Give me an "M!"

For Moms!
Well, my mom, in particular. She's the best there ever was. Trust me on this. I'm an expert. :)

Meet my mom, Gayle: (and cue "brown-nosing" post)

I might be partial, but hey...aren't we all? You've heard of a Jack-of-all-trades? My mom would be the Jill. For reals. She is an artist (and that doesn't seem a big enough word....), a wife, a home-maker, a bookkeeper/Auto-CAD operator (no, I have no idea what that means), and so much more.

She has been City Champ in bowling at least 3 times (maybe more?!), has been inducted into the Bowling Hall of Fame in our town (That's my Mom!), used to play softball, play in a handbell choir, sing in the choir, was a VIP on the PTA of our elementary school....

Was a Sunday school teacher, a witch (calm down... she dressed up for Halloween one year. I WISH I had a picture!!!), a Team Mom for sports, a cheerleader (well, only at our sports competitions... she didn't wear the skirt or have pompoms.)....

She played the French Horn (in High School - yay for Band Nerds!), helped run school carnivals and field days for us kids, drove us anywhere and everywhere... (this is how I learned my road-rage. Thanks Mom!)

And now just a little story to describe the AWESOMENESS that is my Mom:

When I was 8 years old, we moved away from all of our family and friends - halfway around the world to be exact. My Dad had already been living overseas for 3 months as his job required. My mom packed up all of our belongings, and got us 3 kids ready for the move (My sister was the oldest, at 12). Us three kids had NEVER flown before, and she was setting out, ALONE, with three young kiddos for 36 hours of travel. Maybe she was (is?) a little crazy too. I don't know how she didn't have a meltdown at just the thought of tackling this adventure. Aside from the normal whining and fighting between us kids, everything went pretty smooth, regardless of long flights and having to switch planes, dash through airports, etc. That is, until the last leg of our journey. We got to Bahrain -- had been flying...us kids were all very grouchy and tired, and didn't want to carry our bags anymore (Guess who got stuck carrying them? --yup, Mom.). There was a problem somehow, and we MISSED our last flight. Did I mention this was in the age before everyone and their dog had a cell phone? My Dad was waiting for us in and airport just about an hour's flight away-- and he was expecting us to be on that flight. Mom had no way to get ahold of him to let him know we were okay.

The airport people in Bahrain were kind enough to give us a free meal (which we didn't eat much of, and Mom didn't make us), and to get us on another flight. Mom still did not have a meltdown. Then to top it all off, when we finally got to Abu Dhabi, we had to spend FOREVER and a day in customs. And my Dad was standing right outside the glass... with a full facial beard! Crazy man (Mom does not like Dad with a beard). Still, no meltdown!

So... yeah. I think my Mom beats all. :) She's pretty darn good at her job of being a mom too. I mean...hello!?! I'm a product of that job! I just know we can all agree she's pretty amazing. Also, I'm pretty sure I missed a couple of things that she "is." -- Oh yeah, she can sew, and make jewelry and beaded eggs, and ornaments too! (See the link when you're done here:)

http://www.facebook.com/gayle.boyd#!/pages/Freehand-Creations/162707553748820

(She did alright with Morgan and Jarrod too, I guess. --But, shh...don't tell them I said that!)

I bet Mom got a kick out of that last comment ;)

Anywho... you know I just gotta share pictures... Lucky for you, I don't have a bunch of them that I would love to share scanned in (yeah...surprise surprise)....

That's Mom, there in the middle, in the red shorts. Circa the early 80's.

Well... I never said she was a stylist... Definitely some questionable choices for her kids on occasion... But at least I looked mostly adorable... (obviously, I'm the short one on the right)

Mom now also holds the title of "Nonna" to 4 adorable grandkids. This particular kiddo is Landon - my son, and her only grandson so far.

L-R: Aaron, Landon, me, Amy, Rylee, Jarrod (brother), Morgan (sister), Lauren, Madison, and Will

Note: Mom is not taller than Dad. She was standing a step above him. :)
 

She taught me how to be a mom. And she was there when my son was born.

I hope I can be for him what she is to me.

Cause being a mom is tough work...but so rewarding!

Anywho. LOVE MY MOMMA!

