I spy...

While we were waiting for my recent OB appointment Emery and I played "I spy." It was her turn and she spied something red. I look over at her and she is desperately trying to cover up as much of her shirt as she can.

Hmm...I wonder what red thing she spies?

Temple Tour

The missionaries in our area recently held a temple tour at the Houston temple. We went with some friends and had a great time. My friend in the white dress on the left got baptized this past year. Then the guy with the boy on our shoulders got baptized a few months ago, and the girl in front just got baptized last week. Lots of exciting missionary work going on in our ward! They are all great people and we've loved getting to know them.

I couldn't get a good picture of the temple so here's one I copied from lds.org, in case you are curious what the Houston temple looks like.

It's beautiful on the outside, and even MORE beautiful on the inside!

Gavin's Spartan Race

Gavin participated in another Spartan Race a few weeks back. When he told me he wanted to do it again I said, "Ummm, do you remember how you told me you NEVER wanted to do another one of those terrible things?" Apparently Spartan races are like child birth and you forget how tough and painful they are and by the time the next one comes around it sounds like a fun thing to do. This one was different than last years, this one was a "sprint", which was a little over 5 miles with obstacles, whereas last year's race was a "super spartan" and was over 10 miles with obstacles. Gavin enjoyed the sprint WAAAAY more than the super! Here's some of the obstacles he had to do:

Pretty awesome, right?! Gavin is one tough guy. And because I think he's so amazing I have to brag about him and tell you that he finished in the TOP 1%. Yes, I said that right, 1%!!!!!!!!!!!! He doesn't tell people that tiny little fact when he talks about it so I make sure to mention it. :) I think he's awesome.

While Gavin was busy playing in the mud and jumping over fires Emery and I had fun in Austin with Whitney and her girls (Tobin did the race too). We rode a little train around a park:

Explored the park a little bit:

After the race we headed back to our friend's lake house we were staying at and did some jet skiing and the girls swam with their dads for awhile. I couldn't get Emery to get in the water, but Gavin took me for a ride on the jet ski and when we came back Whitney had coaxed Emery in and she was swimming around with Tobin. I was so glad! 

After we packed up we headed to dinner with one of Gavin's old BYU roommates and his wife. We LOVE our visits with them--they always have great stories and insights to share. 

It was an action-packed, fun-filled weekend, one that we hope to do again when the next Spartan race comes around! 

Galveston Getaway

My new favorite place is Galveston, TX. We loved our trip there a last year and when our friends asked if we wanted to go with them and rent a beach house for the weekend we jumped on the opportunity!

We couldn't have asked for more perfect conditions. The weather was BEAUTIFUL. Friday and Saturday the water was crystal clear and so calm, which is rare for Galveston. Usually the water is brown and sometimes has lots of seaweed. But it was so clear we could see fish in the waves as they crested.

Friday we spent some time at the beach, running in the waves, looking for shells, and just taking it easy. Our friends put Emery to bed for us so Gavin and I could go on a date. It was so fun. We went to a restaurant where we got some great seafood that we really liked. Gavin had Texas Redfish and I had stuffed shrimp. We don't get seafood very often so it was a fun treat. Then we went and saw the new Avengers movie. Dinner and a movie might sound boring to some, but Gavin and I NEVER do that...like, EVER...so it felt like a special treat for us.

Saturday morning was sandcastle building. They worked for hours building this thing and it looked really cool when it was done.

I think it looks like an Aztec temple or something. The sand at the beach is super fine and it doesn't work very well to use buckets to shape and mold things so they basically made a huge pile, packed it down, and then shaved away at it.

After the castle was built we took a break from the beach and headed to The Strand (like a touristy downtown type place) for lunch. We couldn't pass up our favorite ice cream and candy shop, La Kings, so we went there too. Luckily we caught them making their salt water taffy on their 100 year old taffy machines. It was fun to watch.

After they make it they throw pieces into the crowd and Emery caught herself one. It was pretty tasty! 

