Galveston Island with Nana and cousins

Nana, Donna, Jarod, Sage, M'Kayla, and Tori drove all the way from Oklahoma to visit us for a long weekend. This was the first time they've been to Houston and so we had a lot to see and do. Jade and McKenna stayed with Nana and Donna on Friday while Mommy and Daddy worked. They had fun playing Wii and making pancakes and having pizza for lunch. When Mommy and Daddy got home, we went to Willie's for dinner. That was another hit! Daddy and Jarod woke up early Saturday and headed to Galveston for some fishing. The rest of us girls woke up and headed to the Island after stopping for Kolaches. We found the perfect spot on the beach and set everything up and then the fun began! Everyone had a great time playing in the sand and water. We ate sandwiches and and then went back to playing. Pappasitos was in order for supper.

Nana had to change her plans and leave on Sunday instead of Monday. We got up and celebrated Daddy's birthday with his favorite breakfast and a cake. Then Nana and everybody started packing. McKenna decided she wanted to go to Oklahoma with Nana. After some talking it over, we decided she could try it. She was so excited! She helped Mommy pack her bag and got in the car before anyone could change their minds. Sissy went with her and as they pulled away - McKenna was waving and blowing kisses like crazy! She was so excited!!! The girls stayed a week and both had a great time with Nana and Pop.

2 going on 5

McKenna has always amazed us with her communication skills, but it seems like lately she is even more advanced than normal. It is so fun to drive with her in the car and carry on a full conversation. And her understanding is amazing! She comes up with some really funny comments. Tonight she was trying to tell me that Mr. Moon was out andI kept trying to correct her that Mr. Sun was out but going to sleep soon and then Mr. Moon would come out. We got home and she pointed to the sky and said "MR. MOON IS OUT". I noticed that yes he was out but it was a very light crescent moon. Later she and I ran to WalMart and it was dark out - so Mr. Moon was very bright. She ran to the truck and said "Mr. Moon is awake and Mr. Sun went night-night" I said 'Yes there's Mr. Moon'...to which she replied, "See, I TOLD you he was out". She repeated that lovely phrase in a sing-song voice about 10 times on our way to WalMart.

She notices nearly everything as we're driving down the road:
"Mommy, there was an RV"
"Mommy, did you see those motorcycles back there?"
"Daddy, the fire truck is not at the fire station, it's right there"
"There's Jason's Deli. I like Jason's Deli"
"Mommy, where's the hawk, is he out hunting?"
"Sissy, that guy is not safe. He doesn't have a helmet on."

It's always fun - she skipped the 'why' stage and went right to the tour conductor stage. She commentates EVERYTHING!!!

Independence Day 2010

We were looking forward to a nice long weekend in Dallas to celebrate Independence Day. We had survived four straight days of rain in Katy thanks to Tropical Storm Alex and were looking forward to sight seeing in a dry area. Jadelyn has never been to the Ft. Worth Stockyards, so we were going to spend a day there. We were also going to give Hurricane Harbor a
try. I booked a hotel that would accept the dogs, so we were all set to go! After shopping for snacks and goodies for the car ride and for the hotel - I looked at the weather forecast and was heartbroken to learn that the entire state was expected to have rain ALL WEEKEND LONG!!! So instead of spending money on a weekend in the rain, we decided to stay home in the rain. Saturday turned out fairly decent - it rained off and on but we were able to get a couple errands run. Then we went to dinner with our friend Marie and her family. After dinner it was BOWLING time!!! We had a blast! McKenna loved bowling and was a trooper staying up WAY PAST her bedtime. Today, after sleeping in a bit, we went for breakfast and then shopping for fireworks. It was a quiet day as a family with the sporadic firecracker being lit in the backyard.

Darrell grilled some awesome ribeyes while I cooked up some mushrooms and Ranch Style Beans. We had a great dinner and then played some Wii, where we learned that Darrell doesn't like playing games he's not great at. We settled on more bowling and had fun taunting each other. Then it was time to go to the fireworks. We set our chairs up in the bed of the truck and watched all the fireworks around the Mall...then the real show began and we realized we were very close - felt like we could reach out and touch them! McKenna was too scared to look at the fireworks close by but loved watching for the far-off ones both before and after the main show. Happy Birthday to the greatest country in the entire WORLD!!!