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!