Saturday, August 7, 2010

Ocean Camping and Good Friends

 Debbie loves the ocean and she knows that I do too.  (Although my a true ocean love is the Carribean)
Earlier in the year we camped out at Santa Cruz. 


The first of August we camped out at San Simeon and toured Hearst Castle. 





My first real live starfish.  Does that bring good luck?


I started day dreaming of how we could revamp this house...

The Sea Lions - galore -

I'm in my element - look at that lush gorgeous pool.  Bring me a coke and call it good.


Wednesday, August 4, 2010

When Lightening Strikes and Thunder Roars

 Last July when I was in Houston,  a lightening storm rolled through the area.  One would think that living in Houston the girls would have become accustomed to these storms, but the look on Lexie's face here indicates how she really feels about the. 


She tried hiding but then her ingenuity set in she headed upstairs to find.....

Night shades.  Funny Funny girl.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Tyler's 7th Birthday


For Tyler's 7th birthday we met Tyler and his parents at the bowling alley for short game of bowling.
I love this shot of Chase...A Visual command of the ball.

 On your birthday you get Muligans and it's perfectly fine to retrieve your ball and do it again.
Happy Birthday - Birthday Boy.

Friday, April 16, 2010

T-Ball

I'll just let these handsome boys do the talking...




Sunday, March 14, 2010

Return to Paradise

Though this short little get-a-way seemed like it was badly timed, it was planned so that we would be home in time for the birth of Brittany's baby, but as our luck had it, we managed to leave her and her new baby a week after she was born.  Of course, not only were we gone for five days, but we were busy in the office the five days before we left, because what trip isn't burdened with all the required work that needs to be done while you are gone. So sorry Brittany for the bad timing.

The trip we had planned for April was at an all inclusive, which was going to cost a small fortune and after a lot of thought and consideration I went on-line in search of something less expensive and still on the beach.  What I found was this wonderful little casa located right on the beach.  We rented the downstairs apartment, (really one room with a bathroom and kitchenette) with the most magnificent location and view.    We even commented how it looks like the Corona Beer commercial, where they throw the cell phone into the ocean, we were told by the landlord that they filmed that commercial on this beach. 

Our morning breakfast on the beach.  This is right outside of our little apartment.

We knew that our time here was short and so our plan was not to plan anything that meant leaving the area.  Upon our arrival we had the van driver drop us off at Wal-Mart, where we put our suitcases in a shopping cart, grapped another cart and loaded up with groceries for the few days we were here.  Then we headed out of the store to the taxi area and took a taxi from Wal-Mart to Tankah Bay. 

I managed to swim and snorkle in the ocean everyday.  The snorkeling was amazing, with the reef as far out as it was, the bay was nice and calm for a easy swim. 

The coloful sea life.
Down the road, across from the restaurant was this cenote, which made for another great snorkeling day. Love this shot of above and under the water. 

This cenote flows under the road, under the restaurant and under the beach and opens up again in the ocean.   
The  turquoise blue patch in the ocean is where the cenote opens up again.  It is possible to scuba dive from the cenote river underground to this location in the ocean.
The cat who stayed close by, but who you could not touch.


There was an aboundance of labs and retrievers who take on new owners daily.  When they tired of you they moved on to someone new.  This little lady stayed close by us for a good part of the afternoon and followed us to the restaurant, where she found new owners.  On our walk home, we passed several dogs who were returning home for the day from following their adopted owners.


 It was a  wonderful get-a-way, too short really, but long enough for a nice break.  We have fallen in love with this area.  We look forward to heading down here again and staying for a much longer stay.  For those of you who are wondering and have bothered to read this far, we stayed at the Casa Tropical located in Tankah Bay Mexico.  The owners are US citizens and live down there 6 months of the year.    This is their website if you're looking for a nice little vacation in paradise.  http://www.casatropical.com/ 

Friday, March 5, 2010

February a Month to Remember

What a month. It started with plans to have a baby shower for Brittany. Jill and April flew into town a few days before the schedule event, only to find when they arrived that Brittany was in the hospital. Her baby had kicked her hard enough to break the water which resulted in a week long stay to keep the baby safe.

After an emergency meeting with the girls and talking with the hospital staff and sending out e-mails, the plans changed. We held the baby shower in the hospital; the nurses will talk about that shower for years to come. April did her magical photoshop treatment and made the shower a wonderful success.

Later that evening, the ward had a baptism for Bernadette, who Brittany had brought into our home to have the missionary discussions, which was a blessing for me to be there and see the testimonies of the sister missionaries and to watch Bernadette's testimony grow. Her husband and two older children are taking the discussion and will soon be baptized. Thank you Brittany for being such an example to me.

Then on the 26th, Brittany had an emergency C-section and brought Ashlyn into our little world.

She's was 4 weeks early and weighed in at 6 lb 7 oz and was 18" long. She is beautiful, dark hair, squeaky little scream and loves to have her arms out.

Enjoy the pictures from February.






Ashlyn

Brittany, Ashlyn an Brett

You thought she just grew up fast didn't ya'? This is LaNea, who came with her mom to visit.

Bernadette and the Bishop at her baptism.
February 20, 2010

The Wild Hospital Baby Shower
February 20, 2010








Did I mention on top of all this, I was given a new calling in the ward? Just guess what it is and it's not handing out Sunday Bulletins. What a month it has been, I felt bad for the girls when they were here, my mind was so consumed with this new calling that I didn't give them the proper attention they deserved.

To top it all off, March has begun with a wonderful job opportunity for Brett and they will be leaving by the end of the month. We will certainly miss them, I would like to thank them for all their hard work they put for our benefit. We wish you luck and happiness.