Vinny, you've been good, but it's time

So, as you may have heard or already know, Vinny (short for Vincent Van Go our 14 year old minivan) had decided he no longer wants to work.  Dean and a friend tried to go to the movies last week, but something started to rattle and clank so loud they decided they needed to come home instead of trying to drive it home at midnight and have it break down.

So, we get the idea to drive it to the car shop just outside our neighborhood since it's pretty close, and have them "SEE" what's wrong.  We discovered when we turn the AC off, it would stop the noise!  So, we tell them that, and to NOT FIX IT FIRST, to LET US KNOW how much and the like.  Well, it turns out it was a loose fly wheel, but they FIXED THE AC anyway and charged us $230 for it when we asked them not to.  They also tightened the fly wheel, but to no avail.  So, after a total bill of $350, the van still sounds clanky and well, we have decided it's time to retire Vinny.

So, what will we do?  Get another Van? NO!  Get a truck?  Time will tell!

STAY TUNED.....

He works hard for the money!!!

So, this was a busy, fun weekend (AGAIN!  We are having so much fun with our little guy!)  How can so much fun be in 2 days?  Woo Hoo!

Saturday, we did two things.  One for Mommy, the other for Daddy and Jake.  My lovely niece, Linda Jean, is getting married next year, and the bridal extravaganza was this weekend!  And, since everybody I usually ask to baby sit Jake was going as well, I decided to take him with me!  Nonnie, Jake, and I packed into BB (my awesome Black Beauty Jeep) and headed downtown to the girly part of the day.

We were doing well, until he got hungry, so Nonnie and I took Jake to get some overpriced food.  BBQ Sandwiches of that quality should not cost $8!  Just sayin!  He was upset with me because I took his Cheetos out of the bag and put them on his plate.  He said NO MOMMY!  and put each and every one back in the bag, then started eating them.  So, I decided we had had enough so after eating (or only eating Cheetos) we found LJ and her crew.  They only had 2 more aisles left so we decided to go ahead and stay a bit longer.  SOOOOOOO glad we did!  As I am talking to LJ about wedding dresses, her friend Amanda took Jake to the DJ booth.  I started hearing cheering and looked over to see Jake on the dance floor imitating EVERY MOVE another man was doing!  And, a crowd was starting to form, and the guy left, then he was there all by himself "Gettin' Jiggy With It!"  and of course "WIGGLE WIGGLE WIGGLE!!!"  The crowd grew and grew and cheers all around, he just kept on dancing!  Then, I spot a mother trying to tell her little girl to go on the dance floor and join him, but she wouldn't.  So, I told Jake to go over there and give her a hug, and HE DID!!!  The crowd again went CRAZY!  The DJ loved it so much he told LJ if we book with him AND Jake comes, he will give us a 20% discount!  Way to work your money maker Jake!

The whole gang!

Linda Jean NOT falling for the sales pitch! :) good girl!

Jake enjoying the string quartet playing Lady Ga Ga songs

Yep, that's my Jake, getting down!

WoOOOooOOOoOOO!

After doing all this girly stuff, we came home around 2pm, and after ALL that dancing and walking and running, he napped for a good 2 hours! Then it started to rain.  So, we decided to wait it out a little bit, and then take the boy to CHUCK E. CHEESE!  Since, that's about the only thing he talks about "I go to CHUCKY CHEESE!"  We have even resorted to calling it "Charles Cheddar" so he doesn't know what we are talking about.  We went and only to $5 of tokens, but he had fun showing his Daddy how awesome he is at the games, and dancing to the singing Chuck, and riding all the cool rides.  We had just enough tickets for a little slinky and some stickers, and he was happy!  We then went to the Brick House so Daddy could enjoy some real beer.  Their prime rib sandwich is just about the best thing on the menu.  YUM!

fun at Chuck E. Cheese!

Just a crusin!

Playing "Rocket Ship" with Daddy at the Brick House

Sunday, we went grocery shopping in the morning.  So fun.  At least it was HEB and he rode in the "car" buggy.  Then, the Astros were in town, so we again load up Vincent (our van, Vincent Van Go - get it?) as he's still limping along, and go downtown for the Astros game.  Jake actually fell asleep on the way, and continued to sleep riding on Daddy through the parking lot, along the streets of Downtown, and into the stadium, all the way to our seats.  After about 10 minutes the crowd started clapping which woke him up and he just started clapping!  He was so excited to be at the game!  After about the 3rd inning (after the Mariners scored 7 runs in the 2nd) we took Jake to the Astro's buddy booth to get his "game trinkets".  The lady gave him a cute orbit bracelet and asked if this was his first game!  We said no, just the first time we remembered to bring the badge!  She smiled and gave him a hat too!  Good thing, as Jake dropped the bracelet and lost it, so we only have the hat.  I don't think he remembers anyway.  :)  We left at the 6th inning (score was 10 to 0) and let him run around outside the stadium where the statues of Biggo and Bagwell are.  He liked it!

