Cody's Summer Trip

Well, as we usually do, we had my nephew Cody out for a week at the beginning of the summer. Actually, he was out here even before school was out for us in Houston. This was fantastic, because we were able to go to all the fun events before the crazy summer trips began. We hit some fun and unusual museums, such as the art car museum and we tried to get to the telephone museum, but they were closed the day that we wanted to go.

We of course hit the beach in Galveston, which for us was fantastic this time, because we were able to get to the beach with very few people around us. We tried a new beach this year again. I don't think we have gone to the same beach twice in the five years that Cody has come out. If we would have had the right tools, Cody was going to dig a hole as tall as he was, but unfortunately he only got to about waist height, which is about three feet before it started flooding with sea water. He couldn't figure it out, because as he stated that didn't happen in San Diego, CA, when he was there. We didn't have an answer for him, so if you read this and you know the answer let me know.

Cody was also able to meet the baby boy that we are hoping to adopt and he thought he was cool. (Most popular word for a 13yr old). I think he just liked that he slept through the night, as the last time he was here we had a four month old and a fourteen month old and neither of them slept through the night, or they were up very early.

Another annual tradition is the berry picking which just happens to fall at the same time as his trip out here. We decided to pick not only blueberries but we also picked blackberries. Overall, we had a really good time. I think the only thing that would have made it better would have been if we could have found a scooter park or skate park that allows scooters for him to show off some of his skills.

Wendy's Birthday

We kept my birthday this year a little more low key than Jonathan's. Of course I wasn't turning 40 like he was either, so it was good to be low key. We decided to take a little trip up to Fredericksburg, TX. We had a blast at a little B&B off of the main road by two blocks. Just enough to allow us to have quiet at night, but close enough to allow us to walk everywhere.

We enjoyed a good time, wine tasting, eating out, sight seeing, such as the Texas White House, including the plane and runway that are there. It was a good time to get away. On the last morning we were there, we decided to try this little coffee house a block from our B&B and found the local coffee house cat helping himself to a  little water from the fishbowl on the table. Just some of the local flavor.

The New YEAR!

Well, the new year has come and gone, but I am just getting around to blogging about it. Oh, well!! The year for us did not start out to well. I ended up having to go back to Phoenix the beginning of January to due a death of a dear sweet friend. It was unexpected and we later found out due to some of the medications that she was on. Jonathan was not able to come out until later due to his work schedule, but since we had already planned on come out as is our usual trip in January, he was able to make it.

This trip to AZ was a little unusual for us too, as it was the first trip back to Phoenix where there was another woman living in my dad's house. It was good to see, but also hard to see as everywhere I looked there were reminders of my mother. So with my dad and Cookies' permission we took down the big drapes in the living and dining room and repainted the walls. We also bought new blinds for both the living and dining rooms to get rid of the old verticals that were so weather rotten that they were falling apart. It turns out that this was just the first of many painting jobs that were to come for my dad and Cookie.

Jonathan was also able to go skiing for the first time in almost four years. He went with a good buddy Isaac. This skiing trip just might have to turn into a regular thing for him. He told me later that he really missed skiing and since we all know that there are no ski slopes anywhere close to us. This just might have to do. He also told me that he looks forward to teaching our kids how to ski. I on the other hand stayed home and spent the day shopping with Cookie and enjoying some time to relax. I don't ski. I have taken one ski lesson and that was over six years ago. I may take it up again in the future, but we will have to see. Notice in the picture that Jonathan is wearing his Fire fighter turnouts. He doesn't have any ski clothes anymore, but found out that these work really warm as they are water resistant and really warm.

