't wait anymore, Auntie Denise had to go hold baby Sydney! I went and visited with Melissa and got precious little Sydney all to myself for a couple of hours. David came by when he got off work too and held her. She's doing well, days and nights mixed up, but she is just beautiful!