Galveston Island Paradise

A couple weekends ago we took advantage of Jarod having Mondays off for a little weekend family vacation. We went to Galveston for some beach fun. Jarod and I went to Galveston for our over-night honeymoon. We didn't really get to take advantage of the sites when we were there, so we've had fun the last couple years taking the kids to see the sites. Last year we spent all day at the different Moody Garden venues. They have a great aquarium and rain forest, among other things. This year we decided to stay at the Moody Gardens resort/hotel, and take advantage of the white sands beach there are the resort. It was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time, and everyone was sufficiently worn out at the end. Here are some pictures from our time at the beach...the other pictures we took with my camera are lost, because Carly got a hold of the camera when I wasn't around, and broke it. It's very tragic, but at least now I have an excuse to get a new camera, since I've been wanting one so badly...(these pictures were taken with a disposable waterproof camera.)

Here's Daddy and Carly heading out to the water.

Josh loved to jump and splash in the water. He loves to swim.
Everyone had a good time in the water. Jack wanted to get in on the splashing and swimming, too. He should be a lot of fun next year.
Josh was saying "jump in the water" as he and Carly jumped up and down in the water, splashing each other. Josh is fearless when it comes to swimming. He had his trusty Dolphin the whole time...true Josh style...always with a toy in his hand.
There were lots of great waterfalls.
There was a sprinkler area...I think Jack was the bravest one there. The other two took some warming up to getting splashed, sprayed, and dumped on.
They got a kick out of spraying Mommy and Daddy with the seahorse water gun.
All in all it was a great time, and we're glad we went to the white sands beach instead of the ocean beach. There were restrooms, changing areas, lockers, concessions, and clean water and sand. It was a great time. The changing areas alone made it worth while. Last year we changed on the side of Sea Wall while a never ending group of lifeguards in training ran by.

Happy 4th of July!

Okay, so I know it's a little late to be posting a July 4th blurb, but it's been a while since I've posted anything, and we had an exciting fourth. We sold our F150 in June, and have been looking for a 'Hot Rod' for Jarod for some time. We had a 1969 Chevy C10 short bed a little while ago, but sold it. Jarod found this 1954 Chevy, and it is in incredible condition. We got a great deal on it, considering the great shape it's in. The kids absolutely love it. It's fun to ride around town in it and get thumbs up, honks, and waves from everyone.

Our pool is just a couple houses down, so we drive the Chevy down when we take a swim. The kids think that's the only way to get to the pool now. Carly and Josh just love Daddy's "green car".

Tag, You're It!

Okay, so a friend of mine tagged me, in what I can only describe as a blogging chain letter. (Thank you Andrea!) I'm supposed to answer 6 questions about myself, then tag 6 people, posting their names here, and sending them messages on their blogs to let them know I've tagged them. They in turn answer the same 6 questions, and so on and so forth, alerting me when they've completed the task.

Question 1:

What are the 5 things on your To Do List?

1. Clean bathroom...bleh

2. Weed backyard...thanks to Roundup, that task is almost done!

3. Update the blog...with this post, I'm all caught up!

4. Balance check book

5. organize garage

Question 2:

Name 5 Snacks You Love

1. Homemade bread with homemade boysenberry jam...yum

2. Fruit

3. On rare occasions...this may gross some of you out...Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies

4. Organic mozzarella string cheese

5. When I have them...Lindt Truffles, which I could eat all day till the cows come home...which is a big reason why I don't keep them in the house.

Question 3:

Name 5 Things You Would Do if you Suddenly Became a Millionaire

1. Pay off all debt, including house, vehicles, student loans

2. Travel

3. Buy a bigger house...cash

4. Invest it with the help of someone who knows what to invest in

5. Put money aside for my kids' educations and missions

Question 4:

Name 5 Places You Have Lived

1. Austin, Texas

2. Provo, Utah

3. Cedar City, Utah

4. Provo, Utah...I know this is a repeat, but I lived in 5 different places in the same city.

5. Round Rock, Texas

Question 5:

Name 5 Jobs You Have Had

This is a pretty sad list

1. Babysitter

2. Assistant Manager at Hot Dog on a Stick

3. Janitor

4. Food Server

5. Telemarketer

Question 6:

5 Things People Don't Know About Me

I think this is probably the hardest question of all, because as you all probably know, I can't keep a secret to save my life.

1. I have a fear of the unknown/unseeable...yeah, there's no way that's a word. This includes but is not limited to anything in the dark, and any body of water that isn't chlorinated. It doesn't mean I won't go swimming in lakes, rivers, or oceans...I'll just be secretly freaking out the whole time.

2. I like to eat dough...I usually try to do it on the sly so as to avoid grossing people out. Dough meaning bread dough, cookie dough, pie dough...you name it. It's not even like pie pastry or bread dough tastes that great...I know, I'm weird.

3. I like musicals. Old musicals...like Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and Thoroughly Modern Milly.

4. I hate scary movies. This one might surprise some of you, because before I had kids, I watched several scary movies...I can't stomach them now, though. I don't even like watching the previews for scary movies on TV.

5. I'm pregnant.

Okay, so not really, but I thought I'd try to freak some of you out, and well, it's been 8 months since the last one. I'm sure some of you expect that to be the reason we call when our name show up on your caller id. I really can't think of anything else.

Okay, so now I tag, Mom Valdivieso, Clarissa Wilstead, Kathleen Skinner, Catherine Valdivieso, Tammy Baird, and Alisha Morgan.

"I'm exercising"

I thought this was pretty funny today. Carly went into her drawer and pulled out an undershirt, or should I say "exercise shirt." She then asked me to put on the exercise video she's seen me do. She's a riot. She had the hand weights all ready for the cardio part of the workout. You go girl!

Library Days

We've already had a fun field trip since being home. We are now official library card holders. Woo hoo!! We went to the library yesterday with our neighbor friends Kesha and Chloe. The kids loved getting their hands stamped with dragon flies and dinosaurs, and then picking out their books. Of course, I helped pick out ones I thought they'd enjoy. They've already read about amphibians and tree frogs several times.

The library is in a great location down town...and just a block away from our favorite doughnut shop. So of course, doughnuts had to be a part of this excursion.

We had a great time, and I'm excited to get the kids started in the summer reading passport event. They just have to read 25 books, and then turn in their reading logs for prizes. I even signed myself up for the program...only 5 hours, and then I'll get a prize!!

Home Again, Home Again, Jigedy Jig

We had such a great time in California. We had so many fun adventures that filled our three weeks out there. The kids were excited to go home and see their Daddy. They were great on the airplane, with a little help from the new colors, and doodle pads they got for the trip home.

Say Cheese!!

V-Town

I had never heard that Visalia had a free trolley that took you down town, until Navarre and Catherine had a scavenger hunt over their open house weekend. I wasn't able to be there that weekend, and I couldn't believe that in the 6 years that I'd been visiting Visalia, I'd never ridden it. It was a must do in my mind.

You should have seen the big grin Carly had while we were riding the trolley. She couldn't stop smiling.

After our ride, we took a quick stroll of down town. There were lots of great shops, and in one antique shop window, we saw a porcelain pig for $3oo. Wowza.