Last Sunday we were invited over for dessert with a new family that moved into the subdivision. The kids got along well and then we came back and had our last game night with the Beans. We had a good time seeing them all. They left on Monday and then we began packing for our Houston trip.
On Tuesday, we went to the beach. We didn't have a hotel on the beach like we wanted, but our hotel had a shuttle that took us to the beach which was nice. I bid on a hotel on Priceline and so we got a super nice hotel for a really reasonable price. The kids had fun, although I had wished it were a little warmer. The kids all had fun boogie boarding, even little Emma. Then we went swimming and took a shuttle back to the hotel and ordered pizza.
On Tuesday, we went to Nasa and bought City Passes so we could go to many of the attractions in Houston for almost half the price.. I enjoyed the tour of Mission Control, and the kids loved playing with all of the science gadgets in the main area. We stayed there for about 7 hours and then we went to the Kemah boardwalk and the kids went on some amusement rides. Emma went on some really scary rides that even Errolyn wouldn't go on, and she had a blast. I was amazed. I started hemorrhaging a little from all of the walking which worried me since my baby has dropped early. Then we went to Mom and Dads and talked a little and put the kids to bed.
On Wednesday, we went to the Children's Museum and it is by far the best Children's Museum of the many we've taken the kids to. There was so much to do! It was also way crowded which was not fun. Cameron and Errolyn mostly stuck together, Mike chased around Logan, and I was lucky to be with Emma. She didn't run from toy to toy to toy like the other kids, but found something she really liked and stayed there for an hour playing. She stayed in the play kitchen/ waitress area for over an hour serving parents fake food, making food, and washing fake dishes. She loved it and she was so cute serving all of the parents. She also stayed in the ambulance car for a while driving and trying to save the dummy with the medical gadgets in the ambulance. I was glad she stayed in places fairly long so I could sit down for longer periods of time. The three older kids got filmed and were on the Houston news that night for a new balloon toy which was cool.
I was getting more concerned by my hemorrhaging and called my doctor. She told me I needed to stop walking around and monitor myself to see if the bleeding got worse so I'd know if I needed to go to the hospital. So, when we went to the Museum of Natural Science Mike got a wheel chair for me so I wouldn't have to walk. The museum brought back old memories for me since I had been there so many times when I was a youth and young adult. I think the dinosaur and gem exhibits are better in Houston than the other museums I've been to. We went to Mom and Dad's and Kevin was there again. We mostly talked and Mom read the kids a lot of books which they loved.
On Friday, we went to the Aquarium. It was smaller than expected but I loved seeing the white tiger since its my favorite animal. It walked and moved a lot and I could have watched it all day. Then we fed and touched the sting rays. The girls were too afraid to touch the sting rays, but I touched them and the boys all touched and fed them. Then I decided I had probably already had too much walking and sat down the rest of the time while the kids went on the amusement rides outside for a while. While I was waiting I saw a really cool large green eel that I'm sure people would mistake for the Lockness Monster if it were a little larger. Then we went to Janet's and wished Lizzy a happy birthday. We met Mom and Dad at Los Tres for dinner. We watched a neat wedding video that Mom had made for Mike and I and then the kids went down to the lake to run around and get their energy out. Mike and Cameron also went to play Ultimate with Kevin and his friends.
On Saturday, we packed up and headed to Janet's church for James' baptism. I led the music, Mike prayed and assisted in the confirmation, and the kids all sang a special musical number. Afterwards, I asked Mike and my Dad for a blessing since I was worried about the baby. I felt comforted during the blessing. Then we went over to Janet's for some great barbeque and talking. We stayed several hours and then started the drive back home.
Now I'm in bed rest mode until my hemorrhaging stops completely. But, I'm glad we had a fun family vacation and that the kids have some good memories.
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Our friends the Beans have been staying with us this week. Its been so fun to catch up and hang out together. We've talked, played games, gone to movies, and gone out to eat. It's been fun! The kids have been enjoying having friends here to play with too and they have all been getting along pretty well. On the other side of things, I am exhausted! I've done more than I should, so I'm spent. But, its still been fun. It has been much appreciated that they all help out cleaning up after every meal. Also, I think the baby has dropped early which has made things super uncomfortable and very difficult to walk. I have an appointment on Monday to check things out.
