Hail, the Conquring Hero

Nathan graduated from Officer training on Monday. YAY! It's over! We have him back! (Almost. He's on a plane to Cleveland only to turn around and fly back in a couple hours.)

We attended his graduation, which I have to say, was a hundred times better than my high school or either of my college graduations. This is because it was short and sweet. There was only one speaker and he didn't feel the need to share any stories about his vacations with his grandfather or talk for an hour (unlike our high school valedictorian--for two whole freakin' hours).

Anyway, as you can see, we are very happy to have Nathan back with us!



After the graduation ceremony we went to pick up Nathan's brother and celebrated at Sea World. Nathan got free tickets for being in the Army, which was good because we got there around 6PM and it closes at 8PM. While what we did was fun and way cool, we didn't do a whole lot and it wouldn't have been worth it to pay just for two shows and one ride.

Here they are checking out the flamingos on the way to ride Texas Splashdown.

We saw the show Viva! which, if that doesn't make Megan and Emma want to grow up to be animal trainers and high divers at Sea World, I don't know what will. Let me tell you, I was all set to go back to school and start gymnastics/swimming lessons after that show. If I'd seen that show as a kid, I wouldn't have studied history and English--love them as I do--I wouldn't have done it.

We also saw the main Shamu show which was also great. We got there late and didn't get seats, so it was kind of hard to see, but what I did see was fun.

Jeremy and me on Texas Splashdown.
Jeremy got to go twice since they wouldn't let me take Emma on the ride without shoes and we can't find one of them--hence, no shoes on her feet and no ride.

So for those of you who care, Nathan arrives in about 8 hours and then will be getting some sleep. He didn't get much last night due to some nasty food poisoning (Megan, too). Then on Thursday we will start the trek back. I'm not really ready to give up my vacation yet, but since school starts soon, I don't have much choice.

See you Clevelanders soon!

How to Get Rid of Whinniness

On Friday my dad and I wanted to take the kids to the Kemah Boardwalk. We knew there were rides there and we thought the kids would like them. Plus, it's fun to just be near the water and see the houses on stilts.

When we got there and discovered that the cheapest ride was $3 per person, we ditched the ride idea and started walking around wondering what we were going to do with a couple of whinny kids who were begging for rides we couldn't afford.

Hip hip hurray! We found little fish food machines (they look like gumball machines, but you don't want to blow bubbles with these little brown bits of yumminess--ew). 50 Cents later and we had happy kids and had seen literally thousands of catfish fight over a two handfuls of fish pellets. They completely forgot about the rides.

Then enter the piece de resistance-->

Hey! What's happening here?

Whoa! Cool!
Mom, can we live here?
Dude. I'm in heaven.
I'm wet and lovin' it!
It was awesome. We had happy kids for almost the rest of the day, the whinning was gone, even when it was time to leave--it was great. Thank you Kemah for providing cheap catfish food and an awesome water sprinkler thingy.


And here's just another fun picture. This is what Emma does with Jeremy's undies.

More Texas Fun

One of my best friends from high school is expecting a baby boy in August and I was lucky enough to be here in Texas when she had her baby shower. One of my other best friends from high school came down from Dallas for the shower so I got to see her, too!

My sister, Laurie, came over from Beaumont for a visit.
Laurie is really good at spoiling me and the kids.
She took us to an IMAX movie at Moody Gardens and out for rootbeer floats at Rainforest Cafe.


Here are Megan and Jeremy eating their fill of huge shrimp at a restaurant in Galveston. My parents took us and Laurie out to eat for my birthday (my brother had to work, otherwise he would have actually ventured out into public with us).
Since I don't eat seafood I just had the yummiest steak ever.
Megan and Jeremy however were very excited about the shrimp and ate a ton!

And here's me with my birthday haircut and color.
I know the picture's color is off and it's blurry. Sorry.
The incredibly nice woman who cut my hair couldn't get my bangs to do what she wanted and had another appointment waiting. I took up over two and a half hours of her time just with the color and cut--I have A LOT of hair. Or rather, I did have A LOT of hair.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to ME
Happy Birthday to MEEEEEE
Happy Birthday to ME!!!

Conversation With Jeremy

Jeremy: Mom, I want to go to the real doctor. The real doctor with the, with the. . .blood! With the shots and blood!

Me: You want to go to the doctor?

Jeremy: Yeah!

Me: And you want a shot?

Jeremy: Yeah! With blood!

Me: Really?

Jeremy: Lots of blood!

Me: Um. Ok.

Texas Pictures

We've done a lot of eating since we got here. . . .

And had lots of hugs. . . .

Done lots of playing. . . .

Sometimes in the Houston heat. . . .

And we've had lots of FUN!

Harry Potter, What The. . . ?

Where was the huge battle the end of the book? Did I blink and miss it? Other than that, I absolutely loved the movie. Loved it. But I was really upset they couldn't put in 15 more minutes for a good battle. I don't think any H.P. fans would have minded.

I went to see it last night around 10:45. I had to wait for the kids to fall asleep before I could take off and leave them with my parents. It was worth it.