P.S. If I EVER have to fly halfway around the world with three young kids... I'm taking my mom with me!!!

*Also... A "shoutout" to all the other moms out there- especially those I'm related to. You all have had an impact on me someway somehow - Happy Mother's Day this weekend!!!*

P.S.S. Leave a comment about what makes your momma so special!

This is it!

This is it, the big Easter post!!! No, not really. Those pictures are still on my camera.

Love me anyway? Of course you do!

In the meantime... maybe these will hold you over?:

Just FYI, I took this picture from the passenger seat in the front, while we were parked. But for real, how adorable is this kid? (I know, I know, I'm his mom...)



My boys at the Texas Rangers game in Arlington - Landon's first MLB game!



I know, the picture quality stinks, and the jersey is huge. But- he's a toddler who does not want to stand still, and the jersey was free! (The name on the back is Napoli for anyone who cares)

P.S. We'll just pretend that loud annoying laugh/voice on the video is not mine. Please and Thank you :)



In all seriousness though, I really do plan on uploading pictures and sharing our fun trip to Fort Worth -- someday. And also, someday, I'm going to figure out how to align this text the way I want to. This new setup on blogger is going to take some getting used to (Just pretend this block of text is "left aligned" -okaythanksbye). 







Introducing...

So. I REALLY need to upload Easter pictures. I have yet to do an Easter post. It is kind of late to be talking about bunnies and egg hunts huh? But You will be burdened with my Easter post... eventually. Not today. Cause I'm lazy - and I still haven't uploaded all the adorable pictures of Landon and his cousins from my camera. You still love me though. And now I've got you on pins and needles waiting for adorable pictures (Right? Right. Just humor me a little bit).

In other news, my niece, Lauren will be turning 4 years old soon. Now, just to get this out of the way: All of my nieces (and nephews!) are special, and beautiful, and wonderful - and I love them all equally. They all have so many unique characteristics that make them special to me. Lauren for instance has the biggest smile, gives the longest most snuggly hugs, and she has Down Syndrome. Here's the thing- Down Syndrome is just ONE aspect of her. It doesn't define who she is. I wanted to introduce her because I will most likely be talking more about her and what we are doing to change the world because of her. And because it isn't nice to introduce someone when you can't see them... I give you Lauren:

Isn't she beautiful? Stay tuned to future blog posts on how you can get involved to help our goal of making this a better world for her. Maybe I'm partial, but I think she deserves the world. :) I mean, check out that dimple (Pretty sure she gets that from me. I have one too when I smile)!!

Oh, and just because I haven't posted one in the last couple of posts... here is a picture of Landon...

How about that hair?!

FYI, the hair was all Aaron's idea. but it's growing on me. Aww man, I just realized I was going to make you wait on pins and needles for adorable pictures. Darn it! Umm... well... the Easter ones are just as cute if not cuter! 

INCHES!!!

That's right, I've lost inches!! Woohoo! I seem to be stuck at 11lbs of weight lost, but will hopefully overcome that little plateau soon.

Anywho, I've lost 3 inches in my waist, 4 inches in my hips, 1 in my chest, and 1.25 in my thighs. Color me ecstatic. I thought I was starting to notice a difference in how my clothes fit...but then thought...well, maybe they are just so stretched out. To find out for sure, I had my mom measure me this past weekend (before going shopping for an Easter dress). When she started telling me the numbers, I didn't believe her at first, and made her doublecheck everything!

Before my run last night

I've been doing the Couch to 5K program, and I HATE it. But only because I hate running...with a passion. The only thing I actually like about the program is that I feel great when I'm done. I have been taking it slow-- been doing it for almost 7 weeks, but I just finished Week 5 Day 2. Most weeks I have been going the minimal 3 days, but the last two weeks, I skipped day --either lack of motivation, or just because I was so busy that the thought of running made me want to curl up in a ball and cry. :)

