Fun in San Antonio!

After we dropped Elizabeth off at EFY Trent, Amberly and I decided to go and have some fun of our own. (We were not ready for the 3 hour trip home.)

I decided to take them to see the Alamo. Trent studied Texas history this last year at school and I wanted him to see part of that history. When we first walked toward it we noticed the Oscar Mayer Weiner mobile close by. We had to go get a hot dog whistle and take a picture by it. Then we walked over to the Alamo. It was quite busy and so incredibly hot outside. It was neat because Trent knew the story behind it and recognized names and events. They have done a great job of preserving it and the grounds are beautiful and so peaceful. One of my favorite spots was the wishing fountain. It was so beautiful and quiet there. Amberly and Trent enjoyed making wishes with pennies and putting their hands in the nice cool water.

We went and walked the river walk for a little while and then went and ate Mexican food.

(you have to have Mexican food if you go to San Antonio! - at least that's my excuse to Darin!)

We then went and looked at all the Ripley Believe it not places. They loved the huge lifelike Dinosaur. Amberly knew it wasn't real, but it still creaped her out.

We then traveled home. If you ever travel between Houston and San Antonio you have to stop at Buc ee's. All it is is a Rest stop for travelers. It reminds me of a truck stop, but it's not made with truckers in mind. It's for travelers. It has the cleanest nicest bathrooms around. They give free fudge samples. Great soda's, bakery, jerky, subs and other food. We bought a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread to eat for breakfast on the way. It was yummy. Just a fun quick stop! It was funny because on the way we stopped there and saw lots of people we knew heading to EFY or Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. You could tell the youth there going to EFY because there were all modestly dressed. We had a fun day!

EFY (Especially for Youth)

This picture was taken in Elizabeth and Anna's dorm room.

(Left to Right - Madie, Elizabeth and Anna)

We took this picture on the balcony of Elizabeth and Anna's dorm.

Yesterday I was able to drive to San Antonio and take Elizabeth and her friend Madeline to EFY on the Trinity University Campus. Elizabeth absolutly loved EFY last year and could hardly wait to go again. All I can say is that it is worth every single penny! She was suppose to room with Madie but found out when they got there that they weren't together. Her roommate is a sweet girl named Anna who Elizabeth clicked with instantly. She called last night and is floating on cloud nine! She loves her group and sounded so incredibly happy. (She also added that all the guys are HOT too!) Have a great week Elizabeth!!

Eyn's Basketball Injury

Last week was quite the trying week in our home. While I was sitting in the doctors office for myself on Thursday I received one of those phone calls you just don't want to get. It was the High School Basketball coach letting me know that Eyn had hurt his elbow and it was quite swollen and probably needed to get checked out. Well, after several unsuccessful x-rays we were referred to a orthopedic specialist/surgeon. (Eyn couldn't bend his arm at all so they had a hard time getting a good x-ray) Well, Darin took him yesterday while I was in San Antonio and found out that he has fractured a bone in there and that particular bone helps control his wrist. If it does not heal correctly then he would have difficulty with it the rest of his life. So, he wants to go in and operate and put screws in it. He said that it will heal quickly and that he will be fine to do all the sports his heart desires. So.. He wanted to do surgery on Wednesday but considering I'm having surgery that day Darin didn't think he could handle two in one day at separate locations. He is scheduled for his next Monday. The doctor was very positive about the outcome. Eyn won't be able to play basketball for a while, but the doctor said that playing basketball will be what he wants him to do to get the strength back in it. Eyn is one tough kid and seeing him injured has been hard. He is one to jump back up and keep going. He actually tried to do that, but it didn't work. The coach at the high school was great and I really appreciated him and the others there who helped Eyn. He'll be back on the court before we know it.

Let's Make Some Puppets!

Amberly and Trent love to do crafts. Last summer I went out and bought oodles of crafts from my favorite store (Hobby Lobby, which by the way a new one is being built less than a mile from our home! YEA!! (Darin is not excited.) ). We found some leftovers from last summers stash so it was time to pull them out and have some fun. Trent had to make the Knight in shinning Armor and the Unicorn while Amberly made the Princess and the Fairy. It was a lot of fun. I'm now looking forward to their puppet shows.

Dog Sitting

The past several days Trent and Amberly have been enjoying dog sitting for some friends of ours. We have watched him before so that first day we showed up "Oliver" just went spastic he was so excited! He's the cutest little dog and playing with him has been very enjoyable. His favorite thing to do is to run around the yard with the ball in his mouth being chased.