Logan and Errolyn had their Championship Swim Meet yesterday and they both did well. Altogether they earned 23 points for the team. Errolyn took 4th in Breaststroke and Logan 5th in Backstroke... which sounds just ok, but when there are 30+ kids competing (many who are year round and school swimmers), I think they did pretty well.
Logan and Errolyn had their Championship Swim Meet yesterday and they both did well. Altogether they earned 23 points for the team. Errolyn took 4th in Breaststroke and Logan 5th in Backstroke... which sounds just ok, but when there are 30+ kids competing (many who are year round and school swimmers), I think they did pretty well.
Sunday, July 6, 2014
Well, a big water pipe burst in the street near our church so we only had Sacrament meeting today since the city shut off the water. Consequently, we finally have time for us all to write in our journals. :)
I spent most of the week in Utah and had a wonderful time visiting with family and cousins. David and I were flying out together and our flight was delayed by 4 1/2 hours, but luckily we were able to re-book on a different flight that left later and still got in at the same time. I rented a car in Salt Lake; worth every penny; it was nice to have freedom to go where I wanted when I wanted. David and I stayed at Cheryl's and it was nice to just talk and hang out on Tuesday morning. Later we went over to Grandma's to have a birthday barbeque for Dad. It was fun to hang out with everyone and eat the good food. Afterwards, Mom and I went to go practice for the musical number for the funeral the next day. I played the violin with three of my cousins, Shannon, Laura, and Tenille, while Jake sang "O My Father." For only one practice I thought it went well and brought the Spirit.
The next morning, we woke up early and went to the group Family Prayer. It was difficult to be sad because I was so excited to see and visit with so many of my cousins. The funeral went well. Even though the last speaker was super long, I was glad because it gave me a chance to (tune him out... oops) and reflect on my own feelings about Grandpa. I cried for about half the talk, but not because of anything the speaker was saying... I just missed my Grandpa. I was wishing I had brought Cameron since he was really close to Grandpa, but it was too late and Grandpa would have been glad he was at Scout Camp. Then we played our musical number and afterwards went in for the family luncheon. It was so nice to talk to so many cousins and just catch up on things. I stayed for quite a while.
After, David and I drove up to Salt Lake for the graveside service. It was short and sweet, some tears, and a lot of family pictures and talking again. I feel like Grandma never had a chance to mourn because she was so busy entertaining this week. I hope she gets the chance to grieve but also feel comforted.
After the funeral, I went and saw Linda's new house. Then we all ate at Brick Oven. :) We talked and then went back to Linda's. Then we went to Katie Tengelsen's home to play games with some of our cousins. We played a fun game called Psychiatrist. Then Janet, Linda, Cheryl, and I went to see Divergent... again, lol.
I slept in the next morning and then packed up my stuff and headed to Grandma's for the morning. I hung out with family members there for several hours and then went to Linda's for a little bit to say goodbye to my sisters. Then I headed to Layton and stayed with my good friend Selena. We talked until 1:30am and had a great time talking and catching up. We talked a lot about women's roles in the church and other spiritual insights. She had the thought that women were primarily responsible for bring Heavenly Father's children to Earth and men were primarily responsible for making sure we returned back to Heavenly Father. We talked about the different Earthly responsibilities and natures that mirrored those two tasks and she said maybe even the two trees in the garden of Eden mirrored those two different tasks. When I came home and told Mike about our discussions, he said it made him wonder if perhaps women didn't have a large role in the pre-mortal life too with preparing us to be sent to Earth from that side as well. I had never thought about what preparations might be needed before hand and women's role in that but it was an interesting thought.
I had to wake up at 3:30am (only 2 hours of sleep!) to return my rental car and catch my flight. I set two different alarms because I knew I'd be really tired and I slept through both alarms for about 10 minutes. I am a super light sleeper so I was surprised, but I did have ear plugs in so I'm sure they were muted somewhat. I slept the first leg of the plane ride and had my own row. Then I had a 4 hour lay-over in San Francisco and put in my ear plugs and slept for 3 more hours. Mike picked me up at the airport and it was good to see him. The kids had missed me, especially Errolyn who was afraid I would die in a plane crash and called me several times a day to say she loved me. (I think she loves me more when I'm gone than when I'm here, lol.)
We went home for a short time and then drove to a fireworks show. The kids had a fun time playing until it started raining and then there was mass panic to get everyone to the car. We waited the rain out and the fireworks were really great. When we got home, Cameron was back from Scout Camp and glad to be home too.
