Great Kids

Let me just say, we get to be aunt and uncle to some of the most amazing kids I've ever known. We only got to see four of the seven last weekend, but I hope to see the others at some point this summer.

Thursday night, while Chase was at rehearsal, my mom brought two sweeties over to our house. Levi and Lexi can burst into any room with smiles and energy and light it up. They had Alice going crazy and chasing them in no time.

They came bearing handcrafted artwork for me and Chase. So sweet that they went up on the fridge immediately.

Friday, the sweet kiddos went with me to work, and played with Holland. They were instant best friends. Holland called them Lee-five and Lekthee, and she is STILL talking about them! We played in her playroom and went to the park. The kids were even perfect angels while she was napping. Unfortunately, this is the only pic I took. They were only like this for a few minutes, so don't judge me ;)

After lunch at Chick-fil-a, Levi looked up at me and said, "This has been a good day for me." 

"Really?" I asked. "Well, I was trying to make it fun for you!"

"You succeeded."

Great. Kids.

Levi and Lexi had no idea that we had tickets to the Ranger game that night...so fun! After work, we went to get some supplies. I bought peanuts, Cracker Jacks, and their favorite sodas in bottles. They were clueless. I had them convinced that we were going to make coke floats and have a picnic in the park. It was hilarious. Levi said, "Man, Lexi can always guess surprises!" Yeah, she nailed it!

I got these great shirts at Academy. The jerseys were only $3! A steal (aaaand we have a baseball pun...yesssss)! Sometimes it pays to live next door to a photographer. Matt Nicolosi is our neighbor and very close friend. He was so great to snap some pics for us. Check out his work...he's FANTASTIC! Really...he's an artist.

Once we got to the game, we had some lovely folks behind us snap a quick shot of all of us (between innings, of course).

These sweeties really didn't want to smile much. Especially the little girl who has the curls!

But a silly face...THAT is easy!

I then had Lexi take a picture of us. Not bad...I think this was the third attempt.

Now, where do they get that silliness?

Oh, that's right...

Lexi Grace, do. not. smile.

She cracked!

Baseball games are pretty cool. Especially when those Rangers score, and there are fireworks!

Friday nights at the Rangers' games means a whole fireworks show at the end...it was spectacular as always!

Too many days of too much fun...they crashed almost immediately!

When Levi crawled into bed that night, he said, "Aunt Denise, if I were still in school, I would write about this. Because in school we kept a journal, and especially on Mondays, we would write about our weekends. I would DEFINITELY write about this!" Melt. My. Heart!

Saturday, the fun continued as we all joined my sister-in-law, Ronda, and our other niece and nephew, Taylor and Ty, at the Denton water park.

Lexi loved going down the slide! She climbed to the top of the tower all by herself. Because she's so tiny, they had her put up her hands at the end to be caught by the lifeguard.

Thankful for every chance to spend time with them, we're looking forward to our next family gathering!

Good Bull (Part II)

I just couldn't fit everything into one post...it was an action-packed weekend!

Per Colin and Amy's savvy suggestion, we enjoyed dinner at Fish Daddy's on Saturday. As first-timers, Chase and I had to try the hush puppies. They were delectable and perfectly complemented our margaritas (we might've celebrated National Margarita Day all weekend). 

My favorite food of the evening was the fried catfish. I normally don't love the texture of fried catfish...it can be too chewy and just boring. This. was. perfect! The strips just fell apart...all flaky and steamy. Hungry yet?

Over the years, many, many hours have been spent at our next destination: The Hoover House. Chris and Christine (and their beautiful, amazing children Madison, Landon, and Colton) are family to us. They have helped us through the best of times and the worst of times, and we could not be more thankful to God for their presence in our lives. When we've been with them, we feel closer to the Lord every time. This visit was a bittersweet time to say farewell to the home that hosted one of our wedding showers, and has seen so many of our smiles, tears, and Sunday dinners. The Hoovers are moving on to God's next big plan for them in Huntsville soon, and it's a bit like the end of an era. We're selfishly happy that we'll get to see them sometimes on our way to and from Houston every once in awhile. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this family!

It was one thirty before our heads hit our pillows to end our  first fun-filled day. The warm sunshine of Sunday morning woke us, and we had breakfast and headed back to campus for what else? MORE PICTURES!