Since my dad and Cookies house is now getting full with furnishings from two homes, it was also decided that on this trip, Jonathan and I would bring back my antique furniture. This included a bed, dresser, high boy, two mirrors, and a desk and chair which were not able to make it in the truck. We have a big shout out to friends who loaned us their truck for the trip as we don't have a vehicle that could have carried this furniture back with us. I was also able to load up about a dozen more boxes of stuff that will eventually make it back to our house here in Houston. Hopefully, if my dad and Cookie drive out this year some time, they will be able to bring some of the stuff with them as well. Otherwise, we will be bringing it back with us every time we come out to Phoenix, since we almost always drive out in January.

Gulfshores and New Orleans

I have to say this trip was not our best. We decided on the spur of the moment to head to Gulfport, MS. The trip was fine, except that we couldn't do some of the things we wanted to do, because it rained all the time. There had been a tropical storm that came ashore a couple of days before we got there, but what we didn't know and the nice weather forecasters didn't tell us, was that the storm was coming back around to make a second hit. So, with that, we didn't do a lot. We did however make it to Cafe DuMonde for beignets and coffee, in New Orleans.

The view from our hotel room. Not bad if I do say so. Jonathan booked the room and it was great.

At Cafe Du Monde, enjoying the beignets. I could eat these everyday, they are so good. If you haven't had one, I highly recommend going to New Orleans, just for these.

Austin for July 4th

So for July 4th we decided to get out of town. We drove up to Austin to stay for a couple of days.We decided to go to downtown Austin to see the fireworks, but honestly, we were a little concerned about the crowds. Well, we found a good spot to park and then started walking with blanket and cooler in hand to the park where the fireworks were being held. On the way, we found this great parking garage that had a bunch of people on top of it. We thought, I wonder if they know something we don't. So we started up the stairs. On the top of the garage it was loaded with regulars who came here every year, because the view was great. So we went down one level, where their weren't all the drunks and craziness and watched. The view was fantastic. The next couple of days we went on hikes around Austin. We had so much fun and it was just the get-a-way that we needed.

Our Sea World trip in April

 Right after we entered Sea World, we decided to have a little snack to get us through until lunch. We didn't eat breakfast because we left our hotel early to get to Sea World when it opened. Well, when we sat down at some picnic benches, this little guy decided that he needed some breakfast too. He was none to shy about helping himself to our muffin if we would have let him.

This of course was the Shamu show. All of the shows were fantastic, and yes, we sat just outside the splash zone. We didn't really want to get soaked, since it was already a cloudy and chilly day. We saw others that were soaked and freezing after the fact. I know we are wimps. Deal with it.

Six months since my last...

Ok, so it has been six months since my last post. I know, I am totally slacking. Things have happened in the past six months that honestly, I would like to remember and forget all at the same time. Lets start with April shall we?

April - We had a great time, Jonathan and I went to San Antonio for his birthday. We spent an entire day at Sea World. What a fantastic place for both kids and adults. Since Jonathan loves marine life, we went there. Actually I surprised him and took him there. That was a fantastic time and I will post pictures soon. Well, let's change that to later today. This gives me a deadline.

April - Jonathan also finished replacing the columns on the front of the house. We found out that we had termites in the columns, so we demolished all four of them and rebuilt two of them. Not an easy task, but Jonathan did it, with I have to say only a little bit of help from me. Again, pictures will come soon. 

Middle of April - We found out that we were chosen to foster two little ones. We were so excited because they were 4 months and 14 months. So they were great ages, although, lots of hard work. We spent as much time with them as we could and got them healthy again, although some thanks goes to the first foster parents for getting them healthy. We just continued what they had already started. This was a fun time to learn about how Jonathan and I interacted as parents to each other and to strengthen and learn from each other during this time. I will say that our marriage was truly tested during this time.

May - Was my birthday, and as much as Jonathan wanted to surprise me with something like I surprised him with, we had two children now, so we couldn't do that. He did however, find a babysitter for the night and we were able to go out to a nice quiet dinner without the rush of getting babies fed and down for the night. It was a very sweet night.

