Adorable Girls

I just wanted to share some pictures of the little girls that I started watching on Wednesdays. Yesterday was my third week watching them and I just grow to love them more and more every time! I will try and get some pictures of the other kids I nanny for on Tuesdays and Thursdays, it's just a lot more hectic and hard to get everyone together after school sometimes with all they have going. Being a nanny has really opened my eyes to a lot of things and has taught me a lot about myself and the qualities I need to work on. It has been very difficult sometimes watching Andre (the little boy with Autism) so on Wednesdays it's kind of a day I can just relax and have fun with these girls. Andre is teaching me greater patience though, and I have learned a lot about caring for children with disabilities.

These are the twins! They are turning 2 next week. Sloane (pronounced like Jerry SLOAN) is the one on the left, and Taylor is on the right. They are best buds. They are always looking out for one another and they make each other laugh all the time. I put them in seperate rooms for naps because mom says they would just stay up and talk to each other=) When one of them wakes up from their nap, the first thing they ask is "Is sissu (sister) sleeping?" It's so cute! They call me Bre nanna or just Nanna, and it makes me smile whenever I hear it. They are so happy and so polite. Whenever I give them something (like lunch or a snack, or their water, etc) they always say "thank you". Taylor will even come up and tell me she poo pooed!=) I wish I could clone them=)

We have been walking over to this little playground around the corner from their house. They will spend hours here. We usually go before lunch so they are worn out for nap time=)

They love to pick these little flowers and then put them through the holes

of the benches. So funny!

She's saying "Cheeeeeese" The little face she makes is so funny!

This is their little wagon that they ride in to the park. Taylor decided yesterday that she wanted to walk home=) It took us a little longer, but she walked the entire way. She's so funny when we go to leave the house to go to the park. She's afraid of the garage door when it opens because it's so loud. She will always put her arms up and say "I hold you!" Which means "Hold me!"

This is their 5 year old sister Bryce. She is such a sweetheart. She is always watching out for her sisters. I haven't ever seen her get mad at them if they ruin something she's made. She's very patient and loves art and swinging. She's good at helping me translate things her sisters are saying sometimes when I just can't figure it out=)

Here they are together. Taylor is so funny! She hunched over because she saw Bryce bending over! They are constantly making me laugh, and I really love getting to spend time with them every Wednesday!

Breana's view of pants!!!

Apparently this guy and Breana have the same outlook on pants. As soon as this girl gets home the pants disappear. ( She does put them back on when people come over)

The Boys Went Fishing!

My brothers and I were able to go bay fishing a couple of weekends ago. It was a lot of fun to be together and remember all the funny stories and make fun of each other. The weather turned bad only a few hours in, but it was still fun.

The master of catching sting rays was apparently James with a total of four.

Caught a drum. It was probably 5-6 lbs.

James actually caught this.

Anthony caught another drum that was actually the same size as mine.

Waiting for fish to bite in the middle of the bay.

We also caught seven or eight whiteys. I don't really know the real name of them. All in all it was a lot of fun and I was glad we were able to get together.

Gardening/ James' visit

Joe and I had been talking about planting some veggies in planters out on our balcony. I was at Walmart yesterday and saw the topsy turvy tomato planter and bought it. When Joe got home from work we ran some errands and I told him I had bought the planter so we headed to Home Depot to get a plant. James spent the night with us last night because the he and Joe and Anthony went fishing early this morning. I cut his hair and then he went to the patio to find Joe planting away. That boy can never rest if there's something to be done. I was just going to do it today while they were fishing, but he wanted to get it done. Here are some pictures of our garden=) If Joe had his way, he would have planted corn somehow=) We wouldn't look ghetto at all!=)

getting the plant in the right way before they can put the dirt on the top
Joe planting the peppers and green onions

I was still wearing my smock from cutting James' hair. We got all the plants watered. Now we just pray they'll grow and produce.
We bought a tomato plant that was already pretty big and potted hoping it will produce fruit soon!
This is where the planters are. We planted different kinds of peppers in the one on the right, and used seeds to plant green onions in the other one. We're hoping to have some of the ingredients for fresh salsa.

We had a lot of fun shopping for what we were going to plant. It's so much fun doing things like this together. I'm really excited to watch everything grow! My family has planted a garden for as long as I can remember so I'm excited to get to do a little of it with Joe. We look forward to having a house one day where we have plenty of yard to grow a big garden.

James getting his haircut. It was so cute cause Joe wanted him to feel like he was getting a real barber experience (in our kitchen) so he got some toilet paper and wrapped it around James' neck before putting the cape on then he folded the edges over. I didn't grab my camera fast enough to take a picture.

Before bed the boys played a little mario kart. It's so fun for me to see Joe having so much fun with his siblings. I love watching them whenever any of them get together. We loved having you James!

Easter Weekend

So, I didn't take as many pictures as I should have but here are a few. Bob and Sharon came home on Thursday afternoon and we had a fun evening at the house playing wii and watching New Moon. (Joe was so mad that next morning because he dreamt of Edward and Jacob that night instead of hot chicks or something. Ha ha) On Friday morning we went to Serena's to see her and Maggie. They were dying eggs and making egg shaped peanut butter cookies. She also showed us a sonogram and told us she was pregnant! That leaves Julie, and my sister as the only sister/sister-in-laws that aren't pregnant!!! We are SO excited for their family! Maggie was so cute. Instead of saying yes when Serena would ask her a question like "Do you want me to open this candy Sharon gave you?" She says "Yeah Sure" in this sweet little happy voice. Serena told us she says that all the time instead of saying yes. It's SO stinkin' cute! After Serena's we headed to Palestine. Before they went to Utah they had made some changes to the house in Palestine and it was so fun to walk through and see the updates and new paint colors. It all looks awesome! We had a wonderful dinner at the house and I ended up getting a huge headache and going to bed shortly after. The next morning Joe woke up and made everyone a wonderful breakfast and then we headed to Canton for a huge flea market! We were there for hours and only covered about a third of it. Anthony and Addie met us there. Here's a picture I took when we stopped to have lunch.

