Miscellaneous and our Daycation...

I have a few random things I need to blog about, so here we go. I never talked about what an awesome job Mark and the boys did for Mothers Day. I don't have any great pictures, but here is one where it shows off the big candybar board that they made for me. It was so funny. I loved it. They had also made me several coupons like: I will clean my room without asking, or I will make you breakfast in bed. I always get those and then forget to use them. You're on notice now boys...I'm going to use them this year!! :) Mark grilled my favorite vegetables and had an AWESOME dinner. He also got me a new charm from James Avery for my charm bracelet. It was a heart that said "mom." I love James Avery and that was a big surprise. I was able to take a long nap and didn't have to lift a finger. Now I need to do something fun for Mark for Father's day this year. I have a few ideas......

One night I tried to put a few curlers in Rachael's hair. Surprisingly, most of them stayed in and the next day at church her hair looked TOO CUTE! She is so funny in this picture how she is "talking" on my cell phone. Hmm...I wonder where she gets that from!

Today we just got back from Dallas. It was a quick 24 hour trip and was, for the most part, fun. We left yesterday for a wedding reception last night in Richardson for one of Mark's YM that he really enjoyed years ago. Unfortunately I remembered my camera, but LEFT THE MEMORY CARD behind. argggh. But I can tell you it was so worth the quick trip. It was a totally casual Texas-style reception held in a BBQ restaurant and included brisket and cobbler. Mark and I loved the food. The kids thought that the meat was raw because it had that pink appearance from being smoked. What's up with that!!!?? They wouldn't touch it. Needless to say, we made an unscheduled trip to Chick Fila on the way to the hotel. It was so fun to see old friends and feel the love from people that we truly admire. Plus, as an added bonus, our hotel was free because we used some of our points. The kids got to go swimming a couple of times, too. It was a great time.

Also, I want to talk quickly about going to the drive in a couple of weeks ago. This was my brother's idea and it was SO FUN!!! We saw UP and liked it, but I think the kids didn't enjoy it as much as I did. We are definitely doing that again.

Our Aquarium Outing!

Last Saturday, Mark's company sponsored a day at the aquarium for a fraction of the price that it normally is ($15.99 regualar..we got in for $5 a person). I really wanted to take advantage of this and so Mark and I took Jonathan and Spencer (Rachael and Austin stayed with a babysitter). Catherine and her girls came along too and we really had a great time. Here is a picture with Jonathan, Spencer, Allison and Sarah.

Here are the boys in their "diving" outfits. Spencer is being his usual self while Jonathan thinks to himself.."Um, Mom, I think I'm getting too old for this!"

We saw a lot of cool fish, (including a fish that was HUGE and had a nose that looked exactly like a chainsaw), but my favorite display was the White Bengal tigers (at the aquarium???!!!) They were SO COOL and we stared at them forever. They are kept indoors in an A/C display. Gorgeous and so ferocious at the same time.

Mark and I on the train to see the sharks.

Spencer and Jonathan on the train, and then later they got to ride the "lighthouse ride" (similar to the Maliboomer from Disneyland)

Here are the boys clowning around with their sticker bracelets. We really had a great time and were able to go to "Cold Stone Creamery" afterwards. It was a fun outing and even though it was HOT we were glad to get out and do something different.