Beginning of June - My nephew Cody came out to visit us for two weeks. What fun that was. Unfortunately because we had the kids, we didn't get to do as many cool things as we had hoped to do, but he was willing to go along with whatever. We did make it to the beach one day, I think this will become tradition when he comes out. We were able to also get to a couple museums, but I think the best thing that Cody liked was the fact that he got to build or at least start to build a model car with Jonathan. Cody took it home with him to finish because they were not able to get it all done, due to kids, trips, and all that stuff.

End of Jun - We continued on, but what we didn't know was that things were working behind the scenes to move the children back to their first foster placement. We did not find out that the kids were going to be moved until the night before they were moved. This was hard to take. We thought we had our family through the CPS System, only to find out that the case worker didn't like us. It was difficult, we felt that we had just lost two of our own kids. We were becoming attached to these kids. I know as foster parents you are not to become as they say "attached" because at any time they could leave, but we were being told over and over that it was a pretty clear case. In the end, the kids went back to their first foster parents, we grieved for them. Then we praised God that they did go back to people that at least they knew. We pray continually for their safety, as the case is ongoing at least through December of this year.

July - In order to get some rest and to get out of a now way to quiet house. We left. We went to Austin for a couple of days. We spend fourth of July up there and just relaxed, hiked, and got a new perspective on us. In this time, we prayed and decided that we would wait to decided to continue the adoption process. This wait time will give us the prayer time to listen to what God is telling us with regards to our family. We will be waiting and listening through December. This will also allow us to decompress and travel without the worry of missing a phone call for kids because we are out of town.

August - Was spent pretty much just doing normal day to day stuff. We didn't go anywhere, we really didn't do anything, but that was okay. We focused on us, on our ministries at the church, our small group Bible studies. It was good.

September - I am finally up to this month. Whew! This month we had my dad and his fiance come visit us. It was a good time. We were able to go to the Aquarium downtown and see the exhibits, which again, was one of Jonathan's favorites. We were even able to get my dad's fiance on the ferris wheel which she claimed to be afraid of. She told us later, that it was the old type ferris wheels that she didn't like, not these knew ones. So it wasn't so bad. We had a good time, although the time went by very quickly. We will head back for their wedding next month and then they will be out here in November. Then it is a quiet December month, no traveling, well, except to do a quick visit to Jonathan's parents place early in the month. Then it will be a quiet December and Christmas.

Ok, I am done, there are the updates. Now I need to go find some pictures so that you can see that we actually were busy through at least some of these months. Thanks friends for reading this far, provided you actually read it and didn't just skip to the bottom.

What would you do...

for a $20 dollar bill. We were at the band reunion in Culver, IN when we decided to take a walk around the campus and part of the lake.

While we were walking along the lake, I happened to look down at the water and there staring me in the face was twenty dollar bill. I told my dear husband to look at it and sure enough it was. Then the debate began, do we go in and get it or just follow the current of the water and see where it leads.

Well, we (meaning my husband) decided to go in and get it and me being the supportive wife that I am, could not resist capturing the moment.

