A Memorable Memorial Day

We went down to Houston (Kingwood specifically) to visit our dear friends the Putnams, see their new home, and to visit my sister and her family. We loved the Putnam's home, the beautiful forests (with lots of fun trails) all around their neighborhood, and of course their pool. This is Ken throwing Cameron into the pool. They all had their turn to be thrown into the pool, but this is the only picture that wasn't just a splash.

A darling picture of Erick just cheesing it in the pool.

As you can tell Bethany had a lot of fun too!


We got there about 9:00 p.m. on Thursday night and so all of the children did not get to bed until about 11:30 p.m. and then Wesley, Cameron and Ben were up at about 5:00 a.m. So by 5:30 p.m. Wesley and Cameron crashed and slept through the whole BBQ that we had with the Schaffer family (I was in the Elementary Education Program with Andrea Schaffer at BYU and she now lives in Kingwood). It was fun to see them and their 4 children. Last time we saw them we were both newly married. Their family has been great at welcoming the Putnams to Kingwood.



On Saturday Ken, Don, Emma, Ben, Wesley and Cameron went to the NASA Space Center just Southeast of Houston. They all enjoyed it but I think the two dads liked it the best! This is the engine for an Atlas 5 (that is the rocket that went to the moon). Each one of these engines makes 1 1/2 million pounds of thrust and each rocket has five of these engines.

This is the replica of the Lunar Lander that actually landed on the moon.

The museum had a whole George Lucas section (I guess since he is really into making movies that have to do with space) the kids really enjoyed.


What a cute little astronaut!

This is the rocket that they are currently developing that will take us back to the moon and eventually to Mars by 2030 (the projected date).

This is Jill holding Bethany. I have a habit of cutting off the adults when taking pictures and just getting the baby! I'm sure that Jill has a beautiful smile thinking I am taking a picture of her too.

Jill and I enjoying each others company. This is in her dining room right after church. We loved their ward...they seem like they will take good care of our friends.

The Putnam's neighborhood had a Crawfish Boil. Yes, they bring big buckets of live crawfish, rinse them off and throw them in seasoned boiling water. I thought it was kind of sad, but obviously my boys thought it was cool!

They just dump the crawfish on the table and...

Everyone steps up to the trough (oh I mean table) and crack the crawfish and suck out the meat. I found this scene quite hilarious. What was even more funny is that everyone was surprised that we had never been to a Crawfish Boil before.

Jill tried one and...

so did Ken!

Wesley helped rinse, pour and stir the crawfish. He tried eating one and said, "I don't like them yet, maybe when I am older." We can only hope. Ben is trying to listen to see if he can hear the crawfish scream as they are thrown into the boiling water. Of course, both Wesley and Ben are convinced they heard them scream.

We drove all the way over to Spring (another suburb of Houston) to see the temple only to find the gates locked :(

That didn't stop Wesley and Carter from getting in! The Houston temple is very beautiful--it kind of looks like a castle.

This is Erick and Carter saying good-bye! They love each other and play so well together. We will have to visit again soon. Thanks Putnams for a great weekend!

On the way home, we stopped in College Station, stayed in a hotel and spent the Memorial Day with the Beams (my sister's family). Wesley had some good bonding time with Cougar.

Conner was "reading" a book to Carter. He had the book memorized. Carter was so lucky to see two of his bestest buddies in one weekend.

Laughing with Luddy (my sister's nickname).

Bethany gave lots of smiles for the Beams!

We went swimming in the pool at our hotel. This was Bethany's first time swimming and she loved it.

Nikolas and Bethany getting acquainted. We really enjoyed seeing Nikolas so happy and healthy.

This picture just speaks for itself. So sweet!

Kim made us an amazing dinner and then we got ice cream sandwiches for dessert. Cameron's whole body really enjoyed this ice cream.

We got all the cousins to sit still for a second on the couch (Bethany was asleep). We are so glad that we live close enough to visit more than just once a year.

Our friends, the Hinckleys, took us out on their parents boat. They were taking it for a final spin before they move to St. Louis (yes almost all of our friends seem to be moving). We went during the day on a school day, so we only took Bethany and Carter. Carter was in awe of the whole experience.

