Friday Favorite!

This week we rented a wii game...Excite Truck! Our friends called us one day and told us that we HAD to get it! They had just spent an entire Saturday playing it with their family and had so much fun! I have to admit...I wasn't that excited for it. My least favorite games ever, on any system, have been the driving games! I am AWFUL and really don't see the point of even trying...it's not really a skill that I've ever felt the need to improve at...especially since we are just not big gamers anyway! But, we gave it a try and I have to say...I LOVE IT!!! It is so much fun...and I even win. Steve and I have spent the last two nights racing each other (interspersed with Olympic watching, of course) and I win half the time! Wahoo! So, if you have the wii...give it a try! I'll bet you love it too!

Any other favorite wii games out there??? We're always up for suggestions!

The Countdown...

I am having a hard time adjusting to the fact that Summer is quickly coming to a close...and for the first time, in a long time...that means back to school! Maybe it's the fact that it is hot as blazes out there, so how summer can be ending, I'm not quite sure!?!

But this year...it's Garrett's turn to head off to school. And while some days I'm so excited for this transition because I know that he is SOOOO READY...there are other days (which are coming more frequently) that I am just not ready to send my baby off to kindergarten! How is it possibly time to meet this new milestone yet??? He's just my baby. Granted, he's a baby who is smarter than all-get-out (apparently he takes after his daddy!), but he's still my little boy and I just can't bear the thought of not being able to spend all day with him! Selfish, huh??? Poor Ethan and I are going to be bored stiff...who's going to make up all our games to play and read us stories and make up crazy things to do all day?!? Seriously, Garrett is the most imaginative and creative kid I've ever met!!! I guess I'm going to have to step it up a bit and get those creative juices flowing again! :) Ahhh, the pressure's on!

This Is Not A Test!

I remember growing up and hearing those "this is a test of the emergency broadcast system" warnings. You know, the big blaring buzz sound that came on the tv or the radio, forcing you to cover your ears??? I always thought that it was sooooo important, and I'd always listen to see if they had any message to run for shelter, drop and cover or anything of the sort afterwards. I don't know, maybe I was a weird kid...slightly paranoid maybe??? But seriously, I really thought it was a big deal!

Now, we have these warnings all the time. It seems like there is often a flash flood warning running across the bottom of the tv screen during the rainy months. I've heard the emergency warnings often, but always felt like we were in a safe place and wouldn't be affected! It doesn't help that our county is beyond LARGE and often, I wave off the warnings now with an "oh, that's for sure a warning for the other side...not for us!"

But now...as mom, and with a tropical storm/possible hurricane rolling straight for us, sometimes I wonder if I should pay closer attention to these warnings! But I guess, living in TX, you get used to these things and hopefully learn which things pertain to you and your family and which things you don't need to stress over!

But I wonder, as Garrett has learned how to bypass the warnings on our TV when they pop-up (which is about every 10 minutes the past two days)...am I teaching him to be watchful and heed warnings as they come??? Or am I teaching him to brush aside these warnings as we are inundated with them?!? Hopefully, there's a good balance there...I don't want him to be scared of the storms... and we always make them into a fun adventure! Plus we're prepared, and it's been an entire family effort to be prepared...Garrett and I have replaced all the batteries in the flashlights and he's even eyeing all the "yummy" stuff in his 72-hour kit! This morning he even asked if the storm would be bad enough that we could eat that food instead!?! So apparently, if you have chocolate pudding handi-snacks and juicyfruit gum in your kit...bring on the wind and rain!

Rocket Power

So, Garrett always comes home with a little drawing or something he's made in his primary lesson each Sunday. We always look at his stuff and talk about his lesson and such. I saw this cute lamb picture come home a few weeks ago and remember admiring his coloring and even noticing the extra rectangle in the corner of the picture but we didn't talk much about it.

Then the other night, I was in reading to Garrett before bed. He hands me a book as I snuggle in alongside him and I go to our bookmark and prepare to read the next chapter. I look at his 'bookmark', which just so happens to be the cute lamb picture from before and I comment again on how great his coloring skills are these days. He just smiles and says thanks. Then he asks me if I noticed the lamb's pack on his back? (oh, so that's what it was...maybe it went along with a primary story???) I acknowledge the pack with something along the lines of "Oh, what a great backpack!" He then giggles and tells me "Mom, it's not just a backpack...it's his rocket booster!" Oh great...my usually so reverent son was drawing rocket boosters for the primary animals! I then start laughing uncontrollably as I'm just trying to figure out (as I am constantly trying to figure out!) where exactly he comes up with these things! Must be from his Dad! :) hehehe!

Battle of Wills!

Okay, I give in. I was teasing Steve a while ago about this being FAMILY blog and I told him that I wouldn't post again until he contributed. But seriously...I don't think that will happen for a long time, and while I haven't been all that great about posting lately either, I do miss it! So, I'm giving in and posting...with or without Steve's participation! :)

Ha...I love how this sounds like it's a real issue in our marriage! It's really not! Steve is just as patient with me sharing the latest non-important things in our lives as he's always been! :) I love that guy!

So stay tuned...more posts to come!

True Beauty!

So, I don't know how I never realized that I had truly grown up in the most beautiful place on earth! I never really appreciate it until after I had moved away, I'm sad to say. Or maybe it's the fact that I'm just so much older and wiser now...I can truly appreciate these things! :) I guess it's always true, you never really know what you've got till it's gone (or at least really far away!).

Here's the view from our walk down to the beach! I have seen the most beautiful sunsets imaginable from this very spot! Truly a piece of heaven on earth!!!

Play Ball

In my attempts to win back my children's affection (after having neglected them severely this past weekend!), I decided to use the tickets we had bought earlier in the summer to go the the Astro's game last night. Usually this is a Daddy/Son activity...but who says Mommy can't go too...especially if Daddy happens to be out of town!?!?!?

So here we are...enjoying the game in a PACKED park! I don't think I've ever been to a game so well attended...and the fact that we won just added to the crowd frenzy! It was great!!!

Yeah...should have looked at the pic after I took it...it's the only group shot we got and Ethan apparently forgot to say cheese!

Again, a not-so-good pic, but I had to try and capture Ethan clapping. He would clap like crazy squeal with excitement anytime the crowd started cheering! And with the Astros in the lead...the crowd was cheering quite frequently!!! And, never mind that the picture makes it look as though he claps in his sleep - he was awake and LOVING it!!!

Garrett's token picture of the Minute Maid Train! I think we have 10 pictures of this train...just from different angles depending on our seats at the time! We tried to capture the fireworks too...but our timing was way off!

Garrett had to take this picture too...the reader board kept flashing 'ASTROS WIN!!!' and he really wanted to show Dad that they had won. So this one's for you Steve! Sorry you can't read it!!! :)