Random Summer Fun

We've been continuing to get to know our new home and people in the ward and trying to become acclimated to our new surroundings. Here is some of the evidence of our summer activities in pictures:

The Carlson family in our ward invited us to dinner a couple weeks after we moved in. Brother Carlson is a trainer for fighter pilots in the Air Force and let Wesley try on one of his helmets. Wesley thought it was the coolest thing ever!

We don't have a pool in our neighborhood (which is the only downside to this house), but there are some ward members in the neighborhood who do and they let us come to their pool. Ellie looks pretty determined to climb out here.

Tom and his posse. Tom detests swimming but I con him into coming once in a while.

Fun with a train of laundry baskets in the new digs...who needs toys?

A park nearby boasts some climbing rocks. Ellie looks enviously at her older sister.

A.J. ... our little fish (who has very few teeth this summer)!

The Man G.Q.'s it!

Sweet Pea!

Livin' on the edge!

A futile attempt at some shade from the hot, hot, hot San Antonio sun on the way to church!

The girls push the stroller to church. We walk every week since it is just around the corner...what a blessing. We are loving our new home!

July 24th Celebration

So I'm super behind on the blogging. For the 24th of July our stake put on a Pioneer Day Celebration at some land that the church owns near one of the ward buildings here. Although it started at 9 a.m., it was still really hot. I guess when you live here long enough you become accustomed to the heat...at least I'm hoping. We had fun even though we were very sweaty. The kids enjoyed pony rides, inflatables to jump in, cotton candy, sno cones, kettle corn, fishing for toys, pinatas, and sugar highs! Tom and I were warn out by the time 11 o'clock came around.

One Month Here Already!

One month ago today we left Missouri for a new adventure in Texas. I haven't had my camera around much in the last month, but luckily Tom has taken pictures here and there with his iPhone so we have some highlights of the last month.

Our move included a 13 hour drive, and a week long stay in a hotel. We were smart for once and got a 2 bedroom suite with a kitchenette, so the week wasn't too bad. We stayed in the area of the city where our home is and were able to start to get to know our way around right from the beginning. It's funny how kids can have as much fun playing on a hotel bed as anywhere.

We didn't have plans one day, so we just headed to Barnes and Noble and let the kids look at books. We even bought one for Reili which she promptly read. She has had her nose in a book a lot this month, which is a great thing. She is currently reading the 5th Harry Potter book.


We bought a season pass to Sea World and have taken the kids there 3 times so far. Funny we don't take any pictures with Shamu, but the kids like to spend time on the kiddie rides there. This is them in the giant play area for kids. The first time we were there we sat in the splash zone for the Shamu show and got totally doused with water. We had wanted to because it is so got and the only way to stay cool is to get wet. Wesley wasn't a big fan of getting wet and hasn't wanted to go back to that show again.


Looking so excited waiting for the little Shamu roller coaster. Reili's favorite is called the Steel Eel, but she can't wait til she grows 4 inches so she can go on Great White which is the roller coaster that does a loop upside down.


The caraselle is about the only ride Elizabeth can go on so far. The first time I took her she seemed really scared and wanted me to get her off, but as soon as the ride ended she wanted to go again. We had to go 3 or 4 times in a row and even then she cried when we made her leave to go somewhere else.

One of our true Texas experiences has been going to Tejas Rodeo with a group of friends from our ward. Here is Wes waiting on the fence for the Rodeo to start.

For some reason Tom only got pictures of Wes that night. Maybe because we were chasing Elizabeth around the whole time because she never sits still for anything and the other girls were off sitting with the other kids most of the time.

We are really enjoying Texas so far!

Pre-Move Fun

There were about three weeks between the time Tom got home from his 2 month Captain's Career course and the day we moved. The time flew by and here are some pictures of the events that we enjoyed before we left Missouri.

Wesley's preschool class took a field trip to the Rolla Technical institute. I had already committed to go to Reili's field day and help out that morning, so Tom took Wesley and Elizabeth on the field trip. What an awesome Dad! We are so glad to be together again. Here the kids are getting ready to plant some seeds.

Wesley and his fabulous teacher Miss Ginger. We are going to miss her...she was a great teacher for both Amberly and Wesley!

Sweet Ellie! I just want to kiss those cheeks all the time.

Reili participated in her first dance recital. She and Tabitha Whittekiend were in the same class this year and enjoyed dancing and playing together often.

Yes...it's an arm wrestle between my friend Hannah and me. We had a baby shower for some friends in the ward and tied in one of the games. The winner of the arm wrestle won the prize. Leave it to Melissa Walton to come up with that tie breaker! We miss all our friends in Missouri.

Chris and Stacy Thomas are some of our newer friends in Rolla. They invited us over for dinner before we left and we also went on a double date where I tasted Sushi for the first time (it's alright I guess). This is a pretty good picture Tom captured with his iPhone. I wish we could have gotten more pictures of all our dear friends, but we are lame that way...we never think to take pictures when we should.

Preschool Birthday

This post is about two months behind, but I did want to journal it. For Wesley's birthday he wanted me to bring chocolate frosted doughnuts to school to share with his class. It turned out that the morning I took them, the school was on lock down due to a report of a shooter at the university nearby. When I got to the school the doors were locked and there was a note on the door saying to call the school if you needed to get in. I had to set the donuts down to go to the car to get my cell phone and by the time I got back the director of the school was there to let me in. The streets around the school were eerily silent as if everyone had heard on the news and was staying off the streets. All the kids were in the gym in the basement of the school listening to stories being read by a guest reader. Wesley was so intent on the stories that he didn't even notice me sit down at the back with Elizabeth. Normally snack time would have been at 9:30, but I sat there with the others waiting for the lock down to end. Well, we waited and waited and finally around 10:15 they decided to just have snack in the gym. I was in a hurry to get to an orthodontist appointment, so quickly handed out the donuts. It was a very messy treat to have on the gym floor, but none of the kids seemed to mind a bit. With that we were finished celebrating Wesley's Birthday.

MMM....donuts!

Messy Elizabeth...she snatched a donut out of the box as I was passing them. I was hoping I could keep them away from her, but she is way too quick for me.

Wes and Miss Ginger....these are the best donuts ever Mom! (He threw a fit when he couldn't have a second one and started crying...I felt bad that there weren't enough)