Diabetics Beware: Sweetness Overload!

The Blue Bell Creamery is about a half hour away, so

we took the Preschool kids there for a Field Trip.

The whole place is just adorable!

The Preschool Gang

Waiting for the Tour to start

Everyone gets a Blue Bell hat to wear on the tour.

The kids thought that was pretty awesome!

Maddox got his own hat to take home

We had some time to kill before the Tour started, 

so we played around outside.

Playing on the cow til the Tour starts

The bronze Blue Bell Cow was a big hit.

Fortunately it's pretty sturdy, cuz they climbed 

ALL over it!

Maddox trying to get the Chocolate Milk out

There was gorgeous landscaping and benches

all around.  I would come back just

to take pictures out front!

It was really beautiful!  

Super pretty & quaint is not at all what 

I expected for a Factory!

Free Ice cream at the end

We ate our FREE ice cream in a cute little parlor.

Homemade Vanilla is the Best

Did you know Blue Bell freezes their Ice Cream 

upside-down to create the Fresh Seal, 

which is why it's so hard

to open a new carton!

We watched the workers flip them after the cartons 

were filled and send them down the conveyor.

The old Ice Cream Parlor

I am definitely going to go back again when 

Bradley and Marci can go!  I did bring them 

back a little treat from the gift shop though.

5K Night Beach Run

2 of my sisters and I decided to run a 5k together.

It's on the beach, in Galveston at night, so it sounded

like it would be really cool.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

Running in sand is HARD.

The race was supposed to start at 9pm, but we

didn't get to start running til 10pm!!

So it was after 2am before I got home!

Andrea, Manda, & Me before the race

We had to wait in line forever just to get our 

chips and numbers!  

I think I heard them say there were over 1400 runners.

Before: Pre-sweaty, without red faces, & full of energy!

We had to run with headlamps because it was 

pitch black!

Headlamp or not, I still tripped in 3 holes!

Running in sand is not what I expected...

I had piles of sand in my shoes as I ran, which is not fun! 

I may as well have been running in Gak.

I was only 15 min slower than the last 5k I ran, but

it felt like an eternity!

But overall we still had fun running together,

with the waves on our side and the smell of the ocean.  

And the smell of the BBQ they were cooking

for us after the race was a great motivator!

After: Sweaty, RED face, & messy hair

Me & Andrea

Andrea did great for her 1st 5k

Manda & Me

The 3 oldest Hawsey girls

It was midnight before we were able to leave!

No training, no prep, and the only

 previous exercise I had was my

 cage fitness class, but I made it! Yay!

Next 5k I do....NO SAND!

Boykin Springs

We visited a couple cool places outside

of Woodville.  The 1st was Ebenezer Park on 

Lake Sam Rayburn.  The water was really

nice and pretty clear for Texas water!

It was the perfect depth for the kids to 

practice swimming and for me to lay out and

 tan in the water.  We had fun trying to

catch the little minnows swimming by.

Then we went to Boykin Springs and it was quite pretty!

The water was freezing, but I loved it!

Marci and I went on a hike through the water

Our make-shift cooler for Dr. Pepper

Maddox had fun digging around in the water.

This pic of Marci reminds me of that famous pic 

of Raquel Welch wearing the fur bikini.

If you are obsessed with 

"The Shawshank Redemption" like my husband,

then you've seen the pic as one of Andy's posters.

It was a really cool, secluded place to go and 

even though the temp reached 103 that day, 

it was pleasant and we had a good time.

We will definitely go back again.

Wicked Good Getaway

Tim has always been pretty good about letting

me have my "girl time", seeing as how I firmly  

believe it's essential to every mother's sanity.

I get my usual once a month Bunko night and

about once a year I get a long weekend trip.

Needless to say though, I was shocked when

he was okay with me being gone Monday night

through Saturday!!!  He even dropped me off in

Beaumont and took the kids back home.

Each day I expected a panicked phone call

 from him, threatening to drown the kids, but it

never came...what?!  

I honestly checked on them every day, purely to

make sure he wasn't nuts.  And one time when I called...

They were SWEEPING the floor...Twilight Zone, I tell ya.

*****

Anyway, the main event was going to see Wicked!

It's my 1st Broadway show to see and I loved every.

single. minute!!!!!!!  I could talk about it for hours, 

but I'll spare you for now....call me though and lets

talk about it, cuz I love it!  

Who wants to dress up "Wicked" for Halloween??!!
I call Glinda!

Waiting for "Wicked" to start!!

Drama went down in the parking garage, so we 

almost missed the show!

Luckily for her, we didn't strangle the Crazy rude lady

 who felt the need to squeeze her way onto our 

already uncomfortably-crowded elevator, 

even after the unanimous "NO", 

from every one already on the elevator.  

I seriously tried to add up the combined weight, because 

I know we were really close.

I was squished in so close to Brianne, 

I'm surprised she hasn't pressed charges yet

for violating her, ha!  

Really though, I could feel her heart beat.

The show was AMAZING, can't wait to see it again!

Cassey, Me, & my sis Amanda

We ended up having to kick 4 people out of our seats!  

Wicked Sisters

We stopped by "Cheesecake Factory" after the show.  

If you haven't tried the red velvet, it was divine, especially at midnight!

Brianne, Cassey, Mandy, & Me at the hotel

After 5 days of staying up all hours of the night,

giggling like I'm 12, I am exhausted 

and need a vacation to recover from my vacation.  

But I had a blast, as always, 

because my friends are the BEST...I guarantee it!

I now have to take Marci to see "Wicked" in NYC 

when she's 12..for her Birthday...I promised.

I better start saving up now....

4th of July

We went to Woodville for the 4th of July

Grandpa & I took the kids to Lake Tejas

Maddox loved going down the slides

The kids enjoyed having Grandpa throw them

Grandpa buried Bradley in the sand

Maddox was a great swimmer.

By the end of the day he didn't even need his

arm floaties and could swim quite well

under water!

Making arrowhead necklaces with Grandpa

Me & Sabrina made freezer jam!

What's more patriotic than that?!

I made Raspberry-Blueberry jam &

Strawberry Jam.

Then we discovered our own Daiquiri recipe..

Strawberry jam leftovers blended with ice and

Sparkling Strawberry water.

Surprisingly, it was awesome!

Who needs Bacardi now?! Not us!