Jake Sleeping at the game.  He did wake up soon after, clapping!

Jake and Daddy in front of Biggio's wall in Home Run Alley

Go Astros!

Bagwell Statue

Here's Our Brick!

Then, we went home, and I cooked some of those pre-seasoned HEB Fajitas!  They were DELICIOUS and so very tender!  Even Jake loved them and ate everything on his plate!  To quote Jake "I Like Tortillas!" and he does! :)

(NOTE:  I HOPE TO ADD MORE PICTURES SOON!!! - UPDATE!  Pictures Added! :)

A quick trip home

Yesterday, we did something I haven't done in forever!  We loaded up in the car and headed to my Home Town of Sealy, Texas and enjoyed the Sealybration!  When I was growing up, it was a small festival with booths, games and fun at the "JC Park".  I remember proudly wearing my American Flag shorts while I played the Star Spangled Banner for the Flag ceremony just after my Senior Year in High School!  I also participated in the 5k a few times.  However, I had not been back since I was 18 years old!

That's the great thing about facebook and liking the Sealy News page so I can keep up with what's going on.  I saw them post (and several other Sealy People) the flyer for the Sealybration and thought, HEY, let's go!  I had not taken my boy to see my hometown, so it was fun!

It was now held at the little league fields, and WOW have those improved!  (OLD MOMENT!!) I remember when it was just 2 fields, the boys field and the girls field and the concession stand was behind the boys field!  While growing up on those fields, a new concession stand was built by the girls field, and two more fields were built as well a some soccer fields.  By the time I had "aged out" of softball (since Sealy didn't have a softball team at the time, which really breaks my heart as I was REALLY good!) I was working that concession stand with my mother, and doing a little coaching and some umpiring (which I will NEVER DO AGAIN!  HATED IT!).

So, when we went back, the field where I would always play was open and I had Jake go run the bases!  The trees there are now HUGE and offer great shade!  These were not there when I was sweating it out for the summer having watermelon fights with the All Stars!  Go Cruzers!

making his way to 1st base

Put my foot where?  I wanna steal 2nd!

Here I am!  On 1st Base!

RUN JAKE RUN

on the way to 2nd, wow, that's far for a 2yr old!

That's right!  I made it HOME!  

He did skip 3rd base and made the run from 2nd to the pitcher's mound, then jumped on home plate.  

That's my boy!

I wish it was not so hot yesterday as we would have stayed longer, but wow it was H.O.T!  We ended up leaving after lunch.  Next year we will try to come in the evening, maybe when it cools down, ya know to around 99 instead of 110!

Independence - Yes Please!

WOO HOO!  We had a GREAT July 4th Week at my parents ranch this year!  We have made it down to the HEAT of the Rio Grande Valley probably at least 4 times out of the last 5 years (skipping Jake's 1st July 4th since he was only 7 months old).

We are not sure why we think this is a good time to go to the ranch, in the middle of the summer where temps reach 110 EASILY in the SHADE!  It wasn't actually too bad, but it was HOT and we needed to stay inside for most of the afternoons.  The evenings were however really nice!

We did have a bit of drama, as we always do.  Someday I hope to have a trip with NO DRAMA!  Two weeks before we headed out, our Vincent (our mini van - aka Vincent Van Go) decided it didn't want to go to the ranch anymore.  EVER.  We apparently need a new transmission which cost $3500.  NO FLAGS!  NO MORE GO FOR VINCENT!  Anyway, we are in the market for a new car.  Anyway, we start calling and calling and calling van rentals, but since it's a holiday, most places are booked.  So, I called one more place that serviced Texas, and YEY!  They had a van available, but it was in Dallas so we had to pay extra for them to drive it to us.  So, we paid the $800 to rent for a week and have them deliver and pick it up, which we THOUGHT we were being smart.

We head out to the ranch on Wednesday Afternoon after I get off work, since I got off at 2 for the holiday.  Everything is going fine, the van is a little "shaky" but we are so used to that we didn't think twice about it.  Then, around 6:30ish, as I'm passing a car with another truck tailgating me something horrible, it happens.  I start smelling something burning and the car starts shaking really really bad!  We had a #$%@ing FLAT TIRE!!!  Seven miles outside of Edna, Tx, just on the East side of the Navidad River.  Me, Dean, Jake and Buddy and a STUPID FLAT TIRE!

