Sea World!! 7-30-09 through 7-31-09

Well, I am finally getting pictures up of our Sea World trip. We had such a great time! Here are some pictures of the highlights. We spent the first day there with dad, mom and the kids, and Michael and CarrieLynn. It was so good to all be together again. Mom (and the rest of the family for that matter) had been looking forward to spending some time together towards the end of her 2nd chemo treatment and before her 3rd. When dad had some days off towards the end of June, he planned on the family meeting up with whoever could go. The Lord worked it to where we were able to go with. I was so excited! CL and Michael came for the first day. Jerry and Erin weren't able to leave CO. but enjoyed some much needed time together at home.

Here is the traditional picture of the whole family. What a group!!

The first show we saw was the sea lion show. It was pretty cute...I remembered the seals and walruses...Clyde, Seymour...I couldn't believe my little family was actually at Sea World! It was a dream come true. I am so grateful we got to go.

Here are all my boys in their matching John Deere green.

Here are all of us girls in our matching pink. Mom made all the little girls matching dresses. They looked so cute. Thanks mom for doing that, I love them!

Michael and CarrieLynn with James...don't they look cute with a baby?

Stephen couldn't wait to get wet. He took the 3 big kids and at the first opportunity to get wet, he did. They stood on the side lines in the splash zone for one of the rides and got drenched.

They even did it a 2nd time...except Bella...she didn't like it as much as Martin and Millie.

Dad rented a "cabana" for all of us to meet up at. It was so nice! We left all of our belongings there, ate snacks there, sat and rested, talked about plans...It was great! Thanks dad.

More fun at the cabana.

There was a lazy river that we all enjoyed floating down. Sometimes we would go in a group, and other times just a few would go float while the others either played somewhere else, waited in line to ride a ride, sat at the cabana. The river was nice and relaxing.

Here are a few pictures of Shamu. The shows were all a bit different than what we remembered. They seemed to be not as focused on the animals, but more on the people in the show.

None the less, the kids thoroughly enjoyed seeing the whales.

Stephen would often push all 4 big kids in the stroller as we walked from one place to another while I carried James in the sling. They were all quite a load.

I had to put this picture of James in here. We were back at the camper taking a break and he was smiling so cute.

This is all of us at the end of the first day.

Stephen surprised me and decided to spend the night at the campground with mom and dad. That was so sweet of him. We got to spend a little more time with Michael and Kit which was nice. Thank you sweetheart!

The next morning at the campground, Stephen, Martin, and Bella and dad all went for a walk and ended up playing at the playground for a little while.

Here we are at breakfast time.

This was the dolphin show.

We went to the day time Shamu show the 2nd day and I think that was my favorite show. I seemed to be more like what I remembered...more about the animals. It was really nice.

We went by the Clydesdale's and saw some beautiful horses...funny thing though, I didn't take any pictures of real horses...just this statue. Oh well, at least you get the idea.

We walked through the penguin exhibit and all enjoyed the AC.

We all took a break and sat for a few minutes.

Here they are back at the river again. Martin's favorite part was the waves, but I couldn't bring the camera out there. There was also a place where they had a slide ride for little people. The kids liked that too.

Here is mom and Scottie enjoying their float down the river.

I was so thankful Sea World offered complimentary life jackets for everyone. It made it a whole lot easier for the kids and Stephen.

Martin, Millie and Bella enjoyed all the treats Mamageese brought and shared with them. Here is Martin eating his 2nd granola bar.

I think Millie had 2 tootsie rolls in her mouth at one time and was asking mom to help her open another. She was in heaven. What fun to have grandparents!!

Dad and James taking a snooz.

Scottie being so sweet to Elaina as she sat in the chair eating her raisins.

Bella and Elaina waiting to watch Martin, Millie and me to come floating by.

There I am- cheese!

There we are at the end of 2 very long, fun days. Some great memories were made. Thank you Stephen for taking us on that fun trip!

Cowgirls and Cowboy 7-27-09

One afternoon I got the 4 big kids all dressed up in their cowboy duds. We put boots on Martin, Millie and Bella and tied pieces of leather around their ankles to make spurs, found at least 1 holster and belt for all of them and put on cowboy hats. They were all so happy and having a great time. Then came picture time...all of a sudden Bella and Elaina weren't having fun anymore. I think it was because I put all three girls on Boots (the miniature horse) and he moved which surprised them all and they started crying. I took pictures anyway...after all we went through a lot of effort to get everyone looking that way. Bella got happy again once she got off Boots, so we went to the hay bales and took more pictures. Elaina is steadily crying and no funny face I make is cheering her up which is funny, because she is the easiest one for me to get to smile. I found it rather comical...me with a camera, saying silly stuff and making silly faces and not getting an ounce of happy feedback from Elaina. Oh well. I took a few more pictures and then we were done. It was quite fun.

A visit with Mo and Pawpaw 7-21-09

After Stephen gets home from the fire station, he enjoys and needs to be around the farm for refreshment. He deals with so many corrupt things down in Houston, and can't wait to get home to me and the kids. One morning we went out to check cows and met Mo and Pawpaw on their way home from checking cows. We all stopped and visited. The girls picked flowers, Martin explored, and we all had fun talking and laughing together. Life is so great!

Lately, Martin, Millie and Bella like to pretend they can fly. I found them each a cloth napkin that Mamageese gave me a while back and pined them around their collars so they could pretend they could fly. They call them their "supers" and they zoom around everywhere. Thanks Mamageese for the cloth napkins- you probably never would have guessed they were going to be used for "supers".

James Wyatt's first ball game 7-19-09

Uncle Keith and Uncle Kevin are on a co-ed softball league in Conroe that plays every Sunday evening. We decided to go watch their games. We brought Martin's bike with (he just learned how to ride it last week) and he had a blast zipping around.

Papa up ahead pushing James and Elaina, with Millie and Bella walking beside the stroller and Martin not far behind zooming around on his bike.

It takes a lot of concentration to pedal, steer, keep balanced, watch out for people, and do trick for everyone, but he is quite successful at it...especially doing the tricks. He loves to hit his brakes and see the skid marks he makes...he is such a boy!

James and Elaina with Pawpaw, Stephen and Mr. Traylor.

Later on, Stephen had to give it a shot. Mr. Traylor said he could easily get a job at the circus.

Then Elaina wanted a ride.

Papa Troy gave each of the kids $1.00 to use at the concession stand. They were tickled pink! They all walked over there, we told them their choices, they picked out what they wanted, paid the lady, gave Papa Troy the change, and enjoyed their treat! They each got their own package. They were in heaven. A big thank you to Papa Troy!

Here they are holding their dollars.