Our big adventures

Common language at work includes phrases like, "I ain't got none" and "We don't have no." The female cast of Dallas can be found within a stone's throw. Think big, Texas-style, frosted hair. You walk down the isle at work and could swear a guy is sitting at his desk chewing snuff and spitting it into a cup. AT WORK! (this was likely sunflower seeds, but still. . .) At Christmas you'll find in the middle of the town square a Confederate soldier standing watch over a nativity scene complete with a black wise man. The bar and grill down the road has to have a staff conference to determine if they sell wine by the bottle. There are no less than 36 Christian radio stations to be found when you hit "seek" on your car radio. Sweet tea is a staple. If you're ordering tea, you bet your bottom it's going to be sweet. This is as opposed to only being able to find it at Arby's, McAllister's and McDonalds if you go just across the state ...

We returned from our big Colorado trip and fell right back into the craziness we know and love as life in the Bice household in Bentonville. I've been subbing for classes at the gym where the boys go to gymnastics, the boys have had gymnastics, we've had PTO meetings at school, and we went to St. Louis last weekend for baby Donato's baptism (Karen and Dave's 3 1/2 month old little guy). A "bad day" We were getting ready for Donato's baptism, and I was explaining in 3-year-old terms to Beau that we were getting ready to go to baby Donato's baptism. To which Beau responds, "Why is baby Donato having a bad day?" (bap-tism apparently sounds like "bad day" in 3-year-old boy land) Kindergarten is big stuff Brayden got his report card today for the first semester, and we are very proud to say that he got all pluses (but one). He can write his numbers to 100 and received an award last week for literacy and reading. I just finished looking t...

We made it home tonight after another 2-day car drive across the country (or so it felt). And I have to give major props to the boys. They were amazing travelers. I was prepared for the worst, but they absolutely surprised me. Most of you don't know that one of the things I want to do some day is write a series of children's travel books. Here's a preview of what a few entries would look like for kids traveling historic Route 66: If you take the historic route through Santa Rosa, NM, you'll find a likeness of "Mater" from the movie Cars. Be sure to stop and get some pictures - and check out those rear-view mirrors! Just West of Amarillo, look out to the south to see Cadillacs "planted" in a farm Just East of Amarillo is the second largest cross in the Western Hemisphere , again on the south side of the road. It is bigger than 10 of our houses! (This was Brayden's interpretation.) Just north east of Oklahoma City on the historic route is a restau...

So here's what I think about how this week is going. I love not being stuck in a kennel, even though I do love Camp Bow Wow. I've found a new boyfriend in Ajax, Jenny and Jason's border collie. We run and jump through the snow together every chance we get. I say, "ruff, ruff" to Colorado! Now my boys have been having a tail-wagging time. Yesterday I was very confused when Dad and Brayden came to my rescue at the car without Mom and Beau (I've been keeping watch over the car while everyone is out having fun). Where were they? I couldn't find my long-haired buddy. Quickly I figured out that Dad and Aunt Jenny took Brayden down the bunny hill for the first time when he was finished with ski school. The big smile on his face was all I needed to know he needed a big, Honey lick right up his face to congratulate him on successful ski school. Mom said when she picked him up that his instructor, Ben, told her that Bubba was the only kid all day who didn't cry ...

The night before Last night was the big surprise for the boys - a ride on the Polar Express! They were so excited and thought it was so cool. We took their jammies and changed them in the bathroom of the train station. Brayden kept saying, "WHY are we putting on our jammies in a bathroom?" He could not figure out what was going on. Beau, on the other hand, hand our number. He came screaming out of his bathrooom changing area, "BUBBY! WE'RE GOING ON THE POLAR EXPRESS!!!" It was a pretty cool adventure. They took us to the "North Pole" to deliver Santa, who came through the cabin and gave each child a bell. Brayden consumed three cups of hot-hot-hot hot chocolate. A fun time was had by all. Thanks to Aunt Jenny for planning this special trip! So there's just one funny here that some of you may appreciate. Beau is in love with our 2-year-old black lab, Honey. And Honey is just as googly-woogly about Beau. Well, last night, I wake up about 1:30 a.m. to...

On Friday we all loaded up the truck - complete with Honey - and headed out for a 2-day, 16-hour drive to Durango, Colorado. And yesterday evening we finally arrived. The boys were more or less fantastic on the drive, and we would have never known Honey was with us. Jenny and Jason say we made good time, but they weren't the ones in the car. . . Top 10 things I've learned on this trip so far: 10 - 77 degrees in Oklahoma on Dec. 26 is a great thing 9 - It's amazing to me how little boys inherently understand video games and I can't seem to figure out how to turn them on 8 - Radio station 94.1 in Tulsa is great with tunes like Blinded by the Light, Hit Me with Your Best Shot and Come Sail Away 7 - Hay bales can also be called cow food according to Beau, "Look how many cow foods there are, Dad!" 6 - When you ahve 46 DVDs, the only one anyone really wants to watch is Scooby Doo Meets Batman 5 - There's a county in Texas called Deaf Smith 4 - Brayden plans to l...

Well look at me. . . Two posts in one week. No, hell hasn't frozen over. I'm just not sleeping much. As the home room mom for Brayden's class, I've been at school the last two days for events. And I've decided that before you sign up for this very important job, you should get a job description that says something like this: Home room mom needed "Sucker needed to stress out about 45-minute parties for approx. 25 5-and 6-year-olds. You should be the crafty sort because if you're not, then multiply the stress level because this job requires some creativity and energetic craft creation. You should not have a full-time job because inevitably you will get stuck later than you want to be at work and you will skate in by the skin of your teeth to pull off the party or deliver the supplies you had committed to bring. Keep in mind that this job is intended to HELP the teacher, not stress her out because you are a loser without a crafty hair on your head. Oh, and did...