I have repeated some days a few times, because I wanted to "master" it before moving on to the next set of walk/run intervals. Can I just say I think it is absolutely nuts that I ran for 8 minutes straight last night - not once, but twice?! I know to some of you that may sound like diddly squat --- but to me? HOLY SMOKES!! Granted, I am doing it on an elliptical on a lot of my runs, but that is mostly because Aaron is often at work when it is time for me to run. I do run outside sometimes, but I don't have a jogging stroller, and I can't leave Landon home alone... so I run after he goes to bed when Aaron is working, and I do the walking intervals in my living room. Some people consider it "cheating" --but you know what? I don't. This chubby girl is getting her heart rate up, burning calories, losing inches, and building endurance. Maybe eventually I'll be able to do it all outside and not keel over dead... :)

Oh, scary... my after-run "glow." ;o{

Anywho, for now, I'm just excited about the inches lost. I'm hoping to be down another size or two by summertime. I know if I can do that, I'll feel much more comfortable and less self conscious taking Landon swimming, and hanging out at the river this summer.

VIVA LAS VEGAS!

UH OH! Guess who is back already? Okay, you can pick up your jaw now...

So, VEGAS. Yeah... We had an AWESOME time!! We left on a Friday morning, and headed to San Antonio to catch our flight. Landon got to stay the whole weekend with Nonna and Po, so I knew he was in good hands, and was able to relax the whole time (though I did call him at least once or twice a day!). Anywho, we got to San Antonio a little bit early and headed to the mall to do some shopping to kill time. We bought Landon a little something before we ever left Texas - go figure! Then, we met our friends Eddie and Amy at the airport and had lunch. The flight there was pretty uneventful - we flew Southwest. I've decided I'm not a huge fan of the whole open seating concept. I like knowing I'll for sure have a seat next to my husband, and anyone else we are traveling with if we so please. Thankfully, Aaron and I were able to get seats together a couple rows away from Eddie and Amy.

Flying over the Grand Canyon and Hoover Dam was great! So pretty, and I hope to visit both someday! So, we got to the airport at about 5:00 Vegas time, grabbed our bags, and caught a cab to our hotel: The Luxor. The drive was nice, and we were all taking pictures out the windows with our phones. However, none of mine turned out very spectacular :). The hotel was great though! Our room was nice and big, with a big ol' bathtub, and a big ol' shower, and a big ol' TV, and a big ol' bed. I wouldn't have any problem with staying there again.

We actually stayed in the tower to the right - cause the Pyramid rooms didn't have bathtubs



The "ceiling" on the inside of the Pyramid


After we got checked in and changed, we went to eat dinner at the hotel buffet. Not too shabby!  We did some gambling, and then decided to check out a few other hotels/casinos nearby. The Luxor is right next to Excalbur, so we went there first, gambled a little bit, and then moved on to the New York New York. We gambled there too, and then rode the roller coaster. Definitely not bad as far as roller coasters go, but it does kind of "beat up" your neck area.



Wearing boots + lots of walking = blisters :(

We pretty much only played BlackJack cause it wasn't too hard, and we could find tables with minimum bets we were comfortable with. I was a little nervous to try any other games... maybe if we ever go again, we'll "study up" on how to play the other games before we go. We figured we might play some Texas Hold 'Em, but never wanted to sit down at a table long enough to really get a game going. We stayed up until just after 2:00 Vegas time... which was really 4am to us.

Sooo many lights!

I love my goofball husband :)

The next morning, it was decided that maybe we should have turned it a little earlier the first night there hehe. Saturday was really fun as well! We started out pretty early with breakfast and then gambling. We decided it would be a great day to go down "The Strip" and check out more hotels/Casinos/shops/restaurants/etc. --but first, Amy and I got Swedish Massages at the hotel Spa! Talk about relaxing!! After our massages, we had lunch at a nice little burger joint --though the service could have been better.  Then began the trek down the strip. I took a bunch of pictures, but if you want to see them, you'll have to go friend me on Facebook.

A pretty fountain. :)

Amy and Eddie - our travel buddies





Posing with Buzz Lightyear and Woody, for Landon!



Playing the slots back at our hotel

 That evening, we went to the Criss Angel: Believe show at our hotel. This was included in our trip package, and we all enjoyed it. I don't know that I would have picked it over other shows, but it was still good. Of course, we were not allowed to take pictures or videos, but he did allow pictures right before he ran off the stage at the end:



We were obviously not sitting very close :)

After the show, more gambling! Oh, and as long as you are gambling, you get "free" drinks. I had a few yummy pineapple malibu's - but we all made sure not to overdo it. We all crashed kind of early on Saturday night - we were all just sooo tired!

