The Vipers!

This week Reese has been in a Mini Drum/Band Camp at a local music school in our area and he LOVED it!  I mean he really loved it and could not wait to go each day. The class had kids in it that all played different instruments and they all came together to make up a band.  Reese played the drums and the teacher was very impressed with his rhythm.  He has had a drum set in his room since he was about 4 years old so he had had a little practice before.  Although I was very surprised to see how good the kids got in just 4 short days. I got it on video and you can see for yourself how well they did:)

Reese in action!

the whole band

Reese made this sign for the band

their teacher Roscoe--he was really good!

It's Crazy at the Stamps House Tonight!

Both the kids invited friends to spend the night tonight.  It's been a bit interesting keeping the little boys from bugging the older girls but overall we were successful:)

The girls had me teach them how to put make-up on...yay finally they care about the "proper" way to put it on:)  They look beautiful with their ice cream don't you think?

They look so grown up!

And here is Reese and his friend Benjamin.  They are crazy fun and love to bug girls.  They are pros at it:)

Too much sugar maybe?  I gave them No-Sugar added ice cream....guess it was still too much:)

After ice cream and running around the house for a few hours Greg played home-run derby with the boys.  They girls played a bit but they didn't want to mess their make-up up---don't blame them;)
It's been a fun night...we will see if they fall asleep! Fat chance huh?:)

Omaha, NE

Ok I'm gonna do some back blogging...please forgive me--my concussion totally cramped my style:)

While in Kansas City we took a little road trip to Omaha to go to the Zoo.  The kids and I have been wanting to go for a long time but never had the time on past trips so we were excited to get to go!  It was awesome and we even got 2 tours behind the scenes with the giraffes and cats because my sister's boyfriend has some connections--way to go Rob:)

the kids and their cousin Trevin

me and my sis

feeding the gariffes

up close and personal

Reese and I riding across the Zoo over all the animals...very fun!

Granny and Abby enjoying the ride!

Abby's favorite part of the Zoo was feeding these fish....she's obsessed with fish:)

There was an awesome aquarium that Abby and the kids LOVED!

feeding a monkey (extra tour on the side just because we're special;)

two very excited boys and one hungry monkey

tiger up close and personal...he did NOT like us:/  He stared at us like he was daydreaming about eating us!

This was SO precious.  Abby has a way with animals.  So much in fact that she got this little guy to come over and play with her.
They had a fun time touching hands through the glass.  She was talking so sweetly to him...it was precious, absolutely precious!

I could watch these guys all day.

still playing with each other...I love it!  I think she's an animal whisperer:)   

Captain America

Reese has been into Captain America lately.  He has never seen the movie and really has no idea who Captain America is but he knows he's a superhero so that's enough for him:)
The other day we were at Target and Reese saw a Captain America shield and he really, REALLY, REEEEALLY wanted one.  Well his mean Mommy didn't buy it for him so he had to improvise:)
He and Abby came up with a "plan".  Step one was to get a trash can lid from Poppa's garage..one of those metal lids that look like a shield.  And if step one was successful and it was--thanks Poppa...hope you don't need that lid:) then they would paint it red,white and blue.  So this is what they have been up to for the past 2 days.

Poppa, did they explain they were painting it? I sure hope so or I owe you a new trash can! ha!

It's turning out pretty cool!  Tomorrow they will put the finishing touches....here's what they have so far....

working hard

yesterday's work...pretty snazzy:)

Visitors!

This past Thursday my sister, her boyfriend Rob, and her son Trevin came to visit us in Texas.  Well actually not just us, Rob's parents live here in Fort Worth too so they were doing double duty:)  We had a great time.
I am slowly feeling better so the timing was perfect.  Had she came early last week her visit would have been a bust (see my blog post titled "Concussion 101" if you are in the dark here:)
I am still getting headaches and fatigue but I am MUCH better and was very happy to get to do some stuff while everyone was in town.
We did so much I don't even know where to start:/

We ate alot, alot of Mexican food actually, so besides the fact that everyone was getting sick of it after 4 days it was really good:)  You can't go wrong with chips and salsa!
Sunday after all of us went to church we headed to the Ballpark in Arlington to get a tour of the stadium.  Rob is a big baseball fan so Greg wanted to culture him a bit with the best team...the Rangers:)  hehe!
The tour was fun and our tour guide was a hoot!  She was probably 100 years old (give or take;) and she was all about the rules.  Which is funny because little did she know that one of the guys she was guiding had sneaked into Fenway Park in Boston, Mass (Greg:)  (That's another story for another day but lets just say I was super scared we would get caught!  We didn't!! We got down to the field!  Ha!  It was super cool:) )
We also went to our local waterpark for the day on Monday.  We got there at 9:45am and everyone but me:( made it until 5pm---that's a long day to be outside in 102 degree weather!)  Everyone had a blast though!
I had to leave about 2:30 because I was getting sick/headache being in the hot weather that long--boo!
Thanks Chris for letting the kids stay with you!
Today we went roller skating and everyone did great...thankfully:)
We had a few issues but once everyone got the right skates on and got the hang of skating we had a jolly ole time.   I love skating.  No, I did not fall and hit my head.  Probably not the best thing to do with the concussion and all but you gotta live a little right? :/ I don't fall when I skate anyway...:) promise!

tonight we made ice cream in a bag...it was a bust but it was fun;)
We all enjoyed a bag of cold soup...ha!

our sweet little tour guide...what a hoot!

where the magic happens!

Rangers batting cages.  

this was written on the white board in the batting cages area....very cool!  

Abby for Rangers President!

walking to the dugout with a little old lady:)

this is the horseshoe that the Rangers touch for good luck whenever they walk out to the dugout

My little Rangers!

I'm taking it all in....enjoying every minute!

The biggest Rangers fan EVER!  No joke!

The new Rangers manager!

crazy girl warming up...

homerun!

Christi and Rob in the dugout

The most tacky Rangers shirt I have ever seen!  Guess who wanted one?  Yep, Reese did...he's got issues;)

The kids recently started taking Karate and Trevin joined in on one of their classes while he was here

Craft time with Greg.  Here they are taking an old TV apart...the kids LOVED it! Now we have a bunch of little TV parts all over the house.... awesome;)

playing with the cuz

me and Trevin
*if you look closely you can see that my "boo-boo" is getting better! (right above my right eyebrow)  Last night I took the bandage off and was shocked to see how much it had already healed!  So glad!

me and my sister....so what do you think, do we look alike?  Everyone always thought I was adopted:/

We rock:)

crazy eyes Reese...ha!

me and Rob tearing it up!

happy boys (if they weren't falling:/)

Christi and Rob