Houston Aquarium

Around the middle of February, we found out that Kelvin had been offered a full time position with the Facilities Dept in Grand Prairie to start the second week of March.  We were excited about the offer and that Kelvin was now done with his OLDP training.  We accepted the position and then tried to prepare for a move when we got a call that they were going to move up his date of hire and send him to Kentucky for a special assignment for a couple of months.  Though a little shocked, we decided that this would be good for his career and decided to go for it.  It was then that we toyed around with the idea of me staying in Lufkin while he was in Kentucky or just moving like we planned and stay with his parents for those two months.  We decided to go ahead and move to help save money and then I could look for a place to live.  This left us with only a couple weekends left and so we called up our kindred friends and asked if they wanted to go to Houston with us that day (Sat).  They readily agreed and we all packed up and headed to Houston for the day.

We decided that it would be better if we could all take one car so we piled in the van.  Poor Lydia Martin sat on the floor in between the two captains chairs the ride there and back.  I offered to change her seats but she said she was fine.  We did put a blanket under her so it wasn't too uncomfortable.

The original plan was to go to the zoo, but Mark wanted to buy us all lunch at the restaurant which was at the aquarium.  He had heard that it was a great place to eat so we headed there first.  Well, seating took forever and then actually getting the food took longer.  All in all we waited for about 3 hours to eat.  The food was great though and the scenery was super cool!  We were basically eating surrounded by an aquarium.  The kids loved it even though they were extremely tired and hungry (not to mention ornery) by the time we got our food.

Pictures outside the aquarium

Inside the restaurant

We decided that since we were already there at the aquarium and our food had taken so long that we might as well stay there instead of going to the zoo.  The aquarium itself was quite a let down!!!  It was so short and only had your average fish.  It was somewhat saved by the end though where they had a huge white tiger!  Although the tiger was a little out of place being in an aquarium when there were no other non-aquatic animals to be found, it was still pretty awesome.  We sat and watched it for about 10 min.

Our tickets included carnival rides that they had on one side of the aquarium and we took FULL advantage of that since the actual aquarium was pitiful.  The carousel was a big hit with the kids and we rode it probably 4 or 5 times.  Then we did the faris wheel which was rather terrifying for me.  I hate heights!!  My friend Lydia also hates heights and we were both closing our eyes and holding on for dear life the entire ride.  Lastly, we did the train ride.  It was pretty cool but we were glad we sat near the front because you go through a tunnel and everyone in the back gets a big ole' whiff of carbon monoxide!  Then as you are nearing the end, a big shark jumps out of the water on the side.  It was very startling and if having a shark jump out at you wasn't enough, there was blood dripping from it's mouth!  Who in the world thought that that was appropriate for kids????  Lydia talked about it for weeks and constantly said how scary it was.

Faris Wheel of Death.....

Please don't die, please don't die, please don't die...

Train!!!!

Mark and Payton

Sweet Nathan!!

She was so mesmerized looking at all the sharks. 

Yeah, this thing was FREAKY!!!

It was a great day and we were so happy to have that time with our dear friends before we moved away!

Our Newest Addition....

Last week I got something I've been wishing for since we were married.

You may laugh, but to me this is a big deal.  We haven't been able to afford new pot and pans and have been using the ones we received from our wedding.  A couple weeks ago, Kelvin looked at our pot and pans and saw all the teflon scratched off and asked where the black coating was going?  When I told him it was going into our food and we were eating it, he became concerned.  He started to look at amazon for some stainless steel pots and pans.  He asked me which ones I wanted and when I told him, he looked it up. He saw the price and about died!  Yes I know they are pricey ($1500-$2000) but they are the best.  Since we both knew we couldn't afford those, we started to look at second best options.  When we ran across a deal from Amazon for a $400 set for $130, we jumped on it and got this AWESOME new set a couple days later.  Since I cook a lot I get excited about this stuff.  With our old pots and pans, I let the kids get into them and play with them because I didn't care.  Now, the kids get in trouble if they touch my pans!!  It's been so much fun to cook with these beauties and I know that my family is healthier with them.

Take a Picture of My Backpack!

I was testing some settings on our camera and started taking a few pictures when Lydia thought she needed to be my model.  She had her backpack out and told me I had to get some pictures of it and then promptly wanted to see the picture in the camera to make sure I took them.  Silly girl!  I love her silliness everyday.

Jason's First Birthday!!!!

I can't believe my baby is 1!  I love that he is growing up and learning all sorts of new things, but I hate it at the same time because I will probably never have the baby experience again.  It's bitter sweet like most things in life.

Kelvin's parents came to Lufkin on Friday the 8th and he and his dad went bowling for a charity event that Lockheed Martin was putting on.  Maritza and I stayed home with the babies and they were excited to see her.  Jason was a little hesitant at first but he warmed up to her pretty quick.  He is at that stage of separation anxiety and doesn't like new people or being away from me.  Lydia had it but not as bad as he seems to.

The next morning we sang to Jason and took everyone out to breakfast.  We ran into a lady that Kelvin works with at Lockheed when we got there (we run into people quite a bit, I guess that's what happens in a small town), and she was excited to meet me and the kiddos.  She came to our table as she was leaving and introduced us to her husband and then gave Jason a birthday present; a gold dollar coin.  She was so sweet and then gave one to Lydia as well.  I thought she had to be the nicest lady, first to give Jason a birthday present but then to give one to Lydia as well so she didn't feel left out.  We were very appreciative.

We made it home and put Jason down for a nap and then started to watch a show while we were waiting for Brandon and Lisa to show up.  They were also driving down from Dallas to spend the day with us. We ordered pizza for lunch and luckily had it there when they pulled up because the pregnant lady was pretty hungry!  I remember getting sick because I would be so hungry when I was pregnant too so I could empathize.  We ate lunch and the kids just played and played.  They were pretty happy to be together again.

We decided to do cake and presents while we were in the apt and then go to the zoo.  Jason loved the cake and kept wanting to touch it, but when it came time to eat it, he was NOT a fan.  He put one finger of frosting in his mouth and it was all over after that. He made a face like "what are you giving me mom?"  It was pretty funny.

I thought the cake turned out pretty well.  I put it together the day before and thought it looked pretty cute.  I originally wasn't going to do anything, but decided last min to pull something together.  Lydia thought the dragon was pretty awesome.

We went to the zoo after presents because that's kind of the only thing to do here, but we really had a good time.  It was fun going with people who hadn't been there before and the kids really liked running around and seeing the animals together.

Last, we rode the train. The whole time we were in the zoo the kids kept asking to go on the train.  When that time finally came, they were pretty ecstatic!  They had the most fun on the train ride I think.

We went back to our apt for last min bathroom breaks and to pack up snacks for everyone to take on the trip home.  It was a long drive ahead of them but we were all really glad that they came to celebrate Jason's special day.

Putting on his new birthday shirt!

Yep, it's my birthday!

The Dragon Cake!

Bring on the cake!

 YUCK!  What in the world did you give me?????       Such a sad face!

The other kids thought it was great.  I let them choose what part of the Dragon they wanted.

Present time!

At the zoo.

They both got a smashed penny and were so proud!

The hippos!

"Man this is taking forever!  Can we ride the train yet?"

 Such a handsome little boy!

And now, their favorite part of the entire trip!  We probably could have ridden the train two or three times and they would have been in heaven without ever stepping foot in the zoo.