Responding to the rumbling in our tummies, we swung by Northgate before the baseball game for some Antonio's Pizza. The pizza was perfectly unchanged, and we all approve of Northgate's new, safe look.

Temperatures were in the mid-seventies. Basking in all the gloriousness of the day, we couldn't wait to get to the ballpark! None of us had visited the newly renovated Olsen Field at Blue Bell Park, and we were stoked. 

Starkly contrasting the atmosphere in Reed Arena, the atmosphere at Olsen was unchanged (as with most good things in Aggieland). The students still heckled the pitcher by name (we got up to 10 balls in a row at one point...Aggies understand what that means). We still heard humorous, appropriately-timed responses from the press box when something unexpected happened. Most importantly, the crowd seemed engaged and hopeful for a win. The Twelfth Man was a factor at Olsen. Loved watching the game even if the Ags were outscored.

We grabbed a quick bite at Sully's on our way out (hardly worth mentioning), and spent the ride home mulling over some thought-provoking road trip questions. We couldn't have enjoyed it more! Praise the Lord for sweet friends and a place to feel at home.

Good Bull (Part I)

We Fightin' Texas Aggies are a breed of our own, and we love our Aggieland! Blessed does not begin to describe how I feel about our road trip last weekend! 

Still rubbing sleep from our eyes on Saturday morning, we hit the road to College Station with a few of our favorite Aggies, Ray, Alicia, Colin, and Amy. Music was playing and the sun was shining on our girls car. 

As girls do, we chatted about everything we could possibly cram into the far-too-short, three hour ride. Amy could hardly get a word in edgewise with chatterboxes like me and Alicia.

Blue Baker was our first stop for a light lunch...a bread bowl and red velvet cupcake later, not quite as light as I'd hoped.

 Making our way to campus, it was a miracle neither car got in an accident with all the rubber-necking at the changes in the town. Even campus itself has a new building at every turn. We all thought the new designs were sleek and classy additions. 

Of course we had to stop by the Century Tree...

And visit the remodeled MSC.

Yep, those are gaming stations on the lower level of the MSC. Pretty cool.

If you know anything about Chase, you know he does not discriminate based on sporting event. He has attended just about every possible Aggie athletic event, and he doesn't mess around. When we were dating, we actually got into real arguments because he wanted to attend so many. And if you know anything about me, you know I enjoy watching sports myself (if failure to breathe, increased blood pressure, and sudden onset of involuntary shouting are what you call enjoyment). 

Check out this group of good-lookin people right here! 

Unfortunately, our Ags ran out of time (even though they had four overtimes!!!!!!!!) <- see what I mean about involuntary outbursts? Those exclamation points were completely out of my control. Reed Arena's atmosphere left much to be desired. While a student, my Aggie basketball experience was one of richness, excitement, and a lottery for conference game, student tickets. Not only were many seats vacant on Saturday, the people who did occupy seats didn't seem interested in making noise during a game that was within a bucket or two for much of the second half and overtimes. Empty seats could suck the life out of any arena. Complete lack of intensity from the coach and players seemed to do the rest for the Aggies. I wanted to see more fast breaks, penetration in the paint, and drawn fouls. Sorry for all of you who just lapsed into a comatose state as I pined for the days of Joseph Jones and Acie Law...maybe you could lend a hand as I step off my soapbox.

Ray and Alicia had to say goodbye after the basketball game so Ray could go kick the Cowtown Marathon's tail on Sunday Morning. Loved that we got to share these memories with them!

And all of this was only day one...stay tuned!

Good Times

Last weekend, Chase went camping with all the guys from our church small group. Words cannot describe the fun they had just being men. While planning all the details, their eyes lit up like kids in a candy store. I have to say that I'm impressed by how well things went without a bit of help from the ladies.

Once they got their tents assembled,

they built a very manly campfire (so they wouldn't have to hold each other for warmth...it was cold!)

And, of course, there was the "Dutch Oven Mountain Man Breakfast", good fuel for...

FISHING! Don't they look so proud?!

Those little guys weren't quite big enough to eat...good thing they thought to bring hot dogs as a backup. Look at these men cooking! Ray and Michel cook delicious food (and not just when they have to!).

All that work cooking and fishing left just enough time for some male bonding.

Awaking to breathtaking scenery like this was well worth the chilly night.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another. Proverbs 27:17

For a look at what we ladies did without our boys, visit Alicia's blog.