First Sailboat ride

Well, I went for my first sail boat ride. I should actually clarify that and say that I participated in
my first sail boat ride. We went to Culver, IN at the end of August and met up with a bunch of J's buddies from a Naval Band Camp. They were having a reunion. Well, J said that he would take me out sailing one day when we were
there because he loved to sail and hadn't done it since camp (16 years ago). I thought how romantic. So we got the life jackets, got the sails, got the boat and you would think that off we would go. Not so fast. The first boat had something wrong with it, so while J and one of the boat dock attendants went to get whatever it was to fix it, I proceeded to watch a boat, just like ours, capsize. Yes, CAPSIZE!! This did not make me feel good, after all it has been 16 years since my dear J has done this. So he comes back and we go to another boat, it also has a problem so we can't use it. I am not feeling confident at this point. We finally get our boat and we are off. Let me just say that I couldn't just sit there and enjoy the ride, oh no. I had to participate. I was in charge of the jib (this is the front sail that is taken down in this photo). I had no idea what to do and again my dear husband just says grab the ropes and do what I tell you. You would think that would be easy, except that there are about a dozen ropes on this thing. So after I say, "we are not pulling anchor until you tell me what I am supposed to do." My sweet J, chuckles and says, "we will be fine" and then proceeds to show me what ropes to be in charge of. So out of the boat dock we go. I continually am looking to see how far we are from land and the dock, thinking, if we capsize, I have my life jacket and I can make it to the dock. We proceed to make a few turns and I did pretty good, according to J, boosted my confidence. UNTIL...we make a turn and the wind catches the sail, the boat tips a little more than I like and I freak out. I proceeded to ask J over and over, are you done yet, because I am. He laughed and said that he was almost ready to go back in. So after about 45minutes on the sail boat, we were back in the dock and I was kissing the dock happy that we didn't collapse. I can honestly say that my next trip sailing will be with two men doing the sailing and me just sitting and enjoying the scenery. I don't think I am ready for the ocean anytime soon.

Vacation trip

I don't have pictures yet as we have no way to download them onto my laptop from here. But I can still give you an update. We are in Culver, Indiana where the weather is a beautiful 68 degrees. I don't think it has gotten over 85 the entire time that we have been here. We spent yesterday at J's old band camp that he went to for six summers, Culver. It was great to get to meet some of his old buddies and to hear stories of what my husband was like in his teen years. It was also fun to see him march in the reunion band, which will be in a parade later today. Yesterday there was crew racing for both boys and girls (students at the camp). Today there is a full on sailing competition for anyone who wants to enter. We will not be entering but looking forward to watching it. There has been so much to do, but at the same time, it is exhausting. I feel like I am back at camp with early morning calls and late, late night events. I have to say that is really has been fun to see some of the places that my husband grew up and some of the events that he was involved in.

I can not forget to mention that we stopped off at his cousins house in North Dallas area. It was a blast and I hope to be able to visit them more and for them to be able to come visit us. Well there will be more to come with pictures too.

Spring Break

Well, we are here in Phoenix, AZ for spring break. The drive was long, but fun as Jonathan and I always have a good time together. We brought our dog along for the trip as well, so that made things a little more fun too. As I write this I am still in AZ, so there will probably be more posts later. We have been able to see many friends and family being here this time. My aunt and uncle are down here from Minnesota so it has been fun catching up with them. We were able to go out to dinner with the whole clan and got a really cute picture of my niece making a funny face. The best part so far has been the fact that I was able to throw Jonathan a suprise birthday party out here. It is about two weeks before his birthday and he had no idea. It was great. Enjoy the pictures!!

Trip to Mars Hill

This month we went to visit Jonathan's parents in a small town called Mars Hill, NC. It is about a half hour outside of Asheville. We had a good time and it was fun to drive the blue ridge parkway. It is amazing the colors and views that you can see. As Jonathan's mom stated most of the colors had already changed, but at the lower elevations they were still very visible as you can see. The higher we got up the mountain the less colors there were. It was a good time even though it was short. We hope that his parents will be able to come visit us soon.

Arizona Vacation

This month we went to Arizona for a vacation. It was really to get in touch with friends that we haven't seen in awhile. Jonathan and I were both able to get together with friends for lunch on the first day that we were there and then on Saturday we were able to get together with the Handley gang for dinner and games. On Monday we went up to Wendy's dads house in Prescott Valley, along with Lyle, to help her dad hang his upper kitchen cabinets and to install a ceiling fan and light fixture. On Tuesday Wendy got to spend an entire morning with her niece. Since Jodi had to work and Lyle was going out with another friend she was able to watch her niece for awhile. She had so much fun and so did Lindsay. The week went by fast and furious, but what fun we had visiting everyone.