Poor Emery was super worn out from all the fun on Friday and then not getting enough sleep (who needs sleep when you have frieeeends?!) So this is what she looked like through lunch:

Poor girl could barely keep her eyes open. She did perk up a little bit after she had some food in her, but she was one tired girl. 

After some lunch and ice cream we headed back to the beach for some more relaxation and fun. The boys decided to add to their sandcastle and make a neighboring town. Here they are, hard at work:

By that point, Emery had a fever and was so tired so she just laid down and rested for awhile. This next picture kind of breaks my heart. She looks so sad and tired, but still cute with her ruffly little bum in the air. I gave her some Tylenol and pretty soon she was doing much better and wanted to come play again. 

Our beach buddies! They were so fun to vacation with--super laid back but full of fun! Plus Emery and their youngest boy get along so well. 

Happy beach bums!

Emery loves the beach. She talks about it every day. She is a girl after my own heart!

We had to bury somebody, and this guy was the lucky one this trip! We did make him into a merman after and he looked pretty awesome with rippling pectorals and a sea shell belly button!

A story to go along with the above fish picture. That little fishy was stuck behind a sandbar after the tide went out. We decided to try to catch him, but he was too fast! It was quite a sight to see 4 adults and a few kids (some other kids joined in the fun) racing around with sand buckets, trying to catch this little fish. We were not having any luck, when all of a sudden Gavin drops his bucket, sticks his hands in the water and SNATCHES THE FISH WITH HIS BARE HANDS! I still laugh just thinking about it. It was AWESOME.

Pregnant belly and feet in the nice warm sand. I was in my happy place! 

I didn't take any up-close pictures of the house but you can see it in this picture of Emery. We were the second one back. It was so nice being close to the beach and having a private beach to relax on. 

And last of all, here is a video we took of some clams. There were thousands of them. I dug my hands into the sand on Friday and thought I felt a bunch of pebbles. Imagine my surprise when they started wiggling! They were mesmerizing to watch. 

The Animal Game with a Toddler

Last summer Bella (the girl I babysit) and I started playing the animal game a lot when we needed to pass the time. It's like 20 questions but with animals only. Emery wasn't interested at first but then she started getting into it. It was hilarious to hear her questions at first and it's been fun to see her get better at the game. For example, now she will think of animals other than a cat, and if you ask if it has 2 legs and she says yes, then you can trust that the animal actually has 2 legs and isn't a 4 legged creature. It's one of my favorite things we do and I captured a video of it yesterday.


She still has some strategy points to pick up...like not telling me it has a shark tail :) but she's really getting better at it!

Holy Hail!

We had an EPIC hail storm a few weeks ago. It had been really rainy and stormy, but all of a sudden it got CRAZY loud. We ran to the door to watch it. The biggest we saw were a little bigger than quarter-size, but some friends close by had some that were golf ball size in their yard!

It's been a long time since I've seen hail this big and it was really cool to see the ones that broke open. They they reminded me of a jawbreaker or rings on a tree trunk. I thought they were beautiful. And check out those spikes!

Frozen on Ice

Emery and I had the chance to go on a "Mommy-Daughter" date with some friends to Frozen on Ice. It was so fun! Disney does not skimp on the experience. The set, costumes, and effects were all incredible. It snowed, fireworks shot down from the ceiling, and a HUGE marshmallow snow monster grew right in front of our eyes. It was a magical evening!

Blurry cell phone picture, but you kind of get the idea of how magical it was. 

It was so fun to see the girls all so excited. Emery's friend in the picture above was so funny during "Let It Go." She was singing along at the top of her lungs, and when Elsa rips her tiara off, Emery's friend ripped hers off dramatically, both her arms flung out, singing, "THE PAST IS IN THE PAAAAAAAST!" Emery's other friend was so overcome with happiness at the end of the show when the happy ending comes that she started hugging all her friends. Disney knows just how to get to the heart of little girls (and big girls too!).