 See that Arrow, that's where we were!!!

We call the rental company to see if the guy (Ken) can help us call around the area for a tire shop.  We also call the  roadside assistance hotline on the back of our driver's license, and we get two cops come out to change our tire with a DONUT tire!  ARGH!  Ken calls the Victoria Walmart tire shop and they close at 7, but agree to wait for us to get there at 7:30.  Well, we were a bit late, we got there at 7:45, however they were all still there, changed our tire as fast as they could, and we were on our way.  Thank goodness for small towns!  We owe a load of gratitude to that Walmart in Victoria, Texas and their tire shop, and to the rental guy from Primear Rental that did all the calling and set it up for us.

After all this, we finally get to the ranch and were able to have a great weekend on 4 good tires on the Silver Bullet Robby the Rental Van.

Here are some of the great pictures we had.  My brother Joe and his family were also there, as well as another family friend, Tom.  We had AWESOME Fireworks and great BBQ and fun!

The fam!

Jake and Lexi playing with an iPod

my Dad, and his BBQ!!  OMG the Ribs were so delicious!!!

More Jake and Lexi and an iPod

Let's get dirty!!!

Jake, Lexi, and Alfredo

Jake was FEARLESS with all the fireworks, especially the sparklers!  HE LOVED THEM!!!

I'm trying to light them as fast as I can!

They both had a blast!

I'll make another post later!

June FUN Weekend!

Well, I sure hope all y'all kept cool this weekend!  We had a busy busy weekend full of FUN FUN FUN!  And, I hope everybody drank lots of water on the record breaking Saturday heat of a recorded temp of 107 degrees!  I wonder what they recorded as the heat index?  All I know is it felt like a high powered heater was blowing super hot air on us downtown this weekend.  YIKES!

Anyway, like I said, it was a fun filled INDOOR ACTIVITY weekend!

Friday, Dean went out with some friends, so I took Jake to Chuck E. Cheese!  We had a GREAT Time!  He enjoyed the games more this time, and it looked like he knew what he was doing!  We again won the 20 free tickets a we came in the door, and by the end of the night ($10 of tokens later) we had 113 tickets!!!  Way to go Jake!  However, when we went to go pick out a "prize" the one he wanted was (yup, you guessed it) 125 tickets!

Well, Mama is GOOD at SKEEBALL, so we got $2 more of tokens and went to town!  Jake would throw/roll the ball up the ramp, but it wouldn't go all the way, and while he was getting a new one, I would catch and re-throw the one he already did and score!  We ended up with 25 or so more tickets, and a LITTLE green inflatable guitar!  Yep, mama is good!

PIZZA IS YUMMY!

Chillin' with Stewart Little!

That's RIGHT!  Mama won you that guitar!

Then, Saturday, Dean and I went out on an afternoon Date to The Flying Saucer and to the Astro's game!  It was SO HOT (remember, 107!!) we decided to park and pay twice instead of parking at the ballpark and walking to the Saucer.  Dean FINALLY joined the UFO club!  And, we enjoyed the ever so yummy soft pretzels with cream cheese and queso dip!

Dean showing off his cool Beerknerd shirt!

MMMMMM BEER!  Guess which one's mine??? 

(for the record, Dean's was BETTER!  That crazy dark beer is soooooo good!)

And, then we headed to the ball game!

Interesting game!  We were there, Dean's brother David was there, a friend from college was also there, and Dean's cousin was there too!  All different seats of course!  Small world here in Houston!  The Astro's lost 2 to 7.  Oh well.  We did have fun!  Dean even had some cotton candy!

Guess what color!  :)

Then, on Sunday, I had yet another adventure with Jake!  One of Jake's friends had her birthday at the ZOO!  So, we packed lots of water and spent the afternoon at the zoo in an A/C pavilion!  They offered free face painting, so naturally Jake got Spiderman!  But, only because 2 other little boys did

LION GOES ROAR!!! 

yes, it's a tiger, but HE said it was a lion, so...

 

SPIDY FRIENDS!!!!

The little boy with the spiderman shirt tarted the trend.  AWESOME!

On the carousal - he LOVES that thing! 

So, now we are getting ready for a big adventure to the RANCH for the 4th of July holiday! 

I hope you had a great weekend too!  And, Happy 4th of July!