From Land To Sea

From the porthole of a Corpus Christi park.

Jaycee, Cody and Jax tag-team against the sunblock applying process.

You may mistake this for a funky-retro style dance move; but it is merely a post-frisbee throwing pose.

Blessing the sea with his magic.

He mentioned something about digging his way to China, I guess he wanted to beat the crowd to the Olympics.

The craft is passed on to the next generation of beach goers and castle builders.

They got the look down.

Road Rage??

Damn bugs, just won't get off of the headlights....

Leaving the Birdie's Nest

One phase of the Little Bambino's life has come to a close, as the next one opens the doors today.

Last Thursday was Jaxson's last day with Birdie, whom has been taking care of him during the week since he was 8 weeks old. She has been his mom, grandma, friend, teacher, and most importantly; she has been nothing but a blessing to our family.

No doubt in my mind that she has helped make him the cool kid that he is. Also, no doubt in my mind that our next child will once again pass through Birdie's screen door. Hands down the highlight of my day is when I would swing by and see my son running through Birdie's screen door yelling, "Bub-bye" and following it up with a no-look wave back to the door.

For all the kids that have passed through that door over the years, we want to thank you Birdie, and your helpers, for all you do. You will never be famous or a millionaire off of what you do, but the impact you have on children is worth more than any bag of money could ever pay for. You have a special place with us and the little guy will stop by and let you know how he is doing.

Is Your Tongue Made Of Rubber?

Man, I love that guy.

Smackdown, Mob Style

Show the kid some respect or he will show your the end of his stick.

Swimming In Humidity

Our wonderful host/hostess in Houston, Jimmy, Auntie and TJ let the entire family use their pool, drink their beer, and eat all their food. Oh yeah, we also celebrated cousin "B" graduating from Texas State.

Brian will now be a teacher/football/basketball coach at his former high school. It will be a great path for him, good luck and all our best from the Wheat's.

We really enjoyed it and glad we made the trip. Short but oh so sweet.

Note: The smily guy on the end just showed up at the party. No one is really sure where he is from or who invited him.

Waiting For A Friend

Or maybe they are just waiting for someone to let them outside so they can pee...

Creepy Ice Cream Trucks Make Kids Smile

The kids got their summer treats and daddy got his. Happiness all the way around.

Pops & Jax

Attack With Force

You got to give it to the kid, he can attack and kill a snow cone like he was a born hunter.

Doing The Cat Thing

If you want to make this grown kid happy, stick him at a baseball game on a hot summer evening with the family.

If you want to make me really happy, stick me at the game with my family and feed me $1 hot dogs all night long.

If you want to make me really, really happy; stick me at the baseball game with the family, $1 hot dogs, and cold cheap beer. (at least until the first pitch - the special for tonights game)

All that being said - yes, I was as close to perfect bliss tonight as I could be, without doing anything illegal nd while still keeping my clothes on.

To top it all off, a very good high school friend (and varsity golf team buddy) was the starting pitcher for the Fort Worth Cats. Great to see Lee doing the work he loves so close to home. He is closing in on wrapping his career in baseball up, so if you have a chance stop by LaGrave field and catch a glimpse before he hangs his cleats up for good, take the opportunity and show some love.

Hiding From The Hidden

Not sure who was chasing whom.

Or who is hiding from whom.

But, I do know that they both thought they fooled the other.

Drinking Buddies

Devilish Grin

Mid-Summer Moments

Before the sun set and the fireworks did their magic, the little man was watching over his town.

The Eighth Wonder of the World...a mid-summer Texas sunset. It just doesn't get much bigger or more beautiful than this.

Two Men And A Yard

He actually enjoys working in the yard like his daddy. Stick him inside with momma to do cleaning, you'll get a bucket full of tears and a side of tantrum. Put him outside where men can be men, you get a pocket full of smiles and a dirty boy.

But even the great ones must rest.

Parading Around On The 4th

Celebrating yet another Fourth of July at the largest 4th of July parade, conveniently located in downtown Arlington, TX.

Mimi doing some type of celebration dance, we may need to work on that for next year.

Anticipating the start.

A few of the brave that make this day possible.

A parade isn't a parade, if you don't have Elvis on a mini-bike.

Please Feed the Animals

Hands-on learning, true hands-on.

Oxymoron

When I think "Wild Animals," I don't think pets.

One With The Animals

A Wild Reunion

We're on a streak. Batting 3 for 3.

Members of my immediate family, and a few of my uncles and their families, have managed to have three consecutive years of family reunions. Something we use to do annually growing up, with the other side of the family, but had never managed to pull another one off - until we started back in '06.

Fittingly, we were at an exotic zoo/resort outside of Johnson City, Texas.

It was an absolute gem of a spot, perfect for families with kids. Fences keep the animals out and the kids in. Plenty of room to let the little ones burn off all the toddler energy they can muster, and relaxing enough to allow the parents to sit around the pool/hot tub and enjoy the days summer sun. Grills for sunset grilling and trees for daytime lounging, not a bad spot.

Tours of the animals get you up close and personal with animals you never thought you would pet, much less feed, in the heart of the Texas hill country. With 'Sue' the bison and 'Omar' the camel, a hand full of feed will make you the hero of the trailer ride.