Here is my hunk of husband water skiing. Doesn't he look great?

And me just trying to stay up!

Swimming in the nice grayish/green water in Lewisville Lake. This is where our drinking water comes from...scary!

Trying to keep Miss Beth out of the sun. She seemed to be soothed by the movement of the boat. She was happy and quiet the whole time! Thanks Hinckleys!

T-Ball and Bethany

Surprised by the flash! Look at those big eyes. Luckily her small little eyelashes fell out and have been replaced by beautiful long eyelashes like her brothers.

Flirting with daddy...

Just a plain sweet look.

Cameron is playing T-ball this season instead of soccer and even though he has never played before he is doing really well, plus he looks really cute. His coach (Chris Delamarter) also coached his soccer team so several of his soccer teammates are on his team. Chris is a big fan of Notre Dame hence the Irish mascot for the team. Cameron told us that if he grows up to be a T-ball coach someday, his team will be BYU.

Cameron warming up with a big throw.

Lots of Stuff

Bethany got so many clothes from friend's giving me hand-me-downs and from our baby shower, I have hardly bought her anything. But, when I saw this darling little dress at the store, I couldn't resist. Also, I tried putting it on without the onesie under it but is just wasn't modest. I know it's kind of crazy, but I had to keep the shirt on. If I didn't, my boys would probably would have called me on it and said, "Mom, that is not modest."

Doesn't she look happy? See, she like the dress just as much as I do.

Mr. Wesley playing soccer. He missed a few games this year because of his asthma, but when he did play he did really well.

Cameron reading a book (I think it is Frog and Toad Together) at Wesley's soccer game. Kind of a strange place, but I love to see my children read.

We had Wesley's end of season soccer party at Peter Piper Pizza along with every other soccer team in the league it seemed (it was crowded). This was Kent Loney's last season to coach. We had all the kids on the team sign a soccer ball and Carrie (one of the moms) got a nice box to display it in. Julie (another mom) made amazing scrapbooks for the coaches. Julie also made soccer pillowcases with a picture of the team on them and had each of the players sign them as well. They were very impressive! If any of you want to purchase some for your children's team let me know and I will give you her information.

And of course, the highlight for Wesley (besides playing all the video games) getting his trophy.

Carter is really becoming a popular guy with two birthday parties in one day. First, he went to a "Space" party for Michael Fluckiger (a little boy in his Sunbeam class at church). They each got "jet packs" (made by Michael's mom Sarah) and got in the "space shuttle" (also made my Sarah) ready for blast off. They were watching a video of when the space shuttle first blasted off and they were all so excited.

Notice Carter's rocket ship shirt. That was supposed to be Michael's b-day present, but Carter just had to put it on. He told us, "I can share it with Michael. I will wear it one day and then give it to Michael the next day." Good idea Carter, but we decided to go back to the store to get Michael his own shirt instead.

They flew to the "moon" and had to collect "moon rocks" and put them in their "jet packs." The moon rocks were little toys and candy wrapped up in balls of tin foil.

Then he went to Isabelle Embry's party at Main Event to go bowling. Isabelle is in Carter's preschool as well as in his Sunbeam class at church. Carter helped me pick out Isabelle's present. It was between a dress and some jammies. He couldn't decide and actually had a break down in the store because he wanted to give her both. We finally decided on the jammies. I'm glad he is not a girl, the drama would probably be worse. This is Carter after throwing (well I should say, slowly pushing) his bowling ball down the lane. He was actually really good!

More of Miss Bethany whether you like it or not!

Yes, Mama and Bethany like to stick out our tongues at each other.


Bethany with Gram and her famous hat.

Sarah got home from BYU. We are all so happy to have her back in Texas as you can tell by Cameron's big grin.


And...our dear, dear friends the Putnams moved to Houston today. We are happy for them since they have a great job, a beautiful house in a wonderful location with exemplary schools, but we will miss them so much. They lived around the corner from us and we either saw each other or talked almost every day. We are especially sad for Erik and Carter because they are bestest friends. They just love each other and play so well. The Putnams spent almost every day this week at our house because their house was being packed and the new family moved in. It was so fun to have them here this week. We wish them the best in their new adventure and look forward to visiting them later this month in their new house.