Yesterday was filled with errands and catching up on life. Carol and George came over for a few hours and played games with us and the kids. Mike and I also bought a new dishwasher and Mike installed it last night. It works SO much better and looks much nicer too which is always a bonus. The kids are playing games right now and Emma is begging me to write in her journal so we shall see what she says. :)
I spent most of the week in Utah and had a wonderful time visiting with family and cousins. David and I were flying out together and our flight was delayed by 4 1/2 hours, but luckily we were able to re-book on a different flight that left later and still got in at the same time. I rented a car in Salt Lake; worth every penny; it was nice to have freedom to go where I wanted when I wanted. David and I stayed at Cheryl's and it was nice to just talk and hang out on Tuesday morning. Later we went over to Grandma's to have a birthday barbeque for Dad. It was fun to hang out with everyone and eat the good food. Afterwards, Mom and I went to go practice for the musical number for the funeral the next day. I played the violin with three of my cousins, Shannon, Laura, and Tenille, while Jake sang "O My Father." For only one practice I thought it went well and brought the Spirit.
The next morning, we woke up early and went to the group Family Prayer. It was difficult to be sad because I was so excited to see and visit with so many of my cousins. The funeral went well. Even though the last speaker was super long, I was glad because it gave me a chance to (tune him out... oops) and reflect on my own feelings about Grandpa. I cried for about half the talk, but not because of anything the speaker was saying... I just missed my Grandpa. I was wishing I had brought Cameron since he was really close to Grandpa, but it was too late and Grandpa would have been glad he was at Scout Camp. Then we played our musical number and afterwards went in for the family luncheon. It was so nice to talk to so many cousins and just catch up on things. I stayed for quite a while.
After, David and I drove up to Salt Lake for the graveside service. It was short and sweet, some tears, and a lot of family pictures and talking again. I feel like Grandma never had a chance to mourn because she was so busy entertaining this week. I hope she gets the chance to grieve but also feel comforted.
After the funeral, I went and saw Linda's new house. Then we all ate at Brick Oven. :) We talked and then went back to Linda's. Then we went to Katie Tengelsen's home to play games with some of our cousins. We played a fun game called Psychiatrist. Then Janet, Linda, Cheryl, and I went to see Divergent... again, lol.
I slept in the next morning and then packed up my stuff and headed to Grandma's for the morning. I hung out with family members there for several hours and then went to Linda's for a little bit to say goodbye to my sisters. Then I headed to Layton and stayed with my good friend Selena. We talked until 1:30am and had a great time talking and catching up. We talked a lot about women's roles in the church and other spiritual insights. She had the thought that women were primarily responsible for bring Heavenly Father's children to Earth and men were primarily responsible for making sure we returned back to Heavenly Father. We talked about the different Earthly responsibilities and natures that mirrored those two tasks and she said maybe even the two trees in the garden of Eden mirrored those two different tasks. When I came home and told Mike about our discussions, he said it made him wonder if perhaps women didn't have a large role in the pre-mortal life too with preparing us to be sent to Earth from that side as well. I had never thought about what preparations might be needed before hand and women's role in that but it was an interesting thought.
I had to wake up at 3:30am (only 2 hours of sleep!) to return my rental car and catch my flight. I set two different alarms because I knew I'd be really tired and I slept through both alarms for about 10 minutes. I am a super light sleeper so I was surprised, but I did have ear plugs in so I'm sure they were muted somewhat. I slept the first leg of the plane ride and had my own row. Then I had a 4 hour lay-over in San Francisco and put in my ear plugs and slept for 3 more hours. Mike picked me up at the airport and it was good to see him. The kids had missed me, especially Errolyn who was afraid I would die in a plane crash and called me several times a day to say she loved me. (I think she loves me more when I'm gone than when I'm here, lol.)
We went home for a short time and then drove to a fireworks show. The kids had a fun time playing until it started raining and then there was mass panic to get everyone to the car. We waited the rain out and the fireworks were really great. When we got home, Cameron was back from Scout Camp and glad to be home too.
Yesterday was filled with errands and catching up on life. Carol and George came over for a few hours and played games with us and the kids. Mike and I also bought a new dishwasher and Mike installed it last night. It works SO much better and looks much nicer too which is always a bonus. The kids are playing games right now and Emma is begging me to write in her journal so we shall see what she says. :)
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