Baybrook Ward Camp out

My ward went on a camp out (they do every year before it gets too hot) and our whole family actually went this time, even though we are not much of a "camping family". When I went back to Idaho in 2011 to finish my degree, my parents took Alexa with them, which is the same place they went this year too. It was pretty fun I will say. It was beautiful weather and it only lightly sprinkled once or twice. This was Preston's very first camping trip and he did quite well! He loved "hiding" in the tent when the men were trying to set them up. He also saw other people go inside their tents and he said "hide"... as if they were "hiding" too. LOL :o) Alexa also had a special treat while she was there- her first sleep over (kinda). My parents brought an extra 3 person tent and since Alexa's very best friend (and family) set up there tent right in front of ours, I suggested the girls have their own tent in between our tent and theirs. So Alexa and Maddie had there very own "girls tent". Of course they talked until late in the night, and woke up super early to go pee and just stayed up talking. But she had lots of fun and she kept saying "I just LOVE camping!!" They also had an Easter egg hunt Saturday morning for all the primary kids. Here are some pics

Sarah Lindt, Jack Macchi, Maddie Smith and Alexa playing in the sand. Alexa got horribly dirty by making the sand wet, but she loved it!

Preston helping Nana and Gpa with the tent

Hiding!

Jackson Smith and Preston playing in a tent

After the sand

Nice Pat! ;o)

Preston LOVING corn on the cob from Hoda Simpson

The girls tent (along with little bro, Jackson)

Making S'mores

BIG Changes

Some very BIG changes are happening in our lives! Pat got the Sprint internship he was hoping for in COLORADO!! WA-HOO!! :o) His title will be "Project Manager Intern". We will be moving there Mid-April!! (moving truck is set for April 13) We are really excited about it, and that Pat is One step closer to finishing his bachelor's degree!! It is a little out of my comfort zone to shake up our lives again once more, but I know this is what needs to happen in order for Pat to finish his degree. We have lived in 7 different apartments (including our stay in my parent's house) and will have lived in 4 different states, but I've never felt more at home and welcome here in Texas! I never thought I would say that, but after living in Texas for a little over 2 years, I can say (BESIDES the awful weather), this is my favorite state! I love the conservative Christian values here and how friendly people are. I'm sure it is part of the "Southern" personality, but I think it's funny how many people have called me "baby" or "honey" or whatever.
Having my mom be Relief Society President has enabled me to get to know so many more people than I otherwise would have, which has been a wonderful experience! I absolutely love my ward family here and I will miss everyone so much! I am hoping that we can find another amazing ward where ever we end up, and I am so glad that my church values and organization is the same now matter where I go!

Never having lived close to family before we moved to Texas, it has been so nice to have my family near by to babysit our little ones, or to go over to their house just so we can have more playing space instead of our tiny apartment! My family, especially my mom, has been able to have more of a close connection with my kids, and I'm sure they will miss her very much! Preston especially has a close relationship with her since she has been with him since birth, and for the first 8 months or so, spent much of every week babysitting him. Preston also loves to "announce" grandpa Rich everyday when he comes home from work. He hears Gpa coming in the side door and runs over to him, pointing his finger and yelling, "Aahhh!" (As if to say, "GRANDPA'S HOME!") It's so cute! (Preston also has an announcement for my brother, Chris. He says, "Aaaahhh"- a longer one than Gpa's ;o)

On the upside, we have my sister and her family, as well as my in-laws that will be close by in CO, but no church friends as of yet. I guess that is something we have to look forward to.

After telling Alexa that we are moving to Colorado, she said, "are we going to stay there forever?" (She likewise has moved just as many times as we have and I'm sure she is tired of moving just as much as we are!) I told her that I Really hope so because I'm tired of moving!! She is also looking forward to getting a house, just as we are! We are really hoping to buy a house in the next year or so, but if not, it will be soon after that!! :o)

Good Bye Texas, Hello Colorado!

Bayou Wildlife Park

This week starts our school's Spring Break. We started the week with a trip to Bayou Wildlife Park in Alvin, TX. It was a little chilly, especially with the wind, but it was so fun! I've never experienced anything like it! We bought a couple buckets of food to feed the animals and as we were entering the park, there were all sorts of deer and llamas attacking our car and wouldnt let us pass until we fed them some food. It was hilarious! Even when we drove a few feet ahead, they just followed us with their head poked in our car. Preston and Alexa thought it was hilarious! When we finally passed the "gate keepers" who would only let us pass if we fed them, we parked and were walking up to the building they had, a deer just came up to us, looking for some food. So Preston and Pat took a food bucket we had, and he just started munching away. Preston loved it! We then hopped on one of the trams for a tour of the park and it took us though the whole thing showing us all sorts of animals from buffalo, zebras, giraffes, llamas, ostriches, alligators and more. Some of the animals came up to the tram looking for food. After the tram ride, we went into the petting zoo where there were baby goat, some pigs, and a few other animals. Lex and Pres liked this part too! Oh and Alexa got to ride a horse, which she loved! It was such a fun day and a good way to start the break!

Preston and Pat feeding a deer

Grandpa and Preston

Taking a tour

Such beautiful creatures!! I Love zebras!

It's hard to see but sitting next to the ladder, there were 2 ringed tail lemurs from Madagascar.

 

Alexa got to ride a horse! And she did GREAT!

The fattest pig I think I've EVER seen!!

I love giraffes!

Cirque du Soleil

Last night Pat and I went on a much needed date, to Cirque du Soleil. It was so fun! I've never been to one of their performances before so this was a first and it was definitely entertaining!! I can't even begin to describe the things we saw! Some of it was kind of random and a lot going on a once but it really was SO cool! Since we were not allowed to take pictures, I'll post some I found on the internet so you can get the gist of it :o)

 

 

The Cirque du Soleil performance was called "Quidam".

 

Here is a synopsis-

The entire show is imagined by a bored young girl named Zoé who is alienated and ignored by her parents. She dreams up the whimsical world of Quidam as a means of escaping the monotony of her life. The show's title refers to the feature character, a man without a head, carrying an umbrella and a bowler hat. Quidam is said to be the embodiment of both everyone and no one at the same time. According to Cirque du Soleil literature "Quidam: a nameless passer-by, a solitary figure lingering on a street corner, a person rushing past. ... One who cries out, sings and dreams within us all."

Little girl Zoe, her father and "Quidam"

 

 

There was also this silent clown between acts that would invite people from the audience to come up on stage and do silly things with him. This picture is of when he took a woman from the crowd and pretended to be riding in a car... they end up "parking" and the clown very over dramatically wants to "make out" with her, and so you can use your imagination on how the rest goes...it was pretty funny and entertaining!!