USS Texas

The rest of the week with Cody was great. On Tuesday we went to the Bluebell Ice cream factory in Brenham. Cody had fun, but the best part was the ice cream at the end of the tour. How can you turn that down. Cody also learned that in Houston, everything is a drive. He got used to bringing his stuff with him on trips because he knew we would be in the car at least 20 to 30 minutes, most of the time more. After the ice cream factory we went to our local pool where Cody met a neighbors grandson. They became fast friends and the rest of the week they went to the pool together everyday. On Thursday we went to the USS Texas. What a blast. It is so cool to be able to turn the guns up and down and around and to actually see how they would have worked. Of course there was no ammunition, so it wasn't as cool as Cody would have liked, but still fun. Touring the ship was great

Galveston

So my nephew Cody came into town for a week and we went all over the Southeast area of Texas. Day one was Galveston. We went to the Elissa which is a three masted tall ship and then to see some huge houses and of course the beach. We went to the Elissa first and had fun touring the boat, looking at all the detail work that goes into one of these ships. This ship still sails today and has a learning program that teaches you how to work the mast on the ship. Too scary for me to get up on those poles and unlatch the sails, thank you anyway. The two houses we saw were the Moody Mansion and Bishops Palace, both built in the late 1800's. Cody learned that they both withstood the hurricane of 1900. He was in awe of these homes, as you should be, looking at them with all the masterful work that went into them. If only they still built them this sturdy. We spent a couple hours at the beach next, and of course, I was the only one to get burnt. The boys didn't get anything. We had a blast and the waves were actually pretty good that day too. Of course we had to eat on the beach and when you go to Galveston you can't go without ice cream, so we stopped and ate ice cream on the beach too. After that long day how did we continue to go, I don't know, but we did. Look for more postings on the rest of the week.

Spring Break

Jonathan and Wendy went to Galveston for a two day get-away during Wendy's spring break from work. It was just what the doctor ordered, relaxation. We had fun visiting sites, walking the beach and just relaxing. I think we may have found a new place to get away too.

August trip part 2

The second part of out August trip was spent in Shelbyville, TN. We went there to visit Wendy's "nephew" Cody. We suprised him at his grandmothers house. We spent time touring old historic civil war homes with him the day we were there. He likes to do that stuff too, which is cool. Cody's great grandmother Evelyn graciously let us stay with her the night we were there.

Newlywed retreat

Ok, so first off, yes it was a newlywed retreat and we realize that there are no pictures of the two of us together, but we were there together and we did have fun. This retreat was hosted by our Sunday School class and there were a lot of people there as you can see by the BBQ picture. Our friends Tina and Devin had the shortest room in the retreat center, but for Tina it fit just fine. As you can see by the rest of us, it was a little short. The retreat center is only about 90minutes from our house so it was a quick trip up and back. We made lots of friends and enjoyed the seminars that were offered as well. We learned a lot about each other and about marriage that will help us strengthen our marriage.

August trip part 1

In August we were able to tour all around. The first stop was to Jonathan's parents house in Aiken, SC. We were able to spend a couple days touring their little town. Then it was up to Chattanooga, TN to attend the rehearsal dinner and wedding of Wendy's old roommate. Wendy and Emily got engaged one week apart so they were able to spend time with wedding plans together. Emily and her husband got to drive the "hotrod" from the wedding to their reception and Jonathan was jealous. So he took a picture. We were also able to take a riverboat tour of up and down the Tennessee river before the wedding, so it was fun to see more of Chattanooga than just the church and art museum. We had a blast.

Vero Beach

In July we were able to drive down to Florida and visit Jonathan's Grandma Bea. This would be the last time we would see her before her death in October. We enjoyed our visit with her, as she took us to the cafe on site at her retirement center everyday for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. She always had a smile on her face. While we were there we took in a trip to the beach to catch some sun. We were also able to catch up with Wendy's friend from college who moved to Vero Beach recently. It was a relaxing and fun trip.