On Sunday, after breakfast, Aaron and I caught a cab to the Gold and Silver Pawn Shop, which is from the show Pawn Stars on the History Channel. We were hoping they would be filming so we could see "famous people" - but alas, they weren't, so we settled for just walking through the shop instead. It seemed a lot smaller than they make it look on TV. At least, that's how I felt about it...



This is the side of the building that is always shown on TV

 

I tried to get Aaron to buy one of the "I <3 Chumlee" shirts...

After the pawn shop, we walked back towards the strip, and made it to the Stratosphere, where we were going to wait for Eddie and Amy to meet back up with us. My feet were killing me by this time - that's what I get for wearing boots the first night and then old tennis shoes the next day. If I ever go to Vegas again, I'm wearing flip flops the whole time! There was some confusion, and Aaron and I ended up walking to Circus Circus to meet them, and they ended up going to the Stratosphere. We ALL wanted to go to the top of it, so Aaron mentioned walking back (FYI, it looks a LOT closer than it is on a map when you have blisters on both feet) -- but then I think he saw that I was really close to crying at just the thought of more walking, and he got us a cab. Best Husband EVER! and I'm positive that was the best $7 spent :) -- getting me from point A to point B.  Anywho...back to the Stratosphere -- sooooo beautiful from up there! Though, there was a weird elevator operator... really kind of creepy. We bought some souvenirs while we were there and ate lunch, and then headed closer to where our show was going to be that night.



On the walk from the Pawn Shop



So prettyful! - A view from the top of the Stratosphere





Outside the Mirage



Umm... Hahaha? :)



  

We had some time to kill before going to our show, so we mostly just hung out and went to different casinos. We of course had to go to Margaritaville, where we had a great time at one of the BlackJack tables (even though Aaron and I didn't win ANY money there). Our dealer's name was Reggie, and he kept us laughing the whole time we were sitting there. We asked if we could sneak a quick picture with him, and he got permission...

We finally had to catch a cab down to the Monte Carlo, which is where we were seeing the Jabbwockeez perform. The show was soooo goood!!!! I would recommend it to anyone who likes to watch dance or listen to music. Seriously... I didn't think they guys would enjoy it, but they said it was great too. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take any pictures (boo, hiss, sad face).

We decided to check out the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner that night before heading back towards our hotel for more gambling...



Our waiter was kind enough to take a picture for us.

After some more gambling that night, we headed off to bed, cause we needed to get up pretty early for our flight the next morning - though we did stay in the casino until we were just flat-out exhausted. We had an early breakfast at the hotel and then headed to the airport. Now for the reason I'm not crazy about Southwest Airlines open seating: I had to sit between two men on the way home.  Thankfully they were normal, unfortunately, neither of them was my husband. Aaron ended up next to an older couple-- who made him sit in the window seat, and acted annoyed if he needed to get up to go use the restroom. Eddie and Amy were also seated with strangers. Lesson learned though, next time we fly Southwest, we will print our boarding passes when we buy our tickets!

Altogether though, our trip was a blast, and we can't wait to plan another trip - hopefully sooner rather than later!

Umm... Oops.

So, I apparently owe a few blog posts...I've been seriously neglecting this little space of mine. I need to talk on an on and on about what a blast Vegas was... I need to talk about the Kite festival in Austin... I need to talk about taking Landon to the zoo here in town... I need to talk about losing weight and doing the C25K program... and then after this weekend, I'll have a fun trip to San Antonio to talk about.

But... I'm so busy! lazy. You knew that already. Eventually I'll get around to all of that (well, maybe). Today? You get picture and video. Everybody now: "YAY!"

Really? Who names their product Gorilla boogers?! The gel works nicely in Landon's hair though. :)

Church wore him out that day! He fell asleep as soon as we got in the car...
and only woke up when we put him in a high chair for lunch.



Might be time for a purge...



Well... til next time! (maybe tomorrow...maybe a month from now...
I like to keep you guessing...hehe)