We had a lot of fun! Sharon got a lot of cool A&M things to decorate one of the bedrooms and I found a girl from Utah there selling watch bands for my watch so I had her make me one. That evening the guys went to the priesthood session (and actually stayed awake, and LOVED it!) and Sharon and I went to Lowes to get hardware and a plant and things. It was fun to chat and shop together. I missed her and Bob a lot and it was so fun to spend time with them.

Sunday was so relaxing. We woke up to a visit from the Easter Bunny! (Joe didn't know I had brought everything with me to make them. Sneaky!=)

Joe and I went to Sun's grave site and Joe had picked out all sorts of pretty bright spring flowers to make a beautiful bouquet. It's always something we look forward to doing while we're there. Afterwards we headed back to Bob and Sharon's to watch the morning conference session and then between sessions we all went to the Davey Dogwood Park to see all the dogwoods blooming. Everything was so green in Palestine and the flowers were blooming and so colorful! It was gorgeous. I didn't know the legend of the Dogwood Tree so it was interesting to hear that. For those of you who don't know..... here's an explanation I found

At the time of Crucifixion the dogwood had been the size of the oak and other forest trees. So firm and strong was the tree that it was chosen as the timber for the cross. To be used thus for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the tree, and Jesus nailed upon it, sensed this.
In His gentle pity for all sorrow and suffering Jesus said to the tree:
" Because of your regret and pity for My suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth it shall be slender and bent and twisted and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross--two long and two short petals. And in the center of the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, brown with rust and stained with red, and in the center of the flower will be a crown of thorns, and all who see it will remember."

On the way back from looking at the dogwoods we pulled over to take a picture with the blue bonnets. They bloom all over on the side of the freeway, and it's absolutely gorgeous! Joe said that by law you can only pick one. I have been able to appreciate the greenness here. There's a portion of the freeway on the way to Palestine where the median is like a forest! You can't see the traffic on the other side because it's so thick and green, and it's just absolutely gorgeous. I don't have the mountains, but I have learned to love that I get to experience something different here in Texas. Our car had a film of pollen on it after the weekend was over. I had never seen that before! There were also fields of dandelions (or at least that's what Joe said they were. I couldn't tell) all over on the way home! So pretty!

We had such a fun weekend. I can't explain it, but in Palestine there's just a calmness that Joe and I feel when we're there. It's so relaxing and it's just a wonderful escape from every day life. Thank you Bob and Sharon for such a wonderful weekend! We love you and are glad you're back!

Addie and Jack

Julie, Anthony, and the kids were here in Pearland two weeks ago, and then this past weekend. Julie's grandpa had a stroke and wasn't doing so well so they came down. They went home last weekend and he passed away on Wednesday so they came back down this weekend for the funeral. It wasn't the happiest of circumstances for Julie and her family, but it gave us an opportunity to see them. The kids are so fun! Here are some pictures from two weeks ago when we went to the park for dinner.

Addie was so cute on the swings. Uncle Joe and Jack kicking the football=)

Addie Playing in the sand with her cousin. Joe playing with Jack on the sea horse!

Cute little Jack playing on the slide and playing peek-a-boo through the trees=)

We had so much fun with the kids! They are so sweet and so much fun to be around. We loved having them at church with us this past Sunday as well. In sacrament meeting Addie made me laugh so hard. I had to keep it quiet though. We were doing a word search. Joe would point out the words and she would circle them. She was asking me what all the words said once she was done and one of the words was spunky. When I said that the word said spunky, she turned to me with a puzzled look on her face and said "What's a spunky!!?" ha ha ha! She is so cute!

Addie came with Joe and me to our class. They loved having her, and all the teachers kept asking who the cute little girl with us was! They were darling in their easter outfits! We love you Addie and Jack and we miss you!

Houston Rodeo/Carnival

Two Fridays ago Joe got off of work early and we decided to go to the Rodeo. We planned on going on Saturday, but figured it would be less crowded on Friday. We had so much fun! The rodeo was inside Reliant Stadium, but there was a carnival outside, and a livestock show, and horse show. Here are some pictures of our fun day!

Im on this ride but don't know where. We went on the chair lift and they had these stuffed animals/fruit in one of the chairs=)

This was a ride Joe wanted to go on. You stand up and put your back on these cushioned pads and then the operator in the middle spins this thing round and round and the gravitational pull makes you able to lay almost flat on this thing as it spins. Joe said it was his favorite ride when he was younger. It made me feel so dizzy and sick. Not my favorite ride in the world! Joe loved it though.

Of course you can't pass up the food at the carnival. Joe got a corn dog and later I got a funnel cake that we shared.

We played some games, and won some prizes.

We checked out some animals. We got to watch baby chicks hatching, but I forgot to take a picture. It was so cool. The baby chicks are so cute! It reminded me of the chick and the duck from Friends=) ha ha!

So, Joe has had about a million jobs it seems like. He pointed out that when he used to be a bee catcher he had to wear a suit like this! I wish I could have seen that!=)

The rodeo was so much fun! I got to see things I hadn't seen, like chuck wagon racing and little kids wearing helmets riding sheep! It was so stinkin funny!

This was after the Toby Keith Concert. The carnival was all lit up. Joe blames his Asian genes for not being able to open his eyes at night=)

We had a ton of fun! Thanks for a fun day babe! You are always looking for something fun we can do together, and this was a blast! Love you!