Birthday Pictures

Happy Birthday, Part 2

I promised Jeremy months ago that he could have balloons at his party. I nearly forgot and felt bad, so I ran to Party City after an afternoon at Chuck E. Cheese (just doing the token games and rides).

My mom made Jeremy another birthday cake and my dad ran to the store at the last minute when we realized they didn't have any candles!




Here's Jeremy playing with the Death Star Bean Bag Toss which was truly a family effort.
My mom helped me sew the bean bags, the kids helped me fill them, and my dad made the board (remember the one modeled after my friend Summer linked in the previous post?). Jeremy loved it!

Here he is after getting a bean bag in the hole!

We had a Darth Vader pinata, which Jeremy hit open. Both Megan and Jeremy loved hitting it. I know it might seem a waste to have a pinata for just two kids, but I don't care. They had fun.

Jeremy opening his presents. I found this Star Wars metal lunchbox at Party City.
It's from the original Star Wars, not this new Clone Wars cartoon.

I found this book at the Storymakers writing conference. It's really cute and uses onomatopoeia. The author was present when I bought it, so I had her write a happy birthday message to Jeremy in it and sign it.

You can see that he also got a Star Wars ship up there.

And this is what he got from my parents, a baseball bat, glove, and three baseballs.

Birthday Time!

Happy Birthday

Jeremy!


Today my little boy ("big boy") turns 3. We let him think he turned three on Saturday when we had a little party for him with Nathan, his Uncle Carlos, and our friend Mike.

But today is the day I've been thinking about when he joined our family, how much he's grown, and how much we all love him.



Here are a few pictures of his party in San Antonio with Nathan. We're going to have another little party today with my parents and brother, so I'll post those pictures later.

Jeremy requested a Star Wars party, and since I'm not nearly as good as my good friend Summer, this is my version of a Star Wars party. However, at the party today we will have a Death Star bean bag toss (I showed my dad the one Summer made and he made one modeled after it for Jeremy) and a Darth Vader pinata.

New PJs from Grandma Rosie. And let me tell you, they couldn't have come at a better time! this kid grows out of PJs faster than anything!

And here he is with all his loot.
I don't know if you can see it, but he got a few ties and Nathan put one on him here.



Here are some things about Jeremy at age 3.

He loves to talk about heads, eyeballs, and noses. He will call anyone and everyone an eyeball.

Jeremy loves to throw stuff,
so the soft baseballs he will get from Grandpa Roy later today will be a big hit.
Jeremy is a sweet kid who absolutely adores his sisters, especially little Emma.
Jeremy gives the best hugs in the whole world.
He's an adventurous eater, much braver than me.
He is developing a love for sports, baseball and soccer in particular.


We love you, Jeremy! Have a great day!

Not Really In The Mood

I know I haven't posted much lately, and part of the reason is that I've been on the road for a while. But another part (and if I'm honest, it's the bigger part) of it is I'm just not in the mood.

I'll try to recap what's happened the last week or so.

I finished packing and getting the house ready for my dad's arrival so we could drive down to Texas and see Nathan and my family. Thank you to everyone who babysat for me so I could do this!

Finally my dad arrived and the day we were set to leave I had a doctor appointment. It didn't go well and we had to delay our drive down. I don't know how to post about it so I'll just spit it out--I miscarried. I had to have surgery the next day. So July 1 we went to the hospital and I had the surgery. About an hour after I woke up we were on the road.

To be honest, it was very hard for me when I found out we'd lost the baby. I spent that day and the next morning in shock and a weird fog. It was really a blessing that my dad was there with me since Nathan obviously couldn't be.

My dad gave me a priesthood blessing before the surgery, which I was grateful for. When I woke up from the surgery it was amazing. I felt so much peace. I hadn't expected that at all. Before the surgery I thought I would be depressed for a very long time. I was upset and confused and just didn't see me being happy again right away. And not that I was really happy, but I did feel happiness. I was able to enjoy the children I have (the nurses let them come in my room after the surgery), I felt amazing peace, and I felt that I could just give it up to the Lord to control. He's in charge and He knows what He's doing.

You may not be aware, but in our Church we believe that before we come to earth, we live in the presence of God as spirits. There are some that believe our spirits enter our bodies at conception; there are some that believe it is at birth; there are some that believe it is somewhere between the two. This was one of the biggest wonders for me. The leaders of our Church have never come right out and stated when it occurs and so everyone just wonders on their own. But when I woke up I realized it didn't matter (and this is perhaps why they have never bothered to make an official declaration on it).

God is in charge and that was all I needed to know.


Now we are in Texas. We got to see Nathan this weekend (YAY!) and spend as much time with him as about 30 hours would allow. I'm thinking on his next day off we will go up to San Antonio again and go to Sea World. That is, if it isn't 105 degrees again. . . .

Now we are back in Friendswood and just hanging out with family, trying to get Emma used to my parents, and trying to stay cool.

We are also getting ready for my brother's birthday, Jeremy's birthday, and my birthday! Jeremy's will of course be the most fun as it's theme is Star Wars.