Father's Day Cont..

It was really nice just being able to share a quiet Sunday together as a family. We began the day by going to church. At the end of church all of the men met in the kitchen area to enjoy "Pies for Pops". What a yummy way to end church!! We ended the day by taking a few pictures. Elizabeth and I worked on the poster card for Darin. It was fun coming up with cute sayings to go with the candy bars. (After 16 years of Father's Days I'm really needing some fresh new fun ideas for the day! Elizabeth says I just need to start over and redo some of the same things we've done in the past. So.. we did a candy card!)

Happy Father's Day!

Today was Father's Day and I just wanted to take a moment and honor the Father's in my life.

First, I want to honor my amazing husband Darin. I am so grateful that I not only have a wonderful husband but that my children have a wonderful father. We are greatly blessed to have him in our lives. I'm also grateful for Darin's Dad and the relationship that Darin has with him. I'm grateful that He lives closer to us now so that Granpa Bruce and Grandma Sharon can be more a part of our lives. And Finally I want to honor my Dad. I feel that Mother's Day and Father's Day is kind of bitter sweet without my parents alive anymore. I'm so grateful this day for my Dad and for all he did for me. I don't think we always had the greatest of relationships, but I always knew he was there for me and I always knew that if I ever needed anything he was there to help me. My children loved his visits. Especially Eyn considering they would always go exploring somewhere and stop by the store for a soda pop and a candy bar. I loved to watch him with my children. I know that he is still cheering us all on. I know that he is applauding loudly as Elizabeth competes in a competition. I know he is running right along with Eyn down the basketball court encouraging him on. I know that he is watching my children grow and helping them in ways that he never could while he was on this earth. I also know and am so grateful for the knowledge I have that someday we will all be reunited together as a family and what a wonderful reunion that will be.
How grateful I am for these wonderful men in my life!!

This is one of my favorite pictures! I love the smile on my Dad's face!

Trent's Trip to Fox News

Last Wednesday Trent joined the Bear Cub Scouts and went to the Fox News Station to be guests on the afternoon Web cast. (Trent became an official Webelo last month but the Bears invited him to join them on this outing) They were working on their Weather Belt loop. He came home wanting to be a meteorologist more than ever! He has always loved the weather and seeing it up close and learning even more was great for him. The Fox meteorologist is a member of our Stake here and got special permission for them to be there.
(Trent is the first one from the left on the back row.)

My Favorite Picture from our Wildflower Trip

These are my favorite people and I just love this picture! I felt like I found the perfect place and everyone just got into the perfect position! I only wish they understood just how incredible they all are and how important they are to me.

What goes up, must come down.

It's a bird, it's a plane, No! It's a rock thrown high in the air by Eyn with hopes of it falling in the pond right beside them and not on their heads!

In Search of Wildflowers

A few weeks ago we traveled the countryside in search of the beautiful Texas Wildflowers. We were unable to find them, but came across the Rose Emporium which is a beautiful setting to enjoy. We had a fabulous time playing among the flowers taking pictures. We ended up being the only people there for quite awhile and it was great! The weather was wonderful and everyone was in a happy mood.

This is our Beautiful Elizabeth in her new letter jacket. She just completed her Junior year at Seven Lakes High School. She had a fabulous year in choir. She made all District Choir and got 1's on her Solo which made her eligible to go to State. Her choir was selected as the 2009 TMEA Performance Choir and will sing at the 2009 Texas Music Educators Association Convention in San Antonio. That's equivalent to a football team making All-State. She is looking forward to her Senior year being busy Singing.

I think I can honestly say that Eyn does not like to pose for pictures. But, he put up with it and was a good sport. I think he had the most fun throwing rocks into the small ponds and trying to scare me by throwing small pebbles on the "outhouse" when I was in it.

I do believe that Trent enjoys posing for pictures. He likes to pose in different positions like in GQ. He loved throwing rocks with Eyn and being chased by Amberly all around the flowers.

My sweet adorable Amberly who had to be bribed by Elizabeth to smile. All she wanted to do was run around and play. She was so happy and loved just having fun.

I love this picture!! We found this cute table and they just sat down at it and so I had to get a picture! They were joking around with the teacup plants, but I thought it was great! I actually think Eyn is the one who started pretending to drink it!

The Beginning

It's time to get connected to the outside world! I hope that by doing this new blog that I am able to reconnect with a lot of family and friends. This is kinda scary but hopefully it will be great!