BIG church

We attend a BIG church. As of in "mega" and "you know, one of those churches." I'll spare you the story about how I never thought a big church could be a good thing (then God called me to one and showed me how He uses churches both small and BIG). But this past Sunday, to launch a campaign to reach out neighbors for Jesus called "Bigger than You", our church met together for one service in one building, as opposed to several services on 3 campuses. We also had lots of visitors from other churches, etc. Here's one video that captures the essence of the service, which was the last 5 minutes of it.



and my favorite part, just before the first video:

Charlie's First Day of Kinder

As usual, things don't go the way I planned them.

The plan: Get up extra early, get Charlie ready. Cook him a good nutritious breakfast. Give him lots of hugs and encouragement, take pictures. Pull my baby under my wing and fly far far away ...I mean, load up and head to school. Talk with the teacher. Watch Charlie interact with his class. Try to not cry. Then go to the parent meeting.

What really happened: The alarm that I KNOW I set right didn't go off. Wake up 5 minutes before the final bell rings at the school. Get Charlie up and rush him thru the morning routine. Snap a quick picture. Hand him a pop tart to eat on the way. Rush to the school. Hurry Charlie into class, drop off his stuff, snap another quick picture. Get out of the way. Get to the parent meeting 15 minutes late.


His exact words at this moment were: "I'm so excited I'm going to kindergarten!"


I know it's hard to see, but he just joined right in, sat in the middle of the kids for a story time.

So there it is. Another humbling experience, no doubt. ;) I think Charlie hardly noticed. He had a great day! He even told me he wished I hadn't brought him and picked him back up - he REALLY wants to ride the bus. So the transition is definitely easy for him. Praise God! :)

Fun at Granny's

In addition to all the places we went to sight-see, we had a lot of in between time at Granny's. We had so much fun just hanging out, and we played lots of games. Farkle, Uno, Go Fish...we even taught Granny to play Catan, then she beat us all! Made me proud! ;)

One day Granny got the water hose out and had fun with the boys.




Most evenings we sat out and watched the moon rise on the bay (Granny lives on the Bay of Galveston).





The boys played with chalk on Granny's porch.


And they wrestled with Bubba...often.


Chandler was elated to discover Granny had a dryer! (Aunt Randi looking on.)


Hosea grew accustomed to the madness that is 3 lil boys.


We saw a REALLY big grasshopper.


The boys played in the sand. (Major lens distortion here, can you tell?)


Chandler loved the slide/ swing set.


We found out that Aunt Randi and Charlie wear almost the same shoe size.


Chandler enjoyed some watermelon with Aunt Meme.




Hosea quickly learned that Chandler was his ally when it came to table food.


We discovered an abandoned kitten. I cared for it for the last few days of our trip, then Granny adopted it.


And this, my friends, is what grandsons will do to you - knock you out.


We also went to McD's...the boys wanted a picture with their Happy Meal puppies.


And here's a shot from eating out at Chuy's. Oh man, I forgot how good the food is there! I've been craving their salsa ever since. Thankfully there are a few here in San Antonio!


And that's it!! Please, don't applaud. Hahaha. It was a great trip! And now to adjust to Chuck working away from home...and Charlie starting Kindergarten...and Chance starting Pre-K. Sigh. I'm so glad we got so much time together before all this time apart started!

Nederland

Also during our trip we spent 4 days in Nederland, near my hometown, and where the majority of my family lives that is still there.

The boys got some Lego building time with Aunt Peggy.


Aunt Peggy and Uncle Mike have a new tv. I think the boys thought it was an IMAX.


We went to lunch with my sisters and extended family. I was so happy that Dodie, my former step grandma came! Wish I would've gotten a better picture.


Chandler did his part to give his Aunt Randi ("Aun Andi") some baby fever, since she's getting married in December.


Then Randi watched Chandler while we went out for dinner - and continued to work his charm. Ha! And Mari (Aunt Meme) watched the older boys. Thanks girls!!

The next day we checked out a Bounce place.








Chan tried to wear this helmet but it was a bit heavy...


That night the maternal side of my family got together for dinner. I LOVE this picture because you see how everyone is interacting. And I LOVE that my family will get together to visit like this. There's an aunt, an uncle, 2 cousins, a dear friend and her family, and many 2nd cousins here.


My Mom, Granny, with my 2nd cousin Emily.


2nd Cousins, Mecaela and her sister Kya, and Emily (on the left). Mecaela just returned from a 2 month mission trip to Florida...we had lots to talk about! Way to go, Mecaela!


So we met up again the next morning at a nearby playground. (Mecaela with Kya)


Charlie in the ropes at the playground.


Then we went back to Dodie's to visit. Aunt Stephanie and Charlie played "Go Fish"


Sunday we attended my sister Randi's church, then had lunch, swam and ate with Uncle Mike and Aunt Peggy, and headed back to Baytown. It was so great to see our family!!

Houston Zoo

Ok, so are you tired of all these blogs yet? Heheh. But we did so much sight-seeing and it was definitely worth remembering!

We met up with my friend Leslie and her kids Ariana and Seth at the Houston Zoo. It was a very hot and muggy day, but we had fun anyhow!

Charlie and Chance, watching the Sea Lions:


Granny and Chandler also watching those sea lions:


Bubba was with us too.


It was nostalgic to see one of these fountains...remember these? Anyone?


Thankfully it cooled down for awhile as a shower came thru. The kids loved dancing and playing in it.



Then we also cooled off in the kids' waterpark area. Seth enjoyed the cool down.


Ariana looked so cute in her bikini!


3 boys going 3 directions, as usual.


Charlie and Chance thought it was fun to ride these turtles.


Chandler cracked me up with this frog. Granny has video of it - he thought he was turning it on when it would randomly spit out water. He played here a long time. So cute.


Then we saw a homegrown baby elephant. It reminded me of this post with the 22 month gestation of elephants. Man, I'm glad I'm not pregnant! ;)

And Seth and Charlie climbed on the statue of the baby elephant. Although the real baby was much bigger.


I WISH I would've gotten a pic of Leslie, sorry girl! But thanks so much for joining us, it was great!!

Houston Center for Photography

So Houston is definitely superior to San Antonio in this way - it has a Photography Museum. Not only a place to see cool photographs, but it has classes (be still my heart)! When I heard they were having a family day, I knew we had to go.

The boys got to see themselves in an old timey portrait:



Then they decorated frames:



Then they set up some exposure paper. This was cool.



Set it in the sun to let it expose...


(Can you tell the lens distortion here? It's wonky, I know.)

Then we set it in a liquid, then hung it to dry:


(Again, major distortion on Charlie's face. But see the papers behind him? So cool!)

And here's Charlie's final product:



I want to try that again sometime. I hear you can get the stuff at arts and crafts stores.